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Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast
Xennial co-hosts Dani and Katie talk about their analog childhoods, digital adulthoods and everything in between. If you love 1980's and 1990's pop culture content, this is the podcast for you!
Generation In-Between: A Xennial Podcast
Disney Drama, Part 2: The Theme Parks
Do theme park animatronics freak you out? Have you ever stopped to think about the "underground" of the theme parks you frequent?
If you ever wondered if that electronic pirate was truly watching you, you might be a Xennial who attended, or still frequents, the Disney Parks.
Listen in as Katie revisits some Disney theme park lore, including stories from Walt Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.
And don't miss Part One, where we talk about scandalous Disney VHS tapes from the 1990s.
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Have you ever wondered what is happening beneath your feet inside your favorite theme park?
Speaker 2:Do you swear that creepy doll animatronic is staring right into your soul?
Speaker 1:If you've ever thought about sprinkling the ashes of a loved one on their favorite Disney ride, you might want to think again. But you also might be a Xeniel who has visited those Disney parks and we are too Hi.
Speaker 2:I'm Katie and I'm Dani, and this is Generation In Between, a Zennial podcast where we revisit, we remember and sometimes relearn all kinds of things from being 80s kids and 90s teens. Yes, you did that.
Speaker 1:I did it correctly. I didn't even write it out for her and she got it all right. I love it, love it, love it. So that's right. And today you are listening to part two of Disney Drama Make sure you go back and listen to part one if you haven't yet which is about VHS drama.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, from the 80s and 90s.
Speaker 1:Dani's just recalibrating over there because she just did a lot of talking about VHS tapes.
Speaker 2:I recalibrating over there because she just did a lot of talking about VHS tapes. I'm always a yawner.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, it's okay, it's fine. So for this episode, we're taking it out of the movies and into the Disney theme park, including Walt Disney World, disneyland and even a Disney water park, right, so we've talked before about where we stand with Disney, on past episodes and part one, but I think before we get into the parks we should talk a little bit about our experiences there. You know, how often have we gone? What's our favorite park? Have we been to Disneyland, et cetera.
Speaker 2:I wish I've been to Disneyland. I love me some Disney. As you know, I'm wearing a Disney shirt. Actually, I've had this since the oh. Actually, this was the second time we took the kids to Disney before we lived here, and you know, we were tourists that would come to Florida for whatever, um, this was. Oh God, I can't remember what year this was. It was 2018. I don't know. Anyway, the second time we brought our kids to the Disney parks, I had my friend make me shirts for every day that we were there. That was before. Like everybody did it. Like now everybody does it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, you kind of make your own trademark shirt or your family all wears the same shirt or whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was kind of before everyone did it, but anyway I still have it. It has all my favorite Disney princesses on it. I love that princesses, I love that Anyway. So I love Disney. I'm excited for this because I'm like, ooh, drama in the parks and I'm excited to see your turn with this, because this could have gone a whole bunch of which ways?
Speaker 1:Yeah. So I will say up right, right up front and you're not going to be surprised at this A lot of this takes a haunted turn. Yes, okay, good, I was hoping you'd be excited about that, not even on purpose, but you know me, wait.
Speaker 2:so it's not like drama, like we had drama, like controversy, Not really, some of it does go into that. Because I have one that maybe you didn't have, that you're going to be like oh my God, how did I miss this?
Speaker 1:I'm excited, so stick around until the end, in case that happens.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:But I love a haunted Disney story Okay Well, I love a haunted Disney story. Okay, well, so let's get right into this first one then. Wait, you didn't say about you and Disney first oh yeah, I mean same thing.
Speaker 1:We came down as a kid twice I think because my grandparents used to live in Florida but I grew up in Indiana, so we would visit them and then go to the parks, loved it. Oh, I came down with my high school too, and we sang at Disney and at Universal, which was really fun. But as a family we don't really go that much. Have y'all been?
Speaker 2:Because you said you haven't all been as a family. We haven't gone as the seven of us. A family unit, yeah, and we probably won't at this point. It costs a bajillion dollars, yeah.
Speaker 2:But like as like I've taken different kids at different times or gone with on with friends or if family was visiting from out of town. Whoever could go went. So it'd be a decent amount. It makes me sad because both my kids like loved disney. And then caden fell out of love with disney like the first year we were here when he was a freshman in high school. He just was like I hate this. So now he's more of a universal kid. Okay, but cooper was a. He was my hanger on her until, like, we just went to Universal the first time. Like a few weeks ago.
Speaker 2:And he's like I'm done with Disney, yeah, and I'm like you can like both. They're so different to me, they really are. They're very different experiences and, like, universal's great but it doesn't have that Disney magic Like. It's a different vibe, like when I go to Disney. I am there for the vibe, I'm there for the magic. It smells a certain way. I can't even explain it. If y'all are Disney people, you know what I'm talking about and I, but universal is about thrills. I think, like you're there for some, some movie thrilling rides.
Speaker 1:I agree, yeah, and I mean just. For example, in the next couple of weeks I'm going to Disney with one kid and her chorus, and then I'm going to Universal with a different kid.
Speaker 2:I love that you go on all these field trips. I do. I hate field trips.
Speaker 1:Oh man, I love me a field trip.
Speaker 2:Look, and it's not just the theme parks.
Speaker 1:The theme parks are obviously awesome, but I went on an Indian Lagoon field trip.
Speaker 2:Oh, I didn't realize. I was like, oh God, like I have to make sure you don't like drown and get eaten by snakes. Like I cannot, they didn't. This was like our first year here. I was like, okay, well, that's, that was my last field trip. I was like I can't. And then I told the teacher I was like, if you need any chaperone, like if you know, sometimes they're like desperate need Right, and I'm like then I will go. And I think maybe that's how I ended up on that one is because they didn't have enough and she asked me to go. I was like, but now I don't even say that I don't sign up, I am not going, I hate, I don't like kids and I can't.
Speaker 1:Some kids are bad and I cannot like, I cannot, that is a hard part of chaperoning, especially, especially in theme parks, or the lag.
Speaker 2:I'm not responsible for some smart ass mouth kid getting lost up in disney.
Speaker 1:I'm not doing that, no, ma'am, it's stressful you're but you're way more patient with children yeah, and I have like not to totally bring down the mood, but I kind of have a sad story about a disney field trip.
Speaker 2:I went on and so now I go on every single one in the future, don't what so. Well, now we have to know.
Speaker 1:Well, the short story is and it's not funny I went on. I think Amelia was in sixth grade, she's a junior now. Right before Christmas time her chorus went and sang and I chaperoned a group and it was one of those things where a few of the kids were getting a little not being the best by the end of the day and they were kids, I didn't know that well in my particular group and a kid left a cell phone on a ride. So then we're trying to go back and get it and it's just all very kind of frustrating. And one of the girls in our group, who was fine, really wanted to stop and get candy and I kept putting her off all day and then we had to rush to the bus, so she really didn't get the candy and we had to get something from a vending machine. Well, anyway, she passed away. A month later she got hit by a car right before Christmas and I know that sounds wild, but it has always haunted me. Why didn't I take two more?
Speaker 2:minutes to get that girl candy.
Speaker 1:I know that sounds overly dramatic and like making it about me. I'm not trying to, but it always sat with me Like what's the big fucking deal if we let our kids stop for two minutes to get candy? But I was trying to be like well, I get on the bus chaperone. You're doing what they told you to do.
Speaker 2:That's different, like they give you whatever.
Speaker 1:And then I'm just like hey, kids, you want candy, you want to go on this ride? I'm just like I'm just very more laid back on field trips. Obviously I will keep your children safe, don't worry. But like as far as like my personal feelings, like oh, I don't want to go in that shop or I don't want to go on that ride, gone.
Speaker 2:I'm there for the kids. You don't always get to decide what you do, like what the kids do. You have to do what they tell you, right. So I mean that's not on you. So, anyway, that was a reminded me. Kids are only kids for a little while, but also they're bad too. So stand by my original statement.
Speaker 1:I get it Like I'm not, I'm not mean to children Like let me just tell y'all, since if you never met me.
Speaker 2:I'm a nice person Generally. I just I don't enjoy extra time with children. Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of added responsibility too.
Speaker 2:And I just it's too stressful, like I get stressed with my own kids. Well, now they're older so it's not as stressful, but they were little. In the parks, especially Cooper was a runner man, girl, he would dart off. The first time we ever took him he had one of those kid backpack leash things which I thought were horrible until I had a kid who was a runner, who darted out and if you've had a kid who's a runner.
Speaker 2:you know those leash things are the best because they don't care. Yeah, kaden, never, would never, never in his sweet little baby child. Life would have run off If we said don't do it. He did not and he was terrified of everything. But Cooper was like how far can I get from you and what can I find?
Speaker 1:Like the shiny thing. What's? This over here, which at theme parks there's a lot of shiny things to distract you.
Speaker 2:So like multiple children is just like yeah, and one time did I tell you my field trip story. And then we've got to talk Disney parks.
Speaker 1:I signed up for a field trip when Caden was in fourth grade.
Speaker 2:We lived in the Midwest at the time, I think, and we were going to a fish hatchery yeah, this was definitely a Midwest thing, and they were. I didn't know that they were actually going to fish at the fucking fish hatchery, that they were actually going to fish at the fucking fish hatchery. Now, those of y'all who do not know, my stance on outdoor life is that it's not good. I do not know how to fish, I don't want to touch a worm, I do not. Well, so we get there, they do the little presentation and then they're like okay, kids, you can decide if you're going to use hot dogs or worms for your casting.
Speaker 2:And I'm like panicking. On the inside, I'm like, oh my God, I have three kids One is mine and they wanted us to bait hooks. I don't know how to fucking bait a hook. I don't know what to do. I was like what do I do when they catch a fish? I'm not touching it, right, right, they did not tell us this, okay, so I'm panicking. So, of course, I'm instantly like okay, well, all my groups getting hot dogs. We're not doing worse. We're not hot dogs for this group. So I'm like, okay, all we have to do is just make sure what's the likelihood they're going to catch a fish right? I was like probably not girl. In two seconds this kid caught a fish and thank.
Speaker 2:God you had the hot dogs. Thank God there was a dad next to me chaperoning and he saw my panic stricken face and he was like do you need some help? I was like, oh my God, do I need help? He was like, okay, yeah. So we just like combined our groups because I didn't know what the fuck I was doing. I was making sure kids weren't dying with fish hooks and that was about it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and not like falling in the water or running away or whatever.
Speaker 2:When I came home and told Troy about it he was like oh my God, that's so funny. I cannot believe you signed up for that. I was like I didn't know.
Speaker 1:I mean, yeah, a fish hatchery. I would have thought maybe you were just walking by tanks or something. I don't know, learn about the fish, and then they tell you and maybe you see the fish and that's it.
Speaker 2:That is a Midwest field trip right there, that is. That is a legit Midwest field trip, 100% and now you're going to fish and you're going to bait hooks. My face was like I was like sweating. I was like like on the inside, I'm like what, what am I going to do? What am I going to do?
Speaker 1:Oh, my gosh. Thank God, there was like someone there.
Speaker 2:Thank God for that dad, whoever the hell he was, because I don't, I don't know what would have happened, I don't know. Anyway, all right, so let's talk crazy.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, okay, so the first one I have on here is River County. Have you heard of a River? Oh, my God, I said River County. I'm already wrong River.
Speaker 2:Country. Yeah, that's the water park they used to have that got abandoned right yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it was opened in 1976.
Speaker 2:Am I supposed to look at my notes?
Speaker 1:No, you don't need to, you're good, it was Disney's first water park and it was located if you're a Disney head on Bay Lake, near Fort Wilderness Resort. Yeah, what's there now?
Speaker 1:Yeah, and its theme was old fashioned swimming hole, oh, kind of like old Splash Mountain type, Kind of there were rope swings, rock slides and then like water rides that are nothing like the parts they have now, which are like plastic and all the things Like they used nature and kind of gave it like this natural feel. It was heavily marketed as rustic and they did use filtered water from Bay Lake but there was nothing chlorinated that's going to come back later and it was supposed to be this kind of like American summer camp. Vibe Got it, which, granted this is the late 70s.
Speaker 2:Well, and it's more wilderness is very like that, Exactly yeah yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So this was 76 when it opened. So in 1980, an 11-year-old boy from New York died what? After contracting a rare and deadly brain-eating amoeba. I knew about this At River Country.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, yep, I did hear about that Is that why it closed.
Speaker 1:It was actually still open for a while after that, but Disney officially of course, said it was a freak occurrence, that their filtration met all the state requirements.
Speaker 1:But this particular amoeba thrives in warm, fresh water. But this particular amoeba thrives in warm, fresh water and since River Country used natural water, that was the problem and immediately it kind of just put this layer of kind of like because he died like hauntings and evil and stuff like that on the park, even though it was still open. It actually stayed open until 2001. Really, yes, it was closed off season, so it was kind of open during the warmer months I mean, it's always warm in Florida, right, but you couldn't like necessarily go there in like January because it was fresh water. And the reason they closed it in 2001 was low attendance and they had just opened Blizzard Beach the bigger one and Typhoon lagoon, um, so they they kind of closed it, they didn't announce it or anything until 2005, so they just kind of like didn't reopen it after the off season, but that's not where the weirdness ends, that's okay here, we go.
Speaker 1:They kind of closed it but didn't do anything with it. Oh yeah, they just left it. They just left it, so the slides and structures stayed. Florida wilderness just kind of took over Alligators snakes moles.
Speaker 2:Alligators going down the water slide. Alligators are like this is the best.
Speaker 1:Okay, wild vines. And so people of course started like trespassing.
Speaker 2:I've seen videos of it. Yeah, it's creepy right. It's really weird.
Speaker 1:Because it's this sort of even though it was older Disney, this like theme park manufactured fun kind of vibe. But then you see Florida, I know, taking back over and even the music for years was still playing through the speakers, yeah, so it's like abandoned, overrun by things, and there's this like weird elevator theme park music playing.
Speaker 2:Weird, Very, very weird. I have seen videos on that, like on other, like Disney, like YouTuber. You know mysteries or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so there are some YouTube channels that people who kind of broke in they found old animatronics.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Logbooks, forgotten props. One person got a video of an old safety instructional TV still playing.
Speaker 2:What, but how If there's no electricity? I don't know Right, because that's weird. Some of that I think is not true because Could be doctored. You know what? I don't know Right, because that's weird. Some of that I think is not true because you know what I mean, because how is that going to still be going if there's no electricity? If they shut the park down like they're not idiots? This is Disney we talking about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they ain't even trying to waste their money. They trying to make that bank, yeah. So some of that I wonder like cause I've seen these videos before of the play and I'm like okay, but like I think that it that is not really having music playing, because it's yeah, you think that they just piped it into their videos.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I don't know, I, I don't know what the what the airy nonetheless, but yes, I mean it's creepy, anyway, right, but I think, like there's no electricity, it's not gonna happen right, everything's just abandoned.
Speaker 1:Why would there be electricity, right? Yeah, that doesn't make sense. So there is one particular ghost that several people have claimed to have seen at river country, including cast members. Um, that they hear laughing or splashing at night. This was when the park was still open, long after the park was shut down. Um, and because of like where they hear it supposedly it's near where, like, the amoeba boy would have gotten infected they say it might be him. There's another another story that a lifeguard disappeared during a storm there in the 1980s and was never found.
Speaker 2:Is it true?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:Urban legend, that one I didn't look up this one.
Speaker 1:I don't think is true, but I put it in here just to see what you thought. Another legend says that a final guest was left in the park overnight before the shutdown and was never seen again.
Speaker 2:No, Disney be kicking people out. Yeah, seriously, if you want to try and stay in a Disney park longer than you're supposed to, you are not doing it because they have got all kind of strategies to get your ass out of there. They will.
Speaker 1:I ran the Princess Half Marathon years ago and so literally ran 13 miles. They wouldn't even let me just like stay in the little corral to like eat the snack they gave me. They wanted me to go out to my car in the parking lot and do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah they ain't giving you no extra seconds there, unless you pay in.
Speaker 1:So in I didn't know this and you have to tell me if you know, cause I know you follow stuff going on at the parks. But in 2018,ney announced plans to build a new resort on the site, oh called reflections, a disney lakeside lodge, and with that they finally demolished what was left of river country. But in 2020 which we can probably guess why the new resort was canceled and the land is just empty now I'm sure they'll put something there they'll put something there, yeah, but 2020 wasn't the time to maybe like invest in new um stuff.
Speaker 1:So that's it. River country, okay, that you know, and as far as I know, that's the only like in my research that I did the only full Disney park.
Speaker 2:That is no longer like oh, other things have like come and gone, but yeah, but like maybe rides and stuff. Yeah.
Speaker 1:An actual thing you had to buy a ticket for at any of the Disney parks that's ever closed. Interesting, all right. So this one. Do you know what the utilidors are? No, okay, you will. You just probably don't know what it's called.
Speaker 2:It's the underground of Disney, oh yeah, when the cast members yeah go, they have to get all around and it's kind of creepy.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, it's creepy, and and um, so I guess it's. It's what cast members and people at disney call them utilidors and it's a combination of utility corridors. They call them the utilidors. Um, they're not actually underground. Oh, maybe you know this. Oh, I did know this magic kingdom is built on the second story. Yes, so these tunnels were built first and then everything's on top of it, which is kind of wild when you think about when it was built I know I mean it wasn't that long ago, but like in the 70s or late 60s into the early 70s, when it was being built.
Speaker 1:It's pretty, pretty awesome, uh. So the tunnels are actually on ground level, right, and, just like you said, it's built so the cast members can travel through the parks unseen. Yeah, uh, disney is really big. They don't want cross-contamination between lands, right, so you don't want buzz lightyear and frontier land, etc. But it's also like, really important for the infrastructure, things like trash and food delivery, wardrobe, um, and these utilidors and the characters and the characters and they don't want to ruin the magic, right?
Speaker 1:so if you're changing out of your outfit or taking a break, a lunch break, you have to have somewhere to go that no one's going to see you take off your mickey head or whatever. Um, there's over 390 000 square feet of it. It's basically like an airport underneath the theme park crazy. Have you seen video of it? I have wild. It's so cool. Yeah, I would want to work there just for that. But, um, there's all sorts of wild things that go down there. Like cast members often talk about costume changes, uh, trading pieces wearing multiple parts of character costumes as a joke, like you know, part donald duck, part woody, or you know, whatever, but we, you know, we know so many people who have worked at the disney parks.
Speaker 2:I want to ask them so many questions about this, because they've all been down there and over the years I'm sure the laxity of the rules has probably gotten stricter, because oh yeah, there's all sorts of shenanigans that could go under there, even like pranking, like taking part of someone's costume. Yeah, I'm sure that doesn't happen anymore.
Speaker 1:I'm sure it's all locked down. Yeah, it's all locked down. And then they've got this gigantic proprietary trash disposal system.
Speaker 1:Yeah, this is wild that uses vacuum technology, so it's high powered suction and the garbage can whoosh by you as quickly as 60 miles per hour so wild I guess. It's super loud, though, like trash the. The trash system is crazy loud, especially like if you're quote unquote underground. So people have described it. Cast members have described it like a freight train in hell, which, if you worked all day at Disney and your costume, I could see you feeling a little dramatic about that loud sound Of?
Speaker 1:course, supposedly, I'm sure this happened more than once, but a janitor once lost a whole mop when it got caught up in the section, just like boop, boop, bye mop, yeah. So not only the cast members use these utilidors, but celebrities also. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, when they go to Disney, when they go to disney, when they go to disney. So some of those like more famous stories are michael jackson snuck through in disguise, sometimes as a disney character. Oh my god, I love that under there robin williams would pop into cast break rooms and just do impromptu comedy sets. Stop. Can you imagine you're?
Speaker 1:on your lunch break in your little like disney outfit. And here comes robin williams, like testing out a impersonation material on you, while you get out tuna sandwich. You know I loved this one in sync and britney spears wandered the tunnels during the height of their fame and they accidentally got lost.
Speaker 2:Uh ended up in like I don't know, do you think, because they probably had people yeah like I don't think britney spears is just walking around. I know, even back then yeah. No, that's not true.
Speaker 1:They're probably down there, but they probably didn't get lost, okay, so of course there are ghost stories surrounding these, so I feel like your Disney drama is just ghost stories. I didn't mean to, but I like it. I'm here for it. A little bit of it.
Speaker 2:I didn't mean to, but I like it.
Speaker 1:I'm here for it. A little bit of it, I'm down, I'm down. So there's one particular ghost or spirit that cast members talk about, and it's a boy's laughter that echoes through. Fantasyland's costume room. Another one tells of lights flickering and radios turning on and off near the entrance of the Utila door by Haunted Mansion.
Speaker 2:I love that ride so much I have a whole part. God, I love it, yes.
Speaker 1:Oh, I can't wait to hear Um. And then, like some people are like well, disney rooms down here, not in a creepy way, but to just watch what's happening with his dream. I'm like that's a nice thought, like. But like anyone could say that. I mean I could say walt disney's here. I mean I don't know, it wouldn't make sense. It probably makes more sense at the parks. He's here right now, he's here right now. So another creepy part of them is some, because of all the square footage down there, some things aren't used anymore or just get abandoned right.
Speaker 1:So uh, some cast members current like contemporary cast members have discovered old storage rooms full of 1970s uniforms, nice outdated animatronic parts, retired character heads.
Speaker 2:You know what I was talking to our friend bobby about, about this, because you know he used to work at disney. Yeah, and he was saying that because you know I love figment and I don't remember if he said he saw it or his friends saw it like they saw, saw, and I think they snuck pictures, which you're not supposed to do, but he didn't work there anymore.
Speaker 1:Don't work no more.
Speaker 2:The old figment ride that had the dream cat. Did you ever go on that when you were a little? Okay, that had the dream catcher and they found like pieces of it. That's so cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that is so cool, cool, I know yeah, I think that's so interesting, like especially at disney, where everything seems to be run like such a tight ship that you would just have stuff unaccounted for.
Speaker 2:Well, I feel like seems gotta be locked up or something, because you know especially nowadays, where people will be taking shit and selling it on ebay like absolutely, and I'm sure some people have, but like no, I don't know disney's pretty strict with their employees. Like, like you know, my friend Amber used to work there. Um, she worked there twice she did their college program.
Speaker 2:Oh, fun and um back in the nineties. But they had like this whole rule book. Like you could only weigh a certain amount what Uh-huh Swear to God. You could only weigh a certain amount what Uh-huh Swear to God. You um, had like all like personal appearance.
Speaker 2:I'm sure some of it is never, no longer she still has she in fact she shared on social media not too long ago I'll see if I can find it Um, like she had her handbook and like shared pictures of, like some of the rules that they had to do. But yeah, there was a weight limit, but weight is so like, was I know?
Speaker 1:was it dependent on your height?
Speaker 2:I don't remember, but they were very strict and like for you to be a character like I mean.
Speaker 1:Height obviously matters when you're a character, because like obviously I can't be a princess because I'm five, two yeah, or the opposite way you have to be shorter to be like tinkerbell, yeah yeah, so so height I understand, but like well, but I mean this was for all their cast members I would say wasn't that just? Generally speaking, I can understand if, like a character, maybe has to have a certain look, but yeah, like a regular cast member it shouldn't matter.
Speaker 2:I'm sure those are updated now it said something like I don't know some kind of stupid language, like like pleasurable in appearance, not with weight, but just like you had to be put together and it's like hello, this is florida and it's hot, and those costumes are not. I know most of them are not breathable, uh-uh yikes, I know.
Speaker 1:So here's one that I thought you would really love, and our listener, sar, probably will love this too. Someone found a full box of unopened McDonald's Happy Meal toys from a 1990s promo. I love that Down there, but why? Why are they there? I don't know? Were they handing them out at the park? This is someone reported that they found this Okay.
Speaker 2:I question everybody, right?
Speaker 1:yeah, that's fair enough, um, but maybe who knows? So we need to ask bobby about this, because this I know this can't be true. Maybe it was true at first that there's one bathroom down there I seriously doubt it, but we'll ask we'll ask and that's supposedly like it's always out of order and blah, blah blah. But with that many cast members? Yeah, that's, and you don't want them going to the bathroom in their costumes, yeah like imagine goofy walking out of the bathroom in costume.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's it can't be true, unless maybe that's back from like when it first opened, or something who knows. Okay, we're moving on to the haunted mansion. I love that right.
Speaker 2:Talk to us about haunted. I love that ride. Okay, so talk to us about Haunted Mansion.
Speaker 2:I love that ride, it's so good. Yeah, I like it too. Well, you know, I love me animatronics, I know, and it's creepy it is, but it's like, it's funny, creepy, which I love. My kids don't like it. They never have. Is it too cheesy for them? Well, okay, so Caden didn't like it when we first went because he was scared of everything. So he was scared of it and I think they're just not big on the animatronic rides. Now they like Pirates of the Caribbean. They love that ride. But yeah, I don't know. Anyway, I love that ride. I love the little fucking thing, the doom buggies you ride in. I like the buggies too.
Speaker 1:I love those. Those are fun.
Speaker 2:One of my neighbors in my neighborhood. Every year they have a Haunted Mansion theme for their house.
Speaker 1:I love it.
Speaker 2:And it is so cool. They have the coolest stuff and I can't wait to see what they do this year. Oh, I want to go see it. Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 1:Um okay, so this is another one that opened. It actually first opened in disneyland right in 1969 so this one's been around for a long time. And then obviously the magic kingdom one later. Um, and it's always been like ground zero for lore, of course, particularly haunted lore, which kind of makes sense, yeah, um, so a big one I kind of mentioned in the intro is that for some reason, on this ride particularly, a lot of people try to scatter ashes of loved ones. Why? Because it was like their favorite ride or something hilarious and I guess it's a whole thing.
Speaker 1:Madame leota uh-huh during her seance or near her seance room, that's like a popular spot where people throw ashes. Yeah, that's hilarious. They do it on like other rides and stuff too, but like this is a. This is a big one, both parks well, you know what?
Speaker 2:who was I talking to? Oh, I was talking to ben. Did he tell that? He told that story. It might have been in bonus, but he did tell that story where he was telling us how they all had ashes in their pockets. They like snuck it in somewhere. It was, it was at las vegas?
Speaker 1:oh, it was in las vegas, but still the wind whip. They were yeah. Okay, it wasn't been that In a ride maybe.
Speaker 2:Another friend of mine said they snuck ashes of somebody into one of the parks to put somewhere, because that's where their person wanted.
Speaker 1:I mean, I guess it's a little gross, no matter what. But if you're just like kind of like sprinkling it in the flowers at Epcot or something, whatever, I mean.
Speaker 2:is it gross though, Because when you're buried, you're going in the ground anyway? No, no, I don't know if gross is the right word, like you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:yeah, I just think it's crazy, like it's funny, but, like inside, an enclosed ride is a bit much, I feel like but do you I mean does do you think it matters? I mean, I guess I would be afraid that it would like land on someone, but it's like ash, it's not? Like it's not heavy I know, I know, oh, I hope not Well.
Speaker 2:I mean, yeah, that would be great. I mean it would be kind of gross if you were like in the haunted mansion. All of a sudden you're like sneezing and you're like what was that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know, that's my grandpa. I mean, the thought of that's a little. I is one thing, that's what I'm thinking. You're just throwing it on the floor and haunted mansion or like in the air on Space Mountain Gross, and that's not sanitary right. Well, I don't think so. Yeah, I don't think so.
Speaker 2:They probably have rules against it, so I was just going to say Disney strictly prohibits it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like ashes aren't allowed in the park at all, of course, depending how you disguise it like. How would they even know? But there is actually a part of cast member training, particularly for haunted mansion, that's entitled what to do if someone tries to scatter grandma. Stop it, like if they notice that this is happening.
Speaker 2:There's like what do they do.
Speaker 1:They're supposed to remind them of the rules, I guess, but they can't like take their property right, obviously that you would want to do that guess, but they can't like take their property Right.
Speaker 2:Obviously you wouldn't want to do that anyway.
Speaker 1:But they can basically like let them know that they see, but if there's a ride going, how would you?
Speaker 2:I know you wouldn't. Well, that run goes pretty slow. You would have to notice ahead of time.
Speaker 1:That's true, that one is and they monitor while has happened. The ride does glitch, whether that's like a force in the universe or what, and that sometimes when people have done that. The ride's just kind of been out of order for hours after Bad juju, I guess, yeah, bad juju. Um, so also in the ride photos from this one, and I've heard these ride photo stories from all theme parks and all rides, but particularly in Disney world's haunted mansion.
Speaker 1:Guests have occasionally captured a fourth or fifth face in the doom buggy, one that wasn't in the ride vehicle. So one woman has a selfie of her with her boyfriend on the ride and later there's like a woman behind them in Victoria, victorian clothes, smiling. That's what she says. Again, there's lots of things you can doctor, um, but things like that.
Speaker 1:There's also access doors and stairways hidden throughout the mansion and sometimes in case you get stuck and you have a exit, exactly. And so I mean that's true of all rides, yes, but some cast members sometimes will use those just to get like to different parts of the ride that they need to work on or be at. So there's an urban legend among the cast members at Disneyland that a cast member took a shortcut through one of these access points and came out of the wrong door into a scene where they weren't supposed to be, but when they looked back the door had vanished.
Speaker 2:So they're in, like some like door had vanished, so they're in like some, like weird room.
Speaker 1:You don't believe that.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:Interesting. I mean, I don't know either Twilight Zone nonsense.
Speaker 1:So people kind of say like, oh, you can slip into different dimensions and all of this I don't know. So then, the most famous ghost story from the ride is a young boy's ghost that people say they see near the ride exit. This is the one at disneyland. According to legend, his ashes were secretly scattered by his grieving mother inside the ride, and since then guests and cast members have reported him crying near the loading and unloading zone with no parent in sight and hearing sobs when the ride is empty.
Speaker 1:Ah no, I don't like little kid ghosts creepy that's another, maybe downside to ashes inside there, because then are they trapped there for eternity. I don't know.
Speaker 2:I guess anywhere your ashes go, that's where you are well, it depends what you believe happens to you when you die.
Speaker 1:That's true, that's true, there's cleaning crews, um, that don't like to be in there after. Oh yeah, I wouldn't like that. I mean, I wouldn't like that anywhere that had animatronics like small world.
Speaker 2:I wouldn't like to be in there after hours. Oh yeah, I wouldn't like that. I mean, I wouldn't like that.
Speaker 1:anywhere that had animatronics, like Small World, I wouldn't want to be in there after hours either. I'd want to like be in there with like lots of people and that's really all. Just lots of other little ghost stories and people saying things happen to them in that ride more so than other rides. Maybe because you're already in the vibe. Yeah, has anything weird ever happened to you in that ride, except for?
Speaker 2:your kids not like. Well, they don't like it. They ruined my vibe, so I don't ride with them. I ride with my husband.
Speaker 1:They, they, they ruined my vibe I love.
Speaker 2:They just don't like the old rides you know what I'm saying, I remember you saying that about ET for Universal? I don't know. I you know a lot of the old rides just hold nostalgia, so that's why I like them. Yeah, but they're thrill seekers so they want to. You know they like Space Mountain because it's a thrill ride.
Speaker 1:It is, but they don't like story rides where it's just here's a haunted mansion Getting a doom bucky Right. They are just like okay. So I just have like random animatronic stuff too, and a lot of most of these are from the 80s and 90s A lot of cast reporting on different specific animatronics that do weird things in the different parks. So one is Buzzy from Epcot, buzzy, buzzy. So he was from the Cranium Command attraction that closed in 2007.
Speaker 2:So you, wouldn't have to see him like the 80s or 90s.
Speaker 1:He was a little animatronic pilot that controlled a boy's brain in this ride, but after the attraction shut down in 2007, he totally vanished, which rumors swirl that he was stolen, with all the wires, because I mean, they don't just sit there well, maybe some of them do now but they're like wired in and like a whole big thing. So there's rumors that he was stolen and the wires were ripped out and a bunch of hydraulic fluid was left behind. People on the internet went completely wild trying to figure out where he went. People have claimed they've seen him on the black market. Others say disney just removed him and like he's yeah, that's probably what happened.
Speaker 1:Um, or took him apart and yeah, and, and some people just think he's in storage somewhere yeah yeah, which is probably what. Is it? Occam's razor? The most likely scenario is probably the one yeah, but that's an interesting, but it's fun to think about and it's fun that people were like, ooh, where is he? Is he on the black market? Can you buy him?
Speaker 2:Is he on the dark web, but that is fun stuff to think about.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:Is he out there somewhere, especially because Disney is hard to take one over on? Stick it to the man by stealing. Buzzy, stick it to the man.
Speaker 1:Stick, stick it to the man by stealing Buzzy. Stick it to the man, stick it to the man. All right, so, small World, I hate that ride which is I was going to say which is- arguably creepy as is. I hate it and it's annoying. It is annoying so cast members through the decades have reported that dolls still move or blink, even when the attraction's powered off. No One cast member said he walked through and heard faint singing in a different language, like after it was closed and everything was turned off.
Speaker 2:That's just his brain not being able to turn off, because you just hear that song 60,000 million times. And in every language, every language.
Speaker 1:Others claim you know. And again, who knows? Dolls change positions overnight, uh-uh no. Arms lifted, heads tilted. Okay.
Speaker 2:So Disney has young adult novels out there that's called Disney After Dark. Did your kids ever?
Speaker 1:read these no.
Speaker 2:And my kids read them, and it's where the park comes to life after dark, okay, and that happens. The dolls on it's a Small World come to life in one of the one of the novels oh my gosh right, terrifying, terrifying.
Speaker 1:Um, and this is another one where they say an urban legend says a former cast member's ashes were scattered in the water and now the dolls perform for her after hours get out of here.
Speaker 2:Oh, have you seen this happen recently some? Some man got out of the. It's a small world ride. No, he got out of the boat. What happened? And they had to come get him. And I want to say hold on, we're. I'm going to look it up while we're talking.
Speaker 1:Cause he was trying to get off or he was having, and I want to say he had like on like he was, like took his clothes off and was like swimming.
Speaker 2:Keep talking.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so here's another one. Um, did you? Oh no, you never went to disneyland. So disneyland used to have an attraction called america sings. Oh yeah, had a bunch of animatronics, um, and that was open from 74 to 88 and in 74 there was a horrific real-life accident. In it A cast member named Deborah Gale was crushed Stop Between a rotating wall and a stationary part of the stage. So after that tragedy, cast members said animatronics would glitch or pause at the exact moment.
Speaker 2:So she died.
Speaker 1:She died During the ride. Yes, oh, my God during the ride, yes, oh, my god, and eventually the attraction closed um and the animatronics were repurposed, and some of them still exist in splash mountain or tiana's bayou adventure.
Speaker 2:So the animatronic that crushed her is still out there.
Speaker 1:Yes, and it was a goose apparently. Oh, a goose animatronic that that is so scary. That's a scary one because it's like actually happened. She died, not just like, oh, someone might have died, or ashes might be talking to us that is so scary, that's scary, so I found it I did this was in disneyland.
Speaker 2:A man stripped on the disneyland. I'm gonna show you the clip. I can't believe it.
Speaker 1:It's coming, all right, I'm going to watch Y'all.
Speaker 2:We're watching this man. Oh he steps.
Speaker 1:This man is just having a vacation, right? Oh my god you guys go Google.
Speaker 2:man strips on Disneyland ride. Yes, he's obviously under the influence of something.
Speaker 1:Like it's very very obvious.
Speaker 2:I mean they don't have alcohol and magic kingdom and Disney world. I wonder if they do in Disneyland.
Speaker 1:They must.
Speaker 2:Well, he showed up like that, I mean, could be on drugs could be, but anyway, yeah, he took all his clothes off and was just moseying around the dolls and the water.
Speaker 1:He got pretty far I know he's on like lots of different parts of the ride there before he probably got tackled or so that's recent ride drama. Oh, I love that, I love that I love that, okay, so did you ever know again? Disneyland Fantasmic Nightmare the Malfunctioning Dragon.
Speaker 2:Oh no, Fantasmic is my favorite show at Hollywood Studios.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the one. At Disneyland there's a Maleficent dragon named Murphy, that's his name.
Speaker 2:I was like that's his name.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so the one inland has a cursed history. It was meant to breathe fire in dramatic fashion, but it often glitched, missed cues or completely just didn't work so that must be the same show they do at hollywood studios.
Speaker 2:It must be, because they're like on the water and that like it comes in. I love that show. Oh my god, it's I love a dragon.
Speaker 1:I really do well in. The dragon caught fire in front of a full audience and was fully engulfed in flames. Stop it. Yeah, no one was hurt and it was like people described it as like end days imagery Like this dragon completely on fire. You can probably find that on YouTube too.
Speaker 2:I would panic 2023,.
Speaker 1:I'm sure people had video of that.
Speaker 2:You don't want me. In that kind of situation I am not helpful and I will abandon you and run.
Speaker 1:I like it's like dragon on fire bye, I am not a good crisis um person yes, so you mentioned um pirates of the caribbean yeah so cast members closing down pirates say that the animatronics in the prison dog room, oh yeah, or the treasure room will twitch after shut off, which I mean could just literally be an electricity thing. That's an older ride, but still that's. Can you imagine thinking it's all when you walk by and they like twitch, yikes? There's been cast members that they say pirates had slowly turned to look at them, phantom shadows moving along the ride track after hours.
Speaker 2:Girl, no you just got on like a whole haunted kick I did you.
Speaker 1:I love this. I did you know.
Speaker 2:My favorite pirates of the caribbean story, though, is when johnny, when one of the movies was about to come out, and johnny depp went yeah, and he just showed up on in the ride and people were like is that that looks so much like Johnny Depp?
Speaker 1:and they're like it is in costume. Yes, oh, he was like he was dressed, because if you've been on it in recent years.
Speaker 2:He at the end, they have him in a chair and and he just sat there. Can you imagine being I would be so every time, every time I go on the ride, I'm like, okay, is he there today?
Speaker 1:Is today the day he decided to come back.
Speaker 2:And I think it was in Disneyland. I don't think it was here, obviously, but maybe it was, I don't know. That's my favorite Pirates of the Caribbean story.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so supposedly the treasure room both places the skull is a real skull. I did know that, yeah, and so a lot of people say that's the source of the haunting. But I mean, who knows? So how do you feel?
Speaker 2:about the Country Bear Jamboree. Well, I actually have not watched it as an adult. Okay, I remember it only from being a kid, because none of my people like to watch shows.
Speaker 1:I don't like it Okay. But I love animatronics you do, so some people have always found them a little bit creepy, especially because they're so. They're old. They're old and kind of jerky. They look like they're glitching even when they're not. But one bear, big Al, has reportedly kept singing. After the show is shut down.
Speaker 2:I know him. Yeah, I don't like know him personally you know which one I mean.
Speaker 1:I know, I know who Big Al? Is, and he's got that guitar.
Speaker 2:He's strumming on. Well, supposedly, when the power's cut he still goes sometimes and some guests have claimed Relax.
Speaker 1:Big Al. Yeah Al Like. Take a break, buddy. Your shift's over. Some guests claim the bears' heads. Snap to face them when they're sitting. Okay, snap to face them when they're okay. No, ma'am, and cast members like to joke about them and say they're always watching.
Speaker 2:So I don't know about that big al. I mean, I don't know. I feel like this. This episode took a turn because I thought it was gonna be like drama yeah, katie's like nope ghost stories, but I like it, I like it people.
Speaker 1:Okay, I've got one more, and this one's just called the Test Dummy that Moved what? Okay, so deep inside the Disney Imagineering Labs. This is where all the animatronics are tested, obviously before they come out. So there is a story, a lore if you will, of a prototype humanoid figure that kept activating itself after hours.
Speaker 2:No, ma'am, so it hadn't been programmed for movement yet. Oh, no, no, no, no, no and it was.
Speaker 1:The only thing it could do was blinking. That's like as far as they got. But cameras later showed its head turning 30 degrees, its hands twitching, and the imagineers just went ahead and disassembled it. They were like and we'll? Just move forward with it. Um, although some people say some of the parts were reused and might be in other animatronics throughout the park. So animatronics fun, but also. What do we think about this?
Speaker 2:I know that's their own brains. Well, they're not programmed to.
Speaker 1:But I mean, electronics are a little weird they are, and like all the eight, not that some of these animatronics obviously aren't ai operated, but with ai talking to each other nowadays, oh, it's scary, it's creepy scary so yeah, mine um my drama really was just ghost stories, mysteries. That checks those stories.
Speaker 2:Well, we're gonna have to do another parks one, because I thought you were going to talk about like some stuff with rides.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And like also how. Like you know, hollywood Studios used to be MGM Studios and they used to have a bunch of characters there that were not Disney, characters like Dick Tracy.
Speaker 1:Roger Rabbit.
Speaker 2:Ninja Turtles, all that. So we'll do another one for everybody. Who's like wait a second? Y'all didn't talk about we'll, we'll get there.
Speaker 1:There's like endless endless ways you could go with Disney.
Speaker 2:But I was. I was talking to somebody about. It's our friend Anthony. He's like our new Carlos, because Carlos oh no, where has Carlos been? We have not had Carlos corrections. I think he's dipped out of our podcast and he's behind. We'll see, because if he hears this, he'll tell us we're wrong. We did get a message from Patrick who said he did get behind on episodes and he's catching up. He's all in for Book it. Y'all remember Patrick, right, and we used to get corrections from Carlos all the time, but he I don't know.
Speaker 1:I'm going to see him tomorrow, so we're going to ask him, we're going to say where are you at?
Speaker 2:Anyway, I was talking to Anthony about that. We were doing this episode, and I was like, yeah, I'm doing the VHS tapes and Katie's doing the parks, and he said, oh, you mean like the shocker gesture on rock and roller coaster? What, first and foremost, you've been on rock and roller coaster? I love rock, which is closed now Cause they're redoing it for Muppets, which is going to be epic.
Speaker 2:It's going to be good. So, for those of you who haven't gone on it, there's like um what I don't remember what you call it, when you go on a ride and they have like it's a pre-show, pre-show before you go on the ride, and it's Aerosmith, Okay, and it's like you're you're at an Aerosmith recording studio and it's really Aerosmith. They have a video. Well, in the OG video and I have a picture of it cause he sent it to me they have have um steven tyler as a joke, did the shocker gesture? Oh my gosh. Um katie, do you know what the shocker means?
Speaker 2:yes will you explain it?
Speaker 1:oh my god, okay, I don't mind if listeners hear this, but I do not want this to be a social clip. Okay, damn it. Fine in the front one in the back, correct. Right.
Speaker 2:Correct, it's a hand gesture. I I was like, I told him, I was like I almost hope she doesn't have that on her list because I can't wait to have her define it.
Speaker 1:That's like listeners only, but here's what it is. Favorite thing, though, though right now.
Speaker 2:You did, I do in the front and what one in the back. If you don't know what a shocker hand gesture is, just google it you'll figure it out anyway, steven tyler disney um did edit it out yeah, and put in a fake thing like put in a fake finger yeah, but it was there for a while, oh that that's awesome. Yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1:No, I didn't have that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh yeah, there's a lot more.
Speaker 1:I'm sure listeners will probably send us some.
Speaker 2:No, we'll come back. We'll do another episode later in life. But.
Speaker 1:Disney drama has been fun. Yeah, I had a good time today doing this For real. Sure you listen to both parts. Oh, I have a question for you, though.
Speaker 2:Now that you read all this haunted animatronic stuff, do you love them or hate them even more? Do you like them better now that they're mysterious?
Speaker 1:I think maybe I like them better. Okay, yeah, I think I'm going to keep an eye on animatronics a little bit closer, not because I'm very interested in them.
Speaker 2:That was so serious. I think I'm going to keep an eye on the animatronic, I mean yeah, who knows?
Speaker 1:I always it's like you're gonna be like. This is a weird metaphor, but have you ever been to gatorland? No, okay. So for those who aren't from here or haven't been to orlando before gatorland, is this very not disney attraction right, you know I haven't been there.
Speaker 2:Troy is terrified of all years. Oh yeah, don't go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's absolutely terrified so of course they're all like kate, like they really can't get to you, but, but there's always a moment when I'm in the middle of gatorland, like I'm the heart of it, that I'm like what if? All these gators just suddenly rose up like planet of the apes. Yeah, and it's, and I like get freaked out I feel that everywhere I look there's gators and I'm like, oh my god we're like sitting ducks in here.
Speaker 1:Facts so you know. Think of all the animatronics you're surrounded by, disney, at any moment what if they're all decided?
Speaker 2:but I like the happy animal ones, that's true. I mean, they're not alligators. I do like haunted mansion though and I like friendly friendly ghosts it's, it's worth the risk, not caterland. I was like that's fucking terrifying actually. And are they nice to the animals? I kind of thought about that, I think they are.
Speaker 1:It always makes me sad when there's like a wild animal that's literally, I mean alligators, I guess do just kind of lay around, but they're almost stacked on each other.
Speaker 2:Oh, I don't like that. I don't like it. That's why we have never been to SeaWorld. I just cannot, it's hard, I just can't do it.
Speaker 1:It's hard to see animals that aren't meant to be there, right, and I know SeaWorld does conservation work, yeah, but they have a really shitty history.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, and I mean not that you can't rehabilitate yourself, you can, of course, but I always in the back of my head will be thinking about that and I only like to go to zoos if I know that they're like the right kind of zoo, yeah, like a rescue zoo, or that they use the money to further animal causes, or whatever.
Speaker 1:Yeah, or their animals are treated well. Right and they know that for sure. Yeah, totally agree. Anyway, totally agree, all right. Well, we took that into a separate turn. Okay, yeah. So thanks for listening, guys, and we'll see you on our next episode.
Speaker 2:Yeah, see you next time Bye, bye.
