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Sometimes, even Disney’s most impressive animatronics hit a snag – and the results can be hilarious, spooky, or downright bizarre. From a disco-dancing yeti stuck in place to a Spider-Man stunt gone wrong, join us as we explore some of the most unforgettable moments when Disney’s robotic magic didn’t quite go as planned. These memorable mechanical malfunctions show that even Disney’s finest tech isn’t perfect!
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00:00When all goes according to plan, the Californian sky is lit by the dazzling laser lights of this phantasmic show.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at instances when Disney Parks' animatronics malfunctioned.
00:13We love and respect all the Imagineers' work, but seeing robots break down can sometimes be a memorable sight.
00:20Learn a lot of things from the flowers, for especially in the month of June...
00:28Number 10. Disco Yeti
00:30The arm forward, the wrist, the elbow.
00:33When I first ran it, I stood in front of it, and he just came right in front of my
00:38face, and I was just like,
00:38oh my gosh, this is really amazing, this is going to scare people.
00:42When Expedition Everest first opened, it was meant to feature Disney's most advanced animatronic to date.
00:48Towering at 25 feet tall and powered by 19 actuators, the Yeti was designed to swipe at passing trains,
00:55just inches away from guests.
00:56Riders only got to experience this thrilling moment for a brief time.
01:08The weight of the Yeti's motion put too much stress on the structure,
01:12so instead of shutting down the attraction, Disney left it in B-mode.
01:25The Yeti's new default setting would keep it in a static position and lit by strobe lights, earning the nickname
01:31Disco Yeti.
01:33Imagineer Joe Rohde once said that it'd eventually be fully operational again, but that was way back in 2013.
01:42This Yeti is the single biggest dynamic figure that has ever been built.
01:48There is nothing that is this big that moves this fast in the world of animation.
01:54Number 9. Carousel of Madness
01:56This is the Carousel Theater post.
02:01Whatever the man in the harness does, this figure will respond simultaneously in the same manner.
02:07Would you care for your life?
02:09I don't think we better.
02:11No smoking on the stage.
02:12As one of the last attractions Walt Disney worked on, Carousel of Progress is a look at how technology has
02:18changed over time.
02:20Ironically, the ride itself often struggles with its own machines.
02:23A broad gesture to the wink of an eye.
02:28That's it. Thank you.
02:29The animatronic father, John, has become known for his odd malfunctions.
02:34Guests have seen him shake suddenly or move in ways that don't look right.
02:38Over the years, his arms have twisted, his wrists have come loose, and his movements have glitched out mid-scene.
02:45You, boy. Honest Fourth of July we've had in years.
02:48We've come a long way, though, since the turn of the century, over 20-some-odd years ago.
02:53At one point, he even appeared to dab, long before it went viral.
02:57Ha ha ha!
03:00We're gonna get kicked off the ride.
03:03Watch the hand every now and then.
03:04Yeah, look at his hand.
03:05It's a little creepy, a little funny, and somehow part of the charm.
03:10It takes lots of rehearsal and refinement to get the gestures to be lifelike.
03:14Number 8. The Many Faces of Buzz Lightyear.
03:17The evil Emperor Zurg.
03:23His robotic army is stealing crystallic Asian power cells.
03:26In several Disney parks, the titular Space Ranger appears as an animatronic in his own ride's queue.
03:33While the attraction itself is fun, the figure doesn't always work perfectly.
03:37Some issues are minor, like stiff joints or small leaks, but the biggest problems usually involve Buzz's face.
03:44I think, uh, I have to go.
03:47Where are you going? Why?
03:48His expressions are created using a projected image, and when that projection glitches, things can look pretty unsettling.
03:55His face might stretch, flicker, or disappear completely.
03:59Standby.
04:08When that happens, the cheerful toy suddenly looks like something out of analog horror.
04:13It's not exactly the heroic welcome guests expect.
04:16Number 7. One Trick Potato Head.
04:18Boys and girls, lend me your ears.
04:20Ears to ya.
04:23Ah, it's so great.
04:24Before boarding Toy Story Mania, guests are entertained by a ginormous Mr. Potato Head in the queue.
04:30Just like the popular toy, Walt Disney Imagineers put him together piece by piece.
04:35Step right up and take a ride.
04:38He jokes around and performs a fun trick where he removes his ear and puts it back.
04:42When it works, it's impressive.
04:45When it doesn't, it gets awkward fast.
04:47Sometimes he drops the ear mid-trick and freezes in place.
04:51Other times, the figure just stops moving altogether.
04:53In one strange case at Tokyo DisneySea, his eyes slowly rolled back after a failed reset,
05:00which ended up scaring a few kids.
05:12Talking to Mr. Potato Head can be a good time, until the illusion breaks.
05:17We ain't never gonna get separated again.
05:19Aw, nuts.
05:24A couple of Disney characters lost their head.
05:27Yeah, and that's not a figure of speech, either.
05:32Ariel's undersea adventure is usually a light-hearted ride, but glitches can turn it into something else entirely.
05:38Problems are bound to happen with so many animatronics working at once.
05:42Some are minor, but others are straight-up horrifying.
05:46Guests have spotted Ariel with her head tilted in a very unnatural way during Under the Sea.
05:51Hopefully, a cast member noticed before too many kids saw her broken neck.
05:55Even worse, rare footage shows Ursula partially decapitated, with her head separated, but still connected to the body by wires.
06:10What makes it even stranger is that the figure is still moving and singing.
06:15The Sea Witch does love to put on a show, after all.
06:17That's what I do.
06:19It's what I live for.
06:21Number 5.
06:22The Shaman of Slumber.
06:24The data that's driven through this figure was originally seeded from a performance capture, so we're not doing live adjustments.
06:31When Pandora The World of Avatar opened, one of its biggest highlights was Inside the River Journey.
06:36Park-goers and cinephiles got to see a real-life Na'vi in the form of the Shaman of Songs.
06:42She impressed guests with smooth, lifelike movement, making you believe that Disney actually hired a Pandora local.
06:48I look forward to seeing you on Pandora.
06:52Well, not a game.
06:54Was that okay?
06:55It's one of Disney's best animatronics.
06:57But even this A-100 figure has its off days.
07:01Some guests have passed by only to see the Shaman completely still, slumped over in an idle state.
07:06It can be disappointing, especially after the build-up of the ride.
07:10Still, compared to other malfunctions, this one isn't too bad.
07:14It's actually impressive that she just looks like she's taking a quiet nap.
07:24Number 4.
07:25Olaf melts.
07:26Melts.
07:33Disney has spent years trying to create free-roaming animatronics.
07:37From Muppet Mobile Lab to a dancing Groot, these characters never integrated into the parks for several reasons.
07:43Debuting in Disneyland Paris, a new Olaf figure seemed like a big step forward for living characters.
07:49This snowman could walk around and interact with guests on his own.
07:53It felt like a real breakthrough.
07:55Hey, Olaf.
07:56And you are…
07:58I'm Josh, Olaf.
08:00So good to see you.
08:01You look amazing.
08:02Mm-hmm.
08:02However, like his predecessors, the technology isn't perfect.
08:07There have been moments where Olaf freezes and falls over in front of guests.
08:11Olaf down!
08:12Oh, the carrot nose!
08:14I love the nose!
08:15The nose, the nose!
08:16The nose, the nose!
08:16Don't worry, he got some assistance, he's getting built back up.
08:19Seeing a character that's supposed to feel alive just collapse like that can be jarring.
08:24Maintaining the illusion of life is a big part of the Disney brand, so it's unfortunate when the immersion is
08:30broken.
08:30This will all make sense when I am older.
08:34Someday I will see that this makes sense.
08:38Number 3.
08:39Spider-Man's Hard Landing.
08:4010, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go!
08:57Imagineers are constantly pushing the envelope in theme park technology.
09:01For the opening of Avengers Campus, they created a new figure called the Stunttronic.
09:06This robot could be flung into the air and perform stunts, creating the illusion of Spider-Man swinging over the
09:12park.
09:13Guests who've seen it might actually think it was a real person.
09:16However, that might actually have been a bad thing on the day Spider-Man crashed into a wall.
09:21We're not sure what went wrong, but it might have had to do with the web line failing to disconnect.
09:26At least the audio made it sound like it was part of the act.
09:29And if you know Spider-Man, you know that he doesn't always stick the landing anyway.
09:33One, two, let's go!
09:37I'm good!
09:39Number 2.
09:40Walt's Back Problems.
09:42Now we're making these human figures, dimensional human figures move, make animals move, make anything move, through the use of
09:51electronics.
09:52Every Disney fan knows that Walt was an innovator in audio animatronics.
09:56To celebrate his legacy, Disneyland introduced Walt Disney A Magical Life, featuring an animatronic of the man himself.
10:03It can't be overstated just how incredible it is.
10:07Yes, audio animatronic figures.
10:09It's a, well, it's sort of another door that's open for us.
10:13Watching it stand up from a sitting position in itself is a marvel of engineering.
10:17But have you ever seen it malfunction?
10:19One guest captured the moment the curtain opened to Walt in a hilarious dance.
10:32How he was even able to stand is a mystery, as the show is supposed to start with him on
10:37his desk.
10:38Even a tribute like this isn't completely free from technical problems.
10:42Then by our electronic process, which we call audio animatronics, they were given voice and movement.
10:58Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's album, Balance.
11:02Classical music reimagined as rock, hard rock, and metal.
11:06Check out the full track and album below.
11:22Number one, Maleficent Goes Down in Flames.
11:31Yeah, it's a fire-breathing dragon, but not literally.
11:35But last night, look at this.
11:36If there's one show to watch at Disneyland, it's phantasmic.
11:39The nighttime spectacular features countless characters, fireworks, stunts,
11:44and most notably, an animatronic of Maleficent in her dragon form.
11:48Known as Murphy by fans, the robot would battle Mickey at the story's climax and set the river ablaze.
11:54It has had many technical issues over the years of its, many years of its life at Disneyland.
12:00That's why it, the cast members actually nicknamed it Murphy.
12:03As in Murphy's law, that anything that can go wrong, will.
12:07It was a crowning achievement in live entertainment that wowed everyone, until 2023.
12:13During one performance, Murphy caught fire and was engulfed in flames for all to see.
12:18Flames are starting to come out, and I'm like, I'm thinking, is this a new part of the show?
12:22Alyssa got it all on video as the 45-foot beast blazed.
12:26No one was hurt, but the damage was severe.
12:29The destruction was so bad that when Phantasmic returned, the dragon was absent from the final battle.
12:35It marked the end of one of Disneyland's most iconic effects,
12:38and a moment fans won't soon forget.
12:40Oh! Oh my gosh!
12:45That's not good.
12:47What characters do you want to see as a Disney park animatronic?
12:50Stitch? Kermit the Frog? The Fantastic Four?
12:53Tell us your wishlist in the comments.
12:57We'll see you next time.
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