ORLANDO, Fla. – Earlier this year, a 25-year-old woman suffered a “hip injury” while going down an Aquatica Orlando water slide and a 42-year-old woman passed out on Universal’s Incredible Hulk Coaster when her blood pressure dropped.
The major theme parks self-disclosed what are supposed to be the most serious injuries at the parks from January through March, according to a new Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services report.
In addition, a 71-year-old woman felt motion sickness on Universal’s E.T. Adventure ride and a 72-year-old woman “became ill” while riding Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom.
A 69-year-old woman also “injured her ankle” at Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride in Epcot’s Mexican Pavilion. A 25-year-old woman injured her hip at Breakaway Falls, part of SeaWorld’s Aquatica. The ride is described on the water park’s website as “the steepest multi-drop tower of its kind in Orlando.”
An Orlando Sentinel investigation found last year the public doesn’t often get the details when someone is hurt at a major theme park. The state theme park injury report doesn’t always clearly describe the injuries and the parks have at times downplayed the extent of visitors’ injuries. For instance, in 2019, Universal said a New York tourist experienced “numbness” after he broke his neck on a Volcano Bay water slide and was unable to move at the bottom of the ride.
“We report what we observe or are told at the time of injury. Once our guest is transported to the hospital, we do not have access to medical records or diagnosis information due to privacy laws,” Universal spokesman Tom Schroder told the Sentinel last year.
State Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is an outspoken critic of Gov. Ron DeSantis which has led to speculation Fried may run for governor, has declined to be interviewed multiple times, including last week, about whether her department plans to make any changes to make the theme park injury more accurate.
Her spokesman Franco Ripple declined to provide any updates last week after he said in January, “Additional discussions to specifically address accident reporting will take place in the coming weeks.”
Compared with California, Florida’s theme parks have little government oversight, and Comcast Corp.-owned Universal and the Walt Disney Company are major lobbying forces and political donors in the Sunshine State.
To make changes, “There has to be the political will to do it,” Ben Wilcox of the nonprofit Integrity Florida, told the Sentinel last year. “In the past, that political will has just not been there. It’s been because of the hold that these industries have on our Legislature and state policymakers.”
Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Legoland are required to report the most serious injuries where visitors are hurt on the rides and hospitalized for at least 24 hours.
