For most Disneyland fans, there is a lot of joy in finding hidden secrets about the park that we all love to visit. There are many interesting little-known facts about the resort and some pretty crazy things from Disneyland’s past that we still can’t believe once existed.
One of these hidden secrets is the use of human bones in Disneyland’s iconic Pirates of the Caribbean ride. There is a widespread rumor that the attraction contains a real human skull. We break down whether this rumor is true and the use of human remains in the attraction’s past.
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Real Skull in Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean?
For a long time, there has been the rumor that the skull that sits above the bed in the treasure room near the beginning of the ride is actually real. This rumor is likely born from the fact that there did used to be real human bones on this ride (more on that below), and the skull is notably darker and more tarnished-looking in appearance than the other skeletons throughout this segment of the ride.
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Though the rumor has gained some popularity over the years and was even once confirmed by a Cast Member, it is safe to assume now that this particular skull is not real. In today’s day and age, the display of human remains would obviously raise some serious legal and ethical issues, and modern Imagineering is more than capable of delivering a realistic-looking human skull. It is unlikely that Disney would deal with the legal liability and upkeep of real human remains today. However, when the ride first opened, this was not the case.
At the time of the ride’s opening in 1967, the technology wasn’t sophisticated enough to create convincing-looking human skeletons, and so Imagineers obtained real human remains from the anatomy department of UCLA Medical Center for the ride.
According to former Disney producer Jason Surrell in his book Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies, these remains were ultimately replaced by faux skeletons and ”were later returned to their countries of origin and given a proper burial.”
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With or without real human bones, Pirates of the Caribbean is considered to be one of the most immersive attractions ever created for a theme park. The ride has undergone many substantial changes over the years, but it is still one of the most iconic attractions at Disney—if not the most iconic—with several versions at parks around the world and a popular film series inspired by the ride.
You can read about the most fascinating secrets about Pirates of the Caribbean you may not have noticed, and all of the times the Pirates of the Caribbean movies referenced the ride that inspired them.
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