ORLANDO, FL
Saying they were working diligently to address the problem, Walt Disney World officials acknowledged Wednesday that several dozen unauthorized characters, none of which have ever appeared in a Disney film or cartoon, had been found in recent weeks wandering throughout the theme park.
Company sources confirmed that at least 60 separate individuals in costumes, including various woodland creatures, several fairies, and what officials described as a walrus in a lab coat, have been spotted greeting visitors, hugging children, posing for pictures, and meandering into daily parades alongside sanctioned Disney characters...
While Disney officials reiterated that most fraudulent characters posed no threat, they singled out a possum with a cane and top hat as particularly troublesome, noting that the ornery character is often seen sitting on the Main Street, U.S.A. curb and is known to go by the names Portly Possum, Prickly Possum, Patty OPossum, Possum Pete, or Pop-Pop Possum.
There has never been a Disney film that has featured a possum, and we would like to make it abundantly clear to visitors that no licensed Disney character will ever chew tobacco or wear an orthopedic back brace on the job, said Aldridge, holding a photograph of the counterfeit character. And we urge you not to purchase the Possum-Time Hoedown DVD hes selling out of his backpack. Its really very bad.
