Can Anyone believe this?!

[peter11435]

I agree that it was wrong. However, the blame can't fall on TWDC to train Kodak employees on how to handle these situations. Complain to Kodak, not Disney.

That being said, those photograph hounds shouldn't be there in the first place. I hope that contract runs out really soon.

The are slowly being phases out with the development of Photopass. The Photopass photographers that are with the characters are now disney Cast Members. Photodave has more information about the situation but I believe all of the photographers at Epcot are now Disney Cast Members.

 

[tinkish]

That's an awfull story, and sometimes some grown-ups don't know what to do when a child gets hysterical...and some adults can be down right afraid of children who scream...I've even seen fully grown adults who plug their ears when they hear a child like that. It's possible that the little one didn't want to be held because he was scared...and that the woman that took him in her arms looked more welcoming, and safe. I sure hope everything worked out in the end.

 

[Jodi's Dad]

There times when I was a kid that I wished my Mom and Dad would have lost me.

 

[The Mom]

The parent should have watched the kid.....the kid should not have become lost....

Lost children should not be Disney's problem.....if you bring a kid to the park, pay attention to them.

As others have stated, it only takes a second! I was a CBR with my then 5 yo daughter. I bent over to put my beach bag down next to a poolside chair, stood up, and my daughter was GONE! I looked in the pool (thank God she knew how to swim!) No daughter. I checked the slide. No daughter. I looked all around the poolside. No daughter. That's when I got worried and told the lifeguard. Security was notified, and the area was "locked down." I gave a discription, and my daughter was found playing in the sand, next to the pond, on the other side of hedge, not 10 feet away from the lounge chair! I just couldn't see her from my position. The same thing can happen in a crowd. I've had my child by the hand, but have been jostled by others hard enough to break my grasp. I was able to spot him instantly, and grab him, but it did involve pushing others out of the way.

 

[speck76]

As others have stated, it only takes a second! I was a CBR with my then 5 yo daughter. I bent over to put my beach bag down next to a poolside chair, stood up, and my daughter was GONE! I looked in the pool (thank God she knew how to swim!) No daughter. I checked the slide. No daughter. I looked all around the poolside. No daughter. That's when I got worried and told the lifeguard. Security was notified, and the area was "locked down." I gave a discription, and my daughter was found playing in the sand, next to the pond, on the other side of hedge, not 10 feet away from the lounge chair! I just couldn't see her from my position. The same thing can happen in a crowd. I've had my child by the hand, but have been jostled by others hard enough to break my grasp. I was able to spot him instantly, and grab him, but it did involve pushing others out of the way.

While it is nice for WDC to provide assistance in locating a lost child/parent, children are the parents responsibility, and nobody elses. While WDC should not do anything that would harm the child, and they do have some "duty of care", that is where it ends.

 

[tigsmom]

Someone correct me, but I was under the impression that the people that take pictures at the entrance are not Disney CMs. Kodak, I think?

That was my impression too.


Brad, no matter how hard you try to keep an eye on kids, they do manage to slip away. Kids that small however, should be held by the hand or be in a carriage.

 

[speck76]

That was my impression too.


Brad, no matter how hard you try to keep an eye on kids, they do manage to slip away. Kids that small however, should be held by the hand or be in a carriage.

sure....these things happen, but why is it suddenly the park's responsibility to care for your kid?

 

[tigsmom]

sure....these things happen, but why is it suddenly the park's responsibility to care for your kid?

I didn't say it was. As a parent we are told to tell the kids to find a CM if they become lost as they have a specific procedure to follow.

The gentleman who found that toddler should not have given him to a total stranger (good sense tells you that). Security should have been called.

 

[speck76]

I didn't say it was. As a parent we are told to tell the kids to find a CM if they become lost as they have a specific procedure to follow.

The gentleman who found that toddler should not have given him to a total stranger (good sense tells you that). Security should have been called.

I agree.....it was not handled the best way...but 1, this is coming from an HS student with 5 posts to his name, and 2, a kid of 2 years old (as described) should be in a stroller or on a leash....the parents should not let this happen.

 

[tigsmom]

I agree.....it was not handled the best way...but 1, this is coming from an HS student with 5 posts to his name, and 2, a kid of 2 years old (as described) should be in a stroller or on a leash....the parents should not let this happen.

I totally agree.

 

[Deaclaw]

From a legal standpoint, Disney markets to kids and families..it is not unforeseeable that a kid becomes displaced from a parent....CM gives kid to stranger.....I'd say that would be a bigger lawsuit that the Tigger episode..

 

[mkepcotmgmak]

The parent should have watched the kid.....the kid should not have become lost....

Lost children should not be Disney's problem.....if you bring a kid to the park, pay attention to them.

i use to feel somewhat the same, until I became a CM at MK. You have no idea how easy it is for a kid to dart into a crowd, making it impossible for the parent to find them. If the parent looks one way, and the child runs the other, that's all it takes for them to be lost from each other.

CM's are trained on this matter, and have a procedure to follow. When followed correctly, the system works very well, and ensures that the child is calm, and assured that everything will be okay. Unfortunately in this case, the CM is not a true magic maker, and probably belongs at Universal :lookaroun . I estimate that I would help a lost child once a week, and it might take 30 seconds to find the parent, or 20 minutes until you have to resort to leaving your area with the child.

 

[tigger248]

I just got back from the world (May 22-30.) One day I was in Animal Kingdom, and there was a little boy screaming hysterically, he couldn't have been more than 2. He was obviously lost. And one of the employees who takes the pictures of families by the tree of life, was holding the kid by the shirt, like the kid was diseased or something. A lady who didn't work for disney mind you, went up to him, and offered to take the kid to guest services, this guy just hands the kid off to her! A perfect stranger! I am still in shock. But I left a long note for the head of security in Animal Kingdom. If anyone is interested by the way, the guy's name who gave the kid to the lady was Cecil and he was an older gentleman. Then on the way out I saw a cop and I told him what happened, and he just said "that's really disney's problem." Well at that point I had just had it and said "well if god forbid that kid turns up dead, then it becomes your problem!" And I walked off.

While I highly believe that parents should be more responsible in watching their children, that employee (I'll call him that, since kodak people aren't cm's) was completely in the wrong. Even though he wasn't an official disney cm, he should have been trained in how to deal with lost children. If something (God forbid...) had happened to that child, the parents would have rightfully been able to blame the employee (even though they shouldn't have lost the kid to begin with) because he handed off the child to a woman who admittedly was not the child's mother. I frequently deal with lost children. I have helped them at WDW on my cp and I continue to do so with my current job at Six Flags. What that employee did is something I would never do. In WDW, I could usually easily find the parents by simply taking the child by hand and walking around the area. Parents were usually near by and looking for their lost child. At Six Flags, we have a sheet that must be filled out and the parent must sign it as a release when they pick their child up. Sending kids off with complete strangers who admittedly are not the child's parents is not okay, especially in this day and age.

 

[thedisneyfan]

I agree that it was wrong. However, the blame can't fall on TWDC to train Kodak employees on how to handle these situations. Complain to Kodak, not Disney.

That being said, those photograph hounds shouldn't be there in the first place. I hope that contract runs out really soon.

Sorry, but blame also has to fall on TWDC because they allow these Kodak people to operate within their property and profit off of this relationship.

I do agree that the contract should expire and all of these photographers should be brought fully into the Disney cast.

 

[Thrawn]

Sorry, but blame also has to fall on TWDC because they allow these Kodak people to operate within their property and profit off of this relationship.

I do agree that the contract should expire and all of these photographers should be brought fully into the Disney cast.

So, under that logic, every person that works on Disney property is Disney's responsibility, and Disney's only? Notice I specificially said

the blame can't fall on TWDC to train Kodak employees

An employee's training is something that has to be done by the employer. JP said that Disney puts these people through Traditions, which is more than I would have thought. Disney would be responsible if something happened to the child because of the Kodak employee's neglect. However, it would not be their fault, because the job is an outsourced one. This just proves that Kodak should have better training for the employees they place in the parks.

Edit: And since you brought up the money aspect, I'm sure if they do go through Traditions, it is on Disney's dime. If they were going to give them the rest of the CM training, that would also be a cost to Disney, cutting back on the "profit on the relationship" which you mentioned. I'd imagine there is really high turnover in that job, so it wouldn't make financial sense to do all that training for employees that aren't even yours.

 

[mkepcotmgmak]

So, under that logic, every person that works on Disney property is Disney's responsibility, and Disney's only? Notice I specificially said


An employee's training is something that has to be done by the employer. JP said that Disney puts these people through Traditions, which is more than I would have thought. Disney would be responsible if something happened to the child because of the Kodak employee's neglect. However, it would not be their fault, because the job is an outsourced one. This just proves that Kodak should have better training for the employees they place in the parks.

the only thing this proves is that this man had no common sense.

 

[Thrawn]

the only thing this proves is that this man had no common sense.

I wouldn't say that. First and foremost;He is paid to be on the bridge and take pictures. I think they have to get a certain amount to make a quota. If they aren't on the bridge, they aren't getting paid.
Secondly; If he has no training on what to do with the child, what is the most logical step? Stay where you are and wait for help. Handing the child over to someone without a name tag was stupid, I'll give you that.

 

[Robfasto]

My question would be was it a total stranger or on Off the clock CM. Even being within earshot of the whole converstion it would be hard to tell on CM who is off the clock from a total stranger.

This reminds me of the child who died during the fireworks one night, the parents were watching around the Plaza and placed the cranky child in the grass to play. After the fireworks they couldn't find there child, who was found later in the water which is also inside the fence. They tried to sue Disney over their loss...

 

[mkepcotmgmak]

I wouldn't say that. First and foremost;He is paid to be on the bridge and take pictures. I think they have to get a certain amount to make a quota. If they aren't on the bridge, they aren't getting paid.
Secondly; If he has no training on what to do with the child, what is the most logical step? Stay where you are and wait for help. Handing the child over to someone without a name tag was stupid, I'll give you that.

i don't know. i guess people are all just different and handle situations totally different. if i were a guest there, meaning not getting paid by disney... i would have tried to help if this man wouldn't have been helping this kid... not saying it's necessarily bad he wasn't doing cartwheels for the kid... BUT this is what you EXPECT AT DISNEY! the amount of disney CMs losing sight of the magic is growing every hiring season!
that's a whole new story though.

 

[Scooter]

I don't see the differance between the Kodak employee handing the child over to a "perfect stranger" or the Kodak employee handling the situation himself.
Both are "perfect strangers" to the child, and both are untrained as to how to handle lost children.
If I was untrained in this area, I'm not so sure I wouldn't "hand the kid off" myself. I once had a little girl run up to me screaming hysterically while I was working in my yard. She she said was lost and couldn't find her Mommy.
Unfortunately, in this day and age, Being a good samaritan isn't always the best way to go. Since this was a little girl, and I was a grown man, I didn't want to be accused of taking indecent liberties with a child, so I immediately took the girl to the lady who lived next door, a "Perfect stranger". I then called the proper authoritys (local police)and let them handle it.