No, Mickey Mouse Isn’t Fired…and Other Rumorkillers
Disney misinformation has gotten out of hand lately.
Some of the nonsense that people are stating as fact will blow your mind!
Photo: Orlando Weekly
So, let’s start with the obvious. NO! Disney isn’t firing Mickey Mouse! We’ll kill that rumor and several others that are nearly as stupid.
Figment Isn’t Replacing Mickey Mouse
Photo: Forbes
You have to hand it to Disney haters. They really put in the work these days.
Cynical clickbait artists take fact-based articles and spin them into the wildest bull plop you can imagine.
Photo:Wikimedia
A recent example involves Mickey Mouse. Several reliable sources like MickeyBlog’s Christy Weinberg reported a fact.
Disney will lose copyright protection for the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse in 2024.
Photo: Disney
Nobody has done anything wrong here. Instead, copyright laws come with expiration dates.
Disney has successfully extended copyrights in the past, but the Steamboat Willie stuff has reached the end of the line.
Photo: Disney
Importantly, Disney maintains trademark protection for all its characters in perpetuity.
Also, only this particular version of Mickey Mouse enters the public domain in 2024. The character’s evolution remains under copyright protection indefinitely.
Photo: Disney
Basically, any time Disney has updated Mickey Mouse, it’s extended its protection for that iteration of the character.
In short, the modern Mickey Mouse is safe and will remain that way for at least half a century.
Photo: D23
That’s why I had to laugh when I saw a fellow journalist forced to fact-check the dumbest story in recent memory.
Some site, a satire publication no less, claimed that Disney couldn’t risk Mickey Mouse entering the public domain.
Photo: Disney
So, the company planned to switch mascots. In this (patently absurd) scenario, Disney would fire Mickey Mouse in favor of…Figment.
As an EPCOT fanatic, I’m obligated to state that I love Figment, but…come on! How could literally anyone on this planet believe this rumor?
Photo: DIsney
Disney will never abandon its most iconic character. That’s just common sense.
Space Mountain Will Stay in the Dark
Here’s another recent rumor based in one fact and one ridiculous lie.
During the holidays, Magic Kingdom cast members struggled a bit with Space Mountain. It suffered a couple of mishaps, some of which required ride evacuations.
Whenever this happens, somebody inevitably whips out their phone and records the rare sight. It’s Space Mountain with the lights on!
Here’s a recent video of the remarkable event:
You can find others from January on YouTube, but let’s just say that the camera work could make you sicker than Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
The point is that recent Space Mountain issues have led to some people viewing the ride with the lights on.
Space Mountain
Then, there’s the lie. Somebody somewhere created the phantom rumor that a person lost both hands on Space Mountain, which happens to be completely made up.
As a reminder, Disney must report all on-ride accidents to the state of Florida. Each quarter, Florida officials post the results online.
Photo: Disney
For this reason, we can say with confidence that nobody has suffered any injury of that nature on the roller coaster.
In fact, Space Mountain hasn’t experienced any injuries of note in eight years, which is an impressive safety track record for an older roller coaster.
That’s why I cannot believe gullible people are buying into a rumor that doesn’t even pass the laugh test.
According to more “satire,” Disney will leave Space Mountain’s lights on during all future rides.
Photo: Disney
In other words, someone claimed that Disney would negate the one thing that makes its most iconic roller coaster special…and people believed it!
I weep for humanity.
Photo: Disney
If you’re a Space Mountain fanatic, you have no reason to worry. The ride will remain in the dark forever…although being part of an evacuation here is an unforgettable experience!
Disney Ain’t That Frozen
Some Disney rumors never seem to die.
For example, Frozen Fever took hold at Disney theme parks in 2014.
Photo: Disney
During the next few years, Elsa & Anna proved nearly as popular as Mickey & Minnie Mouse.
Disney announced the re-theming of Maelstrom in September 2014 and promised that Frozen Ever After would debut in 2016.
Photo: Disney
Early in 2016, some wondered whether Disney would stop there. In fact, a not-at-all credible but extremely viral meme suggested the unthinkable.
Some believed that Disney would replace the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror with a new landmark, Elsa’s Ice Castle.
Attentive viewers recognized that the source for the story was a long-forgotten parody account, but that doesn’t matter.
Humans often fall victim to a behavior known as the sleeper effect. Because we’re subject to persuasion, we’re more likely to remember the story than the source.
Photo: Playbuzz.com
While many psychologists question the validity of the sleeper effect, several studies over the years involving sources like the National Enquirer have supported the idea.
For whatever reason, people sometimes willingly believe lies instead of truths.
Photo: Disney
Common sense dictates that Disney wouldn’t build Elsa’s Ice Castle at Disney’s Hollywood Studios at roughly the same time as Frozen Ever After at EPCOT.
For many years now, this rumor has sustained anyway. The funny part is that the complete lie of this almost stumbled on two different truths.
Disney DID close the Disney California Adventure version of Tower of Terror soon afterward, re-theming it into Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
Also, the Hollywood Tower Hotel at Hollywood Studios DOES offer a digital projection during the holiday season. Among its effects are Frozen-based images.
Image Credit: Disney
Neither of these remarkable coincidences has anything to do with the bald-faced lie that Disney would kill Tower of Terror and replace it with Frozen, though.
Yes, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Is Still Happening
I’m mentioning this one because even some MickeyBlog readers have heard the rumor and believed it.
In 2022, reports surfaced that Disney had canceled its re-theming of Splash Mountain.
According to these rumors, Disney’s recent media tiff with Florida politicians caused the company to reconsider its Splash Mountain decision.
How these two thought processes are related, I’ll never know. But, unfortunately, as recently as last month, people were still saying this on social media.
Remarkably, Disney fans made these claims AFTER Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom had permanently closed.
The new iteration of the story indicated that Disney instantly recognized its mistake in closing Splash Mountain.
So, the one at Disneyland will remain open, and Disney will eventually reopen the Magic Kingdom version, too.
All of that is utter bunk.
Photo: OC Register/Joshua Sudock
The Disneyland version didn’t close at the time because the park was starting the Disney100 centennial event that week.
Park officials didn’t want to draw any focus away from Disney’s 100th birthday. Also, that ride is shorter and will take less time to re-theme.
Photo: Disney
In short, one ride has already closed forever, and the other will soon.
Meanwhile, Disney has published the entire backstory for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and sounds incredibly proud of the attraction.
This ride will debut in 2024, and all of us should look forward to it!
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Feature Photo: The Franklyn Institute
