Social media was set ablaze over the weekend when reports surfaced that Buzzy, an audio-animatronic from the long-closed Cranium Command attraction at the former Epcot Wonders of Life pavilion was stolen sometime in the last few weeks. Though we have no way to independently verify what is going on with this suddenly missing piece of Disney history, here’s what we know based on social media reports and inside sources with knowledge of the situation:
The animatronic has definitely been missing for several days, but there’s no concrete timeline as to when the theft occurred
Image: Disney
Though news broke just a few days ago about the reported theft of the Buzzy animatronic from this attraction, it is currently not known exactly when this theft occurred, or how long Buzzy has been gone. Social media reports hypothesize that this animatronic was stolen sometime in the past few days, but since the old site of Cranium Command is not well monitored by Disney employees or security cameras (this attraction has been closed since 2007), there’s no way of really knowing exactly how long this animatronic has been gone for.
However, what does seem to be known that whomever took this animatronic did so in a hurry, as hydraulic fluid was supposedly left all over the floor of the crime scene, as it appears that hydraulic lines were quickly slashed as the culprit took the animatronic and then made his or her getaway.
The culprit likely had backstage access…and accomplices
Image: Stuart Newsom, Flickr (license)
Again, while there’s no way to verify anything right now, it seems very likely given the circumstances that the person responsible for taking Buzzy from the former Cranium Command attraction had backstage access, as most guests are not able to easily navigate to this long-closed attraction space from guest areas. In addition, the Buzzy animatronic is very heavy, and would be difficult to take out of the front gates of Epcot without someone noticing, which means that some kind of backstage route was probably used to get the animatronic out of the park and eventually off Disney property.
In addition, considering the dimensions of the Buzzy animatronic, it seems very unlikely that only one person could have pulled off this heist by themselves, as help would be needed not only to lift Buzzy out of his platform, but also get him out of the park.
Disney has not officially commented on this situation
Image: Disney
Though reports have been circulating all weekend about this incredible situation, and many are saying that Disney is working with the local police to bring the culprit to justice (and of course recover the animatronic), Disney has not officially commented on the situation or released any statements about this missing animatronic. In addition, though some media outlets have reported on arrest(s) being made in relation to this situation, as of now there is no proof of any such arrests taking place, and no major news outlets have picked up any confirmed information about this situation so far.
We probably won’t hear any updates (official or otherwise) for a long time
Image: Disney
The theft of Buzzy is certainly is one of the most intriguing and dramatic stories we’ve seen related to the Disney Parks over the years, and while we’ll be on the lookout for updates in the coming weeks, when it comes to crimes like these, progress is typically slow, and we may not hear any official developments for a long time. However, you can bet that Disney will be beefing up its security in the coming weeks to prevent something like this from happening again. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll stop letting old attractions rot behind closed doors for years and years, as this clearly this practice has become bait not only to would-be trespassers, but now apparently, thieves as well. Hopefully, however, this story will have a happy ending, eventually, just like all those Disney movies, and Buzzy will be able to be moved to an archive, where he can be restored and preserved, the way this animatronic should have been when the Cranium Command attraction first closed over a decade ago.
