Dis Unplugged 6/9/20 - A question about the black experience at Walt Disney World

[Tonyz]

Fantastic conversation on the show today - everyone involved should be proud and it's just more evidence of the integrity, empathy, and genuine goodness of the team, particularly Kevin, John, and Pete for not even caring if it negatively affects their business (even though I truly don't think it will).

I do have a question about something Craig mentioned and I'm asking here because I know there's at least a few black commentators on this board. Craig mentioned that he's trying to find more content from black Disney fans because of their different experiences at WDW. Awesome move, obviously. But my questions to the black folks here is... do you think there is a significant difference in your experience at Walt Disney World compared to a white experience?

I ask only because I see Walt Disney World in terms of the "Disney bubble"; our "happy place" as Walt called Disneyland. The "Disney bubble" means that the real world doesn't get in; a place where the stresses and concerns of everyday life don't exist. I hope that this would extend to real world issues of discrimination, prejudice, injustice, and feelings of not being heard/seen/cared about as well.

I look forward to hearing what you have to say!

 

[TummyGirl]

I never usually post but i wanted to weigh in with my specific experiences. When at Disney, it does totally feel like a magical place but I never forget that I'm a black person often in a sea of white people. In the parks, i usually have a great and fun experience. It's usually on the buses or at the resorts that i'll, at times, feel not completely uncomfortable, but "on notice." It's hard to describe exactly how it feels and of course at times I may be feeling a bit hypersensitive when all anyone else is thinking about is getting ready to run at rope drop, but it's something that doesn't turn off just because I am in the Disney bubble. It's not something that ever goes away and it shouldn't. I know that my feelings are a result of a lifetime of having to face and deal with the same racist judgements no matter where I am.

I wish i could be more eloquent with explaining and someone else probably will be (and I'm a copywriter by day! ahh!) but i wanted to say a little something.

 

[Tonyz]

I never usually post but i wanted to weigh in with my specific experiences. When at Disney, it does totally feel like a magical place but I never forget that I'm a black person often in a sea of white people. In the parks, i usually have a great and fun experience. It's usually on the buses or at the resorts that i'll, at times, feel not completely uncomfortable, but "on notice." It's hard to describe exactly how it feels and of course at times I may be feeling a bit hypersensitive when all anyone else is thinking about is getting ready to run at rope drop, but it's something that doesn't turn off just because I am in the Disney bubble. It's not something that ever goes away and it shouldn't. It's who I am but I know that my feelings are a result of a lifetime of having to face and deal with the same racists judgements no matter where I am.

I wish i could be more eloquent with explaining and someone else probably will be (and I'm a copywriter by day! ahh!) but i wanted to say a little something.

No - that was very well said I appreciate you commenting especially since you said you never do! You describing it as being "on notice" really hit. Racism and prejudice certainty doesn't take a vacation for the ignorant... I just hope none of those feelings are ever expressed by a cast member.

 

[MikeTaylor]

I try to avoid WDW news today, but they had a video on YouTube that talked to a DIStwitter personality who's been in the community for a long time and he talked about all of the little stuff that adds up (most shocking was being put in a plantation room at Riverside with the CM being clueless as to why they wouldn't want that-and least shocking would be a CM telling them that they're in the AP line, assuming they were not).

 

[DisGuy101]

I never usually post but i wanted to weigh in with my specific experiences. When at Disney, it does totally feel like a magical place but I never forget that I'm a black person often in a sea of white people. In the parks, i usually have a great and fun experience. It's usually on the buses or at the resorts that i'll, at times, feel not completely uncomfortable, but "on notice." It's hard to describe exactly how it feels and of course at times I may be feeling a bit hypersensitive when all anyone else is thinking about is getting ready to run at rope drop, but it's something that doesn't turn off just because I am in the Disney bubble. It's not something that ever goes away and it shouldn't. I know that my feelings are a result of a lifetime of having to face and deal with the same racist judgements no matter where I am.

I wish i could be more eloquent with explaining and someone else probably will be (and I'm a copywriter by day! ahh!) but i wanted to say a little something.

You hit the nail right on the head. Thats also my experience but it never really bothered me enough for me to not enjoy and have a great time given the huge amount of money I spend each year at WDW. It is sort of an extra weight I carry around though.

I must say that I have only had one bad experiene out of the many many times I have visited WDW and it was at the water park. My kids and I were waiting a while for a tube and the lazy river. A man was on his way out and was walking right at us with his tube, my youngest reached out for it as we were at the front of the line. The guy looked me right in the eye with a nasty look and proceeded to walk right past us and handed the tube to the next person behind us.

As the guy was walking away, he continued to steer us down. I know in the back of my head what it was and that I was not over analyzing it. I told my Daughter not to worry. For every person like that out there, there are 1000 more good people. Guess what. The person behind us gave my daughter the tube. My kids can look back on this experience and remember to be always be nice to everyone no matter who they are.

 

[CoachE]

I never usually post but i wanted to weigh in with my specific experiences. When at Disney, it does totally feel like a magical place but I never forget that I'm a black person often in a sea of white people. In the parks, i usually have a great and fun experience. It's usually on the buses or at the resorts that i'll, at times, feel not completely uncomfortable, but "on notice." It's hard to describe exactly how it feels and of course at times I may be feeling a bit hypersensitive when all anyone else is thinking about is getting ready to run at rope drop, but it's something that doesn't turn off just because I am in the Disney bubble. It's not something that ever goes away and it shouldn't. I know that my feelings are a result of a lifetime of having to face and deal with the same racist judgements no matter where I am.

I wish i could be more eloquent with explaining and someone else probably will be (and I'm a copywriter by day! ahh!) but i wanted to say a little something.

This was well put. Mainly in the resorts and on buses, I feel the exact same way and have had those same experiences.

 

[Lizgistix]

that i'll, at times, feel not completely uncomfortable, but "on notice." It's hard to describe exactly how it feels and of course at times I may be feeling a bit hypersensitive

I get this, but for my personal reason. It's this weird feeling you sense and then you try to shake it off and second guess yourself like it's just your imagination but that feeling keeps lingering until you leave the situation and then everything is fine again.

..or maybe that only happens to me.

 

[Lindsey17]

I don't have anything to add, but will continue to watch this thread. The past 2 weeks I've just been reading people's stories and experiences and trying to learn as much as I can about things I'll never experience. I thank those who are willing to share their experiences and I hope for a better and brighter future for ALL of our children.

 

[UKYRob29]

I try to avoid WDW news today, but they had a video on YouTube that talked to a DIStwitter personality who's been in the community for a long time and he talked about all of the little stuff that adds up (most shocking was being put in a plantation room at Riverside with the CM being clueless as to why they wouldn't want that-and least shocking would be a CM telling them that they're in the AP line, assuming they were not).

Can you tell us where the "plantation rooms' are located?

 

[TummyGirl]

I get this, but for my personal reason. It's this weird feeling you sense and then you try to shake it off and second guess yourself like it's just your imagination but that feeling keeps lingering until you leave the situation and then everything is fine again.

..or maybe that only happens to me.

YUP!!! It's like I KNOW everyone is here to have a good time and let go of everyday worries but I still feel slightly off kilter.

When i say buses and resorts, i think it's because those are places where we are all gathered in relatively smaller-than-the-theme-park spaces (again relatively! stayed at saratoga and legit got lost) and there's more, for lack of a better word, intimate interaction. Think those crowded buses after closing. Even as I type, I can understand how, if one has never felt out of place or singled out because of their skin color (or how they physically look even), then it may seem unimaginable, but trust it's a very real feeling.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Can you tell us where the "plantation rooms' are located?

I don't think they are explicitly referred to as "plantation rooms" but at Port Orleans Riverside there are 2 sections to the resort: the Alligator Bayou section and the Magnolia Bend seciton. The buildings in the Magnolia Bend section is described as "grand plantation–style complexes"

That resort used to be called Dixie Landings

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't have anything to add, but will continue to watch this thread. The past 2 weeks I've just been reading people's stories and experiences and trying to learn as much as I can about things I'll never experience. I thank those who are willing to share their experiences and I hope for a better and brighter future for ALL of our children.

I agree and I have been trying to follow more folks on twitter who are part of the Disney Internet Community and are people of color - and also retweeting and trying to get our their accounts to more people (I don't have a large platform but figure if one additional person gets exposure it is worth it).

Definitely can get the sense from them of how they have different experiences in the parks and, in some ways, even more so within the Disney Internet Community and how they are treated by some other folks on twitter or vloggers or whatever

 

[Heather07438]

"So why were the resorts combined? Disney has never directly commented on the matter, however many believe that Disney wished to distance themselves from the possible racial connotations of the Dixie Landings name and backstory, which was built around a slavery-era cotton plantation backstory. "

https://allears.net/2019/11/08/dixie-landings-what-happened-to-the-port-orleans-resort-of-the-past/
ETA-
https://waltdatedworld.com/id147.htmThe Riverside Mill was original named Colonel's Cotton Mill. River Roost Lounge was originally Cotton Co-op Lounge. Cotton Ball images were replaced with Magnolias.

 

[Heather07438]

'On notice' concept is something I can recognize even tho not a POC. It can be seen on the buses when people choose seats that are not next to POC, or tables at food courts, striking up conversation at resorts or bringing kids over to an area where others are playing. Subtle but I have no doubt it exists, often intentional tho sometimes even subconscious.

Hard to navigate because you can't know the motives behind each instance, you can detect the overall difference. Hopefully more and more people are getting it to question our own behaviors.

 

[Tonyz]

The buildings in the Magnolia Bend section is described as "grand plantation–style complexes"

They're still described that way!? Wow... that should definitely change.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

They're still described that way!? Wow... that should definitely change.

yeah, at least everything I found via google search - including the Disney Parks Mom's Panel, Touring Planes, even WDW Info .... might just be legacy terminology that just hasn't been updated everywhere yet

 

[DisGuy101]

They're still described that way!? Wow... that should definitely change.

I think we should tweet the request on their Twitter page in a manor that is respectful and coveys good reasoning regarding the historical Impact of that naming. Now... how do I create a twitter account? LOL. I am one who likes to stay low and out of trouble but now is the time to speak out I guess.

 

[Twitterpaited]

They're still described that way!? Wow... that should definitely change.

I agree that it could strike a nerve, but is there another way to describe them? Maybe that section needs to be remodeled.

 

[Heather07438]

I'm conflicted on this one.

It was obvious all the cotton references had to go. Then there's the back story of the brothers, one went out to the quiet bayou and the other Colonel living the big life on the plantation. It's enough to make the mind wander and fill in the blanks.

I think it's fine to celebrate the south, just need to be aware of details that can be misconstrued to make it feel like it's celebrating something else. For better and worse, much of the culture included plantation estates. If all references of plantations were removed, does that go too far in the other direction, kinda like trying to erase it happened. Could this be something WDW considered, or did they just overlook it? How do people of color feel about it?

 

[DisGuy101]

I'm conflicted on this one.

It was obvious all the cotton references had to go. Then there's the back story of the brothers, one went out to the quiet bayou and the other Colonel living the big life on the plantation. It's enough to make the mind wander and fill in the blanks.

I think it's fine to celebrate the south, just need to be aware of details that can be misconstrued to make it feel like it's celebrating something else. For better and worse, much of the culture included plantation estates. If all references of plantations were removed, does that go too far in the other direction, kinda like trying to erase it happened. Could this be something WDW considered, or did they just overlook it? How do people of color feel about it?

I feel like if Disney can pull Song of the South, they can absolutely change the naming. Some people will say that it’s not Disney’s job to please everyone in every capacity, but they can at least listen to and try understand people’s concerns regarding historically sensitive material on property.

To this day, I will not sit at the absolute back of any Resort bus. I would rather stand, and people don’t understand why. Its hard for me to go into any bus without out thinking about it. Not only that, the seats back there can get really hot. LOL. Maybe it’s just me with this odd preference.