From suing daycares to employee arrests, today we look at 11 Dark Disney Secrets!
Number 11.
Disney Gangs Gangs roam Disneyland.
But it’s not what you think.
Oh, there are occasional turf battles and reports of the odd fist fight.
Sometimes there are instances of DWI (Disneying-While-Intoxicated).
Still, there are hundreds — perhaps thousands — of Disney Devotees in so-called “social
clubs” who dress the part of gang members but primarily stick strictly to the Disney
code.
They look tough to establish Diz-cred amongst themselves.
Today there are over 90 of these disney gangs; they have names such as "The Wonderlanders
SC", "Walt's Misfists", "Main Street Elite", and the "Neverlanders".
But they love the Magic Kingdom and everything about it.
And that’s why they’re there.
Not necessarily with approval but with tolerance, Disney has accepted the roaming gangs.
The members of these social clubs have annual passes and meet up on Instagram and Facebook
to plan their in-park gatherings.
They treat the theme park as home.
Based on their appearance, Walt Disney might have had them thrown out.
But contemporary dress guidelines are tolerant of denim, vests, tattoos and piercings which
are all reminiscent of the motorcycle gangs they emulate.
Sort of ironic, Disney gangs.
You’ll see them all over the parks, especially near the Matterhorn in Disneyland and in California
Adventure, where alcohol is served.
Number 10.
Measles Outbreak Several visitors to the Magic Kingdom got
the measles from other guests at the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim at the end of 2014.
In total, 147 people in the U.S. were infected as a result of this outbreak.
Many of the victims, including children, had not gotten their MMR shot — measles-mumps-rubella
— because they were too young or they didn’t believe in vaccinations.
But two adults who were infected did receive their MMR shot in the recommended dosage.
The fact is that statistically, the numbers make sense.
Measles are extremely contagious.
If a single person has it, 90 out of 100 people who they come into contact with who are not
vaccinated will get it.
The MMR shot is not 100% effective so even among those who are vaccinated there is still
a 3% risk of infection.
So many people attend a theme park that the odds are some of them — even those who have
taken their shots — are going to come down with the measles because they are exposed
a few who already have the disease.
That’s what happened here.
And it could happen again, especially if the national trend of not taking vaccines continues.
In 2014, 635 people in the U.S. contracted the measles.
That's more than the total cases in the previous four years combined.
Number 9.
Scattering Ashes The Magic Kingdom is beloved by millions all
around the world, in all of its locations.
It only makes sense that some would want to be a part of it forever.
The fact that it is illegal doesn’t stop some people who want their loved ones’ ashes
to rest in the Happiest Place On Earth.
Anaheim, California police decided not to charge a woman who apparently scattered the
ashes of her dear departed into the waters of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland.
Witnesses saw her sprinkle a substance similar to baby powder into the artificial river.
The dust quickly disappeared.
Police could not get a good description of the woman, and the evidence of the crime had
dissolved.
But according to theme park employees, this is not nearly the only instance of this behavior.
When guests ask permission to sprinkle ashes in Disney parks, the park says no.
However many do so anyway.
If they do, there is no health hazard to Disney guests, according to a Disney spokesperson.
Number 8.
Feral Cats Nobody wants to see rats running around Disneyland.
But to keep the rat population down, there is a somewhat secret weapon.
Over 200 feral cats live in the attraction.
They have full freedom to roam after sundown.
They are seldom seen during the crowded daytime hours.
Disney sets up food stations around the park for them, keeps them hydrated, and has the
adult cats spayed and neutered.
They are treated as “Cast Members,” just like employees.
Keeping the rodent population under control is important for at least two reasons.
Basic health regulations forbid rodents around any place that prepares and serves food as
Disney does.
And Disney feels that it is much preferable to accidentally stumble upon a feral cat during
your visit than a scavenging rat, should you happen to be surprised at the park.
Number 7.
Go Directly To Disney Jail Graduation nights are reportedly the worst
times for the theme parks.
And the worst guests are teens.
All-Night Grad Night is when all of Disneyland essentially becomes a detention center.
Disney has been doing this for decades and seems to handle the booze, drugs, and sex
that accompanies an entire night of partying high school seniors.
For those that get out of hand entirely, they end up in Disney Jail.
Yes, that is a thing.
Those that end up in Disney Jail seldom come back to the park.
Ever.
It is more a matter of staying out of Real Jail.
Disney Jail is like a movie jail: Underground, bars on the doors, dim lighting, a cot to
sit on.
They revoke all your passes, and they keep records so that you never get park passes
again if they can help it.
You don’t want to go to Disney Jail.
Disney Orlando discontinued Grad Night in 2011.
Disneyland in Anaheim is moving Grad Night from the main park over to the California
Adventure.
Number 6.
The Wizard Of Bras At its opening in 1955, Walt Disney relied
on the sponsorship of independent merchants and corporations to keep Disneyland afloat.
The park had a number of shops where guests could purchase goods and merchandise quite
different than is available today.
Opening on the first day of Disneyland was a store called “Intimate Apparel, Brassieres,
Torsolettes.”
This shop was sponsored by Hollywood-Maxell Brassiere Company of Los Angeles.
Half of the store sold lingerie, like a 1955 version of Victoria’s Secret.
The other half of the store was a museum of the history of underwear.
Yes.
Inside the museum was an animatronic robot-like man-doll called “The Wizard of Bras.”
The robot wore a turban and spoke from a revolving stage using synced tape-recordings.
The Wizard of Bras was your guide to the wonder of underwear.
Other featured exhibits included an authentic Singer Sewing Machine from 1860 and 3D boxes
that allowed you to turn your head, causing an image of a fully-dressed, 1900s female
model to have their outer clothing dissolve and their pantaloons and corsets to appear.
Number 5.
Protests In 2008, over 1000 supporters of Disneyland
Hotel employees in Anaheim blocked traffic, disobeyed police orders, and stood in the
roadways to protest the company’s contract talks.
Employees said they had worked without a contract for eight months and had enough.
A number of the protesters were dressed as Disney characters.
There were 28 arrests.
In 2017, at Walt Disney World in Florida, protesters marched against Disney CEO Bob
Iger’s participation with President Donald Trump in his Strategic and Policy Forum.
In this case, the protest numbered about 60 people, including members of Disney’s biggest
unions, who joined together and chanted “Donald Duck, Not Donald Trump.”
Number 4.
Naked Animation Frames Animators produce a minimum of 12-15 drawings
per second of film or video.
Sometimes up to 24-30 frames per second.
Needless to say, sometimes animators get bored drawing the same things over and over hundreds
of times.
Occasionally they like to slip a little something in, just for fun.
After all, who is going to notice one picture go by at one-twelfth of a second?
It turns out, in today’s world of digital pause-on-demand, everybody notices.
In 1999, Disney recalled their home video of “The Rescuers.”
The intrepid heroes Bernard and Bianca fly through the air in their sardine can aeroplane
against a background of tall buildings.
At two separate times, in a window of those buildings, the image of a topless woman is
visible.
Needless to say, parents who thought they saw something, paused the tape, rewound, and
went back to check, actually did find what they suspected.
They declared their displeasure to the Disney Corporation.
It turns out that the naked woman has been in the movie since the beginning.
But at 24 frames a second, and in only two non-consecutive frames, she wasn’t noticed
until the digital age.
Now she’s been exposed.
Number 3.
No Bones About It Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the world’s
most popular Disney rides.
It was the last major attraction that Walt Disney himself worked on before his death
in 1966.
To feel the sensation of the boat ride through the bayou without the river water, Walt was
pushed through the construction on a dolly.
His “Imagineers” listened to his reactions as each section appeared.
Then, three months before the Pirates of the Caribbean opened, Walt Disney died.
And, as almost everyone knows, death plays a significant role in pirate stories.
Throughout Pirates are scattered many human skeletons.
In today’s world of computerized, plasticized, manufactured everything, we correctly assume
that the skeletons we see are artificial.
But when the ride opened in 1967, many — if not most — of them were actual human skeletons.
The phony skeletons of the period just looked too fake, and Walt wanted something much more
realistic.
So he got it.
The UCLA Medical Center provided the real human skeletons.
Over time the human skeletons were replaced with newer generation synthetic skeletons
and were given a proper burial.
But one human skull remains.
It is said that the skull attached to the headboard of the bed in the lower cavern is
a real human skull.
It is the one with two swords crossed underneath.
But rumors abound that the skeleton trapped under a burning beam in the jailhouse is authentic.
And that two skulls on a small island are genuine.
But who knows for sure?
Dead men tell no tales.
Number 2.
Crimes Against Minors Since 2006, there have been dozens of arrests
and convictions — over 32 — of Disney Cast Members for sex crimes, mostly with children.
There is the 2014 case of Allen Treaster, a former concierge from Toy Story in Disney’s
Animal Kingdom Lodge, Walt Disney World, Florida.
Off-hours, Treaster turned up at a house that turned out to be a sting set up by Polk County
Sheriff’s detectives.
Treaster was hoping to “fulfill a fantasy” with a 14-year-old boy.
He and three other Disney Cast Members were taken down in sex stings at that time.
Disney has stated that it conducts thorough background checks on all employees and handles
these incidents quickly and permanently.
Number 1.
Disney Take Down US Copyright and Trademark law say that if
you don’t perform “due diligence” to protect your trademarks, you may lose them.
Even if that’s true, it doesn’t seem likely that three small Florida daycare centers with
Mickey painted on the walls were going to deny the Walt Disney Company the rights to
its famous Mouse.
However, Disney’s lawyers thought otherwise.
Disney was fighting with Universal Studios over the same issue at the time — trademarked
character use.
Apparently, they were sensitive to the issue.
Maybe they still had the trademark lawyers on retainer.
When three Florida daycare centers posted five-foot tall, unlicensed character paintings
and Disney found out about it, that was all it took.
No fair!
They must come down.
Disney does not endorse these daycare centers and does not give out free character licenses.
Otherwise, they’d have to give out free licenses to Universal Studios, or something.
Anyway, down came the paintings.
Strictly business, of course.
Nothing personal.
Certainly, the kids love Disney even more now.