Several guests have now spoken out regarding their experiences when the ferryboat crash occurred at Magic Kingdom earlier this week.
Ferryboat Crash at Magic Kingdom
The Orange County Fire Rescue Department and Osceola County Fire Rescue & EMS confirmed to FOX 35 that they assisted the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District’s Fire Department with Wednesday night’s incident.
During a storm on Wednesday night, July 30, 2025, the General Joe Potter ferryboat reportedly hit the Transportation and Ticket Center dock late in the night. According to PulsePoint, there was a mutual aid call at 12:02 a.m. corresponding to the address for the TTC ferryboat landing. “Mutual Aid” in this case refers to reciprocal assistance from multiple agencies across jurisdictional boundaries, particularly when the emergency is too big for one agency to handle. The call was closed at 2:06 a.m.
We previously reported there were a total of 19 transports to local hospitals, with at least eight people having major injuries. Dozens of others were treated on site, according to eyewitness reports on social media. We don’t know the distribution of injuries among guests versus Cast Members.
Guests Speak Out About Crash
Now, several more guests have come forward in interviews with FOX 35 to detail their experiences on the night of the crash.
Tami Hacket was visiting the park with her daughter, son-in-law, and three grandchildren. The family was on the lower deck of the ferryboat, with at least two children in a stroller, when the crash occurred:
Suddenly we crashed into something and we all went flying forward, falling. The stroller landed on its back causing the girls to hit their heads. A lot of people screaming and really hurt bad. We got the girls out and they docked. And honestly that is when it all went down hill. Not only was there no announcement on what to do when injured they just had us get off the boat.
Tami Hacket via FOX 35
Hacket later said she had to grab an EMT to check out her granddaughters, though they were all later cleared.
Another guest reported that her granddaughter’s stroller was completely flipped upside down, recalling little to no communication from Disney following the crash:
I have loved Disney all my life but the way the handled the situation was unacceptable. We were left all left in the dark. There was no announcement made after hitting whatever we hit at full speed. The captain was not apologetic whatsoever. Every single person on the packed ferry was thrown forward.
Anonymous Guest via FOX 35
A third guest, Heidi Goldsworth, confirmed heavy rain during her time on the ferryboat and described the scene after the crash:
It was so sudden and it was chaotic, completely chaotic afterwards. Passengers were helping passengers get up, checking on people, making sure that everybody was okay.
I rode it in 1971 when the park opened with my mom, so I’ve been riding it sporadically ever since the park had opened. I had never heard of any accidents, and certainly had never been in one before. It seems such a quiet, easy ride across the lake that you don’t think that something’s going to happen like that, but it was definitely a boat crash.
Heidi Goldsworth via FOX 35
FOX 35 reached out to Disney World and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District for comment, but have not received an answer. No word has been given on the ultimate outcome of this incident, or if any guests later received compensation.
It is also unclear if the incident was caused by the storm, human error, or some mechanical malfunction, as there is little official information about it at this time.
This is not the first accident involving the Magic Kingdom ferryboats. We reported on a ferryboat crash in 2021, and a 2023 dock collision led a man to sue Disney.
Source: FOX 35 Orlando
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