11 theme park injuries at Disney, Universal included in quarterly report

11 guests at Central Florida theme parks suffered injuries or illnesses that required at least a 24-hour hospital stay from January to March 2019, according to the state’s most recent quarterly report.

Major theme parks in the region are required to report such incidents to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) as part of an agreement to avoid state inspections. This report covered 11 injuries: six at Walt Disney World and five at Universal Orlando.

For Universal, the report does include an incident that occurred on the E.T. Adventure on January 31. Described in the report as a 19 year-old male suffering “foot pain” on the ride, according to a lawsuit filed against Universal in March, the incident allegedly involved a 11-year-old Brazilian boy having his foot and leg crushed when his left foot became stuck between the ride vehicle and the off-loading platform.

FDACS did not immediately respond to a question from Orlando Rising on the apparent discrepancy between its report and the lawsuit, which is pending in Orange County Circuit Court.

The other four incidents reported at Universal Orlando included a 27-year-old woman reporting foot pain on the Jurassic Park River Adventure on February 15 and three injuries at the Volcano Bay water park.

For Disney World, two of its six incidents in the first quarter involved guests falling while getting on and off rides at the Magic Kingdom. The first was a 69-year-old man who broke his hip exiting the Prince Charming Regal Carousel on January 30. The second was a 75-year-old man who fell and broke his leg while entering the vehicle on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

Typical of the quarterly report, three incidents involved guests with pre-existing conditions, such as a 30-year-old who had a seizure on Slinky Dog Dash.

No injuries requiring a 24-hour hospital stay were reported at SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Legoland Florida. For Legoland, the report marks seven years since it last reported such an incident.

In 2018, a total of 42 incidents made the list, include the June death of a 71-year-old guest who suffered a heart attack at Disney’s Blizzard Beach.

Share this:

Like this: