Walt Disney World reopens to the public after coronavirus closure
Walt Disney World has reopened to the public but with many new precautions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
USA TODAY, Wochit
In the decades following American animator and director Walt Disneys death in November 1966, pop culture conspiracy theorists have promoted a myth that his cryogenically frozen corpse is stored away in a hidden vault.
Over the years, the legend has taken different forms online. Some have speculated his frozen body is located under the Pirates of Caribbean ride, while others have claimed Disney named the movie Frozen sostories about his frozen head would stop showing up on Google.
Now, people are asserting that Disneys frozen body will be thawedin December in an attempt to resurrect him.
55 Years After His Death, Walt Disneys Frozen Body Will Be Thawed December 2021 In An Attempt To Bring Him Back To Life, reads a screenshot of a news headline shared to Facebook on Sept. 23 by the page Disney After Dark.
The post accumulated more than 1,700 shares and reactions in less than a day.The same claim has made its way to Instagram, blog pages and YouTube. On TikTok, a video about the article gained more than 92,000 likes in less than a week.
Fact check: Sony Group still owns Spider-Man film rights, despite online claims
But Disneys body isn't frozen. And the screenshot of the headline circulating online originated on a satirical website, which the posts fail to mention.
USA TODAY reached out to the social media users who shared the claim for comment.
The headline first appeared in a Sept. 15 article from Daily News Reported, which bills itself as a fabricated satirical newspaper and comedy website.
Daily News Reported uses invented names in all its stories, except in cases when public figures are being satirized, reads a disclaimer on the sites about page. Any other use of real names is accidental and coincidental.
The disclaimer is not included in the screenshots shared to social media.
Fact check: Image of bleeding Indigenous person at Met Gala is altered
It's an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where storieswritten as satire and presented that way originally are captured via screenshot and reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news.As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.
Dennis Kowalski, president oftheCryonics Institute a company that cryogenically freezes bodies and was mentioned in the Daily News Reported article- told USA TODAY the company is not bringing Disney back to life.
"We have heard of this rumor as well and we can confirm that it is not true," Kowalski said via email.
The claim that Disneys body is frozenisbased on the theory of cryonics, an experimental process in whichpatients bodiesare frozen with the hope that future technology will bring them back to life.
But scientists have criticized the cryonics industry and researchers say the theory is based on faith, not science.
"Reanimation or simulation is an abjectly false hope that is beyond the promise of technology and is certainly impossible with the frozen, dead tissue offered by the 'cryonics'industry," Michael Hendricks of McGill University wrote for MIT Technology Reviewin 2015.
Fact check: Claim that Biden is withholding benefits from unvaccinated veterans originated as satire
Regardless, Disney's body was notfrozen.His death certificate says he was cremated,the Los Angeles Times reportedin 2003. His ashes were interred at a family mausoleum at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, per PBS.
People close to Disney have also refuted the conspiracy theory.
There is absolutely no truth that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen," Disney's daughter, Diane, wrote in her 1972 biography."I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics.
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that Disneys body will be thawed in December to bring him back to life. The claim originated on a satirical website. Disneys body was cremated and his asheswere interred at Forest LawnCemetery in Glendale, California.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app, or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
Read the original post:
Fact check: False claim that Walt Disneys frozen body will be thawed in December - USA TODAY
- Inside facility storing hundreds of corpses with the hope of using technology to restore them to full health - UNILAD - March 18th, 2024 [March 18th, 2024]
- Cryonics: Could you live forever? | BBC Science Focus Magazine - April 8th, 2023 [April 8th, 2023]
- Introduction to Cryonics - Alcor - February 18th, 2023 [February 18th, 2023]
- Inside Philip Rhoades' bid to be frozen in a new Australian cryonics ... - February 15th, 2023 [February 15th, 2023]
- About Cryonics - The Cryonics Institute - February 2nd, 2023 [February 2nd, 2023]
- Ted Williams - Wikipedia - November 25th, 2022 [November 25th, 2022]
- Arizona cryonics facility preserves bodies to revive later - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- 200 Frozen Heads and Bodies Await Revival at This Arizona Cryonics Facility - Smithsonian Magazine - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Why the sci-fi dream of cryonics never died - MIT Technology Review - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 3 Things That Kept Me Up After The Kardashians, Season 2, Episode 4 - British Vogue - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Think Outside The (Titanium) Box: Isochoric Cryopreservation Could Save Lives - Forbes - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- 184 Frozen Bodies Are Waiting To Be Resurrected | History of Yesterday - History of Yesterday - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The First Person To Be Cryonically Frozen and Preserved for the Future - History of Yesterday - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Why TV vampires have our undying attention - The Boston Globe - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- David Suzuki: Gaia theorist James Lovelock was always ahead of the times - NOW Toronto - August 10th, 2022 [August 10th, 2022]
- expert reaction to paper suggesting that cellular and tissue function can be restored in pigs after death - Science Media Centre - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- David Suzuki: Gaia theorist James Lovelock was always ahead of the times - The Georgia Straight - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Does Life on Earth Have a Purpose to Ancient Ghost Tracks of the West (Planet Earth Report) - The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- Cryonics Technology for Pet Market Is Expected to Boom | Praxair,Cellulis,Cryologics,Cryotherm,KrioRus,VWR,Thermo Fisher Scientific - Digital Journal - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Cryonics company hopes to use legal loophole to freeze people alive - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Russian Cryonics Couple Danila Medvedev and Valerija Udalova's Bad Breakup Led to Heist Of Frozen Brains - The Daily Beast - April 11th, 2022 [April 11th, 2022]
- Buckys 10 Trigger Words Explained - Bucky's Metal Arm - February 24th, 2022 [February 24th, 2022]
- Severance Offers a Surreal, Allegorical Twist on Work-Life Balance - The Ringer - February 19th, 2022 [February 19th, 2022]
- U.S. Cryonics Lab Currently Keeping The Heads And Bodies ... - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Preserving Bodies in a Deep Freeze: 50 Years Later ... - February 17th, 2022 [February 17th, 2022]
- Suspended animation - Wikipedia - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- Delving into the sci-fi world of cryonics - SaskToday.ca - January 24th, 2022 [January 24th, 2022]
- Cryonics Technology Market Overview by Industry Dynamics, Regional Analysis and Forecast 2021 to 2026 Industrial IT - Industrial IT - January 3rd, 2022 [January 3rd, 2022]
- If cryonics suddenly worked, wed need to face the fallout ... - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- Cryonics Institute - Wikipedia - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- Frozen for the future: Does Minnesota have any cryonics ... - December 13th, 2021 [December 13th, 2021]
- News - Cryonics: Alcor Life Extension Foundation - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- Death - Wikipedia - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- How much would you pay to come back from the dead? The starting price is 60k - The Telegraph - November 13th, 2021 [November 13th, 2021]
- Review: Irresistible and observant realms of science fiction revealed in 19 stories - SF Chronicle Datebook - November 13th, 2021 [November 13th, 2021]
- Humans could 'live forever' as firm offers 'immortality' freezing for 478-a-year - Ammon News - October 30th, 2021 [October 30th, 2021]
- Halloween fun to be had at Metro area haunted houses - Polk.Today - October 30th, 2021 [October 30th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market to Witness Highest Growth In Near Future | Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics, Cryotherm, KrioRus, VWR, Thermo Fisher Scientific... - October 15th, 2021 [October 15th, 2021]
- Will Walt Disney's Frozen Body Be Thawed in December 2021? - Snopes.com - October 3rd, 2021 [October 3rd, 2021]
- Scorned wife raids ex-husbands cryogenics lab stealing frozen brains of people who hoped to be brought b... - The Sun - September 12th, 2021 [September 12th, 2021]
- Two cryopreservation companies, run by ex-spouses, fight over frozen corpses and one tries to remove the bo... - Market Research Telecast - September 12th, 2021 [September 12th, 2021]
- Could suspended animation send you into the future to become the smartest person alive? - SYFY WIRE - September 2nd, 2021 [September 2nd, 2021]
- Conclusive Study of Cryonics Technology market 2021 forecast to 2027 The Manomet Current - The Manomet Current - August 20th, 2021 [August 20th, 2021]
- UFOs and the Boundaries of Science - Boston Review - August 4th, 2021 [August 4th, 2021]
- Frequently Asked Questions | Cryonics Institute - July 12th, 2021 [July 12th, 2021]
- Is Walt Disney's Body Frozen? - Biography - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Jeanette Winterson, stone gods, oranges are not the only ... - July 10th, 2021 [July 10th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market to Eyewitness Massive Growth by 2028: Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics The Manomet Current - The Manomet Current - July 7th, 2021 [July 7th, 2021]
- Corrections: July 4, 2021 - The New York Times - July 5th, 2021 [July 5th, 2021]
- The cryonics industry would like to give you the past year, and many more, back - bdnews24.com - June 28th, 2021 [June 28th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Analytical Overview, Growth Factors, Demand and Trends Forecast to 2027 The ERX News - The ERX News - June 28th, 2021 [June 28th, 2021]
- Cryonics During the Pandemic - The New York Times - June 27th, 2021 [June 27th, 2021]
- Heres what a trend-analyzing A.I. thinks will be the next big thing in tech - Digital Trends - June 27th, 2021 [June 27th, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market 2021: Size, Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies Analysis and Forecasts To 2026 The ERX News - The... - June 27th, 2021 [June 27th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Pegged for Robust Expansion by 2027 Covid-19 Analysis The Courier - The Courier - June 4th, 2021 [June 4th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market 2021 Is Booming Across the Globe by Share, Size, Growth, Segments and Forecast to 2027 | Top Players Analysis- Praxair,... - April 9th, 2021 [April 9th, 2021]
- Scientist proposes new plan to "resurrect" the dead with a Dyson Sphere, kind of - Boing Boing - April 9th, 2021 [April 9th, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market Growth in the Forecast Period of 2020 to 2026 With Top Companies: , Buckeye Partners, Shell Pipeline, NuStar Energy,... - April 2nd, 2021 [April 2nd, 2021]
- Cryopreservation - Wikipedia - March 21st, 2021 [March 21st, 2021]
- Will Cryogenically Frozen People Ever Be Revived? - March 21st, 2021 [March 21st, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Statistics, Facts & Figures, Size, Trends and Forecast 2025 by Leading Companies Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics,... - March 18th, 2021 [March 18th, 2021]
- Dyson spheres: The key to resurrection and immortality? - Big Think - March 18th, 2021 [March 18th, 2021]
- Putting dead heads on ice until the technology catches up - Sifted - February 2nd, 2021 [February 2nd, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market Detailed analysis of current Industry figures with forecasts growth by 2028 | Top Players; Praxair, Cellulis,... - January 19th, 2021 [January 19th, 2021]
- Cryonic Preservation Technique Lets You Preserve Your Body And Wake Up In The Future - ED Times - January 17th, 2021 [January 17th, 2021]
- Global Cryonics Technology Market (2020) to Witness Huge Growth by 2026 | Praxair, Cellulis, Cryologics, Cryotherm, KrioRus, VWR, and more -... - January 17th, 2021 [January 17th, 2021]
- Intelliconnect (Europe) Ltd. - Cryogenics and connecting the cold bits - Design Products & Applications - January 5th, 2021 [January 5th, 2021]
- Cryonics Technology Market Key Trends, Drivers, Challenges and Standardization To 2020-2026 - PRnews Leader - October 20th, 2020 [October 20th, 2020]
- Cryonics - Wikipedia - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- What Is Cryonics? - How Cryonics Works | HowStuffWorks - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- The False Science of Cryonics | MIT Technology Review - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Here's How Far Cryonic Preservation Has Come in the 50 ... - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Disrupting death: Could we really live forever in digital form? - CNET - June 1st, 2020 [June 1st, 2020]
- Research Report, Growth Trends and Competitive Analysis 2020-2026 - Cole of Duty - May 14th, 2020 [May 14th, 2020]
- Why Was Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams Decapitated? - Sportscasting - May 14th, 2020 [May 14th, 2020]
- Does Trump know his own government indirectly bankrolls some key promoters of the Russiagate hoax? - RT - May 14th, 2020 [May 14th, 2020]
- Oxford academic claims future humans could live for thousands of years - Express.co.uk - March 23rd, 2020 [March 23rd, 2020]
- How Long Do You Want to Live? This Technology Could Potentially Help People Live Forever - Interesting Engineering - March 23rd, 2020 [March 23rd, 2020]
- Cryonics, Dakota the Dog, and the Hope of Forever - Gizmodo - March 5th, 2020 [March 5th, 2020]
- Meet the Man Who Looks After Nederland's Frozen Dead Guy - 5280 | The Denver Magazine - March 5th, 2020 [March 5th, 2020]