Despite being one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world with millions of visitors every year, Disney World has had a very low number of serious accidents and fatalities on site.
Aug. 22, 1989: A 29-year-old jogger was seriously injured on Walt Disney World property when he ran in front of a truck.
Feb. 8, 1990: A worker was killed at Disney Hollywood Studios when he fell 33 feet to his death from a scaffold while working on an air-conditioning duct.
Feb. 8, 1990: In an unrelated accident, three tourists were injured when three sets of cars in the Space Mountain roller coaster at Walt Disney World’s Disney World Magic Kingdom abruptly stopped because the computer detected a faulty wheel and automatically halted the system.
Feb. 6, 1990: Five tourists suffered minor injuries when pieces of molding fell from the ceiling of the Haunted Mansion attraction at Walt Disney World’s Disney World Magic Kingdom.
Aug. 18, 1994: A 6-year-old girl was badly injured when she became pinned between a boat and boarding dock at the It’s a Small World ride at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The girl suffered collapsed lungs, a broken rib and a broken arm.
Dec. 31, 1999: Six people were burned when fireworks at Disney World’s New Year’s Eve festivities exploded near them.
June 13, 2005: A 4-year-old boy died of a heart attack after riding the Mission: Space ride at Epcot.
April 11, 2006: A 49-year-old woman became ill after riding Mission: Space at Walt Disney World’s Epcot. She was taken to a nearby hospital and died the next day.
Dec. 18, 2007: A 44-year-old man visiting Walt Disney World died after apparently suffering a heart attack on the Expedition Everest roller coaster in Animal Kingdom. No heart defibrillators were immediately available in the area.
July 5, 2009: A 21-year-old monorail driver was killed when his train crashed into another monorail because of a track change malfunction. This was the first fatal accident involving a monorail in the resort’s 38-year history.
Aug. 6, 2009: A 47-year-old Disney performer was injured during Captain Jack’s Pirate Tutorial show at Disney World. He succumbed to his injuries and died a few days later.
Aug. 17, 2009: A stuntman at Disney’s Hollywood Studios died after suffering a head injury while practicing a tumbling roll during a rehearsal for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show.
Oct. 31, 2009: A 4-year-old girl was injured at Disney’s Fort Wilderness resort when a golf cart she was riding in overturned.
March 14, 2010: A Walt Disney World employee broke his leg after he was struck by a guest driving a car at the Tomorrowland Speedway in the Magic Kingdom.
March 23, 2010: Eight people were injured, one seriously, because of a crash between a Disney bus and Waldorf-Astoria bus near Epcot.
April 1, 2010: A 10-year-old boy was hit and killed by a bus while riding his bike at Disney’s Fort Wilderness.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved in yesterday’s tragedy.
Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.
Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.
Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel
For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!
You guys are awesome.!! I'm glad im not the only one who dislikes Country Bear.
Shhh! You said you wouldn't tell anyone.
you just bitter that your going to be stuck with that tattoo of the bears for the rest of your life..
That's so true. Most of the news now is at such a Jerry Springer level.
You know, I think you just gave me a good idea for something to write about here.
Jerry, I didn't think you were stirring up trouble at all! We value everone who takes the time to comment here. We're all grownups. I hope in the future you know that you can speak your mind, regardless of your point of view. Unless of course you decide to tell us that Country Bear Jamboree is your favorite attraction. You'll have to keep that to yourself. 😉
your fine Jerry I didnt think you stirred anything up..
maumeemom, I could not have said it beter myself.
yeah your right no internet and a frenzy of news media back then so I am sure it is being blown up especially since every news outlet has their eyes on Disney..
it is a very sad story along with all the other news stories relating to it..
I hate to hear anything negative about Disney in the news and try to stay neutral but being a parent and frequent the parks it makes me worry
when we were down there in Jan I was always watching things and trying to be more aware of my surroundings
Wow,
I was in no way trying to stir up controversy. I posted the same exact thing on the Sentinel's website where this post was pasted from. Now I know why it (my comment) was removed about an hour later.
I am so sorry if I have riled any of you up in any way. Chris and Chip, I have nothing but respect for you both and value our new friendships. This is a truely sad event and emotions are a alltime high I know. I had also said on that comment that if you googled ” good things that happened at Disney World” you would get an entirely different list.
All I was hoping for is that people not group the events purely by keywords like death, tragic, injured , and killed, and try to keep in mind that blame does not erase hurt.
Jerry
I'm not trying to be argumentative but I think the reason that we are hearing about these things is that the news media has changed. With the less than 24 hour news cycle they pick up and promote more stories than in the past and, because it is Disney, it is easy to sensationalize what happened.
Twenty years ago, my parents would have read about this in the paper and maybe mentioned it to us as a reminder to keep safe when riding our bikes. Few would have jumped on Disney saying that this was their fault and I doubt it would have been a breaking news story, except for maybe locally to Orlando.
This truly sounds like it was just a tragic accident that is now being turned into a frenzy by the press.
I feel for the families involved as well as the driver and those on the bus, they will all be forever changed by this incident.
I am stating how Big Govt always seems to step in even when Disney is perfectly capable of handling it themselves.
I an not unhappy with Disney it just seems that here lately there seems to be more and more accidents occurring. Growing up a hour from Disney I never heard of accidents involving buses or monorails you felt 100% safe at the parks..80's & 90's
Disney needs to take a more proactive and preventive measure in ensuring all passengers feel and are safe and that I don't have to keep reporting on issues like that.
I think Chip might be referring to some calls that Disney's transportation system be regarded as a public transportation system, not a private entity, owned, operated and accountable to Disney and Reedy Creek. I won't pretend that I understand how Disney's status as a municipality effects this, but the monorail, for example, is considered a private entity because it's run entirely on private property. That didn't stop the feds from investigating the monorail accident last July. At one point however, there was some question as to whether they would or not or even if they could.
I think you're right that Disney's safety record is exemplary and I think that was the point Chip was trying to make here. A dozen or so serious accidents, of which most appear NOT to be the fault of Disney is a great track record.
At this point it also appears that the most recent accident was not Disney's fault. Unfortunately, this won't stop the PR problems that Disney has been undergoing in recent months. As much as I follow Disney, I'm often confused as to what people are grumbing about, but there does seem to a lot of discontent from hardcore Disney fans, to say nothing of how the locals feel. As Disney prepares to go to trial for the monorail accident, it will be interesting to see how this plays out when picking a jury pool and the ultimate outcome of the case. Sometimes the mere appearance of impropriety, even when the facts might suggest otherwise, is all it takes to sway a jury toward a verdict for the plaintiffs.
I agree with Jerry. Disney is like a large municipality and any big city would have accidents and or tragedies of this magnitude or worse. This list spans 20 years – it is actually a pretty impressive that there haven't been more problems. Very few of these incidents sound like they were caused by Disney negligence.
I don't understand this statement: “If Disney wont Obama will”
I'm sure that safety is of the utmost importance to Disney and I'm sure that they are constantly re-evaluating their safety procedures. I don't think that the government needs to step in at this point.
Well like any major city if there is more and more accidents then there needs to be an overhaul of that system and or function
I think some changes are in order to ensure the highest safety standards..
If Disney wont Obama will
The thing is that this timeline could be done for any city, town or village anywhere in the U.S. with equal or in many cases much worse results. I think that as sad as this list it is, it should also be kept in perspective. Disney property is heavily populated like many Cities and Towns and although these are all tragic events, sometimes life just happens no matter where you are.
Jerry@Disney4dads.com
The thing is that this timeline could be done for any city, town or village anywhere in the U.S. with equal or in many cases much worse results. I think that as sad as this list it is, it should also be kept in perspective. Disney property is heavily populated like many Cities and Towns and although these are all tragic events, sometimes life just happens no matter where you are.
Jerry@Disney4dads.com
The thing is that this timeline could be done for any city, town or village anywhere in the U.S. with equal or in many cases much worse results. I think that as sad as this list it is, it should also be kept in perspective. Disney property is heavily populated like many Cities and Towns and although these are all tragic events, sometimes life just happens no matter where you are.
Jerry@Disney4dads.com