Nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition asking Disney to revamp the Hall of Presidents attraction so that it does not feature a speech from President Donald Trump. Since President Bill Clinton was inaugurated in 1993, the attraction has had an animatronic figure of the current president give a short speech. According to petition author Matthew Rodgers of Brooklyn, Trump has "tainted the legacy" of the presidency, and the Magic Kingdom is "not an appropriate place" for a Trump speech.
The full text of the petition:
This is a petition to stop the inevitable Donald Trump animatronic figure from speaking, let alone giving a speech similar to the one given by Barack Obama and past incumbent Presidents, during the "Hall of Presidents" attraction at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
Donald Trump ran a Presidential campaign on hateful speech, misogyny, racism and xenophobia. In doing so, he has tainted the legacy of the American Presidency forever. He is perhaps best known for how he uses his words sometimes carelessly, yet oftentimes with the specific intent of degrading, insulting and demeaning not only those who do not agree with him on any given topic, but entire groups of people including Mexicans, Muslims, women and the disabled. These are just a few of the many he has specifically targeted. He has only shown himself to be at the very least intolerant and at the very worst dangerous.
The Magic Kingdom at Disney World is a place specifically designed for the enjoyment of children and families. Therefore, it is not an appropriate place for a Donald Trump speech. We ask that Walt Disney World take a stand against divisive and hurtful rhetoric and have the backs of millions of Americans and people worldwide whose day would be ruined by the depiction of a speech by Donald Trump.
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The Hall of Presidents features a short film about the history of the United States, and includes a "roll call" of each of the past presidents in animatronic form. Among Disney fans, there was considerable fear as to which of the two candidates was going to be forever immortalized in the attraction.
GUYS THE ELECTION LITERALLY IS COMING DOWN TO WHICH ANIMATRONIC WILL BE LESS SCARY IN HALL OF PRESIDENTS
— Disney World Quotes (@disneyparkwords) November 8, 2016
BRING ON THE DONALD TRUMP ANIMATRONIC IN THE HALL OF PRESIDENTS
— Christine Rousselle (@crousselle) November 9, 2016
The Hall of Presidents was closed shortly before the inauguration, as it does each time a new president is elected. When I visited Walt Disney World that week [Full disclosure: I am a Walt Disney World Annual Passholder], Disney cast members (employees) told me that they hoped to have the attraction up and running again by the Fourth of July. They also told me that the show was going to be completely re-worked, but that they had no information as to just what exactly this meant. Given that it's been 24 years since its last major refresh, is pretty standard for a Disney attraction. (The show's first reworking was in 1993, which was 22 years after it opened in 1971.)
Apparently this was a "very popular" photo op today at Magic Kingdom. Very interested to see what they do with President Trump! pic.twitter.com/vLzzOTTUKR
— Christine Rousselle (@crousselle) January 19, 2017
Still, regardless of what the Walt Disney Company decides to do, it's pretty freaking petty to start a petition stating that the president of the United States is not "family friendly" enough to give a brief speech about the the country he's currently in charge of. Trump won an election--it's not like he seized power via a coup. Sure, some people still haven't grasped that he won the election, but it's not going to change. He did.
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