SHOCKING RETURN: Disney Parks Icon Reappears After Unexplained Disappearance

Okay, so this is NOT a drill, people. Stacey J. Aswad is BACK in a Disney commercial, and honestly, I’m still processing this because it’s been YEARS since Disney completely ghosted her and acted like Must-Do Disney never existed. Like, for those of you who don’t know or who are too young to remember, Stacey WAS Disney World for an entire generation of guests.

She was the face you saw on your resort TV when you checked in, the enthusiastic host who told you about all the “must-dos” around the property, and the person whose voice basically said “your vacation officially starts NOW.” And then one day, she was just… gone. Disney pulled Must-Do Disney from the in-room programming sometime in the early 2020s, and Stacey disappeared from ALL Disney marketing like she’d never existed in the first place. No explanation, no goodbye, nothing. Just gone.

And Disney fans have been asking about her ever since, wondering what happened and whether we’d ever see her again in any official Disney capacity. Well, guess what? She’s BACK.

There’s a new Walt Disney World commercial that dropped on January 2, 2026, and Stacey is in it, saying her signature “must-dos!” line, and longtime Disney fans are LOSING THEIR MINDS over this. Because this isn’t just about a commercial. This is about Disney finally acknowledging that getting rid of Stacey was maybe not the smartest move, and that people actually MISSED her. So let me break down everything that’s happening because this is honestly kind of a big deal for anyone who grew up watching Must-Do Disney or who associates Stacey with their Disney World vacations.

The Commercial That Has Everyone Talking

So on January 2, 2026, Disney released this 15-second commercial online, and Gratuitous Theme Parks shared it on X saying “Here’s the full 2025 @staceyjaswad Walt Disney World ad!” And yes, it’s REAL. It’s been verified through Walt Disney World’s Ad Library on Meta, so this isn’t some fan edit or wishful thinking. This is an actual official Disney advertisement.

Here’s the full 2025 @staceyjaswad Walt Disney World ad! https://t.co/Kf3GsdmY2Y pic.twitter.com/677AwiIcNa

— Gratuitous Theme Parks (@GratThemeParks) January 2, 2026

Here’s what happens in the commercial: it opens with a woman walking at night with Cinderella Castle lit up in the background. A narrator starts the classic Disney line: “Here you leave today and enter a world of…”

And then the camera swings around to show the woman’s face, and IT’S STACEY. She looks right at the camera, smiles that signature Stacey smile, and finishes the sentence by saying “must-dos!”

If you watched Must-Do Disney back in the day, hearing her say that word in that specific way probably gave you IMMEDIATE nostalgia chills. Like, that’s HER thing. That’s the Stacey delivery we all remember.

Then there’s a quick montage of Disney World attractions, and we cut back to Stacey standing in front of the castle with Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse. “Hey, girls! How’ve you been?!” Stacey says to them, which is honestly kind of meta because WE’RE all wondering how STACEY’S been since Disney dumped her years ago. She looks at the camera and mouths “Fabulous!” and then the ad ends.

The commercial is part of Disney’s “Walt Disney Worlds” campaign that started in 2025, which is all about how there are multiple different “worlds” you experience when you visit Disney World. Cute concept, but let’s be real, the story here is STACEY.

Why Must-Do Disney Was Such a Big Deal

For anyone who’s confused about why people are freaking out over this 15-second commercial, let me explain the Must-Do Disney phenomenon because it was MASSIVE for Disney fans.

Must-Do Disney was this show that played on the TV in your Disney resort room, and Stacey J. Aswad was the host. She’d show you all these different attractions, restaurants, shows, and experiences around Disney World, and she did it with this infectious enthusiasm that made you excited to go do everything she was talking about.

The show started sometime in the mid-2000s and ran for YEARS. Every time Disney opened a new attraction, Stacey would film new segments about it, so the show stayed current and relevant even for people who’d visited multiple times.

But here’s what made it special: for SO MANY families, watching Must-Do Disney when you got to your resort room was THE thing that marked the official start of your vacation. You’d check in, get to your room, turn on the TV, and there was Stacey telling you about all the must-dos. It was a ritual. It was part of the Disney experience itself.

Stacey wasn’t just some random spokesperson. She became genuinely beloved by Disney fans because she seemed authentically excited about Disney World, not like she was reading from a script. To a lot of people, she WAS Disney World in a way that even Mickey Mouse wasn’t, because Stacey was the person who welcomed you and made you feel like your vacation was going to be amazing.

And then Disney just… got rid of her. By the early 2020s, Must-Do Disney was gone from the resort TVs, and Stacey vanished from all Disney marketing. No announcement, no farewell episode, nothing. She was just erased.

Disney fans were CONFUSED and UPSET. People kept asking what happened to Stacey, why Disney cancelled the show, and whether she’d ever come back. And for years, the answer seemed to be “nope, that era is over, move on.”

Until NOW.

Why This Comeback Is Actually Significant

So Disney bringing Stacey back isn’t just some random casting choice. This is Disney admitting, even if they won’t say it out loud, that maybe they made a mistake when they completely removed her from everything.

For fans who watched Must-Do Disney, seeing Stacey in this commercial hits DIFFERENT. It’s not just nostalgia, though that’s definitely part of it. It’s validation that the thing you loved and missed actually mattered, and that Disney heard people asking about her all these years.

The commercial is also really smart about how it brings her back. They don’t immediately show her face. They build up to the reveal. And for people who remember Must-Do Disney, the second you hear her say “must-dos!” you KNOW it’s Stacey even before you see her clearly. That specific enthusiasm, that delivery, it’s unmistakable.

Having her interact with Minnie and Daisy is also significant because it positions Stacey as someone who belongs in Disney’s world alongside the classic characters. She’s not just some hired spokesperson. She’s STACEY, and she gets to hang out with Disney royalty.

The “How’ve you been?!” line is honestly kind of perfect because that’s what we’re ALL wondering. How HAS Stacey been during these years away from Disney? And more importantly, is this just a one-time appearance or is she actually BACK back?

The Big Question Nobody’s Answering

Here’s what we don’t know: is this commercial a one-off thing, or is Disney actually bringing Stacey back for more content?

The ad is only 15 seconds. That’s not exactly a major commitment from Disney. They could be testing the waters to see how people react before deciding whether to do more with her. Or this could just be a nostalgic throwback with no plans for anything bigger.

The fact that it’s only running online as a paid ad (not even on Disney’s regular social media pages as a normal post) suggests they’re targeting people who are most likely to recognize Stacey and care about her return. They’re not doing some big mainstream campaign here.

But here’s the thing: if enough people respond positively to this commercial, if social media blows up with excitement about Stacey being back, Disney’s going to notice. And maybe, just MAYBE, they’ll realize they should actually do something more substantial with her instead of just this brief appearance.

Disney Fans Are Already Reacting

The responses on social media have been INTENSE. People who grew up watching Must-Do Disney are celebrating, sharing the commercial, tagging their family members who they watched the show with, posting old photos from Disney trips where they remember seeing Stacey on the TV.

There’s this whole wave of “STACEY’S BACK!” energy happening, and it’s genuinely heartwarming to see how many people have such strong positive memories associated with her and the show.

Some people are cautiously optimistic, like “okay but is this actually leading to something or are they just messing with our emotions?” Which is fair! Disney brought her back after years of nothing, so nobody really knows what the plan is here.

Others are already demanding that Disney bring back Must-Do Disney as a streaming show or YouTube series or SOMETHING because clearly there’s still an audience for Stacey’s content.

What Happens Next?

Nobody knows for sure what Disney’s plans are for Stacey beyond this commercial. But the fact that she’s back AT ALL after years of complete absence is significant.

Disney doesn’t usually go backwards like this. They’re constantly moving forward, introducing new stuff, retiring old stuff, and rarely bringing back things they’ve already phased out. So choosing to feature Stacey again suggests they’re at least somewhat aware that people still care about her and Miss-Do Disney.

Whether this leads to more commercials, new content, or even some kind of Must-Do Disney revival remains to be seen. But for now, longtime fans finally got to see Stacey in Disney content again, and honestly, that’s something people have been wanting for YEARS.

Here’s My Actual Take on This Whole Situation

Listen, I don’t want to get everyone’s hopes up too high because this could genuinely be just a 15-second commercial and nothing more. Disney’s done nostalgic callbacks before without actually committing to bringing things back permanently. BUT. The fact that they brought Stacey back at all after YEARS of acting like she never existed is honestly huge. If you’re excited about this, SHOW IT. Comment on the ad if you can find it. Post about it on social media. Tag Disney. Let them know that people care about Stacey and want to see more of her. Because if Disney thinks nobody cares, they won’t do anything else with her. But if they see genuine enthusiasm? They might actually consider bringing her back for real instead of just this tiny appearance. So if you want more Stacey content, make noise about it. That’s literally the only way Disney’s going to know people still want her around. And honestly? After years of wondering what happened to her, we deserve to see Stacey back where she belongs.