A U.S. YouTuber has been permanently banned from all parks operated by a major theme park company after posting a video of himself eating chicken nuggets on a roller coaster traveling at 150 kilometers per hour.
According to the New York Post and other U.S. media outlets on Monday, YouTuber Allen Pan, 26, posted a video in which he ate 10 McDonald's chicken nuggets while riding the Millennium Force, a large steel roller coaster at Cedar Point theme park in Sandusky, Ohio. Pan, who has millions of subscribers, filmed the video in response to a challenge proposed by one of his followers.
The Millennium Force is an ultra-high-speed roller coaster reaching about 94 meters in height and a top speed of 150 kilometers per hour. Pan boarded the ride with 10 McNuggets concealed in his pants, and began eating them as the train entered its first steep drop. The moment he opened the sweet-and-sour sauce, the strong air current splattered it in all directions. In a follow-up interview, he said he was fortunate to have been seated in the very back row, so the sauce did not splash onto other riders' faces. He ultimately managed to eat only 7 of the 10 nuggets, failing the challenge.
The video, posted on May 19, has garnered more than 690,000 views, while a reposted version on November 28 drew an additional 1.66 million views.
"Safety is the cornerstone of our business, and we apply a zero-tolerance policy toward inappropriate and unsafe behavior," Cedar Point spokesman Tony Clark said. "Ride safety rules strictly prohibit possession of any unsecured items during rides, including food that could pose a choking hazard." Six Flags, which owns Cedar Point, imposed a lifetime ban from all of its affiliated parks.
Pan said the theme park had even considered filing criminal charges, but the matter was ultimately resolved with a permanent ban after negotiations. "I never thought eating 10 chicken nuggets on a roller coaster would become national news headlines," he said. "I understand Cedar Point's decision."
Pan had previously posted a video of himself eating a McDonald's Big Mac on the same Millennium Force, which racked up more than 5 million views. The fact that this was a repeat offense, not a first-time incident, is seen as having led to the severe punishment of a lifetime ban.
