[drcorey]

This week at Disneyworld, management asked a older guy who looked like santa to please leave the park. he was not in costume, but he was a santa actor in regular clothes, children would come up to him and want to talk to him and take picture with him. they guy said he looks like this all the time and will not change his looks for disney. Disney said he could confuse people from thier santa. this is sad, I am a catholic priest and a benedictine monk, if I show up in full habit in the parks, I wonder what they would say to me.

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Fr Corey†

[MouseMan]

Originally Posted by drcorey

This week at Disneyworld, management asked a older guy who looked like santa to please leave the park. he was not in costume, but he was a santa actor in regular clothes, children would come up to him and want to talk to him and take picture with him. they guy said he looks like this all the time and will not change his looks for disney. Disney said he could confuse people from thier santa. this is sad, I am a catholic priest and a benedictine monk, if I show up in full habit in the parks, I wonder what they would say to me.

I don't think any problem would be had if you were in the park in robes Corey, unless if your features and look were intentionally that of Santa Claus which is the case here. In fact, this past week there was an entire and very large group of traditional Muslims with the women in full Burkhas at MGM Studios and no one said anything. And that did indeed visually stick out from the rest of the guests in the park. but having seen this man running around the parks it was confusing, offsetting and actually perfectly in Disney's rights to ask him to alter his appearance or leave. He knew exactly what and who he looked like and quite frankly, having little children running up to him and talking to him as though he were Santa is misleading. There is the "What If..." scenario at work here that you are not taking into consideration. He is not a Disney employee and therefore quite capable of doing or saying anything while at the park and acting like Santa Claus and the company is not expected to act in his behalf if he says or does anything ontowards. Imagine your child's dreams shattered by someone who happens to look and act like Santa in a Disney park who happens to be having a bad day or moment and says or does something un-Santa or un-Disneylike? I would venture to say that that would lead to a very unfounded lawsuit of epic proportions in this day and age.

People are asked to change their appearances all the time with leaving the park the last option when they enter dressed in costumes very close to the look opf the actual characters in the park for Halloween and Christmastime. Why should a santa be any different, particularly when he was telling children that he was indeed Santa Claus. That just smacks of an attention grabbing act that the company took umbrage with. Having watched him in action around the Magic Kingdom I can certainly say that it's unfortunate...but when Santa is riding by in a parade or sitting on sets, there is only one...and that does not include the man walking around the park with the beard and glasses and hat and red jacket with "Santa Claus" embroidered on the front of it to confuse everyone who sees him. Yes, I said red jacket with Santa Claus embroidered on the front! Imagine having your children standing there watching the parade as Santa goes by with another one watching and laughing at the Santa in the parade goes by! It sounds like a bad Sci-Fi movie concept...but with innocent children caught in the cross hairs!

BTW- Below is the article with the information that Corey negelected to share in order to have everyone understand what he was talking about

================================================== ===========================================

The happiest place on Earth just said 'no' to the jolliest man on Earth: Santa Claus.

Walt Disney World resort gave an ultimatum to a Santa lookalike who was visiting the park Sunday, warning him to ditch his festive gear or get out.

J.D. Worley, 60, is used to being mistaken for Santa Claus. But it had always been something that brought him joy, until a recent visit to Disney World.

Worley, who has a long white beard and bears a striking resemblance to St. Nick, was followed around by many an awed youngster during his recent visit to the park.

"Adults and children alike came up to me and asked to take pictures with me. I even had my picture taken with groups of cast members and store managers," Worley said.

Several of the tiny tots asked if he was Santa Claus, to which he responded, 'yes, I am.'

But is Worley really Kris Kringle? He admits he is not.

"Christmas is supposed to be about kids, and how do you tell a kid that comes up to you and grabs your leg and calls you 'Santa,' how do I say, 'get away from me kid, I'm not Santa?'" said Worley.

Worley does, however, have some experience as Santa Claus.

"J.D. has been playing Santa for a long time," says his wife, Darlene. "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, however, would prefer that the park's official Santa Claus remain the one and only.

"They told me I either needed to alter my appearance or I needed to leave the park because I was impersonating Santa Claus. They told us that Santa was considered a Disney character,' said Worley.

Darlene thinks the park was overreacting.

"Almost everyone there wears Santa hats and dresses in red and green during the holidays. The kids thought it was wonderful that Santa was actually a real person in the park," Darlene said.

Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Walt Disney World, said Worley was never banned from the park, only asked to stop impersonating the jolly man.

"We're very committed to protecting the magic of Santa Claus for all our guests, especially children. We asked him to stop presenting himself as Santa Claus and he agreed," said DiPietre.

Darlene says Christmas has lost some of its luster this year, in part, thanks to what happened at Disney World.

But Worley is working to keep his spirit alive.

"I'm still angry with Disney, I'm still hurt," said Worley, "but I'm not going to let it ruin my Christmas. I'm not going to let it stop me from going to Disney, if they let me in. I still look like Santa, and I'm not going to shave my beard off."


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236796,00.html

[Mickey Crazy]

Thanks Ed for printing the story with the link. It is always best to hear both sides of the story .
The intent of gentleman was to draw attention to himself.

[SleepinCatz]

Something else to ponder here...that could easily been a predator, Disney has an obligation to protect it's guests. You can get incensed all you want about "Santa" being asked to leave....But point of fact is, Disney is right. They know Santa and he wasn't it. What amazes me is the guy got thru the gates...sounds like he didn't have that jacket on when he went thru.

[Shadow Jedi Rhy]

I can see this one from both perspectives and really I'm sure was a tough call for whoever had to make it, I'd certainly not want to be in there shoes for sure as no matter which way you make it it could turn out negatively.

[drcorey]

Originally Posted by Shadow Jedi Rhy

I can see this one from both perspectives and really I'm sure was a tough call for whoever had to make it, I'd certainly not want to be in there shoes for sure as no matter which way you make it it could turn out negatively.

Well, here is JD's story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,236796,00.html
I guess I could lean either way too, even though Santa is
a public domain fantasy charactor, disney prolly just wanted
to prevent kids from getting confused. I mean they would never
let 2 of thier charactors on stage anywhere near each other.

[DisneyFun101]

You see men who look somewhat similar to Santa Claus everywhere, especially at this time of the year. However, the fact that the men told the children that he was actually Santa Claus erks me. He knew he was in a park with another Santa Claus, in costume, and yet he tells these children that he is in fact him, the one and only!!!??? He could've just said, "No. People mistake me for him a lot, especially around the holidays." or even, "Santa's a good friend of mine, and he's really busy this time of the year." Anything but, "Yes. I am Santa Claus... what do you want for Christmas?" If he hadn't told kids that he was Santa Claus, I believe he would've been fine, but I honestly don't see what he could do to "alter his appearance," though. Maybe just take off the jacket and hat... and not laugh, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

[MickeyMouse]

I saw the hole Santa in WDW thing on the news last night. I personally it was very wrong of the man to tell the children that he is Santa. I feel he should say I'm not Santa I just look like him. From my point of view he wanted to get all that attention and publicity. If I were him I would have just worn regular cloths like everyone ells in the park. Disney did the right thing. They did not want this man going around and confusing the children.

[WaltDisWiz]

I have to agree with Disney even though it would be hard. I think that everyone has a right to look how they want to. But I think that alot of people forget that it is Disney's right not to let people in the park. I have to say that it is sad when anyone gets turned away from anywhere.

[Dismom]

I agree with Disney on this one, one reason no one has brought up is from what I read he was impersonating santa and anyone not associated with Disney can not be allowed to do anything that give people the impression that Disney is liable should he do anything inappropriate.

[galaga_girl]

I can see two sides to the story here, but calling a guy a predator is going a little far.

[SleepinCatz]

No where did I say he was a predator. I said he could have been. There is documented proof where predators have used disguises to get closer to kids. That is one of the many reasons that Disney takes issue with ppl looking too much like the characters portrayed in the parks.

Catz

[friendofigment]

i say way to go disney, I am sure the guy thought it was all fun for everybody, but guest should not be creating comotions. I have seen a couple of people over the years that if i was at the gate i would have shown them the gift shop before letting them in.
Hey Disney used to have a rule that would not allow male guest with long hair, so i think they were pretty fair with the fake santa

[Dismom]

I don't believe anyone actually called him a predator. Having been a mother raising 3 kids for the last 33 years, I can tell you that I look at every person that I have allowed in my kids lives with a note of caution. Daily you hear of another child taken advantage of by creeps that weazel their way into the life of unsuspecting kids and the parents of kids. I do not beleive in being closed off, just being careful. An ounce of prevention in this case goes a long way. Disney on face value alone could not know if or if not this man had his own agenda. I feel the average person might not have thought out Disney's position on the matter, but once it was explained should or would have agreed that they put Disney and possibly kids at risk if Disney did not have the policy. Therefore it was simple, stop telling kids he was Santa and remove the jacket. I don't think anyone asked him to shave, just stop what was drawing attention to himself. I for one am glad Disney is trying to do what they can to keep the place as safe as it can be. My youngest will be 15 when we go next year, he wants to be independent and be able to go off with his older siblings, I will worry when he does, but not as much as I would have if Disney did not have the safe enviroment they have worked so hard to make.

[galaga_girl]

Well, I guess i'm extra sensitive on the topic, my parents were always very protective of myself and my sisters but that didn't stop a predator from getting to us, and it was a neighbour. People think that they are these people who walk around looking for kids, generally they are family members and friends.

I think that Disney should have kicked him out of the parks, not because of what he was doing - I think we have all lost our Christmas spirit, the guy wanted to bring joy to some kids, what's the crime?? But because if Disney have a Santa and he is misleading people into thinking that he is it and something happens, Disney could get a bad rep for it and that isn't right.