LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Early Thursday morning, before Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon opened for the day, hundreds of children from across Central Florida gathered at the water park for the 14th annual World’s Largest Swimming Lesson event.
What You Need To Know
- The 14th annual World's Largest Swimming Lesson took place at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon on Thursday
- The site was one of hundreds hosting swimming lessons for the event
- More than 650 children from across Central Florida learned life-saving water skills at the water park
- Former Olympic swimmer and 2004 silver medalist Maritza Correia McClendon was a special guest at the event
The event kicked off with a welcome ceremony led by Disney World ambassadors Ali Manion and Raven Redding, before they were joined by former Olympic swimmer and 2004 silver medalist Maritza Correia McClendon.
Mickey Mouse also made a surprise appearance.
More than 650 children from six different Florida nonprofits — like the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida — participated in the event. For their swimming lesson, the children were divided into groups to learn various water safety skills. Dozens of Disney World lifeguards helped with the lessons.
The World’s Largest Swimming Lesson was created in 2010 by the World Waterpark Association to help promote water safety and prevent drownings. Drowning is one of the leading causes of death for children aged 1 to 14 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
McClendon, the first Black woman to make a U.S. Olympic swim team, says she got involved in this year’s event because of her love of swimming and sharing that with children.
“For me this is a passion,” McClendon said. “Sixty-four percent of African American children don’t know how to swim and 40% of Hispanic don’t know how to swim. So my passion is to make sure that kids who look like me all across the country know how to swim.”
Tajiana Ancora-Brown, director of external affairs at Walt Disney World, said the event was also one of the ways Disney gives back to the local community.
"They’re learning safety skills,” said Ancora-Brown. “They’re learning about all sorts of things that might inspire them to do more outdoor activities. Get to swimming. Play in the water.”
Typhoon Lagoon was among hundreds of other water parks, aquatic centers and swimming pools holding swimming lessons as part of the event, including Island H2O water park in Kissimmee.
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