Whoopi Goldberg Reveals She Scattered Her Mom’s Ashes on Disneyland Ride

Whoopi Goldberg revealed that after her mom Emma Harris’ death in 2010, she spread her ashes on the It’s a Small World ride at Disneyland.

Whoopi Goldberg is giving a whole new meaning to the happiest place on earth.

The View cohost revealed that after her mother Emma Harris’ death in 2010, she decided to honor her by spreading her ashes on her mom’s favorite Disneyland ride: It’s a Small World.

“No one should do this,” Whoopi said on Late Night with Seth Meyers July 11 as she began the tale. “Don’t do it.”

The 68-year-old explained that her mother was a huge fan of Disneyland, and especially the ride It’s a Small World.

“When I was a kid, the World’s Fair was [in New York],” she continued, “and it was the introduction of Small World.”

As for how she pulled off her covert ashes-spreading mission? According to Whoopi, while on a trip to Disneyland following her mother’s passing she rode It’s a Small World and would periodically “scoop some of her up,” and fake a giant sneeze that would spread her mom’s ashes around the ride.

Whoopi would then quickly play off the sneeze, joking, “And I’d say, ‘My god, this cold is getting worse and worse.'”

And It’s a Small World wasn’t the only place Whoopi spread her mother’s ashes, as she also revealed she played the same faux sneeze trick over the flower beds near the park entrance.

But the Oscar winner—who was named a Disney Legend in 2017—did come clean with the House of Mouse eventually.

“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.”

But Whoopi is far from the only person who has chosen Disneyland or Disney World as a final resting place for their loved ones. In fact, Disney custodians told the Wall Street Journal in 2018 that they clean up ashes about once a month.

While theme park guests will be told a ride has shut down due to technical difficulties, the custodial staff explained a team will be inside doing a HEPA cleanup, using an ultra fine vacuum cleaner to suck up the ashes.

And there’s one ride that guests choose far more than others to spread ashes on.

“The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it,” an unnamed Disney custodian said, “that it’s not even funny.”