A mom’s story about her son’s injury on a Disney cruise ship has led to real safety improvements in one of the ship’s popular toddler splash pads.
According to Courtney Livingston, her young son was playing in the Finding Nemo splash pad on the 4,000-passenger Disney Dream when he fell from a “coral-shaped structure” and broke his leg (his femur to be exact).
It all happened on a previous sailing. But after being back on the ship again she took to Instagram and posted a reel with this caption:
“After my son fell and broke his leg on the Finding Nemo Splash pad on the Disney Dream, they made it safer!”
Courtney’s reel shows her son being transported off the ship and in the medical facility after the accident. Then the video goes to the changes at the splash pad.
View this post on Instagram
Disney reportedly gave the family a complimentary future cruise after the incident.
When they returned to the same Disney cruise ship, Courtney noticed some safety changes when she went back to the deck 11 splash pad at Nemo’s Reef.
The coral fixture her son fell from is now completely gone. The flooring, which some parents in the comments had called slippery when wet, has also been replaced with a different look and feel.
What Other Parents Said
Other families left comments in the reel and shared their own experiences:
“Sorry to hear about your son! We went last month and my daughter slipped and fell. Luckily she was ok but I was shocked the floor was very slippery. Especially since it’s an area for little kids,” one commenter said.
Another parent wrote:
“We were onboard 2-3 years ago and yes, it was slick. So happy to see they improved it.”
A Positive Update
Accidents like this can happen in any busy play area both on a cruise ship and on land. But this story shows that Disney Cruise Line listened to a family’s experience and made changes so the same thing can’t happen again.
Nemo’s Reef is mainly for children under 4. The recent changes keep the fun while removing at least one potential issue. Disney has not made an official public statement, but the updates were noticeable to Courtey right away, which makes sense after such a serious injury.
Splash pads can be a bit chaotic on any cruise ship. It’s important for parents to keep a close eye on their children and understand that these spaces are in fact slippery. Water shoes can help, but also enjoying these areas during the less busy times can help avoid injury as well.
In this case, I’m glad the little guy is back on his feet and running around again, and I hope he knows how lucky he is to have a mom that takes him on cruises.
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