Family claims white rabbit refused to touch kids (Disneyland)

[Californian Elitist]

What a joke.

You go to Disneyland, Six Flags or any other amusement park you are paying to get in to ride the rides... EVERYTHING else is a bonus. To suggest that because you didn't get enough face time or hugs from a character and then feel you need an apology and a free souvenir - well... it reminds me of the problem with this country right now. Too many people think they should be given everything for free and everything should be equal... Guess what, life isn't fair. Some people will get more time with a character than other people... you cannot change that, the only thing idiots that believe their should be some equality in character time and hugging will accomplish is a complete ban on all character interaction.

Just wait, if this type of nonsense continues you will see Disney say fine, no more character meet and greets, it isn't worth the lawsuits. Instead expect to see a large stuffed rabbit or whatever it is stand somewhere so people can pose with it.... Would that make you happy?

Disneyland is MORE THAN WILLING to give you free things, if somehow your day isn't going well. I know this because I used to work there. When I was being trained we were told about these slips in which a CM can get a guest a free souvenir, free popcorn or any other snack. I don't see how asking for a free souvenir is a joke when a guest can be asked if they want something free from a CM. A souvenir could be less than ten bucks. OOOOHHHH, Disney is losing ten bucks, God helps us all. Give me a break and kindly hop off my back.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

Are we sure this is not a headline from The Onion?

The Disneyland spokesperson in the case of 'White Rabbit vs. the kids of Blacks' - I kid you not - is called........Suzi Brown.

 

[bsiev1977]

The Disneyland spokesperson in the case of 'White Rabbit vs. the kids of Blacks' - I kid you not - is called........Suzi Brown.

It's starting to sound like a bad SNL bit.

 

[openendedsky]

I understand there is racism still out there. However, I think sometimes we perceive things incorrectly. I've been guilty of it. My son had surgery when he was one but right after he looked like someone had beaten him with a bat. One eye was swollen shut and half his face was bruised. It was horrible as a mother, even worse since that surgery failed and we had a second one a week later without that swelling and bruising. But I was walking with him in the hospital to pick up his medical records the day we were going home and I kept hearing how horrible he looked and how could that happen to a child. By fifth one I was ed and felt judged like I had beat my son. I know that's probably not at all what they referring to, but with the way he looked and the hushed toned of the by standers that's how it came across. My point is that there is racism but there are also misunderstandings and sometimes we all can take things the wrong way. It's not that we look for it but, because the idea has crossed our mind, we project that intent onto the situation. With the evidence they have its hard to say what actually happened, but its something to remember.

But that's not the same. At all. Racism has more than just 'perception' to do with it, but I won't go into that rant here.

What a joke.

You go to Disneyland, Six Flags or any other amusement park you are paying to get in to ride the rides... EVERYTHING else is a bonus. To suggest that because you didn't get enough face time or hugs from a character and then feel you need an apology and a free souvenir - well... it reminds me of the problem with this country right now. Too many people think they should be given everything for free and everything should be equal... Guess what, life isn't fair. Some people will get more time with a character than other people... you cannot change that, the only thing idiots that believe their should be some equality in character time and hugging will accomplish is a complete ban on all character interaction.

Just wait, if this type of nonsense continues you will see Disney say fine, no more character meet and greets, it isn't worth the lawsuits. Instead expect to see a large stuffed rabbit or whatever it is stand somewhere so people can pose with it.... Would that make you happy?

No, but if you're paying money to get into the park, it would be nice if they were at least guaranteed both attraction and character time. Imagine if you spent thousands on a trip and it was so packed you didn't really get to do anything? You'd be angry, or demand that something be improved.

That's okay. I've gotten pretty used to stuff like that, anyway. I just pray for them. Definitely lots of room for work.

Yeah, I would have been happy with that, too. Some people's requests are absurd. I used to work at DL, specifically in Fantasyland as an attractions CM. I don't know if you've visited DL, but we have a ride here called the Casey Jr. Circus Train, and as you can guess, it's a train ride based on the movie Dumbo. Anyways, I was going to my position as the train conductor and I noticed my manager was there. A group of five, each of them having their own service dog, all wanted to board the train at once. The rule was only one dog could be on the train at a time, but they all wanted to ride together. My manager let it slide and let them all board the train together. He apologized for the inconvenience and asked if he could do anything else. The "leader" of the group straight up told him they wanted him to buy them all dinner in the park. WHAT?! My eyes got so big and I took a quick glance at my manager. He laughed and basically said no. Ridiculous.

Another time, my teacher in the Disney College Program had told us this family of five (what a coincidence) had gotten stuck on Pirates and had to be evacuated. The father demanded five-day park hopper tickets for each of his family members, a five night stay at the Grand Californian and free breakfast, lunch and dinner for their whole stay. Absolutely delusional and ridiculous.

I'm glad your manager declined that. I understand wanting some sort of reimbursement on some occasions, like getting stuck on a ride, but a resort stay is outlandish. A simple fast pass return should be sufficient.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Disneyland is MORE THAN WILLING to give you free things, if somehow your day isn't going well. I know this because I used to work there. When I was being trained we were told about these slips in which a CM can get a guest a free souvenir, free popcorn or any other snack. I don't see how asking for a free souvenir is a joke when a guest can be asked if they want something free from a CM. A souvenir could be less than ten bucks. OOOOHHHH, Disney is losing ten bucks, God helps us all. Give me a break and kindly hop off my back.

It doesnt matter if it costs a penny, why do you think you DESERVE a free "anything" because you didnt get "enough interaction" ? No where on Disneys tickets does it guarantee (x amount) of interaction with characters. Its a luxury if you get any.

 

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Disneyland is a luxury and very expensive, an if my kid wants a flippin' hug from the White Rabbit, he/she is going to get one, because of the money paid.

This is the unintentional result of non-stop price increases, and as a former friend of the characters, I can tell you they bear the brunt of it. Parents yell those exact words hundreds of times each day, usually when forcing a child (who is screaming and crying) on a character.

With all due respect, it's also the wrong attitude to have. The cost of a ticket gets you in the door - it doesn't entitle the holder to any attractions, shows and characters as they are all subject to change. The entitlement attitude is what made dealing with guests SO difficult. For every family who says they were snubbed by (INSERT NAME OF COLLEGE KID IN A COSTUME HERE), there are 10 who physically pulled, grabbed, hit and yelled at that same character. "WE CAME ALL THE WAY FROM BREA AND IT'S MY DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAY!!! GET BACK HERE!!!"

I think few people understand just how difficult it is to deal with guests, usually without the benefit of a host/PhotoPass CM, while having limited vision, motor skills and no talking. Sometimes you ignore a kid because they're at your back and you can't see them. They may poke you, or take your hand, but you're facing the other way and for whatever reason, you can't turn around.

I can state with 99.999999% certainty racism had NOTHING to do with this non-incident (in which the child STILL got a photograph - hardly a wash). The character cast is extremely diverse, and they work that difficult job on purpose because they LOVE to make moments happen for the children of all ages who visit Disneyland.

There are a thousand legit reasons that a character refuses a child. As I stated in another thread, it's akin to calling Radiator Springs Racers racist because it breaks down when a black family gets to the loading station.

 

[Californian Elitist]

It doesnt matter if it costs a penny, why do you think you DESERVE a free "anything" because you didnt get "enough interaction" ? No where on Disneys tickets does it guarantee (x amount) of interaction with characters. Its a luxury if you get any.

Simply because I've paid all this money, MY money. LOTS of money. If I feel I've been treated unfair any way, it's really not to much to ask for a souvenir. I'm not asking for free food, comp tickets, whatever... Just a souvenir. Wow. That's how Disneyland fans are. That's it. If you can't understand that, oh well. We'll just be going around in circles.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

Simply because I've paid all this money, MY money. LOTS of money. If I feel I've been treated unfair any way, it's really not to much to ask for a souvenir. I'm not asking for free food, comp tickets, whatever... Just a souvenir. Wow. That's how Disneyland fans are. That's it. If you can't understand that, oh well. We'll just be going around in circles.

I am not trying to go in circles with you, but I just don't get it. People these days thinking they are owed something? What if my "standards" are way higher than yours, and you have a great experience, but to my standards I dont? Do I get free food? Free treats? Free toys? Disney can't reach every single persons standards. Thinking you deserve free ANYTHING, regardless of cost, becaue you didnt get adiquate time with characters, eventhough its never promised by disney or anyone, is an absolute joke.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I am not trying to go in circles with you, but I just don't get it. People these days thinking they are owed something? What if my "standards" are way higher than yours, and you have a great experience, but to my standards I dont? Do I get free food? Free treats? Free toys? Disney can't reach every single persons standards. Thinking you deserve free ANYTHING, regardless of cost, becaue you didnt get adiquate time with characters, eventhough its never promised by disney or anyone, is an absolute joke.

I used to work at Disneyland and I can't tell you how many guests would tell me how they were totally bummed about something that had happened in the park. I'd feel so bad for them, I wished I could have come out of my own pocket and bought them something. Some of the guests had really bad days and I'd feel so bad. I'm coming from a CM POV. IMO, it's not a big deal to ask for a souvenir.

Did I say I would have DEMANDED a souvenir? No. I said I would have ASKED. Asking and demanding are two different things.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I used to work at Disneyland and I can't tell you how many guests would tell me how they were totally bummed about something that had happened in the park. I'd feel so bad for them, I wished I could have come out of my own pocket and bought them something. Some of the guests had really bad days and I'd feel so bad. I'm coming from a CM POV. IMO, it's not a big deal to ask for a souvenir.

Did I say I would have DEMANDED a souvenir? No. I said I would have ASKED. Asking and demanding are two different things.

Ok, I just think it takes nerve to even ask. I am specifically talking about "not getting enough interaction with a character"

I couldnt imagine leaving buzz, and walking up to a CM and saying "He was pretty quick with us, can I have something for my trouble?"

Ridiculous.

 

[Californian Elitist]

Ok, I just think it takes nerve to even ask. I am specifically talking about "not getting enough interaction with a character"

I couldnt imagine leaving buzz, and walking up to a CM and saying "He was pretty quick with us, can I have something for my trouble?"

Ridiculous.

That's fine. Clearly I have a lot of nerve.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I guess it's safe to guess this family is just assuming the CM playing the character was white?

 

[MickeyPeace]

The Disneyland spokesperson in the case of 'White Rabbit vs. the kids of Blacks' - I kid you not - is called........Suzi Brown.

And what are the chances that lawyers assigned to the case are both female.

The defense attorney assigned is a one Attorney Madeline Hattterfield. The prosecutor is Attorney Alice Ann Wonderland.

 

[thomas998]

I am not trying to go in circles with you, but I just don't get it. People these days thinking they are owed something? What if my "standards" are way higher than yours, and you have a great experience, but to my standards I dont? Do I get free food? Free treats? Free toys? Disney can't reach every single persons standards. Thinking you deserve free ANYTHING, regardless of cost, becaue you didnt get adiquate time with characters, eventhough its never promised by disney or anyone, is an absolute joke.

Your arguing with the problem.

Don't bother.

Some people think the world owes them something and nothing you or I say will ever change that belief.

The only thing that might ever change it is when and if that person gets into a job where they make enough money that they notice that they are paying more in taxes than they are getting from the government in return... once in a while when that happens they realize that nothing in the world is free and someone is paying for everything they or anyone else gets for "free".

Giving a "free" souvenir to one guest wont put a dent in the bottom line, but then imagine everyone in the park starts squawking about, "I didn't like it, I need a free mug." Pretty soon that $0.50 cent piece of plastic adds up and the bottom line is hurt. Being an owner of Disney shares I don't like it when they do ANYTHING stupid like giving freebies to people that are just looking to scam the system, I'm even more disturbed if the claim is true that some CM tried to throw away $500 on a squawking customer that I could care less about. From what I saw they were hard core Disney customers so whether they ever go back or not wont matter a bit.

 

[thomas998]

I guess it's safe to guess this family is just assuming the CM playing the character was white?

Don't judge a CM by the color of their fur.

 

[Aulani_Princess]

But that's not the same. At all. Racism has more than just 'perception' to do with it, but I won't go into that rant here.

There is racism that is more than perception. But, I also think people can project something they experienced in the past onto a new situation, even if it is unintentional. It isn't always the case, but it does happen. How they interpreted the events isn't wrong, everyone processes and interrupts things differently, however, I find it interesting that other factors (such as age, interactions between child and character, and location to character) are not being considered as well. I would be interested to see a picture of the character turning from the child and see what was happening around them at the time.

There is a second family suing now as well. The article can be found here:
http://www.10news.com/news/investig...s-lawsuit-alleges-racism-at-disneyland-020713

I found one comment interesting. Nastasia White, the mother in the new case, said they were first in line for Donald and when he came out he stopped to play with a baby and hug a girl. After waiting three minutes she said they just left and then turned around the Donald was interacting with the kids behind her.

Is it just me, or has that happened to plenty of people? It always seems that they will play a little with kids as they walk. I remember the Mad Hatter drove us crazy because he moved the line every two people! He'd have the kids march behind him around in a circle, but for those of us trying to keep the line sane while kids were moving it wasn't ending well. In recent years I haven't noticed it as much, but I know they always seemed to interact with a few people on the way to the line, and waiting three minutes while they're making their way over isn't too bad, especially since you have wait for everything at a theme park anyway. But, I also figure the characters are there for kids (and those of us adults who still love them), so waiting an extra two minutes while he is still coming to line for him to play and interact (especially since they normally are being stalked by kids (or in Donald's case my aunt haha) I use it to teach my son patience.

The other interesting part was the final statement:

Disney wouldn't confirm whether the two incidents involve two employees playing different characters, but officials said they were surprised by this story because the original complaint had no mention of discrimination, just a child being ignored.

 

[bsiev1977]

Well, I think now we can say this isn't racial at all. Now Disney is being sued by both the Blacks and the Whites!
.
.
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Seriously, no offense intended to anyone. Just a little amusing that in cass of possible racial bias the families' names are color words.

 

[Captain Neo]

I saw this story online this morning. At face value, I'd call BS, unless there is some kind of video evidence that can prove malice toward the Black family.

It's sad that based in this family's claim Disney seemed to immediately try to pay them off. When a company does that, it does make me a little suspicious that the claims were true to at least some degree.

Although, more likely than not Disney could smell a rat, and was trying to give these people what they wanted, which was a freebie because of some imaginary slight they think they received.

That's how Michael Jackson got taken down

 

[HatboxGhost]

There is a possibility that the kid was, in fact, being discriminated. Disney, at least, I'd like to think, tried to correct the situation.

And what IF it was just the fact that the little kid...of ANY race....was accidently overlooked? Does a CM lose his job over it?

 

[HatboxGhost]

I guess it's safe to guess this family is just assuming the CM playing the character was white?

Thats what I was saying in an earlier post. Doesnt that sound to you like a racist comment coming from the family? It does to me to automatically assume that the CM was white and racist.