Some Assembly Required: 10 Memorable Moments when Disney Animatronics Froze, Burned, and Lost Their Heads

Like all Disney Parks fans, we love Audio-Animatronics.

That’s why we created a must-read list of the 25 Best Audio-Animatronics on Earth, celebrating the essential role that Disney’s greatest invention plays in the parks today. Make no mistake – these complex, dynamic, sensational figures have been cutting-edge since their debut in 1963. And like all technological marvels, they don’t always work the way they’re supposed to…

For Imagineering fans, the only thing more amazing than watching one of Disney’s Animatronic marvels work is catching one when it doesn’t. Thanks to the age of the Internet, fans’ cameras are ready at every moment to capture the slightest crack in Disney’s shell of immersive show. That’s why we’re able to curate this countdown of 10 misfiring, malfunctioning Audio-Animatronics across Disney Parks, offering a fascinating glimpse into Disney’s rare failures and flubs… 

Stories in the Extra Features and Special Features collections of Park Lore are all about connections – they’re the threads that interlace between the Lost Legends, Declassified Disasters, Modern Marvels, and Possibilitylands you’ll find in our Main Collections. In other words, these features are for people who really want to dig deep.



This article and hundreds more are available for Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members who help support this ad-free, clickbait-free, quality-over-quantity collection with a monthly membership. Park Lore Members can access more than a hundred Member-exclusive articles, unlock rare concept art and construction photos in every story, stream audio across the site, tune into podcast exclusives, and receive an annual member card and merch in the mail!

If you choose to join Park Lore’s community of Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Members, you’ll instantly unlock this story (and of course, a lot more). You can learn more about joining and supporting Park Lore (and browse all the available Extras and Special Features) in the “Memberships & Perks” menu above. If you can’t afford a Pass, please contact us; we’ll make some magic happen.


Log In or Join Now