Will Disney Parks Ban Influencers After Viral Contraband Incident?
Disney Parks could be close to a total ban on all Influencers after a video of an incident involving a Guest and contraband materials went viral online.Since Walt Disney opened Disneyland Park in 1955, Guests have enjoyed documenting their visits to the Disney Parks using personal cameras. As a result, Disney even began to provide designated photo locations sponsored by camera retailers like Kodak and offer professional PhotoPass photographers for select photo ops and character meet-and-greets.
However, with the rise of cellphone cameras, Go-Pro filming equipment, and social media platforms, souvenir mementos have become a mass market ripe for content creation. In fact, Disney “influencers” have developed a niche of curated content, building their brands by visiting Disneyland and the Walt Disney World Resort.
For example, YouTube is rife with ride-through videos filmed by Guests while onboard an attraction and Disney fans have devoted their lives and wallets to capturing the newest and exciting takes for Instagram and TikTok accounts. In particular, a recent incident went viral after one Guest broke Disney Park safety regulations to smuggle in contraband materials for a “perfect shot.”
A video of the Guest posted to TikTok by @thenostalgiclatino gained worldwide attention after fans noticed she had snuck illegal fireworks into the theme park. In the video, you can see the Guest standing before Sleeping Beauty Castle during the Disney 100 Anniversary Celebration at the Disneyland Resort, which celebrates one hundred years of the Walt Disney Company:
The influencer holds what appears to be a cake styled after Mickey Mouse’s signature red trousers, complete with a lit sparkler on top in lieu of a candle. People stare as the Guest, wearing a matching red dress, white boots, and Minnie Mouse ears poses before the Castle until a Disney Cast Member approaches the scene, gesturing for the Guest to stop blocking the walkway and put out the active firework.
Moreover, you can hear the Guest Relations Cast Member (in plaid) tell the offending Guest, “You have to put that out, and I’m going to get security.” Of course, the open flame poses a safety risk to Disney Park Guests and violates Disneyland Resort rules, which prohibit “fireworks or other similarly explosive and/or flammable objects, smoke machines or fog machines.”
Although no one has identified the so-called Disney Influencer yet, plenty more Park personalities would have been easily recognizable to many Disney lovers active in fan spaces online were they to pull a similar stunt. However, as this Guest was likely escorted from the Park at best and banned for life at worst, we don’t recommend their methods to garner online fame.
If similar behavior continues to inconvenience other Park-goers and Disney Cast Members, a full-out ban on live streaming, filming, and personal photography devices could go into effect soon.
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I hope it happens. The wailing and gnashing of teeth that’d occur. It’d be perfect.
