What is behind a ‘Happy everafter land’?
- CONNIE TAN-
Not everything is what it seems. No one would think to apply this phrase to a place we find so much joy in—Disneyland. Most of us have had the opportunity to visit this magical place, but the truth is that there is a darker side to Disneyland. There have been many terrifying rumors buried inside this place. Once there was a rumor that they leave human ashes in the park. In 2007, a staffer was seen sprinkling powder into the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. A woman reported this incident, and the attraction closed. However, the powder was never identified, and with rumors, it could be possible, right? The news spread, but Disney concocted a claim by saying a visitor sprinkled their loved one’s ashes so that they can be in Disneyland one last time before leaving Earth. Also, Disney used real human bones for a bed inside the attraction as well. Disney was perhaps trying to follow the tradition that pirates sleep on furniture built out of their enemies’ bones. Bone-chilling if you think about it. The Pirates of the Caribbean wasn’t the only place that was filled with human dust. The Haunted Mansion has had this same rumor too. This place is the most popular place to spread ashes. People wish for the deceased to turn into ghosts and come back again or simply have them enjoy Disneyland one last time just like in the Pirates of the Caribbean. Though ashes were constantly being spread, the janitors come and vacuum the mansion at the end of the day. In actuality, these occurrences are no longer rumors but facts.
Are human ashes the only concerning fact about Disneyland? Not at all. A visitor caught sight of a weird occurrence in the popular attraction; It’s a Small World. For those who have never seen the inside, there’s an array of animatronic dolls dressed in different cultural attires to represent unity. These dolls don't always function perfectly, and one was unplugged during this specific visit. Suddenly, the doll moved even though it was unplugged. Now that is creepy. Not only that, but staffs also experienced similar situations in which the dolls also moved but instead to another place. They swore that it wasn’t there before. In addition to unexpected movements, sometimes they produce perturbing noises in the after hours. This case makes many staff believe that the dolls do indeed come to life.
Furthermore, many claim that Disneyland is haunted. It is entirely believable now that we learned about disconcerting facts in the amusement park. Ghosts were also another reason people think Disneyland is haunted. Back in 1966, a 19-year-old teenager named Thomas Cleveland attempted to sneak into Disneyland for a Grad Night (an event that happens every June where Disneyland is opened overnight for high school graduates). He went over the perimeter fence and got onto the Monorail track. Security saw him and gave warnings to get him down, but he didn’t listen and ran away. At that instance, Cleveland got hit by a monorail train. The train dragged him along for around 30-40 feet before the cast member was able to pull to a complete stop. After that, cast members circulated rumors that the ghost of Cleveland was sometimes seen to be running on the monorail track, in the place where he died. There is also another case where a death left behind a ghost haunting Disneyland. The case of Dolly Young occurred in the Matterhorn attraction in 1984. She was alone in the back seat, and a child was alone in the seat in front of her. Young unbuckled the seatbelt during the ride and was assumed that she did this to help the child in the front. She stood up before the dip where two tracks cross over one another. Her head was hit on the bridge and fell onto the track. Unfortunately, she got run over when the next sled came. Tracks had to be disassembled to remove her body. It is said that Young haunts Matterhorn and sometimes appears in front of staff after the ride closes.
Other times, she would be watching over someone making them feel uneasy. The uneasiness is mostly felt in the big cavern and at the place where she died (called the Dolly’s Dip). The work lights in the tunnel near Dolly’s Dip always seem to be broken and need to be fixed, which happens frequently enough to raise concern. On the topic of phenomenal activities, a visitor took a video of the firework show. In the middle of a marveling entertainment was a figure on top of one of the Sleeping Beauty’s castle tower. However, this figure was transparent and ghost-like. What’s weirder is that it is evident in the sense that it was tremendous. Pretty much everyone watching the fireworks could see it. The “ghost” also seemed to be reaching out to the fireworks for unknown reasons. Since the firework show took place at the Sleeping Beauty castle there’s a number of possibilities for what it could be, including a hologram of Prince Phillip, an actual ghost that haunts Disneyland, or a cast member working on top of the castle to make sure everything is okay.
At last, we won’t be seeing Disneyland the same anymore. For the most part, a feeling of unsettledness begins to rise as we see Disneyland being tainted by human remains and ghost stories. Human ashes caused Disneyland to become a sort of cemetery while ghost stories gave way to thoughts about phenomenal activities. It is left for us to continue to treat Disneyland the same as ever or let this eerie information overtake our minds.