Spreading of loved ones ashes at Disney [Merged]

[Magic Fanatic]

This was a story reported by channel 6 in Orlando;

Possible Scattering Of Human Remains On Disney Rides Reported
Ride Closed, Police Alerted After Woman Seen Dumping Substance On Ride

Disneyland workers were recently forced to close the "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction after a ride security camera caught a woman apparently dumping human remains, in what may be a growing trend.

Workers at the Anaheim theme park spotted the woman sprinkling an unidentified substance into the water on the "Pirates" ride. Anaheim police were notified of the incident.

The woman told Disney park workers that the substance she dumped was baby powder, but officials are investigating the possibility that she sprinkled human ashes, Local 6 reported.

Some Disney watchers said park-goers tell them that people smuggling in the cremated remains of their loved ones and then sprinkling ashes on rides has been going on for a while.

They said it started at the Haunted Mansion, but now the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride is growing in popularity.

...

Disney officials said they were unaware of any confirmed ash-scattering incidents in the park and didn't believe it to be a problem, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Park officials said there was no real way of knowing if cremated remains were dumped into the "Pirates" ride.

While I don't like the thought of people spreading ashes where ever they wish through out the parks, I do think that this is an area that Disney should address and get their arms around the issue. If Disney were to come out and acknowledge that there are many that wish to have their remains rest at Disney, they could then develope a respectful way for familys to fullfil the wishes of their loved ones. I have no idea of how this could be done and I am sure there are envoromental issues, but I am sure that this could be done in a very respectful way without having ashes spread in public areas. Disney has always met families needs with weddings, rehitching services, and even condones the organized gay days.

They could take this issue right now and make it a positive for both Disney and the families.

[cgriff]

So, when did this become such a popular thing to do? Just read an article about it... Apparently they had to shut down the ride yesterday (Nov 15) after someone was seen doing this... Disturbing.

I'd post a link to the news story but I think that's against the Intercot rules...

cgriff

[SBETigg]

There's no way to make this issue a positive for me. They can't possibly condone it and seriously, would you suggest they start a funeral service? This is a lot different than hosting weddings and honeymoons and family gatherings. This is death and grief and things that would not be pleasant for a theme park to officially cater to in business. It may be the final wishes of a lot of people to be left at a Disney park, but that just can't be officially allowed or encouraged in any way for the sake of the real live other guests and families in the park, who go to have a carefree, happy vacation.

[PirateLover]

There's no way to make this issue a positive for me. They can't possibly condone it and seriously, would you suggest they start a funeral service? This is a lot different than hosting weddings and honeymoons and family gatherings. This is death and grief and things that would not be pleasant for a theme park to officially cater to in business. It may be the final wishes of a lot of people to be left at a Disney park, but that just can't be officially allowed or encouraged in any way for the sake of the real live other guests and families in the park, who go to have a carefree, happy vacation.

I pretty much agree with Sherri. I know people love Disney above all other things, but at the end of the day it's a theme park meant to entertain families. I don't think it's appropriate to allow ashes to be scattered anywhere on property.

[mickclub1955]

here is the article off foxnews


Visitor May Have Sprinkled Ashes Off Disneyland's 'Pirates' Ride
Friday, November 16, 2007

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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Disneyland officials will likely never know whether the woman who sprinkled some sort of powder onto the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride was trying to send a loved one straight to Davy Jones' locker.

Disney officials shut the ride down for about 45 minutes Friday after they saw the woman sprinkle something into the ride's water. But they said they couldn't determine what it was because it dissolved so quickly.

Blogger and longtime Disneyland watcher Al Lutz said he received several tips indicating it was human ashes.

Disneyland Resorts spokesman Rob Doughty said he couldn't confirm that. He said the rider, who was not arrested, told park employees she had dumped baby powder over the side of a "Pirates" boat.

Lutz, who first reported the event Tuesday on his Web site miceage.com, said more and more people are leaving their loved ones' ashes behind at Disneyland.

"It used to happen every once in a while at the Haunted Mansion, but now it's happening more," he said.

Without written permission, it's a misdemeanor violation of the state Health and Safety Code to scatter human ashes on private property, but enforcement is difficult. Officials say the ashes pose no health threat.

"I can tell you that we do get people from time to time asking for permission to sprinkle ashes. Our policy is when we are asked for permission, we deny the request," Doughty said. "Beyond that, we don't know."

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[disneydrmr]

I have to agree - you NEVER see a 'fun'/entertainment' place situated next to a cemetary... just wouldn't go right with the "happiest place on earth' theme...

[MegaDisney]

There is a thread in Mousellaneous regarding this...

(Link removed. No longer necessary.)

Mod's Edit: Thanks for the redirect MD. I have removed your link as these two threads have now been merged.

[GoinGoofyPlanninThisTrip]

Similar issue recently with people dumping ashes at Wrigley Field. The Cubs can't officially condone this but admit that its been happening for years.

The real kicker however is some of the families (who have dumped ashes) complained recently since Wrigley's field has been torn up and a lot of earth removed. Let's hope the same thing doesn't happen at Disney when they have to drain or refurb the rides in some way.

[cgriff]

So bits and pieces of the person get caught in some water filter and flushed out with other sludge... *This* is how people want their "loved ones" treated?!? Weeeird.

cgriff

[Jenemmy]

So bits and pieces of the person get caught in some water filter and flushed out with other sludge... *This* is how people want their "loved ones" treated?!? Weeeird.

cgriff

Exactly! One of the articles I read said cleaning crews come in with special filters so basically, "Great Aunt Mildred" winds up in the trash!! Folks need to be thinking these things through!

[MegaDisney]

Looks Like another false story started by Lutz:

From ABC News
By DAVID SCHOETZ
Nov. 16, 2007
Font Size

A woman caught on a Disneyland camera sprinkling a powdery substance a week ago from the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction was enough to close the popular pirate ride for 45 minutes.

The woman, interviewed and released by Disneyland employees, claimed that she was dumping baby powder from her ride car, but a blogger who writes exclusively about Disney reported that the instance actually may have been the latest example of a guest scattering the remains of a loved one from a park attraction.

"The craze seems to have gotten its start at the Haunted Mansion," blogger Al Lutz wrote on his Web site miceage.com, "with the earliest incident taking place in the late 1990s. Ever since, the practice has become more popular by the year."

Lutz, in fact, claimed the practice of scattering ashes has become so common that the ride attendants have been briefed on how to handle such incidents and custodial crews are using specially equipped vacuums to collect the ashes. He cited an instance last month in which a staff member at the Haunted Mansion found several piles of ashes alongside the ride track that were ultimately identified as human remains.

But Sgt. Rick Martinez, a spokesman for the Anaheim police department, told ABC News that while a police officer who works inside the park was notified about the possibility of human remains scattered inside the 15-minute flume-style pirate ride last Friday, there was no confirmation that the ashes actually were those of a deceased person.

"As soon as the woman gets off the ride, she says it was baby powder," Martinez said. "And that lady's in the wind."

Park security and ride staff could not recover any of the powder, which quickly dissipated in the ride's water.

"Bottom line, we did not respond," Martinez said. "We were there, but there was really nothing to go on. We did not take a report."

Martinez acknowledged urban legends about the crematory droppings, but said that in his 35 years on the force, no one's ever been caught for dumping a loved one's ashes on the grounds of the Disneyland amusement park.

Still, Lutz, the Disney blogger, speculated that other attractions are not immune.

"It's a Small World is another long, 15-minute ride that doesn't have a single security camera anywhere," Lutz wrote. "All sorts of illicit things happen inside Small World at the end of the night, and leaving grandma's remains in there to listen to that catchy song for all eternity is definitely a possibility."

Rob Doughty, a Disneyland spokesman, reiterated that there's no evidence the woman was actually dumping human remains and shot down Lutz's assertion that this is part of a growing trend.


"The problem I have with blogs is they don't necessarily have to have validated information," Doughty told ABC News. ABC News is a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.

Like Martinez, Doughty admitted that there are myths about illegal Disneyland cremation ceremonies, but said the park has never had a confirmed case where human ashes were found. In fact, he said, his department receives, on average, two requests a year from guests eager to spread a loved one's ashes on the grounds of the park.

"Clearly this is a special place," Doughty said. "There's a great deal of emotional connection to Disneyland."

Guests responded with mixed opinions on the possibility of human remains being left by loved ones around the iconic amusement park.

"I've just heard people joke about it, how much they love Disneyland and that they'd like to be buried there, have their ashes scattered there. I've even said it," Penny Atwood, a Disneyland visitor, told ABC News' Los Angeles affiliate KABC.

Creative cremation methods have become a popular business as the number of deceased Americans who choose to have their remains incinerated as an alternative to traditional burials skyrockets. In 1975, according to the Cremation Association of North America, just under 124,000 -- or about 6 percent -- of dead Americans were cremated. That number grew to 32 percent in 2005, with nearly 785,000 cremations, and is expected to surpass 50 percent by 2025.

And no longer are people always content with keeping ashes packed in an urn on the mantel or even sprinkling them out at sea.

Celestis, a Texas-based company, offers to launch ashes into space.

"Leaving Earth to touch the cosmos is an experience few have ever known, but many have often dreamed of," the company says on its Web site. "Space Services makes it possible to honor the dream and memory of your departed loved one by launching a symbolic portion of cremated remains into Earth orbit, onto the lunar surface or into deep space."

Another novel cremation opportunity is offered by Eternal Reefs Inc., a Georgia company that will mix human remains into a concrete-type substance used to create artificial reefs.

In August 2006, three people were kicked out of Angel Stadium, very close to Disneyland, after trying to scatter a loved one's remains on the pitcher's mound.

[LibertyTreeGal]

Good grief -- how do you get an urn past the security checks?????

[NotaGeek]

Good grief -- how do you get an urn past the security checks?????

By using a plastic bag and putting them in a huge stroller packed with baby stuff?

[thrillme]

First of all can I chuckle a bit at Ms Lutz's EXCUSE of "dumping baby powder" over the POC ride...Uh...yeah...I have baby powder on hand to just "dump" anywhere...I guess she wanted to make the whole world smell baby bottom fresh??? How much sense does that make???

But on to more serious stuff. Wouldn't if have made more sense to dump the ashes over at the Haunted Mansion???

If there are really a number of people doing this sort of thing maybe Disney ought to just dedicate a spot for people to do this.

[MegaDisney]

By using a plastic bag and putting them in a huge stroller packed with baby stuff?

Yeah but how do YOU explain the stroller....

[SBETigg]

If there are really a number of people doing this sort of thing maybe Disney ought to just dedicate a spot for people to do this.

What are you suggesting, Re-Mains Street?

And again, I disagree, because designating a spot is saying this is okay with Disney, which opens them up to be a place for dumping remains, for grieving families, and for bringing all that into a family vacation destination. Not to mention what about the lawsuits from people who say they don't believe in cremation but they want to be buried at Disney? It's too much. This is a happy place. Not for depositing remains or holding memorials to lost loved ones.

No one says you can't remember or grieve in your own time, but to bring the remains to dump is way out of line. As a Disney lover and as much as I would love to be a part of Disney forever, I would ask for my loved ones to respect the parks and keep them pristine, clean, and happy for everyone. I'm sure it happens off the record every now and then, and for those people who aren't caught, fine. But there's no way Disney could open themselves up to officially getting involved in it, allowing it, or encouraging it.

[NotaGeek]

I figure I will just ask my friends to take my remains in the park and just dump them in the nearest trash can (making sure of course that it's not Push) and then go ride Space Mountain. Clearly cutting out the middle man might be the way to go.

[IamBelle]

No offense, to anyone, but I think that is so disgusting. Rides are exposed to the public, and when the lady was dumping it, if someone inhaled it, they could be sick. Not to mention it spreading through the water is very unsanitary. Also, she said it was "baby powder" but I have a question for her, If it was "baby powder" what was she doing disposing of it on a ride? Why not wait 2 more minutes and throw it in a TRASH CAN??

[EPCOT84]

I heard this story during the week on the local news and it gave me the shivers.

Obviously it is against the law and obviously people do it anyway. To scatter ashes anywhere without a permit is unlawful. Throwing ashes into the sea is dignified, but throwing ashes into the PotC waters is just gross and tacky.

Give the deceased a dignified send off where it is allowed and do not bring the dark negative vibes it creates to the parks.

Consder that in many cultures, death is not treated as lightly as it is in American culture these days. Many refuse to live near cemetaries or funeral homes or build businesses near cemetaries or funeral homes for the same reason. It connotes death with anything in its proximity. To even think to allowing ash scattering services in or near a family amusement park is just insensitive and to those who do it illegally, pure stupidity.

[*tinker_belle*]

This is just sickening. Some people have no class. I told this story to my mom about hearing it on the news and she looked at me and told me that when my little sister had passed from cancer ten years ago, that she wanted to sneak into a little garden area in DL and bury her ashes. Because it was where my sister felt her happiest. I told her i understood thats what she wanted to do but i'm glad she didn't because it just wouldn't have been right. Because what makes it ok for one person and not for another...that place may be magical and sentimental and believe me if there were a way, i'd want to be scattered there too. But doing it in a ride with water where the water splashes onto people...ewww. Very disgusting.
I agree that its an amusement park where people go to have fun and make memories and there should be no morbid thoughts when your on family vacation.
Kinda makes me sketchy about riding pirates now...