Universal Orlando has reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of a Brazilian boy who was injured on the E.T. Adventure dark ride in 2019. 

As Theme Park Tribune previously reported, Roberta Perez, mother of then-11-year-old Tiago Perez, alleged in her lawsuit that Tiago broke bones in his toes, foot and leg when his foot was stuck between the ride vehicle and the station platform on Jan. 31, 2019. The injury was characterized by Universal as “foot pain” in a quarterly state report, which Perez’s attorney, Ed Normund, called a “gross understatement” in an email to Theme Park Tribune.   

The Orlando Sentinel reported that Universal has been ordered to pay an annuity to the Perez family through a life insurer. No monetary amount or other settlement terms were disclosed. 

Cedar Point releases more sexual assault records

A trio of Ohio TV stations have obtained more records detailing sexual assault allegations involving Cedar Point employees. 

The stations — WTOL in Toledo, WBNS in Columbus, and WKYC in Cleveland — had previously reported that 29 sexual assaults tied to Cedar Point’s employee dorms had been reported since 2017. The stations sued the park to obtain records from Cedar Point’s own police department, revealing another 12 reports. Six of the 41 total alleged assaults took place in 2022.

Previous reports in the stations’ series revealed that Cedar Point employees said they had been discouraged from reporting the alleged assaults. In one case, the park rehired a seasonal employee accused of rape, and he was later convicted of a separate assault in the dorm and was sentenced to three years in prison.  

Disneyland using virtual queue for Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

If you want to ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway when it opens at Disneyland on Jan. 27, the typical standby queue won’t be an option.

Guests will have to join a virtual queue through the Disneyland app at 7 a.m. and 1 p.m., or pay for an Individual Lightning Lane reservation. 

The use of a virtual queue is hardly a surprise. Each of Disneyland Resort’s last two attractions — Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure — used the same setup when they debuted.