Answering Your Strangest Disney Attraction Questions

Yes, that’s a dead body. No, that ride isn’t as safe as we’d all like it to be.

Folks, I’m here to answer all your Disney ride questions, no matter how dark the responses get.

Are There Tracks on Jungle Cruise?

I picked this one from a list of 60+ options, but it wasn’t my favorite question.

The faaaaaaar funnier question was, “Why is Jungle Cruise so popular?”

That query busts me up. So, I’ll go ahead and answer both.

Yes, Jungle Cruise uses tracks. To that end, any “steering” that you watch your Skipper do is purely performative.

Nobody ever needs to take the helm, as the ride will get you where you are going, as long as the boat doesn’t sink.

That’s something that happened twice in a quarter in 2020!

As for the popularity of the ride, some people love the genteel humor, the Dad Jokes, and the styles of the various Skippers.

Many of them place their own spin on the same script, which can lead to memorable outings, both good and bad.

To a larger point, this classic Disney attraction exemplifies how well the parks adapt.

Nothing about Jungle Cruise was intended to be a joke at first.

That happened over time as Skippers started cracking wise about the clearly artificial sets.

How Does The Stretching Room Work?

I should probably stretch out this answer, but it’s a simple statement.

Disney’s legendary Stretching Room at the Haunted Mansion is just a well-hidden elevator.

A few years ago, TPM Vids had the rare opportunity to ride the elevator the other way, and it’s pretty trippy:

You’ll notice how much faster the elevator moves when going up than during its elongated Stretching Room presentation.

Disney is building the story when the room slowly stretches to reveal the hysterical outcomes of the various posters.

Conversely, when the elevator goes back up, the presumption is that busy Cast Members are the only ones riding.

To maximize efficiency, the Stretching Room bounces upward so quickly you may briefly wonder if you’re at the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror instead.

How Fast Is Space Mountain?

Oh, if you don’t know the answer to this one, it’s one of the best secrets at Disney theme parks.

Space Mountain messes with your mind and senses by introducing you to something unique.

This roller coaster deposits you in the middle of an “outer space” environment.

What makes the experience interstellar? Honestly, not much. The prevailing idea is that outer space is a vacuum.

So, Space Mountain leaves you alone in the middle of nowhere, creating a sensory deprivation experience.

Your normal understanding of physics diminishes for a time, allowing you to believe something that isn’t true.

On this roller coaster, you’ll feel as if you’re careening out of control on a trip through the stars.

In reality, you’re going…27 miles per hour. For comparison, consider that Usain Bolt runs (!) 27.78 miles per hour.

Yes, if you lined up the track star side by side with Space Mountain, he’d outrace it.

When you’re on Space Mountain, you’ll feel like you’re going at breakneck speeds due to the sensory deprivation, though.

This is one of the best immersive tricks ever by Disney Imagineers.

How Is Expedition Everest Broken?

I’m uncomfortable describing the attraction as broken, unless you mean those tracks at the top of the Forbidden Mountain.

Sure, those…probably need repair. But the ride itself works perfectly. There is a problem, though.

Disney operates Expedition Everest in a kind of permanent B-mode because the Yeti is too heavy. I’m dead serious.

After a few months in operation, the Yeti’s movements caused excessive stress on the foundation of the Forbidden Mountain.

Is There a Dead Body on Pirates of the Caribbean?

You’re…not gonna like the answer to this one.

Unless you already knew the truth, you would have immediately dismissed this idea is impossible.

There’s no way that a wholesome company like Disney would put a human skeleton on the set of Pirates of the Caribbean, right?

Not so fast. A former Disney “show director,” someone who would know, wrote about this very topic in his book.

According to Jason Surrell in Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies, Imagineers didn’t like the fake skeletons.

Apparently, there was a concern that these skeletons were too artificial-looking, thereby ruining the illusion.

So, the Imagineers headed to the UCLA Medical Center and – I dunno how else to say this – did some grave robbing.

In those early days, unknowing Disneyland guests were staring at very real human corpses.

By the way, in case you’re wondering, Disney hasn’t allowed that practice for many decades now.

The 1960s were a different time, I guess.

What Happened to The Great Movie Ride?

The now-defunct ride at Disney’s Hollywood Studios lost a popularity contest to Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

Disney closed The Great Movie Ride to repurpose it into a trackless ride experience.

That one simple change liberated Imagineers to take the rider into the world of Disney’s classic animated stories.

Sadly, this is the case with some Disney attractions as their popularity diminishes.

Management chooses to reinvigorate the space by introducing something new in its place.

In this instance, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway replaced The Great Movie Ride, which is a net positive for Disney fans.

Some of us remember what we’ve lost and regret that we couldn’t have both, though.

Who Has the Bride Killed?

Short answer: All her husbands. All of them. Do NOT marry this woman.

Then again, I don’t think you can legally marry a ghoul. Please do not correct me if I’m wrong.

Anyway, the origins of The Bride have evolved over the years. Here’s what we know.

Captain Gore took a blushing bride named Priscilla, who loved him right up until she discovered that he’d been a pirate.

What did the good captain do? He murdered her. Then, she haunted him until he…well, he’s the Ghost Host. You do the math.

In the earliest iteration of Haunted Mansion, Disney didn’t provide Priscilla Gore aka The Bride with much of a backstory.

Over time, the character wound up in The Attic, and that’s when she became Constance Hatchaway.

We know that Ms. Hatchaway’s husbands have suffered a disproportionate number of accidents. Bloody, hatchet-related accidents.

According to clues pieced together over time, Constance Hatchaway’s husbands are (in order):

• Ambrose Harper
• Frank Banks
• The Marquis de Doome
• Reginald Caine
• George Hightower

Let’s just say that none of these gentlemen died of natural causes.

As a side note, while some have speculated that Hatchaway took care of the Hatbox Ghost as well, the two never married.

Instead, the Hatbox Ghost was more of a fan of Hatchaway’s work as a…serial husband murderer. Ooookay.

Why Does Scar Hate “it’s a small world”?

This is legitimately one of the most often asked questions about “it’s a small world,” which I find hysterical.

In case you don’t get the reference, here’s a clip from The Lion King:

Apparently, the quickest way to get under Scar’s skin is to sing “it’s a small world.”

This one throwaway joke from a 30-year-old film has caused fans to speculate for years on why Scar hates the song.

Folks, I hate to burst your bubble, but this one isn’t rocket science.

Scar isn’t an upbeat cat. Peppy, cheery songs aren’t what he’s about. No “Call Me Maybe” for him!

He’s more of an emo/death metal fan, I’d presume.

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