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Dishney

Dishney: Top 5 Most Avoidable Disneyland Deaths

By Vickie Chang, Monday, Aug. 17 2009 @ 4:52PM
Comments (13)
Categories: Disney Dirt
DisneyDeathCute.jpg
​
Alright, fine: So it's a little morbid, but since the park's grand opening in 1955, a few hiccups have happened during Disneyland's reign as the Happiest Place on Earth--nine of them, to be exact. Which, statistically speaking, isn't all that bad. We guess. 

All but one of the fatalities to take place within Disneyland property lines can be attributed to guest negligence--unbuckling this, standing up during that--the only accident that can be determined as insufficient ride maintenance happened on Christmas Eve in 1998, aboard the large sailing ship Columbia. A rope carrying a metal cleat came loose and sailed through the air where it sadly met Luan Phi Dawson and his wife. Dawson was brain dead for 11 hours following the accident before he was taken off life support. 

Scroll through this list we've pulled together of the top five most avoidable Disneyland deaths in the last 54 years--and remember to listen next time the pre-recorded message asks you to permanecer sentados por favor. 


3478478084_5e42fe9466.jpg
Flickr user Andy Castro
​
A thoroughly intoxicated Philip Straughan, 18, of Alberquerque, New Mexico, drowned in the Rivers of America on June 4, 1983 after sneaking into an off limits Cast Member Only area and taking a joyride on one of the maintenance boats. Since Straughan couldn't exactly maneuver the small rubber vessel, he ended up hitting a rock and getting tossed into the water. His body was located an hour later.

2851366676_baa0870d2e.jpg
Photo courtesy Orange County Archives
Disneyland parking lot, circa 1960.
​
In June 1966, Thomas Cleveland, 19, of Northridge, climbed the 16-foot fence that surrounded Disneyland in an attempt to slink into one of their many Grad Night celebrations for high school students--only he winded up standing right on the tracks of the Monorail. What happened next? Yup: A train was coming right for him. A guard yelled for him to jump clear of the track but Cleveland didn't quite make it... his body was dragged 30-40 feet by the monorail.

161947014_f698fe817c.jpg
Flickr user Effie3
The People Mover, 1978.
​
Another Grad Night accident Ricky Lee Yama, 18, of Hawthorne, hopped onto the tracks of the now defunct People Mover in Tomorrowland in August 1967. Yama jumped from vehicle to vehicle, lost his footing and was run over by an oncoming car. Thirteen years later, Gerardo Gonzales, died the same way on June 7, 1980, exiting the ride and attempting to maneuver from car to car. Only this time, it's reported that no one noticed--and his body was supposedly dragged for hundreds of feet before a Cast Member noticed. Since then, Cast Members and guests have reported ghost sightings on the People Mover. Other rides at the park that are supposedly haunted include Space Mountain and, of course, the Haunted Mansion.
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Comments (13)

Blackjack Joe says:

You forgot another case of a guest dying on a ride that wasn't his fault. On 5 Sept. 2003, 22 year-old Marcel Torres died and several other people were injured when a locomotive separated from its train in a tunnel section of the ride.

Posted On: Monday, Aug. 17 2009 @ 8:55PM
sal says:

those are some really cool photos of Dland

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 8:48AM
John Davis says:

Dude, that is like the coolest thign I have ever seen!

RT
www.online-anonymity.net.tc

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 9:57AM
Jooci says:

Why We Love Theme Parks:
http://www.filthyrichmond.com/2009/05/theme-parks-touch-our-lives.html

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 10:54AM
white shoes says:

well... it seems that if you are NOT a foolish teenage boy, then... hellz. no danger.

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 10:58AM
ben says:

it's so cool photo

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 4:51PM
Jordi says:

Also on July 5th an employee was killed when 2 of the monorail trains crashed.
Very cool article and pics!

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 5:37PM
coincidentia says:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/18/florida.disney.death/index.html

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 18 2009 @ 9:02PM
Annie says:

To all you "YOU FORGOOOOT" whiners, this article is about DisneyLAND not Disney WORLD, which is in Florida. Get a brain, morans! Deuces!

Posted On: Wednesday, Aug. 19 2009 @ 10:11AM
Don says:

I think an employee was killed on the Carousel of Progress in the 60's, being caught between two partitions as the carousel rotated to it's next venue.

Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 20 2009 @ 2:21PM
eli_dub says:

I was at Grad Nite at Disneyland on June 4, 1983. I remember hearing about someone drowning that night. Berlin was playing on a stage set up on the edge of the Rivers of America. During their set the lead singer said something like, "If you see a body floating by, relax its all part of the show."

Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 20 2009 @ 7:01PM
Scrooge McDuck says:

Torres died at DisneyLAND not WORLD. Also the cast member (employee to us normal folk) did get squished in the carousel, but I think it was later when it had been turned into America Sings, or whatever that was. As I remember it from a friend who worked at DL at the time, the employee was flirting with whoever worked the next 'stage'. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Posted On: Thursday, Aug. 20 2009 @ 8:56PM
V says:

There was another case of an accidental death: a young girl had a heart problem (her family was unaware). She went on Mission Space, her heart failed while she was on it, and she got off dead. In fact, Mission Space seems to be a root in a quite a few accidental deaths.

http://forums.tannerworld.com/showthread.php?t=5968

Posted On: Tuesday, Aug. 25 2009 @ 2:35PM

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