I love
Disneyland and I go as often as I can. I remember the first time I walked
through the gates of the Magical Kingdom and stood before Sleeping Beauty's castle. It was just as I had remembered it. I use to
see it at the end of every episode of The Wonderful World of Disney which I
faithfully watched every Sunday night as a child. In front of the castle the
iconic statue of Walt and Mickey beckons visitors forward, bringing you further
into the magic of this amazing world.
It may not
surprise you to know that Disneyland has its share of unexplained
phenomena.
My
favourite ride in Disneyland is the Haunted Mansion. As you pass through the ornate gates into the
beautifully kept gardens you are greeted by a quirky pet cemetery and a white
hearse with a ghost horse. You are
ushered to a waiting area in which you are left with jangling nerves, unsure
what to expect. Then gothic "doom buggies" take you through the dark
mansion allowing you fleeting and frightening glimpses of all manner of
spectral happenings.
There are
rumours that not all the haunted happenings in this amazing place are created
by the imagineers and their marvels. There is a story that the mother of a deceased child approached Disneyland and asked if she
could scatter his ashes along his favourite ride, the Haunted Mansion. There
are some discrepancies in the story, some saying the woman was allowed to
have a small service for her son in Disneyland some saying she was not, but all
stories agree that she was forbidden from sprinkling his ashes on the
ride. The story goes however that the
deceased child's mother decided to sneak his ashes in and she scattered
them. Since this took place a small spectral
boy fitting the child's description has been seen sitting crying at the
entrance gate of the haunted mansion.
One
person has actually died in the Haunted Mansion. It is tradition for Disneyland to hold a
"Grad Night". One student
decided he wanted to have a closer look at the "Séance Circle" and he
climbed out of the doom buggy. What he
didn't realise is that there is a gap between the track and the floor and he
plunged to his death. This area known as the Séance Circle in the Haunted
Mansion has had some strange occurrences.
A sound engineer working on the area could hear music. At first he assumed that a radio had somehow
been walled into the building but no radio announcer ever came on the stream and
in the end he had to place a speaker that created sound over the unexplained
music.
The famed
Matterhorn is rumoured to be haunted by a woman named Dolly. She had gone on the ride with her children
and in the middle of the ride she was so worried about them she undid
the seat belt to turn and see if they were safe. She subsequently fell from the ride and was
run over by the next bobsled. The
decline where she was killed has become known as Dolly's Dip.
In the
past the Disneyland waterway, the Rivers of America, in which all exotic manner of water
craft including the famed paddle steamer the Mark Twain, can be found, was a swimming
area. There have been three recorded
drowning in this water way. Two
brothers, and a student on a "Grad Night" at Disneyland, are said to
have drowned there. Tom Sawyers Island in the middle of the Rivers of America
is believed to be haunted by children that run around the island when the park
is closed. When Disney employees go to
the island, after such a reported sighting, no one is ever there.
A few
places in the New Orleans area of Disneyland are said to be haunted. The
Pirates of the Caribbean ride is said to be haunted by a little boy that shows
up on security cameras when the park is closed but when the ride is checked he
is never there. Unexplained sounds and giggles have been heard in the darkest
part of the ride, Transition Tunnel. The
exclusive Club 33, designed like a speakeasy and the only place in Disneyland
where alcohol is served is also said to be haunted.
A young
man reportedly fell to his death from a ride in Tomorrowland The ride has
since been removed. As he fell from the
car he was said to have grabbed at the blonde hair of his girlfriend. His ghost
has been known to have manifest itself to blonde girls and apparently tugs at
their hair.
It is
rumoured that Walt Disney haunts his famed park. One night a cleaner working in Walt Disney's
secret apartment above the Fire Station on Main Street noticed that some lights
had been left on. When she turned them
off she is reported to have heard a male voice say "Don't forget I am still
here". They leave the light on now
as a tribute to Walt. A very interesting
security camera film shows what appears to be a figure walking through the
park. It looks a little like Walt.....I
will let you decide for yourself.
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