For your safety

This past weekend a guest at Walt Disney World decided it would be proper to climb over the stone stela, the carved artwork that graces to entrance to the Mexico Pavilion, and run up and down the stairs on the exterior of the pavilion. To add to the concern, reports claim that he was yelling about jumping as he neared the top, before making his way back down. You can read about the incident here.

Walt Disney World goes to great length to protect its guests. From restraints and warnings in attractions to the fences and hidden architectural features like Mexico's stela, every attempt is made to see that guests can enjoy themselves in a safe environment. In fact, they are so cautious that there are even warnings about the possibility of dizziness as a result of the CircleVision films, such as O, Cananda. Whenever possible, after an incident Walt Disney World pursues further measures to protect its guests, such as removing a low wall and replacing it with an iron fence.

In the case of this weekend's scaling, the guest had to climb over the stela which, according to Richard R. Beard in Walt Disney's EPCOT, was placed in front of Mexico because it, “effectively discourages children from climbing the stairs to test the will of the gods.” Apparently children and grown men see testing the will of the gods in two entirely different lights.

For my own part, I debated whether or not to report what happened at Epcot this weekend with the sole fear that some teenager may see the photographs and take it upon his or herself to try to recreate the stunt. My fear is that they do not have as easy a time removing themselves from the pyramid and injure themselves. But, as a voice in the community, I felt that something besides the cold hard facts of this story was needed.

All of this is to say that Walt Disney World can only do so much to protect us from ourselves. At some point we must be accountable for our own actions. We must be able to find our own line between what sounds and looks good, and what is actually good for us, those around us, and those watching us. When we find this line, we must decide not to cross it. After all, in Walt Disney World there is plenty of fun to be had without trying to make up our own.