Conspiracy Theories

Disney Park Theories

Disney is suppose to be the happiest place on earth, but the secrets it hides will probably make you change your mind about that.

1. People constantly try to dump the ashes of their loved ones on Disney property.

Disney employees have said for years that people regularly scatter the ashes of loved ones on the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and other places around the park. The Haunted Mansion is one of the most popular spots for honoring the dead. In 2007, a woman was seen pouring a powdery substance into the waters of the Pirates ride in Disneyland, but security could not find her afterwards. 

2. The characters on "It's a small world" did come to life even when it's unplugged.

The It’s A Small World ride opened originally in 1966. Like other Disney attractions, it’s not without its own conspiracy theories and creepy legends surrounding it. The weirdest one of all of them? That the dolls  actually move. Yeah, not like during the show either— that’s normal for Disney attractions. According to people who have worked at Disney and have been there after hours, the dolls will move around, switch positions, and even disappear. Obviously, a lot of people are pretty skeptical about whether or not this is legit or just made up to scare visitors, but it’s pretty creepy either way, right?

So, next time you go to Disney and find yourself going through the iconic It’s A Small World ride, keep your eyes on the dolls because you never know what they might do.

3.  Debbi Stone

What happened to Deborah Gail “Debbie” Stone wasn’t like the other urban legends surrounding Disney parks. While others featured a vague story that always started out something like, “I know someone who worked there and…” or “I totally heard this story from my friend who’s brother’s friend worked at the park and…” Instead, this is a real incident that happened on a ride in 1974. Just over a week after the America Sings ride opened, cast member Debbie Stone was crushed between two walls of the building. It’s unclear whether she fell or was trying to jump to a different stage and mistimed the movement of the walls, but she was pronounced dead twenty minutes later at the start of the next show.

After the accident, the ride closed while the staff installed safety lights and remodeled so that the area would be safer for cast members, but the ride ultimately closed permanently in 1988

4. Mind control through smells

Have you ever noticed these little speaker-looking things around the parks? They’re called Smellitzers and they shoot out scents into the air. People believe they’re there to mind control people visiting the Disney parks. Whether it’s to spend more money on food and souvenirs or to try to make them stay awake and alert so they’ll stay at the park longer, people aren’t really clear on what kind of mind control the park is trying to do. But they’re certain that it’s something in the air at Disney coming from those Smellitzers.

They’re not wrong about that, there is something in the air. It is controlling the minds of tourists? Probably not. It puts out a scent that they associate with the area in order to make you associate it with that, too. Overall, it’s to give you a more pleasant experience and remember the scents of Disney as cookies and cotton candy instead of sweat and sticky kids.

5.  Walt's illuminati club

Disney’s worst-kept secret opened in 1967 and has been serving the richest of the rich Disney patrons ever since. If you want to join, it’ll cost you $25,000 a year for A membership, only after $50,000 in initiation fees. There, you can enjoy dinner in an exclusive club for $100. That sounds like a pretty low price for someone who’s paying over $2,000 per month to be a member. Most people know about Club 33, it’s not exactly a hidden secret about Disney. Everyone knows that it’s an exclusive dining club that only the richest Disney visitors can join. But did you know Walt Disney may have started it as an Illuminati meeting place?

This is probably not true, but it’s a conspiracy theory that’s been circling Club 33 for some time. People think, since it’s so expensive to join and so exclusive, that Walt made it for the Illuminati to join and have their meetings. The official story is that it was made as a VIP lounge for corporate sponsors to enjoy a private meal in a luxury setting.

6. A real skeleton on display?

The Pirates of the Caribbean ride is full of skeletons, but did you know that at least one might actually be real? Supposedly, back when it was first built, the imagineers at Disney felt like the decorative, fake skeletons that were sold for stuff like this just didn’t look real enough. Of course, it was built in 1967 and there have been some incredible advances in special effects, makeup, and props in the past 50 years, but back then they just didn’t quite cut it. The imagineers working on building the ride turned to the UCLA Medical Center to get some skeletons of the bodies that were donated to UCLA for scientific studies and used them to decorate the halls of the ride.

Some time later, new imagineers came and took them out and sent them back to be properly buried. With new technological advances, they were able to find fake skeletons that looked good enough for them. According to people who work at Disney, some of the old real skeletons remain. Particularly the skull and crossbones above the bed. Spooky!

Just think of all these bedore you go to the happiest place on earth!