Disneyland visitor dies after walking through haunted mansion. Expert says theme park deaths are rare

A Disneyland visitor who needed medical attention after riding the theme park’s Haunted Mansion attraction died Monday at an Orange County hospital.

Disneyland officials confirmed Wednesday that the guest needed medical attention and was taken to a hospital, but did not provide further details.

The news was announced by Matt Desmond, Disneyland influencer.

Desmond wrote that the guest “had a heart attack during Haunted Mansion Holiday.” He noted that she did not respond when it was time to leave the ride.

Anaheim police confirmed that firefighters and paramedics responded at 6:30 p.m. and found a woman in her 60s unresponsive. She had just finished putting together the Halloween version of the Haunted Mansion, which combines characters from Tim Burton’s famous “The Nightmare Before Christmas” film with the classic features of the iconic attraction.

Disneyland security performed CPR until paramedics arrived, according to Anaheim Police Sgt. Matt Sutter. She was transferred to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner is investigating the cause of death.

There is no indication of an operational problem with the attraction, which reopened shortly afterward, Sutter said in an email.

“This appears to be an unfortunate medical episode, and our hearts go out to the family,” Sutter wrote.

The slow ride transports guests on “doom buggies,” which are seats that travel about a mile per hour. Dennis Speigel, founder and chief executive of leisure and attractions consulting agency International Theme Park Services Inc, said the ride is more likely to cause unexpected naps than medical incidents.

“I have to say, if you were picking a ride at Disney, this one or Small World would be the last type of ride you would expect to see something like this happen,” he said. “These are great-grandmothers’ rides.”

Deaths at theme parks are rare, but not impossible, and Speigel highlighted the death of a 32-year-old man last month aboard a roller coaster at Universal Studios’ Epic Universe in Orlando.

He added that this abnormal death should not deter visitors, however, since theme parks, particularly Disney and Universal, are subject to “daily, weekly and monthly inspections.”

In California, the Department of Industrial Relations oversees the safety of theme park rides.

“Transparency is at the highest level for Disney,” Speigel said. “It’s much safer to ride Space Mountain or any attraction at Disneyland for a month straight than it is to drive for a day on the 405 Freeway.”