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Credit: Inside the MagicWalt Disney World Resort has unveiled a new safety measure, designed to prevent future incidents like the one that unfolded in July.
While accidents are far and few between at Disney World, they can – and do – happen. At Magic Kingdom, for example, past incidents have included a guest who lost their fingertips while riding the Pirates of the Caribbean.
Several incidents and injuries have been reported for performers in Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! at Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the years, while the Disney World monorail famously crashed in 2009, resulting in one fatality.
Disney World’s Ferry Incident
One of the more recent accidents to occur at Disney World involved the ferry used to take guests between the Transportation & Ticket Center and Magic Kingdom in July.
Blog Mickey obtained the 911 incident log from the night of the ferryboat crash, revealing details about the injuries sustained. According to the report, 19 guests were hospitalized, including a 25-year-old pregnant woman who reportedly landed on her stomach during the impact.
The first 911 call came in at 11:40 p.m., describing a “hard landing” at the Transportation and Ticket Center. Units arrived within minutes to find chaos compounded by heavy rain. One witness recalled that “people weren’t just falling, they were flying.”
Emergency responders declared a “mass casualty incident,” indicating multiple injuries requiring attention but none life-threatening. Roughly 20 people were treated at the scene, with 19 transported to four local hospitals. Reported injuries included fractures and joint trauma, including one guest with a broken foot and another with wrist, elbow, and hip injuries.
Disney Implements Changes To Prevent Further Injuries
In the wake of the incident, Disney removed all of the trash cans – one of which apparently pinned or hit a child during the crash – from its ferries.
Now, it has taken things a step further.
Disney has reportedly reintroduced trash cans to the ferries. However, it has opted to bolt them down with 36 anchor points so they don’t go flying in the event of another crash.
According to Blog Mickey, two metal sheets are positioned on either side of the structural pole beside the trash cans. Each sheet appears to be fastened to a trash can but not directly connected to the pole itself.
These changes come in the wake of several deaths reported on Disney World property in recent weeks.
In October, 31-year-old Summer Equitz died by suicide after falling from a balcony at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. Just days later, a man in his 60s died of natural causes after suffering a medical episode at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campgrounds.
Later in October, another suicide was reported at Disney’s Contemporary Resort. This time, Matthew Cohn was said to have died from “multiple traumatic injuries.”
On Sunday, a woman was also reported to have died at Disney’s Pop Century Resort. While authorities confirmed that there were no signs of foul play, no other information about the woman’s identity or her cause of death has been released as of writing.