Disney changes 'boys and girls' greeting to 'dreamers of all ages'

‘Mickey Mouse has gone woke!’ Disney sparks backlash as it changes ‘boys and girls’ greeting to ‘dreamers of all ages’ across its parks in bid to be more ‘gender inclusive’

• Disney World has changed its greeting from ‘boys and girls’ to be more inclusive
• The greeting used by the theme park has been changed to ‘dreamers of all ages’
• The new greeting came to light at a fireworks display at Orlando’s theme park
• But the change is believed to be implemented across all of Disney’s theme parks 

Disney World has received mixed reactions after it changed its ‘boys and girls’ greeting to ‘dreamers of all ages’ in its theme parks in a bid to be ‘gender inclusive’.

The new greeting came to light at a preview for Orlando theme park’s ‘Happily Ever After’ fireworks display on Wednesday, but it is believed the change has been made widely across the Disney empire.

The new greeting will be used in more than firework displays and has been implemented across all of Disney’s theme parks, a spokesperson for Tokyo Disneyland told Deadline.

But the change sparked mixed reactions from fans, with many people demanding the original greeting be reinstated, while others praised the new address for being more ‘inclusive’.

Disney World has received mixed reactions after it changed its ‘boys and girls’ greeting to ‘dreamers of all ages’ in its theme parks in a bid to be ‘gender inclusive’

The classic greeting is voiced by Jack Wagner, also known as ‘the voice of Disney’, and it is estimated that over the last 20 years, the park announcer for Disneyland, Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland has uttered the phrase more than eight million times.

It comes after Disney revamped some of its rides, including Splash Mountain and Jungle Cruises, after they were criticized for promoting racial and cultural stereotypes. The entertainment giant also put warnings on Disney+ shows, including The Muppets, Dumbo and Peter Pan, for the same reasons.

Disney has not officially commented on the updated greeting, but a spokesperson for Tokyo Disneyland licensee, Oriental Land Company, said they had made similar changes.

They claimed that they changed their greeting from ‘ladies and gentleman’ to ‘everyone’ in March to make sure people of all sexual and gender identities felt ‘comfortable in the park’.

But some people took to Twitter to criticise the altered greeting, claiming that Disney had become ‘too woke’ and slamming them for being ‘overly sensitive’.

One Disney cast member, who posted a video of the new greeting, said they preferred the original.

The new greeting came to light at a preview for Orlando theme park’s ‘Happily Ever After’ fireworks display, but it is believed the change has been made across the Disney empire 

They tweeted: ‘Disney removes ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls’ from Happily Ever After pre show announcement. Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls FOREVER!’ 

Meanwhile, another person fumed: ‘I’m done with Disney. They’ve become too woke for me. I’m out.

One person simply said: ‘Oh, for crying out loud! Really?’

A fourth person tweeted ‘Utter garbage,’ in response to the new recording. 

And a fifth penned: ‘People and companies really need to stop changing everything that was originally made, discussed or founded on just because people cry and moan. 

‘These things were in place way before the new gen of babies were, there is no way in hell to cater to everyone who whines.’ 

Another wrote: ‘Minor changes ultimately add up to make a different Disney altogether. You don’t see the big picture. 

‘Soon Disney will be a hollow of itself with just characters. Maybe a museum for the woke.’ 

One person simply quipped: ‘Mickey Mouse woke!’ 

But people took to Twitter to criticise the new greeting, claiming that Disney had become ‘too woke’ and slammed the decision to make the change as ‘overly sensitive’

Meanwhile, other fans of the entertainment giant welcomed the change and praised the theme park for being more ‘inclusive’.

One person wrote: ‘REALLY proud of you for the inclusive greeting at your parks. Bravo! Kindness MATTERS.’

Another commented: ‘I love “Dreamers of all ages” because it really makes that super snuggly and more magical. It’s so heartwarming.’

A third said: ‘hot take: “good evening, dreamers of all ages” works better thematically.’

But another person took to Twitter to say they had enough of the politically correct changes, adding: ‘Seriously? Pirates, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, now this too? 

‘I just wish the pendulum would hurry up and swing the other way…I’m so tired of this extremist way of thinking and being overly sensitive to everything!’ 

The tweet referred to Disney parks updating the Jungle Cruise ride at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom in Florida and Disneyland California after claims the ride was racially and culturally insensitive.

Jungle Cruise, which launched in 1955 and remains closed for updates, is being revamped to remove ‘negative depictions’ of native peoples that show them as savages or subservient, Disney confirmed earlier this year.

Tokyo Disneyland claimed they changed their greeting to ‘everyone’ to make sure people of all sexual and gender identities felt ‘comfortable’. Pictured: Fireworks at Walt Disney World

Meanwhile, other fans of Disney welcomed the change and praised the theme park for being more ‘inclusive’

Disney said last June that its Splash Mountain ride was also being overhauled to remove its associations with black stereotypes in the 1946 film ‘Song of the South’, on which it was based.

And when Disneyland in Anaheim, California reopened in May the park debuted a revamped version of the famed Snow White ride, but faced backlash for featuring the ‘true love’s kiss’ scene. 

Changes have also been made to Disney+ streaming service, which launched in 2019, as it now features racism warnings on some of its movies, including Peter Pan and The Jungle Book.

Viewers are shown a disclaimer before the films and shows start, which reads: ‘This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures.

‘These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now. Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.’ 

Movies that include the warning are 1970 musical comedy The Aristocats, 1955 canine love story Lady and the Tramp and 1960 adventure Swiss Family Robinson.

It is Disney’s latest politically correct move after it revamped some of its rides, including Jungle Cruises, after they were criticized for promoting racial and cultural stereotypes

In relation to The Aristocats – a film about a group of musical felines – Disney warns viewers about a scene where one of the cats, who is voiced by a white actor, chants out stereotypical Chinese ‘words’ while playing the piano with chopsticks.

Meanwhile, Peter Pan fans are also warned that Native Americans Indians are referred to as ‘redskins’ in the pre-viewing message.

The Jungle Book, a 1967 adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s novel, has also been highlighted, namely for its depiction of the ape King Louie, which has been accused of perpetuating a stereotype of African Americans.

Last week, Disney dropped the name ‘Slave 1’ from a new television show on its Disney+ streaming service based on the Star Wars franchise.

The ship, which has been called ‘Slave-1’ in previous iterations of Star Wars, belongs to character Boba Fett. It will be renamed for the premiere of ‘The Book of Boba Fett,’ which premieres in December, according to fan site Jedi News. 

Disney also has been holding monthly meetings with advocates from women and minority groups, who look through hundreds of hours of Disney-streamed content for potentially offensive material to flag on its Disney+ service.

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