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Disney Under Fire For Adding New Restriction, Discriminating Against Specific Guests

A majestic castle with blue spires towers over a courtyard, surrounded by medieval-style buildings with brown and tan exteriors. The clear blue sky overhead enhances the enchanting atmosphere, reminiscent of Walt Disney World, while a prominent sword in the foreground adds a fairytale-like element to the scene.
Credit: Disney Dining

In recent years, the Walt Disney Company has proven itself to be dedicated to inclusion and how important it is in a place like Walt Disney World or Disneyland Resort.

The Walt Disney Company Is Dedicated to Promoting Inclusivity

little mermaid jonah hauer king prince eric on beach ariel halle bailey little mermaid

Credit: Disney

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From Disney Park promotional material to films such as Strange World (2022), the Walt Disney Company is doing its best to fight discrimination by showing how welcoming it is for employees and guests alike.

To this day, the Walt Disney Company is still fighting the consequences of sticking up for the LGBTQ community after openly opposing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill. Not only that, but anyone can see that Walt Disney Studios is currently producing movies with more prominent characters of color than ever.

Regardless of factors such as skin color, gender expression, or sexual orientation, everyone is welcome at Walt Disney World Resort…but things can’t always be entirely welcoming.

Are There Limits to Inclusivity? Disney Appears to Believe So…

It's a small world doll in wheelchair at magic kingdom

Credit: Disney

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Body positivity is an essential movement, setting out to change the perceptions of weight and size on both an individual and societal level.

Typically, Walt Disney World is one of the best vacation destinations in terms of size inclusivity. Unlike its biggest competitors, such as Universal Orlando Resort, the ride vehicle restraints are usually comfortable for all riders, with the exceptions being few and far between.

universal studios orlando rip ride rockit

Credit: Jeremy Thompson on Flickr

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Universal Orlando Resort is known for having more intense thrill attractions than Walt Disney World. As a result, some of the ride vehicle restraints are tighter and are more uncomfortable for specific riders.

As Walt Disney Parks attempts to emulate their biggest competitor and create more thrilling attractions, the ride restraints become increasingly uncomfortable for certain riders. In short, Walt Disney World is a vacation destination where guests of all shapes and sizes can enjoy everything it has to offer…or at the very least…it used to be.

The addition of Magic Kingdom’s newest attraction has thrown a wrench into Disney’s inclusivity plans.

Magic Kingdom’s Newest Attraction Is Anything But Inclusive

kids on ride tron lightcyle run trailer magic kingdom walt disney world

Credit: Disney

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TRON Lightcycle/Run is Magic Kingdom’s newest roller coaster attraction, and the ride vehicles are some of the most unique creations by Walt Disney Imagineering to date…That being said, they’re not very size-inclusive.

The nature of the ride vehicle restraints suspend guests forward, with restraints keeping their legs in place as they lean forward, as if riding a motorcycle. Needless to say, it’s not incredibly comfortable for all riders.

That means that not everyone can enjoy this attraction. But to make matters worse, the official Disney World website has even added a new restriction to the attraction’s “Safety, Accessibility, and Guest Policies,” which reads:

The seating and restraints on this attraction may prohibit Guests of certain body shapes or sizes from riding.

Unfortunately, Disney is breaking its own rules with this discriminatory language.

kids on ride tron lightcyle run trailer magic kingdom walt disney world

Credit: Disney

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That’s not to say that there aren’t alternatives in place. While the TRON Lightcycle/Run vehicles may be shaped like a futuristic motorcycle, there are traditional seats on a couple of the ride vehicle coasters (known as ‘Lightrunners’).

That being said, guests who prefer to use these coaster carts will need to wait until they become available, and may have to wait longer as a result.

Do these alternative ride vehicles excuse Disney’s use of discriminatory language and restrictions? What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

About 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.

2 comments

  1. I don’t think it’s as big of a deal as people are making it out to be. I have MS. I visit theme parks in wheel chairs and can’t climb stairs. Water slides are often inaccessible for me, which isn’t the most fun, but reality exists and I can’t get up there. You can be too tall to be a fighter pilot and your size or abilities can prohibit you from enjoying certain theme park rides. Realistically MS itself prohibits me from enjoying the parks in general, and so the rides themselves are the least of my worries.
    The language stating the restrictions on this particular attraction is realistic and straight-forward.

  2. I don’t think there is anything wrong w with the wording. It sounds pretty straightforward.