Disney

Robert Kraft riding Space Mountain is gonna draw a lot of attention -- which is why a lot of folks at Disney World noticed his mission to help a mournful little girl and her mother smile over the weekend.

Sources inside the Magic Kingdom tell us the Patriots owner and his GF, Dana Blumberg, were all over the park with a woman and her 8-year-old daughter -- the four of them were seen taking snapshots ... one of which caught the attention of a Patriots great.

Hall of Fame linebacker Andre Tippett actually posted one of the group's pics Sunday, saying how proud he was of Kraft and the Patriots organization -- and now we know why.

Our sources at the park tell us the woman they were with is a frontline worker from Long Island whose husband -- himself an essential worker -- caught COVID and died in recent months. The little girl had been struggling with the loss, and we're told Dana and Robert wanted to do something special for her.

From what we're told, they succeeded ... as the group spent 2 days at Disney World and they all stayed at the Grand Floridian -- all on Kraft's dime, we're assuming.

We hear the group got the full VIP treatment ... Fast Passing it on about 20 different rides. We've reached out to Kraft's camp, but haven't heard back.

The waterworks are in full force at Disneyland, which is looking like the most emotional place on Earth as its gates swing open for the first time since the yearlong coronavirus closure.

The Mouse House is operating at limited capacity Friday, welcoming back Disney fans after shutting down the theme park for an unprecedented 412 days ... and even face masks can't hide the joy folks are feeling.

Lots of tears are flowing on Main Street as masked up cast members usher in the first guests of the COVID era. Disney fans lined up in the wee hours Friday morning, champing at the bit to get back into the park ... and you can see some guests literally ran through the park entrance.

Heck, there were even 2 park goers embracing for a masked kiss, clearly going for the 2021 version of the famous "kissing sailor" from VJ Day in 1945.

Disney honcho Bob Iger was on hand for the big day too ... elbow bumping employees.

It's a much different scene from Disney's first reopening in California back in July, when Downtown Disneyland in Anaheim was a madhouse with virtually no social distancing.

Looks like folks are following Mickey's rules so far ... but Disneyland might need to break out some tissue boxes to go with the new hand sanitizer stations.

Twitter is at it again -- calling the "Boy Meets World" spinoff, "Girl Meets World," "problematic" years after it went off the air ... all because of how it dealt with delicate topics.

For whatever reason, several different clips from the show -- which ran on Disney Channel between 2014 and 2017 -- were resurfaced over the weekend ... with many of them drawing the ire of random Twitter users who are criticizing the show with a 2021 lens.

One example ... a clip where the character Farkle expresses he doesn't necessarily believe in God because he can't "see" him, basically suggesting he might be agnostic. Cory Matthews (now playing a Mr. Feeny-esque character) chimes in and explains that just because Farkle can't see God, doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't exist, using ROYGBIV as an example.

Heavy-handed? Eh, maybe. Is it "problematic" and worthy of ridicule ... not at all. Still, Twitter truthers are crushing the show for "pushing" Christian beliefs -- when in reality, all that's happening is an adult is, at worst, trying to influence a kid. Which is ... fine. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Here's another "problematic" theme people are now finding vile and offensive. That same character, Farkle, once said he might be autistic with Asperger's -- which his friends try to deny and convince him otherwise ... which Tweeters *think* means Disney was suggesting being autistic is a bad thing and something to be looked down on -- that's a huge reach.

His friends were just showing concern ... which again, is fine. Just because they weren't throwing him a party for the news doesn't mean they were saying Asperger's is awful.

One last episode that's getting gutted some 4 years later ... 'GMW' touched on communism, of all things. Some of the kids in Cory's history class go full commie -- and they play up the stereotype that communists all think the same and want everyone to be the same.

Cory gives a corny speech praising the fact that differences are important ... kinda punching a hole through the so-called communism doctrine. People are now claiming that Disney intended to shove capitalism down kids' throats ... which yet again, is twisting things.

Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley are officially that couple -- the two got super mushy during an interview together at Disney, gushing over each other uncontrollably!!

The power duo -- which went public with their engagement back in February -- sat down for a couples questionnaire at Disney World earlier this month ... and it didn't take long for the sappiness to flow.

After the interviewer asked, "What is one thing that always makes you smile?" -- the two pointed at each other and swooned.

"This guy," Woodley said. "You," Rodgers added.

Shailene continued, "Oh! You're so cute, baby!" Rodgers followed up, "Yeah. You always make me smile."

The lovefest didn't stop there, though ... when the two were asked how they unwind after a long day -- Shailene said a bath and wine, which made Rodgers chime in with this nugget ...

"I was going to say cuddle time ..."

Shailene then admitted the two sing Disney songs together often ... while Rodgers said the plan for their Disney experience that day was to basically make out all over the park.

Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley's tour of love continues -- the engaged couple hit up Disney World during Easter weekend ... and they couldn't keep their hands off each other!!

Of course, the NFL MVP and actress are fresh off a romantic getaway to Mexico ... which was the very first time we got a glimpse of the duo together since Rodgers announced their engagement back in February.

37-year-old Rodgers and 29-year-old Woodley now appear to be a lot more comfortable showing their love for each other out in public ... holding hands and hugging while walking through Disney in Orlando.

In fact, the couple adorably decided to wear matching Star Wars-themed masks ... and while Woodley added some Minnie Mouse ears, Rodgers settled for a ballcap and Star Wars shirt.

Remember -- Rodgers is a grade-A Star Wars super-nerd ... so we're sure he couldn't wait to get the VIP treatment while checking out the SW: Galaxy's Edge area during his visit.

The couple has a lot to celebrate -- Rodgers' debut episode as interim host of "Jeopardy!" premiered on Monday ... and Woodley hyped up her man by praising his man bun and "super sexy, super attractive" look.

What are ... relationship goals, Aaron??

Shaun Weiss will not be minding the net in the upcoming 'Mighty Ducks' reboot ... but he's still hoping to reprise his role as Goldberg the goalie later on down the line.

Sources close to the OG 'Mighty Ducks' star tell TMZ ... Disney never officially reached out to Shaun about including him in the TV series reboot, even though he heard some rumblings from other actors that director Steven Brill had plans to bring him back.

Ultimately, Shaun never got the call ... and our sources say he doubted he'd be welcomed into the fold anyway, due to his criminal history.

As we've told you ... Shaun has struggled with drug addiction and was dealing with a slew of life-threatening issues, living on the streets at one point and being arrested for meth and burglary -- but he's since cleaned up his act and recently celebrated 1 year of sobriety.

Shooting has already wrapped on the 10-episode TV series, and it was recently revealed most of the stars of the original 'Mighty Ducks' returned for a reunion episode.

We're told Shaun is holding out hope Disney will eventually reach out if the show gets picked up for another season. Fact is, Shaun's character was one of the most popular in the OG movies.

Our sources say Shaun got really emotional when he saw the trailer for the new 'Mighty Ducks' series. We're told it gave him goosebumps and he thought it looked amazing.

Joey Bada$$ has a bone to pick with Mickey and co. -- he claims the Mouse House wouldn't let his autistic cousin into the park without a mask ... to which he calls foul.

The rapper posted a video Saturday which shows three Disney World employees on camera who appear to have been dispatched to deal with a situation. As Joey narrates and gets the names and positions of each worker ... it becomes clearer what's going on.

He says he came to DW with his family -- about 30 people or so -- to celebrate his daughter's birthday. Thing is, one of his relatives is an autistic child ... whom Joey says doesn't understand the concept of mask-wearing and finds it suffocating.

Joey adds, "These guys have completely ruined my family’s trip. We came out here 30+ for my daughter's bday and they turned my lil cousin away, can’t even enjoy this experience anymore" ... going on to tag a number of Disney handles on social media.

We checked Disney's official policy on mask-wearing in their parks that are open -- which, at this point in the States, is only in Florida -- and aside from kids younger than 2 years old ... there are no loopholes for the rule other than eating/drinking, which is standard.

Demi Lovato says she was sexually assaulted as a teenager and is opening up about it for the first time, publicly ... because it's taken her this long to process the trauma.

The singer made the shocking revelation in her new documentary, 'Dancing with the Devil' ... which premiered Tuesday night at SXSW. In the film, she says, "I lost my virginity in a rape."

The film infers the alleged assault occurred when she was 15 during her days as the Disney Channel star of "Camp Rock" and "Sonny With a Chance." Demi says she called the person back a month after the alleged rape and "tried to make it right by being in control and all it did was make me feel worse."

She says of the encounter ... "We were hooking up but I said -- hey, this is not going any farther, I’m a virgin, and I don’t want to lose it this way. And that didn’t matter to them, they did it anyways. And I internalized it and I told myself it was my fault because I still went in the room with him. I still hooked up with him."

Demi claims she developed a serious eating disorder to deal with the trauma, and beat herself up for years ... but she feels it's finally time to share her truth.

As we reported ... the new documentary details Demi's 2018 overdose -- including being declared legally blind in the hospital after she woke up -- along with her many other challenges and triumphs.

James Cameron's blockbuster, 'Avatar,' has reclaimed its throne as the highest-grossing movie ever around the world, which appears to be kinda pissing off the 'Endgame' crowd.

Marvel fanboys/girls laid into Cameron Saturday on word that his 2009 behemoth of a flick had once again climbed to the top of the charts globally upon a re-release this weekend in Chinese markets, putting its new haul at just over $2.8B against 'Endgame's' $2.797B.

China's Film Bureau struck a deal that allowed for 'Avatar' to be re-released in theaters, seeing how they're testing re-opening cineplexes ... but are short on new material. Since 'Avatar' is an all-time great among viewers there, they greenlit its revival on the big screen.

Marvel was gracious in defeat, tweeting ... "Congratulations to @JimCameron, @JonLandau, and ALL of Na'vi Nation for reclaiming the box office crown! We love you 3000." Cameron responded with a blue heart emoji, y'know ... 'cause of the blue forest people.

While the studio is bowing down ... fans aren't. Many are pointing out 'Avatar' appears to be gaming the system with yet another re-release more than a decade later, and seemingly juking the stats in its favor. Yes, the movie has had a handful of re-releases over the years, including a significant one right after its OG one-month theatrical run in late 2009.

Here's the thing ... if 'Avatar' "cheated," so did 'Endgame' to get its huge numbers. That movie was in theaters for a whopping 20 weeks or so, which comes out to about how many months 'Avatar' has been left in theaters total on re-releases (give or take a couple months).

Grace VanderWaal isn't seeing stars, she's seeing dollar signs ... because we've learned she's getting paid a nice chunk of change for her lead role in "Stargirl."

The 17-year-old singer is off to a pretty strong start financially in her acting career after securing top billing in the Disney+ movie, "Stargirl." According to her minor's contract, obtained by TMZ, Grace took home a base salary of $125,000 for the first film, and it looks like she's got a bigger payday on the horizon for the upcoming sequel.

Grace is in line to double her earnings for the second 'Stargirl' movie ... the contract says she'll get paid a cool $250,000 to reprise her role as Stargirl Caraway, and Disney says the sequel is already in development.

We'll do the math for ya ... Grace will earn at least $375,000 just in base pay for both films. And, if there's a third film, she'll rake in $500,000. Yes, it pays well to be a Disney star.

Jim Henson's sense of humor is getting a shout-out on the heels of his beloved series hitting Disney+ -- but as we look back, it's clear his puppets weren't always made just for kids.

The 'Muppets' creator used to work on TV commercials for Wilkins Coffee back in the day (from the late '50s through the early '60s) in which he used early versions of puppets he had to peddle java for the food brand. Millennials are just discovering them ... and are in awe.

One guy wrote, "can't stop laughing at these early jim henson commercials where one guy just kills another for not liking wilkins coffee." Yep, that's the gist of these throwback spots -- it's basically one Henson puppet murking another puppet who refuses to drink the Wilkins.

Some of the pranks are harmless, like kicking the puppet off a tree they're both resting on -- but as you watch on ... you'll see some of the sketches become increasingly violent.

In some of the ads, the stockier puppet gets shot at with a gun, bonked over the head, cut with a razor, electrocuted, boiled alive, tossed off buildings and hot air balloons ... and a lot more. It's all in good fun -- but many are pointing out just how graphic they seem to be. Somebody uploaded a full 14-minute clip of all the Henson Wilkins ads, and it's eye-opening.

Henson also had a stint of doing ads with Claussen's Bread -- in which Kermit himself appeared -- and they too are pretty damn dark ... albeit somewhat watered down.

Of course, "The Muppets" is laced with a ton of adult humor too -- so it's no surprise, really, that some of Henson's material with his prized creations pushed the envelope. Just check out this early 'Muppets' toy commercial, where the dolls threaten violence onto the viewers if they don't buy them.

A lot of this stuff aired in the '50s, '60s and '70s ('Muppets' have been around a long time) ... so something tells us Henson and co. could get away with edgy scripts back then. By the time the '90s rolled around, though, 'Muppets' underwent major rebranding ... to be more kid-friendly.

Anyway, most episodes of "The Muppet Show" are now available to stream -- and folks are remembering the genius who brought it all to life. Henson died of pneumonia in 1990.

He was 53.

Ontario actor Michael Seater was still a teenager when he landed the title role of the easy-going older brother, Derek Venturi -- who would rather be playing in his band than studying for school -- in the classic Disney Channel show "Life With Derek."

He was joined on the family television program by Ashley Leggat as the book-smart older sister, Casey McDonald, Daniel Magder as Derek's sibling sidekick, Edwin Venturi ... and Ariel Waller as the adorable kid sister, Marti Venturi.

Michael went on to be on a bunch more TV programs like "Bomb Girls," "Murdoch Mysteries" and "The Wedding Planners."

The force ain't with Gina Carano anymore ... but Ben Shapiro sure is!

The former 'Mandalorian' star -- who's on the outs with LucasFilm after sharing an offensive post about Jewish people on Instagram -- announced she's signed a new movie deal with Shapiro's conservative media outlet, "The Daily Wire."

"The Daily Wire is helping make one of my dreams -- to develop and produce my own film -- come true," Carano told Deadine.com.

"I cried out and my prayer was answered. I am sending out a direct message of hope to everyone living in fear of cancellation by the totalitarian mob. I have only just begun using my voice which is now freer than ever before, and I hope it inspires others to do the same."

She adds, "They can’t cancel us if we don’t let them."

Carano -- one of the first female stars in MMA -- had a booming career as an actress after leaving the cage ... booking roles in flicks like "Deadpool" and "Fast & Furious 6."

She's most famously known for playing former Rebel shock trooper Cara Dune in the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian" -- but lost the role when her bosses at LucasFilm caught wind of a post comparing her perceived mistreatment of conservatives in the U.S. to the millions of Jews who were slaughtered in the Holocaust.

Shapiro -- who is Jewish -- says his company "could not be more excited to be working with Gina Carano, an incredible talent dumped by Disney and Lucasfilm for offending the authoritarian Hollywood Left."

"We’re eager to bring Gina’s talent to Americans who love her, and we’re just as eager to show Hollywood that if they want to keep cancelling those who think differently, they’ll just be helping us build the Xwing to take down their Death Star."

He told ya he was going to Disney World ... and Rob Gronkowski has already made good on his promise!!

The Tampa Bay Bucs superstar tight end rolled into the Most Magical Place on Earth in Orlando on Monday ... and immediately got into an awesome lightsaber battle!!!

It's all part of Disney's annual Super Bowl celebration -- where they (usually) parade the winners around the theme park just like Tom Brady did in 2002, 2004 and 2019.

There are reports Disney has scrapped the Super Bowl parade this year as part of its COVID protocol -- but Gronk will still get to enjoy the park as a super VIP guest, which is probably super awesome.

Both Gronk and TB12 did the post-game "We're going to Disney World" spot this year after beating the K.C. Chiefs on Sunday ... but Brady is reportedly set to visit the park at a later date.

In the meantime, more theme park snacks for Gronk and his family!!!

Disney World had been shut down for a while due to COVID -- but reopened in July with new safety protocols to keep people safe.

Irene Bedard, the actor who voiced "Pocahontas" in the classic Disney film, was disturbingly vocal during 2 November arrests cops referred to as wildly drunken incidents.

We broke the story ... Bedard was arrested twice over the Thanksgiving weekend in  Beavercreek, OH, and police body cam of the first arrest shows her immediately getting hostile with the officers who showed up to talk to her.

Bedard had a belt in her hand as she repeatedly yelled at the "white man" cops, and then started jumping and screaming, "I'm so crazy" they put her in cuffs.

As we first told you ... the arrest went down at her ex-husband's home, after police responded to a possible domestic violence situation. Cops say she was yelling at her 17-year-old son ... which you can see in the video.

Bedard's second arrest, a couple days later on Nov. 30, was at a hotel where she allegedly harassed an employee. The police footage, once again, shows her get aggressive and refuse to leave.

She got even more out of control ... wildly running around the lobby, and eventually charging at the officer, who managed to take her down and arrest her.

Screw being a thorn in someone's side. Bella Thorne's embracing the sentiment with shiny diamond thorns around her neck.

The one-time Disney star hit up Avi Davidov from Pristine Jewelers at the start of the new year and commissioned him to hook her up with a Cuban link necklace with thorns. It's the first of its kind from Davidov.

We're told Bella dropped close to six figures for the 55 carats and 7 green stones. It's pretty intricate ... took him around 3 weeks to make.

It's one helluva piece of bling, and Davidov's no stranger to creating these beauties. He was the jeweler behind Cardi B's 7-figure diamond ring.