You are not alone if you have noticed recently that popular Disney subreddits such as r/WaltDisneyWorld and r/Disneyland have disappeared. These communities have become private for the next few days and restrict user access entirely. This decision has been long in the making. These social media Disney World fandoms have staged a virtual walkout to protest an unpopular business decision. With Republican Gov Ron DeSantis waging war with the Walt Disney Company, you may think the protesters would be using their platform to address a political topic. Still, the reason for the protest is much more straightforward than that. Keep reading to discover why these subreddits have joined in on the Reddit blackout and when you can expect them to return.
Protests at Walt Disney World
Disney fans have had much to discuss regarding protests over the past year. Republican Gov Ron DeSantis has been locked in a battle with the company ever since the former CEO Bob Chapek openly criticized the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” (also known as the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act.) Florida legislation has continued to go after the LGBTQ community, and Disney World is now suing DeSantis stating that the governor imposed on their right to free speech.
Just last week, Disney was in the limelight when white supremacists appeared at their gates to protest the company’s support of Pride Month with events such as Gay Days and After Dark: Pride Night. The group waved Nazi flags and yelled slurs while displaying support for DeSantis.
Disney Cast Members at Disneyland Paris are also on an ongoing strike to demand better wages. The strikes have caused parts of the Park to shut down entirely and have been a source of disruption for over a month.
Where Are These Disney Subreddit Fan Communities?
Surprisingly, the reason these Disney Reddit communities are gone is unrelated to the Walt Disney Company. The fault lies entirely with Reddit. Thousands of communities on the social media platform have gone dark for the next few days to protest the company’s decision to charge developers for access to its data.
In April, Reddit revealed its plan to impose feeds on third parties for utilizing its application programming interface (API), a tool that lets data providers talk with other applications. This change has occurred due to the rise of generative AI, such as ChatGPT. Reddit’s data is a valuable commodity to the company, and it wants to cash in on that fact. However, many communities argue that this could be costly and negatively affect subs as a major source of basic information.
Following the lead of several other location/hobby-specific subs that also serve as a major source for basic information and planning resources, we have decided to take restrict the sub to a “PRIVATE” format beginning on 6/12 for 48 hours. #RedditGoesDark #Reddit
— Walt Disney World Subreddit (@WDWSubreddit) June 12, 2023
The r/WaltDisneyWorld and r/Disneyland subreddits are just two of thousands of communities that have become private to protest the change. These forums will remain dark for 48 hours. They will be back up for users later this week, but whether their virtual walkout will affect Reddit’s decision is unclear. The company has hinted that it has no plans to reverse course.
This is crazy.
I feel homeless but yet committed.
Reddit should give developers at least a 12-month notice before any API policy changes. #RedditBlackout #RedditGoesDark pic.twitter.com/qtTyxjAm6C
— Wise Camel (@WiseCamelll) June 13, 2023
Users are encouraged to join the Walt Disney World Discord to engage with other Disney fans in the meantime.
