Everyone knows the popular conspiracy theory of Walt Disney being cryogenically frozen, likely drummed up by hardcore fans who refused to believe the avuncular weaver of dreams and magic was gone forever.
With the Walt Disney Company being such an inimitable behemoth in the entertainment industry, it's not surprising that there is a variety of widespread fan-fiction rumors, some of which are hard to distinguish from reality.
Curious to hear some of the lesser known of these unconfirmed Disney factoids, Redditor poundsdpound asked:
"What's a lesser known Disney conspiracy theory?"
The world of Disney animation is a treasure trove of interesting trivia, some not entirely true while others have been confirmed.
Snow White's Voice
"The voice of Snow White, Adriana Caselotti, couldn’t work in movies/music after that movie. Anyone that tried to hire her to do any kind of recording was warned off by the Disney company because they wanted to ensure that kids didn’t hear Snow Whites voice anywhere else."
– Personal-Listen-4941
"Fun fact: She's is the one saying 'Wherefore art thou Romeo?' during the Tinman's song in The Wizard of Oz (1939)"
– ForgottenShark
X-Rated
"The Disney porn box."
"At least with Disney TV animation, one of the storyboarders from Kim Possible said that he had to turn in all personal art relating to the show, even drawings produced in his free time."
"They scan and keep the 'regular' art in their archives, ready to be published for future projects like art books, but any art deemed taboo is shoved away."
"Rumor is they keep all those dirty pictures in one of their back warehouses in their Glendale lot."
– xX_420DemonLord69_Xx
"Marc Davis of the original '9 old men' (the guy who designed and animated Tinkerbell) was apparently legendary at Disney for drawing pinup girls and that artwork was highly sought after by the staff."
– RoninRobot
Disgruntled Illustrator
"I’ve never seen one but there’s a famous poster of Mickey, Goofy, and Donald sitting around a giant hooka and has the title 'Ain’t Gonna Work on Disney’s Farm No More'."
"It was rumored to have been created by a fired or otherwise unhappy illustrator in the mid-60s."
"It made its way into many So Cal head shops but when Disney found out, they confiscated all the copies and sued the illustrator into the poor house."
"I worked in a comic shop in the 80s and we had several comic artists that had seen one or two in private collections."
– fastermouse
Studio Underground
"I worked at the Disney studio lot in Burbank a few years back. There were a lot of wild rumors about the 'tunnels' that supposedly run beneath the lot."
"There is in fact one tunnel that goes between the old Animation and Camera buildings, and I walked through it all the time. It was built for animators to move their art between the two buildings without exposing it to the elements."
– AmericanPanascope
Tron Backstory
"This one actually happened. Prior to Tron: Legacy's release, Disney actively made sure the first movie was pulled from everywhere they could. They took back any TV rights, pulled it from any digital services (there weren't that many at the time), and bought back DVD copies from major retailers."
"I'm not sure why they did this, other than maybe they worried if people watched the first one, they might be like, 'Eh, not sure, I need to see the new one now.' I'm guessing they wanted to market the movie based nostalgia from your memories of the first movie rather than what it actually was?"
– hotdoug1
Scheduling Strategy
"I don't remember all the details exactly, but they chose to delay the release of Treasure Planet and have it compete against Harry Potter and Santa Clause 2 right before Christmas because they wanted it to flop. I think the reason was that Treasure Planet was a 2D animation made using some new form of technology that cost a lot."
– laobod
Mute Dog, Chatty Dog
"Why can goofy walk and talk but Pluto is kept on a lead? They’re both dogs? I suspect that Mickey, Donald and Goofy are abusing that poor dog physically and mentally to make sure it never realises its potential and rises up to me too the three of them."
– Sashaflick
Crossover Character
"The witch from the movie Brave is actually Boo from Monsters, Inc. Brave is the first and last movie in the Pixar timeline, and the magic discovered by Merida in Brave is what allows inanimate objects and animals to behave like humans throughout the Pixar universe, culminating in the world of Monsters, Inc."
"The witch's house in Brave contains hidden references to Sulley from Monsters, Inc. and the Pizza Planet truck, hinting at this connection."
– cameheretoposthis
Here's a peek into Disney parks, behind the scenes.
Off To Work We Go
"So, way back in the day, there was a Disney trailer park that housed the foreign workers from Epcot. The word was that the parties there were legendary. No comment on that, but the rumor was that not only was this allowed by management, but encouraged."
"The rationale being that it kept them on the property and away from the locals and finding out just how bad their living and pay conditions were."
– coprolite_hobbyist
"I don't remember a trailer park, but I do remember a gated apartment complex that was on International Drive and Little Lake Bryan Parkway that housed all the international students who worked at WDW."
"I was invited to some parties there in the 90s that were pretty crazy with a lot of booze, drugs, and sex."
"The 'security' at the gate was tight about who they let in, but we would sneak past them by either hiding in the trunks of cars or hopping the fence in the back."
"I guess that they have a new apartment complex called Flamingo Crossings Village off of the 429 now."
– slayer_f-150
Sharing Is Scaring
"Former cast member at Disneyland. People got the idea that we all had to wear shared underpants. This comes from the fact that characters have to wear shared underdressings, e.g. leotards and bloomers and t-shirts and shorts."
"But someone took it into their heads that all CMs shared underwear. It was one of the more common questions that I got."
"That and the 'tunnels'. WDW has underground passages, DL does not (with the exception of a trash tunnel under Tomorrowland)."
– fishmom5
The Guardians Of The Magic Kingdom
"they have a secret army of stray cats. which is true."
– Adorable-Chemistry64
"Those are pest control. Those cats have full medical and free housing. They're not stray."
– CrabMountain829
Ashes To Ashes, Dust To Pixie Dust
"One of the biggest things security at their parks has to look out for is people smuggling in ashes to spread at the park."
"Into the water of Pirates is supposedly the most popular locations to deposit them."
– TogarSucks
"This is 100% a thing, a friend used to work at Walt Disney World and told me they had cleaners in hazmat suits come and vacuum the ashes from Haunted Mansion multiple times a week!"
– ultragolddeluxe
The Secret Graveyard
"Next to big thunder mountain at Disneyland there is supposedly an animatronic graveyard under the pathway where you walk next to the tunnel from The Mine Train Through Natures Wonderland."
– sublimeshrub
Marketing Gimmick
"Disneyland trots out the Main Street Electrical Parade and three-day SoCal resident tickets whenever they start to get concerned about attendance (read: not often)."
– Kanotari
The man, the myth.
It's In The Font
"His name is actually Gisney, just like the logo is trying to tell you."
– SomeGuyInSanJoseCa
"Amazing we've gone so long spelling Gísnep's name wrong when it's right there in front of us."
– Ashrod63
"Gisneφ"
– Fidelos
"I always thought it was gisnep."
– Other-Lobster7983
Legendary Net Worth
"That at one point Disney had more money than the US government."
– leatherwolf89
"Friend of mine works in technical writing for contracts and told me one time there are two customer for whom money is no object - the government, and Disney."
"Like he's in meetings sometimes where they're negotiating price points, most customers when they're told something is going to cost lots more money they back off and decide they don't need that after all. When it's the government, cost doesn't matter, whatever it takes. When it's Disney, same story."
– Catsh*t-Dogfart
"I do work for Disney as a contractor, this is completely false. They love to pinch a penny if possible. Every once in a while they will throw us a project where they pretty much give us a blank check because someone really high up said something. But for the most part it is cut every corner possible."
– orlgamecock
Take it with a grain of salt, but many of these shared examples could be true or completely fabricated.
Disney fans sometimes can't leave Fantasyland behind when they leave the parks after a long day.
So who can blame them for conjuring up stories from their crazed imaginations?
