Disney Is Playing the ULTIMATE April Fool’s Day Joke…in June

Remain calm. Deep breaths. Channel peaceful energy. Okay, we tried, but now we’re over it — Disney is in the middle of a marketing tactic right now that is DRIVING US BANANAS.

Disney is getting ready to celebrate “Halfway to the Holidays” (yes, there’s a celebration for that!) with some special snacks in the Disney parks. We already saw what new (and returning) items will be popping up for us to munch on, but Disney also announced that from June 13th through the 15th, they’d be celebrating with some “announcements” and “sneak peeks.” So when they started one particular marketing tactic on June 12th we thought we might get some early news…but we have been BAMBOOZLED.

On June 12th, Disney posted a message on Twitter about their “reindeer tracker.” Apparently, there have been reports that one of Disney’s reindeer is on the loose and has been giving gifts ahead of the holiday season. They advised fans to stay tuned for more alerts. That initial message was posted around 8:57AM (ET) and that’s when the “fun” began.

ATTENTION 🚨🦌 There have been reports that one of our reindeer is on the loose and has been spotted flying across the globe giving out gifts ahead of the holiday season. Please report any sightings using #HalfwaytotheHolidays and stay tuned for the latest alerts. pic.twitter.com/qSYVhpuVoO

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) June 12, 2023

We held our breath (not literally)…waiting for a potential announcement from Disney about something big. Maybe the reindeer would make its way to Magic Kingdom to give us news about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party?! Or perhaps it would head to EPCOT for updates about the Candlelight Processional and Festival of the Holidays?! Maybe we’d even get information about the holiday season celebrations in Disneyland. We were PUMPED.

The first update came in at 9:51AM, when Disney shared that the reindeer is wearing a “sleigh collar with a built-in Gifting Presents System (GPS)” (clever!). Then, the coordinates began to pour in — the first: 63.364786, -85.331297. Google Maps informed us that this was in Southampton Island, Kivalliq Region, NU, Canada. Okay, making a stop with our friends in Canada — we love to see it!

Then the reindeer moved to Victoria Island, Canada. From there it was off to Prince Patrick Island, Inuvik, Canada…the Arctic Ocean…Lincoln Sea…Greenland…the Greenland Sea…Sermersooq Municipality, Greenland…Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada…various spots in the North Atlantic Ocean…the Norwegian Sea…the Barents Sea…and (as of the latest updates to this post) Zerendi District, Kazakhstan.

Y’all — this has been going on for HOURS with Disney posting new coordinates about every 30 minutes or so. WHAT IS GOING ON?! WHEN WILL IT END?! IS THERE AN ANNOUNCEMENT COMING AT THE END OF IT ALL?! IS IT JUST A GIANT APRIL FOOL’S DAY JOKE IN JUNE?!

🦌 71.790671, 43.924199

— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) June 12, 2023

If that wasn’t enough, the Disney Parks Instagram is also posting teasers. We’ve got one for June 13th…

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…June 14th…

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…and June 15th. WHY do you do this to us?!

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We can’t help but feel reminded of Disney’s “The Streamer” marketing tactic from 2021. For those who aren’t aware of what that was, in 2021, Disney teased fans with the livestream of “The Streamer,” creating a new Twitter account and telling fans to tune in at 3PM PST to watch. Fans were hoping, waiting, and watching for a potentially BIG update.

But Disney fooled us all. Instead of new announcements, Disney posted a video of river streams saying “Soon you will meet The Streamer. Until then, enjoy this livestream of a stream.” The live stream lasted for THREE HOURS before revealing that it was a promotional technique for the already existing Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle with a character who streamed them…by the stream.

Either this reindeer Twitter feed is going to work in the same way, with fans waiting for updates for HOURS…only to have Disney say at the end of the day that the reindeer is all done and it’s over. Or, we could get a bigger announcement. Since Halfway to the Holidays starts tomorrow, maybe this reindeer will be running all through the night until the news hits tomorrow — WHO KNOWS!?

If we do see any critical updates, we’ll be sure to let you know. For now, I guess we’re on reindeer watch as we cross our fingers for exciting holiday news. For the latest updates on the holiday season, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter (you can do that below!). And click here to see what clue Disney has already revealed about Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party!