Update: Life Lost on Disney's Top of the Line 'Star Wars' Ride

There was a ghost rider on one of the most popular rides at Disney World, and it wasn’t one of the 999 Happy Haunts on the Haunted Mansion.

At Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, and all of the Disney parks around the world, there are certain rules and regulations that guests must adhere to that are outside of the law. These are things along the lines of following a specific dress code, behaving correctly at the theme parks, what items are allowed inside, and more. One controversial rule is that guests cannot spread ashes in the park or in an attraction.

It became a trend for guests to bring the ashes of their loved ones into the park, and then finding a spot to dump them. One ride that this has been done on time and time again is Haunted Mansion. What guests do not realize is that even on the darkest of attractions, there are cameras that can see what guests are doing at every moment, so you are never able to hide your actions. On top of that, rides are cleaned often, and those ashes that are on the floor are swept up and discarded.

It appears that while many cast members have advised against breaking this rule, some guests have continued to choose to not listen.

Christopher, a fan of Disney, took to X (formally Twitter) and shared that someone spread ashes on Rise of the Resistance, one of Disney’s most popular attractions, located in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It seems that on Reddit, it was confirmed that the mess in the photo was in fact ashes. As you can see below, there is white ash covering the floor of the attraction. 

Someone spread some ashes on Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland last night according to Reddit. Don’t do this, folks.

Someone spread some ashes on Rise of the Resistance at Disneyland last night according to Reddit. Don't do this, folks. pic.twitter.com/nLPiAi1yY2

— Christopher (@dizchris) March 17, 2024

Considering that Rise of the Resistance is a state of the art trackless ride vehicle, the grounds are very easy to clean, so dumping out ashes would mean that those ashes would be gone quickly.

Orlando Theme Park Zone got the confirmation from a cast member after u/-_-Voltage-_- started the thread ‘Ashes on Attractions’:

“Had to clean some ashes today. I know it’s some people’s dying wish to be laid to rest on there favourite attractions but the fact of the matter is they are ravished and dragged by the vehicles and ultimately cleaned and thrown out with the trash to end up who knows where. I feel it’s better to pay more respects to loved ones.”

The comments on the post are flooded with guests and who were stunned at the display. One guest said, “I hope they got permanently banned from the park and can never visit their loved one again,” another wrote, “Wow, that’s incredibly disrespectful”.

One previous cast member recounted their experience with a guest dumping ashes, confirming that they are cleaned and discarded right away: “Fun fact, my first day of training at the buzz ride at disneyland someone did this. Ride shut down for hours while they call an outside crew to come get rid of the remains. Because it’s remains we literally weren’t allowed to touch it.”

Another poster was concerned for the safety hazard that this could pose for guests, “Maybe it’s because I’m asthmatic but besides the disrespect of vehicles rolling over your loved ones remains…that dust flies around & people will breathe it in. That can’t be good.”

“This type of behavior is strictly prohibited and unlawful,” a Disney spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal. “Guests who attempt to do so will be escorted off property.” “The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it that it’s not even funny,” said a Disney cast member.

According to multiple sources interviewed by the Journal, individuals have disclosed that they scatter the ashes of deceased loved ones at Florida’s Disney World and California’s Disneyland, viewing it as a symbolic and emotionally significant gesture.

However, this practice goes against both local Anaheim regulations and Disney’s policies, creating challenges for park staff tasked with cleanup duties. Approximately once a month, incidents requiring a specialized HEPA vacuum cleaner to remove ultrafine particles like ash residue occur, as reported by employees to the Journal. When such incidents are discovered, Disney staff inform guests that the attraction is temporarily closed due to “technical difficulties” and provide them with Multiple Experience Passes for alternative ride options.

One guest, Shanin Himebrook, a 41-year-old from Missouri, shared with the Journal in 2018 that she scattered her father’s ashes near the entrance gates of Disney World. She recounted how, during her childhood, she used to take summer trips to the park with him and wanted to honor those memories.

“At Disney World, he wasn’t the tired, graveyard-shift Dad,” she recalled. “He was the one saying, ‘Let’s get you the Mouse ears! Let’s get your name stitched in it!’ It felt like, ‘I love this dad! Can we stay forever?'” Just one of many examples of guests who have broken this rule.

Overall, it is a horrible idea for guests to dump ashes in Disney attractions. Even if you are not caught, as we can see in the most receent incident on Rise of the Resistance, those ashes will be sucked up, and your loved one will not remain immortalized in the ride forever, not even Rey can help, as that trip to Batuu will be cut very short.

Have you ever heard of Disney guests dumping ashes into attractions?