Man Overboard Incident 6/29/2025

[Phonedave]

A toddler’s strongest drive is to kill themself. Parents can only hope to keep up.

I have been on three Disney cruises with my 2 daughters. All when I was a single parent. The first two times, I had a verandah stateroom. The last cruise, my youngest (who was the own with no sense of self preservation) was now big enough that I worried she could reach the top lock on the balcony door. I purposely booked a porthole room.

We checked in and got a "surprise upgrade" to a verandah.

I watched her like a hawk the entire time we were on that cruise.

 

[Chi84]

I have been on three Disney cruises with my 2 daughters. All when I was a single parent. The first two times, I had a verandah stateroom. The last cruise, my youngest (who was the own with no sense of self preservation) was now big enough that I worried she could reach the top lock on the balcony door. I purposely booked a porthole room.

We checked in and got a "surprise upgrade" to a verandah.

I watched her like a hawk the entire time we were on that cruise.

Isn’t the top lock way up high so only an adult can reach it? How old was she?

Apologies if I’m mistaken. We’ve only been on two cruises and not with kids.

 

[LAKid53]

Isn’t the top lock way up high so only an adult can reach it? How old was she?

Apologies if I’m mistaken. We’ve only been on two cruises and not with kids.

It's pretty high and sometimes sticks.

 

[Phonedave]

Isn’t the top lock way up high so only an adult can reach it? How old was she?

Apologies if I’m mistaken. We’ve only been on two cruises and not with kids.

There are chairs and ottomans in the room. She was a very . . . . . ambitious, youngster.

 

[Chi84]

There are chairs and ottomans in the room. She was a very . . . . . ambitious, youngster.

Again, I don’t know your particular situation so I’m not speaking to it.

But if a child is able to move furniture to get to the lock at the top of the door and then open the handle, that child is usually old enough to know better. I don’t know how a cruise ship could prevent that without altering the nature of the experience for everyone else.

 

[Phonedave]

Again, I don’t know your particular situation so I’m not speaking to it.

All good. You are right, the top lock is about 6' off the ground. My daughter was 11 or 12 at the time. At that age she just worried the heck out of me. She was very adventurous with no sense of self preservation.

 

[Chi84]

All good. You are right, the top lock is about 6' off the ground. My daughter was 11 or 12 at the time. At that age she just worried the heck out of me. She was very adventurous with no sense of self preservation.

Sorry I hit post before I was done and edited it.

 

[Chi84]

All good. You are right, the top lock is about 6' off the ground. My daughter was 11 or 12 at the time. At that age she just worried the heck out of me. She was very adventurous with no sense of self preservation.

Sounds like one of my grandsons in a few years - a middle child lol.

 

[LAKid53]

All good. You are right, the top lock is about 6' off the ground. My daughter was 11 or 12 at the time. At that age she just worried the heck out of me. She was very adventurous with no sense of self preservation.

That's why DCL took the arm chair out of many staterooms....because adventurous children were using them to climb on to try and unlock the door to the veranda. So now we get an ottoman to sit on at the desk.

Next the chairs on the veranda will get bolted to the deck.

 

[DisneyHead123]

All good. You are right, the top lock is about 6' off the ground. My daughter was 11 or 12 at the time. At that age she just worried the heck out of me. She was very adventurous with no sense of self preservation.

It's scary for sure. Even children who are not known for being impulsive and rambunctious will get strange ideas in their heads. I remember reading about a girl who almost drowned because she was wearing a mermaid tail in a tiny kiddie pool, like a few inches of water. Her dad went into the kitchen for a minute and she decided to play "potato", which involved pulling the tail over her arms so that she was effectively bound like a mummy and sank to the bottom of the pool. Or two girls who suffocated because they decided to zip themselves inside a weighted blanket but couldn't unzip it.

I realize my mom brain has a high affinity for stories like that so they probably seem more common than they are. Even so, you just never know what kind of crazy idea even calm kids will get into their heads. This story has honestly made me reconsider the idea of a Disney cruise for a few more years. Not because I think Disney is unsafe but because the ocean is incredibly unforgiving and kids are unpredictable.

 

[Lilofan]

It's scary for sure. Even children who are not known for being impulsive and rambunctious will get strange ideas in their heads. I remember reading about a girl who almost drowned because she was wearing a mermaid tail in a tiny kiddie pool, like a few inches of water. Her dad went into the kitchen for a minute and she decided to play "potato", which involved pulling the tail over her arms so that she was effectively bound like a mummy and sank to the bottom of the pool. Or two girls who suffocated because they decided to zip themselves inside a weighted blanket but couldn't unzip it.

I realize my mom brain has a high affinity for stories like that so they probably seem more common than they are. Even so, you just never know what kind of crazy idea even calm kids will get into their heads. This story has honestly made me reconsider the idea of a Disney cruise for a few more years. Not because I think Disney is unsafe but because the ocean is incredibly unforgiving and kids are unpredictable.

It’s devastating when a child left unattended passes. We attended a funeral of a 3 year old. His mom that we knew fell asleep for a nap and the boy managed to open the front door and walk over and drown in the nearby retention pond.

 

[DisneyHead123]

It’s devastating when a child left unattended passes. We attended a funeral of a 3 year old. His mom that we knew fell asleep for a nap and the boy managed to open the front door and walk over and drown in the nearby retention pond.

That's horrible, so sorry for the family.

 

[Phonedave]

It's scary for sure. Even children who are not known for being impulsive and rambunctious will get strange ideas in their heads. I remember reading about a girl who almost drowned because she was wearing a mermaid tail in a tiny kiddie pool, like a few inches of water. Her dad went into the kitchen for a minute and she decided to play "potato", which involved pulling the tail over her arms so that she was effectively bound like a mummy and sank to the bottom of the pool. Or two girls who suffocated because they decided to zip themselves inside a weighted blanket but couldn't unzip it.

I realize my mom brain has a high affinity for stories like that so they probably seem more common than they are. Even so, you just never know what kind of crazy idea even calm kids will get into their heads. This story has honestly made me reconsider the idea of a Disney cruise for a few more years. Not because I think Disney is unsafe but because the ocean is incredibly unforgiving and kids are unpredictable.

It is a balancing act for sure. I did not want to be a helicopter parent, but neither did I want to take too many risks with my kids.

I know that growing up in the 1970s and 1980s we were pretty much left to our own devices - especially in my family. My brother and I now tell my mother things we used to do when we played in the woods all day, such as playing war where we would set up trip wires to big rocks hung in trees. None of us ever though somebody might split their head open.

The daughter that I was worried about was one of those kids that always seemed to get into "situation" but always got herself out as well. She still does so, but she is 23 now and out and on her own, so not much I can do to stop her now.