UPDATE: 2/28 2:23 p.m. -- Disney responded to our inquiries about the exhibit's closure with the following statement:
We are currently in a soft opening period for Habit Heroes, which gives us a chance to collect guest feedback and test and adjust the attraction prior to its opening. In order to work on further improving and refining the experience, we've decided to close the attraction for the time being. We look forward to officially opening it soon.
UPDATE: 2/26 2:08 p.m. -- Disney's Habit Heroes website has been shut down indefinitely for maintenance. "Sorry, Habit Heroes is down for maintenance," reads the website. Blogs Mickey Updates, Touring Plans and The Epcot Explorer's Encyclopedia have also reported that the exhibit has been suspended until further notice following the outpouring of negative reactions, though we have not been able to confirm this with Disney.
* * *
Disney World has officially joined the fight against childhood obesity -- and the reactions are mixed.
An interactive exhibit named Habit Heroes opened on February 3rd as part of Disney's Innoventions, a two-building playspace at Epcot, the Orlando Sentinel reports. It's co-sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield, and features protagonists Callie Stenics and Will Power who lead participants through a series of activities aimed at destroying “villains” bearing names like Sweet Tooth, Lead Bottom and The Snacker. (Scroll down to see images of the characters.)
The purpose of the exhibit, according to Jennifer Fickley-Baker, Social Media Manager of the Disney Parks Blog, is to "[encourage] children of all ages to learn healthy lifestyle habits and become more active." But while the Habit Heroes campaign claims to encourage healthy activities, not everyone is convinced that its methods (and messages) are positive. The project is beginning to stir up controversy, not unlike the anti-obesity ads in Georgia that have sparked a national debate over fat-shaming.
In the first of three interactive rooms, visitors confront (remote) Control Freak and blow up raining televisions. Next they take on Sweet Tooth and Snacker, and wage a food fight with video-arcade style guns that abolish junk food using healthy food as ammunition. Broccoli and apples knock out cream puffs and hot dogs.
Finally, the group upends Lead Bottom in a room where Just Dance-style technology gets everyone moving. Each guest stands in his or her own spotlight and gets down while heart rates get up.
Then, the theme park experience continues off-site on the Internet. On Disney's website, children can play virtual games connected to vanquishing each of the bad habits. And while the real-life exhibit only features three villains, the online component expands the crew to include characters like Drama Queen (gossiping), Ice Cappuccino (too much caffeine), Sweet Tooth (too many sweets) and Insecura (who knew that lack of self-esteem was a bad habit?). The website even includes a section for parents that encourages participation in Habit Heroes' mobile component: “Once your kids experience Habit Heroes online, they can use your smartphone to play Habit Heroes mobile, where parents and kids can work together to become Heroes to fight the bad health habits in their own lives.”
Disney is far from alone in creating programming to combat unhealthy lifestyles. Look no further than the Michelle Obama-endorsed “Let's Move” initiative. Rates of childhood obesity have risen to 17 percent in recent years -- triple what they were a generation ago. However, questions of how to best address these numbers and the health complications associated with obesity remain.
Yoni Freedhoff, a family doctor and founder of Ottawa's Bariatric Medical Institute, took to his blog Weighty Matters to express frustration with Disney's tactics. He says the bad habit avatars enforce vicious stereotypes about fat people:
So thanks for being so helpful Disney -- I mean if your kid's not overweight or obese, here's to Disney reinforcing society's most hateful negative obesity stereotyping, and if they are overweight or obese -- what kid doesn't want to be made to feel like a personal failure while on a Disney family vacation?
Writer and activist Ragen Chastain, who recently launched the “Support All Kids” campaign to counter the anti-obesity ads in Atlanta, also wrote a response on her blog, Dances With Fat. She says the caricature-like images of the heroes and their bad habit counterparts brought her to tears. "Disney is supposed to be the happiest place on Earth and now fat kids – who are subjected to a barrage of shaming, humiliating, stigmatizing, and bullying messages from society on a daily basis – will go on vacation and find out that people who look like them are villains who other kids fight for points and bragging rights," she wrote.
Do you think that programs like Disney's help kids develop healthy habits? Or do they ultimately do more harm than good?
LOOK: Some of Disney's "bad habit" avatars.
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UPDATE: 2/28 2:23 p.m. -- Disney responded to our inquiries about the exhibit's closure with the following statement:
We are currently in a soft opening period for Habit Heroes, which gives us a chan...
UPDATE: 2/28 2:23 p.m. -- Disney responded to our inquiries about the exhibit's closure with the following statement:
We are currently in a soft opening period for Habit Heroes, which gives us a chan...
We should halt all anti drug campaigns because it might make drug addicts feel bad about themselves and the poor choices they have made and that would be wrong...
allentothemax: We should halt all anti drug campaigns because it might
I wouldn't feel bad about shaming an 8 year old coke head. Anyway, the point of the exhibit is that there are specific actions one can take to fight obesity. Additionally, waiting until obese kids are older to try to get them to a healthy weight is not nearly as effective.
The point is to establish habits at a young age.
darkeegan: I wouldn't feel bad about shaming an 8 year old
They support obese fairies. Watch the Tinkerbell movies (well, I have small kids, so I did). But the important part is the fairies got fat on natural, non-processed foods!
Antitea: They support obese fairies. Watch the Tinkerbell movies (well, I
Over eating is over eating. It doesn't matter if you are popping 3 candy bars, or a crap ton of tofu. You can get fat on eating too much of near anything. Throw all the celery comments at me you want, I'm talking about a weekly diet of decently healthy foods in excessive portions being bad.
Brianna_Cole: Over eating is over eating. It doesn't matter if you
I just previewed the sldeshow and am still looking for any even remote similarity to any child I have seen. There is no chance a kid is walking, running or passing through there seeing themselves other than possibly in the behaviors.
While I do not believe shaming children is ever an acceptable practice, what is equally unacceptable is the over-feeding and under-exercising of our children. I think the parents were offended by this exhibit because it put a mirror to the damage they are imposing on the generations of obese children.
Renee_thewriter: I just previewed the sldeshow and am still looking for
Guess what guys... if you work out and eat right you loose weight. If you don't, you gain it! This is just a fact of life that is being displayed in the game. Will it make overweight people feel bad?... probably. But I bet that people with sexually transmitted diseases feel pretty bad and pretty dumb every time they have to sit through a presentation on safe sex.
Don't make bad choices and then expect everyone to ecstatically follow suit. The more people make bad choices with their health the more we as a society should push against those choices.
thinkbeforeyouspeak2011: Guess what guys... if you work out and eat right
Personally, I don't think they should put human forms on the bad characteristics. The point is to get rid of the characteristic, not isolate the person.
Secondly, where in the heck is the deadbeat dad ride? I want to smash some loser-looking dads who don't take care of their kids. Isn't that a plight on society? How much more do we pay via WIC and Food Stamps because dads skip out on their kids?
Get a clue Disney.
HotPinkNChoc: Personally, I don't think they should put human forms on
I WAS A FAT KID GOT COMPARED TO URSULA ALOT....YEA FEELINGS HURT KIDS DONT THINK LIKE ADULTS DO THEY'RE QUICK TO COMPARE FICTION TO REALITY SO I THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO PULL IT. I MEAN FAT KIDS ARE TARGETED THE MOST IN BULLYING YET THERE'S NO ANTI CAMPAIGN FOR THE FATTYS NOPE BUT IT GETS BETTER FOR OUR HOMOSEXUAL YOUTH I DONT THINK ITS FAIR. YOU'VE GOT ANTI "GAY WORD" CAMPAIGNS BUT MORE AND MORE AND MORE NEGATIVITY TOWARDS FAT PEOPLE IT SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON HEALTH NOT FAT PEOPLE. YOU'LL B SURPRISED THE SKINNY KIDS I GREW UP WITH WHO HAD THE WORST EATING HABITS!! I LOVED MY VEGGIES AND PLAYED OUTSIDE ONLY OWNED 2 VIDEO GAMES EVER! YET I WAS THE FAT ONE! SO FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE I SAY LESS STRESS ON FAT AS PEOPLE MORE ATTENTION ON HEALTHY LIVING TRUST ME MOST KIDS HAVE ALREADY LEARNED A NEGATIVE POV OF OBESE PEOPLE FROM THEIR PARENTS. NO NEED FOR DISNEY TO HELP.
Angie_La_Freeman: I WAS A FAT KID GOT COMPARED TO URSULA ALOT....YEA
The prevailing concept in our society today is the idea that you deserve something without working for it. Good grades, cell phones, bling, new Nike "glow in the dark limos for your feet," everyone one is a winner in sports competitions......"when you wish upon a star, Obama will give you just what you want..... "
dirtydog1776: The prevailing concept in our society today is the idea
A little bit of shame and embarrassment can be a good thing. Better than the false sense of inflated self esteem that is pumped into our kids on a daily basis.
dirtydog1776: A little bit of shame and embarrassment can be a
No kidding, right? Number 5 or lower in every category academically, but still #1 in confidence. Anti-intellectualism is making all this possible. People live in their own realities, thinking that someday they will be millionaires, and leave all this crap in the dust, first they just have to figure out how to get rich without math or science. So many of my friends studied business and learned nothing, and when I would ask them what they thought they were going to do with their MBA's they would mutter something about creating the next facebook... many of them now live back at their parent's house.
Jack_Glastra: No kidding, right? Number 5 or lower in every category
"People live in their own realities, thinking that someday they will be millionaires...." You totally nailed it there. That's why people don't want higher taxes on millionaires, because they just KNOW that next week they're going to win the lottery or become the next American Idol and then they'll be millionaires and don't want to pay higher taxes.
Will_Tyler: "People live in their own realities, thinking that someday they
I know Ragen and am proud to support her. This isn't about how people look; it's about how people are treated. Just because someone's fat doesn't mean they should be treated like subhumans, and all I have to do is look at most of the comments here to see that people think fat = worthless. It's sad.
legaleagle4: I know Ragen and am proud to support her. This
Parents aren't doing their job and are setting bad examples for their children. They use the excuse that there's no time to cook so they plop a frozen dinner on the table or a greasy fast food bag several, if not all, nights a week.
Parents allow their kids to sit and play video games rather than going out and riding a bike, exploring or throwing a ball. Flying a kite is even exercise! Spend time with your kids so companies don't have to pick up where you've been negligent.
Disney is trying to be a good role model and they get blasted for it. What a shame.
AuburnHaired: Parents aren't doing their job and are setting bad examples
Agreed. The kids shouldn't feel half as bad as the parents should feel. The health of their child is their responsibility. Explaining healthy habits and exhibiting healthy attitudes is their obligation. It's just a side effect of people switching their priorities form their children to themselves. Where did family dinner go where a TV isn't on or even in the room? What happened to mom waking up at 6am to put a roast in the oven?
When you say no to a child in a candy or toy store, yes their feelings will be hurt, but in the long run, they will be better off because of it. Explaining why is a huge aspect, too. Maybe if children understood the health risks they are putting themselves in, then maybe they would want to change also.
Loving your children isn't about making them feel good all the time, or giving them what they want all the time... it's giving them what they need, and establishing healthy habits that they can have throughout the rest of their lives. Don't enable children... raise them.
peterochocinco: Agreed. The kids shouldn't feel half as bad as the
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The Huffington Post Emma Gray First Posted: 02/24/2012 4:01 pm Updated: 03/ 2/2012 3:44 pm