Instagram Immediately Removed at Walt Disney World, 300,000+ Kicked Out

This morning, thousands of Walt Disney World Resort guests woke up in their hotel rooms, Airbnb, and vacation homes, ready to tackle their day at the theme parks. Whether they were headed to Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, or Disney’s Hollywood Studios, there is one thing that nearly every guest will do today, and that is take a picture. A popular thing to do after taking a photo is to share it online so that your friends and family can see what you are up to.

Unless the platforms go dark.

At the moment, both Instagram and Facebook have gone offline, meaning neither platform is working correctly. While this affects anyone using both platforms, those at Disney World may find the shut-down a little more difficult than others. Not only does this mean that guests are unable to share their PhotoPass picture on Haunted Mansion or that selfie with Mickey Mouse, but that also means that while you wait in that 90-minute line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you have two less social media platforms to occupy your time.

Thousands of social media users have turned to X (formally Twitter) to confirm that the platforms are not working correctly. One social user, Ramen (@CoconutShawarma) said: “Yes guys Instagram is down #instagramdown”

Yes guys Instagram is down #instagramdown pic.twitter.com/AuV824N2vb

— Ramen (@CoconutShawarma) March 5, 2024

Another user, Lord Rxn (@Rx_605) also confirmed the news, “Everyone coming on Twitter after Instagram went down and crashed 😭:”

Everyone coming on Twitter after instagram went down and crashed 😭: pic.twitter.com/2HmjT7Gxwj

— Lord Rxŋ (@Rx_605) March 5, 2024

Those are just two of the many posts that are currently flooding X regarding the platforms being down.

WFLA shared, “If you were just kicked out of your Facebook or Instagram account while scrolling, you’re not alone. Meta’s social media platforms are currently not working, with both Instagram and Facebook pulling up “failure to load” error pages. DownDetector reported over 352,000 outages at 10:49 a.m. Apps also appear to be affected.”

For those who may not know, Facebook acquired Instagram in April 2012 for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock.

At the time of the acquisition, Instagram had around 30 million users. Since then, Facebook has allowed Instagram to operate relatively independently, maintaining its own branding, app, and user experience. However, Facebook has integrated some features between the two platforms, such as cross-posting content and linking accounts, and now, the Facebook company is called Meta.

Interestingly enough, this outage is happening just days after we reported a possible social media ban would be coming to the theme parks for certain guests. As we reported: 

“Individuals aged 16 and under will likely be banned from using social media in the immediate future as the state of Florida looks to pass another controversial bill. The legislation would affect guests visiting the Walt Disney World Resort and beyond, restricting them from using popular apps like Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat at the Disney park.”

Click Orlando shared the news, “The Senate passed a revised HB 1 by a 23-14 vote on Thursday morning, and the House passed that version Thursday afternoon, despite concerns the bill ran counter to the state’s recent push for parental rights.

“There is no ability for informed parental consent because the behemoth that is big tech — and five companies alone, they made over $222 billion in 2022 in revenues. I am challenged to find a parent that can keep up with what the power of that dollar is doing to take their child from them,” said State Sen. Erin Grall, R-Fort Pierce, who is sponsoring the bill in the Senate.

“But we know that’s what’s happening on those platforms. So you or I… or any one of us who has children that are under the age of 16 can say ‘You’re not doing it,’” said State Sen. Lauren Book, D-Davie. “Why is it the legislature or the government’s place to be doing that for our children?”

The legislation mandates that social media firms must deactivate any current accounts held by individuals under the age of 16 and prevent those under 16 from establishing new accounts. It empowers the state to file grievances against social media platforms deemed to be infringing upon the law, with potential fines imposed on the companies for each instance of non-compliance.

Would you be upset if Instagram of Facebook was down during your Disney World vacation?