Whoopi Goldberg reveals that she discreetly scattered her mom’s ashes on a Disneyland ride

“No one should do this,” Goldberg warned the audience before explaining that as a child, her mother would take her to the automated boat ride at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

“My mother loved Disneyland, and so we took her to Disneyland,” she continued. “She loved ‘Small World.’”

Goldberg’s mother, Emma Harris, died of a stroke in August 2010, according to People. 

“So, in the ‘Small World’ ride, periodically, I scooped some of her up, and I do this,” she explained before acting out a dramatic sneeze and then pretending to drop some ashes.

“I said, ‘My God, this cold is getting worse and worse.’ And then we got over to the flowers where it says, ‘Disneyland,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, look at that!’” she recalled and acted out her gesture of dropping the ashes again.

According to Goldberg, she ultimately left the ride feeling guilty and alerted ride operators about what she did.

“I told them I did it,” she explained. “I wanted to make sure, actually, that I hadn’t done something that was dangerous because it hadn’t occurred to me. But there’s a reason they don’t want ashes just floating around.”

It’s not the first time that the “It’s a Small World” ride has attracted strange activities.

In November 2023, the Anaheim Police Department responded to the park after complaints that a guest removed his clothes and walked around the ride while naked. The ride was shut down for nearly an hour so that authorities could inspect the ride.

The iconic attraction opened in 1966 and features a boat ride, hundreds of automated dancing dolls and an anthem about world unity written by Richard Sherman, who died in May.