Ever seen children misbehave with characters?

[ToyStoryMiss]

With my own two physical eyes, I usually don't pay attention to how other people interact with characters because I am solely focused on what I'm going to do, what I'm going to say, etc.

But seeing all the posts, well, I'm not really too surprised. There are just some people who don't "believe in the magic" so to speak and want to purposely ruin it for their own selfish and vile reasons. And it's not really one particular group or people. Anyone can be a prick to a character. Young kids, teens, even grown men can act extremely inappropriate when meeting characters. I've seen and heard about it online. I remember a news reports about teens trying to "mess around" with the White Rabbit in Disneyland in CA earlier this year. (It actually pushed the character to a point where he broke character and broke the taboo rules of character integrity.) I also watched "Confession from a Retired Disney Princess Part 2" on YouTube the other day and heard about one story where one of the former CMs was playing Pocahontas and was actually called a "savage" by a park guest which I can only imagine caused her blood to boil.

I think everyone has already said the need for parents to be better enforcers of rules at not just the Disney parks, but everywhere. Parents need to realize that they are in the public sphere so people are watching and it makes you look bad if you don't do your job as parents. I don't know really what else to say because I'm not a parent myself. All I can say is you've got the have the mindset of being firm in your authority and make it clear what's proper and what isn't but be fair and show the love in your children, as well.

One thing is for certain, reading and hearing about these not so nice experiences the characters experience show that they are human and they have a very difficult job. It's not easy to get up very early in the morning, take a good amount of time to get ready and then, place yourself out there in the Disney parks under the hot Florida or California sun meeting and greeting guests for long periods of time. They get breaks granted but it's still not an easy job! It's a rigorous audition process and not that many get the opportunity to be a Disney character to begin with! So people need to be grateful and thankful about the job they are doing. Even a simple, "Thank you for your time" does wonders for the characters. It means that you were willing to take the time out of your day at WDW to interact with these characters and you really appreciate them for making it special. Bottom line is, the way I see it, if you're nice to them, they should be nice to you.

*loud clap* Well spoken, my friend.

 

[Hot Lava]

Saw a boy who had to be 5 or 6 years old getting out of his stroller. His mom was telling him to stay in it, then she told him to get back in, so he screamed, "No!" and punched her.

Punched his mother. Pulled a fist back, swung and hit her as hard as he could. Didn't even looked scared when he was done. Looked like he was ready for more. Like, "Now you see! I'll hit you again if you dont stop!". The kid was furious, but not out of control.

I can see a kid as big as he was not wanting to be in a stroller and perhaps refusing to get in. But punching your MOTHER?!

Then she began to plead with him and explain why he should get in. I was walking by and didn't see the end of that, but I assume he got his mother to do what she was told.

You have to wonder what the future holds for some of these kids.

Seriously. I am both shocked and not. Kids are out of control and too many parents who will not say no. If you do not draw the line with they are testing limits, it only gets worse. I will make my kid leave a place if necessary, even if we have to go sit in the car.

The worst is when you are around other kids and they are acting like this, and their parents will not reprimand them. Then your child thinks they can act in such a way. My son loves nothing more than to follow the bad behavior of some other kid.

Although I have to say that the kid from the quoted story here sounds like he was mimicking some adult. What he said to his mother - i think this kid is witnessing or experiencing this elsewhere.

 

[ninjaprincesst]

The worst behaved kids I have seen with a character was at the CP and it was not the kids fault it was the parents. The family at the table in front of us had there time with Tigger, they had done there pictures . autographs , visiting ect. Tigger waved bye and left there table to come to ours. My daughter was trying to get her auutographs and pictures with the parents pushing them to Tigger yelling "pull Tiggers Tail" "get Tigger". We could not even get a picture without their kids in the photo, finally Tigger had to "playfully" push their kids under our table just so we could get photos without them in it. Then when Tigger left to go to the next table it was a repeat of the kids chasinghim getting encouragement from the parents.