Claim:
In June 2024, Disney announced it would operate its Space Mountain roller coaster with the lights on.
Rating:
Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )
On June 15, 2024, Mouse Trap News published an article claiming that Disney's popular roller coaster Space Mountain, famed for being set in almost total darkness, would run from then on with the building lights on following an incident in which a man's hands were ripped off by the ride. The article began as follows:
Space Mountain Will Keep the Lights Permanently
Space Mountain will be operating with the lights on permanently. The other day a man lost his hands on the ride. Because of this, Disney has decided to keep the lights on inside the attraction.
Mouse Trap News also posted the story to its TikTok page , where it gained more than 600,000 views and 30,000 likes. Many TikTok users left comments that implied they believed the story was real, with some users reciting the universal safety advice: "Keep your hands, arms, feet and legs inside the vehicle at all times."
Luckily for Space Mountain fans, the story was made up and no such accident happened. The article originated from a website that describes its output as satire, as labeled on the website's About page and in its TikTok account bio :
Mouse Trap News is the world's best satire and parody site. We write fake stories about Disney Parks stuff. From Disney Park announcements to Disney Hotel and resort news to made-up Disney partnerships, you can be assured that anything you read here is not true, real, or accurate, but it is fun. So technically our slogan The Moused Trusted Name in Disney News isn't true, but we thought it was creative and funny, so we are running with it.
This isn't the first time Mouse Trap News has run this story, either. Back in January 2023 , Snopes covered a very similar article from Mouse Trap News claiming that a man had lost his hands while riding Space Mountain. According to our reporting then, the publication followed that story up by claiming Disney had announced Space Mountain would be operating with the lights on.
The 2024 version of the story did mention that earlier satirical "incident," clarifying it by saying this time, Disney had decided the lights would stay on permanently. Of course, because it originated from Mouse Trap News, none of it was true.
For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.
Sources:
About . 22 Dec. 2022, https://mousetrapnews.com/about/. Liles, Jordan. "Did a Man Lose His Hands on Space Mountain?"
Snopes , 9 Jan. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/man-loses-hands-on-space-mountain/.
Man Seriously Injured on Space Mountain at Disney World . 29 Dec. 2022, https://mousetrapnews.com/man-seriously-injured-on-space-mountain-at-disney-world/.
Space Mountain Will Keep the Lights Permanently . 15 June 2024, https://mousetrapnews.com/space-mountain-will-keep-the-lights-permanently/.
TikTok - Make Your Day . https://www.tiktok.com/@mousetrapnews?lang=en. Accessed 18 June 2024.
--- . https://www.tiktok.com/@mousetrapnews/video/7380830188961156382?lang=en. Accessed 18 June 2024.
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