People Are Really Creeped Out By Disney World's Reopening Advert

Disney World released an advert ahead of the phased reopening of its theme parks this month, and people are seriously creeped out.

Despite the number of cases of coronavirus still on the rise in Florida - with over 10,000 new cases reported yesterday (11 July) - Magic Kingdom Park and Animal Kingdom Theme Park reopened their doors on Saturday after more than three months of lockdown.

Disney also announced that EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios are set to reopen on 15 July, though water parks will remain closed until further notice.

But while people are excited and concerned in equal measure about the reopening, most people were just a bit freaked out by the bizarre commercial that aired earlier this month.

In the clip, masked up employees and park workers can be seen scrubbing handrails and signs to make sure they're clean, while empty carriages go round and round on rollercoasters.

There is even a group wave from deadpan employees, for added menace.

And it didn't take long for people to share their discomfort on social media, with one person even adding the theme music from The Shining over it, which is truly disturbing.

Reacting to the eerie promo, one person wrote on Twitter: "Disneyland. The happiest place on earth! (Shudder)."

A second commented: "I have watched that Disney World reopening commercial like 10 times and it is still the most dystopian thing I have ever seen. I think it's the repeated 'Welcome' while wearing surgical masks and it's so weirdly creepy."

While another joked: "I wrote an (unpublished) novel about a sinister amusement park that trapped people a la Pleasure Island and it was still somehow LESS evil than real-life Disney World."

Earlier this month, Disney revealed a whole host of measures that were being taken ahead of the reopening.

Disney

In the theme parks - which will have reduced capacity - visitors and staff will be required to wear face masks, and people will also be greeted with temperature checks as they enter.

Meanwhile, Disney hotels have made the move to mobile check-in, with visitors given their room number for their stay via a smartphone app, through which they'll also be able to unlock hotel room doors.

Throughout the resort, other features customers will find include hand sanitiser and hand-washing stations, along with partitions between guests on rides.

Topics: Disney, Coronavirus, US News

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

@SmithersDom