A Disney World staff member is being lauded as a hero after trying to stop a prop boulder from hitting audiences.
A dramatic video of the moment has now gone viral. The incident took place at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios in Florida. Footage shows the gigantic fake boulder, essentially a massive, bouncy ball, swerving off its path and hurtling towards the audience.
A staff member immediately threw himself in front of the boulder, getting visibly injured in the process. The impact of the giant ball hitting the worker quickly flattened him to the ground. Other staff members rushed to stop the boulder and help their colleague.
Audience members have posted footage of the catastrophe on X, TikTok, and Reddit. One Reddit user wrote that he was present at the show, which seems to have taken place on December 30th, sharing that the staff member was bleeding.
“He did have blood coming from his head after the fall. It was not a lot, but they quickly put towels on it. He came back at the end of the show and was wearing a hat. He got a large round of applause,” the Reddit user wrote.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Walt Disney World for comment.
The Indiana Jones Spectacular is a live amusement show that first opened in 1989. And it’s no stranger to the occasional viral controversy. This particular incident is just the latest in a series of occurrences associated with the show. The New York Post reported that just last year, a similar situation occurred when a performer was struck by a boulder.
There have been several recorded injuries, including a 1990 incident in which three performers were harmed. At the time, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Disney $1000. In 2009, a performer died after injuring his head while rehearsing a tumbling roll for the show.
