The art of making money off Disney outrage
“Disney World fans heartbroken as longstanding landmark of over 35 years is demolished OVERNIGHT” screamed the headline served up to me on one algorithm or another.
As a Disney fan, I get served these things all the time. Our computer overlords know I’m a likely sucker for such click bait and it’s possible they know I have something of a professional interest as well.
But they got me. I was perplexed, bumfuzzled, and confused. What landmark had come down recently that would draw such outrage? I knew, of course, about the ongoing removal of the various structures and pieces of Tom Sawyer Island, but I doubted any of that would draw such a headline.
You know what it was?
Can you guess?
It was the archway at Hollywood Studios, a structure the Daily Mail said had been “towering over the park since it first opened as MGM Studios in 1989.”
OK. We’re doing this now, I guess.
The England-based publications went on to quote from a number of X accounts expressing outrage at the latest Disney “travesty.”
While the paper seemed outraged the arch had been taken down overnight – as if Disney was going to be doing demolition in the middle of the park day – the quoted Disney “fans” were outraged at the destruction. One called it “disrespectful” and another “inhumane”, but I’m not sure they know what that last word even means.
But, as I said, they got me. While reading the “story” I got served ads for “Georgie & Mandy’s first Marriage” on CBS and a clip from something called “The Five” from Fox. There was also a click thru article about an “Aussie surf star getting death threats over ‘pooing’ video” that I did not click on mostly out of fear for what it would do to the algorithm moving forward.
So, because I clicked, the Daily Mail has more incentive to gin up drama, to try to make an Expedition Everest sized mountain out of a Disney molehill. It’s the latest example of what has become a cottage online industry, driving Disney outrage.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Disney outrage: Is it genuine or is it made up?
Yes.
And that’s part of the problem. Some people feel genuinely upset about Disney changes.However, there are many making money – or entertaining themselves – by ginning up anger and outrage online.
I’m an argumentative person. I’m good at it and at points in my life have been persistent about it. When I believe firmly that I am right, I’ve operated under the assumption that the simple act of being right and a good and logical argument will eventually win the day. The internet, social media, and—well, frankly—the world have disabused me of that notion.
To be clear, I recognize that I am often wrong. I try my best to be willing to be open to being wrong. But that is something of a work in progress.
What the internet and social media have convinced me is that there’s really no point in arguing online, so I spend my leisure time typing responses to people bloviating, opining or just making stuff up and then deleting my response before I ever hit send. It’s not the most effective use of my time, but I’m trying hard to do better.
And so, the algorithm sends me a lot of Disney outrage. The algorithm wants me to click. The algorithm’s creators and owners make money if I click. That’s the game. Whether it’s Disney fans, politics, sports, movies, or any aspect of our lives over which people can argue, the internet wants us to get big mad and post a lot.
What does that mean for us? Relatively normal Disney fans who like to go on the internet? It means we face a minefield of varying opinions, some of which are genuinely held and some of which – like the outrage over an archway – are ginned up to get us involved.
Why Does Disney Outrage exist?
Real, honest, and true Disney outrage is born of passion. They have passion for the brand. Passion for the parks. Passion for those things that drew us to Disney in the first place. The problem is those passions don’t exist in a vacuum. They are colored by the rest of our lives. For example? The first impetus of this rage cycle was the Splash Mountain renovation which became a stewing cauldron of outrage, chemically enhanced by a variety of factors so potent that it is still bubbling today, more than a year after it reopened as Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Magic Kingdom.
If anyone wants to get a few extra clicks on Twitter – or X – all they have to do is pick at the scab and the old arguments will start rolling in.
My opinion? I like the ride better now. Our family is big on Tiana; we like the music and the animatronics and are even willing to overlook when it’s not working quite right. Others miss the old Splash Mountain. I understand if you have particular attachment to a certain ride, change can be painful. But much of the outrage stems not from the change itself, but from what people perceive as the reason behind it. Somebody let politics seep into our Disney and it set off a powder keg. The politics stem from the fact that the Splash Mountain ride featured characters from the controversial “Song of the South,” which we are not going to argue about here (See, I’m learning.)
But if Disney had changed the ride because they believed today’s kids don’t connect with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, or Brer Bear, the outrage would not have run so deep or lasted so long. The fact that many see the change as politically driven has caused people to sink their teeth in and hold on for dear life.
Are there other drivers of Disney outrage?
Oh my, yes. The Muppet*Vision 3D closure. The Tom Sawyer Island and Liberty Belle closure. The DinoLand USA closure. The arrival of Cars in Frontierland. Many people feel attached to the version of Disney World they grew up with or to their favorite attractions.
Some people live to be outraged at anything—see the angry arch crowd—and they gear up for online battles at the slightest hint of controversy.
Look, if you loved the Muppets or the Liberty Belle or DinoLand, I get it. It hurts to lose something we love. It hurts even more to lose something we love because Disney says it’s not popular enough. It’s a little bit insulting to our taste. Disney hasn’t axed anything I really loved since Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride went the way of the dodo, so I’ve been lucky – though I think my day is coming. If y’all don’t drive up the numbers on Star Tours, we’re going to lose it. That one WILL hurt me, personally.
Some people also feel attached to the park’s theming. They don’t like that Hollywood Studios has added Galaxy’s Edge or Toy Story Land. They don’t feel like it fits with the original Hollywood backlot idea. Same thing with EPCOT: there are people who oppose Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, because it doesn’t fit with EPCOT’s opening mission.
I don’t understand that as well. The overall theme of a park has never attracted me so much.Make the experience inside the park good and interesting and fun, and I won’t mind if it clashes or you have to stretch a little to make it fit with the theming.
Are people really outraged about the arch?
I’m sure some exist, but far fewer than the Daily Mail implies, and I doubt they felt shocked.
Guests responded to the Animation Courtyard refurbishment announcement with relatively little pushback. It was clear from the drawings the archway was coming down. We ran concept drawings of it without the arch here on this site.
This wasn’t the removal of Sorcerer Mickey’s Hat or anything like that. In fact, the overall project at Animation Courtyard is a move back towards the studio theming, recreating a Florida version of the famed Disney Studios in Burbank.
I’ve walked through that archway dozens – if not hundreds – of times. I’m not sure I could have described it to you without looking at pictures.
What can we do to slow down the outrage train?
We have to do what I didn’t do with the Daily Mail post … ignore it. If we don’t give them the clicks, the algorithm will stop serving us the outrage bait. Eventually, the grifters who profit over people’s passions will move on to something more lucrative.
Do I believe that will happen? No, I don’t. It’s too easy, too tempting to click. That’s especially the case if you’re like me and was born to argue. But maybe, if we each do our part and avoid engaging whenever the grifters show up, we can make the internet, the world, and even Disney a better place.
