The first official reports date back at least to November 2007. That year, a woman was seen throwing something like "baby powder" into the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction at Disneyland. Thus was born the legend: Disneyland and Disney World are covered with the ashes of thousands of people. The story quickly gained traction because of the macabre and illegal nature of the act. However, unlike other Internet myths, this one isn't just true—Disney staff have an internal code to respond to these "incidents".
An urban legend often tells us that two of the most popular and peculiar destinations for scattering human ashes are Disneyland and Disney World. More than one person has thought it would be an excellent business opportunity for Disney (you know, greedy super-corporation with the power to rewrite laws and all that), but it's a line it doesn't want to cross. In fact, these "ceremonies" supposedly are done in secret, because public health and safety regulations prohibit throwing human ashes on private property without explicit permission from the owners. Still, it's just a legend, right?
Ashes at Disney: Sadness and Special Cleanups
Well... no. The story is true, and according to employees and former employees of Disney, it happens every month. Coordinating cleanup efforts at Disneyland and Disney World is a very complex task. Teams use special codes to describe an incident briefly, similar to Walmart's "Code Adam". For example, "Code V" means someone vomited, and "Code U" means urine. In the case of ashes, the internal term is "HEPA Clean", as a reference to the air filter standard. What are the most popular spots? Bushes, flower beds, the lawn of Magic Kingdom, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, the small moat under the flying elephants in the Dumbo ride, and of course, the Haunted Mansion. One of the custodians revealed that the amount of human ashes in the Haunted Mansion is so large that it's "not even funny anymore".
Disney's position is unequivocal: Scattering ashes is prohibited, it's illegal, and anyone seen doing it will be escorted out of the park immediately. Now, this warning does not erase the fact that these are very delicate situations. Why? Because it's logical to conclude that the deceased were children and Disney fans. Perhaps relatives just want to fulfill the wish of visiting the park together even if symbolically, but the recommendation is not to do it. If Disney can combat mosquitoes on a large scale, it can also clean ashes relatively easily, and most likely they end up in the trash.
https://old.neoteo.com/princesas-disney-influencers-millennials/
