A DISNEY superfan who vanished from her Illinois home was found dead by suicide at Walt Disney World just hours later.
Summer Equitz, 31, was discovered Tuesday night at Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel in Orlando, Florida, in what police described as “an apparent suicide.”
The Orange County medical examiner later identified her and said she died from multiple blunt impact injuries.
Equitz was a lifelong Disney fan who reportedly honeymooned at the theme park last year and revealed her pregnancy in December 2024.
She had left her home in Naperville, Illinois, and booked a flight to Florida without telling anyone, a relative claimed in a now-deleted Reddit post.
“She booked a flight there without telling us, unfortunately,” the family member wrote in a missing persons thread urging Disney park-goers to call police if they saw her.
Police swarmed the Contemporary Resort – one of more than 25 hotels on Disney’s sprawling property – shortly after 6pm on Tuesday after reports of a body.
Images shared online showed a white tent near the observation deck next to the hotel’s iconic monorail track.
Initial social media chatter suggested someone had been struck by the monorail, but officials were quick to shoot that down.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office told reporters: “[The guest] was NOT struck by the monorail, so that is erroneous information.”
The sheriff’s office declined to release further details Wednesday, citing the “suicide case”.
Equitz’s death came after a deeply personal year.
In addition to celebrating her honeymoon at Walt Disney World with husband Nico Danilovich last fall, she shared an ultrasound scan announcing her pregnancy just weeks later.
A self-described Disney devotee, Equitz frequently shared photos from the parks, including one taken with Disney CEO Bob Iger in April 2021.
“My life has peaked,” she reportedly captioned the photo.
Her CV also reflected that passion: Equitz had worked at Disneyland in California as a character performer and entertainment host between 2012 and 2015.
She later worked as a nanny and social media consultant.
The Contemporary Resort, known for its soaring atrium and balconies overlooking the Magic Kingdom, is directly connected to the park by monorail.
According to Disney historian Jim Hill, the hotel has been the site of multiple suicides over the years.
Hill previously told the New York Post: “There’s this weird phenomenon where people who are severely depressed but want to have that one last good happy family memory will go to Walt Disney World.
“They’ll deliberately book a room at the Contemporary Resort, which is 14 stories tall.
“And after that happy family time they will throw themselves off the building.”
Equitz’s death is the latest tragedy to hit a major theme park.
Just last week, a woman in her 60s reportedly died after suffering a medical episode on Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion ride in California.
And last month, 32-year-old Kevin Rodriguez Zavala died after riding the Stardust Racers roller coaster at Universal’s new Epic Universe park in Orlando.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
