Teenage Disneyland worker suffered one of the worst deaths imaginable on ride that no longer exists
Although Disneyland is supposed to be 'The Happiest Place on Earth', the theme parks have also been the site of many tragedies over the years.
The macabre topic has been thrust back into the spotlight recently in wake of the wrongful death lawsuit filed by widower Jeffrey J Piccolo when his wife suffered a fatal allergic reaction after eating at a Disney Springs restaurant.
Although most of us have magical memories of our visits to the legendary attractions, not everyone is so lucky.
Deborah Gail Stone, from Santa Ana, had got a job as a hostess at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, back in 1974.
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This was shortly after she graduated from high school, so that she could earn some extra money before she went off to college.
The 18-year-old was tasked with greeting visitors as they entered the newly-opened attraction 'America Sings', which replaced 'Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress' when it was moved to the Magic Kingdom.
It was essentially a rotating theatre, which span in a counterclockwise direction, where the audience watched a cast of animatronic animals belt out songs from various periods of US history.
The building which housed America Sings had an outer ring of six seating areas that were all connected by divider walls, which moved around every four minutes as the show progressed.
Disney fanatics were thrilled with the new addition to the Anaheim park following its opening - but on 8 July, 1974, just nine days after the first America Sings show, tragedy struck.
It is believed that the deadly chain of events which cost Deborah her life took place during the the 45-second interval which came at the end of each 24-minute performance to allow the crowd to leave.
Reports from the time explain that the teen would welcome the next lot of theatregoers over a microphone before the outer ring of the America Sings attraction rotated, carrying the audience to the first scene of the show.
At around 11pm that evening, it is thought that Deborah approached the area between the rotating wall and the stationary stage wall too closely - and somehow became trapped in between them.
The exact circumstances of her death remain a mystery, as it is not clear how she got herself stuck in the gap.
But the young Disneyland employee ended up suffering one of the worst deaths imaginable, as she was horrifically crushed to death between the two walls.
The audience who were seated for the next America Sings show reportedly thought that Deborah's screams of terror were part of the show - although one member of the crowd realised something more sinister was going on.
Although other members of staff were alerted, by the time they arrived, it was too late to save the 18-year-old.
An article produced at the time by The Los Angeles Times told how Daniel Robison, a member of the US Air Force, had been in the front row of an adjoining theatre with his family when the incident occurred.
The dad told investigators that he had witnessed what he thought was a child being dragged between the two walls, while hearing a terrifying scream.
Following Deborah's shocking death, Disney launched an investigation into the incident and promptly closed America Sings - however, it was reopened just three days later on 11 July, 1974.
Safety lights were installed by the operators while the walls inside of the rotating attraction were then swapped to breakaway versions, so that it could give someone a chance of escape if a similar accident occurred.
Deborah's parents reportedly filed a lawsuit against Disneyland following her death, which is said to have resulted in them receiving a 'small settlement'.
America Sings eventually closed for good on 10 April, 1988.
Topics: Disney, Disneyland, Theme Park, US News
Olivia Burke