9 Crazy Moments in Walt Disney World History

Over the past 5+ decades, Walt Disney World has cemented itself into our collective cultural consciousness, and during that time, so many defining moments have shaped the history of the resort. Attractions, parades, live entertainment, promotional stunts, and special events have come and gone, each one a reflection of the time period that influenced its creation and development. Some have faded into obscurity—like the unfortunate 90's update to Enchanted Tiki Room or the time Martin Short narrated a film about human reproduction at EPCOT—while others have continued to resonate with guests for generations.

Disney World has seen its share of real life moments in American history, too. From significant cultural events that occurred on property to the times when national tragedy touched “the most magical place on earth”, the vacation destination has been a part of our country's story since its opening day.

We've rounded up the magical, the mysterious, the momentous, and the downright weird. Here are ten of the craziest moments in Disney World's past.

Discovery Island: The Abandoned Attraction

Did you know there's an abandoned island hiding in plain sight on Bay Lake? Discovery Island was once a subtropical nature preserve accessible to Disney guests by boat as part of a vacation package or with a separate ticket. A menagerie of bird and animal species, including Macaws Cockatoos, Toucans, Lemurs, Capuchin Monkeys, American Alligators, and Galápagos Tortoises, populated the island, and it boasted one of the largest aviaries in the world.

Originally, Disney named and themed the zoological park after the 1950 pirate adventure film, Treasure Island, with an iconic wrecked ship welcoming visitors to the shore. Just a few years after opening, the name became Discovery Island instead, and for 25 years it operated as a relaxing respite from Disney World's busier main attractions. About a year after Animal Kingdom debuted, Discovery Island abruptly and mysteriously closed, with no official statement from Disney explaining why.

Today, Bay Lake's wooded shoreline shrouds the island's remains from Disney guests, and the property is off-limits. However, that hasn't stopped the many rogue explorers who have ventured into the abandoned oasis to document the untouched facilities and lingering wildlife on the island. In fact, during the pandemic closure in 2020, a 42-year-old man snuck onto the island and camped there for days. When he was discovered there, he was arrested, but he called the place a “tropical paradise.”

Michael Jackson's Captain EO

What happened when Disney combined the talents of three legendary creators in the late 1980s? A bizarrely fantastic 3-D experience and cult classic short film was born. Sci-fi adventure Captain EO, written by George Lucas, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and starring the King of Pop at peak fame, premiered at EPCOT on September 12, 1986.

The story centers on Michael Jackson's Captain EO (taken from the Greek “Eos,” meaning “goddess” of dawn”) and his eclectic alien crew and their mission to deliver a gift (of song) to the Supreme Leader of a rotting planet of metal refuse. As if the film didn't already have enough star power, the incomparable Angelica Huston plays the combative Supreme Leader. It has Flight of the Navigator meets Guardians of the Galaxy energy.

Jackson's musical and artistic brilliance is on full display in this quirky piece of Disney history. He wrote two feature songs for the movie, “We Are Here to Change the World” and “Another Part of Me,” and he choreographed the performative sequences with Disney's Jeff Hornaday. After closing in 1998, a tribute version of the attraction returned to EPCOT (and other Disney parks) from 2010-2015 to honor Jackson's creative legacy following his death.

The Cinderella Castle Birthday Cake

READ MORE – This is Rumored to be Disney CEO Bob Iger’s Favorite Disney World Hotel

I may be a seasoned Disney adult now, but unlike many of my Disney-loving peers, I didn't grow up visiting the parks. When I learned my family would be making a stop at Magic Kingdom during our trip to Florida the summer before I started high school, I was elated that my childhood dream of going to Walt Disney World was finally coming true. Before the day we arrived, I looked forward to so many magical experiences, and somewhere at the top of that list was seeing Cinderella Castle for the first time. So, you can imagine my immense disappointment when a Pepto-Bismol pink, architectural dessert came into view as I turned the corner onto Main Street.

The 25th Anniversary Cinderella Castle Cake has since become an infamous symbol of the 90s at Disney World. Love it or hate it, the celebratory castle transformation is Disney Parks canon these days, with a slew of merchandise periodically available to commemorate it. While I tend to side with those who feel it belongs on a Candyland game board, I've made my peace with the 1996 icon.

Since then, I've had the privilege of seeing Cinderella Castle many times, in all its French, late-Gothic glory. And I can almost somewhat fondly remember those gum-ball-colored walls and frosting-covered spires, knowing the outlandish cake castle makeover will likely forever remain in the past. Now, if Disney would only bring back the traditional blue and gray color scheme…

Operation Save Mr. Toad

On October 22, 1997, an article entitled, “Is Mr. Toad about to drive out of Disney?” by Jill Jorden Spitz, appeared in the Orlando Sentinel. It detailed changes to Magic Kingdom park Disney officials were considering at that time, including replacing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride with a gift shop friendly attraction based on the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. In response to the article, University of Miami student Jef Moskot started a “Save Toad!” website.

The internet was a new platform for discussion at that time, and Moskot soon amassed a hoard of loyal Mr. Toad advocates. They mailed letters and postcards, made green T-shirts that said, “Ask me why Mickey is killing Mr. Toad,” and as many as 50 fans would participate in weekly “Toad-Ins” at the Magic Kingdom. Despite their impassioned campaign, Disney closed Mr. Toad's Wild Ride permanently on September 7, 1998, and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh opened on June 5, 1999.

Pooh for President

First staged at Disneyland in 1968, this delightfully peculiar parody campaign came to Walt Disney World in 1972, when 50 delegates (and their families)—selected via drawings at Sears, Roebuck, and Co.— nominated Pooh for President of the United States in front of Cinderella Castle. There were daily “Pooh-litical rallies” in the parks, featuring marching bands and free balloons, buttons, pictures, and posters for kids (supplied by Sears). Pooh's friends from the Hundred Acre Wood got involved, with Tigger acting as press secretary, Eeyore as campaign manager, and Piglet as Pooh's running mate. Disney produced pamphlets advertising Pooh's policy platforms, like “disclosing the Bear Facts,” promising to put “hunny in every pot,” and battling to “lick” the high price of ice-cream cones.

For the 1976 election, “Winnie's a Honey of a Candidate” became Pooh's campaign slogan, and promotional materials called him the “Children's Pick in '76.” Again going all-in on the publicity event, Sears sponsored television network broadcasts of Pooh featurettes and even had a special record for sale, featuring a “Winnie the Pooh for President” song (written by Larry Groce) and an overview of the U.S. electoral process voiced by Christopher Robin (Billy Simpson). The record came with an eight-page coloring book.

Pooh's last bid for U.S. office was a much-reduced event held at Disneyland in 1980. He ran against Captain Hook, and park guests could fill out a ballot to cast a vote for their pick. Officials caught Captain Hook trying to steal the election, so of course, Pooh was the winner!

The Walt Disney World Airport

Following the discontinuation of Disney's free Magical Express airport shuttle service from Orlando International, guests must do a bit more logistical planning before flying to Walt Disney World, which now requires booking a paid shuttle service or an Uber/Lyft, among other options. Wouldn't it be amazing if you could just fly directly to Walt Disney World somehow? Well, for a brief time after Disney World opened, well-to-do in-state travelers from Tampa, Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Daytona Beach, or Orlando itself could fly directly to the Magic Kingdom on a tiny plane operated by Shawnee Airlines.

The Walt Disney World airport was actually more of a “landing strip” called the Lake Buena Vista STOLPort Runway, which provided STOL, or short take-off and landing for Shawnee's de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft. Here's the kicker—when the tiny planes landed, the runway (which had grooves in the pavement much like a vinyl record) would play “When You Wish Upon a Star!” Imagine how magical it must have been to land on a musical landing strip at the Magic Kingdom!

Sadly, the runway was only operational for a couple of years after it opened, shortly following Walt Disney World's opening day. When Disney expanded the monorail later in the 1970s, the additional track made the runway inaccessible for a landing. These days, the airspace above Disney World is a no-fly zone anyway, due to heightened security after 9/11.

Stitch Takes Over

If Cinderella Castle's birthday cake makeover was its most shocking transformation, Stitch's 2004 prank was a close second. On the opening day for Stitch's Great Escape, guests arrived to discover toilet paper and graffiti covering the Magic Kingdom icon, with “Stitch is King!” scrawled in red across one of the foremost turrets. While it wasn't quite as extreme as an entirely new cartoon aesthetic, it was definitely a juxtaposition to the usually majestic fairy tale castle.

In addition to the apparent vandalism in the central hub, Disney plastered wanted posters all over the park, in search of the mischievous Experiment626. All of this appeared for one day only, and Stitch's handiwork (and the resulting wanted posters) had disappeared by the time the park opened the next morning, thank goodness.

Official Beatles Breakup

Beatles fans everywhere may have experienced the initial shock and subsequent collective mourning of the band's breakup in 1970, after fans got wind of Paul McCartney's announcement that he was leaving the band, but the final nail wasn't hammered into the proverbial coffin until John Lennon signed the paperwork. On December 29, 1974, the official documents dissolving the Beatles' partnership were delivered to John at the Polynesian Village Resort, where he was vacationing during the winter holidays with his son and his personal assistant at Walt Disney World.

The exact room where Lennon signed the forms that officially ended the Beatles hasn't been confirmed, but it's likely he was staying in a corner room on the ground floor of the Samoan longhouse. So, if you ever find yourself taking a leisurely stroll at the Polynesian (DOLE Whip in hand, of course), you might want to head over to Samoa and observe a moment of silence for one of the most influential bands of all time.

Nixon's Speech at the Contemporary

Vestiges of the 1970s continue to define Disney's Contemporary Resort, from the architectural design of the building to its interior decor. However, its aesthetics aren't the only element tying it to the late mid-century. In November of 1973, a significant historical event unfolded in the Ballroom of the Americas (B), when a nationally televised and broadcast press conference led to President Richard Nixon's famous “I'm not a crook” statement. It was then he denied his involvement in the Watergate cover-up and insisted he had never profited from his public service.

The “most magical place on Earth” might seem like a discordant backdrop for such an unpleasant line of public inquiry, but there you have it! Stranger things have probably happened at Walt Disney World.

READ MORE – Disney Bans Guests From Theme Parks. No Exceptions Were Made For These Celebrities That Broke the Rules!

Disney has a variety of rules in place for the safety and happiness of its guests, and if guests break these rules, there can be consequences—even for celebrities. See the celebrities who have been banned from Disney Parks and what they did!

READ MORE – Are You a Disney Snob? 9 Red Flags to Spot

There are several little luxuries and conveniences you can opt to spend money on that can elevate your Disney vacation, but if you find that you'll settle for nothing less than these things, you may be a “Disney snob.” See the 9 red flags to spot that may indicate you're a Disney snob!