--- title: A Mistakenly Headless Disneyland Character Spooked Visitors description: Ursula's animatronic head separated from her body at the Little Mermaid ride in Disneyland, frightening visitors. canonical: https://time.com/5125654/disneyland-ursula-accident/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-30T22:58:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:50:13.404Z og:title: That Time Ursula Lost Her Head on the Ride Spooking Everyone og:description: Ursula reached a whole new level of terrifying og:url: https://time.com/5125654/disneyland-ursula-accident/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: That Time Ursula Lost Her Head on the Ride Spooking Everyone twitter:description: Ursula reached a whole new level of terrifying twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Ursula Lost Her Head on the Little Mermaid Ride and Frightened a Bunch of Tourists > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cb878cbb-3769-465f-a3b0-5d739cf09f92&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=cb878cbb-3769-465f-a3b0-5d739cf09f92&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=cb878cbb-3769-465f-a3b0-5d739cf09f92&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 30, 2018 10:58 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 30, 2018 10:58 PM UTC Visitors to Disneyland’s [Little Mermaid](http://time.com/4797917/little-mermaid-statue-paint-vandalism-copenhagen-denmark/) ride at the California Adventure theme park in Anaheim experienced an unexpected fright over the weekend when the head of the villainous Ursula detached from her animatronic body. In true sorceress fashion, her character continued singing and dancing, arms gesticulating in time to the music, despite the creepy technical mishap, as ride-goers shared on social media. According to the[ _Huffington Post_](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/disney-ursula-head-off%5Fus%5F5a6eacd5e4b01fbbefb33ee7), those who took the ride reported that children were quite upset after the experience. Some were even in tears afterward. “It was a pretty freaky thing to see,” one person [told local news.](http://myfox8.com/2018/01/30/disneyland-ursula-loses-head-terrifies-everyone/) While that response is understandable — no one likes seeing a decapitated figure — let’s be real. Ursula is already a [frankly terrifying](http://time.com/3586569/sexist-little-mermaid/) (and terrifyingly powerful) character, no matter where her head is at. If you want more of her in your life, you won’t have to wait long: Disney is [already working on](http://variety.com/2017/film/news/little-mermaid-reboot-disney-rob-marshall-1202632266/) the live-action remake of the classic animated tale. > [](https://twitter.com/dizzzymissy/status/957760440779522048) > [](https://twitter.com/AshleyLCarter1/status/957842921033732096) > [](https://twitter.com/whatthemelmel/status/957774423448170496) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5125654/disneyland-ursula-accident/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5125654/disneyland-ursula-accident/"},"headline":"Ursula Lost Her Head on the Little Mermaid Ride and Frightened a Bunch of Tourists","datePublished":"2018-01-30T22:58:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:50:13.404Z","description":"Ursula's animatronic head separated from her body at the Little Mermaid ride in Disneyland, frightening visitors.","url":"https://time.com/5125654/disneyland-ursula-accident/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Disney"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5125654/disneyland-ursula-accident/","name":"Ursula Lost Her Head on the Little Mermaid Ride and Frightened a Bunch of Tourists"}}]}] ```