The Strangest Disney Stories of 2024
The world gets weirder every year. Lately, I’ve spent a disproportionate amount of time refuting blatant lies about Disney.
Remarkably, some of the stories that sound the most absurd are also true.


Photo: Playbuzz.com
Here are the strangest Disney stories of 2024.
Binny the Trash Can Vanishes


Dedication Plaque
One of the strangest stories I covered all year happened during the first week of January.
That was when I learned about the strange saga of Binny the Trash Can, the beloved EPCOT trash can.


Photo: Wall Street Journal
If none of those words make sense in combination, I get it. But some people are nodding their heads sentimentally.
You see, day drinking is a thing at EPCOT, and it’s popular enough that several online communities exist to celebrate the endeavor.


Photo: NY Post
Somehow, a trash can at the World Showcase became the patron saint of all afternoon imbibers.
Disney+ Terms and Conditions Are…Odd


Photo: Raglan Road
There’s a super-sad story involving a Disney Springs tragedy in 2023.
A doctor dining at Raglan Road told the staff she had food allergies.


Beef in Bed @raglanroadpub Instagram
Somehow, the food the restaurant served her triggered an allergic reaction, and she died.
The lawsuit is ongoing, and that’s the aspect that qualifies it for this list.


Image Credit: Disney
In August, a story broke that Disney’s lawyers tried to dismiss them from the lawsuit, which is understandable.
Disney neither owns nor operates Raglan Road, a third-party pub. Nobody should have any problem with such a legal move.


Photo:ofx.ie
The way that Disney’s attorneys handled the problem, well, that’s a big problem.
Someone working for a third-party firm noticed some fine print with one of the company’s offerings.


CHINA – 2023/08/31: In this photo illustration, the Disney+ logo is displayed in the Apple App Store on an iPhone. (Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
As I type this, about 160 million people subscribe to Disney+, and tens of millions more have in the past.
As fate would have it, the doctor’s husband accepted a trial offer for Disney+…in 2019. That was four years before the incident.


Photo: Disney
According to the terms of service, the widower couldn’t sue Disney. Instead, he must take them to arbitration.
Arbitrators are generally less likely to provide large judgments against major corporations.


photo: The Verge
So, the move seemed smart to lawyers. However, once the story went public, the outcry shamed Disney.
Now, there’s a real chance Disney didn’t even know this had happened. They pay lawyers to handle this stuff quietly.


Photo: Miriam-Webster
Still, Disney absorbed a savage (but fair) social media drubbing and had to perform some damage control quickly.
Disney dropped the clause, and the lawsuit continues as we speak. But this particular legal trick was abhorrent.
ESPN Uses Fake Names for Emmys
This story doesn’t pass the laugh test, yet it’s 100 percent true.
A few years ago, ESPN proved so dominant at the Emmys that some executives got arrogant.


Photo: online.com
They bristled over an obscure Emmy rule about how many people can receive an official award.
Apparently, the Emmys limit the number of trophies, primarily reserving them for the production crew.


Photo: Red Arrow Studios
While that’s lovely in theory, on-air talents often have big egos and make demands of their bosses.
So, ESPN started claiming that phantom people had worked on award-winning shows.


Photo: Disney
The Emmys unwittingly delivered the trophies to ESPN officials, who promptly…scratched off the fake names. I’m dead serious.
ESPN executives then re-engraved the trophies with the names of “winners” like Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard, and Kirk Herbstreit.


Photo: Disney/ESPN
The only problem was that these individuals hadn’t won the awards in question. Their trophies were fakes.
Someone at Disney eventually realized the scam, investigated it, and fired Lee Fitting, the executive in charge of the con.
All this sounds ridiculous, but it’s a real thing that happened.
Ferryboat Crash Knocks Man into Trash Can



Photo: Pexel.com
Are you familiar with Man Gets Hit in Groin with Football?
Yeah, this story is a lot like that. You really don’t need to know any of the details.
Just read that headline and know that it’s a real thing that happened.
Then, try to picture the events in your head. A ferryboat crash somehow knocks a person off-balance.


Magic Kingdom Ferry
They blindly stumble and fall into a trash can. And no, the trash can wasn’t Binny.
Jay Rasulo joins Nelson Peltz


Photo: Variety
We’ve referenced this one a couple of other times as we summarize 2024, but it definitely fits here, too.
To my mind, there’s nothing stranger than a former candidate to become Disney CEO turning against Bob Iger.


Jay Rasulo
Folks, this was a pro wrestling storyline in real life! Just think about it this way.
Jay Rasulo toiled for years as Bob Iger’s underling. Then, Iger chose another person to follow in his footsteps.


Photo: AP Photo/Disney, HO
At the moment, Rasulo effectively lost a Loser Leaves Town match and disappeared from Disney for about a decade.
Then, just as Iger was preparing for the PPV main event match with Nelson Peltz, Rasulo returned!



Photo: Pexel.com
But did Rasulo help his former ally? Oh, no! Rasulo pulled out a steel chair and blindsided Iger, forming a new tag team with Peltz!
Ultimately, Iger overcame this two-on-one battle and somehow handed Peltz and Rasulo a stinging defeat.


(Photo by Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)
Sadly, Iger didn’t receive an oversized novelty title belt for his victory, though. And I consider that a glaring oversight.
Steamboat Willie Enters the Public Domain
Did you know that the Disney Horror Cinematic Universe is a thing?
The nonsense started in 2023 after the original version of Winnie the Pooh entered the public domain.


Photo: Disney
Some calculating entrepreneur released a horror movie wherein Winnie the Pooh and Piglet go on a murder spree.
The low-rent horror film cost a reported $100,000 to make yet has earned about $7.7 million from less than discerning slasher fans.
A sequel came out in March 2024, and while it cost five times as much to make, it proved similarly successful.
Somehow, that’s not the most appalling part for Disney fans. Something worse is in the offing.


Photo: Variety
At the start of 2024, the original version of Steamboat Mickey Mouse entered the public domain.
In 2025, a horror version of Mickey Mouse will appear in a film entitled Screamboat. We really do live in the worst timeline.
Rece Davis Recommends “Risk-Free” Investment


Photo: Getty
According to Google Search’s integrated AI, gambling is defined as:
“The act of risking something of value, usually money, on an event with an uncertain outcome for the chance to win something of greater value.”


Photo: vecteezy.com
Someone needs to tell longtime ESPN anchor Rece Davis this fact, as the journalist briefly went outside of his mind in 2024.
During a live broadcast, Rece Davis said the following about a recently discussed ESPN Bet gamble:


Photo: Wikimedia
“You know what? Some would call this wagering, gambling; the way you’ve sold this, I think what it is, is a risk-free investment.”
Narrator: It was NOT a risk-free investment.
The other ESPN Bet on-air host instantly appeared uncomfortable as she recognized the error of his comments.
Sure enough, Davis later posted a public apology, claiming that his comments were “tongue-in-cheek.”


Photo: ESPN
Narrator: His comments were NOT tongue-in-cheek.
Davis eventually posted on social media: “Obviously, there are risks.”


Photo: ESPN
If he’d just said that in March, we wouldn’t be discussing it nine months later.
Disney Springs Lake Runs Low on Water
You read that right.
Lake Buena Vista has surrounded the Disney Springs area going all the way back to when it was called Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village in 1975.
At the time, nobody could have imagined consistent 100-degree temperatures and droughts…but here we are.
Earlier this year, Disney’s science team recognized that Lake Buena Vista’s water levels were as much as a foot lower than usual.
At first, a Disney Springs restaurant, The BOATHOUSE, shut down its Amphicar rentals.
Soon afterward, the water levels dropped to the point that it was no longer safe for Friendship Boats to travel through the area.


Image Credit: The BOATHOUSE
So, Disney Springs officials shut down all water-based transportation to and from the entertainment district.
The problem only lasted a few weeks, but it was noticeable.
Hidden parts of boat docks that were ordinarily hidden were visible for an extended period.
Thankfully, the boat system returned in time for most of the summer. It was definitely strange seeing no boats running at Disney Springs, though.
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!