Most Disney rides take photos of guests, capturing their reactions and turning them into cherished memories that’ll last forever. One woman was unaware of the camera until it was too late, and she was photographed breastfeeding her child during the Disney ride. Here’s what happened next…
There are a lot of things that people do during their Walt Disney World Resort vacations that can spark debates among Disney fans — whether it’s something like drinking around the world at EPCOT or saving places in line.
Then there may be a topic that a lot of people wouldn’t think of as debatable, but others have more conservative views on. We are talking about breastfeeding in public.
Women have been breastfeeding their children for thousands of years, with the earliest mention of it dating back to 3000 BC. However, over the past few years, breastfeeding in public has become somewhat of a controversial topic.
There are those who see it as a mother feeding her child, while others think it is something that should be done in private and not in full view of others.
One mom has ignited the breastfeeding debate once again after a photo of her went viral. But it wasn’t just the fact that she was breastfeeding. It was that she was breastfeeding on a Walt Disney World attraction and the ride camera captured it.
Meredith Barnyak was visiting “The Most Magical Place on Earth” with her husband and two children, ages three and one. During their trip, they spent some time in EPCOT and ventured to one of the most popular rides in the park — Frozen Ever After.
According to Barnyak, while they were on the ride, her youngest — who was sitting in her lap — started to get fussy. To calm her down, Barnyak began to feed her, not realizing there was a camera on the attraction. Barnyak laughed at the memory when recalling it during an interview with TODAY.
“As soon as I saw the flash, I was like, ‘Oh no, I think all these people have a picture of (me) breastfeeding my baby on this ride… She would just pull on my shirt and I thought, ‘OK, it’s dark out. We’re all humans. We’re all honestly going to enjoy the ride a lot better and you’ll be happier being fed… I am a pretty big proponent of any way you can feed your baby you should be able to do it — in any place.”
Woman Breastfeeding During Disney Ride Sparks Debate
Barnyak shared the photo with her family and her cousin — with Barkyak’s permission — posted the photo to her website’s Instagram page.
My cousin @meredithbarnyak being an absolute MOM on this Disney ride. 💪💪💪🏆🏆🏆❤️❤️❤️
View this post on Instagram
While Barnyak’s cousin was praising the mom of two, her photo did ignite a debate among commenters. Many praised the woman, who was not afraid to feed her child no matter where they were or what they were doing.
Ok this might be the best breastfeeding photo ever. It belongs in a museum❤️❤️❤️
Then there were those who thought the woman was doing something that was not only inappropriate, but also dangerous.
Sorry @cupofjo – big fan of you buy this is stupid, dangerous and irresponsible. @disney allowed this? Lifetime Orlando resident and year after year people get hurt or killed on theme park rides – usually for being dumb. I have no words.
Barnyak was also defended by those who said that they had fed their children on Disney rides, with many people mentioning Pirates of the Caribbean.
Fond memories of doing the same thing. Highly recommend pirates of the Caribbean. Dark and cool
It is important to note that Frozen Ever After does allow infants on the attraction.
There are a lot of rides throughout the Walt Disney World Resort that allow babies to ride, including Dumbo The Flying Elephant, “it’s a small world”, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Haunted Mansion, Gran Fiesta Tour, Spaceship Earth, and so many more.
What do you think of this mom breastfeeding while on a Disney ride? Let us know in the comments.
It was dark, the baby was fussy- leave her alone! Everyone was safe!
Why would this photo offend anyone? Geez – I might question the safety issue but I don’t know that ride to judge that.
Dangerous? It’s a ride that allows lap sitting infants. Not a roller coaster. If it wasn’t safe, the tiny bean wouldn’t be allowed on the ride at all. It’s not like she held it out over the side of the boat to give her child a better look at the animatronics. Seriously. People. 🙄