Have you ever had a “nope, not today” moment in Walt Disney World?
Some days aren’t always perfect in Disney World.
Maybe you had plans go awry or you experienced something that wasn’t nearly as “magical” as you hoped it would be. Or maybe it felt like the park was quitting on YOU (like when a favorite ride has a weird malfunction!). Today, we’re sharing the times that we had experiences like that in the parks because we’ve seen some pretty bonkers things!
When Disney Springs Had Hurricane-Level Winds
We’ve seen some pretty wild weather in Disney World (Florida IS known for hurricanes, after all), and a particularly windy April day was no exception.
We saw food flying across the sidewalk, umbrellas getting blown inside out, and guests losing their belongings all over the place. This was a day Disney definitely felt a bit less “OMG, MAGICAL!” and more “OMG, TAKE COVER!”
When the PeopleMover Opening Date Got Pushed Back for the Millionth Time
Oh, the poor, sweet PeopleMover. This ride went down in early 2020 with technical difficulties and then we didn’t get to ride it for over a year! It was supposed to open when the Disney World parks reopened in July, but it was listed as “under refurbishment” instead.
We missed this ride so much!
We were okay with that at the time, hoping to ride it just a few weeks later, but the reopening date was pushed back. Then it was pushed back again. And again. It was pushed back SIX TIMES until we were starting to wonder if Disney was just taunting us. We were about to give up all hope of ever soaring above Tomorrowland in those blue cars again.
It was nice to be back!
BUT, it FINALLY reopened in April 2021, but on the second day of having it up and running again, it had to be evacuated (we can’t make this stuff up LOL!). The universe REALLY didn’t want it to be open! Thankfully, things got right back to normal that same day…but MAN were we worried. FOR NOW…the PeopleMover remains open. Everyone collectively cross our fingers and toes to make sure it stays that way!
When Elsa Decided to Quit Her Job on Frozen Ever After
Okay, we’ll admit — if we had to sing ALL DAY LONG for guests at Disney World, we’d get pretty tired. However, it was still shocking to find the Elsa animatronic on Frozen Ever After just giving up mid-song! Almost as if she’d forgotten the words to “Let it Go.”
Even Elsa has bad days…
We’ve seen this portion of the ride mess up a few times, but every time, it throws us for a loop. We can’t say we blame Elsa though, 2020 was a hard year. If she just wants to say “nope, not today” and take a break for a bit, maybe we should let her! 
When Disney Replaced Animatronics With Cardboard Cutouts and…Plants?
Okay, now this may be one of the weirdest things we’ve seen in Disney World. When the Donald Duck animatronic at the end of Gran Fiesta Tour was having some issues, instead of putting up a scrim or just ignoring the blank space altogether, Disney replaced him…with a hat-wearing PLANT! WHAT?!
May we just say…WHAT?!
We have to ask Disney — did you really think we wouldn’t notice??? Was that the best solution we had? Either way, we’re not mad about it because it was also one of the funniest things we’ve ever seen in Disney World!
Gran Fiesta Tour
Not long after Donald left, the other two animatronics were taken away as well, all to be replaced by cardboard cutouts. And let us just say, we definitely noticed that difference! BUT, all is right in the world once again. Disney revealed plant/cardboard/missing Caballeros were a temp fix so the VERY old animatronics could get some much-needed TLC. Now, our favorite “birds of a feather” are back!
When We Started to Get Convinced that Space 220 is An Elaborate Ruse
OK, TBH we’re not entirely sure this highly anticipated restaurant ISN’T a ruse! 
When we first heard the concept for Disney’s new EPCOT restaurant Space 220 in 2017, we were very excited about the prospect of dining “in space!” However, our excitement isn’t quite as fresh as it used to be, considering the opening date has been pushed back several times. Your calendar doesn’t deceive you — it’s been nearly 4 years of waiting.
Will we EVER get to eat here?
The unique dining concept was supposed to open way in the latter part of 2019, but Disney ran into some snafus like the head chef leaving. Then, a new opening timeline of February 2020 was announced. We went through the entire month and (you guessed it!) the restaurant never opened! After that, the pandemic hit.
Space 220 Concept Art ©Disney
When the parks reopened, we didn’t hear a peep about what was going on with the restaurant! With more than two years of delays and unanswered questions, we began to wonder if Disney had just said “ah, forget it!” and moved on. We even reached out to our readers who were equally baffled as to when the spot would open. Thankfully, we got some footage from inside the restaurant in November 2020, renewing our hope! We’re STILL waiting for this one, but we have a feeling it will be worth the (kinda ridiculously long) wait.
When We Spotted Abandoned Dole Whips (GASP!)
You know what’s stressful? When your Dole Whip is melting faster than you can eat it. But you know what’s sad? Finding an entire box of Dole Whips melting in the sun — without anyone to claim them! If this photo below is a trigger for you, we apologize!
This makes us want to cry.
We spotted this scene in the parks one day and we were quite heartbroken. Why would you buy these delicious treats (FOUR of them, at that!) just to leave them behind? Oh, the humanity! We’re hoping it was a “pay it forward” type situation gone awry or maybe a parent rushing a kiddo off to the restrooms? We may never know for sure, but this was a truly devastating sight. We hope that we can raise awareness for orphaned Dole Whips everywhere so that this never has to happen again.
When A Beloved Ride Literally Started to Fall Apart
We’ve seen some bizarre animatronic malfunctions before, but we definitely didn’t expect to see John on Carousel of Progress missing his ENTIRE HAND!
Give this animatronic a hand!
This is what happens when you don’t pay attention in the kitchen, folks! To make matters worse, he’s standing in front of a knife block. Oh, Johnny…what happened here?? Between that and him catching the Christmas dinner on fire, we think it’s time for John to go back to bed and forget the day even happened. (It just be like that sometimes!)
When We Tried 3 Very Weird Snacks
Typically, Disney’s attempts at creative snacks don’t go too terribly wrong. Sometimes they aren’t our favorites, but they’re usually not disastrous. However, there are three treats that stand out in our minds as ones that were just NOT it.
It’s so sad…
The Pumpkin Pretzel was a poor little ugly disaster in Disney’s Animal Kingdom while the BLUE bread on the Space Sandwich turned out looking much moldier than it did creative. And for taste, the original iteration of the Poor Unfortunate Souls Float was definitely not a “win” in our book. It’s okay, they can’t all be winners!
Even though we’ve run into some imperfect situations in Disney World, it’s still possible to have a great time when things go wrong. Often the most unique and odd situations prove the most memorable — case in point, this article! It’s important to plan ahead for your trip and do your research so that when things don’t go according to plan, you can laugh about it instead of stress! Stay tuned to DFB for all the best Walt Disney World planning tips and advice for your next trip.
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Have you ever experienced any of these things in Disney World?
The post 8 Times We Said “Nope, Not Today” in Disney World! first appeared on the disney food blog.
