Just because Disney theme parks are the happiest places on Earth doesn't mean they don't have the capability to make people cry, although it's not over movie events...
- The Partners statue in the Magic Kingdom - the one with Walt and Mickey holding hands. Especially for those who still see Walt as Mickey's father.
- The Sharing the Magic statue in the Magic Kingdom serves as a companion piece to the Partners statue. It depicts Walt's older brother Roy, his business partner and biggest supporter. Roy postponed his retirement to ensure that Walt Disney World was built following Walt's death, renaming the resort after his late brother. Roy died three months after Walt Disney World opened in 1971.
- On the Kilimanjaro Safari ride at Animal Kingdom you chase down poachers that have captured Little Red, a baby elephant, after shooting Big Red, the mother. Word of God says she survives, but the idea of the baby elephant, who can't survive away from Mommy, being forced away like that... According to Disney insider Jim Hill, in the original script Big Red didn't make it, and the riders saw her (simulated, of course) corpse in the climactic stretch of the ride. This drove so many kids to tears that it ruined the whole ride, so the script was changed and the prop removed before it formally opened. So it could have been a lot worse.
- The "Two Brothers" sequence from The American Adventure at Epcot and the current version of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. Depicting, as per the title, two brothers living at the time of the American Civil War who turn against each other when one decides to fight for the Union, and the other decides to fight for the Confederacy. Only one of them comes home alive...
- Also from The American Adventure, the "Golden Dream" sequence.
- The end of Fantasmic! Just seeing Mickey steering the Mark Twain, looking on the boat and seeing just about every character you can think of, and knowing that, in Disneyland, good always conquers evil...
- The finales of Spectromagic and Wishes. They're just such a wonderful sight to see and it stays true to the Disney magic. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth always does it too during the We Go On finale.
- Happily Ever After really kicks things up a notch with the use of "Go The Distance" just before the grand finale. It got to the point that crying during the show became a meme within the Walt Disney World fandom.
- While reactions over Enchantment were rather divisive, many agreed that the use of "I Am Moana" towards the finale was a tear-shed worthy highlight.
- World of Color
- "So Close" from Enchanted already sounds melancholy by itself. The part of Beauty and the Beast when Belle says, "I love you", to a dying Beast feels wrenching enough in its original context. One scene manages to bring you even closer to crying by putting them together!
- And on top of that, it comes right on the heels of the scene showing Mufasa's death in The Lion King. Playing "So Close" while showing Simba try to wake up his dead father is just Disney taking your heart and shattering it into a million pieces.
- After news broke of Russi Taylor's passing on July 27, 2019, Elyse Willis (who co-wrote "Carried Away") shared a picture of her and Russi during a recording session for "Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway"
. The attraction marked Russi's final performance as Minnie Mouse. - Wondrous Journeys reaches its Darkest Hour as Disneyland appears to fall into ruin. While the orchestra cues up "Mufasa Dies," everyone shares a good cry. Moana begs the ocean, "You have to choose someone else!"... but then her Grandma Tala's stingray form swims past, optimistically singing an excerpt of "I Am Moana (Song of the Ancestors)."
