Here's How Girl, 5, Went Overboard on Disney Cruise

UPDATE Jul 14, 2025 1:00 AM CDT

The 5-year-old girl who went overboard on a Disney cruise last month was sitting on a railing on the ship's fourth deck when she lost her balance and fell "backward through a porthole" and into the water, per the Broward Sheriff's Office. The child's mother alerted her husband, who had not seen what happened, and he jumped in to save his daughter, treading water with her for about 20 minutes before they were rescued, KTLA reports. He was injured in the process and treated at a Florida hospital. The sheriff's office earlier this month clarified that the girl "was not being held" at the time, USA Today reported.

Jun 30, 2025 10:07 AM CDT

A young girl went overboard on a Disney cruise returning to Florida from the Bahamas on Sunday, prompting her father to jump in after her. It was a terrifying moment that ended in cheers as rescue crews helped both father and daughter from the water. Footage shared on TikTok showed two heads bobbing in the ocean before the father lifted the girl into a rescue boat, then climbed in himself. "He jumped in to save his child ... That man is a hero," one passenger was recorded saying in other footage, per CBS News. Another wondered aloud, "How did he survive that long?"

It's unclear how the child went overboard on the Disney Dream, which reportedly has plexiglass safety barriers on its decks. She reportedly fell from Deck 4, which includes a walking track, per USA Today. A Disney Cruise Line rep applauded the crew's "exceptional skills and prompt actions, which ensured the safe return of both guests to the ship within minutes," adding "this incident highlights the effectiveness of our safety protocols." The ship was returning to Florida on the final leg of a four-day cruise to the Bahamas. It docked at Florida's Port Everglades early Monday, per CBS.