Warning: Young Child was Injured on a Disney Coaster

Disney is known for having a high standard for Guest safety. Unfortunately, even with the best intentions accidents can still happen. A young child was recently injured on a Disney coaster. See the photo and what the mother of this young child wants you to know about safety on Disney attractions.

Guest Safety

Disney is known for having a high standard for Guest safety. In fact, it is so important Safety is the #1 key for Cast Members. Let me explain a bit further. Being a Cast Member means experiencing the “Disney Difference” and then passing it on to Disney Guests.

To accomplish the highest quality, Cast Members are instilled with four keys (now five) and those keys are respected through the course of their career with The Walt Disney Company.

Each key is an integral part of the professionalism Cast Members display towards Guests and other Cast Members. Each key is essential, and together they guarantee an exceptional Guest experience.

The keys appear in a specific order based on importance, with Guest safety being #1. Unfortunately, accidents can still happen that put Guests’ safety at risk.

Matterhorn Bobsleds

The Matterhorn Bobsleds attraction is a thrill coaster located at Disneyland Park. In case you have never been on it, Disney describes the ride as:

“Climb into a 6-person bobsled and brace yourself against howling winds as you ascend 80 feet up into an icy cave. Take in the sweeping views at the summit and prepare for a thrilling, high-speed ride. 

Swoop in and out of shadowy caves and along jagged rocky ledges. Throttle through snowy chutes and around frozen precipices. Fly across bridges and under waterfalls before splashing down into an alpine lake. 

The real peril is not snow or sleet! Stories abound of a growling creature known as the Abominable Snowman—who will do anything and everything to protect his home.”

Sounds a lot like Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, doesn’t it? The ride has a 42″ height requirement so fairly young children are able to ride.

Matterhorn Incident

Unfortunately, a young boy was injured on Matterhorn Bobsleds earlier this month while he and his family were visiting Disneyland. His mother gave us the photo and shared her story with us. She hopes it brings awareness to the situation and educates other parents.

It was the family’s first trip to Disneyland and their first time on Matterhorn Bobsleds. The young boy was excited to ride the coaster, but things turned south while on the ride.

The ride is very jerky as described above, and the child was not able to reach the bar in front of him to hold on. He was leaning forward to hold on as much as he could with one hand while he used his other hand to hold on to the side bar. Unfortunately, due to the design of the ride vehicle his father was not able to hold on to him to keep him stabilized.

So on one of the hardest curves, he hit his head on the side of the seat. His left eye lid became injured, and as soon as they got off the ride, Disney Cast Members notified a guard and a nurse to help.

Aftermath

The nurse checked him over, and he was thankfully okay. After about 20 minutes he was ready to continue riding other less intense attractions. Disney told the family that if it became more serious the company would pay the costs of any care he needed to receive.

The young boy ended up going to the hospital later on just to be sure that it was nothing to be concerned about. He got a good report from the doctor, but the incident did leave a nasty bruise on his eye.

WARNING: The photo below shows an injury on a young child.

The photo above was taken three days after the incident. You can see how close the bruise is to his eye. Thankfully, his eyeball was not injured in any way.

Bringing Awareness

The young boy’s family wants to bring awareness to this situation so other parents can be educated on the risk involved with riding Disney attractions.

Even adults have shared that they have been “thrown around” in the ride vehicle on Matterhorn. It is known to be a bumpy ride, but with a 42″ height requirement it should not be bouncing Guests around too forcefully.

Perhaps a higher height requirement or even a re-designing of the lap restraints would help make this ride more safe. Currently, a lap belt is the only thing holding Guests in. A heavier bar like on Space Mountain or even a restraint that pulls down over your head like Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster may be more effective.

The family of this young boy also wants to warn other parents to be knowledgable about attractions in the parks. They regret not doing more research on Matterhorn Bobsleds. Viewing photos or videos would help to know what to expect and decide if the ride is appropriate for your children.

By knowing more about the ride, you can ensure your children know what to hold on to and how to stabilize themselves on any given attraction. However, even with the best information and intentions, injuries are still possible on Disney attractions. Even though Disney Parks are probably the most family and child friendly theme parks in the world, accidents are still a possibility.

We thank the family for sharing this young boy’s story. Hopefully it brings awareness and helps other parents planning vacations for their families.