Girl falls off balcony at Animal Kingdom villa

[DizneyFreak2002]

From Orlando Sentinel:

A 6-year-old girl vacationing with her family in Central Florida fell from a third-story balcony at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas during the holiday weekend, Orange County authorities said Tuesday.

The New York girl, whose identity was not released, fell about 6:54 p.m. Monday from her family's room at the "Jambo House," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Ginette Rodriguez.

Photographs taken by a nearby witness, and provided to the Orlando Sentinel, depict giraffes and other animals nearby as paramedics aided the girl on the ground outside the resort.

The girl's father told a security officer he was in the shower when he heard his wife scream. The man said he left the room, made his way down the stairwell and jumped over a wall to get to his daughter, a Sheriff's Office report said.

Disney employees who were first on-scene said the girl was responsive and had a cut above her left eye, the report said.

Authorities said the fall appears to be accidental and the family is cooperating.
Disney describes the resort as a place where guests can experience their own "African safari adventure." The hotel's horseshoe-curved design provides views of four savannas, where more than 200 animals and birds roam freely.

The girl fell in an area where the animals do not have access.

Rodriguez said the child was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center and was later treated at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children. The girl is thought to be in stable condition.

On Tuesday, Disney spokeswoman Kathleen Prihoda said, "Our primary concern is for the child's health and recovery. A Disney representative is with the family providing support."

[VWL Mom]

How terrible, my prayers are with her. This is the 2nd time this happened at AKL. Are the balcony railings lower there?

[DVC2004]

OMG prayers for this little one! How terrible.

[TinkerbellT421]

How sad and absolutely terrifying for the poor girl and her family. Prayers to them for a quick and full recovery.

[Disney4us2]

How terrible, my prayers are with her. This is the 2nd time this happened at AKL. Are the balcony railings lower there?

The balcony is not low there. They do have 2 chairs and a small glass table though. A child could easily climb up.

Prayers to the family and the little girl.

[Opus X]

WOW....Glad it sounds she will be ok.
VERY lucky. Thats not a little fall.

[mgmnut]

I couldn't even imagine the feeling the parents went through when she fell!

I hope she makes a full recovery!

[Lakin]

Oh, how horrible! I'm glad to see that she was not seriously hurt and that she seems to be getting better. I'm sure Disney will be largely pushing for parental supervision on the balconies for now on.

[Mommy2allgirls]

Wow this is so sad. I hope she recovers quickly

[joonyer]

All hotel balcony railings at Disney hotels, and every other hotel I'm aware of in the US are at least standard height, required by building codes. They cannot be certified and opened for occupancy without it. A child could not fall over the railing without climbing the railing or some other item to get high enough to fall over. This is a horrible accident, but not the hotel's fault, unless the railing broke or was defective. Still I know the parents are horrified. Glad the little girl survived. Sounds like she wasn't critically injured, so fortunate.

[Arielfan98]

I am sad to hear a fellow New Yorker fell but hope she is ok. I do hope her parents watch her more closely next time.

[vizsla]

Prayers for a speedy recovery.

[seanyred]

The balcony is not low there. They do have 2 chairs and a small glass table though. A child could easily climb up.

Prayers to the family and the little girl.

First off I pray she has a full recovery. Glad it wasn't a worse tragedy.

Having stayed at Jambo and Kidani often I can see how this would happen. The chairs and table are a easy way for a kid to climb up higher. I can easily see a kid climbing to get a better look at the animals and then falling over. This is why when we stay with DS3 and DS6 I don't leave them alone on the balcony. Especially DS3 since he is a climber.

[Dulcee]

Oh, how horrible! I'm glad to see that she was not seriously hurt and that she seems to be getting better. I'm sure Disney will be largely pushing for parental supervision on the balconies for now on.

One would hope parents realize not to leave children alone on ANY balcony...


Hope all turns out well for the little one.

[BrerGnat]

One would hope parents realize not to leave children alone on ANY balcony...


Hope all turns out well for the little one.

You would hope, right?

Poor kid.

[MNNHFLTX]

Glad to hear that this little girl will be okay. How sad for this to happen on their vacation. Kids are climbers--all it takes is a few seconds of inattention for something like this to happen.

[brownie]

I hope she has a speedy recovery. I'd really like to hear how it happened. They call it accidental, but it really isn't. There's a cause behind it somewhere.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sad, hope she recovers totally

[faline]

What a scary ordeal for the family - glad it seems the little girl would be okay.

I think the rails are of a height required. However, given the animals in the vicinity, I would think that there is an added attraction to children wanting to climb higher to see them better.

[buzznwoodysmom]

How awful. I wish this little girl a very speedy recovery.

We have stayed at Jambo House twice and as far as I could tell the balcony was just as secure (height wise) as any of the other resorts. I hope these kinds of accidents don't cause Disney to remove the tables and chairs from their resort balconies.