9 of the weirdest, most persistent Disney conspiracy theories

These days, it seems like every major company, franchise, or famous figure is fair game for conspiracy theorists, so it’s no surprise that Walt Disney and his living empire have been the subject of a wide variety of far-fetched speculation. But even by Conspirasphere’s standards, the suspicions surrounding Disney tend towards the decidedly strange.

Here are 10 of the most enduring and bizarre of the many myths and misconceptions that have grown up around the House of Mouse over the years.

1. Walt Disney’s head is in cryogenic storage

This is perhaps the most widespread and popular of all the myths about Walt Disney and the Disney company. The story goes that when Walt died in 1966, his head (or in some versions of the story, his entire body) was cryogenically frozen to be resuscitated when the technology became available. It seems the story may have appeared for the first time in the tabloid newspaper The National Spotlight in 1967, later appearing in the French magazine Ici Paris, and again in The National Tattler.

While it is true that the first instance of cryogenic freezing of a human took place in 1967, there is no evidence that the Disney creator’s head or body is on ice. In 1972, his daughter, Diane, publicly rejected the idea. Speculation may have been fueled by Walt’s particularly private funeral. In fact, he was cremated, and his buried ashes at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

2. Walt left five years worth of micromanagement videos for his executives

This is perhaps the least far-fetched theory on this list. Walt’s death from lung cancer was relatively sudden and came at a critical time for the company. Walt Disney World was still under construction, and Walt’s brother Roy postponed his retirement to guide the project. The myth holds that during his last days, Walt shot a series of shorts explicitly addressed to Disney executives that contained secret instructions about the future of the company, including a list of films that should never be released before the ( not yet invented) home video market. Walt’s vision was so important to Disney, the theory goes, that he detailed every step his followers would have to take.

The popular fact-checking website snoring has already been about this, pointing out the misconception that Walt had tight control over the details of the company. In fact, by the time Walt died, Roy Disney was already running most of the day-to-day operations. Walt’s role at the time was more like that of a creative consultant, and he held much less than a controlling interest in the company. The idea that he leaves such personal records for his subordinates is highly unlikely.

3. Walt Disney left money in his will for the first man to become pregnant

A completely bizarre entry here. Even snoring can’t help us with an explanation of where this strange idea came from, aside from the fact that the trope of an eccentric rich man leaving strange requests and stipulations in his will is very old. However, it must be said that while Walt Disney was a creative thinker, he was not particularly eccentric. Walt certainly had a keen interest in technology that could enhance human potential somehow, but nowhere did he write or speak about human reproduction.

Unlike some of the items on this list, this one can be put to bed with relative ease, as Walt’s will is now a matter of publicity. It’s easy to see that Walt left 45% of his estate to his wife and children, and 45% to the Disney Foundation. The rest was divided among other relatives, and no future pregnant man was on the list.

4. Walt Disney was born out of wedlock

If it’s printed, it must be true, right? This cracker can be traced back to a single book published in 1994 with an ominous title Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince. It was written by a man named Marc Eliot, and within its pages you’ll find allegations that Walt was an anti-Semite and a spy for the House Un-American Activities Committee, and that he falsified his birth certificate, because he was really born to a farmer’s wife in Spain.

In reality, it’s well documented that Disney was born in Chicagoand Marc Eliot has been thoroughly discredited by pundits, including Disney historian Didier Ghez, who labeled the book as “So full of errors, guesses, deliberate lies, and unintentional ignorance that it’s hardly worth mentioning.” Leading animation historian Michael Barriere corresponds, describes Dark Prince as “easily the worst Disney biography I’ve ever read.”

5. Cinderella’s castle can be dismantled and moved

While the origins of this are unclear, this myth at least makes sense. Florida regularly experiences extreme weather events because it is close to the tropics. Hurricanes are a regular occurrence, especially during the summer months when Disney World welcomes the most visitors. Perhaps it wouldn’t be too surprising if one of the amusement park’s most beloved attractions, Cinderella’s 55-foot-tall castle, could be dismantled in an emergency.

However, there is zero truth in this rumor. The castle was completed in July 1971, after 18 months of construction. Six hundred tons of steel struts, along with a reinforced concrete wall and concrete substructure, are said to enable the building to withstand winds of up to 200 km/h. The exterior design of the castle is inspired by real medieval castles around the world. It is not a modular piece of architecture designed to be easily broken down and moved.

6. Disney World is covered with a giant protective dome

This is another one of the most persistent myths on this list, and it seems some people live to fuel it judging by some posts on Quora. An incredible number of people continue to believe that a giant invisible dome covers Disney World, keeping both bad weather and pesky bugs out.

This story is easily dismissed by the numbers holiday blog who recommend the best times to visit Disney World to avoid rain. Another proof is the fact that the leisure park has pre-planned backups in case of bad weather, including a special one Parade of a rainy day. The origin of this story may stem from a real project for a climate-controlled dome, which was originally planned to be in the heart of Disney World. Tentatively dubbed “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”, the idea was abandoned before construction began.

7. No one can die in a Disney park

A macabre entry here, and a surprisingly popular one. To clarify, no one is claiming that Disney properties exude magical, life-giving energy, at least as far as we know. Rather, the claim is that no one has ever been legitimately pronounced dead in a Disney park. This myth claims that Disney staff always remove dead bodies from the park grounds before notifying authorities, presumably to avoid negative publicity.

Leaving aside the legal implications of such an act, snoring comes to our aid again. The fact-checking site has unearthed at least three documented cases of deaths on Disney property, including four from the 1980s and another from 2018, when a utility at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort died after the cart he was working on overturned and clamped him down. the floor. While the Disney company has certainly been accused of overzealous protection of its public image, it is clear on this point.

8. The busts in the Haunted Mansion are modeled after Walt Disney’s face

Disneyland in California, Disney World in Florida, and Tokyo Disneyland all feature the Haunted Mansion, a popular ride-through attraction that uses a mix of ancient theater techniques and state-of-the-art technology to conjure up a host of spooky surprises. Some of the Haunted Mansion’s most famous residents include the Singing Busts, a group of five armless plaster torsos whose heads come to life and treat visitors to close-harmony singing, thanks to some clever tricks. projected video effects.

In some versions of this myth, one of the busts is based on Walt Disney himself. In other versions, it’s all of them. While Walt was known as a versatile performer, this is another theory that can be easily dismissed as the identity of the actors and singers behind the busts are known. Verne Rowe, Thurl Ravenscroft, Chuck Schroeder, Jay Meyer and Bob Ebright are the talents on display.

9. Walt Disney was a Nazi sympathizer

At least part of this incendiary theory, which has been debunked, dates back to that discredited book by Marc Eliot, Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince. But even modern animated comedies like Robot Chicken And Family man have made jokes referring to this myth. During World War II, Walt took part in making top-secret training films for the United States military, which would require the highest level of security clearance. He also produced many short propaganda films criticism of the Nazis.

It is true that the German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, whose documentaries glorified Hitler’s regime, visited Disney Studios in 1938. She was in America promoting her new film about the Olympics. Walt invited her on a tour of his studio, but declined to show or support her film. Stories that Walt also met Benito Mussolini in Italy are false, and there is no credible evidence that Walt was anything other than an American patriot.