Disney Bans Paying Visitor After He Holds Trump Sign for Picture
Supporters of President Donald Trump might need to keep keep their pro-Trump gear at home during their next visit to to a Disney theme park after the company banned a paying visitor for holding a pro-Trump sign on Splash Mountain at Florida’s Disney World.
Disney issued a trespass warning against Dion Cini, banned him from all Walt Disney World properties and revoked his annual pass, which he’s had for 24 years, according to Orlando’s WFTV-TV.
You would expect that someone who has been indefinitely banned has done something violent or extremely disruptive, but Cini was banned for holding a harmless Trump sign on Splash Mountain.
Splash Mountain at Florida’s Disney World is a typical subject for silly antics because a photo of the passengers is automatically taken as they begin going down a huge slope.
Needless to say, people have done odder things to make a funny picture on Splash Mountain, both at Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California.
I don’t think anybody would expect an indefinite ban for simply holding a sign.
“They never mentioned the fact that there was some kind of safety issue on the ride. That I was holding up a sign and I shouldn’t be doing that,” Cini told the WFTV.
And the story got wider play than just a local Florida television station.
Man banned from Disney World after sneaking in pro-Trump banner — again https://t.co/S2Koe43EFZ pic.twitter.com/0voTnKOwKZ
— The Hill (@thehill) November 13, 2018
However, this wasn’t Cini’s first run-in with Disney officials.
In September, Cini was banned for unfurling a large Trump banner in Magic Kingdom, but the company eventually let him off the hook.
“I wanted to actually abide by their rules, and not hold up a flag to incite a crowd, but I kind of wanted to test them,” Cini said. “I just really wanted to find out whether or not it had to do with unfurling a flag, or what was written on the flag.”
The park’s rules prohibit “the usage of any flag, banner or sign to incite a crowd.”
Certainly, a giant flag in the middle of Magic Kingdom could incite a crowd, but a relatively small Trump sign on Splash Mountain certainly wouldn’t have the same potential.
One can’t help but wonder if Cini would have received the same punishment if he’d held up a sign for former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Disney has a well-documented history of bending to pressure when it comes to supporting liberal causes.
In 2016, one visitor used a sign on Splash Mountain at California’s Disneyland to come out as lesbian to her parents, Breitbart reported.
In 2017, another visitor used a sign for his gay marriage proposal, also at Disneyland, and was apparently given permission by a Disney cast member, according to Huffington Post.
It seems like Cini was banned because his sign happened to be supporting Donald Trump.
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