ORLANDO, Fla. β The Orlando amusement park, where a teenager fell from a ride and died earlier this year, has a new sniper-like laser shooting game stalled under criticism following a recent spate of mass shootings.
In the Bullseye Blast game, riders on the 122-meter wheel at ICON Park pay an additional $5.95 to fire laser blasters at 50 targets strategically placed along rooftops in the park.
In a statement released Saturday, park officials said that while the ride was “well received” by customers, some questioned whether it was the place to go after mass shootings at a July 4 parade in a Chicago suburb, an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.
“Some non-guests and community members expressed that they used to think the toy gun was insensitive,” the statement said.
βThe attraction industry has many similar games that use similar launchers, so exploring the game was limited to that. However, we believe that a device can and should be designed that does not offend anyone in the community.β
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Park officials said they “look forward to leading this new innovation.”
While the park removed the game from its website, earlier this week it offered the following description of Bullseye Blaster: “To get the highest possible score, players must hit as many of these as possible with their laser blaster during the 18-minute ride. “
The promos included photos of drivers displaying laser guns from the ride, FOX-35 reported.
Critics and supporters of the ride have chimed in on social media in recent days.
“This is distasteful!” said Florida State Senator Linda Stewart, a Democrat from Orlando, in a tweet responding to a message about the ride. Others on social media mocked the park for disrupting play.
The park, which sits on Orlando’s International Drive, has been the subject of controversy since 14-year-old Missouri Tire Sampson fell from the Free Fall Tower and died earlier this year.
A later investigation revealed the teenager was nearly 100 pounds over the ride’s weight limit. His family has filed a lawsuit.
The park announced the bullseye blast in a press release Thursday.
“The Wheel at ICON Park is the only Ferris wheel in the world to feature this amazing new infrared technology, effectively gamifying and reinvigorating the experience for a whole new audience of players,” the press release reads.
The blasters featured a scope and infrared rays that help players aim at rooftop targets.
Dennis Speigel, the founder and CEO of International Theme Park Services Inc., told the Orlando Sentinel on Friday that he was surprised that ICON Park’s executives, the blaster game’s creators — Amusements LLC and Steradian Technologies — didn’t consider the negative.
“Seeing those simulated weapons pointed at you from that height, from all those cars, just doesn’t seem like the right decision,” Speigel told the Sentinel. “It’s a bit bizarre.”