A Mom is Caught on Camera Breastfeeding on a Disney Ride—and the Internet Had Words

Enough trolling. Breastfeeding in public is biologically normal and legally protected.

Fact checked by Sarah Scott

Florida law states that parents can breast/chest feed “wherever and whenever" they need to. Some armchair experts on the Internet seem to have missed the memo and have some pretty strong words for a mother exercising her right to—get this—feed her child on a Disney ride.

The horror.

Meredith Barnyak, a mother of two, traveled from Pittsburgh to Orlando with her family. Barnyak is nursing her youngest, Poppy, 1, like every major health organization, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and World Health Organization, recommends doing into toddlerhood. On a slow-moving boat ride, Frozen Ever After, Poppy wanted to nurse.

"She would just pull on my shirt, and I thought, 'OK, it's dark out. We're all humans. We're all honestly going to enjoy the ride a lot better and you'll be happier being fed,'" Barnyak told TODAY. 

Barnyak obliged. Nursing is so much more than food. It’s a great way to comfort a little one when they’re feeling overwhelmed, which they might be at a Disney park. Barnyak is right. Nursing keeps Poppy content (and quiet). Everyone else can enjoy Frozen Ever After in peace.

During the ride, a photo was snapped. It’s pretty epic, to be honest. In the picture, you see a happy Barnyak just doing her thing as a mammal and a mom nursing sweet little Poppy. None of the riders seem to notice or care—everyone is minding their business and having a ball. Her cousin, Jo Goddard, loved it so much that she posted it on her Instagram account for her lifestyle website, Cup of Jo.

And that’s how we got here. 

What Commenters Said About a Nursing Mom at EPCOT

Seeing that photo, people had “concerns.”

“Beyond attention seeking…and honestly rude, so the other people on the ride are stuck with this photo of you with your boob out? Nice,” says someone who knows nothing about biology. 

“No, just somebody looking for attention,” writes another troll. 

Others questioned safety.

"Sorry @cupofjo — big fan of you, but this is stupid, dangerous, and irresponsible,” writes one person. “@disney allowed this? Lifetime Orlando residents, and year after year, people get hurt or killed on theme park rides—usually for being dumb. I have no words."

Welp. Here’s a direct quote from Florida’s Public Health Website: “You can breastfeed your baby wherever and whenever you need to. According to Florida law, it is your right to breastfeed your baby wherever you are authorized to be. Breastfeeding is a normal part of being a mother.”

It sure is. In fact, we’re called mammals because we have mammary glands designed to feed our young. The more you know, right?

Related: Here's What Breastfeeding Support Looks Like Around The World

Normalize Breast/Chest Feeding Anywhere, Anytime

The boat ride at EPCOT is slow moving—like the lazy river Tiffany Francis nursed her child in at a Georgia water park before being told (incorrectly) that she could not do that. (The park apologized).

And you know what? These “safety” concerns are not the genuine concern. Society remains uncomfortable with the idea of breastfeeding. There are ideas that we have “already normalized breastfeeding” and need to “normalize formula." But only about 80% of infants are receiving any human milk at all at six months with nearly 60% of those supplemented with formula. This indicates that formula is normalized, though I agree that neither feeding option should be shamed.

Ask yourself if this story would have made news if the child was sipping from a water bottle, baby bottle, or sippy cup. Would anyone have cared if one of the adults drank water? The answer is no.

Throughout the years, breasts have been sexualized, and so whipping one out to appease a child on a slow-moving ride is seen as “gross,” “attention-seeking,” and “dangerous.” It’s not. It’s normal, and the law is with Barnyak. But the fact that we even need laws to protect public breast/chestfeeding versus other forms of food shows how not-quite-normalized it is.

In the case of Francis, people tried to hide behind “fears of bodily fluids,” as if milk tailor-made for our species is the bodily fluid we should be concerned about in a pool frequented by small children. Um, OK.

Some people were supportive of Barnyak. For example, one wrote, “I have a photo of me nursing my toddler on the teacup ride!"

The problem is people cling to negative comments, and I have two significant problems. First, they continue to perpetuate the idea that breast/chest feeding and human milk are gross. Prospective parents see these comments and may be dissuaded from trying something healthy, normal, and an incredible bonding experience.

The second, it isolates nursing parents. For the first few months of nursing my son, I hid in lactation rooms in public places. I went behind closed doors at parties with family and friends. As much as I enjoyed the quiet bonding time with my son, I hated missing all the fun things my toddler was doing. I hated missing opportunities to socialize with adults (This was last year in 2022, after spending two years in a pandemic with one baby.) Eventually, I decided enough—I’d nurse in public.

A few days after Francis’ story made headlines, I visited Sesame Place with my two children. Temperatures were in the high 90s, so my nursing toddler was frequently thirsty. I nursed my son in a lazy river. I nursed him on a ride. I nursed him during lunch with Elmo. Thankfully, no one said a thing. And, more than a year into our nursing journey, I didn’t think much of it. Looking back, I was just an empowered mom confidently feeding and comforting her child in a biologically normal way. Every nursing parent deserves to feel precisely the same way. 

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