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View Full Version : Dishney: Flash Mob at Disneyland Plaza This Thursday - OC Weekly - discussion thread



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cstephens
07-29-2009, 09:59 AM
Here's the news article thread with information. (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=129847)

Just a warning for those who might be there. Or an invitation to anyone crazy enough to join in, I guess.

It seems to me it's a good way to get kicked off property. The esplanade is not public property.

And really, I can't for the life of me figure out how this flash mob thing in the esplanade is supposed to equate protesting the Iran election. Looks like an attention grab to me - nothing more.

Vegitabeta
07-29-2009, 10:07 AM
Well, the one good thing is that they have been told not to bring banners etc...

Bytebear
07-29-2009, 10:32 AM
From the video of Grand Central Station, it doesn't look that disruptive. But it will freak out the people who don't know what's going on. I just hope no one freezes in one of the ticket or entrance lines. That would be really annoying. And I bet Disney would do something about that.

mechurchlady
07-29-2009, 11:47 AM
Drat it is at 6:30 pm or I would be there with popcorn and a coke watching the antics. I have a bad back and right shoulder so if like oops I ran over a protester that would be why, wink wink. The sad thing is that some people that day will be on the only trip to DLR for the rest of their lives. It is sad that the parks were built to protect kids from the harshness of life but some people want to ruin the visit to a happy place.

The Esplanade is private property however there is a business invite and as long as they are not disrupting guests they are allowed at DLR. When they start interrupting the daily activities of guests and CMs or cause safety issues then bye bye. I know there are lawyers around here who can better explain this.

If only I could get a momsitter for that day.

Lani
07-29-2009, 11:51 AM
Oh I love flash mob freezes. It's not chaos--it's complete stillness. Since they stop moving, I cannot fathom how they would get kicked out. It's not like they're gonna flash mob then do anything intrusive like run or knock people over, or even dance.

cstephens
07-29-2009, 11:53 AM
Oh I love flash mob freezes.

OK, so have a flash mob. But to pretend that it's somehow a protest of the Iran election? Please. :eyeroll:

Lani
07-29-2009, 11:57 AM
OK, so have a flash mob. But to pretend that it's somehow a protest of the Iran election? Please. :eyeroll:

Well, I guess people have different ways to express their messages. Maybe no signs, but I would hope at least that they make their message clear. Maybe a combo of wearing green shirts and Iranian flag shirts. Or shirts that say "Free Iran" or something.

mechurchlady
07-29-2009, 12:12 PM
A herd of people freezing and standing still in the Esplanade impedes traffic flow. It would cause gawking people to gather around the group thus causing problems with keeping the Esplanade open. I have done the Esplanade dash and it is not uncommon for me to stop for cross traffic and avoid people walking around the Esplanade. Personally I think it is stupid as they are not getting their message across. There are better ways of educating the public.

CariBelle
07-29-2009, 12:19 PM
Oh I love flash mob freezes. It's not chaos--it's complete stillness.

So do I! Silent protest can be about whatever you say it's about, the point is to draw attention. By standing still for 2 minutes these people are going to make the news, people in turn are going to google the group or search it out and find out their message. It's like a sit in for the technology age.

disneylandgirl
07-29-2009, 12:31 PM
I think it would be really neat to see that in person... from the video it doesn't look disruptive at all. I wouldn't be worried about it. They are not running around, or yelling at people, or even talking to anyone. It's just a statement. I actually think it's better than having signs and walking around yelling things out. It's very peaceful. Even if I don't agree 100% with them, it would still be cool to be there and see it.

yohomama212
07-29-2009, 12:52 PM
And really, I can't for the life of me figure out how this flash mob thing in the esplanade is supposed to equate protesting the Iran election. Looks like an attention grab to me - nothing more.

Yes! It will bring attention to the cause. Like Lani said, green shirts, "Free Iran" gear... "no banners" doesn't mean "no way of identifying your cause".

I'd go to see it if I weren't busy tomorrow night.

Elizabeth

Britt W
07-29-2009, 02:04 PM
I think it sounds like a lot of fun. I'm not doing anything Thursday night so I'm going to stop by with my camera and watch the spectacle.

The Grand Central Station freeze is one of the coolest viral videos on the internet and I think it would be great to see something like that at Disneyland. I can't imagine that it will hurt anything and seriously would the average Disney tourist be that shocked by a little avant garde artistic expression? As long as the "protestors" aren't offensive I think that most unsuspecting people will be thrilled to witness 200 or so people suddenly frozen in place. That can't be any more unusual than a talking trash can walking around DCA.

tinker3
07-29-2009, 02:52 PM
[Just a warning for those who might be there.

And really, I can't for the life of me figure out how this flash mob thing in the esplanade is supposed to equate protesting the Iran election. Looks like an attention grab to me - nothing more.

Agreed!


Thanks for the heads up. We will be at DLR that day! I doubt if many people will know the purpose of this. Seems somewhat harmless though.

Toocherie
07-29-2009, 03:50 PM
I'll be home with my puppy who is getting spayed on Thursday.

However, there could be an argument that even though the Esplanade is private property it is sufficiently "public" that protesters cannot be kept out.

The cases of Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins
and Fashion Valley Mall LLC v. National Labor Relations Board established that the right of free speech in the California Constitution trumps the rights of an owner of a privately-owned shopping mall from banning all protests. (There can be reasonable restrictions.) So, (1) I don't think Disney could completely ban protests in Downtown Disney--which is certainly akin to a shopping mall, and (2) there is also a chance that the Esplanade would be considered sufficiently "public" to have the ruling apply. No doubt -- however--Disney's crack "security" would try to hustle anybody making a scene out of the place and deal with the result later.

In any event--200 people in the Esplanade doesn't sound like a tremendous amount.

disneylandgirl
07-30-2009, 06:39 AM
For anyone who's going later, let us know how it went!!

DisneyFunFamily4
07-30-2009, 07:03 AM
We witnessed on of these mob freeze things a few years ago in Downtown Disney by the monorail station one evening, it was really bizarre walking thought all the "frozen" people, I really just wanted to go up to then and poke them or try to get them to laugh!!! I cant imagine how they perceive this to be a protest of the election in iran...But to each his/her own!

Britt W
07-30-2009, 09:45 PM
For anyone who's going later, let us know how it went!!

I went to witness the mob freeze and it was a huge mob BUST. Only four women froze. The funny part was that there were probably 15-20 Disneyland managers hanging out to see what would happen. Most of the costumed security guards stayed back near the ticket booths but there seemed to be a lot more than there normally are in the esplanade.

There were 3-4 media types there too. One guy had a small Canon video camera on a tripod and there were a couple of photographers with serious still cameras. Then there were probably a dozen or so people like me that just showed up to watch.

So at 6:30 about 30 feet north of the sun mosaic (or whatever it's called) in the center of the esplanade, a woman holding two Mickey Mouse balloons posed for a picture and then released the balloons as she froze. The person that she was posing for stood about 15 feet away from her, also frozen but with no camera.

The two other women took up their position at the sun mosaic and stood facing each other but they were pointing to a tile in the ground. If you can imagine two women dancing the tango and then freezing, that's pretty much what it looked like.

It was kind of funny watching the people that showed up to watch --by my estimate this was at least 10 times the number of people who actually froze-- frantically scan the esplinade for the 196 frozen people that were missing. The media types were near the women that lost her balloons but they pointed to the second pair and scurried over to them. I also couldn't help but think how invaluable a still camera was for documenting this event. You could snap a photo any time you wanted in the esplanade and say that everyone was frozen in place. Who could dispute it unless they were there? I took some video but it is really choppy because I, like everyone else with a camera, was busy looking for MORE PEOPLE.

After the two minutes were up the women moved and then the media types swarmed in and I can only assume asked them questions so they'd have something to publish.

What a disappointment.

mechurchlady
07-30-2009, 10:07 PM
Wow, thanks for the report. I am glad I saved the bus fare. If I was protesting then I would leave little flyers in the rides and bathrooms. It would be easy to smuggle into the park 500 quarter page leaflets advertising a cause then leave them everywhere in the park.

cstephens
07-30-2009, 10:27 PM
I went to witness the mob freeze and it was a huge mob BUST. Only four women froze.

OK, that makes me laugh a lot. Was there any indication that it was supposed to be some kind of protest against the Iran election?

The OC Register article (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=129934) says they saw between 6 and 8 participants. The organizer of the planned freeze estimated 30-50. Yeah, ok then.

Burnt Toast
07-31-2009, 06:42 AM
Wow, thanks for the report. I am glad I saved the bus fare. If I was protesting then I would leave little flyers in the rides and bathrooms. It would be easy to smuggle into the park 500 quarter page leaflets advertising a cause then leave them everywhere in the park.

So they can be all over the place, littering the area.

Nice. What is wrong with you?

disneylandgirl
07-31-2009, 07:08 AM
Well, at least now I'm not bummed out that I didn't get to see it. :p

mechurchlady
07-31-2009, 08:33 AM
So they can be all over the place, littering the area.

Nice. What is wrong with you?
I was merely saying an example of how to protest in a way that gets the message to many people. Three are safer, cleaner, and alternate ways such as wearing bright t-shirts. I would never condone passing out of leaflets as that interferes with the magic of other guests. How many people learned the truth about things in Iran from that protest? How many even knew what they was protesting? Even here on this board how many know why those people did what they did? Not many probably/

cstephens
07-31-2009, 09:45 AM
I would never condone passing out of leaflets as that interferes with the magic of other guests.

So you wouldn't "pass out" (presuming you mean handing them to people, which Disney wouldn't allow anyway) the leaflets because it would interfere with other guests, but you don't think leaving pages and pages of paper on rides and in bathrooms would interfere with the fun they're trying to have when they find random pieces of paper and trash everywhere? Wow.

mechurchlady
07-31-2009, 11:03 AM
So you wouldn't "pass out" (presuming you mean handing them to people, which Disney wouldn't allow anyway) the leaflets because it would interfere with other guests, but you don't think leaving pages and pages of paper on rides and in bathrooms would interfere with the fun they're trying to have when they find random pieces of paper and trash everywhere? Wow.
You got it all mixed up. I do not condone dropping leaflets from the second floor of Innoventions, out a monorail window, or in ride vehicles. I do not condone the use of leaflets at all in the park. it was just an example of how a person who was all fired intent on spreading their message could do it in a better manner that the event that occured.

All for want of a grammar teacher, sigh.

Malcon10t
07-31-2009, 11:22 AM
If I was protesting then I would leave little flyers in the rides and bathrooms. It would be easy to smuggle into the park 500 quarter page leaflets advertising a cause then leave them everywhere in the park.


You got it all mixed up. I do not condone dropping leaflets from the second floor of Innoventions, out a monorail window, or in ride vehicles. I do not condone the use of leaflets at all in the park. I was confused too, because it really sounded like you would leave flyers in the ride vehicles.