We’re getting close to the day the sun will set on this wild year for Disney World and for all of us. 2020 has been…well…kind of weird in more ways than one.

Think: what would you have thought a year ago if we told you that Disney parks would spend a BIG portion of this year closed? What about that you’d be wearing a mask everywhere and hoarding toilet paper in 2020? It’s been…different. Well, we’re taking a look at some of the absolute weirdest things that happened in the parks in 2020!

Rise of the Resistance got struck by lightning!

Right around a month after the Disney World parks reopened, Disney’s Hollywood Studios had quite the shock — LITERALLY. A MASSIVE bolt of lightning hit a lightning rod on the mountains of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. And when we say massive, we mean it. Check out the video!

Well, pickle my processors (as a droid might say)! Have you ever seen a lightning bolt like that? Remember in Star Wars when the Emperor shot all that big crazy lightning from his fingertips? Was he hiding over in Batuu this day?? After this storm, Rise of the Resistance was down for some time, potentially due to the strike. That’s PRETTY wild!

Click here to learn more about this MASSIVE lightning strike!

Someone used an…interesting parking space at Wilderness Lodge.

Look, we know parking at Disney World can be a challenge. Sometimes your space is really far away and you end up with a long walk. Not to mention the parking fees!  Still, we don’t recommend getting THIS creative when it comes to parking…

Finished breakfast and it’s still there this is why we can’t have nice things! pic.twitter.com/RfToTpIqol

— CHRIS in the Concierge Lounge (@CHRIS_MAGIC_DCL) August 6, 2020

 

 

 

 

Per @CHRIS_MAGIC_DCL on Twitter, one guest certainly tried an unorthodox method of parking their car when they DROVE DOWN THE STAIRS in front of Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort. This guy probably should have just picked a plain ol’ space in the lot!

A Splash Mountain boat sank — with guests on board!

Actually, now that we think about it, 2020 was a pretty wild year when it comes to vehicular mishaps — even on Disney World rides! In Magic Kingdom, Splash Mountain ran into a little bit of a hiccup when a log sank with guests aboard.

Guests jumped out of a sinking boat at Splash Mountain last night. They stated the boat took on heavy water so they decided to get out mid-ride. Shortly after the boat was almost entirely submerged.

pic.twitter.com/1CClS2EzjU

— Attractions Magazine (@Attractions) August 3, 2020

 

 

 

 

Attractions Magazine got a video from a guest who was floating along in Splash Mountain, having a Zip-a-dee-doo-dah time, when water started to flow in around their feet, and eventually the boat sank completely! Did we mention that everything we’ve talked about so far happened in August? Weird month.

Oh, AND the Jungle Cruise sank.

And we’ve got MORE vehicular troubles, but this event was waaaay back in February (BEFORE we knew how crazy the world was really going to get). A pretty surprising event happened on Magic Kingdom’s Jungle Cruise. Was the Jungle Cruise boat an omen for the rest of 2020??

A skipper was most-likely mid-way through a perfectly executed pun when the whooooole Jungle Cruise boat sank — yes, with guests aboard! They’re supposed to show you the BACKside of water, not the UNDERside!

Want to see more pics from the sinking Jungle Cruise boat? Click here!

Some guy got caught camping on Discovery Island.

Don’t worry, we’re not JUST going to regale you with tales of ride malfunctions and operator error, there was also a pretty WILD development on Discovery Island in the middle of Bay Lake.

According to News 6 Orlando, some guy got caught CAMPING in the long-closed Disney World attraction. Discovery Island is most definitely NOT open to the public anymore but that mans took a boat out there and stayed the night. He WAS arrested, but he called the island a “tropical paradise.”

Jose was asleep on the job at the Gran Fiesta Tour.

In EPCOT, The Three Caballeros turned into the TWO Caballeros after Jose decided he was TIRED of 2020. Us too Jose, us too. A guest, @MagicalNewsLive on Twitter, took a video when they spotted that Jose had fallen down in one of the final scenes of the attraction!

JOSE DOWN. #disneyworld #epcot pic.twitter.com/uJakPTPK0B

— MagicalNewsLIVE (@MagicalNewsLIVE) July 21, 2020

 

 

 

 

Is that a 2020 mood or what? After a brief sabbatical, Jose was back in action and you can see him in the Mexico Pavilion making merriment alongside his pals once again.

The Florida heat REALLY started to get to John on the Carousel of Progress.

And Jose isn’t the only beloved Disney World animatronic who had a little mishap this year. While taking guests on a journey through the 20th century, John on Carousel of Progress started to act a little bit strange.

John clearly hasn’t been rehearsing during his vacation time pic.twitter.com/U5dKRYfb47

— The Magic Blitz Podcast (@TheMagicBlitz) July 7, 2020

 

 

 

 

According to @TheMagicBlitz on Twitter, John malfunctioned and started moving pretty erratically. Hey, we get it, fans are all the rage and Florida is HOT in July. Think you’ve seen the last of good ol’ John? Think again. He’ll be back again later in this post!

Elsa was OVER. IT.

This one was just pretty funny. Over on Frozen Ever After in EPCOT, Twitter user @christier0408 captured a hilarious video of malfunctioning Elsa just not having it anymore.

Even Elsa is tired of singing Let it Go. I’m dying over the hand gesture pic.twitter.com/zkS8j4qbYE

— Christie (@christier0408) September 1, 2020

 

 

With no audio, poor Elsa looked like she just wanted to go take a nap. Same, girl, same.

Want to see more of the saddest Elsa ever? Click here.

Some Firefighters had to check in on the Peoplemover!

Did you know that way back in January some firefighters had to check in on a situation at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover in Magic Kingdom — and we were there to see it!

It did reopen soon after but closed once again in March. Unfortunately, it still didn’t reopen when the parks did and we’ve YET to take another ride on the PeopleMover. Right now, its refurbishment closure is set through January.

Click here to learn more about the state of the PeopleMover

A former CM was sentenced for selling stolen Disney things to an NBA player.

Our “topical paradise” fan wasn’t the only one to face the music on Disney-based crimes this year. According to WPTV, a former Cast Member was sentenced for selling stolen Disney things like set pieces and animatronic clothes.

He did sell his stolen merchandise, some of which went to NBA Player Robin Lopez who purchased clothing stolen from the out-of-use Cranium Command Buzzy animatronic. The NBA player returned the gear once he realized it was stolen!

The NBA moved into Disney World hotels.

Speaking of the NBA, something else pretty weird happened this year. The NBA moved into the Disney World hotels. Yep a major sport set up shop IN Disney World. Turns out, Disney World is the perfect place to create a safe “bubble” during a pandemic to play some sports.

What would you have thought if we told you a year ago that the NBA would live at Disney for several months and play all their games on the property? We would’ve thought that was pretty wild!

To learn more about the NBA’s stint in Disney World, click here!

John on Carousel of Progress is back…without a HAND!

Remember we said dear old John o Carousel of Progress would make another appearance on this list? A DFB reader, @Mlecuyer28, very recently shared another weird ride glitch with us. Poor John is trying to cook Christmas dinner in the final scene of the attraction but that’s going to be a challenge WITHOUT A HAND.

He does have some knives in front of him. Hopefully, this wasn’t a kitchen mishap!

Click here to see more of handless Johnny!

The parks closed for four months.

Finally, the absolute WEIRDEST thing that happened this year is that Disney World parks closed for a full four months. Yeah, that’s weird. This closure was completely unexpected AND unprecedented, and we’re obviously still feeling the effects.

To put it in perspective, the Disney World parks have only closed eight times in history and it is usually only for a few days or even less than one day. So 2020 will go down in the Disney history books as one of the weirdest years on record — even if it’s not due to vehicular failures and animatronic mishaps.

Want to learn more about historic Disney World closures? Click here!

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What do you think is the weirdest thing to happen in 2020? Tell us in the comments! 

The post A 2020 Scrapbook of the WEIRDEST Things That Have Happened in the Disney Parks This Year first appeared on the disney food blog.