Was Walt Disney’s Body Frozen? Here’s the Truth

For years now, a strange urban legend that Walt Disney was cryonically frozen has been circulating, but is it true? This rumor resurfaces every few years, and we at Disney Fanatic jumped in to parse out how this started and what the reality is.

It’s not entirely surprising that people are invested in seeing the founder of the Walt Disney Company, Mr. Disney, living and breathing once more. The man started one of the most influential entertainment companies in the world and was a true creative visionary. All these years later, he’s still beloved and by none more so than Disney fans.

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Was Walt Disney Secretly Cryonically Preserved After His Death?

Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966; he had reportedly been a heavy smoker since World War I and was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 1966. He died of circulatory collapse from lung cancer. Per all official stories, his body was then cremated, and those ashes were interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

However, rather than this well-proven series of events, the rumor of Walt’s body being cryonically preserved began making the rounds. It’s unclear what the origin of this urban legend is.

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One author, Leonard Mosley, who wrote the biography Disney’s World, insisted that Mr. Disney was supposedly “fascinated by cryonic preservation as his health declined and that he had his lung surgically removed and preserved in its entirety in case he was later brought back to life.”

Another possible source of the rumor is the 1993 biography of Walter Elias Disney by Marc Elliot: Walt Disney: Hollywood’s Dark Prince. As reported by Trust and Will, the book made it seem like Mr. Disney had a “growing preoccupation with his own mortality.”

Related: Were Walt Disney’s Last Words Really ‘Kurt Russell’? The Truth is Complicated

Is Walt Disney’s Body Hidden Beneath a Disney Park?

Additionally, some have extended the rumor to even place Mr. Disney’s frozen body beneath Disneyland, particularly below the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Others say his body is hidden beneath Walt Disney World Resort, underneath Cinderella Castle.

However, the reality is that none of these rumors have any truth behind them. And Mr. Disney’s own family has been the first to step up and disprove them.

Walt Disney’s Family Disproves the Rumor

Addressing the two biographies, Leonard Mosley’s claims and statements were discredited. Walt passed away shortly after his cancer diagnosis and didn’t have the time to become obsessed with cryonics or “cutting-edge science.” It has also been proven that doctors preserved only samples of his lung for scientific study.

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With respect to Marc Elliott’s biography, the author didn’t provide any sources. In fact, Mr. Disney’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller, stated in 1972 that she did not believe that Disney had ever heard of cryonics, let alone be actually cryonically frozen. Finally, his death certificate clarifies that Mr. Disney was cremated two days after he passed.

While hoping for Mr. Disney to come back is understandable, this urban legend is absolutely untrue.