A 39-year-old man was found dead after accidentally falling off a hotel balcony at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort in Florida on Wednesday.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the man died at the scene at the resort, which is located next to the popular Magic Kingdom theme park.
The deceased was identified as Jeffery Vanden Boom, from Greendale, Wisconsin. Police said he died from blunt force trauma after falling from a hotel room balcony. His death has been determined to be an accident.
“On July 26, 2023, at 5:33 a.m., deputies responded to the Contemporary Resort after a call came in about a man found unresponsive on the hotel grounds,” the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident has not been acknowledged or responded to by Disney World.
People claiming to be hotel guests posted on social media that they saw a police tent and tape up in the area. Some guests were warned to avoid going on their balconies.
“I’m pretty sure someone just died at our hotel… we got a call at 7:30 someone had a medical emergency and not to go on the balconies and then they had people redirecting us,” wrote a Reddit user. “And then we went outside and there’s a tent set up right under a balcony and it’s all taped up.”
Death Last year
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office reported that an 83-year-old Florida veteran died at Walt Disney World on Sept. 25, 2022.
According to an incident report, Joseph A. Masters and his wife Alice were riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover at the Magic Kingdom when he fainted.
His wife began to panic as she requested assistance and attempted to contact other family members. Once the ride came to a close, Disney workers and security raced to the site, where CPR was performed. He was transported to Celebration Hospital and pronounced deceased.
Mr. Masters had a pacemaker implanted and had previously been diagnosed with a slew of medical issues, including diabetes and hypertension. After further examination, Doctors discovered a big blockage of an artery near his heart.
“I tell everybody now that my husband died in his happy place because he loved Disney,” Mrs. Masters said.
