Incidents at Universal parks

This is a summary of notable incidents that have taken place at various Universal-owned theme parks, amusement parks, or water parks. This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event, but only those that have a significant impact on the parks or park operations, or are otherwise significantly newsworthy.

The term incidents refers to major accidents, injuries, or deaths that occur at a Universal park. While these incidents were required to be reported to regulatory authorities due to where they occurred, they usually fall into one of the following categories:

  • Caused by negligence on the part of the guest. This can be refusal to follow specific ride safety instructions, or deliberate intent to violate park rules.
  • The result of a guest's known, or unknown, health issues.
  • Negligence on the part of the park, either by ride operator or maintenance.
  • Act of God or a generic accident (e.g. slipping and falling), that is not a direct result of an action on anybody's part.

Universal Orlando
Main article: Universal Orlando

Universal's Islands of Adventure
Main article: Universal's Islands of Adventure

Doctor Doom's Fearfall
Main article: Doctor Doom's Fearfall
  • In 2019, a 62-year-old woman suffered motion sickness after riding the attraction.[1]

Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls
Main article: Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls
  • On January 1, 2011, a major fire broke out on the attraction's show building. The ride and the park's Toon Lagoon area were evacuated. No injuries were reported.[2]

Dragon Challenge
Main article: Dragon Challenge
  • On July 1, 2009, an employee was walking underneath the coaster in a restricted area when he was hit by a train during a test run. The victim suffered multiple head injuries and was taken to nearby Orlando Regional Medical Center.[3]
  • On July 31, 2011, a tourist was injured when an unidentified object hit him in the eye while riding Dragon Challenge. Prior to the incident, the guest had only one good eye, therefore the incident resulted in the guest completely losing his sight. Dragon Challenge remained shut for less than 24 hours after the incident with Universal concluding that the ride was safe.[4][5][6]
  • On August 10, 2011, a rider was struck by an object while riding the attraction, injuring his face and leg. As a result of this and the aforementioned incident in which a rider lost sight in one eye, Universal officials announced that the two roller coasters would no longer operate simultaneously, pending an investigation into both incidents.[7] In October 2011, officials suspended the dueling aspect of the ride permanently.[8]

Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
Main article: Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
  • On October 2, 2019, the park temporarily shut down the ride after a swarm of honey bees surrounded the whole area of the attraction. It reopened later that evening.[9]
  • On August 11, 2020, a minor backstage fire caused the ride to shut down. The fire was quickly extinguished, and no one was injured. The ride is closed until further notice. [10]

Skull Island: Reign of Kong
Main article: Skull Island: Reign of Kong
  • On December 10, 2016, a 38-year-old man who was a tourist from Guatemala felt ill after riding the attraction. Due to him not being able to join his family, he had to sit on a bench that was closest to him while they enjoyed their visit by going on other rides at the park. By the time his family returned, they were horrified to find out that he collapsed and died after sitting on the park bench. Two years later in 2018, a lawsuit was filed against the park stating that none of the signs used for the attraction were in Spanish.[11]

The Incredible Hulk Coaster
Main article: The Incredible Hulk Coaster
  • On September 23, 2003, a 34-year-old Godiva sales manager from Jensen Beach, Florida suffered a heart attack from an unknown heart condition while riding The Incredible Hulk coaster. She was rushed to Sand Lake Hospital in critical condition, but never regained consciousness and died shortly after being taken off of life support.[12][13]

Halloween Horror Nights
Main article: Halloween Horror Nights
  • On October 28, 2015, two guests were arrested and charged with battery for attacking "scare actors" during the Halloween Horror Nights event.[14] At least two scare actors quit after the attacks.[15]

Universal Studios Florida
Main article: Universal Studios Florida

Parkwide incidents
  • On September 30, 2016, at around 10:00 am local time, a "catastrophic" failure knocked out power to the entire Universal Studios Florida theme park. Park employees were able to evacuate riders from most attractions, but the Orlando Fire Department was called in to assist with some evacuations from the Men in Black: Alien Attack and Transformers attractions. Initial reports did not indicate a cause of the failure, but the adjacent Universal's Islands of Adventure park was unaffected.[16]

E.T. Adventure
  • On January 31, 2019, an 11-year-old boy visiting from Brazil was injured when his foot became wedged between the ride's unloading platform and a vehicle, breaking multiple bones in the process. Due to this incident, the attraction has changed its operational procedures.[17]

Hogwarts Express
  • On October 1, 2016, a man and a 14-year-old girl were injured when an e-cigarette exploded on the ride.[18]
  • On August 16, 2017, the Hogwarts Express suffered two separate incidents in which the ride broke down, stranding riders between stations. Calls to 911 indicated that fights and riots broke out on the train before passengers were evacuated.[19][20][21][22]

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
Main article: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
  • On August 1, 2013, an unidentified woman received minor injuries when the ride came to a sudden stop.[23]
  • In August 2014, an 11-year-old boy was hit with a flip knife in the head which had fallen from the Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster, and was rushed to the hospital for the injury.

Men in Black: Alien Attack
Main article: Men in Black: Alien Attack
  • On November 8, 2016, emergency crews were summoned to the attraction at around 2:30am to attend to a maintenance worker who had no pulse. The worker was found in the rafters of the attraction building. The worker was declared dead, but no cause of death was revealed, although park officials did state that the ride itself was not involved.[24]

Revenge of the Mummy
Main article: Revenge of the Mummy
  • On September 21, 2004, a 39-year-old man from Apopka, Florida fell approximately 4 feet (1 m) off the loading platform as he was attempting to step into the ride vehicle. He suffered injuries to his head and noted pain due to the fall. He was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center for surgery and died the next day.[25]
  • On September 23, 2004, a 67-year-old woman was injured when her arm became stuck between a handrail. The ride was temporarily shut down following an investigation and continued to resume normal operational hours after it was deemed safe.[26]
  • On September 20, 2009, a 57-year-old man suffered chest pain while riding Revenge of the Mummy.[27]

Shrek 4-D
Main article: Shrek 4-D
  • On February 15, 2014, a 35-year-old woman suffered stomach pain while watching Shrek 4-D.[28]

The Simpsons Ride
Main article: The Simpsons Ride
  • On June 13, 2008, guests in one ride vehicle were sprayed with a nontoxic substance described as a "derivative of vegetable oil". No injuries were reported, and the guests were given a change of clothes and allowed to shower at the property. The park identified the source of the oil but were not able to determine the cause of the incident, and the unaffected ride vehicles remained open.[29][30]

Universal CityWalk Orlando
Main article: Universal CityWalk § Universal CityWalk Orlando
  • On April 22, 2011, a 33-year-old man from Winter Haven, Florida was found unconscious in front of the Universal Cineplex 20 theater after being tased by an off-duty police officer due to disorderly conduct. The man was taken to Dr. P. Phillips Hospital and later died.[31][32]

Universal Studios Hollywood
Main article: Universal Studios Hollywood

Backlot fires
Main article: Studio Tour

Backlot Tour
  • On April 6, 2016, a tram collided with a sign that was protruding onto the roadway. Injured passengers were treated on the scene.[33]

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
  • On April 3, 2015, a man fatally shot himself in a designated smoking area near the Despicable Me attraction. His weapon had not been detected by park security because, at the time, guests were not required to pass through metal detectors upon entering the park.[34]

E.T. Adventure
  • On February 17, 1992, a 9-year-old girl injured her leg while stepping in front of a moving platform.[35]

Guest Accidents
  • On November 17, 2008, one of the escalators from inside the park malfunctioned and threw eight people off it. The guests were taken to the hospital, all suffering minor injuries.[36]

Jurassic Park: The Ride
Main article: Jurassic Park: The Ride
  • On June 29, 1996, a week after the attraction officially opened to the public, a malfunction occurred, spraying more than 100 passengers with hydraulic fluid. Four people were sent to Mullikin Medical Center with minor injuries.[37]
  • On August 9, 1996, seven passengers suffered injuries when two boats collided into each other.[38]

Universal CityWalk Hollywood
Main article: Universal CityWalk § Universal CityWalk Hollywood
  • At 1:15 am on May 12, 2014, a suspect was fatally shot by Los Angeles Police Department officers at Universal CityWalk. Officers were called to a fight in a crowd at a club. A man was seen carrying a gun outside the club who was promptly shot to death by police. Two civilians were injured while running away, but none of them from gunfire.[39]

Halloween Horror Nights
Main article: Halloween Horror Nights
  • On November 2, 1986, during Halloween Horror Nights (which back then was "Fright Nights"), scare actor Paul Rebalde Brooks who was supposed to scare the attendees at The Terror Tram (a night time version of the Backlot Tour) fell between two of the tram cars and was crushed to death by a tram. This tragic event caused Universal Studios Hollywood to give the event a hiatus until six years later in 1992 under the current name "Halloween Horror Nights".[40][41]

Universal Studios Japan
Main article: Universal Studios Japan

E.T. Adventure
Main article: E.T. Adventure
  • In November 2004, a 35-year-old woman from Osaka Prefecture, Japan suffered nerve damage in her right wrist, resulting in the loss of use of two of her fingers and, ultimately, losing her job. This occurred when her hand got stuck in a safety bar as an employee pulled it down to secure it. The woman sued the park and received an out-of-court settlement in 2006.[42]

Volcano Bay
Main article: Volcano Bay

Puihi
  • On August 23, 2017, a 13-year-old girl from New Jersey suffered a head injury while riding the Puihi water slide at the park. She fell out of the raft and was trapped underneath it and nearly drowned. The girl was unable to stand up on her own after being rescued from the water and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and recovered. Almost a year later, on April 16, 2018, her family filed a lawsuit against the park.[43]

Guest Incidents
  • On December 27, 2018, a 26-year-old man from South Carolina allegedly molested a 10-year-old girl while they were on Kopiko Wai Winding River. He was arrested by the police and was also charged with lewd and lascivious behavior for molesting a child under the age of 12.[44]
  • On June 2, 2019, multiple people were sent to the hospital after feeling electrical shocks throughout most of the attractions at the park. The park closed early and reopened the next day.[45]

Universal Studios Singapore
Main article: Universal Studios Singapore

Battlestar Galactica
Main article: Battlestar Galactica (roller coaster)

On April 6, 2016, guests were stuck on both Human and Cylon coasters for half an hour when a technical error occurred on the ride.The ride closed early and reopened at 5:30pm the very same day.

References
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