ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 12, 1997 TAG: 9701130123
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ANAHEIM, CALIF.
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
IT'S JUST NOT WHOLESOME: bare-breasted women smiling for the camera as they head for splashdown on the famous Disney log ride. What's worse - the pictures are now on the Internet.
While critics have worked themselves into a lather denouncing Disneyland's cleanup of lusty swashbucklers on its Pirates of the Caribbean attraction, it appears that a park insider has pulled off the ultimate politically incorrect prank.
More than a dozen photographs of women baring their breasts on the park's Splash Mountain log ride have appeared on sites across the Internet in recent months - leading some cheeky cyber-fans to christen the attraction ``Flash Mountain.''
The photos were captured by a special video camera mounted inside the ride that snaps souvenir photos of each log and its crew of up to eight riders as they plunge down Splash Mountain's watery, five-story drop.
Through the years, uninhibited adventurers of both sexes have flashed more than a smile to the camera in the hopes of walking away with an R-rated memento from the G-rated Magic Kingdom.
Such spicy images usually are intercepted and destroyed by Disneyland employees, who edit the digital pictures before they can be turned into $9.95 souvenir 8-by-10s.
But park officials say the topless photos now circulating in the Internet were likely swiped by an employee who proceeded to launch them into cyberspace.
An internal investigation last year failed to turn up the culprit, according to Disneyland spokesman Tom Brocato. He says park management since has tightened security procedures and added more oversight to the editing process.
``This is obviously something we don't condone,'' Brocato said. ``We've put additional controls in place to keep it from happening again.''
Opened in 1989, Splash Mountain is a log flume themed on Disney's movie classic ``Song of the South.'' Critters such as Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear cavort and sing ``Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah'' while riders hang on for a white-knuckle adventure through the faux swamps and rapids.
But the real thrill for some riders is the chance to perform for the video camera. Park veterans know precisely where it's located and can time their gestures and expressions accordingly.
The high-jinks aren't unique to Splash Mountain or Disneyland. Parks nationwide have equipped their thrill rides with cameras and most screen their souvenir photos for off-color activity.
Disney's inability to control a freewheeling, sometimes bawdy forum such as the Internet stands in stark contrast to its plans to sanitize its classic Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. The audio-animatronic pirates will soon be depicted lusting after food, rather than village maidens.
Legal experts say the Flash Mountain caper is a good example of how the Internet is straining traditional definitions of copyright, publicity and privacy rights.
The Walt Disney Co. owns the images and could seek to have charges filed against those posting them on Web sites and bulletin boards.
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