VIDEO: Banksy’s twisted Dismaland is freaking us out

It’s Bizarro Disneyland —everything Disney’s theme parks are, except the completely dark side opposite.

In Weston-super-Mare, a coastal town that they forgot to close down, mysterious British artist Banksy has taken his satirical creativity and political commentary to must-see new heights.

Welcome to Dismaland, where nonplussed greeters make visitors feel anything but welcome and a ramshackle castle adds to the foreboding. And where Cinderella is seen hanging out of the window of her overturned pumpkin carriage as cold-hearted paparazzi snap away.

Whoa.

“Are you looking for an alternative to the sugar-coated tedium of the average family day out? Or just somewhere a lot cheaper?” the “bemusement” park’s website asks.

“Then this is the place for you. Bring the whole family to come and enjoy the latest addition to our chronic leisure surplus.”

Banksy calls it “a festival of art, amusements and entry-level anarchism”.

“It’s not a swipe at Disney,” he said in a statement.

“I banned any imagery of Mickey Mouse from the site.”

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(Hey Banksy: How about the mouse-eared adorned workers carrying “I am an imbecile” balloons? Yeah. Right.)

RELATED:Banksy door seized.

This is a return home for the artist. His pop-up installation, which features the work of several artists, is on an abandoned lido on England’s Bristol coast, where the Tropicana pool he swam in as a child once operated.

“I loved the Tropicana as a kid, so getting to throw these doors open again is a real honor,” Banksysaid in a statement released by the North Somerset Council.

The black magic kingdom is 120 miles west of London and open seven days a week through Sept. 27.

Tickets are only available through the Dismaland website and are indeed cheap: Less than $5.00 (U.S.) and free for kids under 5.

John A. Oswald is editor-at-large at Metro and can be found on Twitter@nyc_oz.
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