An Unmagical Moment

[DisneyJukebox]

Can Pluto even see what the kids might be doing to his costume? Where are his "eyes"?

 

[maxime29]

Not a character story, but this happened on Dec 27, first day during our Disney trip. Went to the Garden Grill and ordered our drinks. Our waiter came back with them. I mentioned that I had a Sprite when he was passing them out (I worked as a waiter for some time and sometimes I forgot who had what to order, so I was trying to help him out). He sort of scared me when he said "Are you going to let me do my job, or would you like to do it for me?" At first I was somewhat startled by this statement and apologized for helping. He laughed afterwards and said okay. I'm still assuming that this was all done jokingly, but still somewhat weird.

 

[PhilosophyMagic]

I've personally helped Pluto get ready. Lemme tell you it would be nearly impossible for a head to come off as it is on there really good.

FIRST, I would say that the person in the Pluto costume may have assumed that your son was acting with genuine malice. Even though we know he wasn't, many kids try to hurt or annoy the characters- characters are often punched or kicked. If the slap really was an angry one, it was probably to stop what he though would be an "attack." That's just my guess.

SECOND, in response to Coaster3001's quote above, I always wondered how well the heads are put on- it honestly makes me a little nervous every time I see characters being really wild. I always worry a bit about their costumes breaking in some way. I know you probably don't want to give too much information, but can you explain a little bit more about how the heads are put on? Also, are there any other vulnerable costume parts? How are the gloves put on? Will they come off with a big tug?

 

[Hakunamatata]

I would expect something like that out of 50s prime time or whispering canyon, but not the garden grille........I think someone was having a bad day, and I honestly would have thrown it back in his face and told him that I can and will do your job if you cant.....

 

[WDWFanatic]

Whats more traumatizing, a little slap or your child holding plutos tounge in her hand when it comes off and all the kids see it. I think it a was harmless reaction, But you have the right to feel how you do.

 

[joel_maxwell]

well, i thin that the only way that we can fully understand the "slap" is for you to post the video. i think you could post it and then we could have a poll. malice slap or playful slap.

you have me so intrigued by the verbal description, im looking for a visual as well. my vote is to post a video clip. :sohappy:

well get to the bottom of this..............

 

[Hakunamatata]

I agree and second the vote idea.

 

[PurpleDragon]

Agreed. Make mine the third vote for the video.

 

[SpenceMan01]

well, i thin that the only way that we can fully understand the "slap" is for you to post the video. i think you could post it and then we could have a poll. malice slap or playful slap.

you have me so intrigued by the verbal description, im looking for a visual as well. my vote is to post a video clip. :sohappy:

well get to the bottom of this..............

Ditto. If you have the means of posting the video, please do so. I'll even offer to host it if it's not too big. PM/IM/email me if you wanna do that.

I'm sure that the character CM's are trained to deal with this sort of thing and deal with it all the time. I'm not a character for Disney, but I have done a few different costumed characters in the past and if I was in Pluto's position, I would have probably grabbed my mouth, pulled back a bit, and my hands over my eyes like I was crying. I dunno if Disney likes it's characters "crying" but that would have been my reaction if I were Pluto.

 

[Atta83]

OK I have seen Plutos tounge actually be ripped out before, poor puppy. That caused his neck to hurt and then he had to go to the vet, so hes very overprotected of his tounge now. At least Pluto didnt pull your sons tounge :lookaroun........

I know ppl who are friends with Pluto and he doesnt like when ppl do that to his tounge or his ears.

 

[WDWKat26]

This started by Pluto licking my son's head, his tongue was in the kid's face. I've seen Pluto do this many, many times while out in the parks AND I've seen many children pull on his tongue, ears, etc. I've never seen Pluto slap anyone's hand away. I think this particular Pluto (I mean PERSON) had had it for that day and didn't want to deal with any more kids tugging on him. Again, I don't blame him, I just thought it could have been a little kinder. Even if he would have knocked it away and wagged his finger at him, the message would have been clearer - to just knock his hand down and walk away didn't quite leave a good impression. Several of the people around us were looking kind of surprised too. I don't think it was just our reaction. AND we definitely nagged at the kid for doing it. Right, he shouldn't have tugged it, there is a person inside that could be getting hurt. Still didn't feel good to us.

This is something i'm definitely stepping into right now. SANDKRUSER: I have read your posts, and I want you to know that I am in Walt Disney Entertainment and I am "personal" friends with Pluto so I wanted to give you a "dog's eye view" of things that go on in his life. First of all, It may seem like whatever happens, whenever we get hit, pulled, yanked etc. we just ACT like it doesn't hurt. But the thing is, it DOES hurt. Pulling Pluto's tongue yanks our heads and necks forward, and I have had whiplash from it before. Secondly, those heads are not cheap. The Disney Company puts in a lot of money to make our furry friends look good, and also when a tongue is pulled out from Pluto's mouth, it can not be replaced. Imagine trying to do your job, and having someone completely blindsight you or (like i've had happen to me) get hit or punched by a child while having the parents sit there and watch and not do A THING about it. If someone you didn't know came up and grabbed you, what's the first thing you would do? I'm sure you would tell them to get off of you and pull their hand off. Well unfortunately, our furry friends can not talk, nor can we defend ourselves in any way. I also want to ask you...Did you tell your son to stop pulling Pluto's tongue, or did you let it continue? I hate to say it but I believe a 10 year old should know better than to pull on anything, whether it's a "costume" or not. You'd be surprised how in tact those costumes are to our body, we don't have any sort of protection from getting hit or yanked.

As for you saying Pluto could have "waved his finger" at your son, well here's the thing. Pluto doesn't have fingers, we can't bend them easily, and it's really hard to say "No no!" with a giant smile on your face. No one takes you seriously. You ask Pluto to be kinder, when your son instigated the yanking of his tonuge.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience that morning at Chef Mickey's and with that Pluto, but I also hope you understand that we are trained not to "Smack", "Hit" or do anything that could EVER hurt a child. Yes, sometimes you will run into a bad character, but I hope you can also be forgiving towards the Pluto that day, because it's really hard having your managers breathing down your neck to get through the whole restauraunt in 45 minutes, dance around and also see everyone as quickly as possible. Also, please understand that Walt Disney Entertainment are the finest Characters in the world, and just like everyone else, we also have bad days at work, especially seeing as many kids as we do per day. Once again I apologize for what happened with your family and your son, but I hope you can understand where my fellow Cast Members and I are coming from.

 

[imagineer boy]

This is something i'm definitely stepping into right now. SANDKRUSER: I have read your posts, and I want you to know that I am in Walt Disney Entertainment and I am "personal" friends with Pluto so I wanted to give you a "dog's eye view" of things that go on in his life. First of all, It may seem like whatever happens, whenever we get hit, pulled, yanked etc. we just ACT like it doesn't hurt. But the thing is, it DOES hurt. Pulling Pluto's tongue yanks our heads and necks forward, and I have had whiplash from it before. Secondly, those heads are not cheap. The Disney Company puts in a lot of money to make our furry friends look good, and also when a tongue is pulled out from Pluto's mouth, it can not be replaced. Imagine trying to do your job, and having someone completely blindsight you or (like i've had happen to me) get hit or punched by a child while having the parents sit there and watch and not do A THING about it. If someone you didn't know came up and grabbed you, what's the first thing you would do? I'm sure you would tell them to get off of you and pull their hand off. Well unfortunately, our furry friends can not talk, nor can we defend ourselves in any way. I also want to ask you...Did you tell your son to stop pulling Pluto's tongue, or did you let it continue? I hate to say it but I believe a 10 year old should know better than to pull on anything, whether it's a "costume" or not. You'd be surprised how in tact those costumes are to our body, we don't have any sort of protection from getting hit or yanked.

As for you saying Pluto could have "waved his finger" at your son, well here's the thing. Pluto doesn't have fingers, we can't bend them easily, and it's really hard to say "No no!" with a giant smile on your face. No one takes you seriously. You ask Pluto to be kinder, when your son instigated the yanking of his tonuge.

I'm sorry that you had a bad experience that morning at Chef Mickey's and with that Pluto, but I also hope you understand that we are trained not to "Smack", "Hit" or do anything that could EVER hurt a child. Yes, sometimes you will run into a bad character, but I hope you can also be forgiving towards the Pluto that day, because it's really hard having your managers breathing down your neck to get through the whole restauraunt in 45 minutes, dance around and also see everyone as quickly as possible. Also, please understand that Walt Disney Entertainment are the finest Characters in the world, and just like everyone else, we also have bad days at work, especially seeing as many kids as we do per day. Once again I apologize for what happened with your family and your son, but I hope you can understand where my fellow Cast Members and I are coming from.

Good points! :wave: You see, here's the thing, pretend you are playing Pluto at WDW, and a kid pulls on your toung, what would you do to make him stop. Slapping his hand away is pretty much the only option. What else is there else to do? You can't speak, you can't wave your finger, you can't beat the crap out of the kid, so pretty much slapping his hand is the only thing you can pretty much do.

 

[Bobster]

If someone you didn't know came up and grabbed you, what's the first thing you would do? I'm sure you would tell them to get off of you and pull their hand off. Well unfortunately, our furry friends can not talk, nor can we defend ourselves in any way.

I understand where you are coming from ... but I don't think it's fair to compare the situation you describe to being Pluto. He is a character in a Disney theme park ... and people come up to him and hug him and kiss him and such. It's part of the job right? If someone comes up to you on the street and starts to hug and kiss you ... obviously it's not the same.

What I think is easier to compare is this: How would you react if someone "slapped" your kid? Be it Pluto ... or a guy on the street? Neither is acceptable.

I think the main problem here is we are all going by how we see the incident ... but none of us were there. SANDKRUSER is the only person (on the boards) who was there and saw it happen. Basically, we have no way of judging the "slap" severity without seeing it. I hope SANDKRUSER can find a way to post the video so we can tell once and for all.

 

[WDWKat26]

I understand where you are coming from ... but I don't think it's fair to compare the situation you describe to being Pluto. He is a character in a Disney theme park ... and people come up to him and hug him and kiss him and such. It's part of the job right? If someone comes up to you on the street and starts to hug and kiss you ... obviously it's not the same.

What I think is easier to compare is this: How would you react if someone "slapped" your kid? Be it Pluto ... or a guy on the street? Neither is acceptable.

I think the main problem here is we are all going by how we see the incident ... but none of us were there. SANDKRUSER is the only person (on the boards) who was there and saw it happen. Basically, we have no way of judging the "slap" severity without seeing it. I hope SANDKRUSER can find a way to post the video so we can tell once and for all.

I agree as to the posting of the video, I really hope it does get posted up here. Yes I understand that the characters are fun to play with but, with any job you shouldn't have to put up with abuse of any kind from anyone. I have walked off set before because I had been hit and punched numerous times in 30 minutes.

Also, Pluto didn't "slap" her kid across the face. According to her, he smacked the boy's hand. What I also don't understand is, Pluto has a furry paw, with a big paw pad in it...how much of a "smacking" sound or motion can it make? To me something just doesn't sound right. I believe nothing can be fully judged until the video is posted.

 

[Tom]

I run a HUGE festival at our church each year. Last year, I volunteered my brother (against his will) to be "friends" with the Cat in the Hat, and walk around during kids day. It was a full-fledged, head and body suit costume - professional series and quality.

He could not see ANYTHING except his feet, since he "saw" out of his mouth, looking downward. He relied on me and the other "greeter" to navigate him and situate him to wave at little kids that were waving at him that he couldn't see.

We were in one spot for some time while kids came up for hugs, high-fives and pics. There were some annoying hellion kids there who thought they were really cool, and would sneak up behind him and actually KICK him in the calves, and then pulled on the long tail, over and over. I kept shooing them away, but they obviously had NO discipline in their lives and saw no remorse in their actions. The suit would cost the church $1000 if we damaged it, not to mention the pain and bruises to my brother. Eventually, this one kid came back and kicked him again and i just jumped behind the cat and shoved the kid away and yelled something I should not have yelled on the Catholic church's property :lol: . I couldn't help it - I was frustrated and I wasn't even the one in the suit, and this was a mere hour outside.

I can only IMAGINE the suffering that our beloved friends at WDW go thru, just to make a magical day for a bunch of deserving kids, while some misbehaving and undisciplined kids get away with near-murder. I'm not saying, at all, that this 10-yr-old is undisciplined, don't get me wrong. I'm just emphasizing the frustration factor from a non-Disney point of view. It's a shame the characters have to put up with that BS all day. They are NOT paid minimum wage to be kicked, punched, tugged on or otherwise abused - I GUARANTEE that it is NOT in their job description. Maybe a slap is not "appropriate" in our PC-driven society, but like others said, what the hell else is there to do? You can't yell "NO", you can't punch the kid, and you risk pain or injury if you just stand there and let him continue until the parent finally puts down the camera and says, "No Billy".

Oh well, tis our society. It's never my fault, it's always someone else's.

 

[DisneyFreak529]

I think maybe it was for play and you misunderstood it. When I saw goofy I said he was cute and he slapped my hand like he was thinking I was silly. I think it was play.

Unless he took his fist and hit your son. I don't think that Disney would hire any one that hits kids.

 

[ChefTigger]

OMG!!! I got slap by Chip once in DLP... well it was my Girlfriend's roomate, I guess this does'nt count as violent and abbusive behavior like this kid suffered from Pluto.

Seriously... At least it was pluto, if he had done that to a real dog he would be missing some fingers now. SEE!!! One more magical moment in Disneyworld

 

[SANDKRUSER]

You know what, guys, I'm really sorry I ever posted this. I just was wondering if anyone had ever experienced anything like this at WDW. I LOVE going to the World probably just as much as any one of you - the people at work constantly tease me about how much I make my family go. They just don't get it. But ,the main reason we love it there is the service - the cast members and characters have always bent over backwards to help. Once we were at Animal Kingdom and the only autograph my son hadn't gotten was Terk's - we asked a cast member and she radioed and found Terk - when we got to where she was supposed to be - she had just left to go to Tarzan Rocks. The cast member there said - come back in 20 minutes and you'll be able to see her. We came back and as soon as Terk came out, the cast member grabbed her hand and brought her over to where we were saying, "this family's been waiting to see Terk!" - THIS is why we go back again and again to WDW. While we were waiting, we got a chance to talk to this cast member - she told us that she would love to be a character but she was a little older and the characters take so much abuse that she couldn't do it. I was surprised and asked her what she meant - she told us that kids pull on them and kick and push but that it's not even the kids as much as it is the parents that are abusive - that the parents will grab and pull a character around so their kid can see it - so I definitely understand. At this point, I'm sorry I ever posted this - just wanted to know if anyone had ever experienced anything like it. This happened over a year ago and hasn't ruined our last 2 trips. As a matter of fact, while on the trips, I don't think any of us thought about it. This was an isolated incident, obviously we took it wrong, learned a lesson, and plan on going back again. Why? Because of the cast members - we can go anywhere to go on rides, we live in Minnesota, the Mall of America is 15 miles away, Valleyfair is a big amusement park - we can ride any time we want - we go to WDW because of the service and "magic" that only happens as Disney. Thanks for all of your input!

 

[WDWKat26]

I know how you feel SANDKRUSER, I used to get made fun of when I lived in NY by everyone. No one understood why I wanted to go to Disney, or why I loved it there so much. But it's really self explanitory! I mean the guest service and the experiences have been so memorable for me and my family. I really do miss being a guest.

Anyway, don't be sorry for making this post. Yes, it was a long time ago so it's obviously in the past, but I hope I didn't do anything to hurt your feelings or put you down, it's just everyone on here was posting things that were just kind of "out there" so I thought since i'm personal friends with Pluto I would put in what really happens to us.

Hope this helps! :sohappy:

 

[joel_maxwell]

aaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! no video survey. well, maybe next time.

and dont worry about making it into a big deal................. it really wasnt.