‘Mirror, Mirror: Reflections of American Stories in Disney Parks’ debuts at the Smithsonian

By Rebecca Davis

Attractions Magazine had the opportunity to preview “Mirror, Mirror: Reflections of American Stories in Disney Parks,” and discuss the new exhibition with museum staff, including curator and author of Disney Theme Parks and America’s National Narratives, Bethanee Bemis. 

The exhibit opens with an oversized interactive map of Disneyland. Guests can turn the panels to reveal more information, but be sure to look out for a special “hidden mickey” in the form of the current voice of Mickey Mouse, Brett Iwan, circa 1988.

As guests enter, early Magic Kingdom and Disneyland maps are displayed across from two specific types of iconic park photographs: Images of the train stations and, of course, plenty of castle photographs.

Telling guest stories that reflect the ever-changing American experience

Bethanee Bemis, the exhibition’s curator, explained that the fan experience in the parks is at the heart of these stories. As a result, the collection displayed in the Albert H. Small Document Gallery leans heavily on fan-submitted photos and other small objects like concept art, maps, tickets, and buttons. 

Inside the gallery, Bemis and her colleagues showcased photos that told several compelling narratives from throughout park history. Those include stories from families who felt out of place or unsafe elsewhere but could vacation safely in the Disney Parks.

“We saw that a lot in these stories that people sent us – particularly among immigrant families – what it meant to get to go to Disneyland,” Bemis said. “It meant, ‘we’ve made it, we’re part of the American Story.’”

Some examples include a biracial family who safely vacationed at Disneyland when the parents’ marriage was illegal in their home state of Texas and a featured Japanese family who had been in a concentration camp just a decade before snapping a photo with Walt himself at Disneyland. 

In addition, the exhibition highlights two attractions that help tell the story of the parks changing to reflect the cultural landscape, Pirates of the Caribbean and Splash Mountain. A section of the exhibit about Splash Mountain includes fan-made buttons depicting Br’er Rabbit and Princess Tiana. 

Mirror, Mirror also tells the story of original Disney Imagineer and Disney Legend Bob Gurr and his role in shaping LGBTQ+ advocacy during the years between designing the Omnibus as a closeted gay man in the 1950s and driving it in the Los Angeles Pride Parade officially representing the Walt Disney Company in 2019. Gurr’s official pride t-shirt and the first Disney Pride product (a pair of rainbow Mickey ears) are on display.

Another section of the exhibition showcases fan-created Mickey ears and invites guests to reflect on what they would put on their ears to represent themselves.

Like other offerings throughout the museum, signage is in both English and Spanish. The exhibit also offers accessibility features, such as QR codes that guests can scan for plain text descriptions.

If you can’t visit the National Museum of American History, you can still check out some aspects of the exhibit in about a month when 200 of the photos and their stories will be available on the museum website. Click here for more information.