Somebody stole from the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, and Disney is letting all of us play detective to figure out who did it. What started as a D23 2026 panel about a “newly rediscovered” S.E.A. artifact turned into an empty crate, a mysterious note, and weeks of Instagram riddles pointing toward one of Disneyland’s most famous mountains. We pulled together everything that has happened so far, from the original D23 reveal to the latest clue, so you can catch up in one place.
What Is the Society of Explorers and Adventurers?
If you are new to S.E.A., here is the short version. The Society of Explorers and Adventurers is the in-universe organization that ties together characters like Mary Oceaneer, Dr. Albert Falls, Harrison Hightower III and Lord Henry Mystic, the fictional explorers whose fingerprints show up across attractions like Jungle Cruise, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The group traces its origins to the 1500s and the mythic Fortress Exploration, and its members spend their time chasing lost artifacts, mapping the unknown and documenting their own history. Their motto, “Exploratio continua,” roughly means “continued exploration,” which is exactly what fans have been doing for the past few weeks.
The Empty Crate at D23 2026
At D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event in August, a panel of Imagineers promised something special: a crate from the S.E.A. archive, unopened for at least a century, that not even Imagineering had looked inside. When the crate was finally opened in front of the crowd, there was no artifact. Just a pile of bricks and a handwritten note. The note revealed that the real artifact had been stolen, and the thief left riddles behind as a trail. Solve the riddles, unscramble the letters they reveal, and you get the name of a brand new S.E.A. character.
Every Clue So Far
S.E.A. Archivist Bonnie Booker has been the one feeding new riddles to the Walt Disney Imagineering Instagram page. Here is what has been solved and shared publicly:
- Riddle one pointed fans toward Main Street, U.S.A.
- Riddle two led to the Lilly Belle car on the Disneyland Railroad.
- Riddle three arrived alongside a clipping from a S.E.A. newsletter dated March 1886. Between the first three riddles, fans have confirmed three letters: T, L and A.
- Along the way, Bonnie shared what the clues have taught us about the thief. They were rejected from the S.E.A. at some point. They are believed to have stolen something called the “Ridge Jewel,” first mentioned in that 1886 clipping. And somehow, their trail of clues spans different time periods.
- Riddle four came as an old typewritten poem describing a jewel found “in the caverns” with a “colorful glow,” in a town nicknamed for being “the biggest little boom.” That is a pretty direct pointer to Big Thunder Mountain’s Rainbow Caverns and the nearby town of Rainbow Ridge.
- Riddle five tied the Ridge Jewel to Jason Chandler, a S.E.A. character already woven into Big Thunder Mountain lore, who is apparently heading back to the American Frontier for a celebration of the jewel’s discovery.
As of this writing, the full name has not been unscrambled yet. Disney has only confirmed the letters T, L and A, with more riddles still expected on Instagram.
What This Could Mean for Big Thunder Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened at Magic Kingdom earlier this year with an expanded backstory built around prospector Barnabas T. Bullion and the towns of Tumbleweed and Rainbow Ridge, plus a new Rainbow Caverns scene. The fact that this scavenger hunt keeps steering fans back toward that same mountain and the same Ridge Jewel is hard to ignore. It suggests S.E.A.’s next character reveal will not just be a name on a plaque. It sounds like it is going to connect directly into the Big Thunder Mountain story Disney just finished retelling.
Our Take
This is the kind of thing Disney does well when it commits to it. A real time riddle hunt with no purchase required, solvable from your couch, that rewards the kind of fan who already has strong opinions about Fortress Exploration lore. The pacing has been smart too. Just enough given away each time to keep people guessing without giving up the answer. If this really is building toward a bigger Big Thunder Mountain story, it is a clever way to get casual fans invested in lore before the payoff even lands.
