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Credit: Video Screenshot, Instagram, @cee_702_Last month, a Walt Disney World Resort guest reportedly defecated on the “Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid” attraction at Magic Kingdom Park and walked away, leaving Disney cast members to clean up human waste on the floor of the seashell-shaped ride vehicle. Another Disney Park guest shared a video in the aftermath of the incident, which forced cast members to temporarily halt operations on the Fantasyland dark ride.
“Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid”
“Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid” is a slow-moving dark ride that retells the story of The Little Mermaid (1989), one of the most beloved Walt Disney Animation Studios movie musicals of all time. The Magic Kingdom Park attraction is particularly popular among families, as it has no height requirement and allows small groups to sit together in their own magical seashell.
Guest Defecates on Disney World Ride
Unfortunately, last month, one Walt Disney World Resort guest brought an unsavory part of the human world to Ariel’s undersea adventure. On November 26, Instagram user @cee_702_ shared a video of Disney cast members cleaning one of the shell-shaped ride vehicles after a guest reportedly defecated on the Magic Kingdom Park attraction.
In the video, Disney cast members had already stopped the constantly moving attraction to allow the custodial team to sanitize the affected ride vehicle. Other Disney Park guests watched and waited for their turn on “Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid.”
It’s unclear how long the Magic Kingdom Park attraction was broken down, but it has since reopened and was operating normally at the time of this article’s finalization.
Two Incidents in a Few Weeks
Shockingly, this is the second defecation-related incident at the Disney parks in just a few weeks. In late November, Inside the Magic covered a terrifying incident at Disney California Adventure Park, which also sparked a viral social media video.
Multiple videos posted by TikTok user @therichbabymomma showed a young boy splashing in the water on the Grizzly River Run ride at Disneyland Resort.
According to several Disney Park guests, the boy climbed out of the raft and jumped into the water, and his mother reportedly refused to help firefighters rescue the child from the water, which contains dangerous ride mechanisms. He allegedly also stripped and defecated in the water.
@therichbabymomma It’s Thanksgiving day at Disneyland And this kid jumped in the water and shut down grizzly river run ! #disneyland #californiaadventure #thanksgiving #onthisday
The video sparked a heated debate about parental responsibility at the Disney parks. Some social media users called for empathy, suggesting that the child may be autistic.
“For the people saying that if he’s on the spectrum it shouldn’t matter, you obviously don’t know what a parent goes through with a child with a disability,” @kitty_scorsese wrote. “At times our kids are super fast that even when we are helicoptering them they get away fast.”
“My boy on the spectrum RUNS to bodies of water because he loves to swim and splash around so we have to hold him close around water,” @rxsemvry24 replied. “I’m so glad they were kind to him it’s not his fault, I empathize with the parents but there definitely needs to be more precaution around water now that they know he’ll do this.”
Still, many Disney Parks fans blamed the boy’s parents for allowing him to climb into the water and then refusing to help first responders evacuate him.
“I’m seriously so sad how the spectrum has become an excuse for child endangerment,” said @xomiss.brittany. “There’s literally blades on that track.”
“Spectrum or not parents have to do a better job of controlling the situation,” @burntwater6 agreed. “He could’ve seriously been hurt then what?”
Grizzly River Run was shut down for several hours in response to this incident, but has since reopened.
What’s the grossest thing you’ve seen at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments!