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 In honor of the Outcast Earth team's recent visit to the Magical Kingdom, we are happy to present this look as some of the odd rumors to come out of the Disney corporation's numerous ventures.
Disneyland's Skyway to Death: While the OCE members debated the validity of the Disneyland theme park's “killer attractions,” [See Polaris's journal entry for February 21, 2007 by clicking here] one point of interest was the fate of the Skyway – or what Rune referred to as “those sky bucket thingies” [See Rune's entry for February 21, 2007 by clicking here]. Originally premiered in 1956, the Skyway consisted to enclosed gondolas that traveled along a suspended line from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland and through the an opening in the Matterhorn. The Skyway was removed in 1994 due to a variety of issues, most of which had to do with the cost of maintaining and staffing the ride. But rumors persisted that Disneyland had nixed the attraction after a guest fell to his death from one of the buckets. In truth, there was an injury that occurred shortly before the Skyway was discontinued when a man named Randle Charles “fell” from from a bucket and landed in a tree. He received minor injuries. Charles quickly filed a $25,000 lawsuit against the park, which he dropped when it was revealed that he actually jumped from the bucket. This incident was the only injury in the ride's 34-year history. |
Does Walt Disney Appear in Spectral Form in the Haunted Mansion? Rumors persist to this day that one of the “singing busts” in the Haunted Mansion's graveyard is that of Walt Disney. The bust in question is the only broken one, which is identified on the ride as “Uncle Theodore.” Disney enthusiasts see some delightful symbolism in the fact that the bust has fallen from its pedestal – a silent tribute to their “fallen” founder. Although “Uncle Theodore” does bear a striking resemblance to Disney, the projected image is actually that of singer Thurl Ravenscroft. (Ravenscroft's major claims to fame were voicing the animated “Tony the Tiger” and signing “You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” from the classic holiday special HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS.) The video of the singing busts was actually filmed three years after Disney died. |
The Ghost Boy Behind the Curtains: Perhaps one of the most amazing and persistent paranormal rumors from the Disney world had to do with the highly successful film THREE MEN AND A BABY (1987) starring Ted Danson and Tom Selleck. Disney produced this film about three confirmed bachelors who inherit the responsibility of caring for an infant. When the movie hit home video, however, a rumor popped up that the ghostly figure of a teenage boy could be seen lurking behind some curtains in a scene in which Danson's character introduces his mother to the baby. The urban legend had various forms, but the element which remained consistent is that the “ghost” was that of a youth who had committed suicide in the house where the film was shot. A more extreme version of the legend alleged that the boy's mother saw her son's ghost which she viewed the movie in theaters and subsequently went insane with grief. The truth behind the “ghost” was less sensational, however. The ghostly figure was in fact a cardboard standee of a tuxedo-clad Danson. Danson's character was a commercial actor and the standee was a promotional prop from a former job. The standee was featured in a scene that was ultimately cut from the final version of the film, which may have contributed to some viewers confusion when they saw the human-like figure in the background but had no reasonable frame of reference for it. Disney further quashed the legend by pointing out that all the interior shots for THREE MEN AND A BABY were filmed on a sound stage in Vancouver – including the “ghost boy” scene. |
Pornographic Box Cover from THE LITTLE MERMAID: 1990 appeared to be a year filled with strange urban legends about Disney produced films. Aside from the “ghost boy” rumors from THREE MEN AND A LITTLE LADY, there was also much anxious buzzing that year about the cover art on the VHS version of Disney's animated classic, THE LITTLE MERMAID. The gossip centered around the rather phallic nature of King Neptune's underwater city, which can be seen in the middle of the box cover right below the title.Although less paranoid observers might submit that the architecture in more reminiscent of Russian onion domes (as can be seen in Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow), stories persisted that a disgruntled Disney employee deliberately hid penises in the artwork as a parting gesture to his former employer. Whatever the case, Disney caved to the rumors and recalled all the remaining VHS tapes with this artwork. Subsequent cover art did not show the palace at all. |
 Pornographic Priest in THE LITTLE MERMAID: Does this sound familiar? Sharp-eyed viewers with somewhat dirty minds further proclaimed that Disney artists had put at least one blatantly sexual image in THE LITTLE MERMAID film. The scene in question was when the evil Ursula disguises herself as Vanessa in order to marry Prince Eric. As the couple approach the minister who is officiating over the ceremony, rumors abounded that the holy man was clearly aroused. Tens of thousands of viewers wore out the “pause” buttons on their VCRs trying to find proof. Again, the original explanation for the profane image pointed to a disgruntled Disney artist. Conservative religious groups later latched onto the rumor as “proof” that Disney was trying to corrupt the youth of America by filling their productions with subliminal messages that promoted deviant sexuality. (These groups' complaints appeared to have more to do with Disney's gay-friendly corporate attitudes than any legitimate attempts at filling animated films with subliminal images.) Disney's explanation: the bulge is the minister's knobby knee sticking out from under his robes. |
Aladdin Urges Nudity Among the Young: A few years after THE LITTLE MERMAID legend surfaced, another Disney animated classic fell under the scrutiny of the American public. Again, the rumors were fueled largely by religious conservatives who were still laboring under the belief that Disney had some kind of clandestine sexual agenda that it was promoting through its children's films. In this version of a now tired story, the Persian peasant-cum-prince, Aladdin, is rumored to say, “All good teenagers take off your clothes.” The scene is a famous one, in which Aladdin in the guise of Prince Ali invites Princess Jasmine to tour the world on his magic flying carpet. It is the moment in the film in which Jasmine falls in love with Ali. The Disney script shows that Aladdin's line was, “Good kitty, take off. Down kitty.” But due to background noise the line sounds garbled and it's unclear what the last few words are... although it is unlikely that they would be “take your clothes off.” As with THE LITTLE MERMAID fiasco, the error was not detected until ALADDIN made it to home video. (Apparently the millions who saw the film in the theaters missed the line altogether!) Religious groups called for the reconstruction of the film's audio track and a general boycott of Disney. "I felt as if I had entrusted my kids to pedophiles," one homemaker was quoted as saying in a Wallstreet Journal article from 1995. Apparently this same woman threw out all her Disney videos in protest.
[This information was originally transmitted as an enewsletter on February 21, 2007.] |
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