THE SECRETS OF DISNEY

WORLD
BRIDGET WARREN AND DANIELLE RAFFA

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

OBJECTIVES

• Students will be able to:

Language:
Summarize in writing one theory that they learned about
Disney World
Content:
• Recognize Disney World hidden secrets and formulate their own
opinions on theories.
 VOCABULARY

• Utilidor system – the tunnels beneath the theme park

used by Disney World’s employees.
• Cast members – Disney World’s employees that work at
Disney Parks or at the Disney store
• Haunted Mansion- classic spooky tour through an eerie
haunted estate at Magic Kingdom park in Walt Disney
World.
• Pirates of the Caribbean- a water based dark water ride
attraction in Disney World. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

• Space Mountain- blast off on a high-speed journey into

the darkest reaches of outer space on a roller-coaster ride 
CAST
MEMBERS
 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNk1FfSSsVo
VIDEO

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UTILIDOR SYSTEM

• Tunnel system underneath Disney World’s parks used by cast

members
• Functions:
• Waste removal
• Dance practice rooms
• Dressing rooms
• Electrical operations
• Deliveries and storage
• Food service

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

SPREADING ASHES

• Not tolerated or permitted by Disney

• Reported on a monthly basis
• Hidden in medicine bottles
• Purses
• Makeup
• Common places to scatter ashes
• The Haunted Mansion
• Flowerpots
• Magic Kingdom flower bed
• Pirates of the Caribbean ride
Code word ‘HEPA cleanup’ requires a special vacuum filter that sucks
up very fine particles such as ash residue
THE HAUNTED MANSION

• Believed that by scattering the ashes on the ride, they join the
ghosts and live at the theme park forever
• One Disneyland custodian stated, “The Haunted Mansion
probably has so much human ashes in it that it’s not even
funny.”
• It is believed that a young boy haunts this ride at Disneyland.
• His ashes are on the ride
• Cast members and guests have seen him crying at the end of the
ride

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MANY DISNEY
INCIDENTS
• 1981 stabbing of a teenager during a knife fight

• 2012 what was thought to be a suicide turned out to be

the murder of a young boy near the Mickey and Friends
parking structure – no evidence

• 2012 there were two explosions in the Toontown area of

the park – evacuation

• Employees often speak of the atrocious treatment of

“cast members” at the parks by both guests and higher-
ups.

• Lack of water and the strict rules imposed on those

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
portraying characters in mascot costumes; heatstroke is
frequent among those cast members who perform
mascot-suit roles
 • Originally, many of the Disneyland pirate skeletons were reported
to be real
• Donated from UCLA, the skeletons appeared more real (because
they were) than the ones that could be sculpted in the art shop.
• Faux skeletons of the 1950s and 1960s were “too unconvincing,”
PIRATES OF said one of the Disney Producers in a Magic Kingdom book
THE • Proper burials were reportedly given each time a skeleton was
removed from the ride.
CARIBBEAN • Inside the Captain’s Quarters treasure room, a dead man rests in
his bed, examining a map with a magnifying glass. If you gaze
behind him to his bed headboard, you’ll see a slightly larger,
darker and more dimly lit skull with a set of crossbones below the
chin.
• Back in 2014, Disney Cast member has actually confirmed that is
the last remaining real skull.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

SPACE MOUNTAIN

• In 1998, a 37-year-old man was hit on the

head by a falling object. His left arm was This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

paralyzed, and he suffered from short-term

memory loss (losing his job as a result).
• On December 7, 2006, a 73-year-old man
lost consciousness while riding Space
Mountain. He was transported to a hospital
and died three days later. 
• On August 12, 1980, a 10-year-old girl
became ill while riding Space Mountain.
She later died of a pre-existing heart
condition from a lack of oxygen.

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 REFERENCES

• Disney Utilidor System. Disney Wiki. (n.d.).

https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Disney_Utilidor_System.

• Saxton, J. (2021, April 26). These Disney stories are guaranteed to freak you out. AllEars.Net.
https://allears.net/2021/04/29/these-disney-stories-are-guaranteed-to-freak-you-out/.

• Staff, B. (2021, July 8). Disney World secretly struggles to prevent tourists from scattering ashes of
Loved ones. News18.
https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/disney-world-secretly-struggles-to-prevent-tourists-from-scatteri
ng-ashes-of-loved-ones-3936986.html.