The Haunted Mansion's hanging body in the stretching room may be removed...

[YLL]

To be fair, each time I barely saw it myself. With the lightning flash that comes with it, it's really hard to see fully - I could mostly see the shoes! I think Disney could do something more spectacular to replace it.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by dx4100

I think if you don't want to see things like this then don't ride a ride that is specifically designed around it. Some of us really enjoy these types of attractions. People need to operate some self control and self censorship!

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But when I go to the Haunted Mansion at MK I expect to see fictional friendly ghosts. I don't expect to see the scene of someone hanging themselves.

Similarly, for example, I also don't expect to see a scene showing people being horribly mutilated with blood & gore everywhere. I also don't expect to see scene showing an ICU ward full of people lying in hospital beds being ventilated and close to death. If Disney did include such things then I would expect people to complain - and rightly so!

Just because it's called the Haunted Mansion doesn't mean it can include anything to do with death. Some things aren't suitable for a light-hearted family attraction at a Disney park. This isn't Universal's Halloween Horror Nights which is aimed at a different, older audience who know to expect something more gruesome and horrifying.

More importantly, doesn't Disney have the right and, arguably, the responsibility to listen to people's concerns and act upon them if necessary, especially if the changes have barely any impact on the attraction? Doesn't that make things better for everyone? If you saw something that concerned you, wouldn't you want Disney to listen to your concerns?

[dx4100]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

But when I go to the Haunted Mansion at MK I expect to see fictional friendly ghosts. I don't expect to see the scene of someone hanging themselves.

Similarly, for example, I also don't expect to see a scene showing people being horribly mutilated with blood & gore everywhere. I also don't expect to see scene showing an ICU ward full of people lying in hospital beds being ventilated and close to death. If Disney did include such things then I would expect people to complain - and rightly so!

Just because it's called the Haunted Mansion doesn't mean it can include anything to do with death. Some things aren't suitable for a light-hearted family attraction. This isn't Universal's Halloween Horror Nights which is aimed at an older audience who know to expect something more gruesome and horrifying.

More importantly, doesn't Disney have the right and, arguably, the responsibility to listen to people's concerns and act upon them if necessary, especially if the changes have barely any impact on the attraction? Doesn't that make things better for everyone? If you saw something that concerned you, wouldn't you want Disney to listen to your concerns?

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If I didn't like the content of an attraction I simply wouldn't ride it.

If I saw something on an attraction which I didn't enjoy I simply wouldn't ride it again.

The hanging man is in the film so its like saying you didn't expect to see Bambi mum shot to death - or someone hanged in Tarzan, or a Lion murdering his brother in Lion King...

I think if you have something in an attraction that causes offence to a small minority of people then you Disney should feel comfortable ignoring them.

I also wouldn't expect to see blood and guts in a Disney attraction. I wouldn't be surprised to see a hanging man in the Haunted Mansion as its actually in the film and countless other Disney films.

Shouldn't we really ban ghosts ? Might remind someone of recently lost loved one ?

If you don't want see things like this don't ride the only ride at the park clearly themed to involve super natural / scary and death related themes.

Its basically a Ghost Train! It should contain edgy things.

[dx4100]

Originally Posted by YLL

To be fair, each time I barely saw it myself. With the lightning flash that comes with it, it's really hard to see fully - I could mostly see the shoes! I think Disney could do something more spectacular to replace it.

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lol - would love it if they replaced it with something more graphic My kids would love it

[Stitch & Smudge]

I see that the story refers to California. Is this in Florida as well? I have to admit to not being very observant if it is as I’ve never noticed it.

[YLL]

Originally Posted by Stitch & Smudge

I see that the story refers to California. Is this in Florida as well? I have to admit to not being very observant if it is as I’ve never noticed it.

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Yes it was about Disneyland, but if they do it there, you can bet it will also happen at WDW (like for Splash Mountain and Jungle Cruise).

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by dx4100

If I didn't like the content of an attraction I simply wouldn't ride it.

If I saw something on an attraction which I didn't enjoy I simply wouldn't ride it again.

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Ok, that's fine. If you're not the type of person to complain about things that cause you distress then fair enough. If you're happy to just let things be, without addressing the problem, then so be it.

But there are some people out there who do let people know of the distress this is causing them. They do let Disney (or others) know when they think things are not right and should be changed.

Bit of a sidetrack: I once took my daughter to see a children's animated movie (I forget which one, probably a Disney movie). Before the film, the cinema accidentally showed trailers for 18 certificate horror films that were very inappropriate. I complained to the cinema. I didn't just let my daughter sit through it nor did I simply leave the cinema without saying anything.

Rather than keeping quiet about something that concerns them, some people think it's better to tell someone about the problem so that the owners can do something about it. That way, they can improve the attraction and make it better and appeal to more people. If people just kept quiet about things they didn't like then nothing would ever be improved - Disney (or whoever) would continue to think things were fine and that everyone was happy with the attraction (or whatever).

Originally Posted by dx4100

I think if you have something in an attraction that causes offence to a small minority of people then you Disney should feel comfortable ignoring them.

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If it is just a case of causing offence to a small number of people then I agree.

It's up to Disney to weigh up how much distress this is causing and to how many people. Based on the fact that Disney execs are considering changing it, I get the impression that it's not just a small number of people on the internet who think it's a bit offensive. I'd like to think Disney doesn't just act on a handful of random people not liking something. If they did then they would've stopped selling turkey legs years ago!

[dx4100]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

Ok, that's fine. If you're not the type of person to complain about things that cause you distress then fair enough. If you're happy to just let things be, without addressing the problem, then so be it.

But there are some people out there who do let people know of the distress this is causing them. They do let Disney (or others) know when they think things are not right and should be changed.

Bit of a sidetrack: I once took my daughter to see a children's animated movie (I forget which one, probably a Disney movie). Before the film, the cinema accidentally showed trailers for 18 certificate horror films that were very inappropriate. I complained to the cinema. I didn't just let my daughter sit through it nor did I simply leave the cinema without saying anything.

Rather than keeping quiet about something that concerns them, some people think it's better to tell someone about the problem so that the owners can do something about it. That way, they can improve the attraction and make it better and appeal to more people. If people just kept quiet about things they didn't like then nothing would ever be improved - Disney (or whoever) would continue to think things were fine and that everyone was happy with the attraction (or whatever).



If it is just a case of causing offence to a small number of people then I agree.

It's up to Disney to weigh up how much distress this is causing and to how many people. Based on the fact that Disney execs are considering changing it, I get the impression that it's not just a small number of people on the internet who think it's a bit offensive. I'd like to think Disney doesn't just act on a handful of random people not liking something. If they did then they would've stopped selling turkey legs years ago!

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I would complain about the 18 certificate as well. That is actually a criminal offence I would imagine.

You can't make a general statement like

"If you're happy to just let things be, without addressing the problem, then so be it."

Its just trying to downgrade my opinion. I will obviously complain when aggrieved. I don't deny the rights of the people offended by the hanging man to the right to complain.

I just think they are wrong - on many levels with their complaint. Hence my opinion.

I actually don't think the fact Disney are thinking about replacing it means they are getting a lot of complaints. A common growing theme in our society is how a small bunch of very noisy people can impact quite dramatic changes often at the expense of others enjoyment.

I also think Disney need to hear both sides of these things to help drown out the noisy few.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by dx4100

Shouldn't we really ban ghosts ? Might remind someone of recently lost loved one ?

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No, we probably don't need to ban ghosts. Because ghosts are completely fictional and dead people don't become ghosts.

Admittedly, if enough people complained that a ride about ghosts and dead things was totally inappropriate then perhaps Disney should consider removing it. Same goes for anything else in the parks.

I do think that suggesting that to get away you should commit suicide by hanging yourself is perhaps not really a great message to convey to people in a theme park. And, as some people on this thread have said, it's not like the hanging body is that obvious. So if Disney removed it then it wouldn't make any difference to the ride itself and only a tiny difference to the queue experience.

Whereas removing all the ghosts from the ride would make a major difference.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by dx4100

I don't deny the rights of the people offended by the hanging man to the right to complain.

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Then, fundamentally, we both agree.

Like you (I think?) I believe that people have the right to complain about something if they don't like it. And that Disney has the right to listen to those complaints and to decide whether or not it does something about them. It's their attraction after all.

It's ok for people to have the opinion that the hanging man scene is fundamental to the attraction and that removing it would affect their experience in a negative way. They can argue why it should be left in by explaining what it adds to the attraction and tell Disney why it should remain.

However, it's not ok for people to simply say that others can't - or shouldn't - complain about this. It's not ok to say that other people are not allowed to have an opinion different from their own.