Walt Disney World faces backlash for tweeting ‘1939 was a vibe’ after people point out what happened that year

Walt Disney World has faced backlash online after tweeting “1939 was a vibe,” only for people to quickly point out some of the major historical events that occurred that year.

On 28 November, the official Twitter account for the Disney World resort in Florida tweeted a promotional video featuring the words “Drop in to the HappyVerse,” along with the caption “1939 was a vibe” and the hashtag #HappyPlace. The video was a five-second clip of a recent commercial, in which people were dressed in outfits from the 1920s.

The tweet appeared to reference the plot behind the Disney attraction, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, which is dedicated to the night of 31 October 1939, when lightning struck the Hollywood Tower Hotel, causing the elevator to free-fall.

The Twitter post, which was up for five days before being removed, sparked criticism and discussion online as users responded with examples of historical events from 1939.

For those that need a refresher, these are just some of the events that happened in 1939: World War II began in September that year when Germany invaded Poland, leading Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Earlier in 1939, Adolf Hitler – leader of the Nazi Party – began his campaign of Jewish persecution across Europe. From 1939 until the end of the war in 1945, an estimated 70 million to 85 million people died in World War II, including six million Jews in the Holocaust.

“1939. When Nazi Germany invaded Poland? Yes, I suppose that was ‘a vibe,’” said one person sarcastically in response to the tweet.

“ARE WE SURE 1939 WAS A VIBE???” another user tweeted, while someone else said: “Poland was not consulted.”

Others responded with pictures of maps and newspaper headlines from 1939 just to emphasise that 1939 was indeed not a “vibe”.

One person tweeted an image of a 1939 headline from the Evening Standard, which read: “Germans Invade And Bomb Poland Britain Mobilises” with the caption “1939 was a vibe”.

“Poland, the Sudetenland, and all of the Jewish, Roma, Black, disabled, and homosexual residents of Germany would have to disagree here,” another person replied, along with a piece of advice. “Y’all really need to study history in your marketing programs…” 

The since-deleted tweet also prompted users to dig up age-old stories of Walt Disney’s connection to antisemitism, having once been spoofed in a Family Guy episode and even the subject of comments made by Meryl Streep – who called the animator a "hideous antisemite" who "formed and supported an antisemitic industry lobby".

The claim has not been proven and was even disputed by Walt Disney experts. Still, the industry lobby in question was the Motion Picture Alliance, which allegedly had privately antisemitic members.

This is not the first time Disney has faced backlash for poorly-written tweets. In 2018, the official Twitter account for Disney made a “bleak” reference to Pinnochio. In 2015, Disney Japan posted an ill-timed tweet on the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.

The Independent has contacted Disney World Resorts for comment.