Dreamworld controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2020
Dreamworld removes a wheelchair user from a ride
Issue disclosure
In a reported incident at Dreamworld, Karni Liddell said a ride attendant pulled her off the Dronkey Flyers ride because her wheelchair made her a risk. Liddell said she felt humiliated by the removal. The account is based on her statement as reported in the source; no further details on the incident, the ride's policies, or any response from Dreamworld are included in the provided material.
Karni Liddell said a Dreamworld ride attendant pulled her off the Dronkey Flyers ride because her wheelchair made her a risk, and said she felt humiliated.
Source excerpt
Karni Liddell was pulled off the 'Dronkey Flyers' children's ride at Dreamworld. The paralympian said attendant told her she was a risk because of wheelchair.
2020
Ardent Leisure fined over Dreamworld ride deaths
Fine or penalty
Ardent Leisure was fined $3.6m after pleading guilty to safety charges relating to the 2016 Thunder River Rapids ride tragedy at Dreamworld, in which four people died. The magistrate found the company had failed in its primary safety duty to the public.
Company response
Apology — Ardent Leisure
Ardent’s senior counsel, Bruce Hodgkinson, opened submissions with an apology to the families and all those affected by the 2016 tragedy.
Source excerpt
On Monday, Ardent Leisure — a company that owns multiple amusement parks — was fined $3.6 million Australian dollars in connection with the deaths of the four park-goers after pleading guilty to three safety charges this past summer,
The operator of Australia's Dreamworld theme park has been fined A$3.6m (£2m; $2.5m) over the deaths of four people on a malfunctioning water ride.
The four people — Kate Goodchild, Roozi Araghi, Cindy Low and Luke Dorsett — died in October 2016 after a collision on the Queensland park’s Thunder River Rapids ride caused the raft they were aboard to flip over, according to CNN.
2016
Thunder River Rapids Ride fatalities
A malfunction on Thunder River Rapids Ride caused four visitor deaths on 25 October 2016. The attraction was permanently closed and demolished. The event triggered investigations and sustained scrutiny of Dreamworld's safety systems and regulatory environment.
2011
Tiger-handler bite incidents
Two separate incidents at Tiger Island involved a handler being bitten by a Bengal tiger. Both handlers required hospital care, and the park said it would review its animal-handling procedures.
2009
Helicopter joy-flight crash
A helicopter operating joy flights associated with Dreamworld crash-landed near the park entrance, injuring the pilot and four passengers. Later reporting identified fuel-management and operational failures, and Dreamworld discontinued helicopter flights.