Disney Park Added to “Most Dangerous Theme Parks” List

Since the original Disneyland Park first opened, Disney Theme Parks have been known for being the most in levels of happiness and magic. The Disneyland Resort is officially known as “The Happiest Place on Earth” (and every other Disney Park from Disney California Adventure to Disneyland Paris carries this unofficially) and Walt Disney World Resort is officially known as “The Most Magical Place On Earth.” But it turns out that one Disney Park is also one of the most dangerous theme Parks.

According to a report from The Family Vacation Guide, a list of the most dangerous Theme Parks was released based on the number of accidents reported going back to 1980. Out of the scores of Theme Parks across the United States, Disneyland Park landed in third place.

Over the past 40 years, Disneyland has reported 33 accidents, some of which were fatal, including one incident in which a 22-year-old man died when a wheel bearing came off the locomotive unit of a coaster train at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in 2003. There have also been some more recent accidents at Disneyland that are not necessarily due to poor safety measures on rides, such as a 51-year-old school principal and a 46-year-old woman deciding to take their own lives by jumping from one of Disneyland’s multilevel parking structures in December 2022 and February 2023 respectively.

But the most dangerous Theme Park was reportedly Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, which recorded 49 accidents over the past few decades.

The Disneyland Resort, and the entire Disney Parks division as a whole, continues to pride itself on the level of quality and safety its Cast Members and Imagineers are able to maintain for the Guest experience, and specifics regarding all of the accidents are unclear at this time. As social media trends pressure Guests to make their Theme Park Experience more and more dangerous, one has to wonder just how safe can Disney truly make a Disney Theme Park or Disneyland ride from not just bad mechanics, but from unsafe Guest behavior perpetrated viral-hungry humans chasing a TikTok trend.