The guest who filed a ‘Permanent Catastrophic Injuries’ lawsuit against Walt Disney World has dropped the case.
‘Permanent Catastrophic Injuries’ Dropped
In May 2025, Eugene Strickland filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney World citing “dangerous conditions” at Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park. He is now dropping his lawsuit.
Strickland visited Blizzard Beach Water Park in July 2021. During his visit, he chose to ride the Downhill Double Dipper, despite exceeding the slide’s posted weight limit. It was reported that Strickland weighed 334 pounds at the time of the incident, while the weight limit for the attraction is 300 pounds.
Downhill Double Dipper is a slide at Disney’s Blizzard Beach where guests can race each other in pairs down twin waterslides. Guests are seated on an inner tube and drop down a 50 foot hill. The description of the attraction on the Walt Disney World website describes how guests “plummet 50 feet downhill at exhilarating speeds.”
According to the description of the incident in Strickland’s lawsuit, he became “momentarily airborne” as a result of the slide, and his inner tube became dislodged:
While sliding down… (Strickland) became momentarily airborne as a result of the ride’s “exhilarating speeds” and design, resulting on Disney’s inner tube becoming forcibly, suddenly, and unexpectedly dislodged from underneath (Strickland’s) body.
Strickland vs. Disney, via News 6 WKMG
In his lawsuit, Strickland was originally suing for $50,000 in damages, claiming Disney was negligent and failed to maintain a safe premises and that the waterslide had “dangerous conditions.” He stated that during the incident his inner tube became dislodged, he landed on the surface of the Blizzard Beach slide, and he is now suffering from “permanent catastrophic injuries.”
On October 2, 2026, Strickland filed to voluntarily dismiss his claims, leaving both sides to pay their own attorney fees and costs.
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The post Guest Drops ‘Permanent Catastrophic Injuries’ Lawsuit Over Blizzard Beach Waterslide appeared first on WDW News Today.
