Disney Declassified: Tales of Real Life Disney Scandals, Sex, Accidents and Deaths (11 page)

The mecca of family entertainment for millions of people around the world is just beyond the Seven Seas Lagoon, and we are about to enter it and view it in a different light—if your views haven’t been altered already. As we all have experienced at one time or another, accidents do happen at home. The east coast version of Mickey’s house is no different.

The land that encompasses Walt Disney World is roughly forty square miles. They have their own infrastructure like every other city in this country and in many ways more elaborate and technical. WDW has a nightly evening population of well over 100,000 people and a daytime population hovering around 300,000 people, roughly the population of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

To attempt to compare the accident frequency at Walt Disney World with Disneyland, or quite frankly any other amusement park, would be unjust and futile. Plain and simple, Walt Disney World is enormous; from the many theme parks to the over twenty-five on-site hotels and resorts. Feeding the masses to providing them with accommodations and comforts of home isn’t easy and accidents happen everywhere and in every imaginable situation.

There have been situations where over sixty people were made sick by salmonella poisoning from unpasteurized orange juice Disney served at their resorts in 1995 to Disney heeding warnings from state epidemiologists about an outbreak of mosquitoes carrying St. Louis encephalitis that forced Disney to close resort pools and limit evening activities in an effort to limit guests' exposure to the buggers in August of 1997. There was even a woman in 2010 doing laundry at the Pop Century Resort who had her coins jam in the change machine, and in an effort to dislodge the coins, the machine fell on top of her and broke her leg.

Walt Disney World has seen it all: from mechanical failure, suicide, a hostage situation, and random violence (Chapter Three details some of the latter). All of these situations are atrocious and painful both emotionally and mentally for those involved. With that being said, accidents are aplenty, but the focus of most of these are ones where Disney usually learns from these incidents and implements some sort of change, be it for ride safety or procedures for their cast members. 

On August 11, 1977, four-year-old Joel from Dolton, Illinois, wandered away from his mother at the ice cream shop on Main Street after 11:00
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. Once his mother, Marietta, realized he was gone, panic ensued and a search commenced to find the little boy. A child separated from their parents is a daily occurrence at the theme park, even today. This situation ended with more dire circumstances. Joel’s body was found three hours later in the moat around Cinderella’s castle.

The little boy drowned just a short distance from the ice cream shop in roughly five feet of water. There were no witnesses to Joel scaling the nearly three-foot fence that separated the pavement from the grass or of him entering the water. Joel’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against Disney that ensued for several years, taking almost a decade to settle. The initial $4 million case was originally dismissed in October of 1981 by the Orlando Circuit Courts.

The basis of the dismissal was Marietta failed in her duty to control and watch her child during the child’s tender years, and that outweighed Disney’s negligence. This ruling was appealed, and in 1982 the courts reversed that finding and sent the case back to the lower court for trial. A jury was unable to reach a verdict in 1984. A second trial was held in February 1985, where the family was awarded $2 million, one million for each parent. The award was based upon the family’s attorney claiming that there were no fences around the moat and the 31” fence separating the sidewalk from grass near the water was too low to prevent children from climbing it. Further, the four- to five-foot-deep moat was a potential hazard for children, yet there were no signs warning parents to keep their children away from the water.

However, the jury deemed that the parents should share in some of the negligence and the award was reduced by $500,000 from each parent because they shared in half the negligence. In December of 1986, the case was finalized. The parents were awarded $1 million from Disney.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be the last accidental drowning around the Magic Kingdom. Just two years later, in August of 1979, sixty-two-year-old Hattie from Baltimore was at Walt Disney World vacationing with her grandchildren when she suffered a diabetic seizure and fell into a drainage ditch at a Walt Disney World parking lot when looking for her car. Hattie’s family sued Disney as well and eventually reached a confidential out of court settlement.

Not too far from the Magic Kingdom is the Ft. Wilderness campground. On May 23, 1987, six-year-old Miguel was visiting the campground with his grandparents and extended family members. The trip to Walt Disney World was something they did monthly for several years. That afternoon, Miguel’s grandfather left him poolside under the supervision of other family members. By the time his grandfather returned to the pool, just mere minutes later, CPR was already being performed on Miguel in an attempt to revive him from drowning—their attempts were unsuccessful. Miguel’s parents filed suit against Disney and, in June of 1989, the case settled for $250,000.  

Accidents in pools still haunt Walt Disney World. As recently as March 2013, tragedy in a pool struck when thirteen-year-old Anthony from Missouri was swimming at the Pop Century Resort when he drowned. Lifeguards didn’t staff the pool Anthony was swimming in at the time. At the Pop Century, as with many other pools on Disney’s property, the lifeguards were only on duty until 8:00
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., Anthony’s accident occurred at 9:30
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. There were signs posted that warned swimmers that they are swimming at their own risk. In the months after the accident, Disney changed their swimming policy.

Property wide, the Disney resorts feature more than two dozen pools. In late 2013, they announced that lifeguards will now be stationed at each resorts' largest pools during operating hours, meaning early morning to late at night. Traditionally, when the lifeguards stopped watching the pools, it was swim at your own risk, as in young Anthony’s case. The new rule changes will not permit swimming after hours when no lifeguards are on duty at each resorts' main pool. The smaller or “quiet” pools as Disney calls them will continue to open as they previously were.  

The above-mentioned accidents and incidents happened away from the attractions at Walt Disney World. It wasn’t until nearly thirty years after opening day that Disney experienced their first ride-related fatality with a guest. Splash Mountain opened in 1992 and featured a log flume ride based upon the story from the Disney movie
Song of the South
. Ironically, this hugely popular ride is based on a movie most Disney fans have never watched, and Disney wants to keep it that way, due to some racially insensitive issues. The ride takes passengers on a ten-minute trip that ends with a 52-foot drop at a 45-degree angle.  

On November 5, 2000, William, a thirty-seven-year-old annual pass holder from the St. Petersburg, Florida area, was enjoying a day at the park with two friends. Around 2:00
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. in the afternoon, William was the last passenger in his boat at the attraction. More than halfway through the ride, at a slow point before the thrilling drop, he got out of his boat and informed his passing friends that he was feeling sick and wanted to leave. With the ride at a lull, William hopped out and stood on one side of the attraction, the side opposite an emergency exit door.

In order to exit the attraction, he would need to get across the canal the boats traverse. In an attempt to get to the other side, William tried to use one of the boats in the canal as a bridge to the other side with the exit. As William was trying to cross on the boats, the movement of the ride started to pick up speed again and William slipped. He fell into the canal and was pinned between the left side of a boat and the canal wall. With William lodged by the boat, he was impeding the canals movement. Quickly, each boat, in a chain reaction, continued to ram into the boat crushing William. William’s actions proved fatal; he was killed from blunt force trauma to the chest. In the eight years prior to William’s accident, Disney remarked that 64 million riders enjoyed the attraction without a fatality or serious accident. William’s incident did not result from any mechanical issues with the attraction.

EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are no different from the Magic Kingdom with their ability to give out Disney bumps and bruises. In fact, some of their attractions may bring to the forefront pre-existing physiological conditions riders are unaware of, usually to the rider's detriment.

Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios gives guests a taste of Walt’s Hollywood during the town’s golden age. Many die-hard Disney fans dub this park a “half-day” park, as there isn’t enough to do there. Whether Hollywood Studios is lacking attractions for an entire day trip is up for debate. What isn’t debatable is the fact that a couple of Walt Disney World’s most thrilling rides are located there; Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith and The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The coaster and tower satisfy thrill seekers from all over the world who need a little adventure and adrenaline when visiting Mickey. The two attractions made headlines when they debuted in 1994 and 1999, giving Disney some bona fide thrill rides. Unfortunately, the two rides made headlines for different reasons in the summer of 2005 and 2006.

Sixteen-year-old Leanne of Kibworth, England rode the Tower of Terror six times in one week during her vacation at Walt Disney World in July of 2005. The thrill ride is themed after the 1960s television hit
The Twilight Zone
, and takes riders on a haunted elevator ride that ascends and descends quickly over the course of a few minutes.

On July 12, 2005, at 9:50
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., Leanne exited the ride shaking and lightheaded. She sat for a few minutes with her mother in an air-conditioned room. Not too long after, she lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital. Along the way there, her heart stopped beating. Paramedics were able to revive her and, once in the hospital, it was determined she had a stroke and required immediate surgery.

After more surgery and months in the hospital, Leanne has permanent brain damage. She is unable to speak and care for herself. Disney investigated and found no problems with the attraction during the times Leanne was on the ride. Leanne’s mother, blaming Disney and the attraction for Leanne’s stoke and subsequent heart attacks, filed a lawsuit. The $15 million suit was settled in December of 2012 out of court for an undisclosed amount.

The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios features over 3,000 feet of track and sends guests traveling at speeds close to sixty miles an hour in under three seconds. If that isn’t thrilling enough, the ride features a corkscrew turn and a rollover, all set to some rock and roll.

On June 29, 2006, twelve-year-old Michael, of Fort Campbell, Kentucky rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster with his parents and younger brother. When the family's ride was over, Michael’s father noticed his son was slumped over and limp in his seat. He immediately began to perform CPR. Paramedics were notified and transported Michael to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Disney closed the ride for an investigation with the Florida Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection. The closure found no evidence of ride malfunction. Upon performing the autopsy on Michael, the medical examiner’s office found he suffered congenital heart abnormalities that caused his death.

Just a brisk scenic walk from Hollywood Studios and through Disney’s Boardwalk Resort will lead you to EPCOT. Entering the park from the World Showcase, a quick trip around the World Showcase lagoon and into Future World will lead you to the attraction Mission: Space.

The $100 Million ride opened in August of 2003 and takes guests on a trip to Mars. The ride is meant to simulate training and experiences NASA astronauts undergo. Disney consulted with former astronauts in addition to NASA granting Disney permission to reference some of their training methods for the attraction.

A trip to space, let alone Mars, albeit a simulated one, isn’t easy. The original version of Mission: Space (there are two now, we will get to that in a minute) at its core is based on a military flight simulator. The simulator plays with your senses (primarily your brain and your inner ear, which helps gauge movement) with projected video and audio, along with sudden bursts of movement. These actions tend to give people motion sickness (even military pilots and astronauts have been known to suffer from a trip in a simulator) in fact this attraction was Disney’s first attraction to provide sickness bags, aka barf bags!

The first year (and still today) Disney’s ride received stellar reviews. It is an incredible experience for many people. For other folks, the ride is a bit too intense and makes them sick. In its first year alone, three million guests went aboard Mission: Space. Of those millions, six people were hospitalized with chest pains and severe nausea after their trip into space. Interesting, though, are the demographics of those hospitalized. All were over the age of fifty-five and four of six had pre-existing conditions, something the signs at the attraction warn guests about. 

Disney, and obviously their crack legal team, has warning signs posted on most of their attractions. Mission: Space is no different; throughout the attraction, warnings advise folks with high blood pressure, back problems, anxiety and the like, to think twice about the ride. Despite the warning, many soldier on, and oftentimes with health conditions they are unaware of. This was the case twice in 2005 and 2006, and unfortunately both events ended in fatalities. 

In June of 2005, four-year-old Daudi of Pennsylvania rode Mission: Space with his mother and sister. At the end of the five-minute ride, Daudi was rigid and unresponsive in his seat. His mother promptly picked him up and ran to a cast member who called paramedics. Two hours later at nearby Celebration Hospital he was pronounced dead.