Myths and Facts about Disney in 2023
Every year, separating fact from fiction proves more challenging with all things Disney.
A strange segment of the internet has leaned heavily into a misinformation campaign, which has caused an unexpected side effect.
Various satire sites still post silly stories about Disney that are obviously fake, but the line between reality and make-believe has blurred.
You’d think a storyteller like Disney would benefit from this change, but it is, if anything, the victim.
So, let’s take this opportunity to discuss myths and facts about Disney in 2023.
Disney Lost Reedy Creek in a Political Dispute
You’ll discover plenty of nuance to this discussion, and where you stand politically will play a part in how you perceive this matter.
Long story short, Florida enacted legislation that critics have derided as the Don’t Say Gay bill.
After a Disney cast member outcry, Bob Chapek (eventually) denounced the bill.
As punishment, one of the bill’s strongest supporters, Ron DeSantis, demanded that his political allies strip Disney of its self-governance authority.
Florida’s government had signed away control of the Reedy Creek Improvement District to Disney in 1967.
In 2023, Florida retook control of this land…but not before Disney provided itself with long-lasting authority over its governance.
Disney followed the rules in place to give itself these powers before Reedy Creek’s dissolution.
Afterward, a soundly defeated DeSantis returned to Florida legislators and demanded more.
These elected officials rewrote the laws of Florida to give themselves full authority over all Disney land.
Disney then sued as it had performed its actions fully within the framework of existing laws.
The company believes that Florida officials arbitrarily punished Disney for exercising its First Amendment rights…which wouldn’t be a political reason.
Oddly, Florida has leaned into the assertion that it has punished Disney due to politics, as has Ron DeSantis.
So, this one is mostly fact, although a court could restore the rights back to Disney later and thereby retroactively make it fiction. Got all that?
Verdict: Fact…Mostly
The Prison Threat
In between these events, some poor, unfortunate soul had to be the one to inform DeSantis that Mickey Mouse had wrecked him.
There was legitimately a two-week gap between what Disney did and when anybody noticed it. So, this was a real thing that must have happened.
Someone had to tell DeSantis, who was building an entire political campaign around his anti-Disney war, that Disney had legally reclaimed its land.
You can imagine how well that went over with the governor, who immediately pushed all his political allies to craft the vindictive legislation.
DeSantis also rather recklessly held a press conference to describe all the things he was going to do to Disney.
As part of this publicity stunt, DeSantis made several threats against Disney, causing more than one person to describe his behavior as “unhinged.”
Unquestionably, the one that has confused people the most is whether DeSantis intends to build a prison near Walt Disney World.
On this front, I have two things to say. Yes, DeSantis really made this threat to Disney. But no, there’s no realistic chance it will happen.
The best comparison I can draw is how we all say unrealistic things when we’re angry and/or embarrassed. That’s our emotions talking, not us.
In other words, DeSantis was living out some of the inner monologue scenes from Inside Out, and it was Anger talking.
Verdict: Fact That He Made the Threat, Fiction That It Will Happen
Lake Nona Isn’t Happening
And these two complicated myth-facts – it’s a perfectly cromulent term – lead to our third confusing topic.
During the Bob Chapek tenure, Disney’s former CEO got along swimmingly with DeSantis right up until he really, really didn’t.
Before then, Florida’s governor happily doled out a tax break to Disney in exchange for the company building a new headquarters in Lake Nona, Florida.
That’s a (formerly?) thriving development roughly 20 miles from Walt Disney World. So, the setup appeared ideal.
Disney designed schematics for the entire Lake Nona campus while a political ruckus occurred among the former allies.
Once DeSantis destroyed Reedy Creek, the writing was on the wall about the fate of Lake Nona.
Disney has since canceled the project, leaving some poor developers trying to sell lots of property close to a Disney HQ that will never exist. Whoops.
Verdict: Fact
A Bear Visited Magic Kingdom
This one feels like a trap in that Magic Kingdom is famous for its bears.
We’ve had Country Bear Jamboree entertaining guests here since the park opened in 1971.
But those aren’t the bears I mean. You probably know that, too.
Few Disney stories go viral the way that this one did in 2023.
One morning, while doing pre-opening maintenance, some cast members noticed an unauthorized visitor at the park.
A hungry bear just strutted into Magic Kingdom in search of food and, presumably, a Dole Whip.
While I would have paid good money to see the expression on the bear’s face when I saw the size of Disney turkey legs, the story never got that far.
Disney alerted the proper authorities, who captured the bear and returned it to the forest.
This was a real thing that happened, and I may never stop laughing about it.
Verdict: Fact
Elemental and The Little Mermaid Were Box Office Bombs
Society is constantly evolving, which is why people tend to reference the good ol’ days as they advance in age.
This behavior represents the challenge of adapting to changing circumstances, something that’s not easy to do.
Perhaps the oddest part is how suddenly change can occur, as is the case with disruptions in media consumption.
Netflix changed the game when it came to consumer behavior in watching films. Then, the pandemic sped up the timeline on the switch.
Now, exponentially more people watch a movie on their phones than in movie theaters.
Since the start of 2022, Hollywood has gradually tried to make inroads by reinforcing the prior theatrical business model. It…hasn’t gone well.
Movie theaters face more competition than ever in entertaining consumers. And the films made during the pandemic are generally lackluster.
Meanwhile, the pre-2020 box office rules no longer apply. Some films can survive longer in theaters because they play for months rather than weeks.
That’s what happened with two Disney releases in 2023. The early results for The Little Mermaid were fine, while Elemental disappointed.
In fact, headlines quickly pre-judged both films as box office failures. So, this story is true in that it was reported that way…at first.
Then, something funny happened along the way. Word spread regarding the outstanding quality of both movies.
Eventually, Elemental and The Little Mermaid both proved profitable. In fact, the former film bested Pixar’s own internal projections by ten percent.
That doesn’t change Disney or anybody else’s box office outlook, though.
One analyst recently suggested that no film will earn $1 billion at the box office in 2024.
That’s a bold prediction I don’t believe will come true, but it aptly reflects the growing disillusion with the film industry.
Verdict: Myth. Both movies made Disney money and will sell merchandise for years to come.
Mickey Mouse Lost His Job and His Wife
Finally, we have one of the funniest stories I’ve covered in a while, and part of it is based in truth.
Some people wanted to paint Disney as having a nightmarish year with poor Mickey Mouse the one paying for the company’s crimes.
A few made-up stories suggested that Mickey and Minnie Mouse were getting a divorce, which isn’t true.
I go into detail here, but the funny part is that Walt Disney’s personal canon says Mickey and Minnie Mouse are married!
The idea behind the rumor is to make Mickey Mouse seem like a depressed loser who lost his job and his wife.
So, that’s the second part of the myth. It suggests that Disney has fired Mickey Mouse and replaced the character with Figment.
This story isn’t as outlandish as you might think. Okay, it absolutely is ridiculous and doesn’t pass the laugh test. But there’s a kernel of truth.
When the calendar rolls over to 2024, the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain.
If that premise sounds familiar to you, it’s because the same thing happened to Winnie the Pooh in 2022.
Some classic characters have reached the end date for their coverage under copyright laws.
While Disney has managed to push back the date multiple times, Mickey Mouse finally joins the list in a matter of days.
Ergo, an anti-Disney rumormonger has painted the situation as if Mickey lost his job and Minnie Mouse dumped him for Scrooge McDuck.
The only part of any of this that’s true – other than the cartoon mouse marriage – is that the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse is no longer protected.
Even that comes with a caveat in that other representations of Mickey Mouse remain copyright-protected for many years to come.
Verdict: Myth and Myth
Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!