Whoopi Goldberg recently shared that she spread the ashes of her mother at Disneyland — but warned others not to do what she did.
The View host revealed that after her mom, Emma Harris, died from a stroke in 2010, she honored her by spreading her ashes at Disneyland while on her mother’s favorite ride, “It’s a Small World.”
“No one should do this,” Whoopi warned the audience on Late Night with Seth Meyers as she told the story. “Don’t do it.”
The 68-year-old went on to explain her mom loved Disneyland and was especially fond of the ride. “When I was a kid, the World’s Fair was [in New York],” she added, “and it was the introduction of (It’s a) Small World.”
The ride was so important to them that, after her death, Goldberg recalls she would sometimes “scoop some of her up” and fake a huge sneeze to spread the ashes on the ride. “She loved Small World,” she continued. “So, in the Small World ride, periodically I’d scoop some of her up and I’d do this.”
Goldberg says she would then play it off by saying, “‘My god, this cold is getting worse and worse.’” The comedian also admits that’s not the only place she would use the sneeze trick — she also spread the ashes over the flowers at the entrance.
The Oscar winner did however eventually inform the park once it occurred to her that it might be dangerous. “I told them I did it,” she added. “I wanted to make sure, actually, that I hadn’t done something that was dangerous, ’cause it hadn’t occurred to me. But there’s a reason they don’t want ashes just floatin’ around.”
Back in 2018, Disney custodians revealed that this is something that happens more often than people may realize, at least once a month.
“The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it that it’s not even funny,” a custodian revealed to Wall Street Journal at the time.
In California, it is illegal to scatter ashes on public land without a permit. You must obtain written permission from the owner to spread them on private property other than your own — which includes all Disney Parks.
