Credit: UniversalNo two days at a theme park are ever the same. Whether you ride different attractions, meet different characters, or have a unique magical experience, that’s part of what makes theme parks so unique.
However, sometimes the theme park experience is different in a bad way. Over the years, we’ve heard plenty of outlandish – and sometimes pretty terrible – tales from the world of theme parks. These range from a Guest witnessing a drug overdose at Disneyland Resort, to police and K9 units evacuating Guests from the Springfield area in Universal Studios Florida after an unknown incident around The Simpsons Ride.
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In a recent Reddit thread, Universal Orlando Resort regulars shared some of the most horrifying things they’ve personally witnessed at the Resort’s two Parks. One Guest chipped in with a story from Universal’s Dockside Inn and Suites.
Open since 2020, Universal’s Dockside Inn and Suites is a part of Universal’s Endless Summer Resort together with Surfside Inn and Suites. Built on the former site of the water park Wet ‘n Wild Orlando – which shut its doors in 2016 – the two hotels were built as affordable lodging options for Universal Orlando Resort Guests, with Dockside Inn and Suites taking on a coastal retreat theme.
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Their location means that, unlike other Universal hotels such as Aventura Hotel or Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, you can’t walk to Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, or Volcano Bay from either hotel. On one trip, this Guest experienced a downside to the Dockside Inn and Suites’ location.
“A man tried to human traffic me on the sidewalk in front of Dockside,” they wrote. They explained that the area – which is just off International Drive and Universal Boulevard – is still “sketchy” both “late at night and early in the morning.”
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Fortunately, the Guest in question knew better than to accept the man’s “offer for a room and more.” But as they noted, “If I was targeted, you know for sure others had been targeted and probably accepted his offer.”
While this kind of incident is rare, it’s important to exert caution – even when you’re in vacation mode and on theme park property that you typically consider to be ‘safe.’ We’ve previously seen Walt Disney World employees arrested in a human trafficking sting operation, while in 2019, a man was arrested and charged with the attempted kidnapping of a nine-year-old girl in the locker area of Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure.
Have you ever witnessed anything scary at a theme park? Let us know in the comments!