115 Guests Injured on Punga Racers at Universal’s Volcano Bay, Records Reveal

Jessica Figueroa

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115 Guests Injured on Punga Racers at Universal’s Volcano Bay, Records Reveal

Universal’s Volcano Bay has been the subject of many news headlines, both for its innovation in themed water parks, and also unfortunately for its mishaps.

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According to the Orlando Sentinel‘s Gabrielle Russon, at least 115 guests have reported injuries on Punga Racers slides at the water park, including one man who ended up paralyzed back in July 2019 and placing a lawsuit against Universal.

While minor injuries, like scrapes and nosebleeds, are fairly common at water parks as a whole, Punga Racers has a history of guests suffering injuries such as concussions, neck whiplash, but only one guest has made it onto state injury records for the park, and that was James Bowen, who became paralyzed after a ride on Punga Racers. Bowen has since filed suit and seeks damages of over $15,000 after undergoing extensive physical therapy.

Universal responded in a statement Wednesday regarding the reported injuries on Punga Racers:

“We take every injury seriously and have a safety-first culture that places the safety of our guests and team members above everything else. When there is an injury of any kind, we immediately begin an investigation and review.”

Universal spokesman Tom Schroder
punga racers refurb volcano bay
Punga Racers was dismantled for a lengthy refurbishment earlier this summer at Universal’s Volcano Bay.

Changes have taken place at Punga, which recently underwent a refurbishment to modify the ride into a feet-first body slide, sans mats. Universal also claims that many of the injuries that took place at the slides are due to guests not following the proper rules, such as maintaining proper riding position throughout the slide.

Documents revealing these injuries were made briefly public on the Orange Circuit Court website. You can read a full breakdown of the 115 reported injuries from May 2017 through April 2019 here.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

7 thoughts on “115 Guests Injured on Punga Racers at Universal’s Volcano Bay, Records Reveal”

  1. Its a body slide with a mat, so I have no doubt most or half the injuries are caused by human stupidity, if this is the case, none of the people should be suing,or looking for money. But they will probably have to close that ride down

  2. CLICK BAIT HEADLINE. Stop with the needless sensationalism. From your horrible headline, most people would assume 115 guests were injured at once. STOP IT.

    • It’s clear with the “records reveal” that it’s speaking about historical injuries. Besides, if 115 people got injured at once, you wouldn’t only be hearing about it on a Disney blog. Refusing to pander to people who can’t read critically isn’t sensationalism.

  3. I’m stuck with $20k+ in medical bills after getting a bad concussion on this ride in August of 2017. I tried to lawyer up but after a year in back-and-forth, their attorneys basically said “how can you get a concussion from a foam mat?” My lawyers gave up. And I’m still getting medical treatment for it. I thought I was the only one.

    • That sucks. I hit my head on the bottom of the pool on one of the family raft slides when it reached the end and the shock of the stop knocked me out. The lifeguard yelled at me and accused me of not holding the handles and refused to get me help when I asked for it.

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