(KGTV) — Outraged Disneyland fans took to social media to vent their distaste for changes to one of the park's original attractions.
The theme park's Main Street Cinema has invited guests in to watch vintage Disney cartoons since 1955, screening cartoons like 1928's "Steamboat Willie" or the 1936 classic "Mickey’s Polo Team" across six screens.
Recently, however, park quietly moved merchandise racks and shelves into the small cinema, dubbed the "Cartoons and Collectibles" pop-up shop.
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But fans weren't happy with the merchandise positioning, saying the move is a "felonious attack" on Disneyland history:
@Disneyland @Disney @DisneyParks @WaltDisneyCo Putting a gift shop inside the Main Street Cinema is a disgrace. As if there aren’t enough shops in Disney Land! Why can’t things be left untouched?? I just don’t get it. Sad. #Disneyland #MainStreet pic.twitter.com/kwfA20GEnv
— Doc Johnson (@DocJohnson02) June 17, 2019
Not to beat a dead horse @DisneylandToday, but currently Main Street Cinema is trending on Twitter. Just a hint at how upset people are over this felonious attack on a piece of Disneyland history. This decision maker needs to be dealt with.
— Fresh Baked! (@FrshBakedDisney) June 14, 2019
You can get Mickey/minnie merch in almost every shop in park and especially every shop on main street what need could there possibly be to devote the cinema to retail
— Ian Wilmoth (@CydonPrax) June 14, 2019
In a statement to 10News, Disneyland officials said the move is meant to spark interest in the location:
“We continue to operate Main Street Cinema as a theater and there have been no changes to film showings,” Disneyland officials said. “We’re looking at a variety of ways to drive interest in this beloved location.”
Main Street Cinema celebrates some of Walt Disney's earliest cartoons. Each animated short runs for six to eight minutes in black and white on screens around the cinema.
It's unclear if the shop will be a permanent feature or temporary pop-up store.
