A man born with one arm has filed a lawsuit after getting turned away from a ride at Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay theme park.

Dylan Campbell, the plaintiff, was visiting Volcano Bay in 2019 in celebration of his son’s birthday party.

“They assured me 100 times over that I’d have no issue riding anything in the park at all,” Campbell said after he says he checked with guest services.

The event occurred early in the day of his visit after he had successfully made it onto one attraction prior to being turned away from his second: the Krakatau Aqua Coaster, which is one of the theme park’s premiere attractions.

Upon attempting to experience the attraction, Campbell says an employee told him you need two hands to ride.


“There’s a lot of emotions,” Campbell said. “Obviously I was born like this, so I made it my life’s goal to make sure I can do everything, so this has kind of taken away from everything that I’ve worked towards.”

According to Fox 35, Campbell doesn’t let his disability define him and regularly works out, lifting weights and playing basketball weekly.

A federal judge ruled in favor of Universal regarding this case earlier this year, saying the company is following the law by following the guidelines created by the ride’s manufacturer. Although, now Campbell and his attorney are appealing that ruling.

You don’t judge a book by its cover,” said Matthew Dietz, Campbell’s attorney. “You must know the risks. If you don’t, it’s discrimination, period.”

The two believe it’s unfair that the ride’s manufacturer has the ability to set the rules for it and they claim the company doesn’t have evidence that it is too risky for someone without two hands to experience the ride.

Dietz believes the American with Disabilities Act should override Florida law.

“It had nothing to do with the actual risk to people with disabilities like Dylan, it had to do with a couple of men sitting around a table determining what they think is more dangerous than something else and that is inherently unfair,” Dietz said.

Sean Sposato
The Main Street Mouse