We have a sad, sad story today.

Don’t worry — it has a happy ending! But boy is it a JOURNEY to get there. Today, we were just walkin’ around EPCOT: getting excited for all the food coming to the Flower and Garden Festival, admiring the new map…ya know, normal stuff. Then, we SAW it.

Two Mickey balloons had been abandoned!! They’d been tied to a fence and left for who-knows-what. We found them all alone, swaying gently in the wind, contemplating their very existence.

WHO would leave Mickey balloons like this?! Not only are they a whopping $14 apiece, but these balloons now have no purpose! We decided to get closer to investigate. The poor things are clearly clinging onto each other for dear life. There’s a strong “Jack and Rose on the Titanic” vibe here. Except…you know…there’s no sinking frozen boat. More like 30+ bucks worth of helium chillin’ in the Florida sunshine. I guess there are worse fates. 😂

We literally couldn’t process why someone would just ditch their (expensive and probably sentimental) Mickey balloons. Had they served their purpose as Instagram props and were now left to deflate? Had their owners hopped on a ride while these trusty balloons waited loyally outside? We asked our DFB readers on Twitter to help us piece together this tragic mystery.

What’s the story with the Mickey balloons you think? Abandoned? Hanging out until someone is done with a ride? pic.twitter.com/hf3lnbNmZq

— AJ Wolfe (@DisneyFoodBlog) February 25, 2021

 

Our absolute favorite response? “A parent got hit in the face as the balloons bounced off the stroller one too many times.” Parents, we FEEL YOU. Been there, done that. We’ve been face-slapped by more Mickey balloons than we’d care to remember. But we’re also devastated for these balloons, who wanted nothing more than to make a family happy (or at least make it in a picture in front of Spaceship Earth). Just look at them staring out at the water together, thinking about the uncertain life they have ahead of them.

Eventually, we were forced to leave these unfortunate balloons behind and continue on our way. But good news! When we returned just a little while later (yes, we just HAD to check on them), we noticed they were gone! They’d found a happy home (sorry guys, we didn’t swipe the abandoned balloons but hopefully their owners found them or they’re bringing joy to some lucky kids!).

Whether their original owners came to claim them or someone saw a great opportunity for some free balloons, we’ll never know. This wild ride reminded us of the abandoned Dole Whips we spotted in Magic Kingdom — but that story didn’t have such a happy ending. Cause the mortal enemy of a Dole Whip is heat. (Still pouring one out for our fallen Dole Whips. Never forget!) What do YOU think happened to these balloons?! As always, stay tuned to DFB for more Disney news!

Check Out Those Abandoned Dole Whips (And Be Sad with Us)

What do you think happened to these balloons? Let us know in the comments!