brb1006
Well-Known Member
I agree, unlike other theme parks (I'm looking at you Six Flags) that treat their costume characters. Disney takes this very seriously!
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Sentinel: Disney policy requiring character confidentiality comes under fire
- Thread starter PhotoDave219
- Start date
asianway
Well-Known Member
I did-many other actions are being taken by mgmt. If you thought it was hard to find a rare character before...I'll say it again....blame the WDW of today. Where moms will flat out bribe CMs on social media to get their kid a "Random Encounter". Disney itself is part of the problem as they have put a few on a pedestal and given certain social media people special treatment, and now its so crazy out of control that there are more than a few copycats trying to be the "next big thing" on the Dis-internet. I mentioned how this was getting worse a few months ago in another thread and few believed me
*EDIT* here http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/is-entitlement-becoming-an-issue.897138/
You may not think these 2 threads are related..but I have a hunch they are
brb1006
Well-Known Member
I'm glad young kids don't have access to sites like that. They won't take photos like that very well at all!
brb1006
Well-Known Member
As a person who never seen Modern Family. What happened in the episode?
That has nothing to do with the topic at hand.
J_Krafty24
Active Member
I don't understand the big deal. I am a mechanical engineer. I would get in a ton of trouble if I posted about what I did at work. Posting pictures of my work would get me in huge trouble. I am also not allowed to put specifics about my work on my resume. I don't see how what Disney is asking is any different.
brb1006
Well-Known Member
They might be afraid that if a worker posting photos of them as a character with our without the costume. They might fear that children might stumble upon it accidentally. Disney is very strict when it comes to characters and how they are supposed to act around the guests.
That's not at all applicable in this situation. Exactly how much control should an employer (not just Disney) exert over its off-duty employees? I saw a link to a Buzzfeed "story" about people getting fired for certain posts on their Facebook, some of which seemed appropriate for disciplinary action, but some of which was ridiculous. Let's get real, though. Only small children and the developmentally disabled might be under the impression these characters are real. They are unlikely to come across any information or pictures that expose this behind-the-scenes information. That said, generally speaking, if this in fact a union job (whether or not the CM is required to join is not relevant), then an employer cannot unilaterally implement a new rule (even if it is an unofficial rule that has existed for years).
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J_Krafty24
Active Member
Sorry, guess I didnt specify. I dont understand why this should be a big deal to the cast members. I think this is compleatly within Disney's rights to enforce this policy as an employeer based on my experiences in my field.
That's not the same thing. In that situation you are using company resources, and they have every right to limit what they can be used for. Social media is personal and not owned by the company. Regardless, as I state above, since this is a union job, all rules and regulations must be approved by the union before they can legally be implemented (now obviously companies implement new rules all the time, and that doesn't necessarily mean they run afoul of the negotiated union contract. In this situation the business rep believes they do. Disney can implement this rule, but are then subject to damages should a court decide they acted illegally).
I am not sure what you are talking about. When I worked at Six Flags Great America, the costumed characters were treated just as strictly as Disney. In fact, they were only allowed to remove costume pieces in the dressing area (or whatever they called it).
brb1006
Well-Known Member
I guess this was my experience back in "Great Adventure".
ItlngrlBella
Well-Known Member
brb1006
Well-Known Member
I wonder how the kids reacted?
asianway
Well-Known Member
So who signed off on this? Those managers should all be fired based on this new rule. Oh that's right it probably doesn't apply to mgmt.
I know at least some CM's are abiding by the rules. My wife and I were at a local bakery the other day and the cashier had a tiny, all black Mickey Mouse earring. I commented on it and he said he was a seasonal CM. When I asked what he did, he said, "Im friends with a few characters". I asked what characters, but he wouldnt tell us. He played it off very well and switched the subject to how excited he was to get back down there. I thought it was odd that he wouldnt tell us who he played, but it makes sense now. Good for him for sticking to the rules.
I did ask him if the character stalking is as bad as Ive heard. He said it most definitely is.
I did ask him if the character stalking is as bad as Ive heard. He said it most definitely is.
ItlngrlBella
Well-Known Member
Ditto on SFGA.
I interned in HR at SFGA and all we knew about those folks: "they're in entertainment." Character integrity was HUGE. Especially the secrecy of who was on the character crew to all other employees. No one knew who they were - it was like they were CIA operatives. What employees knew was on a need-to-know basis.
One day I was with some returning seasonal staff and one I didn't know - he said he was in entertainment. I asked what he did in entertainment and he just smiled and said - "I'm in entertainment." I asked if he sang in one of the shows. He laughed and shook his head no. Then said, "You should swing by the front gate any morning if you have time."
Days later, I was walking down the backstage center "road" that connects everything and Foghorn Leghorn was walking by - he stopped in his tracks, pointed at me, made a bee line straight for me, kissed my hand and bear-hugged me to death. I didn't know anyone personally in the character crew, so I figured... it had to be...??? His handler was cracking up. I never found out and that's ok. It was unexpected, sweet, cute and it turned around my day.
My point: Even for the employees, it's more fun and the morale is higher when keeping character integrity.
@Cmdr_Crimson could probably vouch for SFGA's character policy better than I.
In my overall experience there: Character integrity only helped the whole show - front and backstage. You could be tired after a long hot day and Bugs could walk by you and wave - you couldn't help but smile.
It was a fun part of working there. One last character integrity tidbit - not sure if this was mandated by management or not but... It seemed like the integrity rule extended to the seasonal Fright Fest cast. They would stay in character backstage even while eating lunch (at that time they were outsourced to JPM out of Atlanta). Not sure if they stayed in character per company policy or to just entertain themselves/mess with people. That made for fun cafeteria people/creature watching. Some employees (even lunch checkout staff) were just too freaked out by them. It was hilarious.
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ItlngrlBella
Well-Known Member
Amazing... and sad, isn't it? How quickly they would sell-out character integrity for "the ABC."
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asianway
Well-Known Member
I'm not his biggest fan but tom corless was one of the only bloggers critical of this, stitch kingdom was the other. None of the others said a word...Amazing isn't it? How quickly the park would sell-out character integrity for "the ABC."
ItlngrlBella
Well-Known Member
Maybe because God forbid, they'd lose any freebies and swag the parks dish out to them?