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Whoopi Goldberg has shared a touching and unconventional tribute to her late mother, Emma Harris. After her mother's passing in 2010, Goldberg chose to honor her by spreading her ashes at her favorite place: Disneyland, specifically on the ride It's a Small World
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In a candid conversation on Late Night with Seth Meyers on July 11, Goldberg recounted how she executed this heartfelt gesture, despite it being against the rules. "No one should do this," she warned the audience. "Don't do it."
Goldberg explained that her mother was a lifelong fan of Disneyland, with a particular fondness for It's a Small World. This love stemmed from the ride's debut at the 1964 New York World's Fair, a memory cherished by her mother.
Describing her covert mission, Goldberg revealed that during a visit to Disneyland after her mother’s death, she boarded It's a Small World with her mother’s ashes. She would periodically scoop some ashes and pretend to sneeze, dispersing them around the ride. "And I'd say, 'My God, this cold is getting worse and worse,'" she recounted, adding a humorous touch to the emotional moment.
Goldberg didn’t stop there; she used the same sneezing trick to spread her mother’s ashes over the flower beds near the park entrance. The Oscar winner, named a Disney Legend in 2017, eventually confessed her actions to Disneyland officials to ensure she hadn’t done anything harmful. "I wanted to make sure, actually, that I hadn't done something that was dangerous, 'cause it hadn't occurred to me," she said. She learned there are safety reasons why spreading ashes in the park is prohibited.
Goldberg's story is part of a broader trend of people choosing Disneyland or Disney World as final resting places for their loved ones. In a 2018 report, Disney custodians revealed they clean up ashes about once a month. While rides are often shut down for "technical difficulties," custodial staff use HEPA vacuum cleaners to collect the ashes.
Interestingly, the Haunted Mansion is the most popular choice for spreading ashes. "The Haunted Mansion probably has so much human ashes in it," a Disney custodian said, "that it's not even funny."
