Racy Disney Photos Make Splash On Net

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 in politically incorrect pranks.

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.

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. But Brocato says the company hasn’t bothered because it’s clearly a prank and no one appears to be exploiting the pictures for money.

The topless riders might be stunned to learn that they’ve become an eye-popping attraction at Disneyland, but winning a case against the park would be difficult since the riders appear to have willingly exposed themselves, says a specialist in Internet law.