Beloved Disney World Icon Passes Away

If you have visited Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, then you know that the four theme parks are so much more than just rides and food. Each theme park has its own unique shows and performances. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, guests are immersed in both African and Asian culture as they travel through the gorgeous park.

Related: Popular Animal Kingdom Experience Quietly Returns

One of the more interesting performances was that of Stephan Mikes, a well-known sitar player. The sitar is an instrument that originated in India. The sitar is a long-stringed instrument, with a bulbous body at the bottom. It gained extreme popularity in the 1960s, especially when the Beatles became close to renowned sitar player Ravi Shankar. It is one of the most popular instruments used in Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Stephan could frequently be found in the Anandapur area of the park, amazing guests with his extreme talent. Mikes spent more than 20 years training on the instrument, and his ability was nearly unmatched.

Sadly, we have learned that the deeply loved cast member passed away on October 21. The news was shared by Mr. Mikes’ wife — Bonnie Pedicord Mikes.

My husband, Stephan Mikes, 1954-2023, has left this world — my sadness knows no boundaries — this is how I want to remember him

Mrs. Mikes also shared a video of Stephan playing the instrument he loved so much. The song he was playing was called “Five Gates” and was a song that was going to go on Mr. Mikes’ new album. Sadly, he was never able to finish the album.

We had loads of fun making YouTube videos during the pandemic, while I was recovering from my kidney transplant surgery — this one is a little clip (snapped it on the tv) from “five gates,” a piece from the unfinished album he was working on

From what we know, Mikes had been sick for a while. In March 2023, Mikes was performing at Animal Kingdom, but began to feel unwell. He was unable to finish his shift and went home, hoping he just needed some rest. The rest did not help.

Mikes went to the doctor one week later and discovered that he needed quintuple bypass surgery. That meant that five of the arteries bringing blood to Mikes’ heart were blocked. The procedure was intense and serious, but necessary for Mr. Mikes to live.

Mr. Mikes survived the surgery and spent 18 days in the hospital, with 14 of them being in the Intensive Care Unit. His family had high hopes for a full recovery, which would have taken between six and eight weeks.

A GoFundMe was set up in Stephan’s name to help with recovery costs, since he could not work. Many generous people donated more than $11,000.

At this time, we do not know what Mr. Mikes’ cause of death is. We do not know if he had other medical issues or if there were complications from his open-heart surgery.

In lieu of flowers, his family is asking that family, friends, loved ones, and fans plant trees in his memory. They have asked guests to visit the Sympathy Store on Legacy.com, where they can purchase one or more trees to be planted.

We send our most heartfelt sympathies to the family and loved ones of Mr. Mikes.

Did you ever have the chance to see Stephan perform? Do you have any wonderful memories to share?

This post originally appeared on Disney Fanatic.