New construction permits suggest that Walt Disney World is likely to rebuild or replace Humunga Kowabunga, the subject of a lawsuit that went viral back in 2023 after a guest sustained injuries on the water slide at Typhoon Lagoon. This covers the latest news, along with our commentary.
Let’s start with the lawsuit, which is not necessarily connected to the construction permit (I’m lumping them together because both are recent developments concerning Humunga Kowabunga; there could be a nexus between the two, but there’s no evidence of that). That case was the subject of viral headlines, gaining international attention of everyone from the mainstream media to late night comedians. There’s a good chance you heard about the lawsuit, as stories about it frequently led with the words “violent” or “painful wedgie.”
The litigation was not covered here because I actually read the complaint–or started to–and it made me sick to my stomach. If your only knowledge of this lawsuit is from the “wedgie” headlines or jokes and you viewed this as yet another example of legal system run amuck or frivolous litigation for a quick buck, I’d encourage you to dig a little deeper.
The allegations in the complaint are disturbing, and not what you’d expect when hearing “wedgie,” which has a more lighthearted and juvenile connotation. Here’s a straightforward news article with a graphic recap of the incident and aftermath.
This type of thing is actually (oddly) common. I saw some Walt Disney World fans liken this Humunga Kowabunga lawsuit to the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee incident, which is actually a great comparison…but not to make the point some thought they were making. (Here’s what really happened in the McDonald’s coffee case, in case you still view it as an indictment of our legal system and unscrupulous plaintiffs.)
Media has this odd habit of turning legitimate litigation into catchy headlines or punchlines, and it’s those buzzwords or snippets–and not the facts as conclusively established–that end up sticking. (The same thing happens with the misrepresentation of scientific studies for cheap laughs or lighthearted stories; once you start seeing this type of thing, it’s difficult to unsee.)
There’s also an odd tendency to vilify plaintiffs, assuming they’re ambulance chasers or looking to make a quick buck. This is probably a matter of comfort; assuming other people are at fault for the things that happen to them, as opposed to victims, means the same thing wouldn’t happen to you.
There are abuses of the legal system, to be sure, but I don’t agree that individuals have too much power in America’s legal system, and corporations too little. And while reform would be beneficial, as it would with virtually any system, some proposed solutions are reductionist and overly simplistic, and fail to account for myriad unintended consequences. (There’s also a tendency to view complex systems as straightforward and easily fixable, when they are anything but. See also, Chesterton’s Fence.) But I’ll spare you the rest of that particular soapbox.
Anyway, the Humunga Kowabunga case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice by the plaintiff after two years of litigation. A few things are worth pointing out here. First, that this was not “thrown out” by the judge. A voluntary dismissal, especially one with prejudice, could be indicative of a settlement (but is not conclusive of one).
Second, the case progressed pretty far through the legal system over the last few years, suggesting it was not frivolous. If it were, Disney likely would’ve been able to have it summarily dispensed with. Instead, the litigation went to (failed) court-ordered mediation and was slated to proceed to trial. That usually does not happen in a case wholly without merit. (This is not to say the plaintiff or Disney would’ve prevailed, or to apportion blame–just that the case probably was not frivolous.)
Finally, Disney closed during discovery that two other women sustained similar injuries within one month of one another in 2017. Of course, thousands of other guests experienced Humunga Kowabunga without incident over the last several decades, but it nevertheless reinforces the notion that serious injuries are or were possible on the water slide.
All of this brings us to January 2026, when Walt Disney World filed a new construction permit yesterday that suggests Humunga Kowabunga water slide at Typhoon Lagoon is being repaired, replaced or rebuilt.
The permit specifically names Humunga Kowabunga along with the address, with the scope of work as “general construction.” The tried and true vague catch-all description that’s basically code for “we don’t want to say what, exactly, we’re doing.”
The permit is assigned to ProSlide Technology, Inc as contractor. ProSlide touts itself as the world’s leading water slide manufacturer, supplying high-performance water rides and attractions to new and expanding water parks around the world.
According to the company, ProSlide has led the market in water ride innovation and technology–and pioneered nearly every major water ride innovation in the industry for the past 35 years.
ProSlide has over 100 awards and recognitions, including 16 IAAPA Best New Water Ride awards in the last 19 years–five times more than all other manufacturers combined–and 4 IAAPA IMPACT Awards.
ProSlide has worked with Walt Disney World countless times in the past. Their claims above do not appear to be marketing puffery. It appears that just about every water slide and ride at Walt Disney World has ProSlide as the manufacturer (except the defunct River Country), and that includes Humunga Kowabunga. Here’s further reading for those who are curious (it’s interesting!).
It seems unlikely that ProSlide would be involved if this were just routine maintenance and upkeep. Much like other recent ‘mystery’ permits involving big name contractors (such as this one for Tree of Life assigned to Whiting-Turner), Disney wouldn’t tap a ProSlide to complete that type of project–it’s below their pay grade, so to speak.
At the same time, it is also notable that this permit was filed by the Facility Asset Management team within Walt Disney World, as opposed to Walt Disney Imagineering. That distinction is also important. FAM usually just handles projects to extend the life of an asset, whereas an Imagineering-led project is creative at the core, resulting in substantive changes. Meaning that if this were a replacement, it would involve Imagineering instead of FAM.
There’s also the timeline for the project. Although dates have not been announced and the permit contains the standard one year default expiration, we can likely narrow those dates a little further: February 15 to May 26, 2026. That’s when Typhoon Lagoon will be closed for its seasonal refurbishment, and it’s likely the project will be accomplished during that window.
Ultimately, the totality of these things suggests to us that Humunga Kowabunga is being rebuilt as opposed to replaced outright with a new attraction or simply being maintained or repaired. A replacement would be challenging during that limited timeframe, especially with the attraction being integrated into the rockwork of Typhoon Lagoon. But it would be possible to rebuild the attraction in the existing footprint, presumably with some of the innovations ProSlide boasts about that they’ve made over the last couple decades.
Whether this has anything to do with the dismissed litigation is anyone’s guess–we’ll never know one way or another. It could be a matter of Disney wanting to err on the side of caution, modernizing and mitigating issues to the extent possible (although it’s hard to say what that extent even is when stopping short of replacing the slide).
If there were serious concerns and legal exposure that came to light when the lawsuit was filed, I’d imagine that Disney’s legal team would’ve shut down Humunga Kowabunga right then and there, not waited for resolution. In any case, it’ll be interesting to see whether there are any noticeable changes to the water slide when it reopens in Summer 2026. Stay tuned!
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Your Thoughts
Thoughts on the construction permit filed by Walt Disney World for Humunga Kowabunga? Expect this to be a simple repair or rebuild, or are you still betting on complete replacement of the water slide? Did you know the full story of the viral “violent wedgie” lawsuit, or had you only heard the punchline version? Agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!