Disney is a big name, and anything linked to the brand is sure to make big news. Rumors spread like wildfire when they involve anything Disney, making it difficult for fans to separate truth from viral falsehood. Here are just a few examples of the wild tales that are taken for fact when they’re repeated enough.
1. Wishes features notes from a dying girl
The Myth: The first notes of Wishes, “Star light, star bright…” are sung by a young girl whose dying wish was to be part of a Disney park.
The Truth: While this certainly tugs on your heart strings, and even sounds plausible, the story is completely false. Disney does lots of amazing things for children with terminal illnesses, but this just wasn’t one of them. The soloist in Wishes is Charity Farris. You can also hear her talented voice in All Star and Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by The Countdown Kids.
The rumor is widely believed because some (hopefully unknowing) Cast Members have perpetuated it among guests. However, you can rest assured that your favorite nighttime spectacular doesn’t actually contain any heartbreaking overtones.
2. Donald Duck is banned in Finland
The Myth: In 1977, Helsinki politicians banned Donald Duck comics in the country because the character doesn’t wear pants.
The Truth: A blogger who was purportedly the vice chairman of the Youth Board in Helsinki at the time sets the story straight. Apparently, the board was facing a decision as to how they should allocate educational funding and determined that Donald Duck comics were not the best use of the money. Thus the beloved Disney character was struck from the list in favor of sport and hobby publications.
The story was promptly exaggerated and misreported by the press, leading to the false assumption that Donald was nixed for his wardrobe choices. In fact, his choice to forego pants had no bearing on the decision.
3. The Haunted Mansion hearse at Walt Disney World was used for real funerals
The Myth: The hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion was used in Brigham Young’s funeral in 1877.
The Truth: The original hearse rumor referred to the fixture that’s seen outside the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland. The idea simply transferred itself to Disney World and persisted in the new location. The truth is that neither hearse was used in Brigham Young’s funeral because the Young funeral didn’t incorporate a hearse at all. The casket was carried by hand.
The hearse seen outside the Disney World Haunted Mansion does have a claim to fame, however. It was used in the John Wayne movie “The Sons of Katie Elder” and is over 100 years old.
4. The Great Movie Ride features the real Casablanca plane
The Myth: The airplane in the Casablanca scene on The Great Movie Ride is an authentic prop from the film.
The Truth: The airplane in The Great Movie ride is just another Imagineering prop. The only significance to it is that the tail end is used on the Jungle Cruise. In fact, very little about this scene is an accurate portrayal of the set. Due to a height difference between Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, the former was typically standing on blocks in their scenes together. The animatronics in the ride don’t seem to have this issue.
5. Disney guests must cover their tattoos
Disney tattoos: OK or forbidden?
Image: kill, Flickr (license)
The Myth: Disney’s disapproval of tattoos extends to theme park guests. Those with visible tattoos must cover them before entering the park.
The Truth: This myth stems from an April Fool’s Day post in Inked Magazine. Closer reading of the article makes it clear that the entire piece is simply a joke. However, many readers glossed over the date and took it all as fact.
The truth is that Disney prohibits visible tattoos on Cast Members. However, their jurisdiction doesn’t extend to guests. Guests are, however, prohibited from wearing clothing with vulgar images or words, and from wearing authentic-looking character costumes in the parks.
6. Cast Members must grant your wishes
The Myth: Cast Members are required to bend to guests’ wishes and grant their demands.
The Truth: Cast Members must be polite to guests in all circumstances. However, this doesn’t mean an automatic yes for any request. Obviously, requests that violate safety policies are automatically out. However, Cast Members can and will tell you no for anything that would disrupt normal operations, including going through the FastPass+ line out of turn. Disney parks may go out of their way to keep visitors happy, but there are always limits.
7. If Tink doesn’t fly, admission is free
Does Tink have a secret?
Image: HarshLight, Flickr (license)
The Myth: If Tinkerbell doesn’t make her descent from Cinderella Castle during the Wishes fireworks show, you can get a refund on your admission.
The Truth: There are plenty of reasons for an attraction to go down, most of which are completely unpredictable. The brief flight of Tinkerbell is a relatively minor thing to miss. You might visit on a night when inclement weather cancels Wishes entirely. The parades may not happen. You could even visit on a day like one I experienced at Disney’s Animal Kingdom where all outdoor attractions were closed due a storm, It’s Tough to Be a Bug suffered from a lightning strike, and an E-stop took down Dinosaur, leaving guests with virtually nothing to experience for the hour these events coincided.
It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll receive a refund at all, and there is certainly no official policy providing one simply because an attraction was inaccessible. Missing Tinkerbell’s flight isn’t even a rare occurrence. Tink is, after all, a living breathing creature and she won’t fly if the conditions are unfavorable. She certainly can’t risk getting those wings wet!
8. Disney is ditching Piglet
The beloved Piglet
Image: JD Hancock, Flickr (license)
The Myth: Disney removed Piglet from Winnie the Pooh products to appease Muslim customers who deem pigs unclean.
The Truth: The Mothercare chain of outlet stores in New York reportedly considered whether Pooh and Piglet could be separated in their retail outlets, as a response to requests from their customers. Disney itself was never involved in the issue, and Piglet was certainly never removed from the official line of Disney products.
The next time you encounter a shocking story about Disney, you may want to dig a little deeper before you get upset over the implications. As with anything this popular, it’s very likely that whatever you hear is untrue.
