Florida tourist dies after falling from Disney World hotel balcony

A man died this week after falling from a balcony last Wednesday at Walt Disney World’s Contemporary Resort, Florida police reported. 

“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 in a statement.  

“He was pronounced deceased on scene,” the sheriff’s office said.

The victim was identified as 39-year-old Jeffery Vanden Boom of Greendale Wisconsin. According to the Orange County Medical Examiner, he died from blunt force trauma caused by the fall. His death was ruled as accidental. 

On the day of the incident, other guests at the hotel reported on social media that the fifth-floor sky bridge connecting the Bay LakeTower to the main building of the resort had been closed off while police investigated the incident. 

“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,” the post continued. 

Disney has not yet commented on the incident. 

In February, a woman died after falling from the Mickey and Friends Parking Structure, a seven-story building built in 2000 that has a capacity for 10,000 cars.

Once police arrived at the scene, they found the woman lying on the ground. Despite life-saving measures, the woman was pronounced dead when she arrived at the hospital.