334-Lb. Eugene Strickland Sues Walt Disney World For $50K After Being Injured On Waterslide, Despite Being Over Weight Limit

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Alessio AtriaJune 7, 2025, 6:59 pmNews >

Florida man Eugene Strickland is suing Walt Disney World for more than $50,000 in damages after he sustained injuries on a waterslide.

On May 29, Strickland filed a complaint against the theme park regarding the incident in Orange County, Florida.

The incident happened at the Blizzard Beach water park in Bay Lake, Florida, and allegedly left the victim with injuries he is still dealing with almost four years later.

While riding the Downhill Double Dipper during a visit to the park in July 2021, Strickland “became momentarily airborne” and suffered “permanent catastrophic injuries as a result,” according to the recently filed complaint.

The complaint also said that, at the time, he weighed almost 334 pounds, which went beyond the ride’s 300-pound weight limit.

It is not clear in the complaint if he was aware of the limit before entering the slide.

While on the ride, Strickland went airborne thanks to the attraction’s design and “exhilarating speeds,” the complaint mentioned, alluding to the ride’s description on the Disney World website.

This caused his inner tube to dislodge from underneath him and made him “land with force onto the hard plastic surface of the slide.”

Because of this, Strickland declared that he “suffered serious bodily injury and resulting pain and suffering, disability, scarring, disfigurement, mental anguish, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life,” the lawsuit stated.

The alleged victim claimed that Disney World was negligent and failed to maintain safe premises. He claimed that the park knew about the “safety hazard” and “concealed trap,” which led to his injuries.

The complaint also claims that the park had a “duty to warn him of dangerous conditions at the DDD high-speed water slide premises.”

Court documents show the case is set for a jury trial starting in May 2027.

“Our client was severely injured on a ride at Disney’s Blizzard Beach,” lawyers John Morgan and Alberto Oliveri said in a statement on behalf of Strickland. “He has filed a lawsuit alleging that it was the defendant’s lax safety measures and oversight that contributed to those injuries. We are pursuing justice for him and working to hold Disney accountable for their alleged negligence.”

In August 2022, a TikTok user revealed that he and other people had been stuck on the “It’s A Small World” ride at Disney World for an hour before the staff even noticed.