Signs of Trumpification of Disney World
Frank Cerabino gives the signs, as a “Re-Elect Trump 2020” banner hung for a brief time in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
Over the weekend, a Donald Trump banner hung for a brief time in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.
The 10-foot-long “Re-Elect Trump 2020” banner was held up by two men and lowered over a railing at the Main Street train station until a security worker arrived.
The banner’s owner and instigator, Dion Cini, 49, of New York, Facebook live-streamed his sign draping, which involved recruiting another guy at the park to hold the other end of the banner.
“So, a little nervous,” Cini said, looking into his mobile phone as he recorded himself walking into the train station with the rolled-up banner in a duffel bag.
“Nothing will happen,” he explained to his helper. “Trust me, I’ve done this so many times . ... We’re just going to hold this until they tell us to take it down.”
“The news is going to say we’re terrorizing children,” Cini continued, after taking the banner out of the bag and instructing his helper on their technique. “Put it down. Put it down. Don’t let people see this. We’ve got to do it quick ...
“Ready? Throw it over and up,” he said as they unfurled the flag. “Higher, higher. As high as you can. There you go.
“Take pictures, baby. Take pictures,” he called down to passers-by. “You got it, baby! Trump 2020! Live at Disney World!”
But mostly, people just walked by without saying anything.
“I have a feeling security is coming soon,” Cini said hopefully.
And then the boos started. “There they go!” Cini said, happy to finally get a reaction.
A moment later, an employee walked over and told Cini to take down the banner, which
he did immediately.
“Easy, peasy,” he said as he walked away. “I think we got lots of people taking pictures.”
As he walked toward a bathroom near the park’s exit, a few people thanked him and said what he did was “awesome.”
He asked one woman pushing a stroller: “Did you get pictures? Good. I expect them to go viral tonight.”
Before putting the banner back in his bag, he assessed his task.
“We were up for about 90 seconds. I probably had about 500 people taking pictures. Now I’ve got to stuff this thing away and change my hat ... that’s a behind-the-scenes look at a flag dropping.”
Cini reveled in the attention he got over the next couple of days, which included an interview from Newsweek, an Atlanta TV station, and more than a thousand comments on his Facebook page.
“Once again, 90 seconds of fun becomes million$ of free advertising for our President,” he wrote. “You’re welcome.”
A lot of the response, though, was telling him that what he did was self-indulgent, needlessly intrusive and not very substantive or persuasive.
“What kind of satisfaction did you get out of this, dude? Really?” wrote commenter Crystal Carter. “Find a more productive way to spend your time rather than terrorizing the Disney parks. For the love of God.”
Yes, imagine how ghastly it would be for Disney World, the so-called Happiest Place on Earth, to become infused with the constant petty grievances and perceived slights of Trump World.
It’s something to be vigilant against.
With that in mind, I’ve come up with 20 warning signs that Disney World has gone Trumpy:
1. The Big Thunder Mountain Railroad landscape is turned into a coal mine.
2. Disney announces plans to pull out of the Epcot World Showcase.
3. The new cars in the Dumbo ride look an awful lot like Jeff Sessions.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean features an attack on the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
5. The Main Street parade gets tanks.
6. Disney unveils new character, Donald Duck Jr. (Tigger goes into hiding.)
7. The Jungle Cruise — now exploring Norway.
8. Disney announces “a complete and total ban on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin until we figure out what the hell is going on.”
9. The Washington
Post’s Fact Checker gives Disney “four Pinocchios” for the daily release of wildly inflated park attendance figures.
10. The Haunted Mansion riders are terrorized by the added ghost of John McCain.
11. “Burdensome regulations” removed at Tomorrowland Speedway. Motorized mini-cars now capable of going 60 mph.
12. Space Force Mountain.
13. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror ride is updated from Hollywood Tower Hotel set to campaign coordination meeting with Russians in New York’s Trump Tower. Ahhhh!
14. Disney engages in Twitter war with “failing Universal Studios.”
15. Journey Into Immigration, with Figamento, the separated border baby.
16. The Indiana Pence Epic Gay Wedding Cake Spectacular!
17. Mission: Race.
18. The Hall of Presidents now features a 20-minute speech by animatronic Trump on the Electoral College vote in Wisconsin.
19. It’s a Not-So-Warming World, After All.
20. Cinderella Castle and Casino at Trump Orlando.