Rumors Of Disneyland Haunted Mansion Death Have Been Clarified By Local PD, But Questions Remain

Less than a month after a guest tragically died following a ride on a roller coaster at Universal Orlando Resort’s new Epic Universe, another death has taken place at a major theme park in the aftermath of a person riding an attraction. This time, an individual has been reported dead at one of Disneyland's marquee locales. Details on the situation are now coming to light, though there are still some uncertainties.

A Woman Died After Riding Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion

A woman reportedly died on Monday evening after riding the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland, according to EW. Rumors began to spread over the last day of a death on said attraction. While many details are still unclear, it has now been confirmed that the woman, who was in her 60s, was unresponsive after riding the attraction. Anaheim Fire & Rescue was called, and the woman was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The cause of death has yet to be determined. TMZ is reporting that a heart attack is a “possibility,” though it’s unclear where that information is coming from. The site also claims that at the time, there were no signs of foul play. The Haunted Mansion is currently operating normally, which would indicate there are no concerns that the attraction itself is believed to be involved.

For those who are unfamiliar with it, Haunted Mansion is an Omnimover dark ride and doesn’t involve high speeds or impacts. While it is technically the “scariest” ride at Disneyland, the long-standing attraction is more lighthearted than it it is horrifying.

That’s especially true right now, as the ride is currently running as Haunted Mansion Holiday, where it receives an overlay to a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. What few horror elements exist in the ride are replaced with much simpler, family-friendly concepts.

The Haunted Mansion opened in 1969 and is one of the best rides at Disneyland, if not the best, according to many guests. It's one of the last attractions that Walt Disney himself was involved with before he died, though most of the work was done after he passed away. The question of whether to make it a truly scary attraction was one of the most contentious decisions by the Imagineers of the day. In the end, the decision was made to go light on the scares, though the ride does still include the image of a man who has hung himself. Recently, there have been discussions about changing that.

Haunted Mansion Incident Follows One At Epic Universe

This death follows a death in Orlando from a guest who was found unresponsive on Epic Universe’s Stardust Racers roller coaster and was pronounced dead later at the hospital. In that case, the coroner found multiple blunt impact trauma on Kevin Zavala. However, the attraction was found to be working properly and reopened this past weekend.

While it’s something of an urban legend that “nobody dies at Disneyland,” that is not the case. There have been some tragic deaths in the park in the past, though most of the time, people who die on the property pass away for reasons unrelated to the location itself. It’s just where they happen to be at the time. Considering how many millions of people visit Disney Parks around the world every year, there's a chance of such a tragedy happening at one point or another. We here at CinemaBlend extend our thoughts to the family of the woman who passed at Disneyland.