Is Disneyland Haunted?

Disneyland. Where you get to wish upon a star and all your dreams come true. But could your nightmares as well?

Since its opening in on July 17th 1955, Disneyland has hosted over 600 million guests, and today employs around 25,000 people. Worldwide, Disney parks made around $15 billion in 2014 alone.

But could the parks also be resident to a number of ghosts that now call the parks their homes?

There are multiple reports from both staff and visitors of ghost sightings and paranormal activity. With so many people visiting and working at the parks, they can’t be all wrong, can they?

There is a rumour going around the Disney Parks of increasing incidents of secret ‘ashings’. Friends and family members are scattering the ashes of dead loved ones on the deceased’s favourite ride without the park’s knowledge.

Although Disney denies that this weird practise goes on, former employee David Koenig [KAY_NIG], in his 1994 book ‘Mouse Tales’, talks about the time tourists asked if they could hold a memorial for a 7 year old boy at the Haunted Mansion. During the ceremony, the mourners were spotted sprinkling “a powdery substance” into the ride.

Since then, there have been multiple accounts of ghost boys spotted at the ride. Guests have reportedly seen a boy running around the ballroom scene, laughing in different areas of the ride and crying by the exit. When they approach him, people are either unable to get his attention, or he simply just vanishes.

It gets stranger still when you see the photographic evidence. A picture snapped from a ‘ride goer’ shows a boy’s face peeking through the darkness, with the photographer saying there was no one of that age near him and that he had no flash or light on his camera for someone to be looking at him.

But this isn’t just an isolated incident. Another ghost is thought to not only wonder the ride he calls home, but also disrupt it unless appeased. George the ghost has called the Pirates of the Caribbean ride his home after a tragic accident during the construction of the ride.

The story goes that George was a welder who worked on the ride, and after tragically falling to his death or being crushed by a beam, he now haunts it .

There have been incidents of ghostly images, mysterious phone calls in the control room and staff feeling footsteps on the floorboards behind them. Disney workers supposedly now say good morning and good night to George each day, so that he doesn’t start causing mischief with the ride’s mechanics.

But if the door by the famous dog with keys is found to be open on start-up or mysteriously creaks ajar during the day, you can expect long delays or the ride having to shut down for the day.

In 2009 a YouTube video appeared to show a ghostly figure roaming the Disney Park at night. Many claim it is the ghost of Walt Disney himself, checking the park over.

Seen across four different CCTV screens, the spectral human figure glows, phases through a metal gate and even appears to walk across water.

Critics say it is probably the residue left from reusing old video tapes, but it’s not the only evidence of Walt Disney’s spirit still present in the park.

On Main Street is the fire house, where Walt Disney had an apartment that he used to host VIPs and celebrities.

You can still see a light left on in the window, supposedly in honour of Walt. But a maid who tried to turn the light off shortly after his death, found the light turning on by itself.

To this day, staff still claim they can hear knocking and footsteps coming from the apartment, the flickering of curtains and a glimpse of someone watching them.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, the “It’s a Small World Ride” has also been the centre of a few weird events. A relatively new urban legend, staff have reported that the dolls littered throughout the ride come to life at night.

Created in 1964 for the Paris World’s Fair, there are multiple staff accounts of dolls changing positions, moving around and some even saying that they are haunted by the ghosts of former employees.

But worse than this is an account from a young guest in 1999. The ride came to a sudden halt and everyone was taken off with no explanation. A guest decided to fire off the last few shots of her camera, and after developing the footage weeks later discovered what appeared to be the body of child hanging from the rafters.

The veracity of the photograph hasn’t been confirmed, and an incident involving a body in 1999 was never recorded, but surely it would only have been recorded if the body was human, not animatronic.

With little hard evidence to go on, it’s difficult to definitoively say that Disney parks are haunted. But until the stories are disproven, we better watch out and beware…