Walt Disney World Resort Removes Confederate Flag from Display in American Adventure Pavilion

POSTED: Sat, 07/11/2015 - 16:00 | POSTED BY: Traci C.

The Walt Disney World Resort has recently removed two controversial items from its theme parks. A confederate banner was removed from a flag display at Epcot's American Adventure pavilion and a bust of comedian Bill Cosby was removed from Disney's Hollywood Studios.

Controversial flag removed from American Adventure in Epcot

The confederate banner that was removed from the Epcot display was one of 40 flags and banners from America's history that were on display. The version at Epcot was the third flag of the Confederacy and it featured a blue cross with white stars on a red background in the upper left corner. It was not the same as the Confederate battle flag that features the "Southern Cross" on the entire flag.

The Confederate flag was removed from the South Carolina state house on July 10 following the Charleston church shooting last month. Companies including Amazon and Wal-Mart have announced they will no longer sell merchandise that features the flag.

Earlier in the week Disney also removed a statue of Bill Cosby from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

The decision to remove the statue came days after an unsealed court document revealed that Cosby testified in 2005 that he had obtained drugs with the intent of giving them to women with whom he wanted to have sex.

To date more than two dozen women have come forward to accuse Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them over the last 40 years.

What do you think of Disney's decisions to remove the banner and the statue? Leave us a comment and let us know.

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Chris2222 wrote on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 00:00:

Smart move. Regardless how you feel on either side, Disney is not a place to deal with negative issues. It is a place to escape our daily lives.

Mary Ellen wrote on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 00:36:

I have mixed feelings about these actions. first I would ask if the Confederate flag was removed as a direct result of the shootings or if it was part of an overhaul. The Confederate flag is relative in an historical context. you cannot deny that the Civil War and the Confederate States existed. I disagree with people who hide behind the Confederate flag as a shield for committing evil, but appreciate it as a historical symbol.

Bill Cosby, well, that makes sense. it seems like Disney held off until it was pretty clear that Bill Cosby really is not who we all thought he was.

Pop wrote on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 01:17:

Yep, let's keep re-writing history like America never made a mistake! Next they need to remove president Nixon for Watergate and president Clinton because of Monica. Donald Duck will soon follow because he upset some Scandinavian person for not wearing pants. Most kids riding Splash Mountain have never seen "Song of the South". PC is getting out of control. It's that simple.

I know, I've stepped on toes. I apologize in advance if I've hurt feelings.

Barbara Johnson wrote on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 01:20:

Thank you for being respectful of the diversity of people who visit WDW every day and removing these 2 symbols that could be offensive to people.

Gail Lightbody wrote on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 02:37:

I agree with removing the statue, but the flag will always be a part of this country and its history and I think it was a big mistake for Disney to remove it. You can't bow down every time someone has an issue with something. Have you had years of complaints over the flag from your guests or are you just jumping on the crazy Liberal bandwagon to save face????

Noelia wrote on Sun, 07/12/2015 - 03:27:

Well, I am not american so I'm going to give my point of view as an outsider. I think that if this flag offends people, then an amusement parks is not the place for it, no matter the weight it has in history. It would be like displaying a swastika on the German area of Epcot because it's history. Not for an amusement park, perhaps in a museum.
About Bill Cosby.... well, Disney is always in the neverending pursuit of rightfullness and that doesnt exist in the real world. There will always be someting not disney-ly in real people and we have to accept this fact and so have they.

Kristen K. wrote on Mon, 07/13/2015 - 23:53:

I feel like since the Civil War is covered in the American Adventure movie, that taking down the Confederate flag is a bit of overkill. I wonder if they will be removing any trace of it from the video too, that would be tragic.

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