Could ‘Flash Mountain’ return, in light of Disneyland job cuts?
Call it an unexpected consequence of the bad economy: A recent round of staff reductions at Disneyland could result in the return of embarrassing episodes of public nudity at the Happiest Place on Earth.
Way back in 1997, a front-page story in the Los Angeles Times chronicled a scintillating Internet phenomenon involving the Anaheim theme park’s Splash Mountain log ride: Photos of women flashing their breasts at an automatic camera that snapped souvenir photographs during the final 50-foot drop were “unzip-a-dee-doo-dahing” their way around cyberspace, earning the ride the dubious nickname “Flash Mountain.”
At the time, Disneyland officials blamed a rogue employee for leaking the obscene pictures of topless women onto the Web and instituted tighter photo editing procedures to prevent further breaches. (NSFW websites dedicated to Flash Mountain still exist — we’ll let you do your own Google search.)
Over the ensuing decade, objectionable pictures of breast-baring women were “washed away” by Splash Mountain photo editors before they were projected on preview screens at the end of the ride, according to David Koenig, author of “More Mouse Tales: A Closer Peek Backstage at Disneyland.”
Now, flash forward to 2009. Starting in May, the Splash Mountain photo editor positions will be eliminated as part of cost-cutting measures at Disneyland, according to MiceAge columnist Al Lutz.
“Admittedly the numbers of young ladies (term used loosely in this case) who lift their tops for the cameras for their shot at Flash Mountain infamy has lessened over the years,” wrote Lutz, who reports that the photo editing positions were eliminated months ago at the Splash Mountain ride in Florida.
Of course, a lot has changed since 1997. The advent of Internet-enabled camera phones means theme park visitors who snap photos of the souvenir pictures on the preview screens can now spread the lewd and obscene images instantly across the Web at the speed of Twitter.
“Once word gets around that naughty photos are once again popping up on the projection screens, more guests will want to see what they can get away with,” Koenig said.
Disneyland officials confirmed that Splash Mountain photo screeners would be redeployed to other positions as of May 3.
“In evaluating the ride photo moderation role and process, we have determined that actual inappropriate behaviors by guests are rare,” Disneyland spokesperson Betsy Sanchez said in a written statement. “Ride photos will continue to be monitored by cast members at the point of sale. In addition, the current screening system will remain intact to provide the option for management to initiate image monitoring if necessary.”
As always, Disneyland reserves the right to remove any visitor from the park who exhibits offensive or inappropriate behavior, Sanchez said.
Find the latest amusement and theme park news at the Los Angeles Times Funland blog: www.latimes.com/funland. Follow Funland on Twitter.
— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
Photo: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
24 Comments on “Could ‘Flash Mountain’ return, in light of Disneyland job cuts?”
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April 28th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I for one don’t want to see pictures like that. What happened to common decent behavior? Is there nothing we can count on? Please tell me those doing that can be arrested for indecent exposure?
April 28th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Those were the days! Trying to get on “Flash Mountain”.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Disney fan, come on, don’t be a conservative party stopper, it’s fun!
April 29th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Lewd? Obscene? Indecent? They are breasts! Over 50% of the population has em, and “flashing” them is silly, but harmless. Put that energy to something productive, instead of worrying about this, whats next exposed ankles?
April 29th, 2009 at 7:59 am
“Common decent behavior” has evolved such that most of us do not consider a woman’s breasts indecent.
Can someone please explain to me why female nipples are the crux of evil, whereas a male nipple is…well, perfectly decent?
I go topless at a beach and nobody cares. My wife slips a strap too far to the side and the prudish are out and hollering. Very frustrating for my wife.
Such attitudes have actual negative consequences: woman are routinely asked to leave restaurants and public places when they breastfeed. Training material for breast self-examination is routinely censured.
Good for you! This all makes perfect sense now:
- A woman’s nipples for which there is actually utility (feeding a child) is evil.
- A man’s nipples for which there is no purpose…perfectly good.
Seriously. Tell me where this dumb stuff comes from.
And some advice: grow up or look the other way.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:54 am
“I for one don’t want to see pictures like that.”
Pro Tip: Don’t look at pictures like that.
April 29th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
This article is useless without pics.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Okay, no offense Patrick, but I am not too interested in having a mother breastfeed while I eat in a restaraunt. There’s a time and place for everything, and a crowded restaraunt just is not the time. Not being prudish, because I love tits, I just dont want that to be goin on while I eat.
April 29th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I for one want to see pictures like that. Whatever happened to the type of internet where you could find any sort of media on any sort of topic representing any sort of information known? That is the type of internet we have in our house.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
i came to this article looking for titties, but i was duped.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Where can I find the pictures? I like breasts.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I would have to agree with the Fan. Let me think um… OK. Lets say your baby brother is having a birthday party. An your trying to keep all of the kids in line for the great splash mountain! An out of nowhere, bam! you hear someone yell boobs! big ones! btw it comes from the end of the line. All of a sudden all of the kids are out of line and running towards this person yelling in the middle of a crowd. Yeah, now you have to get back in line at the end. Thanks to the woman with no common decency you made my baby brother react to one of his most basic instincts. Congratulations you win a picture of your boobs for all to see. Good job(think of how many boobs have existed. they really become less of a novelty after that) although don’t get me wrong… There is tons of money to be made off of some sassy tatas. I like money :)
some advice(look I can be a jack*** too!) quit obsessing over people without the desire to see your precious mammary glands.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Patrick - I can’t agree more! What an incredibly bizarre double standard we’ve evolved.
May 1st, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Breasts are for feeding babies, they are a natural part of the female form. What is so wrong about seeing them? If the girl feels it appropriate then so be it.
May 5th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
disgusting.
May 27th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Now there is something I didn’t know. i love Disney and I would really hate to have to avoid the photo section of a ride becuase I don’t want my five year old to see more than he should…
June 1st, 2009 at 11:16 pm
I dnt think anyone is talking abt the pic above.
I guess i am big time late to share the blog
June 6th, 2009 at 4:25 am
@Jim
So you would prefer to have a screaming, hungry child in the restaurant while you are enjoying your meal?
Or perhaps you think there is a time and a place for children in restaurants and people who decide to have offspring should be more considerate about when, and where, they eat.
July 14th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Why is a females breast worse than a males? The only difference is a female breast feeds babies. And for jim a restaurant is for eating so why can’t a baby eat there too?
August 3rd, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Being a woman I might not be able to see the full picture about exposed female breasts at Disney stirring trouble. I believe, a totally exposed female breast is less sexy than a partly covered one.
But, if we were all brought up like women in some native tribes we wouldn’t even find that sexy.
What could be revolting however at Disney would be ‘inappropriate’ reactions of men or women seeing the girls stripping their tops for camera shots.
Everything must be seen in the right context. I might just think that those lady strippers are stupid to do it for a sensational reaction.
August 17th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Duncan Says:
June 6th, 2009 at 4:25 am
@Jim
So you would prefer to have a screaming, hungry child in the restaurant while you are enjoying your meal?
Or perhaps you think there is a time and a place for children in restaurants and people who decide to have offspring should be more considerate about when, and where, they eat.
——-
Duncan, that’s what they make bottles for.
Personally, I’d love to see more places offering “private” nursing rooms, a quiet place where a nursing mother can take her baby so she can nurse that baby without being subjected to stares and rude comments. More and more large places like malls and bigger stores have baby-changing rooms; what’s wrong with having more places like those available, and having them equipped with stalls and seats for a mom to sit with her baby for feeding?
Nursing is natural and the most intimate and loving thing a mother can do for her child, so why not provide places where a mom can nurse comfortably and privately?
August 23rd, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Disneyland standards have gone way down. I worked there in 1980-1981. I remember a guy (while I worked there) not being allowed into the park because he had an image of a marijuana leaf on his hat.
Now in 2009 I go with my kids.
Women in skin tight tops with no bras, of all ages from 15 to 50. Their butts hanging out of shorts. Guys walked around with lewd a shirts with 4-letter language on them. Girls in bikini tops.
And Disney Security walking around not doing a thing about it.
But heaven forbid you try to touch Captain Jack or stand in an area you are not allowed to stand in. They jump on that in a moment.
Disney has WRONG priorities.
August 27th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Wow! I too am amazed that people make such a big deal about breasts… I can see why a woman may not want to expose her self in public; but I cannot figure out a single good reason why anyone else should care or control whether or not another person’s breasts are exposed. As far as breast feeding goes… I’ve never once been offended when a mother feeds her baby in public; I have been offended by peoples reactions. I think it would be a better use of energy to scold, annoy, and antagonize people who point, stare, or act in poor taste around a topless woman. Nudity is just one aspect of a web of distorted reality that we all deal with. In truth clothes and the concept of them psychologically damages us much more then the feelings of lust, jealousy, or whatever “inappropriate” emotion escapes repression when exposed to foreign flesh. I think the ladies of Flash Mountain deserve some praise for providing us with fodder for such a meaningful conversation.
October 2nd, 2009 at 2:53 pm
The “big deal” is that Disneyland is a FAMILEY amusement park. That means that there are kids around and Disneyland has to keep a level of decency if they want to continue calling it a Family park. Becuase of the flashing some families are robbed of a momento they they may have waited over an hour to get. It’s called concideration. You wanto to flash your breasts? Go to New orleans for Mardi Gras. Not to a park where pople brings their kids.