Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Woman Sues Disney After Florida Resort Waterslide Causes 'Painful Wedgie'

Woman on waterslide
Britt Erlanson/GettyImages

A woman celebrating her 30th birthday is suing Disney after claiming water from a Typhoon Lagoon waterslide caused serious injuries, including 'vaginal lacerations.'

A woman has filed a lawsuit against Disney after a waterslide caused "severe" injuries that resulted in surgery.

Emma McGuinness was celebrating her 30th birthday at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon waterpark in Orlando, Florida, in 2019.


She claimed that the park's Humunga Kowabunga slide gave her a painful wedgie.

Disney's website describes the water attraction as having “enclosed body slides” through which guests plummet down a 214-foot drop in the dark and then “spray [their] way to a surprise ending!”

While the attraction did deliver on its premise of a surprise ending, it wound up being an excruciating one for McGuinness.

According to a lawsuit filed Wednesday, the complaint read:

“As Ms. McGuinness neared the end of The Slide, her body lifted up, she became airborne, and she was slammed downward against The Slide—which increased the likelihood of her legs becoming uncrossed or otherwise exposing herself to injury in using The Slide."

Here is a POV video of the "Humunga Kowabunga" waterslide at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park.


Humunga Kowabunga 4K 60fps POV Disney's Typhoon Lagoonyoutu.be

The lawsuit further stated:

“The impact of The Slide and her impact into the standing water at the bottom of The Slide caused Ms. McGuinness’ clothing to be painfully forced between her legs and for water to be violently forced inside her."
"She experienced immediate and severe pain internally and, as she stood up, blood began rushing from between her legs.”

As a result, McGuinness was taken to the hospital by an ambulance.

She was eventually transferred to a different hospital “for the repair of her gynecologic injuries by a specialist."

The lawsuit continued to state that she suffered “severe and permanent bodily injury” and:

“vaginal lacerations, a full thickness laceration causing Plaintiff’s bowel to protrude through her abdominal wall, and damage to her internal organs."

Before reading beyond the news headline, one Disney World guest had a hunch about the culprit.


The complaint noted that McGuinness was instructed to assume the "appropriate position" of crossing her legs at the top of the slide, but that it did not guarantee her safety.

“Whether ankles are crossed or not, riding down The Slide carries with it specific risks about which Disney knew or, in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known,” the lawsuit said.

It also explained how female riders on the slide are vulnerable to specific risks.

“Specifically, when a rider of The Slide reached the bottom of the ride and traveled into the pool of water designed to stop further travel, the force of the water can push loose garments into a person’s anatomy–an event known as a ‘wedgie.’"
"Because of a woman’s anatomy, the risk of a painful ‘wedgie’ is more common and more serious than it is for a man.”


The complaint also stated how the pool at the base of the slide can be harmful to riders—beyond a wedgie—depending on a variety of factors not limited to the type of swimwear.

“The standing water at the bottom of The Slide, however, creates a much greater risk of injury when a rider slams into it at the end of The Slide and is brought to a quick stop."
“In the absence of appropriate swimwear or protective clothing, when a rider impacts the water at the end of The Slide, the forward speed of the rider can cause water to be forced inside the body."
"Because of their particular anatomy, and as a consequence of the type of swimwear women frequently wear, the risk of water being forced inside their body is greater than it is for men.”


The complaint said that while McGuinness wore a full-coverage one-piece swimsuit, it was not enough to protect her.

The complaint continued:

“When water is forcefully pushed inside a person’s body, it carries the risk of injuring internal organs and causing great pain."
“Disney does not warn women of their increased risk of injury while using The Slide, and Ms. McGuinness was not warned that she was at an increased risk of injury because of her gender or the clothes that she wore."

The lawsuit was filed by attorney Alan Wagner on behalf of McGuinness and her husband, Edward McGuinness, who are suing for an amount greater than $50,000 in damages.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Jenna Bush Hager
TODAY/YouTube

Jenna Bush Hager Gets Emotional Speaking About Camp Mystic, Where Mom Laura Was A Counselor

Central Texas faced tragedy over the weekend when flash floods overtook the central part of the state, with at least 110 people killed and 160 still missing.

One impacted location was Camp Mystic, a private Christian summer camp for young girls, and 27 of the lost victims were either girls attending or young women counselors at that camp.

Keep ReadingShow less
School Principal Goes Viral After Cameras Catch His Sweet Interactions With Students
@zbauermaster/Instagram

School Principal Goes Viral After Cameras Catch His Sweet Interactions With Students

A Pennsylvania school teacher has had a video of him at work go viral, for positive reasons only.

Zac Bauermster, an elementary school principal in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, shared a video to his Instagram that was a montage of hallway security footage moments of him high-fiving, hip-bumping, hugging, and otherwise celebrating the children under his care with enthusiasm for each one.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sarah Jessica Parker
Marc Piasecki/WireImage

Sarah Jessica Parker Claps Back At Conservative Critics Who Want Her To 'Shut Up' About Politics And 'Act'

Nothing seems to get conservatives' goats quite like celebrities having political opinions—well, liberal and leftist celebrities, anyway.

They seem to love it when weird right-wing celebs like Kevin Sorbo get on the internet and say bizarre, usually counterfactual nonsense, or when JK Rowling does her darnedest to make her legacy not about Harry Potter but about her weird obsession with trans people.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ann Coulter
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Ann Coulter Faces Fierce Backlash After Saying 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Deleted Post

Far-right provocateur Ann Coulter is facing fierce criticism after she made a genocidal remark in a now-deleted post on X in response to University of Minnesota professor and Navajo Nation member Melanie Yazzie's speech about colonization.

Yazzie, in a speech at last year's annual Socialism Conference, said "decolonization is the only thing that is going to save us as a species" during a panel hosted by Red Nation, a Native American nonprofit that advocates for Palestinian and Native American rights. She also said that the United States is the "greatest predator empire that has ever existed" and said it should be dismantled.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Gunn
Matt Winkelmeyer/WireImage

James Gunn Bluntly Fires Back At 'Jerks' Who Criticize Superman's Pro-Immigrant Themes

Superman director James Gunn issued a response to the "jerks" who criticize the political themes inherent to the superhero's story, expressing his hope that seeing the movie will "make people a little nicer."

Speaking with The Times of London, Gunn stressed that the story of Superman is more relevant than ever considering the ongoing political turmoil in the United States largely centered around the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Keep ReadingShow less