Update: The missing episodes of Behind the Attraction have returned to DIsney+ so it appears this was some sort of technical glitch that for whatever reason only impacted a few episodes. The original story continues below...
When studios began to launch their own streaming services, one of the big selling points was that they owned most of the content that was being streamed. This meant that, unlike Netflix, which has always seen a lot of monthly churn when it comes to content, platforms like Disney+ and Max should be able to put content up, especially original content, and leave it there. As we’ve discovered, even among the best streaming services, this isn’t what happens.
Disney+ and Max have both pulled original series and movies as cost-cutting measures. It seems that in some cases it costs the streamers more to have certain things available than they think they’re making from them. But now Disney+ has done something very strange. One of the platform’s original series is still available, just not all of it.
Behind The Attraction’s First Episodes Are Gone From Disney+
Behind the Attraction, a Disney+ original series that looked at the stories behind the creation of some of Disney Parks' most popular attractions, has seen its first three episodes, which cover the Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, and Star Tours, pulled from the platform. All the other episodes of Season 1, and all of Season 2 are still available to view.
As a Disney Parks fan, this is frustrating because Behind the Attraction was a really fun show. As CinemaBlend's theme park expert somebody who has read and watched a lot about the rides at Disneyland and Disney World, the show didn’t include much information I didn’t already know. It’s not the deep dive that The Imagineering Story is. Thank God that series is still untouched. But Behind the Attraction was entertaining and it was a great introduction for people who didn’t know everything about the attractions but were curious to learn.
The fact that the episodes that have vanished cover three of the most iconic attractions in Disney Parks' history doesn’t help. These are attractions that people are more likely to want to know about. They’re the attractions that might get people to give the show a try in the first place, and keep watching if they like what they see.
Why Only Three Episodes?
The fact that any of Behind the Attraction is now gone and can’t be seen anywhere else is annoying, but the whole thing also has me incredibly confused. Why are only three episodes gone? The series now starts with the Tower of Terror episode, which was one that actually had some controversy attached to it. If an episode was going to get pulled that's one you could at least understand.
One would expect that Disney+ would either pull the series in its entirety or leave it up, but only removing certain episodes seems strange. Considering how popular those three attractions are I would fully expect they are among the most viewed of the entire series. It’s hard to believe they got pulled because nobody watched them.
It must be some sort of unusual rights issue that only pertains to these three episodes, but that also doesn’t make a lot of sense. The show was produced by Seven Bucks Productions, Dwayne Johnson’s company. Johnson just recently signed a new development deal with Disney. Anything in the show has to be owned by either Seven Bucks or Disney. Unless there’s a particular person interviewed in those episodes who doesn’t appear in any other, and for whom the show has somehow lost the rights, this doesn’t make sense.
I’m hoping this is some sort of technical glitch or temporary measure until some unusual issue is resolved. Losing entire shows on Disney+ is infuriating, especially since there’s no other way to watch them, but losing part of a show is a new level of frustration.
