TRUE: The park has its own secret society
Disney’s most fake-sounding urban legend – that they have a top-secret society dating back to when Walt Disney was alive, with hidden meeting places built throughout the Disney parks – is actually true. Club 33 began as a dinner club for Walt Disney’s closest friends, and is now a group that costs over $25,000 and letters of recommendation to join, with a 14-year waiting list minimum.
FALSE: The turkey legs are actually emu
“Something sinister is happening at Disney World” is a genre so popular that it has spawned countless creepypasta and even a horror movie. Common across many of these is the idea that Disney’s world-famous turkey legs are actually made from emu. In reality, the turkey legs at Disney World are so big because they’re taken from male turkeys, which are bigger than you might expect.
TRUE: There are real skeletons in the Pirates of the Caribbean
Technically, this point isn’t true anymore, but it was once! When the beloved Pirates of the Caribbean ride first opened, Disney’s Imagineers opted not to spend the time and money on sculpting intricate and accurate skeletons and instead bought human remains that had been left to science from the UCLA Medical Centre. Nowadays, those same skeletons have long since been removed and properly buried.
FALSE: Cast members aren’t allowed to say no
There are lots of wacky rules about working at Disney World that are actually true. Yes, employees are called cast members and yes, they are forbidden from pointing with one finger. However, contrary to popular belief, they are allowed to say no to guests. Though they will do their best to be helpful and accommodating, they will not tolerate guests who are rude or demanding.
TRUE: Guests’ ashes are scattered at the Haunted Mansion
Walt Disney’s remains might not be there to greet you should you head to Disney World, but that doesn’t mean the park is completely devoid of the dead. As morbid as it sounds, Disney has a real problem with guests sneaking their loved ones’ ashes into the Haunted Mansion, so they can join the 999 happy haunts. The proliferation of this urban legend has only worsened the issue.
FALSE: Walt Disney’s body is on the property
The idea that Walt Disney himself lies buried, cremated or cryogenically frozen somewhere under Disney World isn’t just a popular park myth, it’s one of pop culture’s most enduring legends. Unfortunately, while Walt Disney was an innovator and early adopter of many technologies, this did not extend to his death. His ashes were actually interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.
TRUE: A special ‘invisible paint’ covers up unsightly elements of the park
The Disney parks have a reputation for offering perfect vacations free of the stresses of ordinary life, and they go to extraordinary lengths to uphold this illusion. One of the best examples of this is ‘go away green’, a grey-green colour researched and patented by Disney, allegedly proven to make the eye slide past and away. Disney paints all construction sites this colour to minimise disruption.
FALSE: Shouting “Andy’s coming” makes Toy Story characters play dead
Ask any Disney fan what the most prolific modern myth about the parks is, and you’ll receive the same answer: “Andy’s coming.” The story goes that if you shout this around any Toy Story face or fur character, they’ll immediately drop to the ground and play dead. Unfortunately, this fabrication is a 2013 meme that got so out of control that employees had to crack down on it hard.
TRUE: It’s always just 30 steps to a trash can
Walt Disney World is known as the happiest place on Earth, but it should also be known as the cleanest. The story goes that Walt Disney was conducting research for his first theme park and discovered the average person would only take 30 steps to look for a trash can before littering. True or not, in most of Disney World, it takes just ten steps to reach a bin!
FALSE: No one can be declared dead at Disney World
For as long as the Disney parks have been around, people have been fascinated with their approach to death. However, the enduring myth that it’s against Disney policy to pronounce people dead on park grounds is simply untrue. It’s actually Florida law, which states that deaths can only be legally pronounced by an attending physician, coroner, or medical examiner, that is the basis for this rumour.
