Disney World might be the "Happiest Place on Earth," but behind the magical facade lies a dark history of shocking incidents. From tragic accidents and bizarre deaths to disturbing encounters, these stories reveal a side of Disney that's far from the fairy tale image.
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00:00While there is a sign prohibiting swimming noticeably absent, signs warning of alligators.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the creepiest and most disturbing news stories
00:10involving Florida's Walt Disney World Resort, its staff, and or guests throughout its history.
00:15They're choosing to have their ashes scattered in the happiest place on earth.
00:21The underwear problem. Wearing those hefty Disney costumes for hours in hot weather
00:25while dealing with the public sounds like a nightmare for most people,
00:28yet before, it was far, far worse for the cast at Disney World at one point in time.
00:33Back in the day, when a Disney character greeted you, there was a good chance that behind their
00:37smiles was the burden of being very itchy. The House of Mouse used to provide the actors
00:42everything they wore, including their underwear, which the company all apparently laundered as
00:46well. However, after various performers came out with tales of getting lice and scabies from the
00:51shared undergarments, the union went to Disney to negotiate a new contract. In 2001, the company
00:57agreed to let the actors wear individual underwear that they washed themselves.
01:01Horror alligator attack. In 2016, the Graves family traveled from their home in Nebraska
01:06to enjoy a vacation staying at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa in Florida.
01:11One night, the family walked near the shore of the Seven Seas Lagoon, an artificial lake,
01:15after enjoying an open-air movie and fireworks. Sadly, an alligator struck and dragged Lane
01:21Graves into the depths after his father, Matt, was unable to wrestle his son from the creature.
01:27After a 16-hour search, Lane's body was found. Disney moved quickly to change the shoreland
01:36to make it more difficult for this to happen again. In 2017, the company unveiled a lighthouse
01:47sculpture in Lane's memory and the foundation created in his name to help families financially
01:52with organ donations for children. Cleaning Catastrophe. In 1999, part-time custodian Raymond
02:03Barlow was on the platform of the Skyway gondola ride at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. The staff
02:08were preparing the attraction for its opening. However, workers didn't know Barlow was on the
02:12Skyway's platform when they turned it on to test the ride. He was swept by the cars and into the
02:17air. Barlow managed to hold onto one for several minutes. However, while he attempted to fall into
02:22a soft area, Barlow sadly landed awkwardly and didn't survive. The Occupational Safety and Health
02:27Administration, or OSHA, fined Disney $4,500 for the serious breach of safety standards. Near the
02:34end of the year, the park's Skyway was permanently closed. The weather this was related to the death
02:38is unclear. Earning for Disney. If you're ever walking around a Disney theme park and see a pile
02:43of what looks like dust on the ground, it could be the ashes of a loved one. Apparently, since the
02:481990s, people have taken human ashes to the most magical place on earth to scatter them. Employees
02:53say this is a favorite spot for guests to secretly spread the ashes of their loved ones. This event
02:59is strangely more common than we expected. So much so, the Disney staff are trained specifically on
03:04how to deal with the situation. Some custodians have stated it happens at least once per month.
03:09It was clearly against Disney's policies. However, we didn't feel we were breaking the policies
03:15because it was only a little bit. In fact, there have been numerous cases of people scattering ashes,
03:20causing rides to shut down while the remains are cleaned up. In 2024, Whoopi Goldberg admitted to
03:25doing just that for her mother's ashes at Disneyland's It's a Small World attraction. Periodically, I
03:32scoop some of her up and I do this. The 2009 Walt Disney World monorail accident. In 2009,
03:41in the early hours, Monorail Pink left Disney World's Epcot station to be taken out of the loop
03:46and go to the maintenance facility. However, because a track switch wasn't properly positioned,
03:51Pink began reversing down the rails. Monorail Purple was struck head on by Pink. And it is here
03:57where the crash occurs. Sadly, Purple's operator, Austin Wundenberg, didn't survive and six passengers
04:04and Pink's operator were injured. Once we got the door opened and he looked for the hatch, we could
04:08see the other monorail was just completely inside of that cab. In 2011, the National Transportation
04:14Safety Board pointed to human error with the track switch issue and the manager working remotely
04:19miles away at a restaurant. OSHA issued Disney $44,000 in fines for safety violations, which was
04:25later negotiated to $35,200. In 2011, a lawsuit issued against Disney by Wundenberg's family was
04:32dismissed. The Unsettling History of River Country
04:44In 1976, Disney World opened its first water park, Disney's River Country, which was built
04:49to resemble an old-timey swimming hole. However, the facility was plagued by serious issues in the
04:5880s. In 1980, a child lost their life after contracting Naeglerias, a near-fatal infection
05:04caused by an amoeba that attacks the brain. This incident followed three other children in the
05:08space of a month who had similar experiences throughout Florida. Disney wasn't deemed at fault
05:12since the amoeba can grow in any fresh water. In 1982, one teenager sadly drowned in River Country.
05:18The family sued Disney and received a settlement of $375,000. In 1989, history repeated itself when
05:26another teenager sadly drowned. It wouldn't be until 2001 when the park was closed.
05:31Cold Response to Fatality
05:33In 2023, Jeffrey Piccolo, his wife, Dr. Kanakporn Tang-Suan, and her mother were
05:38dining at Disney World's Raglan Road Irish Pub at the Disney Springs Shopping Center. While Tang-Suan
05:44had food allergies, the restaurant staff sued their concerns by stating her meal would be
05:48allergen-free. They asked their waiter at the Raglan Road Irish Pub many times if her meal
05:54contained allergens. Instead, she had a severe allergic reaction to nuts and milk and sadly
06:00didn't survive. In 2024, Piccolo issued a $50,000 lawsuit against Disney for his wife's death.
06:06The media juggernaut shocked everyone when they claimed he couldn't sue them due to the terms and
06:10conditions he agreed to years before when he signed up for a free trial of Disney+.
06:15Her husband had signed up for a Disney Plus subscription
06:19and used the My Disney account to buy tickets to Epcot.
06:22After the backlash, Disney backed down from taking the case to arbitration and will go to court.
06:31The Murder of Deborah McCartney
06:32A couple of months before U.S. President Richard Nixon did his infamous I'm Not a Crook speech in
06:371973 at Disney's Contemporary Resort, one of the facility's employees was a victim of a terrible
06:42crime. Deborah McCartney, who worked at the Disney World Hotel, went out to do an errand.
06:47Sadly, that was the last time she was seen alive. Three days after going missing,
06:52her body was found. McCartney had been assaulted and killed. Floyd Price was arrested and charged
06:57with murder. However, he was deemed unfit to stand trial and spent two years at a mental
07:02health facility. In 1976, Price pleaded guilty to McCartney's murder, avoiding capital punishment
07:08but getting sentenced to life with a minimum of 25 years.
07:11Parking Lot Plane Crash
07:13Back when Epcot was still Epcot Center, tragedy struck for a family that was headed to Florida
07:17for their very first vacation in Walt Disney World. After renting a plane from South Carolina,
07:22the group of five ended up attempting an emergency landing in Epcot's parking lot.
07:25When the aircraft's wing collided with a nearby lighting fixture,
07:28it went down and claimed the lives of three passengers. Adding to the story's sadness
07:33is the fact that the plane just barely missed an area for safe touchdown and the family was
07:37only a few miles from its destination. Though details about the exact cause of the crash aren't
07:41conclusive, it's undoubtedly devastating that a trip to the most magical place on Earth could
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08:01The Hostage Situation
08:05In 1992, a man named Alan J. Ferris remained in the Epcot Park of Walt Disney World after it was
08:10closed to the public for the day. His intention was to find his ex-girlfriend, who had worked
08:15there as a security guard. When another employee spotted him lingering after hours, he innocently
08:19attempted to guide him out of the park. But unbeknownst to him, Ferris was armed with a
08:23shotgun. He threatened the lives of the guards who had seen him and held two of them hostage
08:27in one of the park's bathrooms. But when Ferris emerged, he was surrounded by local deputies.
08:32Ferris took his own life in front of the authorities,
08:34and while a shootout didn't ensue, no bystanders were harmed.
08:57To learn more, visit nyseagrant.org.