A new, and controversial, attraction at Disney’s Epcot Center has been shut down. After much public outcry, “Habit Heroes” is being retooled, and the official opening has been delayed. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida has taken their information about “Habit Heroes” off their website.
An attraction that was set to officially open on March 5, 2012, at Disney’s Epcot Center has been postponed, indefinitely. Disney says that “Habit Heroes” is being closed for “retooling”. This isn’t entirely surprising, considering the controversy surrounding this attraction.
“Habit Heroes” is an interactive video game like attraction, which was designed to help kids to fight against bad habits. This, by itself, isn’t necessarily a bad idea. However, when you look at the details of the game, it is easy to see that the game had a different result. Across the internet, people wrote about how “Habit Heroes” showed negativity towards, and discrimination against, people who are obese.
The game involves two, thin, hero characters, named Will Power and Callie Stenics. Children playing the video game help them to fight against several villains, all of whom are obese. The villains have names like Lead Bottom and Snacker, and are accused of committing crimes such as not getting enough exercise, or eating too much junk food.
Critics of the game point out that it places a negative stereotype onto people who are overweight, or obese. Kids who are obese are going to resemble the body shape of the villains, not the heroes. Nobody wants to feel picked on while vacationing at Disney. The heroes names are an oversimplification of what it takes to lose weight: willpower and callisthenics. It ignores the range of other issues, from genetics to economic factors, that make it difficult for people to lose weight.
Disney has heard the complaints. The attraction has been closed. Disney’s website for it, habitheroes.com is “down for maintenance”. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida was a partner in the creation of “Habit Heroes”. Their website used to have a few pages featuring the attraction. Now, the website simply says: Page Not Found.
A spokesman for the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida, John W. Herbkersman, had this to say:
“Habit Heroes is currently in a soft-opening period, which gives us a chance to collect guest feedback and test and adjust the attraction prior to its opening.”
He also said:
“Our goal is to ensure that the attraction conveys a positive message about healthy lifestyles in a fun and empowering way. To work on further improving and refining the experience, the attraction is closed for the time being. We look forward to officially opening it soon”.
It has been said that the goal of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida is to encourage healthier habits among children. This is in the hopes that kids will improve their health, while lowering health-care costs. Obviously, this is a reference to the health care costs that the insurer would have to pay for, (and not necessarily the cost of premiums that customers would pay).
Image by p_a_h on Flickr