Disney is for spreading magic, not ashes.
On an episode of the “Las Culturistas” podcast, Ariana Grande revealed her mom’s wishes to have her ashes spread at Disney World — but her wish will likely never be fulfilled.
Grande, 31, was discussing landmark attractions at Disneyland and Disney World with hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers when she shared that her mom, Joan, repeatedly tells her and her brother, Frankie Grande, must spread her ashes within the Florida theme park.
“In terms of Florida. In terms of Disney in Florida…to start with, we get Cinderella’s Castle. Which is, you realize, also a landmark,” Grande, who grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, said on the podcast.
“My mom tells us too often that she wants her ashes sprinkled over it. And I’m like, ‘Mom, it’s Christmas. Do we now have to discuss this right away?’ And she or he’s like, ‘Yeah. You could have to be certain that that happens.’”
“I’m like, ‘Mom, I don’t wanna be certain that that that happens,’” Grande, who might be starring as Glinda within the upcoming “Wicked” movie, recalled.
The actress and singer also identified a potentially morbid issue that might come out of her mom’s wishes.
“I feel there’s actors back there working. So that you’re gonna be sprinkled on people’s heads who’re like, dressed as Tinker Bell waiting for his or her cue,” she quipped.
Yang, 34, chimed in noting, “Totally. There’s like a hotel room in there,” referring to the Cinderella Castle Suite.
“I’ve been in there because I performed on the castle one time and I got to vary in there, which was really cool,” Grande added. “It’s really beautiful and it feels very real.”
Nevertheless, as beautiful because it is, the pop icon won’t have the opportunity to spread her 67-year-old mom’s ashes there because it’s illegal to achieve this.
In line with a 2018 report from the Wall Street Journal, spreading ashes on the theme park “is strictly prohibited and illegal. Guests who try and achieve this might be escorted off property.”
On top of Disney attempting to do what it could to maintain anything morbid out of its parks — including banning the words “In Memory Of” from their personalized commemorative bricks — custodians must go into the rides to remove the tiny particles.
When residue of ashes is discovered on a ride, Disney employees shut down the ride for “technical difficulties” so a manager can ride the attraction alone and search for ash piles before custodians include high-powered vacuums.
The decision for the clean-up situation is definitely named after those vacuums: “HEPA Cleanup” is the code between employees meaning a park guest has scattered cremated ashes somewhere within the park.
Though one former Disney worker said she and others got in trouble for making up their very own term for the clean-up: “Code Grandma.”
In line with the outlet, the most well-liked places for guests to spread human ashes are flower beds and bushes, the Magic Kingdom lawn, outside the park gates, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and within the moat underneath the flying elephants of the Dumbo ride. But mostly, people wish to spread ashes within the Haunted Mansion ride, taking it a bit of literally.
“The Haunted Mansion probably has a lot human ashes in it that it’s not even funny,” one Disneyland custodian said on the time.
Nevertheless, guests do often get away with it — including Whoopi Goldberg.
On an episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on July 10, the 68-year-old talk show host revealed that she and her late brother, Clyde, spread her mother’s ashes contained in the It’s a Small World ride shortly after she died in 2010.
“Nobody should do that. Don’t do it,” Goldberg warned. “She loved Small World. So, within the Small World ride, periodically, I’d scoop a few of her up and I’d do that poof, and I said, ‘My God, this cold is getting worse and worse!’ After which we got over to the flowers where it says, ‘Disneyland’ and I used to be like, ‘Oh, have a look at that! Poof.’”
She did admit to the Disney park employees that she did it, though.
“I told them I did it. I desired to be certain that, actually, that I hadn’t done something that was dangerous, since it hadn’t occurred to me. But there’s a reason they don’t want ashes just floating around,” Goldberg admitted.
Disney is for spreading magic, not ashes.
On an episode of the “Las Culturistas” podcast, Ariana Grande revealed her mom’s wishes to have her ashes spread at Disney World — but her wish will likely never be fulfilled.
Grande, 31, was discussing landmark attractions at Disneyland and Disney World with hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers when she shared that her mom, Joan, repeatedly tells her and her brother, Frankie Grande, must spread her ashes within the Florida theme park.
“In terms of Florida. In terms of Disney in Florida…to start with, we get Cinderella’s Castle. Which is, you realize, also a landmark,” Grande, who grew up in Boca Raton, Florida, said on the podcast.
“My mom tells us too often that she wants her ashes sprinkled over it. And I’m like, ‘Mom, it’s Christmas. Do we now have to discuss this right away?’ And she or he’s like, ‘Yeah. You could have to be certain that that happens.’”
“I’m like, ‘Mom, I don’t wanna be certain that that that happens,’” Grande, who might be starring as Glinda within the upcoming “Wicked” movie, recalled.
The actress and singer also identified a potentially morbid issue that might come out of her mom’s wishes.
“I feel there’s actors back there working. So that you’re gonna be sprinkled on people’s heads who’re like, dressed as Tinker Bell waiting for his or her cue,” she quipped.
Yang, 34, chimed in noting, “Totally. There’s like a hotel room in there,” referring to the Cinderella Castle Suite.
“I’ve been in there because I performed on the castle one time and I got to vary in there, which was really cool,” Grande added. “It’s really beautiful and it feels very real.”
Nevertheless, as beautiful because it is, the pop icon won’t have the opportunity to spread her 67-year-old mom’s ashes there because it’s illegal to achieve this.
In line with a 2018 report from the Wall Street Journal, spreading ashes on the theme park “is strictly prohibited and illegal. Guests who try and achieve this might be escorted off property.”
On top of Disney attempting to do what it could to maintain anything morbid out of its parks — including banning the words “In Memory Of” from their personalized commemorative bricks — custodians must go into the rides to remove the tiny particles.
When residue of ashes is discovered on a ride, Disney employees shut down the ride for “technical difficulties” so a manager can ride the attraction alone and search for ash piles before custodians include high-powered vacuums.
The decision for the clean-up situation is definitely named after those vacuums: “HEPA Cleanup” is the code between employees meaning a park guest has scattered cremated ashes somewhere within the park.
Though one former Disney worker said she and others got in trouble for making up their very own term for the clean-up: “Code Grandma.”
In line with the outlet, the most well-liked places for guests to spread human ashes are flower beds and bushes, the Magic Kingdom lawn, outside the park gates, the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and within the moat underneath the flying elephants of the Dumbo ride. But mostly, people wish to spread ashes within the Haunted Mansion ride, taking it a bit of literally.
“The Haunted Mansion probably has a lot human ashes in it that it’s not even funny,” one Disneyland custodian said on the time.
Nevertheless, guests do often get away with it — including Whoopi Goldberg.
On an episode of “Late Night with Seth Meyers” on July 10, the 68-year-old talk show host revealed that she and her late brother, Clyde, spread her mother’s ashes contained in the It’s a Small World ride shortly after she died in 2010.
“Nobody should do that. Don’t do it,” Goldberg warned. “She loved Small World. So, within the Small World ride, periodically, I’d scoop a few of her up and I’d do that poof, and I said, ‘My God, this cold is getting worse and worse!’ After which we got over to the flowers where it says, ‘Disneyland’ and I used to be like, ‘Oh, have a look at that! Poof.’”
She did admit to the Disney park employees that she did it, though.
“I told them I did it. I desired to be certain that, actually, that I hadn’t done something that was dangerous, since it hadn’t occurred to me. But there’s a reason they don’t want ashes just floating around,” Goldberg admitted.
