A 13-year-old boy was taken to hospital after climbing out of his ride vehicle on Tiana's Bayou Adventure at Disneyland in California and sliding down a 15-metre plunge. The incident occurred on Sunday, June 21, 2026, and was captured on video by a park guest. The teen was later released from the hospital, and the ride reopened on Monday after inspection by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Incident Captured on Video
News outlet TMZ obtained a 30-second video showing the boy climbing out of the log flume at the top of the final drop. He appears to try to cling to the side of the mountain set before falling headfirst down the waterfall track behind the flume. A Disney spokesperson told Fox News that a Disneyland cast member immediately stopped the ride after the boy exited the vehicle. The ride remained closed for the rest of the day.
Witness Accounts on Reddit
Multiple park guests who claimed to have seen the fall shared their stories on Reddit. One Reddit witness described the boy sliding down the steep drop before paramedics arrived. Another user who said they were riding the attraction at the time reported that several passengers saw the boy fall moments before the ride came to a stop. “He attempted to exit the ride vehicle at the top of the final drop,” another user wrote, per Fox News. “The ride stop mechanism failed to engage or was already past the threshold for the vehicle to enter free fall.” Another commenter noted that Disneyland security and medical personnel quickly responded to the scene, adding, “Luck was on his side.”
Ride Inspection and Reopening
Following the incident, officials from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health inspected the attraction. They approved the ride to reopen on Monday, as reported by PEOPLE. Tiana's Bayou Adventure, based on Disney's animated film The Princess and the Frog, opened at Disneyland in November 2024, replacing the classic Splash Mountain. The same ride had opened a few months earlier at Walt Disney World in Florida.
