This claim is false. The other replies here have all tracked down and shown the source of the claim as Mouse Trap News, which says in its about page that it is satire and intentionally untrue information about Disney. Thanks to everyone for tracking this down before me, it saved me having to rewatch the Instagram video another time to catch the name of the website. So, its untrue, and the original author says it outright, but I think there is room for more analysis.
Mouse Trap News seems to be a little bit more than a satire blog. For one thing, there is no contact information, author credit, affiliation listing, anything. I think this is a bot, but honestly that’s built on an assumption. When you read a few of these stories back-to-back, which I chose to but would recommend against, they start to follow a recognizable pattern:
First, Mouse Trap asserts that Disney, or some relevant entity, is doing X thing to appear more progressive/accessible/inclusive (“Disneyland Now Allowing Homeless People in Their Park”, “Disney World Will Not Celebrate Christmas in 2024”, “Disney Adding Pronouns and More Inclusivity to Nametags”, and so on). Mouse trap then delivers a boilerplate, often inadequate or exaggerated, reason as to why X thing may need to be done. The story finally ends with a few paragraphs starting with “however”, or some equivalent, and Mouse Trap explains why X thing is a silly thing to do according to “most people”.
The satire on Mouse Trap News is political in nature. The about page I think deflects from this a little bit by saying the website is fake and a joke. Most of the satire is written with warped versions of views often held by people on the progressive side of politics, and often the jokes are made at the expense of queer people, disabled people, and marginalized groups in general. Whether or not the content itself is made by a bot, I can’t be certain, but it is clear to me that whoever manages Mouse Trap News has a bias against progressive views on social justice issues. The story we are discussing is transphobic, ending with an alleged comment from “a man” who says, “Now I can finally use the women’s restroom without worrying about being arrested,” Which echoes the incorrect belief that allowing trans people to use whatever bathroom they need will somehow lead to an increase in sexual violence.
Ultimately, despite claiming to just be satire, Mouse Trap News does real harm. Yes, it is spreading false information about Disney and its parks, but in doing so it hides more sinister misinformation which serves to justify bigoted political views. This website is essentially curated misinformation for someone’s right wing aunt to post to her Facebook wall. This leads me to my last point: we are talking about the original claim, but the link given is to an Instagram account which is not Mouse Trap News. The account which made the post is connected to a Derrick Gates, who ran for California’s 36th congressional district seat in 2022 and is currently running for the Republican County Central Committee for Los Angeles County. I’m not sure you could say Derrick Gates has a successful political career, but it is the case that politics, especially local politics, is threatened by this sort of content. Mouse Trap News claims it is satire, but its content legitimizes dangerous and inaccurate beliefs and is not clearly marked as satire (also, it’s just not very good satire). People like Derrick Gates then repost this kind of content without disclosing it is intended to be satire, because the message isn’t about the satire, it’s about confirming Gate’s already held belief and hopefully reaching a large enough audience with similar sensibilities to get out the vote.
Apologies this one ran a little long, but I had a good time doing it and hope my response was helpful for someone!
