Disneyland Superfans Risk Breaking the Law for Unconventional Farewell

There are those whose love for the Disney universe is so intense, they could practically live at Disneyland parks. They visit every chance they get, celebrating significant life events such as engagements and wedding anniversaries there. In short, these parks hold a special place in their hearts. However, this affection sometimes goes too far, as some make a rather shocking decision. Both American theme parks, Disneyland Park in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, have frequently been the scenes of grim and outright illegal incidents.

Visitors engaging in such actions can face legal consequences. “This type of behavior is strictly forbidden and illegal. Guests attempting this will be escorted off the property,” stated Disneyland in a press release after similar incidents were reported at a Star Wars attraction earlier in the year. The behavior in question involves fans so devoted that their final wish is to have their ashes remain in the park forever. However, California law is clear: to spread ashes on private property, one must have the owner’s permission. Violators risk six months in jail and a $500 fine. Despite this, actress Whoopi Goldberg spread her mother’s ashes, as she detailed in her autobiography, even sharing tips on how to avoid detection.

Visitors regularly come to scatter their loved ones’ ashes, reports the Washington Post. The newspaper noted that, according to a rumor started on Reddit, the Haunted Mansion attraction in the park located in Florida was closed on Saturday, November 30, 2024, after someone spread funeral ashes there. While Disney has not responded to inquiries to confirm or comment on the incident, it is apparently a fairly common occurrence.

Time and again, individuals have publicly admitted to dispersing the ashes of their loved ones at Disneyland, as featured in the documentary Dark Side of Disney. However, most fans are caught and expelled from the park. Subsequently, the ashes are cleaned up: “Unless you want your loved one to be swept up or vacuumed – in any case thrown into an industrial waste compactor – do not spread their ashes in the Haunted Mansion” or anywhere else in the park, explained Lynn Barron, a former employee, and Ken Pellman, a podcast creator about Disneyland, in a book about cleaning in these parks. It’s important to remember that Disneyland employees are everywhere, and the parks are filled with surveillance cameras.