Orlando amusement park shooting game stirs debate

A Florida amusement park has come under fire for introducing a Bullseye Blast game that arms Ferris wheel riders with a laser blaster and encourages them to open fire on 50 “strategically pre-selected targets.”

For an extra $5.95, visitors riding The Wheel at ICON Park can rent a blaster with a scope and hit as many targets as possible throughout the Orlando amusement center that are visible from atop the 400-foot ride. A scoreboard in their car keeps score during the 18-minute adventure.

The Wheel at ICON Park (Shutterstock/)

“Each of the custom-made blasters has a scope on it, allowing the players to view an infrared beam and assist them when aiming at the targets,” ICON Park wrote in announcing the ride on Wednesday.

Bullseye Blast utilizes “amazing, new infrared technology,” according to the company.

The shooting game was met with mixed reviews on social media, where critics wondered if the idea missed its mark in an era in which mass shootings are commonplace.

“Are you f’ing kidding me??” wondered one Twitter user.

It was also called “tone deaf” by one skeptic.

Others wondered how the idea of a shooting game at an amusement park became a reality.

“Only in America,” tweeted a social media user under the name Mathmosman.

Another commenter called Bullseye Blast “Mass shooter training.”

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It was also pointed out this game may not be good advertising for an amusement park where a 14-year-old boy lost his life in March while on a ride called FreeFall.

Orlando is one of several U.S. cities rocked by a mass shooting in recent years. In 2016, a 29-year-old gunman killed 49 people at a gay nightclub. That massacre was the largest in recent U.S. history until, a year later, a gunman in Las Vegas killed 60 people attending a country music festival.

Not everyone agreed with those slamming Bullseye Blast.

“Last time I checked there were no mass shootings committed with alien laser guns targeted at animatronics and cutouts, but go off king,” one dissenter tweeted.

ICON Park has not responded to a request for comment. In late June, the company posted a video promoting Bullseye Blast. It recommends that riders get their target shooting out of the way during their ascent, then enjoying the view once their car gets to the top of the wheel.