A story that Disney was now requiring guests in Disney World and Disneyland to wear pins with their pronouns went viral recently, but is this true or not?

On August 13, 2023 a Disney-themed website called Mouse Trap News published an article called “Disney Requiring Guests to Wear Pronoun Pins.”

The article implied Disney’s “wokeness” has reached an absurd new level, and that the company was now requiring that theme park attendees all have their preferred pronouns clearly visible on a pin or risk getting banned forever.

Here’s a bit from the article…

What is the worst thing that can happen to someone at Disney World? Losing your hands on Space Mountain is up there. Also, your kid floating away while holding Mickey Balloons. However, there is one thing that puts those to shame and that is being misgendered. Because of this, Disney is now requiring all guests to wear pronoun pins, which will tell employees and other guests their preferred pronouns.

The “Disney Pronoun Pin” post immediately went viral, racking up hundreds of thousands of views on social media as several TikTok and Twitter/X personalities covered it. Some news outlets even mistakenly covered it as actual news.

@mousetrapnews

If you don’t wear the pronoun pin, you may be banned from Disney! #disneyworld #disneynews #pronouns #disneypin #disneybutton

♬ Frolic (Theme from “Curb Your Enthusiasm” TV Show) – Luciano Michelini

But it’s not true. It’s satire. Mouse Trap News is a parody site, similar to The Onion or The Babylon Bee, but focused on Disney.

Why Did Everyone Fall for the ‘Disney Pronoun Pin’ Story So Easily?

It’s likely that people actually fell for this story because it sounds about as ridiculous as actual Disney news.

In the past few years, “Woke Disney” has gotten rid of gendered language during their fireworks announcement. They’ve taken to retheming classic attractions that no one was offended by, such as Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Cruise, and Splash Mountain. All this is in the supposed name of “inclusivity.”

Disney is currently embroiled in a legal battle with the Governor of Florida over what the company perceives as an attack on LGBTQ people.

Other companies require employees to state their pronouns on social media, in email and during conference calls.

So it’s not much of a stretch to conclude that they could push for their Disney World and Disneyland guests to wear pins with preferred pronouns as well.

For now, however, this is fake news. But what makes it such biting satire is the fact it was so believable based on Disney’s current decision-making. Oof!