A note before we start. This post is about a safety issue, not about shaming a person. We are not naming the guest in the video, we do not know what led to what happened, and we are not going to guess. What follows is what the clips appear to show and what every Disney guest should know about riding safely.
A two-part video shared on Instagram on October 6 by the account @chefmike_collantes, tagged at EPCOT, shows a guest breaking a very basic rule on Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros in EPCOT’s Mexico pavilion. Here is what we can see in it.
The first clip is filmed from a boat, looking ahead toward the ride’s festive finale scene with its paper banners and fireworks. A person in a light-colored shirt and dark pants is standing on the ledge at the edge of the water, next to a flower display. The person leans forward and dives head-first into the channel. The second clip is filmed from another boat and shows a group of riders, most in dark shirts and one in a light-colored shirt, with a few of them putting their hands on their heads as the boat passes a lit fountain. We understand that the second clip shows the guest back in a boat, but the video does not make clear exactly what happened between the two clips.
The caption, as we read it, says kids jumped in on the Three Caballeros ride and jokes that it is a quick way to get “the Disney boot.” That is a joke about getting kicked out, not a report that anyone actually was. The people in the video are not identified currently and their ages are not clear, so we are not describing them any further, and we are not/will not be naming anyone. We have not seen a statement from Disney about the incident, and we cannot say when the video was filmed or what happened afterward, so we are describing it with caution.
If you have not ridden it, the Gran Fiesta Tour is one of the gentlest attractions at Walt Disney World. It is a slow, indoor boat ride of roughly seven minutes through the Mexico pavilion’s pyramid, with no height requirement and no drops, where guests float past animated scenes of Donald Duck, José Carioca, and Panchito. It is designed to be calm enough for nearly everyone, and that is exactly why a video like this stops people in their tracks.
Let’s talk about why leaving the boat is such a serious problem.
First, the safety risk to the person. A ride channel is a piece of machinery, not a swimming pool. It is not designed for people to enter, and a dive head first into shallow or unfamiliar water can cause serious injuries, even in a spot that looks harmless. We do not know the depth or conditions in this particular clip, and we are not going to speculate, but that uncertainty is the whole point. Nobody on the ride knows what is under the surface, and that is why the rule exists.
Second, the risk to other guests. When someone leaves a vehicle on a boat attraction, the ride cannot simply keep going. Cast Members have to react, and that can mean stopping the ride or holding boats in place while the situation is handled. We have seen how that plays out before. In a different incident on the same ride in 2023, a guest stepped out of a boat near the end of the ride onto the exit platform, and widely shared video showed other riders waiting, some pleading to be let off, because the boats could not move forward until she returned. In other words, one person’s decision can leave a whole group sitting in the dark. When children are on the ride, that can be frightening.
Third, the risk to Cast Members. They are trained to help guests, and they are put in a very difficult position when someone leaves a ride vehicle and refuses to follow instructions.
So what do Disney’s rules actually say? Walt Disney World’s official park rules ask guests to show common courtesy to fellow guests and Cast Members by not engaging in unsafe, illegal, or disruptive behavior, and they note that access to attractions depends on each attraction’s safety rules. Those attraction rules, which you hear on almost every ride, include staying seated and keeping your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the vehicle at all times. Disney’s notices also warn that guests who do not follow them may be asked to leave Walt Disney World. Disney decides how to handle each situation, and we do not know what, if anything, happened here.
Here are a few simple things to remember before your next ride.
- Stay seated, always. Even on the slowest attraction in the park, the vehicle is part of the safety system.
- Keep everything inside the vehicle. That includes hands, arms, feet, legs, and anything you might drop.
- If you feel sick, scared, or just need to get off, tell a Cast Member. Do not try to leave on your own. Cast Members can help, and they can stop an attraction when they need to.
- Keep an eye on kids. Children under 7 must be accompanied by someone 14 or older to board an attraction, and the person with them should be ready to keep them seated and calm if something unexpected happens.
- Respect the water. Disney’s water features and ride channels are for looking at, not for swimming in. Walt Disney World also has strict rules around its lakes and lagoons for safety reasons.
We will keep following this story and update this post if Disney shares anything about it. For now, let it be a reminder that the best Disney days are the ones where everyone stays in the boat.
We will keep sharing safety tips and guest news from around the parks, so check back with Theme Park Scope for more.
Leave a Reply