something to remember when meeting characters

[princessgirl2238]

ok, so i've worked at disney twice now and there are two things that really bother me that guests don't realize is wrong.
1.) a lot of guests try to get a picture of the character right before they go in if the attendent says that they can't get everyone in line to meet them- the problem with this is that most of the time there are little children meeting with the character and so people are taking pictures of random kids with the characters just to get a picture of the characters. well in florida, it is ILLEGAL to take pictures of children that aren't yours without the parents' consent (or of some sort of relation to them), it really makes me mad cause who knows what kind of person is really taking pictures of them (they could really have bad intentions) and because so many people do this, the attendents aren't able to stop people from taking pictures like that, so please pass the word around to stop doing it- then maybe if there really is a person with bad intentions in mind with taking pictures of children, disney could actually stop them.
2.) when a character is leaving set, please, please, please LET THEM LEAVE! many of them will return in about 2-3 minutes (the attendent will let the crowd know when they are returning and they really do tell the truth), when people put up fights and don't let the characters leave, it delays the characters coming back on set, the children see some really nasty behavior and the characters themselves really need to get inside for just a few minutes for water and stuff- if they are left out longer than what they are suppose to, they can risk sever heat problem and that's not good, and it's not fair to take out frusterations on characters, they just want to spread happiness and sometimes they can't let "just one more family" come see them, cause then another family will want the same and so on and somewhere down the line there'll be a big problem
-thanks for listening, i'll get off my soapbox now, i just had to get it off my chest

 

[Mickey1122]

These do seem like reasonable rules.

 

[Mickey1122]

Not that I have ever broken them, of course.

 

[pirateparrot]

Not to start a fight but I have trouble believing that it is against Florida law to take a picture with someone else's kids in them and if it is the law it is unenforcable. I take literally hundreds of picture in WDW each trip and there are tons of kids in them. If it is illegal, I don't know how anyone could take a picture in WDW.

 

[tmt martins]

I also think #2 is the reason they are moving more and more of the characters into Meet & Greet buildings.

The heat is reduced and the exit entry in more controled

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

Thank you for the reminder, princessgirl!

Another thing to remember: Do not hang on the character. The costumes weigh a LOT (I think the average is 40 pounds)

I have a cousin who is a fur character and worked with people at the Disney store who have permenant leg and back injuries because of guests that mistreat the character. You would not believe some of the stories I have heard about people mistreating the character. Many of them involved adults "picking" on the character, whether it was hitting, tripping, etc. There is padding and fur and other materials, but there is still a person inside.

 

[matthewsmom1]

Please quote the Florida statute you are referring to.... I cannot imagine that being a law. If you are out in PUBLIC your picture can be taken. Sorry, but that's life....

 

[Linzybrooke]

I think the law she is refering to is a national thing that states you can't go to parks and snap photos of people on purpose without consent....there is a lot more too it and I don't know all the details, but it wouldn't apply to this. It is a law that helps prevent people from taking inappropriate pictures and posting them on the internet, a man was arrested in Dallas last year for taking pictures of a couple of kids on a playground during some festival. He was taking obvious pictures of the same children over and over again.

Again, totally not an expert I just remember the story on the news and they talked about the law. As far as they described it would not apply to the situation the OP speaks of.

However, thanks for the advice!

 

[kabbie]

It is a law that helps prevent people from taking inappropriate pictures and posting them on the internet, a man was arrested in Dallas last year for taking pictures of a couple of kids on a playground during some festival. He was taking obvious pictures of the same children over and over again.

The key to that case was posting on the internet.

Child pornography has to do with taking indecent pictures of minors, not pictures of kids with characters.

What about when I'm taking pictures of a parade going by and I happen to get shots of kids across the way from me?

 

[kabbie]

2.) when a character is leaving set, please, please, please LET THEM LEAVE!

My suggestion would be for the handler to let those waiting in line know when the character has to go bye-bye. For example, if someone new joins the line, let them know sorry you won't be able to see Goofy right now. Don't let them waste their time if Goofy needs to take a break. I understand that the characters need biological breaks, it just hurts children's feelings if the character "abandons" them without a clue.

 

[philaround]

I think the law she is refering to is a national thing that states you can't go to parks and snap photos of people on purpose without consent....there is a lot more too it and I don't know all the details, but it wouldn't apply to this. It is a law that helps prevent people from taking inappropriate pictures and posting them on the internet, a man was arrested in Dallas last year for taking pictures of a couple of kids on a playground during some festival. He was taking obvious pictures of the same children over and over again.

Again, totally not an expert I just remember the story on the news and they talked about the law. As far as they described it would not apply to the situation the OP speaks of.

However, thanks for the advice!

I thought the law involved not being able to publish any pictures without a release signed by everyone in the picture, with the internet I think even this has become very difficult to police.