Email address for Disney Guest relations? Odd experience with an Eeyore character

[Tabetha]

I think you handled the situation great. I think Disney definately needs (and wants) to know if a character's behaviour crosses the line, intentionally or not.

I can totally understand waiting until you got home to report the incident. It takes time for these things to sink in. You provided excellent details so that Disney will have no trouble narrowing down the Eeyore in question. It's not like you're gunning for a free meal, or some sort of "perk", so reporting it then and there wouldn't have changed much with respect to how they can "fix" the situation, and would have caused unpleasantness for your family. No need for that on vacation!

Kudos to you for how you've handled it.

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I think it is very common for people who may have been touched or spoken to inappropriately not to react immediately, especially when it comes from a very unexpected source and Eeyore should be a very unexpected source. For example, if a coworker or supervisor did or said something inappropriate, it wouldn't be unusual at all for the offended person to not say anything for a day or two while they rehash the details in their mind and try to decide if they want to get involved in reporting and all the drama that may come after reporting the incident.

I completely agree with this, in fact, it happened to me. A co-worker made a rude comment to me and I didn't report it for several months. Although it completely creeped me out, this slimeball was someone I didn't have to deal with, so I just ignored him. But then, when I found out he was treating other women in the office the same way (one of whom worked for him ), I reported my incident, to help give more credibility to the other women. No one in HR thought it odd at all that I waited so long to report it.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

I completely agree with this, in fact, it happened to me. A co-worker made a rude comment to me and I didn't report it for several months. Although it completely creeped me out, this slimeball was someone I didn't have to deal with, so I just ignored him. But then, when I found out he was treating other women in the office the same way (one of whom worked for him ), I reported my incident, to help give more credibility to the other women. No one in HR thought it odd at all that I waited so long to report it.

I can completely understand where you are coming from, but I do believe there is a difference between a co-worker and Eeyore. You will most likely never get near the same Eeyore again, so reporting it immediately would help Disney out. Plus, if the staff knew Eeyore was inappropriate, it could have been dealt with on the spot. It would have also prevented other visitors from having the same experience. Now, I wonder how much effort Disney will put in to try and find the EXACT Eeyore. That will take some investigation and I fear if the OP is not threatening a lawsuit or a police report, Disney will let it slide. The most they may do is stress the importance of staying in character to all CMs, which they probably stress every day.

OP, you did what was right for your family. I'm not criticizing you. I just hate to see Eeyore get away with being creepy. I do hope Disney contacts you on this. I also feel for your son. My cousin has severe food allergies and she hates to go out to eat because of all the extra attention that is focused on her. ((HUGS)) to you and your family.

 

[Ardenne]

I think you handled the situation great. I think Disney definately needs (and wants) to know if a character's behaviour crosses the line, intentionally or not.

I can totally understand waiting until you got home to report the incident. It takes time for these things to sink in. You provided excellent details so that Disney will have no trouble narrowing down the Eeyore in question. It's not like you're gunning for a free meal, or some sort of "perk", so reporting it then and there wouldn't have changed much with respect to how they can "fix" the situation, and would have caused unpleasantness for your family. No need for that on vacation!

Kudos to you for how you've handled it.

I completely agree. And not only did waiting prevent causing unpleasantness for her family, I think that the fact that she's post-vacation and obviously not seeking any perks or compensation improves the likelihood that her comments will be taken seriously and the issue being suitably investigated.

 

[alabamagirl]

This Eeyore was completely out of line. I wouldn't worry about this particular person getting fired though, unless he/she has been reported for this kind of behavior before and repeatedly. From my experience working at WDW it is pretty hard to get fired, and they usually will not fire someone over one incident.

I think this is sad because the characters are what bring the magic alive and it angers me when one of them ruin it for even one family. I feel like Erin and her family will never look at Eeyore the same now.

 

[Mickeyistheman]

I have very mixed feelings about this incident.

Lately alot of things have been happening at the Crystal Palace with their Characters.

If I am not mistaken about a few weeks ago some man punched Piglet in the stomach? for blowing kisses to his wife/girlfriend.

So I do believe it was right for Erin to write Disney about it, however

I travel to Disneyworld on average 5 times a year and I love dealing with the characters and I am 27 years old. Last year at the Star Wars weekends I was thrilled to have my picture taken with Darth Vadar.

I was excited and I dont' know if he could tell or not but when I went over to him he looked at me and put his arm on my waist and pulled me in and the picture his hysterical but he meant no harm and did that with a few other women as well. So I do hope it was not taken out of context.

I do not have any young children but when I travel to Disney I take my 15 year old sister with me on every trip. The Characters blow kisses and play with her hair and give her a big hug, once Tigger did pat her behind but afterwards he saw my face and the CM came over and said that they can't really see in the suits and kept apologizing up and down and it really was not a big deal because the CM saw what happened and acted right away.

I just hope the reason you did report the incident was to make Disney aware of that situation and not to take them to court and get some money, I work in customer service and there are so many lame excuses and people threaten for no reason. I just hope that Disney does reprimand this person (if they find him/her) and re train if they must.

Please let us know what the outcome is.

Good Luck!

 

[erinch]

Just to clear up the "court" question -- nope, uninterested in any compensation and certainly not court. There was no damage. If I had reported on the spot, I think the appropriate response by Disney would have been to comp the lunch, but since I chose to wait there's nothing I expect from them, other than to evaluate the interaction, to provide retraining if it were an overenthusiastic "innocent" response, and to get the guy away from children if it was a repeat offense or "darker" in motivation.

Again, for me, any one of the behaviors, I wouldn't have noticed. It was the whole string of them together which was so startling and disturbing.

 

[tekmom]

That would have creeped me out, too. glad you didn't let it ruin your trip.

 

[lisareneeo]

I actually had a similiar experience 2 years ago. My son (7 at the time) told me after the fact that Mr. Smee was telling him to "pick his nose" while they were having their picture taken together. I could not believe it. It was on the day we were leaving and close to the time we were leaving. It was right outside POC. My son did not tell us until we were heading out. I emailed Disney explaining the situation. I gave as many details of the time and place so they would be able to figure out who Mr. Smee was at that time.
Disney actually called me to apologize but I was never told if anything would happen to MR Smee or not. I was more concerned about explaining to my son why he could hear Mr Smee "talk" because he wanted to know!!!
So, to the origianal poster I agree with you and think you did the right thing.
Lisa

 

[wendypooh]

Originally Posted by J and R's mom
Now you can't just leave us all hanging like that...we're a curious bunch.

I had an odd experience with Chip (or was it Dale?) at AK once. He (or she??) got a little friendly with my backside....if you know what I mean.

I had an "odd" experience with Chip, or Dale........ they got a little tooooo friendly at the O'hana Breakfast last year...... DH even got it on tape!!!!! He was hugging me from behind, and had his arms around my waist, squeezing me, then he was kissing my neck and hair........ everyone was laughing, "ahh, isn't C or D sooo cute........" HAH, I wasn't laughing........ he came back to our table 5 or 6 more times, to "kiss" my hair or my hand and arm.......... DH jokes and teases me about it........we just chalked it up to him putting on a show............ but it did creep me out!!!!!

 

[letterdavidman]

Details about the actual incident, not why you couldn't bother reporting it and where your seat was. I once worked for a professional sports team in the customer service department. If there was a complaint, I had to read it, find the problem and see if there was a solution. I can't tell you how many complaint letters I had to read that told me everything about the weather, the score of the game, the reason why they were at the game, etc., etc,, etc. I had to highlight the actual problems and that was usually covered in 3 sentences of a 2 page letter. I loved the ones that just told me the facts of the problem itself. Anyway, that's just my opinion.

It just fills my heart with good cheer to realize that people working in similar positions at the Walt Disney Company may, in fact, have a winning attitude just like yours!

 

[JujiD]

Maybe it is just me, but I would have just chalked it up to the character not being able to feel through the gloves and being funny with the laugh. It sounds extremely circumstantial, and I hope that someone doesn't loose his/her job from a misconception.

The fact is the characters are human under the costumes, and his actions just may have been deliberate.
This situation happened to me on my first trip to WDW when I was 20. We (my sister, my mother, who could pass for my sister and I) were in England in Epcot. There was a strolling minstrel who was interacting with visitors. He came up to us and played songs and 'flirted' with us. Just doing his job. Before he went on a break he asked if he could give us a kiss on the cheek, we thought no big deal. He kissed my mother then my sister on the cheek. When he got to me I turned my face slightly so he could kiss my cheek. He leaned in and moved deliberately to plant his open mouth right on my mouth. I was shocked as were my mother and sister. He then left very quickly. My mother was upset, but I told her not to make a big deal out of it. The guy had no excuses for what he did, no gloves on his hands, no mask over his face. To me this was not circumstantial, that he did it deliberately, just that he was a pervert. No, I didn't report it. Was too embarrassed to.

The situation with the OP does not sound circumstantial to me either. I think Eeyore's handler must not have thought so either, that is why they replaced him with another.

 

[Alice in Cleveland]

I remember in High School I had my picture taken with Tigger. Tigger's "arms" were tightly around my waist and I could barely move. He wouldn't let go. It was strange, to say the least. My Aunt also has this on video tape. Now, this was like 20 years ago and I figured moves like that wouldn't fly at Disney anymore, but now I'm not so sure. What's going on at that Crystal Palace? This is the second character story there I've heard this summer.

 

[kakiegirl]

erinch,
I think you did the right thing in reporting it and I think your letter sounded fine. The details you gave could be important in helping Disney figure out which Eyore it was. These are Characters that deal with 100's of children a day if one is showing inappropriate behavior I think Disney would want to know. However, I don't think they would fire a CM on one letter of complaint so I don't think you need to worry about your letter getting someone fired. I can also understand why you did not report it then and there. I have had things to shock or surprise me before and then later the more I think about it I feel like I need to report it. Also, it sounds like your son and had enough of public displays and I can certainly understand you not wanting to upset or embarrass him after what he has been through. If you get a response for Disney please let us know what it is.

 

[Amyality]

Wait a minute...I thought the cartoon characters were not allowed to speak. I thought that only the more human ones like Cinderella and Belle were allowed to do this. I've never heard any of the cartoon type speak - ever - and we have had LOTS of character greetings. If I'm right then, right there someone should be notified. Your Eyore experience sounded way off to me in general asside from the weird grunting.

 

[lyrapan75]

only face characters are alound to speak. The only sound "fur" characters can make is the kissing sound.

 

[srfrgrl07]

I wouldn't worry about this particular person getting fired though, unless he/she has been reported for this kind of behavior before and repeatedly. From my experience working at WDW it is pretty hard to get fired, and they usually will not fire someone over one incident.

I think this is sad because the characters are what bring the magic alive and it angers me when one of them ruin it for even one family. I feel like Erin and her family will never look at Eeyore the same now.

I used to work with the characters. Walt Disney World and it's cast members take great pride in creating those magical experiences and upholding the integrity of the characters. If a performer was not complying with that, the company takes it very seriously, believe me. Even if this were an isolated incident, proper action will be taken. It should not be too difficult for WDW to research who the performer was during your unfortunate experience due to the details you provided. I only hope that your future encounters with the "World Famous Disney Characters" are as memorable and magical as they have been prior to this incident.

As far as your response from Disney, I'm sure they will apologize profusely but they probably are not permitted to share the details of what kind of specific action is taken in response, as I'm sure you can understand that, other than to tell you that the issue has been addressed. I know alot of people here are curious about the outcome, so I thought I'd share my htoughts as an "insider."

 

[KevinM]

I wish Jasmine would get fresh with me!

 

[Shinji]

Erin,

I just got caught up on this thread and wanted to post a reply. Good for you for taking the time to write Disney and let them know how you feel. If anyone or their children are made uncomfortable, Disney Company should know about it - Otherwise, they cannot do anything about it.

That being said, I wonder why the characters are permitted to get within 6 inches of a guest anyway? Sooner or Later, people being how they are, it is bound to upset a guest. I can only imagine what it is like to be encased inside a hot costume with limited vision and covered hands. Then to have someone flatter themselves by accusing the character of a sexual advance.
Not to mention getting kicked and punched by other people's brats. At some point in the future, Disney may have to place the characters behind glass and kids can only wave at them.

My hat is off to those character actors who put up with it. It makes me appreciate my engineering desk job even more.

 

[luvthatduke]

Popping back in to say I think your email was fine,
and it was a good idea to send it.
Even if you never know the outcome,
Jiminy Cricket would be proud of you,
you let your conscience be your guide!