Imagine a Republican president visiting a major tourist attraction in the midst of a severe recession and shutting down that park’s Main Street just so he could deliver an address to a closed audience. The mainstream media would have a field day with that, don’t ya think? They would go on about the economic impact on the park, and about how the insensitive president is depriving children of their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity both to see Disneyland and to see the president up close. The MSM would connect the shutdown of the park’s Main Street to the death of jobs on America’s Main Streets. They might even find one of the president’s former supporters who worked on a Main Street but has lost her job. The MSM would turn the event into a week of coverage and a campaign narrative that the president is out of touch, insensitive to kids, and a threat to Main Streets from Florida to Alaska.
But Obama is taking his magical presidency to the Magic Kingdom, forcing the park to shut down its Main Street and depriving the tourists who spent their hard-earned money to take their families there of visiting an unfettered amusement park, and the MSM isn’t saying boo about it.
In a document distributed to cast members that was obtained by WESH 2 News, Disney outlines what the presidential visit will mean to park operations that day. Disney advises that Main Street, U.S.A., including shops like the Emporium, will be closed to guests from park opening through late afternoon.When park guests arrive, they will be directed through “alternate routes” to enjoy other areas of the park, Disney said. Main Street, U.S.A. will open later in the day, in time for the “Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade” at 3:30 p.m.Disney’s hotel guests will be informed about the changes beginning Wednesday, the document said. Letters will be sent to each guest room and Disney’s in-room television information system will be updated.
The president’s remarks won’t be open to the park’s guests. The White House is handling the “invitations,” meaning it will be a hand-picked crowd. So like Disneyland itself, the magical president will stack the event with a cast of his own choosing.
AFAIK, there are no “on-stage” routes from the main entrance to the other parts of Magic Kingdom EXCEPT Main Street. Which means those who haven’t the privilege of being in the president’s select group, who arrive while he’s there, will have to go through parts of the park no one intends the guests to see. The parts of the parks that are only on the “no kids under 12″ tours. The parts Disney considers to “ruin” the effects.
Also, the shops along Main Street will be closed while Lord High Emperor Obama’s there — and I wonder who’s paying Disney for THAT?
How appropriate that the Cinderella President will be making a speech in front of Cinderella’s Castle. Will his evil fairy godfather be there? Will that ugly sistah be there?
“Will that ugly sistah be there?”
Sure — I presume Mrs. Obama is along too.
What in the wide world of sports would motivate the President to do anything there? Hmmm.
Blame Obama all you want but this is Disney’s decision. The President cannot commandeer private property for his own political purposes. This “Main Street” is not a public road financed with federal funds or controlled by politicals such as a mayor or governor. Disney is allowing this either as a benefit to Obama, to profit from the fees or because they fear regulatory “issues”. In any case, Disney needs to be held to account just like the administration.
or because they fear regulatory “issues”.
It’s Disney’s fault they’re being blackmailed? How does that work?
Disney wants to keep their old copyrights. They start expiring January 1, 2019 unless extended by Congress.
Ridiculous.
Which part? That they don’t want their old movies lapsing into public domain, or that that would have anything to do with this?
Disney may well wish to extend its existing copyrights, but the likelihood of that happening is minimal. The likelihood of that desire having anything to do with Disney acquiescing to Obama’s use of its facilities as a backdrop is nonexistent.
If political considerations entered into Disney’s decisions—and they probably did—such immediacies as irregularities detectable by the IRS, questions regarding unionization or the employment of illegal aliens, compliance with ADA, OSHA, or similar strictures, and the receipt of large campaign contributions surely take precedence.
Returning briefly to the non-issue of Disney being the Big Bad (Copyright) Wolf, this is a fairytale concocted by the anti-copyright Left and the anti-copyright copyright bar, which has been bought into by the credulous far beyond any merit it may have.
It is certainly appropriate that when Obama chooses to address a “Main Street” it should be an ersatz and imaginary Main Street rather than a real one.
Bingo. The venue could not be more appropriate.
Ditto. It’s good to be King in the Magic Kingdom.
“All you need is faith and trust…and just a little pixie dust”
Perfect. Maybe they could open a new attraction “Uncle Obamas Madcap Adventure” Visitors could ride around in little Chevy Volts watching Princess Michelle being rescued from maurauding tea party pirates and racing down recession mountain.
– would have wept.
Obama is high on himself, Disney really has no options, the IRS and every other governmental agency report to Obama. In the “grand” style of Marx or Lenin, he believes himself to be above law and Constitution. Just another reason to get this fool kicked to the curb as soon as possible!
Who can afford Disney these days? Seen the prices? I’m thinking Disney/ABC gets a tax writeoff for the ‘loss of use’ of an empty park…
the guidlines arent letting speak our minds the way we really feel
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The people of the USA is way beyond obamas CRAP ,He shold be empeached for all he has aready done,hes doesnt even have the right to be where he is now in the first place.Hes closes the park because hes so affaid of being shot,not that I think that should happen,but HES AFFRIAD because of what he alreay done to the people of the USA,and now this,Whats to come next.
Funny that you say that the mainstream media would have had a field day criticizing a Republican president for doing this, then go and do exactly that to a Democrat president. Funny, too, that I never heard a peep of criticism when Reagan and G.H.W. Bush visited Epcot twice each.
News reports indicate most visitors were thrilled that the president was there, and a family member who works there tells me that guests who had to walk through behind-the-scenes passages to go around Main Street were excited to be seeing these areas.
How appropriate a president that loves to spin tales to his servants giving a speech in a make beleive land. He could have easily fit in and helped Goofy as a fill in for the day. How can anyone vote for this guy is beyond me.