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Credit: DisneyCrowds are urging for a boycott against The Walt Disney Company following a viral incident that continues to be on everyone’s lips.
While Disneyland Resort remains one of the most popular family destinations in America, welcoming millions of guests of all ages every year, it would appear that the Southern California Disney Resort is once again in hot water after a viral incident gained traction, pushing thousands to call for a boycott against The Walt Disney Company, specifically, Disneyland.
The Happiest Place on Earth
Getting a chance to say “Hiya, Pal!” to Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, and their friends, ride classic attractions, live new and immersive experiences, enjoy delicious treats, and be delighted by unique entertainment offerings sure is enough to make the young and the young at heart dream of their next visit Walt Disney’s original theme park, now home to Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, three Disney Resort Hotels, and Downtown Disney District — the resort’s shopping and entertainment district.
At Disneyland Park, guests can enjoy some of the earliest rides to open at Walt Disney’s original theme park, like Peter Pan’s Flight, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, King Arthur Carrousel, Mad Tea Party, Snow White’s Scary Adventures (now reimagined as Snow White’s Enchanted Wish), Casey Jr. Circus Train, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Mark Twain Riverboat, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Storybook Land Canal Boats, and Autopia.
Disneyland Park is also home to the immersive land inspired by George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. In it, guests of all ages can live their own intergalactic adventure as they explore different dining and shopping locations inspired by the distant worlds portrayed in the franchise, giving them a chance to become smugglers and pilot the legendary Millennium Falcon in Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run or show their support for the Resistance in Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance — the two attractions available in the immersive land.
Additionally, guests could meet and interact with First Order Stormtroopers, Kylo Ren, Rey, Chewbacca, and Vi Moradi, a spy for the Resistance introduced exclusively for the immersive land, as well as Ahsoka Tano, General Hera Syndulla, The Mandalorian (Din Djarin) and The Child (Grogu, fondly known as Baby Yoda), Boba Fett and Fennec Shand.
There is so much guests can see and do at Disney California Adventure! Parkgoers can enjoy Buena Vista Street as they walk the roads Walt Disney had in Hollywood, enjoy a hand-dipped corn dog at Award Wieners, travel the globe aboard Soarin’ Around the World, make a splash on Grizzly River Run, and venture into the highly immersive lands at the upbeat park.
Guests can pay Lightning McQueen and Mater a visit in Cars Land to enjoy the neon signage and Radiator Springs Racers, one of the most popular rides in Disney California Adventure.
Or they can become superheroes (or villains) for the day while exploring the Marvel-themed land in Avengers Campus, where they can meet Spider-Man, Loki, Ant-Man, Black Widow, Doctor Strange, and so many more characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And, of course, WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure and Guardians of the Galaxy: MISSION BREAKOUT are must-do rides for every Marvel fan.
Plus, guests can meet Baymax and Hiro from Big Hero 6 (2014) in the newly reimagined area of San Fransokyo Square, packed with delights and shops inspired by the hit movie.
The fun continues at Pixar Pier, where guests can join The Incredibles trying to catch Jack-Jack on Incredicoaster, enjoy an aerial view of Disney California Adventure while riding a swinging or non-swinging gondola on the Pixar Pal-A-Round, or compete for the highest score on Toy Story Midway Mania! The list of rides and attractions never ends!
Unfortunately, not everything has been faith, trust, and pixie dust at Disneyland Resort or for The Walt Disney Company this year.
Disney and its problems
The Walt Disney Company has faced a concerning series of problems throughout 2023, tainting its pristine image during the Disney100 celebrations, commemorating the company’s centennial, with perhaps the most scandalous one being the ongoing legal and political battle against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
However, that hasn’t been the only battle Disney has had to fight this year.
Related: Disney CEO Bob Iger Confirms Marvel Will Be More Inclusive Than Ever
Disney’s unprecedented backlash
Throughout 2023, The Walt Disney Company and its latest releases have faced an unprecedented amount of backlash, from feature films like the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid (2023) starring Halle Bailey as Ariel to Disney+ original movies and series, particularly projects that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe like Secret Invasion (2023) and The Marvels (2023).
Throughout the movie’s production and promotion, Halle Bailey’s The Little Mermaid stirred debate online and polarized audiences, with many criticizing Disney’s decision to cast Bailey as Ariel in the movie, even causing uncomfortable situations for the young singer and actress in international interviews. Regardless, The Little Mermaid broke records in the box office and on Disney+, Disney’s streaming service.
Similarly, the upcoming live-action remake of Snow White, led by Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot, continues to be on everyone’s lips with viral leaks and severe backlash against the movie and the young actress.
The intense backlash of the upcoming live-action adaptation of the beloved Disney classic even sparked rumors of the movie’s cancellation, particularly after Zegler’s strong declarations about the film and Disney’s bold decision to leave little people out of the remake’s cast — a polarizing decision that Disney recently rushed to remedy.
The rumors surrounding Zegler’s performance and the actress parting ways with different projects also led many to consider the project’s complete cancellation. While the live-action remake of Snow White will still hit theaters, Disney made a drastic move, pushing the divisive film’s premiere to 2025, igniting rumors about the reason for this shocking delay.
Disney Parks losing their magic
Additionally, Disney has had to deal with less-than-magical situations at the parks, from hateful demonstrations at Walt Disney World Resort to multiple brawls breaking out on Disney property, guests sneaking restricted items into the parks, explicit and inappropriate demonstrations at the parks, and numerous reports of parkgoers hoarding limited items to resell them.
As if that weren’t enough, Disney also had to fork out millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit with thousands of Magic Key holders in the Golden State, dealing a massive blow against Disneyland Resort.
These increasingly concerning events have triggered opinions on the magic being ruined at the Disney Resorts and experiences being “just a waste” when visiting the parks.
Unfortunately, a viral incident involving the kidnapping of a young girl has put Disneyland Resort in hot water again.
Alleged kidnapping at Disneyland unveiled
The viral incident
Earlier this month, Inside the Magic reported on the alleged kidnapping of a young girl at Disneyland Resort. The first videos claimed that a young girl had been taken by a man from one of the bathrooms in Disneyland through a “secret tunnel,” causing the girl’s mother to demand Disney break the ground under the bathroom to expose the alleged tunnel system and bring her girl back.
The rumored incident allegedly took place in October and gained traction through November — mainly among the Latino and Hispanic communities — with some videos still coming forward on the chilling incident. However, no apparent updates on the scandalous case have been given until now.
Related: Guest Goes Viral After Discovering Suspicious Hole in Disney World Bathroom Wall
Missing child reportedly comes forward
A viral video posted by @glucosaelevada on TikTok and reshared by multiple accounts on the social media platform allegedly showed the young girl victim of the rumored kidnapping talking in what appears to be Fantasyland in Disneyland Park with Mickey Mouse behind her.
While seeing the young girl tell her story is bone-chilling, what is truly terrifying is the lengths that some people are willing to go to spread the rumor of the incident, as the farfetched video is not a live interview but instead the shocking result of the use of artificial intelligence (or AI) to recount the story making the rounds across social media.
AI and the magic of montage
The alleged confession video, which has raked up over 32 million views, takes the misinformation of the rumored disappearance to a whole new level by using stock images and videos entirely unrelated to Disney, Disneyland Resort, and the incident, and pictures generated with artificial intelligence, giving the alleged missing girl “a face” for the first time since the rumor came to light.
The video shows a clip of a woman being detained by what appears to be security personnel, but the scene looks nothing like Disneyland Park or Disney California Adventure; instead, it seems to be a mall. Additionally, the video shows a closing trapdoor leading to a staircase and what would appear to be a secret tunnel.
It is no secret that Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort are home to a series of tunnels under the theme parks for cast members to navigate the parks without interfering with guests’ experiences. However, this video was not taken at Disneyland Resort either; it is instead a video shared by u/WarmingLiquid on Reddit over two years ago. You can see the original video, which appears to be an escape tunnel at a drug dealer’s house by the music playing in the background, below or click here to watch it.
The way this tunnel closes
byu/WarmingLiquid inoddlysatisfying
Since the alleged disappearance came to light, the story has been full of inconsistencies, with some videos claiming that the incident took place on October 10, others on October 12; some stating that the girl was three years old, others alleging she was four, and even six years old. However, none of the videos has provided significant information on the supposed incident, like at what park or land the disappearance took place.
The name had never been revealed until this video came to light, just calling her “Ly,” with no middle or last name. The mother’s name or any information on the family has not been revealed either, making the rumored incident extremely hard to believe.
The supposed incident has even triggered outrageous rumors stating that Disney has some sort of satanic pact and that the company needs to offer children to maintain their status, that the company is the cover for a kidnapping network, and other ridiculous, farfetched theories. Some have even linked the alleged disappearance of the young girl to the man who recently exposed himself naked in Disneyland’s “it’s a small world.”
You can see the video (in Spanish) below or click here to watch it.
(Translated) The missing girl in Disney mysteriously disappeared in the Secret Tunnels of Disneyland in Anaheim California after entering the restroom #disney #niñadesaparecida #disneyland #cuidaatushijos #noticiastiktok #pederastas #tunelesdisney #noticias #missingchild #missingtoddler #sabiasque #thejoeroganexperience #anaheimcalifornia
@glucosaelevada La niña desaparecida en Disney desapareció misteriosamente en los Túneles Secretos de Disneyland en Anaheim California después de entrar al baño #disney #niñadesaparecida #disneyland #cuidaatushijos #noticiastiktok #pederastas #tunelesdisney #noticias #missingchild #missingtoddler #sabiasque #thejoeroganexperience #anaheimcalifornia
Disney and artificial intelligence
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought a series of problems for The Walt Disney Company, with the company facing significant backlash over the alleged “hidden” use of AI in the latest installments of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) presented as Disney+ original series — Loki (2021-2023) and Secret Invasion (2023) — as well as the not-so-hidden use of artificial intelligence in the Disney+ original movie, Prom Pact (2023), which horrified viewers with the imagery used in the original film and concerned experts over the possibility of AI replacing actors in the future.
Additionally, The Walt Disney Company recently took brutal action against an AI image generator, forcing Microsoft to assume full responsibility for any trademark and copyright infringement after a viral trend parodied logos and art styles characteristic of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios.
And with this deepfake video going viral online, it would appear that artificial intelligence is becoming a massive problem for the company.
The “Lost Boys” of Disney Parks
Unfortunately, this is not the first time The Walt Disney Company has been put in hot water due to a missing child scandal. Earlier this year, Inside the Magic reported on a girl disappearing from her hotel room at Disneyland Paris Resort, shocking her family and causing an international outrage.
Additionally, as part of the ongoing legal and political war between The Walt Disney Company and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a massive rumor caused outrage among fans and stirred a heated debate following the implication that hundreds of missing children were buried across Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT — in Orlando, Florida.
It is essential to mention that while young children go missing at Disney Parks worldwide every single day among the massive crowds that attend the parks, Disney Parks cast members and security personnel are trained to ensure their safety and reunite them with their families as soon as possible.
What is your stance amid this viral scandal? Share your opinions on the hot topic with Inside the Magic in the comments below!