2024 is officially almost over and to say it’s been a whirlwind for Disney World would be an understatement.

We learned that a new nighttime parade is coming to Magic Kingdom, and a brand-new Villains-themed show is debuting in Disney’s Hollywood Studios — along with a NEW Pirates of the Caribbean Tavern at Magic Kingdom and the reimagined Test Track at EPCOT. But, we also learned some pretty disturbing things about Disney World this year…

It isn’t always magic in the Most Magical Place on Earth. Sometimes, disturbing things can happen — even at Disney World. We’ve rounded up some of the most disturbing things we were unfortunate enough to learn about Disney World in 2024.

Waffle Woes

Okay, you can’t really act surprised that three out of the five “disturbing” things on our list have to do with food. We ARE Disney Food Blog, after all, so when Disney goes and makes changes to our beloved snacks, well, we riot (with our keyboards, anyway!). Back in June, Disney World ruined our lives forever when they changed the iconic waffles at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments at Magic Kingdom.

Previously, the menu at Sleepy Hollow included a regular waffle (not Mickey-shaped) with chocolate-hazelnut spread, berries, and bananas, along with a sweet-and-spicy chicken version, too. But now, the normal waffles are gone and there are only Mickey waffles available. Not only that, but you can no longer get berries and bananas on the same waffle — you have to choose between berries with powdered sugar and whipped cream or bananas with chocolate hazelnut spread and whipped cream.

We tried out all the new items to see how they stacked up against the previous waffle sandwiches. Overall, we were very disappointed by these changes. The Mickey waffles are very soft and not crispy like the old waffles were. It’s possible Disney could change things back to how they used to be with the non-Mickey waffles, but so far, we haven’t seen any signs of that happening.

Chicken Tendie Terror

Columbia Harbour House over in Magic Kingdom likes to play games with our hearts. First, they got rid of the hush puppies, but then brought them back (we’re not saying it’s because we complained, buuuuuuut….), but recently, we discovered a shrinkflation situation happening and we’re not entirely happy about it.

If you order the Trio Platter, which features a combination of beer-battered shrimp, chicken, and beer-battered fish served with French fries and hushpuppies, you might discover it looks a little different. Previously, the Trio Platter came with two chicken, two fish, and three shrimp. This is what it looked like.

But now, when you order the Trio Platter at Columbia Harbour House, the new version of the Trio Platter only includes one fish, one chicken, three shrimp, and three hushpuppies. The price, however, has not changed. You’re getting less food for the same price, which is a bummer because this was one of our favorite meals to split!

Plastic Cheese Chronicles

Listen, we’re not naive here. We know that eating healthy and Disney World don’t exactly go hand-in-hand (though it’s entirely possible!) but we definitely didn’t need to know exactly how much sodium we were ingesting when we ate the glorious snack that is plastic cheese. While Disney doesn’t put out the nutrition of most of their food items, we did find a similar cheese sauce that is sold by Gehl’s to see just how much sodium is in it, and the results were… sobering.

In a 1/4 cup of Gehl’s Cheddar Cheese Sauce, you will find 570 mg of sodium which accounts for 28% of your recommended sodium intake. That is a lot of sodium for only a 1/4 cup of cheese sauce. Granted, when you get a side of cheese sauce at Disney World, it isn’t a huge serving, and if you share it with others, the amount of sodium you eat goes down. This is good to know if you are limiting your sodium intake or have other dietary restrictions.

Of course, no one is under the impression that plastic cheese is healthy, but we were hoping to live in blissful ignorance for just a bit longer.

Muppets Erasure

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: NO MORE MUPPETS ERASURE IN DISNEY WORLD!!!! After the devastating news that Muppets Courtyard would be closing to make way for the new Monsters Inc. Land, Disney threw us a bone by announcing that Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith would be rethemed with an all-new Muppets design. Which is GREAT, but we can’t help but feel like Disney really just doesn’t want to give the Muppets the love they deserve.

According to Disney, the Muppets will take over Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and “team up with music’s biggest stars for a rockin’ music festival.” Yep, that’s right — the Muppets are coming to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster — but we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop and we find out that the Muppets days are numbered in Disney World.

Actual Dead Bodies

Perhaps the most disturbing thing we learned about Disney World this year, though, was that the hotels often play host to various medical conferences throughout the year that bring cadavers and cadaver body parts into the hotel ballrooms for demonstrations. Yes, you read that correctly.

There’s an entire industry surrounding medical conferences at Disney hotels — even ones at Disneyland and Aulani in Hawaii. Doctors get to test out new products and skills while enjoying a Disney vacation — and may get to write off some of that travel as a business expense or get reimbursed for it by their employer. It’s hard to beat that, but it does mean you may be sharing your Disney World hotel with some less-than-desirable cohorts.

In the meantime, we’ll be sure to keep an eye on even more disturbing things in Disney World in 2025 and beyond! Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog so you don’t miss any of the latest news and updates.

FULL LIST of Disney Park Restaurants That Qualify for the 2025 FREE Dining Plan Offer

When are you heading to Disney World next? Tell us in the comments.