Fact or Fiction? 20 Urban Legends, Ghost Stories, Rumors & Secrets of Walt Disney World

By Barb Nefer

Walt Disney World is a legendary vacation destination, and it's also a fertile ground for urban legends. Almost everyone has heard the tale of Walt Disney's frozen head or his cryogenically preserved body or the story of the secret tunnels below the Magic Kingdom. Those are just two of the rumors that swirl around this Disney resort. Other stories involve ghosts in Pirates of the Caribbean, human ashes in the Haunted Mansion, emu legs being passed off as turkey, monorail expansions, abandoned island attractions, flashers on Splash Mountain, a pop-apart Cinderella Castle, and the fate of the long-defunct Plaza Swan Boats that used to ferry passengers in the Magic Kingdom.

Are these stories true or false? Find out in "Fact or Fiction? 20 Urban Legends, Ghost Stories, Rumors & Secrets of Walt Disney World." This book examines 20 of the most common Disney rumors, as well as some related myths, and gives the truth behind the tale. It's packed with informative supporting links if you want to confirm the information and learn even more Disney World facts and trivia.

"Fact or Fiction? 20 Urban Legends, Ghost Stories, Rumors & Secrets of Walt Disney World" was written by Orlando theme park expert Barb Nefer. Barb writes about the Disney theme parks and other Central Florida attractions for several websites and print publications, including Examiner.com.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barb Nefer
• Release date: Mar 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301160693

Barb Nefer

Barb Nefer is a long-time writer, starting with newspapers and magazines in the 1980s and expanding her horizons to the online world in recent times. She's the About.com Guide to Pet Supplies and Product Reviews and the Orlando Theme Parks Examiner for Examiner.com, where she also writes about Disney Cruise Line, relationships, and personal finance. Barb lives in the Orlando area and has annual passes to all the major Central Florida theme parks, including the four Walt Disney World parks, Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld Orlando, and Busch Gardens Tampa. Her frequent visits to the parks give her a rich expertise that she shares with her readers in her online articles and ebooks. She also has a small menagerie consisting of cats, guinea pigs, a Quaker parrot, and a horse that she tends to when she isn't busy playing at the theme parks or writing. Barb also has a doctorate in psychology and is the author of the print book, "So You Want to be a Counselor." She's a regular contributor to "Animal Wellness" and has written for such magazines as "Bird Talk," "Horse Illustrated," "Grit," "The Writer," "Twins," and "Going Bonkers."

Book preview

Fact or Fiction? 20 Urban Legends, Ghost Stories, Rumors & Secrets of Walt Disney World

By Barbara Nefer

Smashwords Edition

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Copyright 2012 by LifeSkills Press

All Rights Reserved

Please submit corrections, additions or comments to [e-mail]

Disclaimer: This material in this book is based on the author's research and opinions, and each rumor has links to the online material used as a source. The author takes no responsibility for errors, omissions, and inaccuracies. This book is unofficial and is in no way associated with the Walt Disney Company or any of its related entities.

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

I can't remember where or when I first heard that Walt Disney was cryogenically frozen, but it's one of those things that seems like it was always in my mind, even though I knew it wasn't true. Over the years, as I made countless visits to Walt Disney World, I heard more and more urban legends. Some, like the supposed monorail extension through the Swan and Dolphin hotels, the Casablanca plane at Disney's Hollywood Studios, or the emu legs disguised as turkey, came from Cast Members themselves. Some, like the story of George, the ghost who haunts Pirates of the Caribbean, or the supposed ease of disassembling Cinderella Castle in case of a hurricane, came from word of mouth. I knew that some were true, and others, like the secret alcohol-serving club in the Magic Kingdom and Walt's private apartment in Cinderella Castle, had a small kernel of truth, even though they'd been distorted over the years.

For this book, I decided to research 20 of the most popular legends about Walt Disney World. It wasn't enough just to know whether they were true or false. I wanted sources to back up those answers, as well as to find out how the rumors got started whenever possible. In my travels around the internet, I ran into other stories that I added in where appropriate. For example, while I knew about the tunnels under the Magic Kingdom, I never knew about the tunnels at Epcot. You'll find several of these bonus legends worked into the main entries.

I've included links to all the websites I used for research, as well as some videos. I recommend visiting the links if your ebook reader has that capability. Many have photos and other fascinating information about Disney World sure to hold the interest of voracious Disney trivia fans.

I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it, and perhaps learn a thing or two about the fascinating place known as Walt Disney World.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1) Walt Disney's body (or head) was cryogenically frozen and is stored at the Walt Disney World Resort.

2) There's a special apartment in Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom that was built for Walt Disney and his family.