Daily Fix Re: Hall of Presidents - No Politics Please

[superme80]

How about we just have the presidents, then have an animatronic of Julie Andrews, and she just sings, "A Spoonful of Sugar".

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I haven't heard the Daily Fix but glad to hear Pete's stance as I made a poor assumption. When I saw the article on WDW info yesterday with the link to the petition I assumed the Dis was supporting it. I wanted to question it but didn't want to start a political war but for the record my opinion matches everyone above.
I'll be standing in the corner if anyone needs me.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I think since a precedent with a sitting President speaking was already started - to change it now would look political - REGARDLESS of your politics, would set a dangerous precedent, and be a slippery slope, and I personally don't want to see them start going down that path now.

By the way - TOTALLY agreed with @WebmasterPete and his very eloquently stated feelings today. I may, or may not, support the current President, but I served to defend, and still support, the United States of America, and its democratic system.

Yep.

Once they added the current president speaking, they need to keep it that way.

Otherwise, it would be seen, and rightfully so, as very political.

 

[WebmasterJackie]

Here's today's Fix for those who haven't had the chance to see/hear it yet.

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I do have a fun question, who here would WANT to be an animatronic?
Personally, that would keep me from running for President. Dealing with national security, the budget, foreign affairs, education, etc? No sweat.
Turn me into an overgrown Tiki room bird, uh no thank you, I withdraw from the race.

 

[Hunterr]

While I don't care for Trump one bit, i don't think they should suddenly not include a president in the HOP.
As a local, I've been going to Disney for years, and HOP is still an attraction I've never gone to Him being included might make me actually check it out.

It's not as if he's going to be the star of the show. It's an ensemble cast of animatronics. Doesn't every president have like one line or something?
I'm actually looking forward to how bad it looks, in the sense that they clearly (with obama) are trying to keep all the animatronics looking the same (the kind of aesthetic?)

They can make an a figure look as real as Johnny Depp if they want, but I find it kinda charming how they look like the older animatronics of Disney past.

Also, side question. If Hilary had won, do you think they would have placed her next to/near Bill, or some distance?

 

[andyman8]

It's also important to keep in mind that Disney doesn't operate in a vacuum. Politics seep into the parks, whether they want them or not. I highly recommend doing some reading about the day when the Yippies "invaded" Disneyland. Plus, being a major American corporation, Disney has certain interests that intrinsically get politics involved (for example, they are one of Florida's chief lobbyers; at a federal level, I also foresee them getting involved in copyright/public domain legislation within the next year or two), so the idea that Disney and politics cannot or will not touch is just unrealistic.

That said, I agree with the majority in this thread that Disney at least needs to offer him the opportunity to speak (also, Disney knows that the slight majority of its guest makeup is conservative, so there really want to be careful), but I also think people are well within their rights not to visit the refurbished attraction if they so choose. I don't think it's disrespectful to the office; it's their vacation and they have every right to spend it in the way they chose. Fact of the matter is he said some things that really hurt or bothered some people, and I think it's important to take everyone's feelings into consideration. For those that voted for him, they'll want to see him speaking there. For those that felt hurt by what he said, they'll obviously avoid it. Both are reasonable and equally as patriotic if you ask me.

Personally, I haven't visited in a while and probably won't visit for the foreseeable future. As someone who has been mocked as both an adult and child for his disability, I don't think I'll be anymore motivated to visit with him featured there (I'm not arguing about this, so please don't waste your time; trying to keep politics to a minimum), but the larger reason why I haven't been visiting lately is for another entirely different reason: the audience. I just think people seem to lack common respect and decency these days. Many times, I've heard folks yell something nasty at one of the figures. They've done it to Bill Clinton. They've done it to George W. Bush. They've done it to Barack Obama (in some cases, yelling words that don't belong anywhere in a civilized society, let alone a Disney theme park). If you honestly feel like you're not going to be able to sit through the show quietly and politely, then don't go (like I said, you have every right not to), but don't disrupt others' experiences. It seems people are increasingly incapable of a respectful dialogue on both sides.

In fact, this petition seems to be illustrating this point perfectly. Look at the comments for the DIS article. You've got one side (who usually prides themselves on being accepting and inclusive) making generalizations about anyone who voted for the guy, and then you've got the other side responding by calling them all snowflakes and crybabies. It's embarrassing and it's obivously not exclusive to the DIS. It's playing out all over social media and television, and it makes me embarrased for my country. Hopefully that didn't get too political.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

well said @andyman8! and fully agree about rude comments or their ilk should not be uttered in an themepark attraction

 

[dkrauss]

I completely support what Pete said in the today's Daily Fix!

Doug

 

[DizptchrAJ]

I feel that The Hall Of Presidents is supposed to be about the History of the United States, and history is continuing and will always continue to be written. To see it is to see all the different presidents though out the nations existence, how each one was different or similar because we are a country that is constantly changing. Go there to appreciate that.

If seeing the attraction is going to upset you so much that it ruins your vacation... then dont go. But dont demand that Disney changes an attraction to cater to your preference because your opinion is not any more important than the people who may want to see it for the way it is.

Journalists used to deliver the news and just the news. Then in the eighties companies started buying the news networks. Now the journalists have to make sure they deliver the news the way their bosses want them too. I dont want Disney to be that boss that takes something about history and forces a biased spin on it just to appease certain groups of people.

 

[Accident]

I still don't like that disney removed the confederate flag from the collection of all US flags in epcot. that flag is apart of our history, it belongs in the display of all the flags that have been apart of this country and like it or not, it's an educational topic that includes children learning about it and I think that's a good thing.

President Trump is president. Like him or not he will always be apart of this history and he belongs in the show about American presidents. I think it would be a disservice for future generations to not have him portrayed with the care that disney has given every other president so far. does everyone distrust disney so much that you think they will not add him with care and consideration for the families that will see him?

Now put the flag back up in epcot!

 

[pjweaver]

I don't think Al Gore had invented the internet back in the 70's, if he had a similar uproar may have occurred over Nixon. The web and social media gives credence to every rant that occurs to people. It is also immediate, so while what and how someone feels may change as they get more information their first post is what is remembered.

 

[Maxpowers]

so the idea that Disney and politics cannot or will not touch is just unrealistic

I agree that it's completely unavoidable. The confed flag issue raise by @Accident illustrates this quite well. But it seems a good idea for Disney to avoid overtly divisive issues. All Presidents should be in the Hall of Presidents, but I do think it was a mistake to have the current one do most of the speaking. I don't think you can find many people that will have strong negative feelings about Lincoln (I'm sure some still exist by it's a very small number).

Many times, I've heard folks yell something nasty at one of the figures.

While I think your speaking about when each president is highlighted, this is exactly why I think it was a mistake to have the sitting president be the speaker. We cannot control what every guest will be doing, but why goad them into it?

It's not as if he's going to be the star of the show

Am I mis-remembering it? I thought the sitting pres did most of the speaking no?

 

[Maxpowers]

I do have a fun question, who here would WANT to be an animatronic?

Not sure I'd want to keep it afterwards, but it would be fun to see what they'd do with it.

 

[jcb]

I will still only see four lights no matter which animatronic does the talking.

 

[OKW Lover]

I thought the sitting pres did most of the speaking no?

Disney can do whatever they want to the show. If the sitting president declines a speaking role, Disney can just go back to having Lincoln speaking. Or they can have somebody else entirely doing the talking.

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I just want to thank everyone for sticking to our posting guidelines that state no political discussions on the boards as well as for being kind to each other. I know that these types of convos can be emotion-ridden.

 

[Maxpowers]

Disney can do whatever they want to the show. If the sitting president declines a speaking role, Disney can just go back to having Lincoln speaking. Or they can have somebody else entirely doing the talking.

You might have misunderstood my question. Not questioning whether or not Disney can do whatever it wants. I was asking about the last iteration, did Obama do most of the talking or was I remembering that incorrectly?

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes, I did misunderstand. Yes, President Obama did most of the talking in the most recent version of HoP. I recall a time during the Clinton era that Maya Anjlou had a speaking part.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

I've come to the conclusion that they shouldn't have the current president talk. It's too late now, because the precedent has been set and if suddenly Trump doesn't talk, there will be an outcry that Disney is biased. However, I wish they had never started the practice.

Not because our current president is someone who I abhor, but because our previous president was someone who others abhorred, and our next president may very well be offensive to a different group. The only way to keep everyone happy is to reserve the statements for non-controversial presidents.

Let's just have some long-dead presidents say some famous words, and move on. Let's be frank- no matter WHAT they have Trump say, it will be divisive in some way. He is just so deeply polarizing. Obama was the same- some just HATE him.

Listening to the current president takes you COMPLETELY out of your vacation, especially if you feel strongly about politics. It's better for Disney to not take a stand.