Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney World Resort might be one of the most family-friendly places on the planet, but that doesn’t mean their aren’t places for the grownups of the group to have a little fun as well. Although the company tries to keep a squeaky-clean public image, cigars, cigarettes, and skimpy underwear aren’t exactly things most want their children exposed to.
The Disney Parks fans know and love today is definitely a few shades different from the ones seen in their opening decades. Needless to say, Disney got away with a lot more in the ’60s and ’70s than they ever could in today’s social climate. However, the idea of the company actually promoting smoking habits given Walt’s battle with lung cancer and selling lingerie the same place they sell plush Mickeys is outright bizarre.
Disney World Up in Smoke
While Disney Park Guests can still purchase alcohol and even go to nightclubs on the property today, you probably will find little in the way of tobacco dispensaries and lingerie stores in service, aside from Sosa’s in Disney Springs. A recent Reddit post has Guests sharing their memories of Walt Disney World in its earlier days. u/zplq7957 shared their revelation when they discovered Disney’s history of promoting smoking and tobacco use right in the middle of the Magic Kingdom.
Seeing how Walt Disney passed away due to complications caused by lung cancer in 1966, it feels like heavily bad taste to have his company selling cigars and cigarettes in his theme park. The notion is made all the more grim when fans remember that he was said to never smoke in front of women or children. Hard to believe someone was actually okay with this.
Just Drawn That Way
Of course, we can’t talk about Disney’s naughtier side without mentioning the late Jessica’s of Hollywood. A play on Fredrick’s of Hollywood, the location was a lingerie and souvenir store at Pleasure Island, the predecessor to Disney Springs. u/treynor shared what they saw back in the ’90s in their post on the matter.
The user writes,
“I went to Disney in ’91 and ’92. When entering Pleasure Island, the first thing you saw was this giant moving Jessica Rabbit, which graced a lingerie/souvenir store… I was bummed as to what became of Pleasure Island. Especially the Adventurer’s Club. Downtown Disney is okay, but it lacks the theme park atmosphere that PI had.”
In spite of what Disney has done to attract adult Guests in both the past and the present, some still have the audacity to believe that oh-so-grating phrase, “Disney is just for kids.” Call it a different time, a different audience, or whatever, the Parks are far from the stereotypical sugar job some think.
Ever buy smokes or underwear from Disney World? Tell Inside the Magic about it in the comments below!