Man, 65, found dead beneath Disneyland Resort entrance sign

A 65-year-old man was found dead on the sidewalk beneath the arched blue Disneyland Resort entrance sign on West Katella Avenue in Anaheim, California, on Sunday afternoon, and pedestrians were routed around the blocked walkway for part of the day.

Anaheim Police Sgt. Eric Anderson said the man was a transient known to the agency and that his death appeared to be the result of natural causes, with no foul play suspected, according to the Los Angeles Times. Anderson told City News Service that officers responded about 1:40 p.m. and found the man deceased near the theme park's south entrance, south of Katella Avenue.

Anaheim Fire and Rescue paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene, according to OnScene.TV, which first reported the incident.

The scene on Katella Avenue

The man was found at the southern boundary of the resort. The sidewalk there is one of the busiest pedestrian routes around Disneyland, carrying tourists from off-property hotels toward the gates, and it runs across from the Anaheim Convention Center.

Officers strung yellow tape across the walkway and erected a black privacy screen beneath the archway to keep the scene from the view of passing cars and pedestrians. The area was briefly closed while officers waited for coroner's officials, the Los Angeles Times reported. Visiting families were rerouted around the cordoned section for part of the afternoon.

Video from the scene showed Orange County Coroner's Office personnel loading a covered mortuary gurney into an unmarked white minivan parked along Katella Avenue, the New York Post reported.

A beer can was seen near the body, the Post reported, though investigators have not established whether it had any role in the death.

Police could not immediately say whether the man died on Disneyland property or on the sidewalk beside it.

Anderson described the man as homeless and known to local authorities before Sunday. Police did not say in what circumstances officers had encountered him before, or whether anyone was with him when he was found. The department has not described how long he had been in the area.

What the coroner must determine

The official cause of death has not been made public. That ruling rests with the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner, which will complete a post-mortem review before issuing a finding. The police description of natural causes is a preliminary field assessment.

Officers did not say whether anyone saw the man collapse, or how long he had been on the sidewalk before the call to 911.

No public document has been released in the case. The account given by Sgt. Anderson is the only official description of the death so far, and the coroner's office has released neither a name nor a cause.

Shortly after the body was removed, things went back to normal at the entrance, TMZ reported.

A post from the account @OC_Scanner on X flagged the police activity as theme park fans sought confirmation of whether the incident posed a security risk.

Disneyland Resort takes in two theme parks, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, three hotels and the Downtown Disney retail and dining district. It opened in 1955 and sits in Anaheim, about 25 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

What officials have confirmed

Hours after the body was found, the identity of the man and the circumstances of his death remained unclear, WKRC reported early Monday. What the police department has stated publicly is an age, a location, an approximate time and a preliminary view of the cause.

The Orange County Sheriff-Coroner's office took custody of the body on Sunday afternoon. Police have not said when the man's name will be released.

Earlier police response at the resort

Security staff alerted the Anaheim Police Department on Oct. 12 to two abandoned bags at the resort, one containing marbles and the other containing sharp instruments, The Daily Beast reported. Officers later said they believed the bags had been made to look suspicious and were left deliberately to cause panic.

A fall at Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Four months before Sunday's death, a 13-year-old boy climbed out of a ride vehicle on Tiana's Bayou Adventure and fell down the attraction's 50-foot waterfall, on June 21. Video obtained by TMZ appears to show the teenager twisting and sliding down the steep drop moments behind a ride vehicle carrying other guests. Park officials confirmed he was taken to the hospital as a precaution and later released.

A park visitor who gave his name only as Paul said he heard someone scream and immediately checked on his grandson, who told him he saw the boy fall down the ride's drop "like a rag doll," NBC News reported.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health opened an investigation into the attraction. Spokesperson Katherine Wzorek said inspectors "did not find any operational issues," and the ride reopened. Tiana's Bayou Adventure opened at Disneyland in November 2024, replacing Splash Mountain, which closed the previous year, and is inspired by Disney's 2009 animated film The Princess and the Frog.

What happens next

The coroner's post-mortem review is the only part of Sunday's case still open, and no date has been set for a finding.

The Oct. 12 bag case is also unresolved. Police said at the time that they were investigating and have not identified a suspect or announced an arrest, The Daily Beast reported.