Theme Park Insider

Get News by E-mail

Accidents Involving Injury at Universal's Islands of Adventure

Official U.S. federal and state data on theme park accidents is almost nonexistent. That's why Theme Park Insider users are creating this visitor-maintained database of theme park accidents--to give public at least some information about attraction safety records.

Do you know of, or have been part of, an accident involving injury at Universal's Islands of Adventure? Report it to Theme Park Insider.

Verified Incidents

(Even though these incidents have been verified, individual reports might contain the opinion of the persons submitting them.)

7/1/2009 - Duelling Dragons - Submitted by ukfloridafun on 7/1/2009

Local news reports that a staff member was injured on Duelling Dragons this morning before the park opened. The staff memeber was taken to hospital. Park officials won't confirm what happened, but say they are doing they can to assist the staff member and the family. The ride remains closed today.

  • Click here if you have additional information.

    • 3/20/2009 - The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad - Submitted by rjscaler on 3/20/2009
    Happened today 3-20-09. at the 3:30 show. The very begining of the adventures of sinbad show the actor which we assumed was sinbad started from a highwire slide from the stage to a platform and fell into the audience and partially on stage props located in the middle of the audience as well... the cord he swong down from snapped and fell at least 1 1/2 stories from mid air into the stands..once that had happened the audience was removed immediately and nothing was said afterwards....went to check the net and newscast about it and nothing.. saw a new chopper show up for a few moments after the incident but not sure if it was pertaining to that accident or not. not much i had found out after that..wondering if the actor was ok???

  • Click here if you have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    Just found this article http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/orl-bk-universal-accident-islands-adventure-032009,0,7485698.story -- Submitted by bigRon on 3/26/2009

    Just found this report about it -- Submitted by bigRon on 3/26/2009

    11/3/2003 - Jurassic Park River Adventure - Submitted by Name Withheld on 3/20/2004
    16 year old Emily M. fractured her wrist and injured her elbow when the boat came to an abrupt stop at the end of the ride, causing her arm to strike a metal part of the seat assembly. There were only about 8 people on the ride at the time (it holds about 30 people when full). She was treated by the park's first aid and then transported to a local hospital for further treatment. She is represented by attorney Elwood Lippincott Jr. of Coral Gables, Florida.

  • Click here if you have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    I read about this in the paper. -- Submitted by El_Scotto on 7/13/2005

    9/23/2003 - Incredible Hulk Coaster - Submitted by robert on 9/23/2003
    A 34-year-old woman was taken to Sand Lake Hospital after she was found unconscious and without a pulse in her seat after her train returned to the station at 2:35 p.m.

  • For more information about this incident, visit http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20030923/lo_wkmg/1801114

  • Click here if you have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    The woman, from Jensen Beach, Fla., was in critical condition Tuesday evening. Her heart was not beating by itself and she is on a respirator. [For more information about this incident, visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-hulkaccident092303.story] -- Submitted by DailyRich on 9/23/2003

    Update: The woman is still critical. Officials inspected the on-ride photo from her train. The photo indicates that she was conscious a short time before the ride entered the station. [For more information about this incident, visit http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-hulk-update092403.story] -- Submitted by FusionAddict on 9/24/2003

    The woman passed away after her family discountinued life support on Saturday. -- Submitted by robert on 10/3/2003

    8/20/2000 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by Name Withheld on 9/10/2001
    A 40-year-old woman was injured on the last drop, when she was propelled out of the seat and slammed back down hard. The ride was actually stopped for a few hours and she was taken off of the ride by paramedics. She sustained a fractured coccyx, herniated cervical discs and other injuries.

  • Click here if you have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    I have spoken to the lawyer representing the individual described above and can confirm the incident from emergency response reports. -- Submitted by robert on 9/10/2001

    2/22/2000 - Incredible Hulk Coaster - Submitted by robert on 5/7/2002
    A 58-year-old woman was left with hearing damage after suffering a concussion from riding.

  • Click here if you have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    She Passed Away -- Submitted by Name Withheld on 10/21/2003

    Unverified Reports

    3/17/2009 - Dueling Dragons - Ice - Submitted by VladimierTpesh on 3/17/2009
    According to the amusement park safety association, there has been no report to comfirm that the safety harness has come loose. The only problem that the ride has encountered in these circumstances is when a rider has purposefully made the harness' loose. As per the lady hitting her leg on the other roller coaster, this is an urban legend and can be found on urban legend websites. When designed, the roller coasters were set far enough apart for a 9 foot man to be able to ride and not touch the other roller coaster, thus in order for the lady to have hit her leg, she would have to be 10 feet tall and could not possibly fit in the regular or larger person chairs. This can be found on the blue prints and designs of the dueling dragons.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • 5/21/2007 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by coasterguy4 on 9/7/2007
    My son was injured on the last drop and hurt his neck. They should install lap bars.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    they did install lap bars as of last year i am supervisor of that ride and as a safety reason we had to install lap bars -- Submitted by wolfie on 10/22/2007

    I know for a fact that lap bars were not installed until at least after July 07' as i was there then with my family and this was the first ride we went on. We didn't know so we screwed up and got in the single riders line and my mom had been on this before so when we got split up she told me to be sure and hold on to the side of the car because there were no lap bars. -- Submitted by WllwnBad on 8/1/2009

    9/30/2006 - The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man - Submitted by jump511 on 9/30/2006
    A child almost died today of some failure. I was in line, and they ran out with a stretcher. Very tragic and sad.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • 7/15/2006 - Dueling Dragons - Ice - Submitted by deadlyhelmet on 7/15/2006
    I've heard from my girlfriend and one or two other friends that the safety restraints have come loose mid-ride (not sure which dragon either). I don't know if this is just an old problem that was fixed quickly (since both occurances happened quite a while ago) or if it's still a problem.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    I have ridden both dragons around 20 times each since IOA opened i have NEVER noticed any problems with the restraints and neither have any of my friends, the fact that they hav seat belt type restraints that fix into the shoulder bars means that even in the unlikelyhood of any faliure the shoulder bars would never fully open up -- Submitted by MALAKAI on 8/28/2006

    I have never heard of this ever happening. I have been to the park at least 48 times a year since 1999, I live in the local park area and never heard or seen anything about this happening. This is false. -- Submitted by hase2$$ on 1/2/2007

    My dads girlfriend and I were riding I think it was ice last march and she was complaining that her restraints were extremely loose and she was scared. personally nothing like this has ever happened to me on these rides, in fact they are my favorite in the park. however when she got off the ride she was ghost white & she was so scared that she wont go back on them again. -- Submitted by AngelSpikez on 6/7/2008

    I rode the ride 20 times that day both sides 10 times each and nothing can happen to the lap bars because they are secured by a seatbelt so nothing can happen -- Submitted by wolfie on 1/5/2008

    6/16/2005 - Jurassic Park River Adventure - Submitted by spoiledone77 on 7/26/2005
    at the end of the ride at the bottom of the 85 foot drop I, 28 yr old female came out of seat a little and hit my tail bone on the seat when the boat came to a stop at the bottom and it still hurts today when I put pressure on the area....

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    I went on it twice in 2004, and that ride has a restraint that is very tight and holds you down good. -- Submitted by aprildot on 7/13/2008

    1/18/2004 - Flying Unicorn - Submitted by Name Withheld on 2/23/2004
    My seven year old son rode the Flying Unicorn and it really whipped him around. When it came to the final stop, the stop was so sudden that he hit his mouth on the side of the car and chipped his front permanent tooth in half.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    I cannot confirm the incident described. When I last rode it (2 years ago) with my granddaughter, we were really whipped around. -- Submitted by garyj4 on 12/2/2007

    12/7/2003 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by Name Withheld on 11/19/2004
    On the final drop, my husband (age 54) said he felt like he was going to be thrown out of the ride, and was then slammed back down hard on his tailbone. He reported it to Universal's health center, who recommended that he go to Sand Lake Hospital. Personnel at Sand Lake told us that they had noted an increase in injuries from this ride. He was prescribed a heavy duty pain killer for a bruised coccyx, and was in pain for 6 months. Universal will not accept any responsibility for his injury.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    the final drop on this ride is pretty intense it is likely that your husband was hurt due to the impact of the splash when you come down it is a very hard jerk but luckily they have recently added a lap bar within the last year or two i have heard -- Submitted by coasterloverx13 on 4/25/2008

    11/26/2003 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by Name Withheld on 3/23/2004
    59 yr old woman experienced being propelled up out of the seat and slammed down hard. Taken off the ride by ambulance, to Sand Lake Hospital who reported no fracture. After two days of travel a CAT scan confirmed a compression fracture at L1.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • 8/6/2003 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by a1stav on 10/13/2003
    I am not one to complain so I did not report this at the time. I was lifted with a little "air time" on the main drop and came down quite hard on my tailbone. It hurt but I figured it would heal fast. It has been a week now and I still feel pain. I have ridden this log ride 3 times before and not had any injury.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    Just to update I have fully healed from my brused tailbone. It took about 2 weeks to fully recover. I will ride this one again. -- Submitted by a1stav on 11/10/2003

    10/1/2002 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by LWard369 on 9/7/2003
    Injuries at Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls... I have been on the ride 3 times on different occasions and will never go on it again!!! The first two times I was thrown into the air landing on the person in front of me; and the last time I was on it I bruised or possbily fractured my coccyx. I didn't report it at the time but it hurt for months afterwards and occassionally it will still bug me every once in a while. It is a very dangerous ride with no restraints what-so-ever and the seat and leg positionings are very uncomfortable, exactly like sitting on a hard log.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    A comment to LWARD369's post about there being no restraints on this ride. There is a hand grab rail on both sides of the vehicle/boat. -- Submitted by rayking on 2/15/2004

    while your in line for this ride there are signs saying please hold on to the grab rail. Now if people had been holding on they would not of been thrown. The park cannot be blamed for a mistake that you have caused. -- Submitted by martini on 11/17/2004

    1/1/2002 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by amberly05 on 6/22/2007
    I've ridden this ride 3 times (in the summer of 2002, 2003 & 2004), and every time I held the hand rails and still came out of my seat on the last drop. I bruised my tailbone twice. It's not worth the pain. I'll never ride again.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • 12/6/2001 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by jnscroy on 5/22/2006
    I rode this with my husband and I did, in fact, hold onto the handrails. I was still lifted out of my seat by quite a few inches and slammed back down, as was he. We both had a painful ride home (8 hours on the road). It took about a week for me to get over my pain. It wasn't enough to ruin the day for me at Universal, but I will never ride this ride again. Also, people who state holding hand rails are enough of a harness to hold someone in a log flume ride such as this, must not understand the laws of physics.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • 11/11/2001 - Poseidon's Fury: Escape from the Lost City - Submitted by Name Withheld on 12/11/2001
    My wife tripped and hurt her ankle. Had to be taken by wheelchair to the car (and on/off the plane coming home). When she returned to work the next day, walking really aggrivated the condition and was sent home - she has been unable to work since. Bad lighting, bad design for safety in exiting the theatre. I let the employees (who were pleasant and helpful) know about this too. They said it would be noted in the accident report.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    Yes, as a klutz, I have tripped over a few things in that show. -- Submitted by El_Scotto on 7/13/2005

    8/19/2001 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by Name Withheld on 9/10/2001
    A 44 yr.old female was seated alone in the last compartment of the ride and was propelled out of the seat after the final descent. Although she felt that she "jarred" her body, she did not report the incident at the time. She sustained a fractured coccyx. She said that if there was somehing on the ride to restrain her or to hold on to, she wouldn't have been injured.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    And yet again, we must update--there ARE bars to hold onto at the side of the boat, and these bars were on the logs as early as 2001. I know this because I've been attending the park since it's opening. -- Submitted by Name Withheld on 8/2/2004

    I would have to agree, ive been going to IOA since it opened in 1999, and ive never had any problem with the rides. Their are hand rails as well as foot notches on the ride to help you brace for the end fall and if you use them you wont have a problem. I myself, as well as friends have gone on the ride and put our arms in the air and never "came out of the seat". -- Submitted by rythecomputerguy on 8/9/2006

    8/1/1999 - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by tucker on 5/21/2003
    My daughter suffered a broken neck while on Dudley DoRight's Rip Saw Falls.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    I have rode dudley du right over 10 times and nothing has happened to me. I do not see how your daughter broke her neck. -- Submitted by 18withM on 12/28/2008

    No Date Reported - Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls - Submitted by Name Withheld on 2/13/2004
    my son was thrown out of the log and landed near the entence, he broke both of his legs.

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    So, what your saying is your son literally flew out of the log like a kite into the air and landed near the entrance -- Submitted by Rollercoasterguy on 9/16/2005

    How was he thrown out of the log? If you mean after the drop, the drop is nowhere near the entrance. Also, the ride slows down to a very slow speed by the time the ride ends. -- Submitted by daydr3am on 9/15/2006

    I don't understand how your son was thrown out of the log and landed in the entrace. I have rode Dudley Do Right 20 times and not 1 thing has happened to me. -- Submitted by 18withM on 8/17/2008

    No Date Reported - Incredible Hulk Coaster - Submitted by superhokiejc725 on 6/29/2005
    I don't know the exact date but I heard about this ride just stopped during the launch and several people were taken to a local hospitol

  • This incident has not been confirmed. Click here if you can verify it, or have additional information.

    • Follow-up:
    That does happen if there isnt enough power to get the coaster through the loops. There is a laser that detects the speed and if it's too slow it will shut down. -- Submitted by schoolsterz123 on 9/2/2006


    If you have additional information that can confirm, clarify or refute any of these reports, please e-mail the editor! (Please don't forget to include the attraction's name in your message.)

    Search Theme Park Insider

    Reader Reviews, by Theme Park

    United States/Canada Top 20 *

    Other U.S. parks

    International parks

    Water parks

    Theme Park Insider on Twitter

    @ThemePark

    New HD video of Cedar Point's Millennium Force: http://bit.ly/5u8iiI That'll fire up your Friday!
    2009-11-20 18:02 Link

    By the way, @HolidayWorld. We're demanding cranberry sauce on the turkey next time! :-) http://bit.ly/6zDSup
    2009-11-20 17:34 Link

    Our vote of the week: Holiday traditions and cranberry sauce: http://bit.ly/6zDSup
    2009-11-20 17:32 Link

    Five Disney legends recall Walt's management style: http://bit.ly/uhv5B #IAAPA2009
    2009-11-20 00:00 Link

    Theme Park Reviews, Features, Advice

    Theme Park News Archive

    2009

    Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov.

    2008

    Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

    2007

    Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

    2006

    Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

    2005

    Dec.

    2004-2005

    Staff column archive