A 13-year-old boy has luckily survived, and already been released from a hospital where he was checked out, after falling down the 50-foot plunge featured in the Disneyland thrill ride known as Princess Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. The ride is based on the 2009 animated film “The Princess and the Frog,” and occupies the space that formerly housed the park’s “Song of the South” themed ride called Splash Mountain.
GettyThe new attraction, which opened at Disneyland in November 2024, kept several features of the former ride, most notably the steep log flume drop that used to drop guests into a fanciful briar patch. A Los Angeles Times report says it was at this part of the ride that a 13-year-old boy climbed out of his ride vehicle and slid down the drop.
A 2025 video of the full ride shows an announcement through a speaker instructing guests, “Please keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the vehicle.” The announcement also tells riders to “remain seated.”
Disneyland Briefly Shuts Down Princess Tiana Ride After Child Falls Down the Flume
The incident led to park employees shutting down the ride, and a Reddit user reported seeing the boy slide down the flume in a discussion thread about why the ride was closed. They wrote, “I was in the ride when this happened I actually saw the kid fall down the hill for a second when our log passed the fall. 4 people in our log saw it and then one minute later the ride stopped for probably 10 minutes then it started again we went throughout the ride like nothing happened when we got off there were about 6 Disney police and a mother and two kids were with them all soaked.”
It was not immediately clear whether the boy fell down, or intentionally slide down the flume. Another comment in the same Reddit discussion seemed to suggest the fall looked like an accident. The comment reads, “13 year old boy, he slid backside down the 50ft drop. He attempted to exit the ride vehicle at the top of the final drop. the ride stop mechanism failed to engage or was already past the threshold for the vehicle to enter free fall.”
Disneyland Officials Address Princess Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Incident
In an X post, travel reporter Scott Gustin says he learned, “Disneyland officials say a 13-year-old guest exited a ride vehicle on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure on Sunday before the attraction ended. The ride was immediately stopped, and the guest was evaluated at a hospital and later released. The attraction reopened and is operating today.”
People says after a safety inspection, the ride was approved to reopen by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
TMZ says a Disneyland source told them the 13-year-old was transported to a local hospital as a precaution, where he was evaluated and released.
The Disneyland focused blog Inside the Magic points out the park’s statement does not explain how the child got out of the ride vehicle.
Log flumes rides generally cannot have restraints because it would pose a drowning risk in case the ride were to become trapped underwater.
