Disney vs the Scouts

Walt Disney has booted the Boy Scouts out of the Magic Kingdom, allegedly due to the national organization’s discriminatory policies against gay members. Although the Boy Scouts began welcoming gay scouts in January, it dispels these members after they turn 18, banning them, as well as gay parents, from leading troops and packs.images Florida-based Walt Disney World, the latest company to stop giving money to Boy Scouts in recent years, said that it cut off funding because the organization’s “views” do not align with theirs, according to a letter sent from the Central Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) to the state’s scout leaders and parents.

“In losing this grant money…we may have to cut back on activities, delay replacing aging equipment, or reduce ‘high-adventure’ camping. Unless the families can make up the difference, we will have reduced experiences for the boys available,” said a Florida pack and troop leader, who wished to remain anonymous because of potential retaliation from the local scouting community. “My kids are losing money solely based on National BSA’s moral judgment against gay people. It’s not what I believe or teach my kids. Discrimination is not what we practice as a local scout unit.”

Walt Disney World did not provide financial support to the national BSA council, but it did give grants to local scouting troops through a program called, “Ears to You,” in which employees do volunteer work, and, in return, the company gives money to a charity of the employee’s choice. The Florida scout leader toldMother Jones that many members of the Florida scouting community participate in this program, and some units were receiving up to $6,000 per year.

According to the letter sent by the BSA Central Florida Council, the national leadership of BSA reached out to Walt Disney World to address the dropped funding, but the company said that their “views do not currently align with the BSA and they are choosing to discontinue this level of support.” Walt Disney World did not respond to comment as to whether those views specifically refer to the Scouts’ LGBT policy, and BSA spokesman Deron Smith declined to comment on the rationale. But Brad Hankins, a spokesman for Scouts for Equality, which advocates for equal LGBT rights, said the group believes it’s over BSA’s anti-gay policy: “Beyond the membership policies, what other views does the BSA hold that are controversial?”According to its Standards of Business Conduct, Disney World permits no discrimination based on “sex, sexual orientation [and] gender identification” among its employees. Continue reading “Disney vs the Scouts”

Meryl Streep vs Walt Disney

The National Board of Review dinner is like the big pre-game to the Golden Globes,where wine bottles are uncorked in New York and don’t stop flowing until the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s gala on Sunday. But according to Variety, “This year’s ceremony will forever be remembered for its nine-minute tour-de-force speech from Meryl Streep.

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“Streep, for once, wasn’t invited to accept an award. Instead, she was there to honor Emma Thompson for her portrait as “Mary Poppins” creator P.L. Travers in Disney’s “Saving Mr. Banks.”

“There was plenty of effusive Thompson praising in the speech — with phrases like “she’s practically a saint” and “she’s a beautiful artist” — and it ended with a poem that Streep had written for her friend titled “An Ode to Emma, Or What Emma is Owed.” But Streep also made a point of blasting Walt Disney for his sexist and anti-Semitic stances.

“The edgy riff offered a different perspective on Disney from the sugarcoated hero played by Tom Hanks in “Saving Mr. Banks.” Streep was once rumored to be in the running for the role of P.L. Travers, although her remarks suggest why she might not have pursued the project.

“Some of his associates reported that Walt Disney didn’t really like women,” Streep said, quoting esteemed animator Ward Kimball on his old boss: “He didn’t trust women or cats.”

“Streep talked about how Disney “supported an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group” and called him a “gender bigot.” She read a letter that his company wrote in 1938 to an aspiring female animator. It included the line, “Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that task is performed entirely by young men.” Continue reading “Meryl Streep vs Walt Disney”

Disney curtails disability access

Across the country, parents of children with disabilities are reacting with alarm to news that Disney will soon end its “Guest Assistance Card” program. Some have launched online petitions and letter-writing campaigns, reports the Seattle Times.

“Some parents say waiting for an extended period of time, even if they don’t have to stand in a crowded queue, is not practical for their children. Some cannot mentally

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process why they can’t ride immediately. Others must be on rigid schedules for food, medicine or even bathroom breaks. Some can be in the parks for only two or three hours before their child becomes exhausted or has a meltdown.

“This is going to be a huge obstacle for my son,” said Brad Doyle, 49, of Glendale, Ariz., who has taken his son many times to Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. “I really have to rethink my whole vacation now.”

“Disney says it is sympathetic to their concerns. But it also says it must make changes to a program now being widely exploited by others.

“Stories of wealthy families hiring disabled tour guides to pose as family members have drawn national attention and scorn. But the more common abuse is subtler: people faking hard-to-verify handicaps such as heart murmurs, back spasms or claustrophobia; or groups using a pass issued to an elderly relative to jump the lines for thrill rides that the relative can’t or won’t ride.

“The abuse has intensified in recent years, fueled by swelling crowds in Disney’s theme parks, which draw tens of millions of visitors a year. Soon after the opening of the popular Cars Land in Disney California Adventure last year, Disney found that close to a quarter of all the visitors riding Radiator Springs Racers — 5,000 out of 20,000 on average per day — were using a Guest Assistance Card, according to MiceChat.com, a website devoted to Disney theme-park news. Most were also annual-pass holders. Continue reading “Disney curtails disability access”

Ellen to return as Dory

“I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” said Ellen DeGeneres, images-1who voices Dory, in a statement. “I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating ‘Toy Story 16.’ But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is—it’s got a lot more Dory.”

You get the idea, Ellen as Dory will be in production soon. According to Huffington Post,  Disney and Pixar announced Tuesday that “Finding Nemo” is getting a sequel with the upcoming release of “Finding Dory.”

“Finding Dory” is reportedly set on the California coastline, one year after “Finding Nemo.” The animated flick will include many of the characters from the first film, such as Marlin, the Tank Gang, and of course, Nemo. Continue reading “Ellen to return as Dory”

Disney may be watching you

imgres-1Walt Disney Co. announced recently that it plans to unveil this spring at Walt Disney World in Florida a wristband embedded with radio frequency identification chips, reports a story in the Los Angeles Times.  A unique code in each chip lets parkgoers pay to enter the park, check into Disney hotels and buy food and souvenirs, among other things.

“Disney officials promoted the wristbands as a way to make visiting the park easier. The wristbands will let Disney use the data to customize future offerings and marketing pitches.Today a congressman from Massachusetts raised questions about how Disney will use information it collects when it gives parkgoers new wristbands embedded with computer chips. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), who co-chairs a congressional panel on privacy, asked Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger in a letter what information the park will collect with the so-called MagicBand and how it will be used.

“’Widespread use of MagicBand bracelets by park guests could dramatically increase the personal data Disney can collect about its guests,’ he said, adding that he is particularly concerned at the prospects of Disney collecting information about children. Disney officials say they have no plans yet to introduce the wristbands at Disneyland or Disney California Adventure Park in Anaheim.

 

For more, see: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disney-wrist-bands-20130126,0,4556564.story