While Walt Disney World is supposed to be the most magical place on earth it’s impossible to keep reality from crossing the border entirely. Lawsuits over injuries are a fairly regular occurrence in the parks, and now a specific Disney World waterslide is at the center of another lawsuit that is quite significant.
Last September a lawsuit was filed by a woman who suffered internal injuries and a hernia as the result of a “painful wedgie” that occurred on the Humunga Cowabunga waterslide at Typhoon Lagoon. Now a second suit has been filed following another injury on the same slide, one that allegedly resulted in a serious brain injury.
According to Click Orlando, on May 11, a woman named Laura Reyes-Merino went down the five-story drop of the waterslide in question. She claims to have been knocked unconscious while going down the slide. Her fiancé discovered her limp at the end of the ride and pulled her from the water. The Cast Members attending the slide at the time were apparently not lifeguards, but when a lifeguard was called the family was told they could not touch Reyes-Merino, and the family had to wait for the ambulance.
The suit seeks $50,000 in damages as well as attorney’s fees and interest. The suit claims Reyes-Merino received some sort of brain injury as a result of the incident but no specifics are given.
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While the two lawsuits against Disney World for injuries on the same slide were only months apart, the actual injuries were years apart. This recent suit was filed quickly as the incident only occurred on May 11, but the earlier suit had been filed several years after the alleged injury was sustained. Still, it is significant that both cases include the same waterslide.
In recent years it has seemed like waterslides have been at the center of most significant injury lawsuits in theme parks. In addition to these two cases, Universal Orlando Resort was hit with a lawsuit in 2020 following a 2019 accident where a guest was allegedly paralyzed following an incident on the Punga Racers slide at the Volcano Bay water park.
Disney World water parks may be about to become even more popular with visitors. Starting next year guests staying at Walt Disney World resort hotels will get free access to them on the day they check in at the resort. This could cause a boost in water park attendance, which is a great thing for Disney World and the water parks specifically. It will be interesting to see if these recent lawsuits result in any changes to the parks between now and when those crowds may arrive.
While Disney World has two large water parks on property, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, one park has remained closed at Disney World. The two parks have been on a six-month rotating schedule where one closes for refurbishment as the other reopens.