My Unfortunate Experience with Chip and Dale-12/13-20

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mbaker1277

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I have been debating whether or not to even post this, but I thought alot of you would like to know how Disney handles things when something unpleasant happens at their parks.
On our trip we were leaving AK one afternoon, and there were characters outside the gates standing by the christmas tree. I wanted my photo made with Chip and Dale in their christmas garb. My daughter is terrified of the characters, so I told my husband to walk on to the bus stop and I would meet him there. There was a CM standing with the characters and he offered to take the picture with my camera. The next thing I know Chip is running up to me and squeezes me in a big bearhug sideways. While he was grasping me he decided to touch me in some places he should have never been near, and linger there. He then quickly wrapped his scarf around my neck, entagling me with him. When the CM saw this happed, he told Chip to back off and to hurry up and take the photo. I was stunned at what just happened, and immediately went and told my husband. He is very high up in law enforcement, and was furious. Immediately upon arriving back at our resort I contacted security.
Security took me alone up to a room and made give give a written and oral statement, and speak with people who would investigate my claim. I also surendered my film to them that had a picture that showed that characters hands placed where they shouldn't be. They assured me they would investigate fully, and let me return to my room. It was then that I realized no one had given me their names, a case number, or even a phone number to contact them for updates. My husband called security back and identified himself as a member of law enforcement and began to ask alot of questions. No one in security was available so they took his information and said they would get back to us.
We went to MVMCP and when we returned to our room there was a message waiting on our phone. There was a nice voice stating that my case was being investigated, but we would never hear from Disney again. Have a good day! This did not go over very well.
Day 2- Once again we tried to contact security, and they referred us to a different number. My husband explained the situation to the CM, and they said they would have someone contact us from the claims department to decide how much money our claim was worth. He stated that we were not looking for any financial settlements, but this was a criminal case. We were getting the runaround! Finally a supervisor called us back and we told her all we wanted to know was that our matter was thoroughly investigated and that the person responsible was reprimanded. The supervisor told us matter of factly,"Disney never admits wrongdoing or fault. You will never know the outcome of this, and you will never hear from us again."
Day 3- After getting the runaround we decided to get the local law enforcement involved. The Orange County Sheriff's Dept. sent an officer to our room at 10:30 p.m. to take a statement from me. All of a sudden we get a knock at our door and it is somenone from security, wanting to know if there was something they could help us with. The officer told them that we had tried that for 3 days and got nowhere, so we finally got them involved, and that they needed to leave immediately.
 
Wow, I would like to know how this turns out. Post your pictures if you can and would not be too embarassed. Was is possible Chip couldn't see well out of his costume and did not know where his hands were placed?
 
Goodness ... I also wonder if *Chip* was really trying to grope you ... the chipmunks are known for their mischeviousness and maybe he was just goofing around. Sure hope that was the case.

One visit *Goofy* was hugging and tickling my grandkids ... they (and I ) thought it was the funniest thing ... but I suppose it could have been perceived as being inappropriate ...
 
Obviously just a misunderstanding, since there was still time for 'Chip' to wrap his acarf around you, for a CM to say something to 'him' about it, and for the CM to get a picture of it.
Obviously 'he' didn't know where his hands were all that time.
 

Sorry, I think you're making too much of this. If something like this happened to me, we would probably just brush it off as an accident. But then, my husband isn't "very high up in law enforcement" either. I think it was probably an accident, but even if it wasn't, so what?? Let it go.

So, was it just Chip or "Chip and Dale" as your post suggests? You might want to be specific since you are obviously going to carry this as far as it will go.
 
I have to say honestly that the last time we went that chip gave me a little feel !! On the booty!! We were standing side by side for a pic I had my arm around his back and he had his arm around my mine and he kind of slid his arm down and his little chipmunk hand copped a feel:eek: I just gave him a little push and said dont be fresh chip!!!
 
Just thought you would like to know!!!
 
When we were at WDW in 1986, Goofy pinched my bottom. I kind of laughed but I suppose nowadays I would be upset.

It kind of sounds like Disney actually made this worse by giving you the runaround. Had they handled it right there and then and communicated to you what they did then you probably wouldn't be as upset as you are right now. That's what gets me. They could have handled it properly and brought an end to it.

I don't know what happened so this is only my opinion. Please let us know the outcome of this situation.

I'm glad you posted. I really hope this doesn't turn into a flame fest. You were posting info that you think is important.
 
What exactly is it that you want from Disney? Any corrective action taken by Disney would be private. The characters are union and any complaints would be handled away from the public. Why didn't you and your husband handle this while you were still at AK? Surrender of your film took away any proof that the hands were in questionable places, if a photo was taken showing this. Not flaming, but wondering why it took 3 days to get the police involved if this was so troubling for you. Sorry about this taking place, but I would drop it and move on.:rolleyes:
 
I don't think mbaker1277 intends to get anything from Disney. I believe she feels she was wronged, and wants it checked out in a manner that is satisfactory to her. I think I would want to know the resolution, too.

I am a pretty passive person, but if I was wronged I would want to know what the resolution was. If it was something that bothered me to the extent I needed to complain, I would have a real hard time with someone telling me I would never hear from them again. Not that I do not understand it from a busines standpoint, but I see where mbaker1277 is coming from. Sadly, she WILL probably have to forget about it and move on as familyoffive suggested, because that is how things are handled.

Sorry you had the entire experience.

Edited to add: mbaker1277 has added an update here:
Chip & Dale experience part two
 
How do you know it was a he? A friend of mine has a daughter who plays Chip. I thought the characters had a hard time seeing...maybe "he" realized where his hands were too late? Those costumes are kind of thick...
 
I've been debating whether or not to respond. I believe if you have nothing good to say, than don't say anything. Apparently others feel the same because a lot of people have read this post and not responded. That being said...I will say this. My mother works in the public school system as a grandmother. She reads to kids, helps them, etc. None of the "grandmothers" as well as the teachers are allowed to hug a child when they get hurt or are crying. They have to put on plastic gloves in order to touch a child (tears & snot you know), they can't pat them on the back when they do a good job, they can't tousle their hair when they make a funny comment. Basically our children are growing in a steril school environment because of fear of any contact being considered "sexual". This is in a average size school, in an average size town in the Midwest. Can you picture a WDW where the characters are behind glass or ropes and the kids can wave to them from a distance?
 
Yes, Sinderella, I agree with you, and think that's why people haven't commented. As a future schoolteacher, I know how careful you have to be. I can't quite believe the overreaction of the original poster. I think even if Goofy had pinched my butt, I would probably have laughed it off. But to fly back to Disney to pursue this...Seems very extreme. Makes a person wonder, really.
 
Regardless of what happened, why didn't Disney handle it in a more professional manner?

Couldn't they have responded to the OP when she was there that they were investigating and what the results of that investigation were? What if they had called the next day and said "the character was a woman, she had no idea her hands were on that part of your body, we are very sorry and will train our characters to be more careful."

I dare say it would have been dropped right there.

I don't think they handled it correctly at all, even if nothing happened. Once you have an accusation it should be fully investigated and the alledged victim should be kept informed. Isn't this what would happen at any school or most places of employment where we live?

I am actually a little surprised by some of the responses. What if a character touched your child in an inappropriate way while at WDW? Would you say that it was impossible because the character was a girl? Would you tell your child to drop it?
 
Actually, I would assume it was an accident. Those costumes are very cumbersome. It's very hard for them to get a grip on the pens to even sign. I would probably say "Oh, Chip is just clumsy". I can't get over the overreaction of the OP. It makes me shake my head and roll my eyes.
 
That's my whole point..

Couldn't Disney have phoned her or sent security to her room before they left and said "I'm sorry Mrs. _____ , there seems to have been a misunderstanding, etc."

Don't they just make themselves look guilty of something when they start giving people the run around?

They could have had this handled almost immediately but it's being dragged out because of their actions.

More along the lines of the original post...maybe it was an accident, maybe the character had no idea where his/her hands were. I can honestly see an accident like that happening. I'm sure most situations are accidents but that's not to say that there can't ever be pervert working at WDW who may touch an adult or child in an inappropriate way.

You would think that Disney has some sort of risk management, public relations office, legal dept. that would converse with the person making the accusation when something like this happens. Why would they tell someone you'll never hear from us again. That is just weird.
 
Usually when somebody says it's not about the money... it's about the money.
 
Oh my! Are you serious? Do you actually think Chip or Dale had the hots for you and couldn't control themselves in public? LOL! You may say you are not after money but who are you kidding? Disney says they cannot tell you how it was handled, if indeed it actually happened, so you should leave it at that. Why persue it unless of course you are looking for a free week at the GF? What next? Going after Mickey for kissing you with his plastic nose? Get real!
 
Originally posted by skiwee1
Oh my! Are you serious? Do you actually think Chip or Dale had the hots for you and couldn't control themselves in public? LOL! You may say you are not after money but who are you kidding? Disney says they cannot tell you how it was handled, if indeed it actually happened, so you should leave it at that. Why persue it unless of course you are looking for a free week at the GF? What next? Going after Mickey for kissing you with his plastic nose? Get real!

Terry,
Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel!!! :)

Actually, ITA, and not knowing how strong the union is, one does not know how much can be released for information.

Limited vision, thick gloves, hmmm, seems like if the CM wanted a feel, he/she would have removed the gloves. IMHO, much ado about nothing, but, then again, I don't have someone high up in law enforcement.
 
Gail and I never agree on anything but on this one I have to agree with her. Much ado about nothing. Ridiculous and very unlikely it happened.
 
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