At eighteen years old, honors student Debbie Stone took a job at Californiaís Disneyland in the summer of 1974.
She was a hostess on America Sings, a new ride that featured 6 rotating stages which allowed guests to watch without leaving their seats.
Only nine days after the ride opened, visitors thought they heard screams that were part of the performance.
The audience had just left, Debbieís job being to bid them farewell, so no one knows for sure how it happenedÖ
Öbut Debbieís body found itself crushed between a rotating wall and a stationary one.
To this day, Debbie remains the only reported incident of a Disney castmemberís death at a Disney theme park. Farewell to you, Debbie.
River Country (1976-2001) was Disneyís first water park and right beside it was Discovery Island (1974-1999), a zoological park.
Both parks were abandoned rather than demolished, and though closed to the public, brave souls have ventured within them.
Inside Discovery Island, itís a mish-mash of dilapidated rides, old staff photos, and even snakes preserved in jars.
Though itís publicized that both parks were closed due to falling customer interest, the truth behind the closures is far more ominousÖ
Öfor in 2001, a brain-eating amoeba, ìNaegleria Fowleriî was found in River Countryís surrounding lake.
It attacks the human brain and has a case fatality rate of 95%.
Then again, closing the parks could have strictly been a business decision. After all, N. Fowleri had already killed a young guest in 1980...
Walt Disney developed a special relationship with the F.B.I. under J. Edgar Hoover...
Öand he would report on the activities of Hollywoodís elite, from actors and directors, to writers and union activists.
In 1941, during a strike by animators, Disney testified before the House Committee on Un-American Activities...
...accusing several strike leaders of being communists.
Hoover was so impressed with Disneyís contributions that he allowed Disney to film inside the FBI headquarters in WashingtonÖ
Öand Disney likewise offered the F.B.I. unfettered access to Disney parks and scripts, some of which were changed at Hooverís request.
To this day, government documents about Mr. Disney and his cooperation with the bureau remain redacted due to ìnational securityî...
In 2007, a woman was caught releasing an unknown substance while riding Pirates of the Caribbean.
When confronted, the woman said it was baby powder.
But most people hip to the Magic Kingdom suspect it was something elseÖ human remains.
Dating back to the 1990s, people have spread the ashes of their loved ones throughout Disney theme parks, often on the Haunted Mansion ride.
The scattering of ashes has become so commonplace that Disney staff have been trained to respondÖ
Öand custodial crews use sophisticated HEPA vacuums to target the miniscule particulate matter now drifting through the airÖ
...and into your lungs.
Ever hear that lemmings commit mass suicide to alleviate overpopulation? Well, youíre not alone.
Only itís not true.
White Wilderness (1958) was a Disney nature film meant to showcase the behavior and beauty of lemmings.
Filmed in Canada, it features crafty edits and angles to manipulate the viewer into believing that this is a huge natural lemmings migration.
The film shows lemmings supposedly jumping off of a cliff and into water down below, the narrator declaring...
"They've become victims of an obsession - a one-track thought: Move on! Move on!"
The final shot of the film shows the lake, crowded with dying lemmings. Only it wasnít suicide ó they were pushed.
All this from the people that brought you ìthe Happiest Place on Earthî...