Disney World to Pay $50k After Guest Sustains Injury on Roller Coaster

Disney has settled a lawsuit, agreeing to pay an injured boy’s family $50,000.

Related: Safety Upgrades, Ride Improvements Coming To Decades-Old Disney Attraction

The Walt Disney World Resort has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a boy who was injured during a ride evacuation at the Magic Kingdom. According to new information reported by Florida Politics, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), which acts as Disney World’s government, agreed to pay the boy’s grandfather, Richard McNamara, $50,000.

This agreement does not require Disney to admit any liability over the incident, with both sides paying their own legal expenses.

Related: Woman Kicked Out of Disney World and Charged With Battery After Halloween Altercation

In 2021, Hunter Wanca, a teen from Alabama, was visiting Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park when Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, a popular roller coaster based on Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), malfunctioned. Ride stoppages are not out of the ordinary, not just for Disney but for all theme parks, with riders being left buckled in their seats until further notice.

Hunter was paralyzed from the waist down from a gunshot wound he endured back in 2019, meaning he required extra assistance while loading into and out of the ride. This wound is the reason Hunter was visiting Disney World in the first place, as his classmates had surprised him with a trip to “The Most Magical Place on Earth” in conjunction with a charity organization.

First responders arrived to try to lift Hunter from the ride. In doing so, they over-extended Hunter’s right leg, breaking it at the knee.

A portion of the original lawsuit states that the teen “sustained serious injuries and other damages including, but not limited to, a right distal femur supracondylar fracture.”

The boy’s grandfather, Richard McNamara, was listed as the plaintiff on Hunter’s behalf. The family sued Disney World in 2022 for a sum exceeding $100,000.

The CFTOD, formerly known as Reedy Creek Improvement District, released a settlement this week, which is presumably the final update to this story. Reedy Creek underwent significant changes following threats made by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. These threats were spurred by Disney’s handling of Florida’s highly contentious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which prompted dozens of republican lawmakers and public figures to rally against The Walt Disney Company.

Disney had owned and operated Reedy Creek as its own form of limited government since 1967, but this ownership was transferred to the state of Florida in 2023, with the district being renamed the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.