At Disney World, it's not the crocodiles with teeth and scales causing concern, but the Crocs on your feet. The famous Florida amusement park has reportedly taken a stance against Crocs footwear on its escalators after several incidents involving the foam slides getting caught in the escalator teeth.
According to Inside the Magic, Walt Disney World has "outlawed" these popular shoes from being worn on escalators, as they have been getting jammed and damaged, posing a safety risk to guests.
In Disney's EPCOT, the escalators inside The Land Pavilion now feature clear warnings against Crocs footwear. Photos shared on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday show stickers depicting the unmistakable silhouette of a Croc, crossed out with a red circle, indicating that these shoes are not allowed on the escalators.
A TikTok video from last month showed a humorous incident where a single white Croc was wedged into the top of an escalator at Disney World, sticking straight up while comedic music played in the background. The shoe was firmly stuck in the escalator's treads, causing quite a spectacle.
This wasn't the first time Crocs caused escalator chaos at the theme park. Back in January, photos surfaced online showing a similar incident with rainbow tie-dye Crocs jammed toe-first into an escalator's teeth. A "Walkway closed" sign had to be placed atop the malfunctioning escalator, indicating that it was out of service due to the footwear mishap.
Incidents involving Crocs on escalators at Disney World's The Land Pavilion have occurred in prior years too. A clip from July 2022 captures a woman walking up a stationary escalator only to discover a black Croc nearly half-eaten by the machinery at the top.
"Alright then, Cinderella lost her Croc and she caused me to have to walk," she quipped with a laugh in the video.
A simple Google search reveals numerous other incidents of Crocs getting stuck in escalators, with photos and clips showing the same shoe type jammed into the moving stair machines over several years. These mishaps illustrate why Disney World has implemented stricter guidelines for escalator use to avoid further disruptions and potential safety hazards.
Disney Springs has had "No Crocs" signs on its escalators since at least 2021, according to a Disney Food Blog post from that year. Although images of Crocs getting stuck in escalators have brought some online amusement, these incidents represent a real safety risk, especially for young children.
A particularly severe accident in 2017 involved a 5-year-old British boy who lost a toe when his Croc got caught in a moving escalator at a Dubai hotel while his family was on vacation. These safety concerns highlight the importance of adhering to escalator safety rules and guidelines.
It remains uncertain whether the incidents involving Crocs getting stuck in escalators at Disney World have resulted in any injuries. The theme park has not yet responded to inquiries about how many such incidents have occurred or if any have led to injuries. Without further information from Disney World, the safety implications of these escalator-Crocs mishaps are still unknown.
