A chilling incident unfolded at the Disneyland Resort in California, where a park-goer tragically lost her life on one of the popular attractions.

Dolly Regene Young, aged 47, was killed in a horrific accident on the Matterhorn Bobsled ride in 1984. She was thrown from her cart and hit by an oncoming sled around 3:30pm, due to her unbuckled seatbelt. Her sudden departure from the cart went unnoticed by her companions.

Seated at the rear of the cart, it was challenging for her friends to realise that she had been forcibly ejected. It remains unclear whether the seatbelt was intentionally unfastened or if there was a malfunction.

Fatal accidents of this nature are exceedingly rare in Disneyland's 70-year history, with no similar incidents occurring for decades. Reports indicate that the ride was halted within 30 seconds of the accident to prevent further injuries and provide immediate assistance to Young.

Bob Roth, a Disneyland spokesman at the time, revealed that Young's friends were unaware of her fall until the ride ended. He added that, thankfully, no one in the sled that struck Young was injured.

He added: "That's the big question: how did she come out? There was nothing mechanical. There was no breakdown. It's the matter of a woman coming out of the vehicle somehow. How does that happen?".

The Matterhorn attraction was immediately shut down after the tragic incident, though it's understood to have resumed operations the next day.

The ride accommodated eight passengers, all secured in single file across two carriages, as they travelled along tracks winding around an artificial snow-covered peak. The vehicle that fatally struck Regene was moving at an estimated 20 mph, causing instant death.

Tragically for Disneyland, this wasn't the sole fatality to occur on this particular attraction. The initial death happened in May 1964, merely five years after the ride launched, claiming the life of a 15 year old lad.

Mark Maples had queued at the Matterhorn alongside two teenage schoolmates before occupying the centre position of the carriage, and owing to the evening's darkness, subsequent events remain unclear. As the ride began its descent, one companion felt Maples collide with him, which seemed normal for such a jolting experience.

However, within moments, he had vanished. He informed the Press-Telegram: "I was looking up, heard a noise, looked down, and recognised Mark's sweater as he was falling out the side. It's believed that after possibly releasing his safety belt, he tumbled and struck his head, plummeting to his death beside the railway.