A trip to a Disney Park can make you believe in Magic. That is unless you witness one of these hilarious and/or terrifying Disney animatronic malfunctions.
1. Ursula’s Head
On January 28, 2018, riders on The Little Mermaid-Ariel’s Undersea Adventure at Disney’s California Adventure got more than they bargained for. During the scene when Ursula is singing to Ariel about taking her voice, Ursula doesn’t have a head. Yep. Well, technically her head was still there…but connected only by hanging wires.
2. Mr. Potato Head
While the animatronic Mr Potato Head is one of the most advanced in recent developments, he is not immune to mishaps. One of the most advanced elements of Mr. Potato Head is that he was the first animatronic to be able to remove a part of himself and replace it. However, this doesn’t always go as planned, and when it fails, the animatronic resets itself. That sounds fine and normal on paper, but the sight of it is very strange. He just puts his arms down and his facial expression looks like he feels defeated. Even worse, in Japan, Mr. Potato Head’s eyes roll into the back of his head before he completely shuts down.
3. Muppet Mobile Lab
Muppet Mobile Lab is a roaming animatronic live show at Epcot. It features Muppet characters Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his assistant Beaker. They travel around on a contraption that Dr. Bunsen Honeydew invented. Since it’s free-moving, it is likely battery-powered. But, batteries die, and when they do our beloved Muppet characters tend to stop moving completely before falling forward and crashing face-first. Yikes.
4. Bad Backs
Sometimes animatronics will lose the hydraulic pressure in their legs which results in the figure getting stuck in a position that looks like they are in a lot of back pain!
5. Progress
John from the Carousel of Progress attraction is no stranger to animatronic fails. He was once stuck in a “dab”—the trendy dance move that teens do. Most recently though, he lost his right hand completely!
6. Frozen
Even though Frozen Ever After is a relatively new Disney World attraction, it still has its fair share of awkward animatronic moments. In fact, we think the animatronic mishaps on this ride are the most terrifying. First of all, the animatronic Elsa’s face is normally displayed by projection. But when that doesn’t work…she just has no face; It’s just darkness. Speaking of projection technology, Olaf’s moving and blinking eyeballs are also made possible this way. But again, when they malfunction, his eyes can be just black, empty darkness. This malfunction has been nicknamed “Olaf Skellington” since he reminds guests of a certain, famous pumpkin king.
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