For a brief moment, this Disney Park made inclusion history. But the moment has quickly passed.
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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.
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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.
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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.
The test of gender-neutral restrooms near Autopia has now completed. The location is back to the original setup (2x rooms marked female – one of these was gender neutral, still 1x male, still 1x family room): pic.twitter.com/BS1HCyu5SN
— DLP Report (@DLPReport) April 7, 2023
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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.