Stolen Kingdom (The theft and sale of Buzzy on the black market).

[OrlandoRising]

You jest but he was removed like ~4 months before they started work on gutting Wonders, there’s a good chance that yes he was just removed due to the EPCOT overhaul plans

For the last time, that's not what happened -- for this to be true, Disney would've had to knowingly let the police investigate, for MONTHS, a theft it had already determined didn't happen, including when police actually went to Central Shops over Dave Ensign's baseless take.

There's no good reason to indulge speculation that was already contradicted by police records I obtained years ago.

 

[communicorn96]

The Hoot and Chief stuff is sweet, but it was better covered in Remain seated please.
The doomsday guy hiding out on discovery island was engaging, wish there was more on him.

The doc doesn't offer any answers on Buzzy. Legally it probably can't. Lopez's involvement buried Buzzy in NDAs.
One interviewee claims Spikes had clearance to let vehicles backstage, then in a montage of screenshots the doc implies Spikes' search history included a budget rental truck and landscaping wagon.
My personal speculation, Spikes stole from a company that could afford it, and sold to a client rich enough to make it all disappear.

 

[Moth]

I'm sorry but I find the "Disney has it but forgot" hard to believe, a washing machine-sized animatronic from a building that was being actively eyed up for development work doesn't get taken out by the company themselves and they just let a police investigation happen looking for it.

I think the above theory is possibly what happened, definitely feels plausible.

My take is that someone tapped in the know at Disney knew they were eying WoL up and grabbed Buzzy before Disney could archive him.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

I'm sorry but I find the "Disney has it but forgot" hard to believe, a washing machine-sized animatronic from a building that was being actively eyed up for development work doesn't get taken out by the company themselves and they just let a police investigation happen looking for it.

I think the above theory is possibly what happened, definitely feels plausible.

I think "forgot" is a strong word. The original police report came from someone from WDI, a division which wouldn't have any involvement with taking the figure. It's very possible the archives took him without saying anything, WDI guy panicked, and a report was filed before anything could be verified. Now seeing all the bad press that came from the original report, a Disney that has realized they had him the whole time would have no incentive to tell the police that because it ends up looking even worse. Kind of a rock and a hard place type of situation, you're looking incompetent either way. Best to let the story sink quickly and never mention it again. There are NDAs in place for the Disney people involved to ensure it sank fast and hopefully doesn't resurface.

My take is that someone tapped in the know at Disney knew they were eying WoL up and grabbed Buzzy before Disney could archive him.

If he was stolen then yes, a variant of this happened. It was an open secret in some circles that work on Wonders was imminent, and a much more open secret that the building was not secured at all.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

One interviewee claims Spikes had clearance to let vehicles backstage, then in a montage of screenshots the doc implies Spikes' search history included a budget rental truck and landscaping wagon. My personal speculation, Spikes stole from a company that could afford it, and sold to a client rich enough to make it all disappear.

Hi, interviewee here

Being entirely transparent, if Patrick did it I don't think he could keep his mouth shut about it for this long. He had loose lips on a lot of things. If it was stolen, and if he had any involvement, I think it's that he was able to get whatever party that did it onto Avenue of the Stars. I can see him shutting up about that much, if anything because he may genuinely not remember who all he got in there or who among them would have the incentive to do something so insane.

 

[communicorn96]

if Patrick did it I don't think he could keep his mouth shut about it for this long. He had loose lips on a lot of things.

Hence a legally binding NDA. Disney could have a six figure penalty waiting if he spills. Who knows? Spikes was brash about a lot of stealing in the doc, but when it came to Buzzy he turned cagey. There's probably a reason.

The theft implicated a professional NBA Player with a reputation to uphold and made Disney look embarrassingly bad for letting it happen. Lopez and Disney want this quiet and in the past. Disney definitely doesn't want other cast members or wealthy collectors viewing the parks as an open buffet of AAs.

 

[JoeCamel]

Hence a legally binding NDA. Disney could have a six figure penalty waiting if he spills. Who knows? Spikes was brash about a lot of stealing in the doc, but when it came to Buzzy he turned cagey. There's probably a reason.

The theft implicated a professional NBA Player with a reputation to uphold and made Disney look embarrassingly bad for letting it happen. Lopez and Disney want this quiet and in the past. Disney definitely doesn't want other cast members or wealthy collectors viewing the parks as an open buffet of AAs.

None of that changes the police report, yeah the thief knows but Disney is not playing politics with this. They reported and let investigators do their thing but are not hiding Buzz in the archives or central shops. The only people making this a thing that they care enough about to manipulate public opinion is a few foil fans.

Not that many care what Disney looks like.

 

[communicorn96]

None of that changes the police report, yeah the thief knows but Disney is not playing politics with this. They reported and let investigators do their thing but are not hiding Buzz in the archives or central shops.

This is my opinion and I'm probably wrong. I believe the police reports, I believe Disney actively pursued it.

If Orange county police saw a truck rental and landscaping wagon on Spikes phone around the time the AA went missing, that's a big lead.
Had Buzzy been sold to a podiatrist or real estate bro we probably would have heard about the return.
The thing that gums up the works is a pro athlete with a healthy public relationship to the Disney brand got entangled.
Is it too conspiracy-brained to think the law works differently for Celebrities?

 

[VicariousCorpse]

Had Buzzy been sold to a podiatrist or real estate bro we probably would have heard about the return.
The thing that gums up the works is a pro athlete with a healthy public relationship to the Disney brand got entangled.
Is it too conspiracy-brained to think the law works differently for Celebrities?

There are a ton of celebrities and rich people that have stolen props. THEY KNOW they are stolen, they don't care. As long as there is plausible deniability, its all good. The only reason this case was brought to light is because Robin Lopez told on himself after buzzy was reported missing. The amount of stolen props that pass through eBay alone is pretty astounding.

 

[OrlandoRising]

It's very possible the archives took him without saying anything, WDI guy panicked, and a report was filed before anything could be verified. Now seeing all the bad press that came from the original report, a Disney that has realized they had him the whole time would have no incentive to tell the police that because it ends up looking even worse.

More baseless (and frankly ridiculous) assertions.

 

[communicorn96]

There are a ton of celebrities and rich people that have stolen props. THEY KNOW they are stolen, they don't care. As long as there is plausible deniability, its all good. The only reason this case was brought to light is because Robin Lopez told on himself after buzzy was reported missing. The amount of stolen props that pass through eBay alone is pretty astounding.

Don't doubt this at all. If spikes could resist posting pics of himself with all the props, he'd likely still be employed at the parks slinging stuff on ebay.

 

[DreamfinderGuy]

More baseless (and frankly ridiculous) assertions.

For someone that goes on and on about having read the reports you could at least give me that it lines up with them. First report is someone from WDI noticing him missing and giving his witness statement (whom is bound by NDA now). Not park security or anybody else. There's nothing to discredit my speculation other than people on this forum that really don't like the idea of something other than the established theory having happened

 

[communicorn96]

Past behavior dictates future behavior. The guy who photographed himself with Buzzy's hat and earphones before selling them, probably sold Buzzy.

Disney let the animatronic rot for years, they don't pay their hourly workers nearly enough. Can't be shocked people get tempted to steal.

 

[JoeCamel]

Past behavior dictates future behavior. The guy who photographed himself with Buzzy's hat and earphones before selling them, probably sold Buzzy.

Disney let the animatronic rot for years, they don't pay their hourly workers nearly enough. Can't be shocked people get tempted to steal.

While I agree with you in this case and certain other crimes I have this running through my brain.


"Past performance is not indicative of future results" means that just because something has performed well in the past, it does not guarantee that it will continue to perform well in the future; essentially, past results cannot be used to reliably predict future outcomes...

 

[communicorn96]

Fair enough. It's not an exact science. I'm just an armchair inspector Clouseau.

Even if he did do it Buzzy's theft is a victimless crime. Disney could take the hit and the company should have moved that animatronic a lot earlier. But the cheapest option was letting it sit unsupervised for years.

The fun is speculating how Buzzy got removed, and we won't be able to hear about it.

 

[OrlandoRising]

For someone that goes on and on about having read the reports you could at least give me that it lines up with them. First report is someone from WDI noticing him missing and giving his witness statement (whom is bound by NDA now). Not park security or anybody else. There's nothing to discredit my speculation other than people on this forum that really don't like the idea of something other than the established theory having happened

No, it doesn't line up with the police reports, because you seem to be solely focused on the initial theft report.

Look back at the video of OCSO detectives questioning Spikes on Dec. 19, 2018, which is 23 days after the theft was reported -- quite enough time for some theoretical, internal Disney miscommunication to have been sorted out (like "Archives took him but forgot to tell anybody.") Detectives stated definitively of Buzzy: "Disney doesn't have it."

OCSO repeatedly said in on-the-record statements to me and other media outlets that Buzzy was stolen and had not been recovered. (And remember we're simply talking about your speculation that the animatronic may have never been stolen, not some theory as to whether a recovery happened after the police investigation went cold.)

Then on July 2, 2019 -- more than six months after the initial theft -- OCSO had to arrange to be allowed into Central Shops, whose employees dismissed Dave Ensign's claims about Buzzy being there, and the OCSO detective reported back, "After inspecting Central Shops and the Animatronics Lab I was confident that the Buzzy animatronic was not at either location as alleged." That visit wouldn't have happened if Disney had discovered by then that a different division of the company had taken Buzzy while the police investigation was still active. https://themeparktribune.com/wp-con...t-11-4-19-release-Orlando-Rising-REDACTED.pdf

It's not "my theory," it's what the facts are based on police records, on-the-record statements, and interviews.