“I heard Cinderella Castle can be disassembled in a hurricane.” 😮 “Oh yeah?! Well, I heard that the turkey legs in Disney World are NOT made of turkey.” “I heard that Walt Disney is frozen inside the Carousel of Progress!” That’s just a snippet of the creative rumors many have spread over the years. Suffice it to say, we’ve heard our fair share of Disney World myths and you probably have too.

But the rumor mill never sleeps. From stories about Cinderella Castle being torn down (?!) to rumors that the Princess and the Frog re-theme of Splash Mountain has been canceled, there are a lot of stories floating around out there. So we’re here to DEBUNK some of the big rumors you might have scrolled past on the internet so you can know what’s real and what’s totally fake!

1 — Cinderella Castle Is Being Demolished

We start with a rumor you may have seen popping up on your Instagram feed or TikTok account — the story that Cinderella Castle will reportedly be taken down in the near future. We even got a comment from one of our readers asking us if the rumors were true.

Well, dear reader, thankfully the rumors are NOT true.

The rumor appears to have started thanks to a TikTok posted from an account named @mousetrapnews or The Mouse Trap. In the TikTok video, the narrator shares that Cinderella Castle will be removed after the 50th Anniversary, and then a doctored photo of Magic Kingdom with the Castle removed is shown. They also note that the news is “devastating” and that no mention has been made of what will replace the Castle.

The TikTok ends by directing individuals to visit The Mouse Trap news website for more details. Once you visit that website, you’ll realize what’s going on — you’ve fallen into a mouse trap of your own! In the “About” section, the folks behind The Mouse Trap describe their site as “the world’s best satire site” — a.k.a. it’s not real news!

They go on to note that they “write fake stories about Disney parks stuff” and share that “you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun.”

So the rumor all stems from a joke site and a satirical post — a.k.a. there’s no need to panic about Cinderella Castle suddenly disappearing. Now, that’s not to say that Disney can’t or won’t change Cinderella Castle in some way in the future. We have seen them give the beloved icon a paint job and new decorations in the past. And presumably, the 50th Anniversary decorations will need to come down once the celebrations are over.

Future celebrations or just future days could bring a new paint scheme to the castle, a change in decor, etc. But, thus far, we haven’t seen anything to indicate that the castle itself will be completely demolished in the future. Considering the fact that the Castle serves as the icon for Magic Kingdom park and truly the resort as a whole, we think it would be highly unlikely that Disney would entirely demolish it. And considering that the original story came from a satire site, it seems like this is one rumor that can be DEBUNKED.

Click here to see EVERY Disney World and Disneyland castle transformation in history

2 — Disney Has Canceled Its Splash Mountain Re-Theme

Another rumor that has surfaced on the internet is that Disney has reportedly canceled their re-theme of the Splash Mountain attraction into a The Princess and the Frog-themed ride.

This is another rumor that started from…you guessed it, a TikTok from @mousetrapnews. Just as we mentioned above, The Mouse Trap is a satire-based site that writes fake Disney stories. They explain that they write “100% made up stories for your enjoyment.” And it seems like they’re pretty good at making people believe their stories too. 😆

Though we still haven’t gotten a ton of details about the Splash Mountain re-theme, and it hasn’t exactly been as “expedited” as it initially seemed to be, the project does seem to be moving forward.

In July of 2022, Disney’s official fan club — D23 — shared a peek at Tiana’s new look for the ride. In July of 2022, we also got the official new ride’s name and an opening timeline. And since then we’ve gotten a peek at some art meant to inspire those working on the ride.

Tiana’s Bayou Adventure is set to open in late 2024 in both Disneyland and Disney World. This is reflected on the Disney websites (for both Disney World and Disneyland), which note that Splash Mountain will “undergo a transformation” and reopen as the Princess and the Frog-themed ride on both coasts.

And it looks like more re-theme news could be on the way. Disney has announced that at the D23 Expo there will be a Wonderful World of Dreams pavilion where those from the Disney Parks and Experiences team will reveal a behind-the-scenes look at Tiana’s Bayou Adventure.

We’ll be at the D23 Expo covering everything you need to know, so check back with us for details!

Click here for more details about this ride transformation

3 — Disney World Is Trying to Lower the Drinking Age to 18

The drinking age in Florida is currently 21. That was established WAAAY back in 1985, largely due to the federal government’s threat that they would withhold millions of dollars in highway money if the state didn’t “comply with efforts to curb teen-age traffic deaths,” according to the South Florida SunSentinel. Disney would actually have to convince legislators to change the law that set up this arrangement long ago, so are they actually trying to do it?

Well, you can thank the satire site The Mouse Trap once again for this rumor. According to their TikTok video, Disney is battling the Florida government in court to get a special exemption just for individuals on Disney property. Again, as we’ve noted above, The Mouse Trap fully acknowledges that it is a satire site, and NONE of the things it shares are true. So…yeah, there’s really nothing to report here — the rumors are not true!

While Disney has been involved with governmental entities on some more recent battles over the Parental Rights in Education Bill or the dissolution of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, we haven’t seen anything to indicate that they’re trying to change the drinking age laws or get an exemption when it comes to drinking age. So you’ll have to save those Fuzzy Tauntauns for your 21st birthday and beyond.

Click here to see the 1 drink you should get from each EPCOT pavilion

4 — Walt Disney Is Cryogenically Frozen and Stored in Cinderella Castle

The rumors of Walt Disney being frozen in a cryonic chamber have been around for a while. Some even claim that Walt will be “defrosted” (so to speak) in the future when the technology is available to essentially bring him back to life. Just when did this rumor start? Well, according to PBS just a few weeks after Walt’s death in 1966, a reporter for a tabloid paper claimed that he snuck into the hospital where Walt was treated near the end of his life and claimed that he saw Walt in a cryogenic cylinder. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Newspapers, former Disney employees, and more spread the rumors for years. And Walt Disney himself didn’t exactly help the situation. According to PBS, Walt sensed his “impending demise” and asked to be recorded before his passing as he addressed his colleagues. In that recording, Walt told them what he expected of their future performance, and said he hoped to see them soon. 😯

But the rumor has long been debunked. As PBS points out, there are a number of things that can be pointed to, but the most “convincing conclusion” comes from Walt’s own daughter, Diane, who, back in 1972, wrote “There is absolutely no truth that my father, Walt Disney, wished to be frozen. I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics.”

In reality, Walt was cremated after his death and the urn with his ashes was placed at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. According to SF Gate, though his grave is difficult to find, people visit Walt’s memorial often and leave toys, flowers, and more (though those are generally taken away by the groundskeepers).

Now, we’re sure there are people out there who will claim it’s all a hoax — the death certificate was fabricated, the memorial is a front, and Walt truly is frozen. And we’ll probably never be able to convince those people to believe otherwise, but we wouldn’t expect to see a defrosted Walt just walking around Magic Kingdom anytime soon. 😉

Click here to learn about 100 things that’ll BLOW your mind about Disney World

5 — Cinderella Castle Can Be Taken Down for a Hurricane

This is a myth we’ve debunked before, but it’s one worth debunking again! According to some rumors, Cinderella Castle can reportedly be dismantled in case there is an intense hurricane that hits Orlando. It’s actually a rumor that seems to have existed since Cinderella Castle was first built. 😆

Hurricanes have impacted Disney World before, and we have seen some extreme weather in the parks, including some big flooding, but Cinderella Castle has stayed up throughout it all.

While it would certainly be fascinating to see the Castle disassembled, it’s simply something that doesn’t happen! The Castle is stuck where it’s at and neither the castle itself nor the turrets will just get removed or disassembled if a storm appears. The Castle is built to last, though, and can withstand strong winds, so don’t worry. It’s survived this long and we have a feeling it’ll keep on surviving!

If you are curious to know how to prepare for hurricane season or how to survive Disney World weather, click here! You can also click here to see what to expect from the 2022 hurricane season in Disney World.

Click here to see other Disney myths we’ve BUSTED

6 — Disney World Has No Mosquitos

And finally, we get to a rumor that we wish was true. Many sources online indicate that Disney World has NO mosquitoes — not a single one, no mosquitos whatsoever, zero, zilch. And well, we WISH that was true.

On the one hand, it is very much true that Disney works diligently to control bugs, like mosquitos, on property. The Disney website even notes that they have an “extensive mosquito prevention and monitoring program.” Various reports online discuss some of the things Disney reportedly does to keep mosquitos at bay, including making sure there’s no standing water, using mosquito traps, and more.

But is it true that you will NEVER get bitten by a mosquito while in Disney World? Sadly, NO. We reached out to our very own team and several mentioned that they have been bitten by mosquitos. One even noted that they got bitten specifically over by some bushes near the Japan pavilion in EPCOT, so watch out! A member of our team also shared that they spoke to a nurse at a Disney park who said that they DO have mosquitos there, of course!

The good news? Disney does work hard to prevent mosquitos from biting you so hopefully, you won’t get too many bites. Some members of our team have actually managed to escape the wrath of mosquito bites entirely in Disney World, so Disney is doing their job pretty well. But for others, some mosquito bites have landed them in the first aid center due to swelling. If you do get bitten, know that the Disney park first aid centers do carry Benadryl and cortisone cream so you can get a bit of relief.

Keep in mind that it’s not just the mosquitos you should be aware of in Disney World. There are ants to consider (look for these near planters especially), lovebugs, snakes, and bees, among other wild creatures. You’re truly living with the land. 😂

And that’s a look at some of the big Disney myths that have popped up over the years. Which of these have you fallen for? What other myths do you want to know more about? Tell us in the comments!

In the meantime, you can click here to check out the biggest LIES everyone believes about Disney World, or you can click here to see 5 lies Disney World needs you to believe. (Wow, there are a lot of lies out there. 😂 )

We’ll continue to look for more Disney mysteries and news and we’ll share all those details with you.

Click here to see us BREAK the myths from inside the Star Wars Hotel

What is a Disney myth that you’ve heard recently? Tell us in the comments!