Walt Disney World Resort hosted nearly 1,000 Florida youth from seven nonprofit organizations for The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson on Thursday, the first day of Summer. This is an annual event designed to promote safe water practices worldwide. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park was the largest event site on the planet.
Students took to the water before Typhoon Lagoon officially opened for the day for an exclusive swim lesson with more than 60 Disney lifeguards. For many participants, this was their first time learning about swim safety.
Hosting a swim lesson of this size is no easy feat, but our incredible lifeguards came together to make it happen. It’s our hope that students left with memories that will last a lifetime and knowledge that helps prevent incidents from ever taking place.
Grisell Carballido Lamadrid, general manager of Walt Disney World Water Parks
Participants also interacted with beloved Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Stitch. After the event, they spent the day enjoying the magic and watery attractions at Typhoon Lagoon.
We are surrounded by water in Florida. It’s critical for children in our community to know how to swim. We’re taking action to address that need by pairing skills-based learning with the fun of our water parks.
Tajiana Ancora–Brown, director of external affairs at Walt Disney World
This is just one of many ways Walt Disney World is giving back during its Summer of Sharing to support communities across Florida.
The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson (WLSL) is a global, one-day event focused on teaching families the importance of learning to swim to prevent childhood drowning. Over the years, the event has set five multi-venue and three single-venue Guinness® World Records and holds the current records for both categories. The event took place today at 600 locations in 18 different countries on six continents and featured more than 35,000 participants.
