Originally Posted By Darkbeer <a href="http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_349110023.html" target="_blank">http://cbs4.com/topstories/loc al_story_349110023.html</a> Note: The Video on the right hand side of the screen has a more detailed report than the printed article. >>A strange case of mistaken identity has left a Florida man shaking his head after the man, who resembles Santa Claus, was kicked out of Disney World. The whole mess began when a group of excited children created a scene at Disney World after they confused a 60-year old Florida man, with St. Nick himself. The rotund-white bearded man graciously played along with the dreamy eyed kids, and that sparked problems with the Orlando theme park management. Apparently doing the “ho-ho-ho†got the Spring Hill resident the heave-ho from Disney World. Disney officials say they kicked him out of the park because he wasn’t a character already approved by Disney management.<<
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I suppose this thread was supposed to make Disney look bad, but what would you have them do? For all anyone knew the guy might have been a child molester or a psychotic. There is no way Disney would want a guy just walking in off the street and then start interacting with other people's kids. I as a parent wouldn't want that either. If my kid is going to be hugging a character in a Disney park I want to know the person is a Disney employee and that Disney will take responsibility for the person's actions. Obviously that was not possible with St. Nick, so they asked him to leave. Good decision. P.S. As for the poor guy being asked to change his appearance -- although he claimed that is how he looked 365 days a year, does he REALLY wear a red Santa suit every day of the year? If the guy truly wanted nothing but a nice low-key visit to WDW, why did he dress that way??
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <the guy might have been a child molester or a psychotic> Santa Claus is a child molestor?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<Santa Claus is a child molestor?>> This Santa guy promises children things he will never buy them so that they will sit and squirm on his lap while someone else takes photos. What do YOU think?? ;-)
Originally Posted By CMDad <<The don't kick people out for looking goofy.>> Sure they do - Disney owns the trademark on Goofy!
Originally Posted By pbjshakelover <<A Disney spokesman says the park was just trying to protect the magic of Santa.>> That's ridiculous! What harm did this man do that required them to ask him to alter his appearance. When I was there, I saw people wearing "inappropriate" clothing and heard people using profane language. Why don't they ask those people to alter their appearance or to stop speaking the way they do if they care so much about children and protecting the "magic"?
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<That's ridiculous! What harm did this man do that required them to ask him to alter his appearance. When I was there, I saw people wearing "inappropriate" clothing and heard people using profane language. Why don't they ask those people to alter their appearance or to stop speaking the way they do if they care so much about children and protecting the "magic"?>> Because those people weren't hugging other people's children. People who make Disney out to be the bad guy in this would find fault on matter what Disney did. Would you really want your kid running up and hugging some unknown guy in a theme park? I wouldn't. I don't know if you've read the "fine print" to this story, but Disney was responding to a complaint from a guest when they had their discussion with Pseudo Clause.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Nothing from nothing here, but it seems to me Disney has a Santa Clause movie franchise going where in the first movie the main character can't go to a park without little kids instinctively knowing he was Santa, despite the fact he was not wearing the red suit and at first denied he was the Man. The movie played up the cuteness of that scene for all they could and in the end of the scene the main character had along line of kids waiting to sit on his lap.
Originally Posted By pbjshakelover <<I don't know if you've read the "fine print" to this story, but Disney was responding to a complaint from a guest when they had their discussion with Pseudo Clause.>> I didn't see that. If Disney had a complaint, that changes my opinion. Must be they had suspicions based on the complaint.
Originally Posted By smeeeko i'm not sure if anyone saw on the news this morning a fellow on a Harley offered a little girl to see his stuffed toy reindeer in the sidecar of his bike and when the little girl got in the fellow took off.. Her father chased the guy down and the biker (who looked a lot like a St Nick if you ask me) was arrested and booked. So in this weird world you can never be too sure maybe the guy was just giving her a lift on his motor cycle but still. There's so many scary people you have to look out for, can you blame Disney or anyone for kicking any pseudo claus out of the park?? He's not employed by disney and certainly could be construed by your average park guest to be playing the part whether he meant to or not.. 2 totally different cases I know, but still it teaches us to be wary, or more wary, I would think.
