"Bad Things Happen at the Happiest Place on Earth" — New Documentary About Disney Parks Coming Soon

Disney World might be the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been home to its fair share of scandals.

From being the place of Nixon’s “I’m not a crook” speech to Disney Skyliner crashes, there have been some bumps along Disney’s path to the present, and one documentary is about to take a dive deep into some of those stories.

According to Deadline, a new documentary is in the works that’ll focus on the less-than-magical side of the Disney parks. Director Jeff Tremaine (which some may recognize from his work with Jackass Forever), will be producing a documentary movie called Stolen Kingdom.

The film is said to chronicle “the 30-year history of wrongdoing and debauchery at Walt Disney World Resort, and how it led to the theft of an audio-animatronic valued at almost $500,000 on the black market.”

Note that the documentary’s subtitle says “Bad Things Happen at the Happiest Place on Earth,” but the documentary appears to mainly be focused on Disney World (according to Deadline). Disney World is actually the “Most Magical Place on Earth,” while Disneyland is the “Happiest Place on Earth.” We’ll have to see if that subtitle ever changes or if, perhaps, the documentary covers more than just Disney World scandals.

The stolen prop being referred to appears to be the animatronic of Buzzy from Cranium Command. In 2019, a former Cast Member was linked to the theft of this animatronic.

Joshua Bailey and Sam Fraser, who are first-time filmmakers, are set to direct the documentary.

Producer Tremaine shared, “Josh and Sam somehow found me and introduced me to this story I found so compelling…I was inspired by not only this story but by these young filmmakers. Having been a part of some Disneyland misbehavior, I’m excited to be involved in this.”