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This Disney Park Is Officially Doing Away With Gender-Neutral Bathrooms

For a brief moment, this Disney Park made inclusion history. But the moment has quickly passed.

Credit: Disney

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Recently, the Walt Disney Company has made more significant efforts to make each Disney Park more inclusive of anyone who doesn’t fit what many sociologists call the ‘Mythical Norm’ or ‘Mythical Normal’ (straight, white, cisgender men).

These efforts can be seen in theme parks such as Magic Kingdom, Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and even in Disney Parks in other countries.

Disneyland Paris D-Light
Credit: Disney

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For example, many Disney Parks have been slowly phasing out gendered language during announcements, Cast Members have been trained not to refer to Guests using gender-specific language, and new dolls in wheelchairs have been added to the “it’s a small world” attraction. Most notably, Disney has made efforts to remove racially-insensitive imagery from attractions such as Splash Mountain and the Jungle Cruise.

Avenger Power the Night at Disneyland Paris
Credit: Disney

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Across the pond in Disneyland Paris, however, steps toward inclusion have gone even further with the addition of gender-neutral bathrooms.

In March, Disneyland Paris announced a three-week-long test trial of unisex bathrooms, marking an excellent stride towards inclusion in Disney history. Now that those three weeks are up, the bathrooms have returned to gendered bathrooms.

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While the outcome of this test period is still unknown, it can’t be denied that it was a massive milestone in LGBT history. Will Disneyland Paris continue using unisex restrooms? Or has the test period proven unsuccessful? Will gender-neutral bathrooms make their way to the Disney Parks in America? Only time will have the answers to these questions.

Isabella Reimer

Isabella Reimer grew up visiting Walt Disney World and relocated to Central Florida to be even closer to The Most Magical Place on Earth. She earned her Bachelor’s from Florida State University, where she studied Creative Writing and Women’s Studies. Her biggest hobby is bonding with the ikran at Avatar Flight of Passage, and her retirement plan includes becoming the 1,000 Happy Haunt of the Haunted Mansion.

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