Family Suing Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel After Six-Year-Old Drowns in Its Pool

Last December, the Xu Family from North Carolina took a vacation to Disney World to ring in the New Year. That vacation ended in tragedy when the family’s six-year-old daughter drowned in the pool at the Crowne Plaza in Lake Buena Vista, a Disney World Good Neighbor Hotel.

The Xu family is now preparing to sue the hotel, claiming that the hotel and other parties are “responsible for the dangerous conditions” that may have contributed to Mia’s death. The family is being represented by attorneys Michael Haggard and Maegan Bridwell of the Haggard Law Firm.

The Xu family arrived in Orlando on December 27, 2024. On the night they arrived, Mia’s father took her and her sister down to the pool area to relax after a day of traveling. Haggard said that Mia’s father was no more than 10 feet away from his daughters the entire time they were in the pool.

Without warning, Mia’s sister came running to her father to tell him that Mia was at the bottom of the pool. He was able to jump in to retrieve her, but she was unresponsive. Mia died four days later at the hospital.

According to Haggard, there was no lifeguard on duty that night, despite signs indicating that one would be present. The lawsuit also claims that the pool had unique water features that made it challenging to see Mia at the bottom of the pool.

“The water features created a continuous ripple effect across the surface, resulting in a chaotic visual distortion. The pool had a unique feature that created a funnel, basically an undertow — a death trap for children,” Bridwell said.

In June, a five-year-old drowned in another Disney area hotel pond after he wandered away from his family. For years, Florida had the highest rate of unintentional drownings for children ages one to five. Haggard also said that the state does not have any statutes for water features in pool areas.

The Xu family said that it plans to file its lawsuit in the near future. The Crowne Plaza is located just east of the Walt Disney World Resort and is one of 25 Good Neighbor Hotels.