To us Disney fanatics, Disney theme parks are indeed the happiest places on Earth, where you can immerse yourself in the magical and fantastic Disney world with your favorite characters. From the colorful Disneyland to the vast Disney World Resort, there’s a bit of everything for worldwide tourists to explore on every visit.
However, what do these miraculous Disney theme parks look like from their employees’ perspective? Would these places still retain the magic of these people? A Reddit post managed to gather thousands of comments from Disney theme parks’ current and former workers, who shared with us some astounding experiences they have faced during their time working there.
Some of these stories are very wholesome to hear, however, the others are just downright disturbing. Let’s browse through some of the most bizarre Disney theme park secrets told directly by the employees, to see what our magical world looks like behind closed doors.
#1. A bizarre case of pregnancy.
“We had a lady try to smuggle an infant onto Indy at DL one time. She put a huge jacket on (in the summer) and stuffed her child down near the bottom in an attempt to look pregnant.
Several cast members warned her that it is not recommended that pregnant women go on the ride, but she insisted, and we couldn't stop her. So, she manages to get on the Jeep, and put the seat belt on, and that is when her stomach starts screaming and crying.” u/atheistpiece
#2. So the legend is true.
“Overnight cast memeber here. Please PLEASE leave your cremated loved ones at home. stop dumping them in Haunted Mansion. They just get vacuumed up and disposed of.” u/overnight_cm_girl
#3. Real-life monsters in Disneyland.
“This couple were trying to ride Space Mountain, and had a black duffelbag. He heard something come from the bag, so he asked them to open it. They refused. Security comes, forces them to open it. It was their 6-month-old baby.” u/brokenlongthumbkey
#4. Everyone deserves to be respected, even a mermaid.
“People sexually harass the characters super frequently. I was working with Ariel and cast members will always count down before they take a photo so people have time to get into position. I counted down and this teen boy decided to try to rip off one of Ariel's shells. I had to open his camera and expose his film so the photo didn't get developed and passed around.
I found out later that I was supposed to take it to the Kodak shop to have the film developed and that one removed - but I'd always heard the rumors about ruining the film and nobody really trains you on that so I just went with it.” u/leopoldisacat
#5. “A little bit pregnant.”
“We went to an amusement park, and a guy came in to get a disability pass for his girlfriend to ride the roller coasters… the disability was pregnant. The employee was like; um we can’t give a pass for that because roller coasters aren’t recommended for pregnant women- the guest tried to reassure him that it was fine she was only ‘a little bit pregnant.’” u/Julie Kasik
#6. A leaking incident.
“One woman came up and asked where the bathrooms were, so I told her. She then decided that the line was too long so she tried to just pull down her pants and pee in the lobby. Security came VERY quickly!” u/contaminatedesert
#7. We all live in a bubble.
“The woman came up to me and told me that she didn’t like the wet stuff coming from the sky and that I should tell my boss to turn it off. At first, I laughed because I thought she was kidding, which only pissed her off more.
‘Don’t they know that this stuff ruins people’s vacations?’ She said.
‘We have no way of controlling the rain, ma’am. This is Florida and we get quick storms like this in the summer, but it might go away after a while,’ I said.
‘What about the bubble?’ She said.
I was thoroughly confused by what she meant by bubble so I had to ask if she was saying ‘bubble.’
Apparently, she thought that all of Disney was under a big bubble and we controlled the weather, like Risa on Star Trek.
I confirmed that there was no bubble, and that this was the real deal.
She walked away insisting that something should be done about it.” u/unicornCornUnique
#8. Magic does happen in real life
I was Pocahontas, & I met a little girl named Emily. She was about 7 & with her dad. She came up & said, "Hi Pocahontas, I made you this card." I opened it & it said
‘Dear Pocahontas, I drew some flowers for you. I hope you have a lovely day. Love, Emily.’
I thanked her, & she left. Two days later, I was Silvermist, & guess who came into Pixie Hollow? Emily. & she gave me a card:
‘Dear Tinkerbell & her friends, I drew some flowers for you. I hope you have a lovely day. Love, Emily.’
Her dad didn't recognize me, but I was excited to have two cards from the same girl. a few days later, I was Mulan, & GUESS WHO COMES UP TO ME?
So I said, before she started talking, ‘I know you, you're Emily! I heard you're really good at drawing flowers, all of my friends told me.’
This girl's face lit up like the Fourth of July & she pulled a card out.
‘Dear Mulan, Shang, & Mushu, I drew some flowers for you. I hope you have a lovely day. Love, Emily.’
I have three cards for all three of my face characters from the same girl.” u/too-tsunami
#9. Disney should really cast this girl to play Anna in a live-action Frozen movie.
“So my friend went to the parks dressed as Anna, and this was Anna’s reaction upon spotting her in the crowd.” Deadly Disney
#10. This boy deserves a better family.
“I worked at one the Restaurants in MK. I had a family abandon their adult son, who was in a wheelchair with a slew of health complications, in the middle of our walkway while they went on rides. He was there for about 2-3 hours.” u/Eticket15
#11. Sometimes people can be mean for no reason at all.
“There was this man that had scissors on him. Not sure how he got passed security with that. He approached a little girl from behind with the scissors drawn and cut the string of her balloon.” u/ intrinsicentity
#12. Groping is not OK. Period.
"When doing meet and greet with Ariel, the people right in front of us were 4 college-age guys. One of them asked for a hug then went in and squeezed both of her clamshells." u/geekandwife
#13. Apparently, Veronica is a Spanish name.
"I once got yelled at for not speaking Spanish because apparently 'Veronica' is a Spanish name... I am the palest ginger I know..." u/jon98gn
#14. Some people shouldn't have kids.
"A lady pushing a stroller while getting irritated that the guy in front of her was walking too slow...so she rams him with the stroller and then plays it off as an accident." u/GATORinaZ28
#15. The audacity.
"We were in the queue for Tiki Room and the woman in front took off her shorts, stood in her not very full underwear then put a fresh pair of shorts on,.. in front of 10 people." u/Nataliyana
What do you think of these stories, are they true or not? Do you want to be a Disney employee? Share your thoughts in the comments.