Guest Sues Walt Disney World Over Injuries Following Alleged Bird Attack at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Matthew Soberman

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Guest Sues Walt Disney World Over Injuries Following Alleged Bird Attack at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

While we wish the birds that land at Walt Disney World were all of the gentle, docile, and possibly Tiki variety, sometimes, the wildlife gets a bit too wild. This is the focus of a recent lawsuit filed against the resort, according to the Orlando Sentinel‘s Gabrielle Russon.

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Lisa Dixon, of nearby Celebration, FL, is suing the resort, claiming that she suffered severe brain injuries following an attack by a bird at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in May 2017. The suit also alleges that Disney knew that seasonal nesting birds could be dangerous. Dixon is seeking damages in excess of $15,000, according to the suit filed in Orange County Circuit Court. The alleged event occurred at the dock for the boat that takes resort guests to the Magic Kingdom and other resorts in the area.

According to Dixon’s lawyer, Thomas Schmitt, the bird “dive-bombed” her head with the force of a baseball, causing her to suffer a traumatic brain injury and herniated discs in her neck. The injuries will require surgery, according to Schmitt. The injury has allegedly affected her ability to focus as well as her personality, “chang[ing] her life,” Schmitt added. The type of bird could not be identified, aside from that it was a seasonal migrating bird.

The suit also claims that Disney didn’t keep the dock safe and failed to properly warn guests about the dangers of birds in the area, lulling Dixon into a false sense that she was safe. Apparently, a “safe” dock is one that has lots of warning signs about birds. Because without the signs, no one would know there are birds flying overhead.

Schmitt claimed, “if there’s a company that’s well-versed in safety, it should be Disney.” A spokeswoman for Disney commented to the Sentinel that they would respond to the allegations in court.

Of course, this is far from the first report of birds being a danger in the area. Just over a week ago, we reported that a pathway at the Magic Kingdom’s Adventureland was temporarily closed due to aggressive birds:

All we can say is that if you’re visiting Walt Disney World, be careful when near birds… especially if they’re wearing sailor suits and no pants.

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Disney Named as Defendant in Fox Theme Park Lawsuit

12 thoughts on “Guest Sues Walt Disney World Over Injuries Following Alleged Bird Attack at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort”

  1. failed to properly warn guests about the dangers of birds in the area, lulling Dixon into a false sense that she was safe

    Does she need someone to warn her every time she walks out of her house that something bad has a chance of happening? What a joke.

  2. I’m sorry this lady got hurt but I believe you can get attack by birds anywhere you walk in the world we live in. I think the overly aggressive birds are responding to the building of too many resorts.

  3. I’m sorry for the women but it says the woman that lives in Celebration Florida which is not that far from disney so she should have known how the birds are and how the animals are here in florida.

  4. Maybe if in general people would stop feeding them (the birds) for which there are plenty of signs. For starters anyway. And I don’t think the number of resorts has anything to do with it as I saw in an another comment.

  5. So I’m not going to defend the woman for filing a lawsuit, but WDW could do more about the birds. A few years ago we were staying at Poly. There was one sign near the entrance to the bungalow walkway closest to the pool warning of nesting birds. However there was no sign at the other entrance and the walkway was still open. I was jogging in the morning and intentionally jogged down the middle of the walkway to get as far away from the trees on both sides as possible. Out of nowhere a blackbird either pecked or clawed me in the head. I screamed in shock and it flew back into the tree behind me. As a grown man, I shook it off and kept jogging, but had that bird done that to my daughter, I would’ve immediately been at the front desk demanding something be done.

    • Disney is responsible for the wild birds? It’s their natural habitat, there are miles of forest and trees, much for conservation efforts. To say Disney can control the bird population is silly- they fly in whenever they please. They live all around Florida. And birds don’t bother you unless they see you as a threat or they want food. Humans are the cause of the latter issue. There was a sign about nesting birds, as you mentioned. The most they could do is put up another, unnecessary sign. Common sense, folks.

  6. Disney please, PLEASE do not cave to this stupidity. Traumatic brain injury, my butt, geez give me a break. As the great band Dire Straits said “Money for nothing and checks for free” that’s what she wants. Her ability to focus, A herniated disc in her neck and personality change. Who’s her lawyer, Michael Avenatti.

  7. She’s obviously not the sharpest tack in the box if she’s only valuing brain damage at $15k.

  8. Are you freakin’ kidding me! These money grab lawsuits are getting ridiculous. No wonder the prices keep going up, Disney has to either make the decision to pay off some of these idiots or spend the legal fees to fight them. It’s no different than everyone’s car insurance going up since everyone claims “injuries” from car wrecks now.

  9. So if a similar attack had happened in the lawyer’s parking lot, would he have given her $15,000?

  10. She actually does have pretty severe brain injuries, I know the family. It seems silly to sue Disney but the brain injury part is true.

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