DanMargarita.com

The Orlando Sentinel and other news outlets have recently reported that Walt Disney World has banned young children from its upscale restaurant, Victoria & Albert’s. Ironically, while Victoria & Albert’s may have a minimum age requirement, Victoria’s Secret does not (I called and asked).

The posh restaurant is Disney’s only five-diamond AAA rated restaurant, and the paper quotes general manager Israel Perez as saying “We want to be the restaurant that's available for that adult experience.” The “adult experience”? That makes it sound like Disney is trying to get a XXX rating for the restaurant, which would give Disney World an entirely different image if the restaurant went truly “adult” and had waitresses dress as a topless Minnie Mouse.

Disney has always had its costumed characters roaming its parks but I never figured that the Chip ‘n Dale dancers would be replaced with the Chippendale Dancers.

Now, children under 10 years old are banned although how they can differentiate a 10-year-old from a 9-year-old remains to be seen. These kids aren’t likely to have a driver’s license or a liquor I.D. and there’s probably a law against cutting them in half and counting their rings.

Victoria & Albert’s has a strict dress code with men required to wear a jacket, women dresses or pants suits and prior to the ban, children a propeller beanie.

One can certainly understand why patrons might not want to have screaming children in their presence at this restaurant. It features a seven-course meal that can last three hours and starts at $125 per person. Have you ever sat on a plane with a screaming child for a three-hour flight? If you’re paying that kind of money, you don’t want to have to listen to a parent singing the Barney theme song to try and mollify a screaming youngster.

Victoria & Albert’s features live harp music and only seats 100 people, which means that there’s probably not a lot of room in the mosh pit.

Disney surveys have indicated that adults have “yearned for a more-adult” atmosphere according to Rosemary Rose, who by any other name is Disney’s vice president for food, beverage and merchandise operations, as well as possibly being responsible for hiring the strippers.

This is not the first Disney location to ban children. In the past, Disney has banned kids from Pleasure Island which makes one wonder what kind of pleasure the adults are having there. Yet, Disneyland’s posh Club 33, a private, invitation-only club allows young children, according to the Sentinel. I’d be a little nervous about attending a private club that invites children to attend. That sounds like the club is owned by Michael Jackson.

“Club 33 requests the presence of Master Timmy Johnson. RSVP in crayon, please.”

While they were once strictly a child and family entertainment company, several years ago they let their movie company begin to produce films with an “R” rating, much to the chagrin of “family” advocates, which might’ve been fine with Manson family advocates. Since Disney has seldom missed a chance to pick up a buck, maybe it is about time that they begin to feature adult-themed parks, rides and restaurants.

Surely there’s a market for an “Adult Toy Story” park or “The Jungle Karma Sutra Book.”

Disney has long been commendably progressive in giving benefits to employee same-sex partners, so there’s no reason they shouldn’t target the gay community as potential customers with “The Lion Queen” club.

For those with a peculiar fetish, you could just call it “The Little Mermaid.”

It may be a small world, but it’s certainly not the same one that the late Walt Disney departed from.

One can only wonder if he would be cheering these changes, or if his head would be spinning in his freezer.