Beyond the Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars

By: Hannah Burbach

4/23/16

Park Troopers (Photographer). (2017, March 17). Retrieved from

https://stocksnap.io/photo/X49U1Z54XM

Disney World has been considered “The Happiest Place on Earth” pretty much since the day it opened in 1971. It has bright colors, upbeat thematic music, characters galore, and, of course, those iconic Mickey Mouse ice cream bars. I, for one, love everything Disney, probably to the effect of an obsession, but that’s still to be determined. Therefore, I’ve gone to Disney World four times in the past four years, as any sane, happiness-seeking person obviously would. After all of my visits to this magical place, I yearned to learn more. I wanted to know how it all works. In my research, I found that Disney World represents so much more than what I originally knew. It’s intriguing, really, the way some people see this mega-theme park. I, for one, see it in an entirely new light. Stay tuned if you, too, would like to be enlightened on the subject.

The “American Experience”

Everyone knows about the concept of the “American Dream.” To non-Americans, it means a place where work is consistently available and where everyone has an equal chance to succeed. However, Americans understand what the true American life is really like. There are social constructs put in place that keep people where they are, with little chance to rise above. The latter is what Disney World seems, with pretty solid evidence, to be based off. David Johnson, professor of anthropology at North Carolina A&T State University, explains this representation in his article “Disney World as Structure and Symbol: Re-creation of the American Experience.” Johnson takes some time to talk about the social hierarchy within Magic Kingdom, the main park in Disney World. It seems to be primarily based on the physical structure of the park and the workers themselves. According to Johnson, there are four categories of workers:

• Menial workers, who are the out of sight workers, doing the cleaning and transporting services.
• Guides, who are visible but are stuck within their routinized roles of showing guests around and constant smiling.
• Technicians, the ones who do all that mechanical work that we meager humans don’t understand.
• Management, also known as the head honchos running it all.

Anyone who has been to Disney World can agree that the workers they see the most are the characters and guides. And they almost never see those aforementioned menial workers. That’s because Disney World emphasizes a very well managed “frontstage view.” This means the backstage work, such as cleaning and transportation, is hardly seen, and therefore hardly appreciated

Journey to the Center of Magic Kingdom

Simpson, Tom (Photographer). (2013, December 6).

Mickey and Minnie in the Utilidors [digital image].

Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com

How is this social hierarchy managed? Well, the tunnels, of course! Beneath Magic Kingdom is a maze of tunnels running all throughout the park. These tunnels consist of offices, employee changing rooms, control rooms, and so on (Pike 2005). This underground world keeps all that backstage work “backstage”. Daniel Pike, published author and associate professor of literature at American University, investigates these tunnels. In his work “The Walt Disney World Underground”, Pike brings to light the subtle social structure. He writes, “projected socially, they [the tunnels] usually split into the glamorous city as a place of play and amusement and spectacle and the dark city of slums and crime and degradation,” (Pike 2005). Looking into it, one can observe how true this actually is. The aboveground is all about the fun, whereas the underground is all work and no play. Johnson also mentions the difference in the above and belowground workers, further convincing his audience of the social structures. The aboveground workers are practically all young, mostly white, very polite, smiling, and well-groomed. This represents that middle-upper class that the American Dream wholeheartedly values. The underground workers, however, are the complete opposite. The worst part of it all: the pay for workers is small, regardless of where one is working. Therefore, what is the point of moving on up if there’s not really any more benefits?

Control Freaks

Motta, Paolo (Photographer). (2012, February 24).

Disney Parade [digital image]. Retrieved from

http://flickr.com

Though it represents a certain social order of the outside world, Disney World is still all an illusion. Now, there’s a loaded statement for you. But think about it: the parks are impeccably clean, there are no signs of aging or decay, and everyone seems happy ALL THE TIME. Honestly, how is this possible? The answer to that question lies in the manner of control. From the plants and animals in the parks to the tourists, Disney World is designed in such a way that the outside world isn’t visible from within the parks. Chris Wright talks about this manipulation and control in his article “Natural and social order at Walt Disney World; the functions and contradictions of civilizing nature.” Wright mentions that tourists imagine that they are free to do whatever they want at their own leisure, but that isn’t the case at all. Due to the timing of everything within the parks (parades, ride maintenances, shows, etc.), tourists are confined to a strict itinerary. They are manipulated to go to a certain section in a park and to buy a certain product. Somehow, in a space holding tens of thousands of people each day, Disney World manages to have a civil order, something that is quite difficult to do. The parks place subtle constraints on their visitors, keeping them in line while simultaneously emphasizing enjoyment and freedom from anything bad in the world.

Johnson, Pike, and Wright may have different subject matter in their works, but they all converge onto the similar theme of representation. Disney World clearly represents the world we wish we lived in: clean, free from illness, and filled with turkey legs. However, it also represents the world we actually live in, which is one that is socially constrained and somewhat oppressive in nature. Despite all of this, however, Disney World still holds that coveted title of “The Happiest Place on Earth.” For me, I still see it as such. The arguments of the authors above couldn’t sway my opinion of the parks, and I don’t intend to do that to anyone else. Rather, I believe it’s important to know how the parks operate and how they are micromanaged, because not everything is as it seems. With this newly discovered knowledge in mind, I plan to take advantage of it and give everyone the recognition they deserve the next time I make a trip, because everyone needs a genuine “thank you” for the work they do. I sincerely hope that you all will do the same.

Questions for Further Research

How do the managers of the parks keep out the decay of the plants and/or animals?

What are some experiences of workers that prove or disprove the social hierarchy theory?

In what other ways are visitors controlled to think and behave a certain way?

How much time is spent daily keeping the parks clean?

Suggested Readings

Johnson, David M. (1981). Disney World as Structure and Symbol: Re-creation of the American Experience. Journal of Popular Culture, 15, 157-166.         search.proquest.com/docview/1297336405/fulltextPDF/A60A6DF3E95643A4PQ/1?accountid=14608.

Pike, D. L. (2005). The Walt Disney World Underground. Space and Culture, 8(1), 47-65. doi:10.1177/1206331204269432

Wright, C. (2006). Natural and Social Order at Walt Disney World; The Functions and Contradictions of Civilising Nature. The Sociological Review, 54(2), 303-317. doi:10.1111/j.1467-954x.2006.00619.x