Scoop Sanderson Leaving Magic Kingdom

wdwfan22

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sad news, it appears Disney has decided not to renew Scoop Sanderson's contract. For those of you unaware Scoop Sanderson is one of the Citizens of Main Street U.S.A. and has performed in the welcome show. His last full day will be October 8, 2016, however he will still fill in when available for subs and vacations. So sad to see him go as he was always a friendly face and great to interact with.
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Awwww, sad news. Hope to run into him during one of his return visits.
Scoop2.jpg
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Since he will be returning for special situations, are we sure that he isn't just retiring. When Disney doesn't renew a contract, that usually means the last time you will see the person. That doesn't sound like that at all. I would hope he wouldn't be foolish enough to get fired and then return to fill in later. I don't remember him specifically, but you folks say he's been there a long time. After awhile one just wants to sleep in late and not have to be anyplace unless they want to be.
 

asianway

Well-Known Member
Since he will be returning for special situations, are we sure that he isn't just retiring. When Disney doesn't renew a contract, that usually means the last time you will see the person. That doesn't sound like that at all. I would hope he wouldn't be foolish enough to get fired and then return to fill in later. I don't remember him specifically, but you folks say he's been there a long time. After awhile one just wants to sleep in late and not have to be anyplace unless they want to be.
No, for equity actors it means he was not offered a full time contract renewal - ie guaranteed work. He would be coming out to cover vacations. I guarantee you he wanted the full time gig.
 

discos

Well-Known Member
I'm aware that any citizen of Main Street character is an Equity actor, but does anyone know why these characters are Equity and Disney face characters aren't? Could this be TDO slowly getting rid of the equity performers in exchange for non-equity?
 

Polydweller

Well-Known Member
I'm aware that any citizen of Main Street character is an Equity actor, but does anyone know why these characters are Equity and Disney face characters aren't? Could this be TDO slowly getting rid of the equity performers in exchange for non-equity?
Street characters are Equity while face characters are Teamsters. Equity actors can't replace Teamsters and vice versa. The two unions would have to fight out which performers are which. So no exchange but Disney could reduce costs by eliminating or reducing the hours of any given position and Equity actors are expensive.
 

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
As I said.. I don't remember this guy at all, but at the same time the "good riddance" comment has put me in a state of almost terminal curiosity. I would like to know why anyone would randomly say something as mean spirited and downright nasty as that. Doesn't anyone else want to know?

I'm quite curious. I mean, I could understand somebody celebrating Push's departure, as that little trash can could be quite sassy, but Scoop?
 

CircusPeanuts

Active Member
As I said.. I don't remember this guy at all, but at the same time the "good riddance" comment has put me in a state of almost terminal curiosity. I would like to know why anyone would randomly say something as mean spirited and downright nasty as that. Doesn't anyone else want to know?

Not the OP, but I have heard many rumors over the years that he let his "fandom" get to him and he was a bit of a diva and drama queen backstage. Perhaps the OP worked with him? That also might explain why his contract wasn't renewed. Once again, just a guess.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Not the OP, but I have heard many rumors over the years that he let his "fandom" get to him and he was a bit of a diva and drama queen backstage. Perhaps the OP worked with him? That also might explain why his contract wasn't renewed. Once again, just a guess.
Quite possible, I suppose, but, to just come on a chat area like this with that unexplained statement only makes the poster look like a snot, it doesn't reflect bad on good old Scoop unless we know the reason for that obvious hatred. I don't really care, because like I said, I don't remember the guy at all, but I am curious. It just seems like it was counterproductive and totally unnecessary to just blatantly say what was said. But, on to better things.

Besides, I would bet that backstage at Disney you would need a printed program to tell one Drama Queen from another.
 

Matt_Black

Well-Known Member
Not the OP, but I have heard many rumors over the years that he let his "fandom" get to him and he was a bit of a diva and drama queen backstage. Perhaps the OP worked with him? That also might explain why his contract wasn't renewed. Once again, just a guess.

Quite possible, I suppose, but, to just come on a chat area like this with that unexplained statement only makes the poster look like a snot, it doesn't reflect bad on good old Scoop unless we know the reason for that obvious hatred. I don't really care, because like I said, I don't remember the guy at all, but I am curious. It just seems like it was counterproductive and totally unnecessary to just blatantly say what was said. But, on to better things.

Besides, I would bet that backstage at Disney you would need a printed program to tell one Drama Queen from another.

Yeah, and if he WERE that much of a diva, I doubt they'd allow him to return for special occasions and vacancies.
 

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
Not the OP, but I have heard many rumors over the years that he let his "fandom" get to him and he was a bit of a diva and drama queen backstage. Perhaps the OP worked with him? That also might explain why his contract wasn't renewed. Once again, just a guess.

This is not at all what I expected when I checked out this thread. I have no idea if it's true, but I kind of want it to be, as secret backstage drama getting to Scoops' head is hilarious.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Not the OP, but I have heard many rumors over the years that he let his "fandom" get to him and he was a bit of a diva and drama queen backstage. Perhaps the OP worked with him? That also might explain why his contract wasn't renewed. Once again, just a guess.

The only story I heard about Scoop was that they had recently told him he could no longer trade pins or host his little pin trading how-to class. That's just something I read here, no idea if it's true or not.

All previous threads about him have been very positive.
 

asianway

Well-Known Member
The only story I heard about Scoop was that they had recently told him he could no longer trade pins or host his little pin trading how-to class. That's just something I read here, no idea if it's true or not.

All previous threads about him have been very positive.
The pin talks ended a long time ago.

Trading ended a year ago or so.

Case study in how to boil a frog
 
As I said.. I don't remember this guy at all, but at the same time the "good riddance" comment has put me in a state of almost terminal curiosity. I would like to know why anyone would randomly say something as mean spirited and downright nasty as that. Doesn't anyone else want to know?

Let me preface this with, it is never a good thing to hear someone losing their job. I do wish the actor the best and hope he eventually finds some other gig more appropriate for his talents. My complaints have nothing to do with the character being a reporter, its the pin trading aspect I have issues with.

I do not care for Scoop or the idea of Scoop because a majority of people looked at the character as a means to get free stuff. Over the years he had an unprecedented amount of access to not only rarer and more desirable pins but also award-style pins of himself that he could choose to award to whomever he wanted, for what ever reason he decided, with seemingly no accountability or limitations. As a result many people went out of their way to stalk, harass, and kiss up to him, even as going as far as using their kids, in the hopes of being on the receiving end of some of his stash. To give you an idea, his pin trading pin from 2003 (which he had 750 of to award at his discretion) was worth about $200 on ebay around the time he would "award" them. As you can imagine, there was definitely some incentive for some to want to receive one.

It got to the point where people made shirts, buttons, fantasy pins, blogs, and various social groups which is way overboard for just a "normal" cast member. He seemed to not only embrace the behavior, he also seemed to encourage it. The way he would award his pins might have seemed unfair to those who consistently saw people more friendly with him receiving things from him more often than newer people or people he may not have necessarily liked. There seemed to be a bias in the way things were given, where it should have been more neutral and impartial.

His Scoop pin in particular seemed to be more consistently given to his fans rather than people who either attended his talks or made a point a try and participate. He seemed to always have some of the artist proof pins and pre-production pins he was allowed to hand out for almost any reason. I obviously do not have the complete information of how things were given out and to who, but there seemed to lack a fair system and as a result there seemed to be a larger chance for abuse. The idea of a character in Magic Kingdom with that much responsibility seems to be very inappropriate for Magic Kingdom and that type setting.

I believe a character with that much power and that was only ever played by one person, with seemingly little to no accountability was a recipe for disaster and it was for some. Though there are many people that had positive experiences with Scoop, I have no doubt those people will treasure those memories, there is a decent amount of silent people who watched the antics unfold over the years and grew a dislike for what he represented, which was greed. When a character has an opportunity to disappoint and appear to show bias, that is going to leave an impression on people, whether good or bad would depend on which side you fall under.

Because he was not necessarily controlled in the same sense of events and typical cast member trading, there was not the same level of professionalism and fairness. I understand many will probably disagree with me, and that's fine, but I stand by my statement, I do not think he adds any value to Magic Kingdom as a street performer that trades pins. If he was just a fun Main Street reporter from the start, no problem at all, but the celebrity pin trader status was grossly inappropriate and frankly went on for far too long.
 
Last edited:

POLY LOVER

Well-Known Member
Let me preface this with, it is never a good thing to hear someone losing their job. I do wish the actor the best and hope he eventually finds some other gig more appropriate for his talents. My complaints have nothing to do with the character being a reporter, its the pin trading aspect I have issues with.

I do not care for Scoop or the idea of Scoop because a majority of people looked at the character as a means to get free stuff. Over the years he had an unprecedented amount of access to not only rarer and more desirable pins but also award-style pins of himself that he could choose to award to whomever he wanted, for what ever reason he decided, with seemingly no accountability or limitations. As a result many people went out of their way to stalk, harass, and kiss up to him, even as going as far as using their kids, in the hopes of being on the receiving end of some of his stash. To give you an idea, his pin trading pin from 2003 (which he had 750 of to award at his discretion) was worth about $200 on ebay around the time he would "award" them. As you can imagine, there was definitely some incentive for some to want to receive one.

It got to the point where people made shirts, buttons, fantasy pins, blogs, and various social groups which is way overboard for just a "normal" cast member. He seemed to not only embrace the behavior, he also seemed to encourage it. The way he would award his pins might have seemed unfair to those who consistently saw people more friendly with him receiving things from him more often than newer people or people he may not have necessarily liked. There seemed to be a bias in the way things were given, where it should have been more neutral and impartial.

His Scoop pin in particular seemed to be more consistently given to his fans rather than people who either attended his talks or made a point a try and participate. He seemed to always have some of the artist proof pins and pre-production pins he was allowed to hand out for almost any reason. I obviously do not have the complete information of how things were given out and to who, but there seemed to lack a fair system and as a result there seemed to be a larger chance for abuse. The idea of a character in Magic Kingdom with that much responsibility seems to be very inappropriate for Magic Kingdom and that type setting.

I believe a character with that much power and that was only ever played by one person, with seemingly little to no accountability was a recipe for disaster and it was for some. Though there are many people that had positive experiences with Scoop, I have no doubt those people will treasure those memories, there is a decent amount of silent people who watched the antics unfold over the years and grew a dislike for what he represented, which was greed. When a character has an opportunity to disappoint and appear to show bias, that is going to leave an impression on people, whether good or bad would depend on which side you fall under.

Because he was not necessarily controlled in the same sense of events and typical cast member trading, there was not the same level of professionalism and fairness. I understand many will probably disagree with me, and that's fine, but I stand by my statement, I do not think he adds any value to Magic Kingdom as a street performer that trades pins. If he was just a fun Main Street reporter from the start, no problem at all, but the celebrity pin trader status was grossly inappropriate and frankly went on for far too long.
Well that's some good information.
 

NearTheEars

Well-Known Member
Let me preface this with, it is never a good thing to hear someone losing their job. I do wish the actor the best and hope he eventually finds some other gig more appropriate for his talents. My complaints have nothing to do with the character being a reporter, its the pin trading aspect I have issues with.

I do not care for Scoop or the idea of Scoop because a majority of people looked at the character as a means to get free stuff. Over the years he had an unprecedented amount of access to not only rarer and more desirable pins but also award-style pins of himself that he could choose to award to whomever he wanted, for what ever reason he decided, with seemingly no accountability or limitations. As a result many people went out of their way to stalk, harass, and kiss up to him, even as going as far as using their kids, in the hopes of being on the receiving end of some of his stash. To give you an idea, his pin trading pin from 2003 (which he had 750 of to award at his discretion) was worth about $200 on ebay around the time he would "award" them. As you can imagine, there was definitely some incentive for some to want to receive one.

It got to the point where people made shirts, buttons, fantasy pins, blogs, and various social groups which is way overboard for just a "normal" cast member. He seemed to not only embrace the behavior, he also seemed to encourage it. The way he would award his pins might have seemed unfair to those who consistently saw people more friendly with him receiving things from him more often than newer people or people he may not have necessarily liked. There seemed to be a bias in the way things were given, where it should have been more neutral and impartial.

His Scoop pin in particular seemed to be more consistently given to his fans rather than people who either attended his talks or made a point a try and participate. He seemed to always have some of the artist proof pins and pre-production pins he was allowed to hand out for almost any reason. I obviously do not have the complete information of how things were given out and to who, but there seemed to lack a fair system and as a result there seemed to be a larger chance for abuse. The idea of a character in Magic Kingdom with that much responsibility seems to be very inappropriate for Magic Kingdom and that type setting.

I believe a character with that much power and that was only ever played by one person, with seemingly little to no accountability was a recipe for disaster and it was for some. Though there are many people that had positive experiences with Scoop, I have no doubt those people will treasure those memories, there is a decent amount of silent people who watched the antics unfold over the years and grew a dislike for what he represented, which was greed. When a character has an opportunity to disappoint and appear to show bias, that is going to leave an impression on people, whether good or bad would depend on which side you fall under.

Because he was not necessarily controlled in the same sense of events and typical cast member trading, there was not the same level of professionalism and fairness. I understand many will probably disagree with me, and that's fine, but I stand by my statement, I do not think he adds any value to Magic Kingdom as a street performer that trades pins. If he was just a fun Main Street reporter from the start, no problem at all, but the celebrity pin trader status was grossly inappropriate and frankly went on for far too long.

So in other words, you never got the pin.

But I understand what you mean, and some of this is likely why they slowly took away pin trading from him.

Also, it's crazy people would go to those lengths for a silly pin.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
Let me preface this with, it is never a good thing to hear someone losing their job. I do wish the actor the best and hope he eventually finds some other gig more appropriate for his talents. My complaints have nothing to do with the character being a reporter, its the pin trading aspect I have issues with.

I do not care for Scoop or the idea of Scoop because a majority of people looked at the character as a means to get free stuff. Over the years he had an unprecedented amount of access to not only rarer and more desirable pins but also award-style pins of himself that he could choose to award to whomever he wanted, for what ever reason he decided, with seemingly no accountability or limitations. As a result many people went out of their way to stalk, harass, and kiss up to him, even as going as far as using their kids, in the hopes of being on the receiving end of some of his stash. To give you an idea, his pin trading pin from 2003 (which he had 750 of to award at his discretion) was worth about $200 on ebay around the time he would "award" them. As you can imagine, there was definitely some incentive for some to want to receive one.

It got to the point where people made shirts, buttons, fantasy pins, blogs, and various social groups which is way overboard for just a "normal" cast member. He seemed to not only embrace the behavior, he also seemed to encourage it. The way he would award his pins might have seemed unfair to those who consistently saw people more friendly with him receiving things from him more often than newer people or people he may not have necessarily liked. There seemed to be a bias in the way things were given, where it should have been more neutral and impartial.

His Scoop pin in particular seemed to be more consistently given to his fans rather than people who either attended his talks or made a point a try and participate. He seemed to always have some of the artist proof pins and pre-production pins he was allowed to hand out for almost any reason. I obviously do not have the complete information of how things were given out and to who, but there seemed to lack a fair system and as a result there seemed to be a larger chance for abuse. The idea of a character in Magic Kingdom with that much responsibility seems to be very inappropriate for Magic Kingdom and that type setting.

I believe a character with that much power and that was only ever played by one person, with seemingly little to no accountability was a recipe for disaster and it was for some. Though there are many people that had positive experiences with Scoop, I have no doubt those people will treasure those memories, there is a decent amount of silent people who watched the antics unfold over the years and grew a dislike for what he represented, which was greed. When a character has an opportunity to disappoint and appear to show bias, that is going to leave an impression on people, whether good or bad would depend on which side you fall under.

Because he was not necessarily controlled in the same sense of events and typical cast member trading, there was not the same level of professionalism and fairness. I understand many will probably disagree with me, and that's fine, but I stand by my statement, I do not think he adds any value to Magic Kingdom as a street performer that trades pins. If he was just a fun Main Street reporter from the start, no problem at all, but the celebrity pin trader status was grossly inappropriate and frankly went on for far too long.
At this point I have no reason to refute what you have just spelled out, but, I at least now know what caused that seemingly callused dismissal originally stated. Like I said, whatever the reason, if they are going to have him back for special occasions, he cannot be very hated by the Disney Corporation.
 
At this point I have no reason to refute what you have just spelled out, but, I at least now know what caused that seemingly callused dismissal originally stated. Like I said, whatever the reason, if they are going to have him back for special occasions, he cannot be very hated by the Disney Corporation.

I honestly do not think his contract not being renewed had anything to do with what the Walt Disney Company thought of the pin trading aspects of this character. I believe he was first and foremost primarily viewed as an actor who played a Main Street U.S.A. Reporter. Only one cast member only ever played the role, which differs from other characters that appear on Main Street, like the Dapper Dans, the mayor, and the fire chief.

The pins were secondary to what his primary responsibility was, which was to be the Main Street Reporter. I do not believe he performed his acting role as the Main Street U.S.A. Reporter bad at all, but he never should have had that much access to the pins nor should he have been allowed to distribute his pins without some kind of system or accountability to keep everything fair and appear unbiased. It absolutely does not surprise me he will still be invited back for special occasions and as a fill-in when needed, but what I do hope in the future he continues to not trade pins anymore. I hope that aspect of the character stays in permanent retirement as that leaves much too much room for abuse.
 

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