More complaints filed against Disney characters

[BigAL]

Charges

Considering there may be a bad apple as a character and some of this might be true I still do not think most of the time it is. I was a mascot in college and it was hard to tell where a person or there body parts were unless I was facing them directly. I knocked over numbers of children on accident in the costume. When I posed for pictures once the person was beside me I had no idea if they moved and where my hand was going to land. I did have feelings in my hands and there were several times that I remember that on accident I had a handful of breast and accidently had my hands on the back side of many women. When I realized it I would immediately remove it.

 

[cdevor]

Originally posted by edwardtc
It seems strange that characters are getting away with all of this...especially when they're ALWAYS escorted with one or two cast member attendants when they're out in the parks......

Agree, 100%

 

[Vernonpush]

My bottom gets groped every time I go to the "It's Tought to be a Bug" attraction at AK. But you don't see me trying to sue a chair.

 

[Fritz_and_Ernst]

This stuff really makes me mad. There are two types of people who visit Disney. There are folks like most of the people on the boards. That is where we go to vacation. "honey do you want to go to Hawaii?" " Nope let's go to Disney World for the 356th time." "lets do that, because we love it and respect it."
Then there is the other visitor. Now I know I am Disney spoiled and go when we want, but this is something I want to get off my chest. And I am not trying to be disrepectful, but this is how I would sum them up. They don't make a reservation, so they are mad if they can't get a value resort. They stay off of the property, or at the All Stars. They save up a ton of money. (there's is nothing wrong with that. My wife and I have to save each time.) They save there money and expect everything to be perfect. They drive from a far distance in a car with 2,3,4,5,6 of their kids and each kid brings a friend. They complain about the buses, instead of being thankful that there actually is a bus system, and they don't have to drive and park each time. They get there and they go to the park from early entry to the fireworks. When the 2 year old gets tired and cries they yell at the two year old, using foul language, and put the blame on the two year old, who really just needs a nap. They try to see everything, complain that Pirates move like robots, which is odd cause they are. They vow never to go back because when they arrived at Fantasmic 5 minutes before the show starts they had to stand. These are the ones who are sue crazy. They feel like Disney now owes them something. I have never been touched/molested by anything. But as claims come from adults about this happening, why didn't they report it then and there. If ever that happened to me, I would of kicked and screamed until someone would of known. And I wouldn't put Disney to blame. How many people does Disney employ? They do everything with in the law. All that might come out of this is that they will put more buddies with the characters.
I promise, if someone says that Capt Hook put his hook in odd place, all of sudden everyone has been hooked in an offensive manner.
Me and my buddy talk about this everyday when we run. It really makes me mad how stupid people can be.
My two cents.

 

[bamboo7]

..

 

[drew81]

Disney characters continually get beat up and abused by guests. I'm not saying that these things have not happened. Whether it be touching or pushing guests. Some may be accidents, while some may be on purpose. I just don't understand the enjoyment guests get out of kicking a character in the groin or tackling them just because they can. I just love the way that management doesn't support them. It makes me want to vomit. Disney management does not care about the well being of the characters. The only thing they care about is profiting from the meet n greet pictures and autograph books. I don't see it happening, but if accusations continue we could see changes in the amount of characters out, or the way meet n greets occur.

I have never been a friend of the characters, nor am I a cm. I just get tired of all the bad press. Where is the good stories?
I wish all guests would be nice to the characters. I have never experienced a character being rude or acting in a wrong manner. Again, not saying these things have not happened, they may have. But if we put ourselves in the characters shoes, I think we would see things differently. Thats not a pun.

Characters get a bum rap sometimes. If guests treated characters the way they way they would want to be treated things would be quite different. If I ever see a guest mistreating a character, I will come to their defense. I will stand up for the characters forever.

 

[taholden]

Originally posted by Fritz_and_Ernst
This stuff really makes me mad. There are two types of people who visit Disney. There are folks like most of the people on the boards. That is where we go to vacation. "honey do you want to go to Hawaii?" " Nope let's go to Disney World for the 356th time." ......They try to see everything, complain that Pirates move like robots, which is odd cause they are. They vow never to go back because when they arrived at Fantasmic 5 minutes before the show starts they had to stand. These are the ones who are sue crazy. .........They feel like Disney now owes them something. ...... I wouldn't put Disney to blame. How many people does Disney employ? ......My two cents.

I agree with alot of what you say especially about the people who come to disney just looking for somethign to complain about. However these people are not blaming Disney. They are reporting it to Disney and Disney is sending them to the Sheriffs office. The system is working. Nobody is filing lawsuits. Yet.

 

[Sir Hiss527]

I really must admit this, one time I was taking a picture with Minnie, but I accidently touched her butt, cause I am so tall, and she is so smal. I meant to put my arm behind her, like her back, but I missed. It's not what it looks like.

These cases are so weird. Are there any other stories relating to other characters in the parks, why Tigger? Anyways my brother is going to be a character soon, he passed the audition, and he is in the height range for Tigger. I told him to be careful..

 

[Irrawaddy Erik]

....and character integrity flies out the window.....

 

[SpongeScott]

Originally posted by Sir Hiss527
I really must admit this, one time I was taking a picture with Minnie, but I accidently touched her butt, cause I am so tall, and she is so smal. I meant to put my arm behind her, like her back, but I missed. It's not what it looks like.

Did she sue you???

I hope all this does not come down to Disney pulling the characters off or not allowing pictures with them anymore. I agree with the point that people who are coming forward YEARS after an "incident" don't really have a leg to stand on. Is all this possible? Yes, but I think very unlikely.

 

[Sir Hiss527]

Originally posted by SpongeScott
Did she sue you???

No she didn't sue me...I'm serious it really was an accident. And plus it wasn't really her butt, but actually more of her skirt. I didn't do it on purpose.

 

[SirNim]

Originally posted by bamboo7
why does that name seem familiar? oh well.

Ha ha! :lol:

:lookaroun

 

[Atta83]

As I said in the earlier post about the first tigger problem. These people "Say" they have been groped by the chapracter and this is years after the fact. Why do people always try to ruin something that is good and enjoyed by others. Also, no one is there to protect the characters when they get grabbed or groped. And a few of my friends such as Pluto and others have been touched in very innaproprate places, should they have gone after those people...no they didnt. People better watch out or they are going to lose something great that they will children of the future will never get to enjoy due to the things like this that are happening.......just my thoughts.................

 

[drew81]

Losing the characters would be a nightmare. I can't imagine visiting a park without the characters around. I was trying to think about what they could do. Maybe characters only would appear in parades or shows? Characters would be behind a rope and you could go say "HI" or shake their hand. I can't imagine having no pictures with the characters. I hope I never see that. The characters are going to be watched very closely in these next few months.

I'm 22 and I love the characters. I just hope kids will continue to be able to experience the magic the characters have brought me and billions of other people all around the world.

 

[barnum42]

Originally posted by Atta83
Why do people always try to ruin something that is good and enjoyed by others.

Because there are a good number of selfish greedy people who don't give a damn about anyone else, plus there are lawyers of a similar mind who will happily take their percentage.

 

[Disneygrl36]

This whole thing makes me so very sad. Has anyone stopped to think that these characters really can't see anything much except peoples feet & the odds that they might be grabbing a specific body part is pretty slim. I took a behind the scenes tour & they showed us what their viewing space is like & I can't imagine trying to do that job with all the love & fun that most of the characters show. I can't imagine why people wait so long to report it too if they are really concerned--in this incendent it was 8 days later. Come on !! I would be sooooo sad if I couldn't get my hug from Tigger or Mickey.

 

[xfkirsten]

Originally posted by Atta83
As I said in the earlier post about the first tigger problem. These people "Say" they have been groped by the chapracter and this is years after the fact. Why do people always try to ruin something that is good and enjoyed by others. Also, no one is there to protect the characters when they get grabbed or groped. And a few of my friends such as Pluto and others have been touched in very innaproprate places, should they have gone after those people...no they didnt. People better watch out or they are going to lose something great that they will children of the future will never get to enjoy due to the things like this that are happening.......just my thoughts.................

Yup, I agree wholeheartedly. It worked both ways. I have alsso sesen my friend Pluto grabbed in inappropriate places (people, he's a DOG for cryin' out loud!).

I now work in costume characters at SeaWorld, and I'm finding that it is near impossible to see out of some of those costumes. One costume in particular, if the sun is really bright, I'm near-blind. And I can't tell ya how many times Shamu has almost run into posts. The point is, if you combine poor visibility with a restrictive costume, accidents will happen. That's not to say that the original allegation is true or false, but I think this rash of incidents being reported probably has a lot of these accidents in it.

-Kirsten

 

[mkt]

Originally posted by Irrawaddy Erik
....and character integrity flies out the window.....

it was gone long ago. At this point, I'll settle for the truth

 

[no2apprentice]

Well, while I'm waiting for my pizza to be delivered, I'll present the other side of the coin.

Despite what some of you may believe or feel, in incidents involving sexual abuse, it is very common for victims to report at a later time after the incident (or repeated incidents) has occurred. This is true for incidents that involve some penetrating act, as well as fondling. The reasons for this usually deal with the age and the circumstances. Most sexual abuse, with the exception of rape by a person unknown to the victim, is committed by someone familiar with the victim, and in the case of teens or children, an adult authority figure or someone who has gained the victim's trust. This can create an enormous conflict in the mind of the victim, and begins a process of denial, shame, and even guilt. All this leads to a reluctance to report the crime.

And in regards to the perpetrator, well...they don't think quite the same way as we do. Several people find it hard to believe that someone wearing character gloves is going to get any satisfaction from touching someone's breast, buttocks, or groin. In the mind of someone who deliberately does this, it's not so much what they can actually feel, it's the act itself that the person will fantasize about while...uh...doing the wash by hand. That moment when the touching is occurring, the perpetrator is on a high...touching someone where they shouldn't, and nobody is stopping them. Nobody even knows who they are! They feel a sense of power and control, that feeds the fantasy and excitement of committing the act.

Now, having said all of that, is it possible that the majority of these people coming forward are actually victims? Sure, it's possible, but taking into account the recent news report, and the "deep pockets" attitude, I tend to think it's not probable. Orange County S.O. investigators have their work cut out for them. For these people reporting incidents 2 to 3 years old, I wonder how far back Disney keeps schedules.

And by the way, I am 6'00" and my wife is 5'04". My sleeve length is 33". I asked for her help in an experiment with an oven mitt. It was VERY difficult for me to reach around under her arm and make a good connection. However, reaching down over the shoulder, I could make a good connection. And even though I had an oven mitt on, there was no doubt in my mind when I was making contact and when I wasn't.

 

[DisneyJukebox]

It is kind of scary how quickly a lot of you are to place blame on the potential victims here.

Do any of you actually know this Tigger CM? I'm betting that there may be some who know him who may be thinking, "Yeah, I can believe it."

The reason no one comes forward is that it is hard to believe you would actually be molested by a Disney Character at Disney World. So they tell themselves that it must have just been an accident. Only after they hear of a criminal case do they start to think that maybe their experience wasn't an accident.

It is fine for you people to love all things Disney, but your reactions are bordering on cult-like.

Very scary indeed.