Walt Disney World has reported the theft of parts and materials used at two of its most iconic Magic Kingdom attractions. The Orlando Sentinel has reported that sails from the ride vehicles at Peter Pan’s Flight and seats used for the cars at Space Mountain were stolen from a shed behind Epcot’s Test Track.
The Orlando Sentinel mentions that an employee doing inventory in the storage shed at Epcot noticed the items were missing. In addition to the sails from Peter Pan’s Flight and three seats from Space Mountain, a shell from the Space Mountain ride vehicle was also missing. The value of the items is reported to be $20,000.
Via the Orlando Sentinel:
It was a mystery how the grand theft and burglary occurred. The items were in padlocked storage. Fencing surrounded the shed, according to the report. A Disney spokeswoman declined to comment, calling it a law enforcement issue.
As troubling as it is that items were stolen from locked storage that’s surrounded by fencing, it’s especially worrisome that such large items were taken without anyone noticing. The size of these items would have at least required a large vehicle to move them, and may have even required more than one person to load them.
This story comes on the heels of the bizarre incident surrounding Buzzy, an animatronic that was reportedly stolen from the old Cranium Command attraction at Epcot. Another recent incident involved the theft of several items from the Haunted Mansion.
There’s a deep black market that is willing to pay top dollar for pieces of Disney history and memorabilia. As a result, and with these stories finding the light of day a bit more frequently, Disney may want to overhaul and improve its backstage security.
