A wild new conspiracy is swirling about Disney and Donald Trump
A bizarre conspiracy theory about Donald Trump and Disney World has resurfaced – and it features an animatronic that will haunt your dreams.
An X user called Fiona Small shared her favourite ‘lowest stakes’ conspiracy theory about the controversial ex-President, and people were instantly horrified.
It all centres on an oddball Hall of Presidents attraction at Disney World Orlando in Florida.
The theory? That a weird, animatronic Trump was originally made to be Hillary Clinton.
People were quick to point out the similarities between the lifelike robot and Clinton, especially the eyes, cheekbones and nose.
The 2016 presidential race between Trump and Clinton was a close call, with political experts divided on what the outcome would be right up until election day.
In fact, many national polls showed that Clinton was leading the race throughout the campaign – which is why some internet sleuths think that Disney originally made a Clinton animatronic and had to quickly change course after Trump’s win.
Over on TikTok, a woman shared an image of the Trump animatronic with a ‘yassifcation’ filter, saying it looked like Clinton.
Some people were terrified by the ‘cursed’ robot and speculated whether Disney had made it ugly on purpose.
The animatronic was on display in the Magic Kingdom’s Hall of Presidents in Walt Disney World in Orlando. The Hall of Presidents opened in 1971 and features all 45 US presidents.
The conspiracy theory that Disney swapped out the Clinton animatronic for Trump has been around since it was first revealed in 2017.
Suspicions were initially aroused when Disney pushed back the unveiling from June to December, sparking rumours that the animatronic needed more work.
However, Disney has never commented on the rumours.
In 2021, Disney World tourists spotted that the animatronic was given a makeover to make it look more like Trump.
The conspiracy theory isn’t the only controversy linked to the former Apprentice boss’s theme park lookalike.
In December 2023, a Disney satire website that writes ‘fake stories about Disney Parks stuff’ posted a TikTok claiming that the theme park was removing the Trump animatronic from the Hall of Presidents.
However, the TikTok gained traction in rightwing circles who did not realise that the video was fake and sparked outrage.
More wild Disney conspiracy theories
This isn’t the only weird Disney conspiracy circulating on the internet.
According to one urban legend, Walt Disney’s head is cryogenically frozen. The conspiracy theory dates all the way back to 1967, when the story appeared in a US newspaper.
In 1972, Disney’s daughter Diane debunked the claim.
‘I doubt that my father had ever heard of cryonics,’ she said.
Another bizarre conspiracy theory claims that Disney World is covered by a giant protective dome.
In 2018, there were reports that Disney planned to build a climate-controlled dome called ‘the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow’, but these plans never materialised.
In one morbid conspiracy theory, internet sleuths claim that no one has ever been pronounced dead at a Disney park because park employees remove deceased bodies from the parks before any declaration occurs.
However, the claim isn’t true, as there are news reports of deaths at Disneyland parks in the 1980s and in 2008.