Long before security checkpoints and metal detectors became routine at Disney theme parks, a quiet scare prompted a major federal response. It didn’t involve flashing headlines, sirens, or evacuations—but it left enough of a mark to change park security forever.
Decades later, many guests still don’t know that Disneyland was once the focus of an active counterterrorism investigation. The case was triggered not by a bomb, but by a single, deeply disturbing VHS tape.
A Tape, a Threat, and Federal Involvement
In 1995, Disneyland received an anonymous VHS tape in the mail. The footage was strange, grainy, and unsettling. A person wearing rubber gloves was shown handling glass jars and removing foil-wrapped items from a freezer. Overlaid text included the words “NERVE GAS” and “DEAD GUEST,” along with visuals of Disneyland’s parking lot, a calendar marked April 14, and an analog clock ticking down.
The tape’s content was bizarre, but authorities treated it seriously. According to News6, the FBI, FEMA, and other agencies were quickly mobilized. The mid-’90s had already seen one of Japan’s deadliest sarin gas attacks and, within days of the tape’s arrival, the Oklahoma City bombing would devastate the country.
Then-President Bill Clinton later acknowledged that federal response teams had been preemptively deployed across the country—Disneyland included—to prepare for what many feared could be the next big attack. The park increased security over the Easter weekend, quietly introducing bag checks for guests, a practice that would become standard.
A Resurfacing and a Pattern of Threats
The full story may have faded into obscurity if not for the tape’s reappearance years later. A man named Todd Werkhoven discovered it in a Portland, Oregon Goodwill store and posted the video on YouTube. “It just felt very heavy and ominous,” he told News6, recalling the shock of realizing what he’d found. He had unknowingly unearthed evidence from a long-buried federal investigation.
At the time, the FBI was hesitant to release details publicly. In 1995, the Washington Post reported that some officials were concerned disclosure could encourage copycats or lead to routine deployment of federal teams in response to every anonymous threat. They confirmed, however, that “popular attractions such as Disneyland often receive anonymous threats.”
That trend has continued.
In 2016, the shooter behind the Pulse Nightclub massacre initially scouted Disney World. According to law enforcement, he was deterred by the park’s extensive visible and undercover security presence and changed targets. In 2022, a former Disney cast member was arrested for issuing a bomb threat to employees. Then, in late 2024, a Disney World guest falsely claimed he had a bomb during a monorail screening. He was arrested and charged after prompting a full-scale response.
