A Pennsylvania woman was confined to the first floor of her home for more than a year after shattering her lower leg in a freak accident while waiting to board a Little Mermaid-themed ride at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom amusement park, according to a federal lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.
In her complaint, Deborah Montgomery, 61, who suffers from chronic arthritis and was using an electric mobility scooter to navigate the Lake Buena Vista, Florida park, says she was lined up for Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid in August 2024 when her left foot “became lodged in a six-inch crevice of the cave wall.”
Montgomery, who was vacationing with her family, had “proceeded through the serpentine queue with curves and turns at a normal pace,” the complaint states.
However, it goes on, the wall to Montgomery’s left was “irregularly shaped,” and was festooned with “protrusions to comport with the theme of an underground cave.”
As Montgomery approached the area where guests line up to board the ride, the floor “became dramatically sloped,” creating a six-inch crevice between it and the cave wall that “narrowed as the floor slope increased,” the complaint alleges.
It says Montgomery’s left foot “became wedged in the crevice while the [scooter] continued moving forward.”
“As a result, [Montgomery] suffered a fractured left fibula… and [was] confined to the first floor of her home for more than a year,” according to the complaint.
open image in galleryThe complaint, which was filed August 6 in Philadelphia federal court, blames the existence of the crevice on “excessive running and cross slopes by more than four to seven times applicable codes,” or, walkways and surfaces too steep for people to safely use.
Attorney Alan Zibelman, who is representing Montgomery, claims Disney’s priorities were misaligned in designing the Little Mermaid ride, a slow-moving “dark ride” that moves guests through scenes from the 1989 animated classic.
“In creating the desired aesthetic of the cave and grotto for the Under the Sea attraction the designing architects or engineers created a foreseeable dangerous condition for guests using electric scooters which are now very commonly used in the Disney parks offered through affiliate vendors,” Zibelman told The Independent. “Disney is notoriously known for defending claims and we are hopeful to obtain a reasonable settlement for our client.”
A Disney spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
“Board a clamshell and become part of Ariel’s world on a musical adventure awash with scenes from the animated classic,” Disney World’s website tells visitors of Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid. “Your underwater adventure takes you below the waves on a tour of Ariel’s gadget-filled grotto. Immersive special effects and hand-drawn animation sequences recreate each unforgettable scene. Watch Sebastian the crab conduct every singing, dancing fish in the sea. Skulk past a sinister eel-infested lair, and then cheer as Prince Eric kisses the girl.”
It points out that while the “delightful adventure” transports guests “under the sea, there is no actual water[,] and you will not get wet.
Still, the ride has allegedly led to a variety of injuries and related issues in the past.
At least two Disney World visitors have reported having seizures while riding Under The Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, according to data compiled by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
open image in galleryIn 2022, a 61-year-old woman claimed to have experienced “stroke-like symptoms” during the ride.
The following year, a young girl reportedly had a terrifying reaction to an insect bite inside the ride and had to be carried to the exit for medical treatment, shutting down the attraction for 10-plus minutes as Disney employees attempted to reassure impatient guests that “everything was fine.” Paramedics stabilized the tot, who fully recovered. However, other riders “had the audacity to complain about the stall,” one staffer later said.
Other Disney World attractions have felled visitors, as well, according to Florida state records. In May, a 54-year-old Disney guest suffered a fatal heart attack while enjoying the It’s A Small World ride; a 44-year-old man collapsed after riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2023 and later died “from a personal illness;” and in 2019, a 44-year-old woman “experienced sudden memory loss” after floating down the Castaway Creek lazy river attraction.
For Montgomery’s part, her complaint accuses Disney of, among other things, “failure to provide a safe means of ingress and entrances” to the Little Mermaid ride; “[f]ailure to inspect or maintain the pathways leading to the embarkment platform” of the ride; and “[a]llowing the design and construction of the pathways… of the attraction to have a 20 percent running slope at at the area under the crevice which caused plaintiffs foot to become wedged[,] which is four times greater than the permissible slope of 5 percent.”
On top of Montgomery’s broken fibula, her husband, Matthew – a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, claiming loss of consortium – says he has been “deprived of the aide [sic], comfort, society, and companionship of his wife” due to Disney’s “negligence, carelessness, and/or recklessness.”
He further contends that he has lost sleep, that his career and earnings have suffered, and that he has “suffered loss of life’s pleasure and was caused great inconvenience all to his loss and detriment.”
Montgomery’s complaint says her fibula fracture is “serious and permanent,” and that she has endured “severe and permanent shock to her central nervous system.” She “remains unable to continue and pursue a normal life,” has “incurred medical expenses in the treatment of her injuries and will continue to accrue future medical expenses,” and will “continue to remain impaired into the foreseeable future.”
The couple are now demanding a money judgment to be determined by a jury.