Santa Kicked Out Of Disney World?

[King Triton]

I just have three words to say to that....."Ho, Ho, Ho!"

 

[tmarquez]

Is there more to the story? We were at MVMCP on Friday night and we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus. They were obviously there on vacation as Santa was dressed in street clothes (red and green of course). We were waiting for the parade and quite a few kids saw them and got all excitied...Santa played along and even gave a few "ho, ho, ho's". I know they never got kicked out, we saw them multiple times that night. They were basically going about their business, not trying to attract extra attention.

 

[themudd4]

So as long as he's not a child molester, it's okay to impersonate a character? And as far as it being "Disney's character" or not, it's PRIVATE PROPERTY. They have the right to make this policy. Those who disagree or are "sickened" by it are free to join the Santa wannabee at Six Flags.

OK...I will give you the fact that is is Disney property and they are allowed to have anyone they wish to be sent out for what ever reasons. We are just saying the reason behind it are crossing the line. And I am sorry but he was not "impersonating a charater"! He had a hat on and a T-shirt themed for the holidays. Yes it was said that the t-shirt said he was the real santa...Get over it already....like I said in other post I have a Christmas shirt that says Elf in training...that doesn't make it so! He said a few Ho Ho Ho's...once again get over it. The fact that he looked like the true Santa and made a few kids happy...it no reason to ask the man to leave or "kick him out".
And the child molester thing...OMG, this was a dumb remark made at the beginning that I would hope no one took seriously.
If the man was doing something wrong then YES kick him out...but he wasn't denied entry for the way he looked, he wasn't asked to leave at any other time and many posted have stated they believe this is the same man they have seen @ WDW many times before...This is just a situation that was blown way out of proportion.
Oh, and I didn't know that Santa wannabe's went ot six flags...how cool! I sure the scrooges will find their way their too tho!

 

[themudd4]

I just have three words to say to that....."Ho, Ho, Ho!"

There ya go King Triton...& Merry Chirstmas!

 

[luvdisney77]

I have to agree with WDW. I don't want some nutcase walking around Disney as Santa when he hasn't been employed nor background checked, and doesn't work for Disney. If he had done something to someone Disney could have been sued.

 

[Skylarr29]

Disney had every right to ask him to leave. As far as people dressing as characters at MNSSHP Disney will do the same thing and tell them that they are in no way to sign autograph books etc. Disney does not want to be held liable for something like that. If crowds are forming etc. then Disney did the right thing - they didn't want to be responsible for what he did/said. As a parent I wouldn't care for the situation either..... I wouldn't want some man telling my children he was the real Santa on vacation etc....... its a week until Christmas. He may have just been trying to be nice but I don't find it particularly humorous or appropriate.

 

[Megan's Mom]

Well I feel bad now. Last Monday as we were leaving the stunt show we were standing around talking to the drivers and an older man who looked like Santa came by. The reason he looked like Santa was teh white hair and beard. He had some kind of Christmas tee shirt on. I call out hi Santa. Having a little vacation before the big night? we had three kids with us and he talked to the little girl and after she said something to him and he asked if she had been good and she wavered a little and then he said he thought she was on the good list. that was the end of the conversation. He was going through Disney playing Santa he was being himself and others thought he was santa and he played along. I showed the picture to my DH to see if he thought it was the same guy and we aren't sure. I would feel bad if it were the same guy. With little kids around I had much rather he play along than say there is no such person and ruin the holiday for kids.

 

[i3utterfli82]

I think that guy maybe did the part a little too much...come on, you know his cheeks aren't really that rosy?? He def. was trying to play the part. When I go to Disney I only want to see characters that are Disney CM, not some santa off the street. It is Disney's property and they can do what they want, they obviously had a reason to give him the boot...who knows if there is more to this story.

 

[Jason71]

Years ago, a guest was asked to leave the Adventurer's Club because he would show up dressed as Indiana Jones; my memory is hazy, but IIRC, it got to the point that he was signing autographs and even doing a little show in the Mask Room while it was not in use. Similarly (tho admittedly not a Disney park), an adult woman in a very convincing Snow White costume was asked to leave Sea World around Halloween this year, because people were beginning to ask her for autographs. So when you start drawing attention away from the park's attractions themselves, expect to be asked to leave.

Moreover, while I stress I don't know the man in question, and the fact he apparently has been doing this for years without reported incident would suggest he is harmless, come on, you can't have people in your park interacting with children without any sort of a background check or supervision. Bury your head in the sand if you want, but there are far more pedophiles out there than we like to admit (check the FDLE website some time, it's frightening), and the legal liability is staggering. Remember the case last year where Pluto was accused of groping? Even assuming "Mr. Claus" is pure as the new-fallen snow, a single crank lawsuit could easily cost tens of thousands of dollars.

I realize it seems Scrooge-like at first blush, but this was a no-brainer for WDW.

 

[Jason71]

I have a Christmas shirt that says Elf in training...that doesn't make it so!

Of course. But if you added pointy ears, pointy shoes and a pointy hat, you would cross a line and most likely be asked to leave. Just like a t-shirt that says "Princess" is fine; a blue evening gown and glass slippers on an adult, not so much. It's a matter of degree. White beard and portly alone, no big deal; add a shirt and a hat and a hearty "ho, ho, ho," you've crossed a line.

 

[themudd4]

I give up...No matter what is said or done there are still going to be those who think Disney was right and other like myself who believed Disney may have crossed the line to some degree. Hopefully this is not going to turn into another meaningless long drawn out thread like the refillable mugs and pool hopping tends to do!

Regardless...I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

 

[Bill From PA]

This is a pretty simple concept IMHO. Disney hires, trains and pays people to portray fictional characters in the parks, some characters created by Disney others not. Do we all recall the character (Tigger?) who allegedly groped a female guest resulting in a lawsuit? Disney rightly exerts control over the represenation of characters for this and other reasons. It's not hard to imagine a child approaching a Cinderella wannabe, one who's perhaps having a bad day, only to be met with a stream of obscenities or worse. The notion isn't who 'owns' Santa, it's who's paying for the representation of Santa and what are the legal implications of Santa's behavior to WDW.

Bill From PA

 

[kkevcamsmom]

My grandfather(my fathers dad) played the part of Santa everyday. He didn't have the longish hair but had the bread. He would "Ho, ho, ho" anytime of the year, it was great to little kids eyes light up when he winked at them or shook his finger at them if they were being sort of bad. He carried candy canes with him all year. But he would always hand the candy to the parent, never the child. He also would never hug them really close.

On the other hand if it had been my other grandfather (my mothers father) I would be screaming to "Keep your kids away" He was a child molester. You would never guess by looking at him and if he grew a bead he would look like a thinner Santa.

You can't trust someone just because they are dressed as a nice guy. Disney was trying to protect the kids in the parks. I would rather see a story about them protecting kids by 'kicking' out a 'character' then see a story about a kid molested by a guy preteneding to be Santa and not hired and checked by Disney.

I agree with what Disney did. From listening to the 2 second bit of him talking he didn't seem upset by it, the reporters seemed more put out.

Lori

 

[maxiesmom]

SOUTH CAROLINA SANTA CLAUSE ARRESTED!!

Seems he had been giving kids rides on his motorcycle all week, but decided to take off with a little girl. Sorry, I don't know how to post a link, but it is on my Comcast home page. So all of you who said the Santa Clause at Disney should be left alone, he was not doing anything wrong, what do you have to say now?

 

[themudd4]

SOUTH CAROLINA SANTA CLAUSE ARRESTED!!

Seems he had been giving kids rides on his motorcycle all week, but decided to take off with a little girl. Sorry, I don't know how to post a link, but it is on my Comcast home page. So all of you who said the Santa Clause at Disney should be left alone, he was not doing anything wrong, what do you have to say now?

Wow...sorry to hear about that little girl.
AND I STILL SAY THE ONE AT WDW WASN"T DOING ANYTHING WRONG! You can not take the actions of one man regardless of what he looks like and hold everyone that looks like him responsible.
And I am sorry but letting your child see a man in a park who says ho ho ho to him or letting your little girl jump on the back of a motorcycle with some man you don't know....HUMMMM, that is a no brainer to me!

 

[Viki]

SOUTH CAROLINA SANTA CLAUSE ARRESTED!!

Seems he had been giving kids rides on his motorcycle all week, but decided to take off with a little girl. Sorry, I don't know how to post a link, but it is on my Comcast home page. So all of you who said the Santa Clause at Disney should be left alone, he was not doing anything wrong, what do you have to say now?

I'd say one has nothing whatsoever to do with the other, unless I'm missing that this was the same man?

 

[jann1033]

I am not so sure I want Disney enforcing those rules. Just think about how many costumes and accessories that they sell in their shops.
And what about during MNSSHP? Have you seen some of the costumes people wear? They are at least as realistic as some of the "face" characters, but I don't see them being asked to leave.

My last point is that WDW/Disney Land is the best place to "live the magic of a fantasy" why spoil it now?

i think some little kid dressed up in a disney costume or some one at a party where you are expected to dress up is different than some guy trying to play a part he wasn't hired to do...and i don't think the sex offender reference is out of line...just cause someone looks a certain way really says nothing about his or her character.

 

[maxiesmom]

No, but it shows that you can't trust someone just because he is in a Santa suit, which many of you seem willing to do. Disney had no idea who this guy was, what his background was. How were they supposed to know if he was a pervert or not? If I see someone in a Disney park in costume I trust that they are a CM, and have been trained on how to inter-act with guests. This Santa wanna be was not! As my daddy would say, you don't know him from a hole in the ground!

 

[themudd4]

No, but it shows that you can't trust someone just because he is in a Santa suit, which many of you seem willing to do. Disney had no idea who this guy was, what his background was. How were they supposed to know if he was a pervert or not? If I see someone in a Disney park in costume I trust that they are a CM, and have been trained on how to inter-act with guests. This Santa wanna be was not! As my daddy would say, you don't know him from a hole in the ground!

Well I would not have allowed my daughter to jump on a motorcycle with Santa at WDW either...

 

[mickeyfan2]

From mouseplanet

Disney tells "Santa" to stop acting in park
"Santa Kicked Out Of Disney" reads one headline. "Disney World Tells Santa Lookalike to Hit the Road" reads another. Some people are up in arms (and getting the story wrong) about Disney asking J.D. Worley to stop telling people that he was Santa Claus as he was walking around the Magic Kingdom last weekend. Apparently Worley, 60—who bears a striking resemblance to the traditional image of Santa—was walking around the park when a child came up to him and asked him if he was Santa. Worley told the boy that he was indeed the jolly old elf. Soon, he was getting a great deal of attention from those wishing to take photos with him and to talk with him.

In an interview with Fox News, Worley's wife Darlene noted that "J.D. has been playing Santa for a long time. He plays Santa and I play Mrs. Claus. We do it for charity, and we march in parades. We've done it for the troops in our local National Guard, and for disabled vets at the local VA hospital."

Disney at first did ask Worley to exit the park, but after some discussion agreed to let him remain if he removed his red Santa hat and stopped telling people that he was Santa. In a number of interviews, Worley noted his anger and hurt at Disney's actions and asked how he was supposed to tell children who called him "Santa" that he was not who they thought he was.

I'm going to do a little editorializing on this one.

Just why it took several days to hit the newspapers is a mystery, but the fact that he and his wife do make many appearances as Mr. and Mrs. Claus brings the question of whether or not it was brought to the media as a publicity gimmick. Another possibility would be that someone was looking to give Disney some negative publicity.

The fact that Disney asked him to stop is not surprising. After all, if someone were to be upset by their interaction with "Santa" at Walt Disney World and lodge a complaint at City Hall, it would be hard for Disney to argue that he was not a cast member portraying Santa if they did not make an attempt to stop him, as other Disney characters do walk around the park interacting with guests. (In fact, some reports state that a complaint was indeed filed.) In addition, Disney has its own Santa available for meet-and-greet opportunities, which could cause some confusion with the man walking around with a red Santa hat, a red shirt and blue jeans. And if they allowed him to claim that he was Santa to park guests, what would be to stop someone from coming into the park looking like Captain Jack Sparrow and proclaiming that he was indeed that pirate? "Well, they let the other guy say he was Santa, why can't I be Jack Sparrow?"

As to the question of how he's supposed to disappoint the children, it's surprising that he doesn't have a stock answer on hand already. Perhaps "no, I'm not Santa, but a lot of people tell me that I look like him." Or maybe, "No, I'm not Santa, but it's very nice of you to say that I look like him." There are many possible answers that Mr. Worley could give that would not devastate children, and perhaps he should be prepared with some the next time that he is in a location with another "official" Santa.