Accident at WDW kills CM

goofyfan13

goofyfan13

Well-Known Member
Wow, I am completely shocked that this happened. My condelences go out to the family members and anyone who knew him.

Just a thought...... is there any way we can do a sort of "we send our condolences" card for the family, and have all of the forum members sign it? Just an idea, trying to think of a way to help.
 
Glasgow

Glasgow

Well-Known Member
Everyone can't mourn for everyone else .. that'd be a full time job. People die every minute of every day - we all understand that. I also see your point Andre - we know that oil rig workers and bakery shop owners die and one life shouldn't be valued more than another based on media exposure or the like.

What you do though is take the time to recognize the special people that you know or have some special connection with and celebrate their life. We're not ignoring others, but rather recognizing the part of the world we see and are involved with. That's all you can do
 
PKD

PKD

Active Member
My thoughts go out to every CM that was there that day and of course to those who knew him. I do have a question, and please i hope this does not come out wrong, but....
if he was Pluto, why would he be "in front" of the Orincess Float to allow for this accident? He would be behind it ready to step off infrot of the last castle stlye float correct?

Again i am not trying to be rude, i am just wondering if he may have been in the wrong place for step off?

My prayers to your family!!
 
M

Mary Poppins

Member
Originally posted by goofyfan13
Wow, I am completely shocked that this happened. My condelences go out to the family members and anyone who knew him.

Just a thought...... is there any way we can do a sort of "we send our condolences" card for the family, and have all of the forum members sign it? Just an idea, trying to think of a way to help.
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If you send it to the Parades department they may be able to get it to the familly.

Walt Disney World
Attn: Magic Kingdom Entertainment
PO Box 10,000
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
 
M

Mary Poppins

Member
Originally posted by convrsboy
if he was Pluto, why would he be "in front" of the Orincess Float to allow for this accident? He would be behind it ready to step off infrot of the last castle stlye float correct?

Again i am not trying to be rude, i am just wondering if he may have been in the wrong place for step off?

My prayers to your family!!
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He wasn't in front of the entire float, just in front of one of the three sections. Parade performers will often stroll alongside a float (although they aren't necessarily supposed to) as it is making its way to step off. When you do a role often you get used to where you can walk and where you can't. Javier was also a float driver. I'm sure that coupled with the fact that he was a veteran performer caused him to be extremely comfortable around the floats.
 
daksimba

daksimba

New Member
Originally posted by Mary Poppins
He wasn't in front of the entire float, just in front of one of the three sections. Parade performers will often stroll alongside a float (although they aren't necessarily supposed to) as it is making its way to step off. When you do a role often you get used to where you can walk and where you can't. Javier was also a float driver. I'm sure that coupled with the fact that he was a veteran performer caused him to be extremely comfortable around the floats.
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Exactly. He hadn't yet passed the sight line yet, and was just "playing" around with the dispatch coordinator.

It wasn't anything that he or anybody else hasn't done in any other parade on property. Hell, we play with a frisbee sometimes before parade as the floats are coming up.

We all gain a level of awareness and comfort around the floats. I think sometimes too much as this accident has come to show.

Just goes to show that experience doesn't always equal wisdom. Something we almost all are guilty of, and hopefully will think of more often.



As for andre85, come on, what the hell do you think you are going to acomplish? Here is a clue, we are all HUMAN. Maybe having more feeling for one death over another isn't the perfect moral way, but we are human and imperfect. Humans will always feel more towards deaths that are close to them, and deaths that are from rare and unusual circimstances.

Think about it, this is the first parade related death in almost 50 years of Disney parades. How can anybody not feel a certian level of suprise and grief over that?

Walt Disney World Entertainment hasn't experienced an entertainment CM death of this level of shock and suprise since Vickie Stafford-Greene.
 
M

murphy

New Member
I read in an earlyer post that a hinge may have come loose on the float ! Has anyone heard if that had anything to do with the accident??
 
mrtoad

mrtoad

Well-Known Member
I had not heard about this until my father emailed me a little while ago. I was away all day and had not had access to the internet.

I feel horrible. I just feel horrible.

As for the person who was saying about who are heros and such. Because someone does not have a job such as a fire fighter or policeman, etc does not make them any less of a person. Everyone deserves respect, everyone.

The people who play those characters are heros to some. I was there last week and I am not sure if the people who play the characters in the parade are the same as the ones in Cinderella's Surprise Celebration or not but after the one of the shows when all the characters come out for autographs I watched Pluto spend a long time with one little boy. This little boy was in a wheelchair and had one leg missing which looked to be from a birth defect. The smile on that boy's face and the smile's on his parents face made me cry. That cast member was a hero in my mind for not giving in to all the people on line behind this family with the look on their face of "come on already" so their child could get to see Pluto. This cast member took the time to make this child happy. This cast member while kneeling down to spend time with the boy put his paw right on the end of the childs leg which as I know from experience because my grandfather had a leg removed that people usually are not likely to do. This child was probably use to other people staring at his leg and this CM was not affected by it and showed his compassion to this child. I think that was a very heroic thing to do.
 
sillyspook13

sillyspook13

Well-Known Member
It's hard to put something like this into words.

I heard the news at the end of my work shift Wednesday afternoon. It was somewhat unsettling to see every entertainment cast member leaving work on the phone- some crying, others shocked.

I can't say I knew Javier on a first name basis, but that doesn't make him any less a part of my family. He may not have saved lives but he was a hero in his own right. He went above and beyond to create magic for those around him, guests and cast members alike.

My heart goes out to Javier, his family, friends, and those whose lives he's touched.

I've lit a candle in memory.
 
R

RREngineer

New Member
I have never posted here, but I read often. I too was blessed with knowing Javier and the past two days have been very tough for all of Magic Kingdom (those that knew him as well as those that did not).

I just wanted to send my applause to the Parade entertainment cast. I understand the show must go on but I wanted to write and say that they DID run the Share a Dream Come True Parade yesterday (without any show stops and minus the snowglobe Princess float, they used the old Remember the Magic float) and simply hearing the music made me cry. I have the ut-most respect for each and everyone of those performers who went into work yesterday, put on their costumes and forced a smile out to create the Disney Magic that they do so well. It was a very difficult time for all involved and they did a very brave thing in my book. Many members of the Guest Relations and Main Street team were out on the steps of City Hall clapping for them as we can only imagine what they were going through. It took courage and strenghth to do the parade and I applaud all of them for going out there yesterday and doing exactlly what Javier would have wanted them to. He Loved his job, he loved being in the parades, he loved making people smile and he would not have wanted anything different.

As for Andre, I understand where you are coming from as I tend to get on that same high horse for missing children (there are thousands of them everyday yet we only hear about a few a year)...HOWEVER when you are coming to a discussion forum that is about WDW and has MANY people that were lucky enough to have Javier as a part of their lives your comments are not appropriate. Tell your firends your feeling, tell your neighbors, but this forum was neither the time nor the place for hurtful comments like that.

Hugs and kisses to Javier's family, his Disney family and all my friends that knew and loved him, he will be missed greatly.
 
W

wdwvip3

New Member
Originally posted by RREngineer
I have never posted here, but I read often. I too was blessed with knowing Javier and the past two days have been very tough for all of Magic Kingdom (those that knew him as well as those that did not).

I just wanted to send my applause to the Parade entertainment cast. I understand the show must go on but I wanted to write and say that they DID run the Share a Dream Come True Parade yesterday (without any show stops and minus the snowglobe Princess float, they used the old Remember the Magic float) and simply hearing the music made me cry. I have the ut-most respect for each and everyone of those performers who went into work yesterday, put on their costumes and forced a smile out to create the Disney Magic that they do so well. It was a very difficult time for all involved and they did a very brave thing in my book. Many members of the Guest Relations and Main Street team were out on the steps of City Hall clapping for them as we can only imagine what they were going through. It took courage and strenghth to do the parade and I applaud all of them for going out there yesterday and doing exactlly what Javier would have wanted them to. He Loved his job, he loved being in the parades, he loved making people smile and he would not have wanted anything different.

As for Andre, I understand where you are coming from as I tend to get on that same high horse for missing children (there are thousands of them everyday yet we only hear about a few a year)...HOWEVER when you are coming to a discussion forum that is about WDW and has MANY people that were lucky enough to have Javier as a part of their lives your comments are not appropriate. Tell your firends your feeling, tell your neighbors, but this forum was neither the time nor the place for hurtful comments like that.

Hugs and kisses to Javier's family, his Disney family and all my friends that knew and loved him, he will be missed greatly.
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Reading page, after page, after page of both wonderful words.. such as the ones quoted here.. and strange and not appropriate words such as the ones also mentioned.. I am reminded of the magic that Javier brought to my life.. working with him almost everyday over the summer... as well as to the lives of others around him.. both on stage and off. There are so many nice things to be said.. I know they can't all fit here.. I only wish that I could be with my Disney family now.. (seasonal thus away for school) As terrible as this is it brings us all together CM or not.. I don't know why I haven't posted until now.. nor do I have much of anything to say.. I'm in shock and sick over the whole thing..

Javier will be missed by all.. He has touched everyone's heart and I know I am speaking for everyone when I say We love you Javier! God bless... my thoughts go to his loved ones.
 
M

Mary Poppins

Member
Originally posted by RREngineer
I have never posted here, but I read often. I too was blessed with knowing Javier and the past two days have been very tough for all of Magic Kingdom (those that knew him as well as those that did not).

I just wanted to send my applause to the Parade entertainment cast. I understand the show must go on but I wanted to write and say that they DID run the Share a Dream Come True Parade yesterday (without any show stops and minus the snowglobe Princess float, they used the old Remember the Magic float) and simply hearing the music made me cry. I have the ut-most respect for each and everyone of those performers who went into work yesterday, put on their costumes and forced a smile out to create the Disney Magic that they do so well. It was a very difficult time for all involved and they did a very brave thing in my book. Many members of the Guest Relations and Main Street team were out on the steps of City Hall clapping for them as we can only imagine what they were going through. It took courage and strenghth to do the parade and I applaud all of them for going out there yesterday and doing exactlly what Javier would have wanted them to. He Loved his job, he loved being in the parades, he loved making people smile and he would not have wanted anything different.


Hugs and kisses to Javier's family, his Disney family and all my friends that knew and loved him, he will be missed greatly.
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Also, it's not just being felt at the Magic Kingdom. The feeling of sadness is felt across property by the entire entertainment department. Many people other than the faces you see at MK all the time knew Javier as well. Even those who didn't know him are feeling the sorrow. He was killed doing what we do on a daily basis. It's very easy to take for granted the many dangerous situations one faces performing in the parade. Espeically if it is something that is done every day. I for one can say I've been performing and driving in parades at WDW for ten years now. Every time you are trained you are told to be careful around the floats. Drivers have coordinators to be their eyes and guide them through turns and narrow parts of the route. I've been told exactly what would happen if you weren't careful. Still you sometimes wind up on autopilot. You become comfortable in what you do because you've done it so many times before and nothing has ever gone wrong. This was a tragic accident. My heart goes out to Javier's family, friends, and everyone involved.
 
OliveMcFly

OliveMcFly

Well-Known Member
This is all just very tragic. One of those things you wish were just a dream. I myself wonder if he was the Pluto I saw only a week ago in the same parade. It's very hard to fathom. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and fellow CMs.
 
Sir Hiss527

Sir Hiss527

New Member
Originally posted by DisneyGrl85
This is all just very tragic. One of those things you wish were just a dream. I myself wonder if he was the Pluto I saw only a week ago in the same parade. It's very hard to fathom. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and fellow CMs.
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Yes, I wonder the same thing. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family once again.
 
DDuckFan130

DDuckFan130

Well-Known Member
I have already read the articles and each time it gets sadder and harder to read...yesterday though it just reached a peak when they did a report on it on Univision (a Spanish channel) and they interviewed the family and showed the clips from the helicopter of the floats and stuff...I definitely have said my prayers for Mr. Cruz and his family and I'm also sending a prayer for those CM's who knew him or who work there and are having to endure these hard times...God Bless you guys!

BTW: last December I met Pluto in Minnie's backyard in Toontown and my family and I took a really nice picture with him which actually has stood out from the bunch in my mind way before this tragedy...I don't know if it is him but if it is it's kind of bittersweet because now when I look at it I could get depressed yet at the same time I can say I have a wonderful memory of someone who was a hero to countless numbers of people whose eyes sparkled when they caught sight of him in WDW.
 
R

RREngineer

New Member
Originally posted by Mary Poppins
Still you sometimes wind up on autopilot. You become comfortable in what you do because you've done it so many times before and nothing has ever gone wrong.
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That is such a true statement. It is scary to think. We talked about that today at work and we all took a step back and tried to find those things that we do that we know are not really safe but we do them because we always have. The list got so long it was kind of shocking. Javier did just that everyday. He always came up just before his float, made his way across the train tracks, always saying hi or making some gesture of hello to everyone he saw and waiting just on the other side for his unit to come up. It really has made me re-think my daily actions.
 
T

TnkrBelPixiDust

New Member
:cry: :cry: What has happened is a horrible tragedy! My condolences go out to the CM's family and friends. It's hard to imagine something so terrible could happen at the happiest place on earth. My prayers go to the CM's family and friends.
 

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