Do you believe in ghosts? Whether it’s because Halloween has arrived or there has simply been an increased interest in the subject, there have been multiple reports of paranormal activity at Disneyland and Disney World.
Any place with a significant amount of history is bound to have a ghost or two floating about, whether it’s a battlefield, manor, theatre, or even a theme park. Naturally, Walt’s original park is certainly no exception.
A Haunting at Disneyland
Inside the Magic has previously reported sightings of a shadowy entity at one of the hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort, but its California counterpart has more than its fair share of spirits. No, we’re not talking about the hitchhiking variety at the Haunted Mansion either.
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Walt Disney, Disneyland, and other facets of the Disney company have been subjects of modern myths and urban legends for nearly 100 years now, as any historic or prominent entity would. However, a theme park known as “the happiest place on earth” really shouldn’t come with paranormal activity.
There have been multiple accounts of strange things happening at Disneyland after dark, but could there perhaps be a nugget of truth to the legends? Multiple California residents and Disneyland Cast Members have shared their stories of strange spirits, poltergeists, and even the ghost of Walt himself!
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Luiza G. shared her husband’s paranormal encounter with Haunted Orange County. It seems that gin and vodka aren’t the only spirits at the tiki bars.
“It’s my hubby’s story. He’s a cast member, works at Tangaroa Terrace and he has been telling me they have a very active poltergeist at the new outside bar. People have been hearing voices, things flying off shelves. Downstairs in the pantry footsteps been heard and most recently for him he saw a metal container float four feet up in the air and then drop. It was an ice metal cup within a cup.
The ghost has become more active since Tangaroa Terrace had been remodeled. It’s not a harmful spirit, it’s their friendly ghost.”
On the same page, Tim R. shares an even creepier tale involving disembodied laughter and a late night in Fantasyland. Tim writes,
“I used to work the swing shift at the stroller shop. One night I was clearing Fantasyland of strollers just past 1:00am. A coworker and I were between the carousel and Dumbo when we heard children laughing. We decided to find security to let them know there were still guests in the park, but as we started walking towards Matterhorn, Dumbo turned on, music and all.
Since we had just finished collecting strollers from the Casey Jones/Dumbo queue, we knew there weren’t any attractions Cast Members operating the ride.”
Dead children and mischievous poltergeists are certainly your garden-variety haunts found in any good ghost story, but what about an encounter with the man himself? Multiple Cast Members have reported several instances of eerie encounters with the ghost of Walt Disney.
There are multiple reports of Walt Disney’s ghost at Disneyland. From strange phenomenon at the Golden Horseshoe to Walt Disney’s lost train running around the Park, encounters with Walt described by Cast Members (viewed here) sound more like something out of Ghost Adventures than a family-friendly amusement park.
There are dozens more stories, reports, and accounts that come with this same freaky flavor. Although some are quite entertaining, several of them are enough to make most visitors and staff not want to hang around the park after dark.
Do you have a Disney Parks ghost story? Share with Inside the Magic in the comments below!