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Credit: Video Screenshot, TikTok, @therichbabymommaOn Thanksgiving, a young boy jumped out of Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure Park. Disneyland Resort firefighters responded to rescue the child and found him splashing in the ride water and trying to climb on other rafts.
The guest’s mother reportedly refused to help with the rescue, forcing Disney cast members to drain the attraction and evacuate all guests, hoping to keep the boy safe while first responders tried to lure him out of the restricted area.
Grizzly River Run is a fast-moving river rapids ride at Disney California Adventure Park. Although the ride water may look like any other “river,” there are tracks beneath the surface that make it incredibly dangerous for anyone to swim in.
Not to mention the potential for collision with one of the attraction’s large, heavy raft-like vehicles. In 2016, four people died after a malfunction caused two rafts to collide on a similar river rapids ride at Dreamworld, a theme park in Australia.
Boy Jumps Off Disneyland Ride
The recent incident at Disney California Adventure Park came to light via a viral TikTok video from @therichbabymomma. The user’s post includes a photo of a Disneyland Resort firefighter holding onto the boy, who is leaning on one of the Grizzly River Run ride vehicles, as well as footage of him splashing in the water. He also appeared to remove some of his clothing before eventually agreeing to climb out of the water.
“It’s Thanksgiving day at Disneyland And this kid jumped in the water and shut down grizzly river run,” the Disney Park guest wrote.
@therichbabymomma It’s Thanksgiving day at Disneyland And this kid jumped in the water and shut down grizzly river run ! #disneyland #californiaadventure #thanksgiving #onthisday
After the video garnered over one million views, the TikToker shared more details about the incident. She claimed that the boy stripped naked and defecated in the ride water while his mother refused to help Disneyland Resort firefighters rescue him.
Additionally, the Disney Park guest said riders were stuck on Grizzly River Run for more than an hour and a half as cast members drained the water and firefighters attempted to rescue the child:
“Thanksgiving in this kid decided to take a little swim in grizzly River run. Take off his clothes and then proceeded to take a 💩 .. the mom was around, but didn’t care too much and was super unhelpful.. meanwhile my kids were stuck on the ride for an hour and a half”
In the comments, another Disney Park guest confirmed the TikToker’s account of the situation.
“I was on the ride about to get off when they stopped the ride and I saw when the child jumped into the water,” @destiinybbyy wrote. “Mom showed no sign of even trying to get her son out of the water. It seemed like she wanted to put all the burden and responsibility onto the Disney staff (which they did an amazing job on handling the situation).”
“She was just standing and watching him play in the water while all the staff would bring toys and stuff to try to get him out of the water,” the TikTok user continued. “He even got to climb onto our vehicle which was so dangerous as he couldave fell and hit his head on the metal bar. He was also pulling down his pants and began undressing and mom wouldn’t say anything and just watched.”
Other commenters claimed the family was banned from Disneyland Resort, but this report could not be verified.
Disney Parks Fans Debate
The incident sparked a debate about parenting at the Disney parks. Many social media users slammed the mother for not only allowing her son to climb out of a moving Disneyland Resort ride, but for not helping authorities rescue him.
“How about holding the parents accountable as well,” said @cali.banjoplayer9.
“I have two children on the spectrum and they would never because I would NOT let that happen…,” @tiffanyawinkelnutte replied.
Several commenters said Disneyland Resort should enforce consequences on the family.
“Gonna get banned for life,” @nickydegirolamo commented. “Parents better not cry about it…So dangerous.”
“About 17-18 years ago, I went with my students to Disney and 2 of them did something similar,” @gabriela.magdalen31 wrote. “They banned them and the whole school for 5 years.”
Still, others defended the mother, citing the likelihood that the boy is on the autism spectrum.
“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 argued. “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,” said @rxsemvry24. “I’m so glad they were kind to him it’s not his fault, I empathize with the parents.”
At the time of this article’s publication, Grizzly River Run had reopened and was operating normally. Disneyland Resort has not issued a statement about the incident on the ride on Thanksgiving.
Has another guest’s behavior negatively impacted your Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure Park visit? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments.