You may have come across a rumor online or while watching a TV series that says Walt Disney had himself frozen after his death in the hope of being thawed and resurrected one day. You may also have come across a secondary conspiracy theory that Disney released a movie called Frozen so that when you Google “Walt Disney frozen” you won’t come across articles speculating about his body’s whereabouts and temperature. You may have even heard that the body was hidden in the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney World.
You might not expect something like this from the founder of Disney and creator of so many beloved heroes, but when you’ve encountered so many theories, it’s only natural to wonder if there’s any truth to them.
While it’s true that the Pirates of the Caribbean ride once contained human remains, these were skeletal remains used to decorate it and make it look completely pirate-like, and have long since been removed.
Rumors that Walt Disney was cryonically frozen or interested in cryonic technology emerged decades after his death. These rumors are also not well-sourced and largely come from two books about Disney that contain many inaccuracies and are likely just old rumors rather than facts.
“Disney’s growing preoccupation with his own mortality also led him to explore the science of cryogenics, the science of freezing an aging or sick person until the human body can be reanimated and restored to health,” one such piece of text reads, as reported by Snopes. “Disney often told Roy that he was thinking about the idea of freezing himself; This idea… received lenient approval from his brother.”
In reality, there is no evidence that Disney ever heard of or was interested in cryonic techniques. Disney was cremated shortly after he died of lung cancer in 1966. Disney’s daughter, Diane, said in an article published in 1972, “The allegations that my father, Walt Disney, wanted to be frozen are absolutely untrue,” and added: “I doubt my father has ever heard of cryonics.”
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