Disney - the urban myths

Yes there certainly are lots of rumours regarding Disney.

The ones I particulary dislike are the ones where by people point out dirty and unsuitable words in Disneys magical films, written in to the drawings etc...I don't like this .

However the funniest is the frozen body theory!!

I did hear a story where by Disney had refused to fly a flag half mast in the American Resort when some one of great standing in America had died, but I think that is true....and damn right they shouldn't!! Nothing should bring you out of the magic

A co-worker read this article and asked if “is still true that Disney won’t let Mickey Mouse be photographed with disabled people?” Apparently Disney “wouldn’t want Mickey to be seen with less than perfect children”. I found this to be a really disturbing misconception – really no ugly or disabled children with the Mouse?

Obviously I quashed that rumour quickly but it is interesting that there is a part of the public perception that wants to see the fabled dark side of the Disney myth.

Oh my goodness that is terrible, strange isn't it how people want to believe the worst about such a magical and lovely place, and a company that was funded primarily for entertainment and magic. I guess its jealousy?

I agree very disturbing indeed.

Another popular story is that Walt, for want of a better word, bugged the executive dining room.

The story goes that Walt was wary of what his executive team thought and said when he was out of the way… so he added a microphone to the stuffed bird in the corner of the Executive dining room. This microphone fed back to a speaker in his office and from there he could ‘keep an eye on things’.

This is not one of the more common myths but it does seem to tie in to the popular rumours concerning Walt’s micro management style… anyone heard the same thing?

that sounds like it could be true!!

Disney caused people to believe that Lemmings suicide.

In 1958 Walt Disney produced "White Wilderness," part of the studio's "True Life Adventure" series. "White Wilderness" featured a segment on lemmings, detailing their strange compulsion to commit mass suicide.

The lemmings supposedly committing mass suicide by leaping into the ocean – they were actually thrown off a cliff by the Disney filmmakers. The epic "lemming migration" was staged using careful editing, tight camera angles and a few dozen lemmings running on snow covered lazy-Susan style turntable.

Lemmings... eeeekkkk!

1: Disney killing off it's cast? Wow - thank heavens I had a good union

2: I cannot belive that a Disney live action film had such a profound effect on popular culture in a relativly short period - Who hasn't described a crowd of people milling aimlessly, ready to follow each other off a metaphorical cliff lemmings?

Only last night at work a man said to me ..I would like to take my kids to Disney in America but I heard that loads of children every year go missing in teh parks never to be found ..and that their heads are shaved before any one notices so they cannot be recognised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say i told him he was talking a load of *&Y%^$%^$%^$^$

The oldest Urban Myth in the book any one??? Funny thing was he swore his cousins friends Sister told him this true story. mmmmm

i heard that one of the chasing pirates in disneyland was modeled after disney himself, and the woman he is chasing is actually modeled by his wife.. is that true?

Future Imagineer! :P

Hmmm not one I have heard myself, and the Paris Pirate pair bear no resemblance at all to Mr Disney more like Errol Flynn and the guy who played Watson to Basil Rathbone’s Holmes

"loads of children every year go missing in teh parks never to be found"

In the light of recent tragic events for the McCann family in Portugal I don't think these things could be hushed up. Especially in light of the only time ANYTHING even approaching this came up in my time when a person in the park was paying just a little too much attention to the child of a Guest.

All I will say is that almost everyone I knew went into full daddy/mummy bear mode that afternoon nobody was ever getting to even think about being anything other than a good citizen that day.

The child by the way never knew a thing, for them it was just a happy day in the park.

This really isn't a myth, but its been bothering me.. In DLP they turn the Haunted Mansion into the Nightmare Before Christmas during the holidays, but in WDW they don't do it, Why not?

Future Imagineer! :P

I have heard a different version of this story (the official version) at Club 33. They say that the bird was like a two-way radio. There was a small both off to the side and a cast member would be in the booth to interact with the executives in the dining room. Seeing as how it is the "official" story, and I am not privy to the mind of Walt Disney, I do not know his real intentions, but the bird is still there all the same. Of course, since the club was not completed before his death, he neither got to interact with the executives nor eavesdrop on them...

They say that the bird was like a two-way radio. There was a small both off to the side and a cast member would be in the booth to interact with the executives in the dining room.

So... they installed a two way radio in a bird to talk to a Cast Member in the next room? Wouldn't a bell to call the waiter have been just a little easier? Then why hide the radio at all and why in a bird?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

The Two-Way Radio Bird:
To the best of knowledge, the two-way radio was never a part of Club 33, if anything is was part of the Disney Gallery (redesigned now as the Dream Sweet at the Disneyland Resort). Before Walt's Death, the Disney gallery was actually a larger apartment Walt was creating for his ever growing family. From the designed that have been found, there was supposed to a grand dinning room. Looking at the layout, it is believed that the dinning room shared a wall with the Club 33 kitchen (only thing that would technically make this part of the Club). Walt was going to make the dinning room a place for guests of importance... the shared wall would be able to open so as to introduce the chef as well as allow the chef to make everything the guest specifications. Supposedly, Walt wanted to have a two-way radio in the room (hidden in a bird) so as to allow for better guest service. i.e. if a guest mentioned that a glass of XYZ wine would go nicely with the dinner, the waiter would be able to walk into the room with a glass of XYZ before the guest even needed to ask for it.

Designs After Walt: I haven't heard anything about any of the pirates being designed after Walt (I was honored to have to have done a walk through of the attraction at DLR), but I have noticed an uncanny resemblance of Walt in one of the singing heads that is in the Haunted Mansion Graveyard.

Missing Children: I think we really need to get technical, of course this would also be the Disney Geek side of me coming out, children can not and will not EVER get lost inside a Disney park... it's the parents that get lost, the signs even make note of this : Lost parents inquire here for children

I hesitate to mention... the Hidden Mickey!
There is a myth that the hidden Mickey heads around the parks are the work of mischievous Imagineers pulling one over Disney… sorry but there are just too many of them.

PLEASE if anyone has an urge to spot hidden Mickeys start a new forum post… or post photos in the gallery tagged Hidden Mickey.

Have those people never heard of Dreams take flight??

Bill

Brandon,

You are correct. In California the Haunted Mansion attraction is turned into the Nightmare Before Christmas. This is not done in Florida becuase both parks are run a little different. Even the castles at Christmas time are decorated differently (snow in California and just the castle lights/show at Florida). This is what makes each park seperate and unique.

Just heard the old story of unconciouse child found in a washroom in the Magic Kingdom - Dyed hair and drugged.... Yadda Yadda - Where did that old story come from?

The hidden mickey on the Haunted Mansion Ride in the ballroom with the plates, is not an official hidden mickey. Imagineers will come and do a walk through and move the plates where they belong and Cast Members will go and move them back into the shape of mickey : )

"...Laughter is timeless.
imagination has no age.
And dreams are forever."
Disney

Shannon thank you for the info, i kinda just wish they did it here in WDW too. It would be so much fun.

Well I know for a fact that Walt did put a microphone in the bird, but it wasn't for those reasons. He put it there so while his guests were eating he could talk back to them and make it seem like the bird was talking to them. There were speakers placed through out the room and they are still there today

I have a family member who just happens to be an imagineer and it is true that they do hide mickeys in almost everything they design. They don't only hide mickeys though they hide other things too like in wdw magic kingdom on splash mnt right before you start to climb up to the last drop(the big one) if you look up at the right time and you'll see a gopher pop out and say "go FSU( Florida state university)" also the imagineer Im related to hid my bday in space mnt at magic kingdom when your exiting the ride.

"the imagineer Im related to hid my bday in space mnt at magic kingdom when your exiting the ride." - Quite the claim to fame Jessie!

Walt was going to create birds with microphones in them for resturant locations, the birds would overhear the diners wishes and the waiter/waitress would then deliver it to the table without the guest making the actual request.

I have always judged Disney rumors by a practicality test - I am not sure that this passes the test except possibly for at Club 33...