The results sound alarming, particularly for a region built around family vacations. However, the ranking does not measure accidents, injuries or documented safety records. It measures how frequently Tripadvisor reviewers used hazard-related words—and a closer look at the methodology helps explain why Orlando appears so often.
No. 1: White Water Walk — Niagara Falls, Ontario — 3.82 mentions per 100 reviews
No. 2: Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada — Toronto, Ontario — 2.55
No. 3: Whistler Blackcomb — Whistler, British Columbia — 2.40
No. 4: Columbia Icefield — Jasper National Park, Alberta — 2.05
No. 5: French Quarter — New Orleans, Louisiana — 1.82
No. 6: Gastown — Vancouver, British Columbia — 1.67
No. 7: Vancouver Aquarium — Vancouver, British Columbia — 1.55
No. 8: Moraine Lake — Banff National Park, Alberta — 1.50
No. 9: Vancouver Seawall — Vancouver, British Columbia — 1.46
No. 10: Downtown Vancouver — Vancouver, British Columbia — 1.37
No. 11: SeaWorld Orlando — Orlando, Florida — 1.26
No. 12: Diamond Head State Monument — Honolulu, Hawaii — 1.23
No. 13 (tie): Walt Disney World Resort — Orlando, Florida — 1.20
No. 13 (tie): Athabasca Falls — Jasper National Park, Alberta — 1.20
No. 14: Disneyland Park — Anaheim, California — 1.07
No. 15: Fremont Street Experience — Las Vegas, Nevada — 1.06
No. 16: Louisville Mega Cavern — Louisville, Kentucky — 1.00
No. 17: San Francisco cable cars — San Francisco, California — 0.89
No. 18: Grouse Mountain — North Vancouver, British Columbia — 0.88
No. 19 (tie): Las Vegas Strip — Las Vegas, Nevada — 0.85
No. 19 (tie): Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area — Las Vegas, Nevada — 0.85
No. 19 (tie): Toronto Zoo — Toronto, Ontario — 0.85
No. 19 (tie): Bow Falls — Banff, Alberta — 0.85
No. 20: Universal Studios Florida — Orlando, Florida — 0.82
Study methodology and what the ranking actually means
Despite its provocative wording, the ranking does not measure documented accidents, reported injuries or whether one attraction is safer than another. Toronto-based insurance marketplace PolicyAdvisor searched Tripadvisor reviews for terms associated with physical hazards, environmental risks, crime, security and bodily harm. Those terms included “dangerous,” “unsafe,” “risk,” “injury,” “accident” and “emergency.”
Researchers divided the number of matches by each attraction’s total Tripadvisor review count to calculate hazard-related mentions per 100 reviews. Emotional descriptions such as feeling scared or panicked were excluded, according to the company.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada illustrates that limitation. It ranked second overall, but the aquarium has an exhibit named Dangerous Lagoon. The study acknowledges that references to the exhibit may have increased its number of matches.
PolicyAdvisor analyzed 86 “widely reviewed” destinations but did not provide its full selection criteria. Because Orlando contains some of the world’s most visited and most frequently reviewed attractions, several local destinations would be natural candidates for the study’s initial pool.
The concentration of major attractions could help explain why Orlando appears so many times across the complete list.