After one such reported story earlier this year, officials at Disneyland would only say that "this type of behavior is strictly prohibited and unlawful. Guests who attempt to do so will be escorted off property."
Ken Pellman, a former custodial worker at Disney who co-hosts an unofficial Disneyland podcast called "The Sweet Spot," said the company can't allow the practice.
"If they know it's happening, they have to stop it," he told the Post.
In any case, California health and safety codes declare that anyone who spreads cremated remains in the state needs written permission of a property owner — and could be fined $500 or jailed for six months if they violate the rule.
That apparently does not stop some from trying, as there have been numerous reports of it being done over the years, according to the Post.
Pellman and fellow ex-custodial cast member Lynn Barron wrote in the book "Cleaning the Kingdom: Insider Tales of Keeping Walt's Dream Spotless" that attractions are shut down when someone spreads suspected ashes.
"Unless you want your loved one swept up into a dustpan or vacuumed up — in either case, to be dumped in an industrial trash compactor — do not spread their cremated remains in the Haunted Mansion," they wrote.
"It's probably happening more often than we know," Pellman said. "It's not like an everyday thing. I've known somebody who passed away, big fan of the park, and his surviving partner told me she's spreading little bits of [his remains] every time she goes."
Disney parks aren't the only places survivors seek to memorialize their deceased loved ones: professional and college football stadiums and national parks have also had similar reports.
Homer Elwood, who owns Gray Funeral Home in Clinton, South Carolina, told the Post he has had families who planned to spread ashes on well-known golf courses or shot into the air in cannonballs or shotgun pellets.
Elwood said Disney could probably turn the idea into a business opportunity if the company wanted, saying "people would pay probably a large sum of money if they put a private niche somewhere on the property, whether it's Cinderella Castle wall or something. That could be a real moneymaker for them."
Mary-Frances O'Connor, a psychology professor and neuroscientist who studies grief, told the Post that spreading ashes in a loved one's desired spot can be an important final mission.
"Knowing that you carried out the final wishes of your loved one can feel like a very sacred responsibility at a time when you can do nothing more for them," O'Connor said. "For people who have so much love and caring and are finding nowhere to put that, that sacred responsibility can feel very valuable and give purpose."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.