Disney Drops 'Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls' Greeting to Be More Inclusive

Disney World changed the preshow greeting for Magic Kingdom's "Happily Ever After" fireworks show as part of Disney Parks' efforts to be more inclusive.

As reported by Insider, employees were invited to a "cast member" preview of the fireworks show at the Orlando, Florida park earlier this week, the first fireworks show hosted at Disney World since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The show itself is virtually unchanged, aside from the preshow recording which replaced the original greeting, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls!" with "Good evening, dreamers of all ages!"

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This is one of several changes that have been made in the Disney Parks as part of the corporation's commitment to diversity and inclusion. Earlier this year, an update was made to the park's Four Keys of customer service that impact everything from guest relations to future Disney attractions and products, adding a fifth Inclusion Key to the keys of Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency.

In a statement released in April 2021, chairman of Disney parks, experiences and products Josh D'Amaro reiterated Disney Parks' commitment to diversity, inclusion and "cultivating an environment where all people feel welcomed and appreciated." D'Amaro said, "We want our guests to see their own backgrounds and traditions reflected in the stories, experiences and products they encounter in their interactions with Disney."

 

Other efforts that have been announced include updates to the Jungle Cruise ride, which will remove racist caricatures of Indigenous people, along with changes to Splash Mountain, which was originally based around characters, songs and scenery from the controversial 1964 film Song of the South. Splash Mountain will instead be redesigned to feature the 2009 Disney film, The Princess and the Frog. 

KEEP READING: Disney Plans to 'Mine' Park Visitor Data to Grow Streaming Subscriber Base

Source: Insider


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