No More Princesses As Genders Are Removed At Disney

New attractions, new shows, new parades, and new restaurants.

There are always changes being seen at Disney Parks, whether it is something welcomed like the return of the Festival of Fantasy parade or Disney’s Fantasmic! spectacular or denounced like Disney Genie or the Park Pass Reservation system.

But now, amid controversy surrounding Disney’s focus on inclusion, Disney has revealed that all mentions of gender have been removed from its theme parks.

Contention surrounding The Walt Disney Company’s failure to denounce the new Florida legislation snowballed into a public relations disaster for Disney, leading to a Cast Member walkout and a fallout with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Disney initially remained silent regarding the Parental Rights in Education Bill. Critics have dubbed the bill the “Don’t Say Gay” bill and are concerned that it would target the LGBTQ+ community, restricting conversations about gender and LGBTQ+ identities in schools.

Disney made a point of preaching its Inclusion Key in its Disney Parks and movie portfolio but was scrutinized for not making a public statement regarding the new bill in Florida – with Disney CEO Bob Chapek receiving the most backlash from fans and Cast Members.

Now, after facing pressure to oppose the Florida bill from the LGBTQ community, Disney has revealed that all gendered greetings have been removed from its Parks, including Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney Word.

Vivian Ware, Disney’s diversity and inclusion manager, revealed the news in a video posted to Twitter by writer Christopher F. Rufo:

Disney diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware says the company has eliminated all mentions of “ladies,” “gentlemen,” “boys,” and “girls” in its theme parks in order to create “that magical moment” for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles.

SCOOP: Disney diversity and inclusion manager Vivian Ware says the company has eliminated all mentions of "ladies," "gentlemen," "boys," and "girls" in its theme parks in order to create "that magical moment" for children who do not identify with traditional gender roles. pic.twitter.com/OWsGTUoeCA

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) March 29, 2022

 

The video shows Ware giving a presentation entitled “Reimagine Tomorrow”, in which she claims that last summer, Disney removed all gendered greetings in live spiels and narrations that accompany attractions, transportation, and shows at Disney’s theme park Resorts:

“So we no longer say ‘ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. We’ve provided trainings for all of our our Cast Members and in relationship to that so now they know it’s, ‘hello everyone’ or ‘hello friends.'”

Ware goes on to explain that Disney is currently in the process of altering recorded messages at its Parks, with the phrase “dreamers of all ages” replacing “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” for announcements at the Disney Enchantment fireworks show at the Magic Kingdom Park. 

The reasoning behind these changes was about inclusion. Ware explains in the video that removing gendered language from Disney Parks has changed how Cast Members engage with Guests, saying they now can interact “in a meaningful and inclusive way that makes it magical and memorable for everyone.”

It’s all about that “magical moment” for Guests at Walt Disney World and Disneyland, with Ware adding, “we don’t want to just assume because who someone might be in our interpretation, maybe presenting as a female that they may not want to be ‘princess.'”

These changes will hopefully allow even more Guests, as well as Cast Members, to feel included while visiting the Parks, and signal a turning point for The Walt Disney Company after the political and cultural controversy of the “Don’t Say Gay” Florida bill.