Walt Disney Imagineering has unmasked the thief behind its Society of Explorers and Adventurers riddle hunt, and her name is Hazel Hightower. S.E.A. archivist Bonnie Booker confirmed the reveal on October 20th, calling Hazel “another surprise in the Hightower legacy.” That last name ties her to Harrison Hightower III, the S.E.A. adventurer behind Tower of Terror at Tokyo DisneySea. Bonnie also says one final riddle has turned up, and it seems to point to a specific location.
Walt Disney Imagineering Reveals Hazel Hightower as the S.E.A. Artifact Thief
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Hazel Hightower is the newest S.E.A. character and the thief behind the missing D23 artifact.
- The S.E.A. ties together attractions around the world, including Jungle Cruise, Skipper Canteen, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Magic Kingdom.
- Every riddle in the hunt is broken down, along with the one final riddle Bonnie Booker says points to a specific location.
Two months of riddles finally have an answer. The hunt started with a crate opened at D23 in Anaheim and ended with a name, plus one more puzzle for fans who aren’t ready to retire their field notes. Here’s a rundown.
What Is the Society of Explorers and Adventurers?
The Society of Explorers and Adventurers, or S.E.A., is a fictional organization that Imagineers have woven through attractions and restaurants at Disney parks around the world. Disney says the Society dates back to the 1500s, when seafarers, scientists, inventors, and artists founded it. Its earliest known headquarters is Fortress Explorations at Tokyo DisneySea. The Society’s motto, Exploratio Continua, translates to continued exploration. Disney describes the group’s purpose as a mission “to reveal truths, right wrongs, and live to tell the tale.”
Over the centuries, the Society grew into a worldwide network of travelers chasing knowledge, adventure, art, and cultural artifacts. Not every member chased them honorably, which is part of the fun. Some are scholars and caretakers. Others are collectors who took what they wanted and paid for it later, sometimes in spectacular fashion.
Disney says today’s members are just as varied, from academics and artists to athletes. Bonnie Booker fits right in. She looks after the S.E.A. archive as a part-time historian, part-time curator, and full-time explorer, according to Disney. Other members you can find through the parks include Harrison Hightower III, Lord Henry Mystic, Mary Oceaneer, Camellia Falco, and Dr. Albert Falls.
The Society made its first in-park appearance when Tokyo DisneySea opened in 2001. Many fans trace its spirit even further back, to the Adventurers Club at Pleasure Island. That nightclub opened at Walt Disney World in 1989 and closed in 2008, and its members still turn up as nods in S.E.A. locations today. From Tokyo, the Society spread to Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland, and Magic Kingdom. In 2021, Disney+ reportedly began developing a S.E.A. series, a sign of how much the lore has grown beyond a few hidden details.
Where to Find the S.E.A. at Walt Disney World
You don’t need a flight to Tokyo to step into the Society’s world. Three of the S.E.A. stops sit within a short walk of each other at Magic Kingdom, in Adventureland and Frontierland.
Jungle Cruise is the easiest place to start. The 2021 update to the attraction introduced Alberta Falls, granddaughter of S.E.A. member Dr. Albert Falls. Alberta took over the family shipping business after her grandfather vanished in 1930, and she turned it into the river tour guests ride today. Watch the rhino scene closely, too. Entomologist Dr. Kon Chunosuke is a fellow S.E.A. member, and Alberta invited him aboard after spotting the Society’s logo on his backpack.
Right next door, Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen turns that same story into a meal. The restaurant has three dining rooms, including the S.E.A. Room, once a secret meeting place for the Society. The Jungle Room next to it was formerly the Falls family parlor. Ask about the S.E.A. Room when you check in, since it puts you right inside the lore.
Over in Frontierland, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad carries some of the Society’s most recent storytelling. Its backstory names prospector Barnabas T. Bullion as a key member of the S.E.A. The U.S. government granted Bullion 340 acres, including Big Thunder Mountain, in a land grant signed by President James K. Polk. His Big Thunder Mining Company dug for gold until the mountain fought back. Look for his land grant and the founder’s portrait in the queue.
The ride also reopened in May 2026 with smoother track and new scenes, including a refreshed Rainbow Caverns lift hill. That glowing cavern makes a fun stop for S.E.A. fans this year. The stolen artifact in this hunt, the Ridge Jewel, traces back to Disneyland’s own Big Thunder town of Rainbow Ridge.
Beyond Walt Disney World, the S.E.A. shows up at:
- Disneyland: Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Tropical Hideaway, and the Adventureland Treehouse
- Tokyo DisneySea: Fortress Explorations, Magellan’s restaurant, and Tower of Terror
- Hong Kong Disneyland: Mystic Manor, home of Lord Henry Mystic, and the Explorers Club Restaurant
How the S.E.A. Riddle Hunt Unfolded
The mystery began in August inside Imagineering: Horizons, the largest pavilion Imagineering has ever brought to D23. Disney first teased the moment as a chance to see a newly rediscovered artifact, pulled from a three-month effort to catalogue the S.E.A. archive. During a panel called An Inside Look at the Society of Explorers and Adventurers, Imagineers opened the crate on stage. Disney says it had sat unopened for at least a century.
Inside, the audience found a pile of bricks and a mysterious note from whoever took the artifact first. The thief had left riddles behind, each one hiding a letter of their name. Those letters arrived out of order, so fans had to collect every one before unscrambling the answer.
From there, Bonnie posted the riddles to Walt Disney Imagineering’s Instagram account and invited fans to act as honorary S.E.A. field researchers. Fans could find every answer in photos of Disneyland, so anyone could play along from home without a trip to California. Disney’s own recaps walked through each step:
- Riddle 1 pointed to Main Street USA.
- Riddle 2 appeared to reference the Lilly Belle car on the Disneyland Railroad.
- Riddle 3 arrived with a clipping from a March 1886 S.E.A. newsletter, and the first three answers gave fans T, L, and A.
- Riddle 4 all but confirmed the Ridge Jewel as the missing artifact.
- Riddle 5 added even more references to the jewel.
- Riddle 6 introduced time travel and pointed to the Swiss canton shields at the entrance to the Matterhorn Bobsleds queue.
- Riddle 7 pointed to the commemorative oars at The Tropical Hideaway, asking whose river expedition took place in 1831.
- Riddles 8 through 11 filled in the remaining letters, with the final two arriving October 19th.
Imagineers “investigated” right alongside fans, building evidence boards to track every clue, piece of lore, and lead. The clues also built a profile of the culprit. Disney says the S.E.A. had once rejected the thief, who likely stole the Ridge Jewel described in that 1886 clipping. That clipping places the jewel’s discovery in Rainbow Ridge, the mining town at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disneyland.
The thief also left clues across different time periods, and that detail turned out to matter most. Riddle 6 included the line “I can go anywhere, anytime, and tell my tale.” Bonnie later shared a schematic for a device called the Timeskipper, with notes about tuning it to a chosen time and making it work only for its wearer. Someone smudged out the inventor’s name, and the same symbol from the thief’s note in the D23 crate sits in its place. A time traveler would explain how someone could take an 1886 jewel and still leave riddles for fans in 2026.
By October 9th, fans had eight letters: T, L, A, R, O, E, E, and Z. The last four riddles supplied the rest, completing a 14-letter name. Unscrambled, those letters spell Hazel Hightower.
Who Is Hazel Hightower?
Hazel’s letter to the Society settles the family question right away. Her father was Harrison Hightower III, one of the S.E.A.’s most notorious members. Harrison was a wealthy explorer and collector who built the Hotel Hightower in New York to show off his treasures. Many of those treasures came from far-off temples and tribes, and not always by fair means.
His story ended on New Year’s Eve 1899. Hightower unveiled a cursed idol called Shiriki Utundu at a press event, rode the elevator to his penthouse, and vanished. Tower of Terror at Tokyo DisneySea picks up in 1912, when the New York City Preservation Society leads guests on tours of the shuttered hotel. Imagineers modeled Harrison’s look on Disney Legend Joe Rohde, which gives the character a fun real-world tie to Imagineering itself.
Hazel says she was born in Egypt on April 1st, 1881. She admits her father was a controversial figure and that she doesn’t agree with everything he did. Still, she loves him, and she credits him with teaching her to chase her curiosity and value an adventurous life. He disappeared right before she started university in London, and she never learned what happened to him.
After graduating, Hazel felt lost and applied to join the S.E.A., hoping it would give her direction. She even showed the Society her school plans for a time-traveling device. The S.E.A. turned her down because she was a Hightower, assuming she would cause the same trouble her father had. That rejection explains the clue fans uncovered back in September.
Hazel left that day with two goals. She wanted to prove she was the greatest adventurer of all time, and she wanted to show the world “the name Hightower doesn’t define me.”
How Hazel Stole the Ridge Jewel
The answer to the stolen artifact goes back to Hazel’s childhood. Her father once brought her along on a trip to Rainbow Ridge, a small mining town on the western frontier, where he met with other S.E.A. members. The town was celebrating a fresh discovery from its mines. Miners had found a large, egg-shaped geode filled with rainbow crystals, and the town named it the Ridge Jewel and put it on display.
The jewel later went missing, and Hazel remembers S.E.A. members discussing it as a scandal. Years later, on the day the Society rejected her, she connected the dots. Her father, who always had to bring home a souvenir, must have taken it. Returning the jewel became her way to prove she wasn’t like him.
Hazel spent the next few years finishing her time machine, the Timeskipper, and used it to skip back to the day after that Rainbow Ridge trip. She found her father with the jewel. Harrison had hidden it inside an official S.E.A. crate in his collection, likely so he could blame the Society if anyone ever found it. Before anyone sealed it, Hazel swapped the jewel for her note. That is the same crate Imagineers finally opened at D23.
From there, Hazel skipped across time leaving riddles, even visiting times and places where famous S.E.A. members had been just to taunt them. Something unexpected happened along the way, though. The more she traveled, the less angry she felt, and she says the adventure healed her and changed her for the better.
Hazel settled in Rainbow Ridge for a while, enjoying the town and its people. Then restlessness kicked in, and she set the Timeskipper for somewhere far away. Her letter says she set out to return the jewel, but it doesn’t spell out where the jewel ended up. Hazel signs off as Hazel Louise Hightower, calling herself a little bit villain and a little bit hero.
Dearest Society of Explorers and Adventurers,
By now, at least some of you have discovered my name, Hazel Hightower. Indeed, it was I who stole your artifact. And while that may seem significant, it’s now such a small part of my story. If you lend me a moment of your time, I can tell you my story in my own words – no riddles in sight.
I was born on April 1st, 1881, in Egypt. My father was Harrison Hightower III. Now, I know better than anyone what a controversial figure he was, and I personally don’t agree with all his actions and decisions. But I love him, and he taught me to chase my curiosities, and that an adventurous life is a valuable one.
My father mysteriously disappeared right before I started university in London, and I have never found out what happened to him. After he disappeared, I was distraught and directionless. I buried myself in my studies as a distraction, but after I graduated, I still felt lost. So, I sought to become a member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers like my father. I hoped S.E.A. would give me the direction and inspiration I was seeking. I even showed them the plans I had been working on in school for a time-traveling device, because what greater adventure could there be than to travel across time? I thought they would be impressed.
They rejected my application. Their reason? I am a Hightower. My father caused enough problems within the organization before he disappeared, and they assumed I would be just as problematic.
This rejection, and their assumptions about my character… infuriated me (my father always told me my temper would get me in trouble). As I left the Society headquarters that day I set my mind to two things:
Proving to S.E.A. that I was the greatest adventurer of all time, and that they were fools for rejecting me.
Proving to the world that the name Hightower doesn’t define me.
I traveled to my father’s home in New York to ponder my plan. As I sat there trying to think clearly, I kept thinking about my father and all the treasures he would bring home from his adventures. He would return from some far-away place and show off a new artifact to me. I always marveled at their beauty. One time, when I was just a child, my father brought me on one of his adventures – to a small American mining town in the western frontier called Rainbow Ridge. He was meeting other members of your… sometimes-esteemed society and let me tag along.
The town was celebrating a recent discovery in the mines, a large egg-shaped geode filled with rainbow crystals and had dubbed it – the Ridge Jewel. They put it on display for the entire town to enjoy. On the day I got rejected by S.E.A., I remembered something that I had forgotten long ago. That beautiful egg had gone missing. I remember its disappearance being discussed at S.E.A. gatherings as, “quite the scandal.” It all started to connect for me. It must have been my father who took it. He never could help himself. Always had to have a souvenir.
That’s when I knew, to prove I wasn’t like my father; I needed to return the Ridge Jewel.
But I wasn’t satisfied. It wasn’t enough. In those moments I so desperately wanted to humiliate S.E.A. – make them feel as small and unimportant as they had made me feel. How could I damage the egos of so many members at once?
They had laughed at me when I told them what I had been working on the past few years – a time traveling device that I nicknamed, the “Timeskipper.” These adventurers and explorers had seen it all, traveled to every corner of the world, explored the darkest caves and the highest mountain peaks. I had to have one adventure that none of them could achieve – time travel.
So, I spent the next few years finishing my great work – the Timeskipper. When I was ready to test it, I knew I wanted to try and discover where my father had taken the Ridge Jewel. I had to be very careful about where I chose to go, because I knew I wanted to return the Jewel on the same day he took it, when I was with him at Rainbow Ridge. I set the Timeskipper to the day after our trip, and successfully “skipped” into my own past.
For the first time since the night he disappeared, I saw my father and indeed, he had the Jewel with him. I discovered that after he stole the Jewel, to avoid scandal, he hid his newly found treasure inside an official “S.E.A.” crate within his vast collection. I think his plan was that if the egg was ever discovered, he could try and blame S.E.A. for its disappearance. Before the crate was sealed and moved, I took the egg and replaced it with the note that I assume you found. You see, since I had my Timeskipper, it didn’t matter where or when my note was discovered. I had all the time in the world to execute my plan.
And so, with the Ridge Jewel in tow, I continued skipping across time and leaving behind my riddles so that one day, members of S.E.A. would piece together my story and remember my name. I even traveled to times and places where famous members of S.E.A. had been, just to taunt them and prove I could. However, I discovered something very strange on my adventure. The more I traveled across the world and across time, the less angry I became. My adventure slowly healed my wounds. And I suppose that’s the point my new friends, seeking adventure and discovery, opens our minds to new possibilities. It can change us dramatically. In my case, I think it changed me for the good.
I settled in Rainbow Ridge for a while after that night, enjoying the town and its people. But, as perhaps you’ve clued together – I’m a restless soul and easily bored. I decided to test the limits of my Timeskipper, and aim for a faraway place.
two
Now you know my story (most of it). Maybe you see me as a villain, maybe a hero, and the truth is I’m a little bit of both. No matter what you believe – I wish you nothing but luck on your next adventure.
Until next time,
Hazel Louise Hightower
The Final Riddle and What Comes Next
The hunt has one more step. Bonnie says another riddle appeared after the reveal, and it seems to point to a specific location. It came with a farewell from Hazel, and Bonnie answered with a note of her own. She says Hazel inspired her to build a future for adventurers who are brave and ambitious, and that the hunt changed her for the better.
The glorious Rainbow Ridge Jewel is viewable in full vibrant glory at the Ticket Booth outside of Pioneer Mercantile in Frontierland at Disneyland park. Beginning today, for a limited time, guests with admission to Disneyland park can witness this rare artifact and ask a cast member at Pioneer Mercantile or use a MagicBand+ to receive a complimentary commemorative ticket from Hazel Hightower herself, as a token of her congratulations for your incredible detective work.
The hunt was a free and clever way to send fans back through the parks they love. It rewarded longtime S.E.A. fans for knowing their Matterhorn shields and Tropical Hideaway oars, and it gave newcomers a reason to look closer. A new Hightower also gives Imagineers one more character to weave into the parks, wherever she turns up next. If you cracked the name before October 20th, you’ve earned your honorary field researcher title.
Keep Reading
- Get the full story behind Barnabas T. Bullion and the mountain that fought back in our complete lore and backstory of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
- Before the crate ever opened, we previewed Imagineering: Horizons, the record-setting D23 pavilion where the S.E.A. mystery began.
- Meet Alberta Falls and the rest of the crew in our detailed look at the new Jungle Cruise characters.
- Our 2026 D23 Expo hub collects every reveal from the weekend, from Piston Peak National Park to the Indiana Jones ride at Animal Kingdom.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!