A trip to an amusement park, state fair , or water park is all about having a good time. Hanging out with friends and family, riding scary roller coasters , eating junk food, playing games, and being in an overall atmosphere of happiness and excitement are the reasons most people give for forking over admission to enter a park. Few people consider that theme parks are a source of risk. While there is no central reporting agency for accidents that occur at amusement parks, several state governments and national consumer safety organizations do their best to compile statistics. All figures indicate that serious accidents are few and far between, around 1 in 9 million rides.

The types of accidents that are reported range from minor incidents such as strained muscles, bruises and mild sunburn to broken bones, severe food poisoning, back injuries and even heart attacks and deaths. Parks have instituted strict safety guidelines to prevent negligence on their part, one of the main causes of accidents. Another major cause of accidents is what is known in the insurance industry as an Act of God. These are incidents that just happen with no one actually at fault.

The remaining two causes of accidents are directly related to guest actions. If someone has a Disney World accident it may be their own fault. Guest negligence means that a visitor fails to follow safety rules or even blatantly ignores them. The other cause is guest health issues, whether known or unknown before the incident.