An Earthquake Rattled Walt Disney World and Nobody Saw It Coming

The Ground Moved at Walt Disney World

Monday afternoon at Walt Disney World, the unexpected happened. A 6.4-magnitude earthquake recorded in southern Cuba sent tremors rippling north across the Caribbean and into Central Florida, where guests and Cast Members alike paused, looked at each other, and asked the same question everyone else in the region was asking: did you feel that?

Disney Tourist Blog reports the earthquake caused minor shaking felt across Central Florida, including at Walt Disney World. Attractions Magazine noted that multiple attractions were temporarily listed as closed across the resort as guests and residents compared notes on what they had experienced. The closures appear to have coincided with the seismic event, though multiple other factors were already complicating operations on Monday.

To be clear, the event was not catastrophic. Nobody was hurt, nothing collapsed, and the parks kept running. But earthquakes are not supposed to happen in Central Florida. That is part of the deal. You accept the hurricanes, the afternoon lightning, the love bugs, and the heat that makes your sunglasses fog the second you step outside. In exchange, the ground stays put. Monday broke that agreement, however briefly, and the novelty of it deserves a moment of appreciation before we move on to everything else that happened.

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The timing made it stranger. According to Lightning Brain's Daily Park Report, Monday was already one of those days where flexibility mattered more than any touring plan. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind went down for the better part of the afternoon at EPCOT and never came back. Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at Hollywood Studios also closed and did not reopen. Avatar Flight of Passage at Disney's Animal Kingdom went offline mid-afternoon. A late-afternoon weather cluster at Magic Kingdom triggered lightning protocols that closed TRON Lightcycle/Run, The Barnstormer, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train simultaneously. Space Mountain also went down independently during the same window, compounding the disruption. Country Bear Musical Jamboree was down for extended stretches across two separate incidents totaling about four hours. Under the Sea, Journey of the Little Mermaid was unavailable for nearly three hours.

Five major Magic Kingdom attractions offline at the same time, the biggest EPCOT headliner down through close, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom each losing a marquee attraction for the day, and then an earthquake on top of all of it. If you were there Monday, you earned your vacation.

The Parks

The earth was not the only thing shifting at Walt Disney World this week. Disney Food Blog confirmed that the three food trucks at Disney Springs have been officially removed from the West Side, near Disney Style and the Starbucks on the AMC Theater side. The trucks, which included 4 Rivers Cantina Barbacoa Food Truck, Cilantro Urban Eatery Food Truck, and GoJuice, had been a permanent fixture rather than a rotating lineup. Disney Food Blog reports that a Cast Member confirmed the removal before the trucks disappeared, though Disney never made an official announcement. No replacement has been announced for the space. Disney Food Blog suggests the area could benefit from additional seating, which, given the density of quick-service options already in that corridor, including Chicken Guy! and Pepe by Jose Andres, might be the smarter play.

Over at EPCOT, La Poutinerie is nearing its debut. WDW News Today reports that construction walls have come down at the location and that an opening date and menu have been revealed. The restaurant adds a Canadian quick-service option that has been a long time coming for World Showcase, which has never lacked for atmosphere but has occasionally lacked for poutine.

Also at Magic Kingdom, WDW News Today reports another 1994-era tower is being demolished in Tomorrowland. The ongoing removal of these structures continues to reshape the land's skyline as Imagineering works toward a refreshed Tomorrowland that looks less like a vision of the future as imagined during the Clinton administration.

WDW News Today also confirmed that solar-powered trash cans are rolling out to more locations across Walt Disney World. It is a quiet infrastructure upgrade, the kind of thing most guests will never notice, but it signals a continued push toward sustainability across the resort's operations.

At Disneyland, WDW News Today reports that the Matterhorn Bobsleds will close for refurbishment this summer. The Matterhorn holds a singular place in Disney history as the world's first tubular steel roller coaster, and periodic refurbishments keep it running for a new generation of guests who deserve to be terrified by the Abominable Snowman the same way their parents were.

Meanwhile, at Shanghai Disneyland, construction on a Spider-Man roller coaster continues with intriguing new details. BlogMickey reports that theming is arriving on the structure, and lettering now visible on one of the white support columns appears to read "W.E.B. L4UNCH//R," styled with a number four substituting for the letter A and forward slashes before the final R. Disney has not announced an official name, but BlogMickey notes the styling mirrors existing W.E.B. branding used for Spider-Man attractions, including the "W.E.B. SL1NG//R" ride vehicle designation at WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure at Disney California Adventure. The naming convention, if confirmed, would tie Shanghai's coaster directly into the broader Avengers Campus narrative framework Disney has built across multiple resorts.

On the water, Disney Cruise Line earned another sustainability recognition from the Port of Vancouver. Disney Experiences reports this marks the 13th time the cruise line has earned the distinction, reflecting continued efforts to meet the port's environmental standards. The Disney Wonder uses shore power when docked in Vancouver, plugging into the port's electric grid to shut down engines and reduce emissions. In 2026, the Disney Magic joins the Wonder in sailing to Alaska from Vancouver, marking the first time two Disney Cruise Line ships will operate in the region. The company was also ranked No. 7 on the 2026 Forbes Best Brands for Social Impact list, according to Disney Experiences. With eight ships in the current fleet and five more planned by 2031, including the Disney Believe launching next year, these sustainability commitments will only grow in scale and scrutiny.

DCL Blog notes that Disney Cruise Line is holding an unprecedented level of special offers this week, with 186 different sail dates available extending into May 2027 from ports including Fort Lauderdale, Galveston, Port Canaveral, San Diego, Southampton, and Vancouver. That volume of discounted sailings across such a wide window is notable for a cruise line that historically sells out well in advance.

The Screen

Pixar's Hoppers is now streaming on Disney+. D23 reports the animated film, which features Piper Curda as animal lover Mabel, Bobby Moynihan as a charismatic beaver named King George, and Jon Hamm as a smooth-talking mayor, is available alongside three new Hoppers-themed avatars for Disney+ users. The film, directed by Daniel Chong and written by Jesse Andrews, also features the voices of Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, and Meryl Streep.

The Simpsons faithful have summer plans too. D23 confirms three all-new episodes will stream exclusively on Disney+ globally, following the series' recent 800th episode milestone. The double-episode "Extreme Makeover: Homer Edition" arrives June 17, featuring guest star Betty Gilpin and musical guests Laufey and Tegan and Sara. "Simpsley," streaming July 3, sends a penniless con-artist Marge Bouvier to Italy in what D23 describes as a "Disney+ exclusive Simpsons noir." "Yellow Mirror" follows August 26 with two dark tales involving a defective lamp and an AI-powered tablet. The staggered release schedule gives Disney+ a Simpsons event roughly every three to four weeks across the summer, a smart cadence for keeping subscribers engaged between bigger franchise launches.

On the advertising side of the streaming business, The Walt Disney Company outlined the expansion of its advanced ad technology on Disney+. The company's internal creative platform, the Disney eXperience Composer, now supports a full suite of interactive ad formats, including Gateway Go, Pause Ads, Pause+ (with Billboard, Trivia, and Carousel variants), and Ad Selector, which lets viewers choose which ad they watch. According to the Walt Disney Company, beta testing of the Pause+ Trivia format delivered brand recall at 10 times industry benchmarks, while Billboard produced double-digit lifts in message association and unaided brand awareness. The investment signals that Disney is betting heavily on making the ad-supported tier of Disney+ a premium product for advertisers rather than just a cheaper option for subscribers.

According to reports from The DisInsider, Disney has released a new trailer for Descendants: Wicked Wonderland and revealed that Awkwafina has joined the cast, voicing a new Wonderland character named Cheesy. The Descendants franchise remains one of Disney's most reliable engines for younger audiences, and the addition of Awkwafina suggests the studio is investing real talent in keeping that engine running.

The Vault

WDW News Today reports that Hasbro is releasing Black Series figures based on the Star Wars: Droids animated show. For collectors of a certain vintage, Droids occupies a fascinating corner of Star Wars history. The 1985 animated series followed R2-D2 and C-3PO on adventures set before the original trilogy, and it has remained a deep cut even among dedicated fans. A Black Series release gives the show a level of collectible prestige it has never previously enjoyed, pulling it out of the footnotes and onto the shelf next to Mandalorian and Clone Wars figures.

Disney's Animal Kingdom offered a quieter kind of milestone this week. WDW News Today reports that Kendi, a rhino at the park, can see again after a rare surgery. The story is a reminder that Animal Kingdom operates as both a theme park and a genuine zoological facility, and the veterinary work happening behind the scenes often represents some of the most meaningful work Disney does anywhere in its portfolio.

Sources

Disney Tourist Blog · Attractions Magazine · Lightning Brain · Disney Food Blog · WDW News Today · BlogMickey · Disney Experiences · DCL Blog · D23 · The Walt Disney Company · The DisInsider