One of my friends was chased around Mickey Mouse Works in Epcot by Goofy. And there was this one girl playing Belle, who kept on talking about “her father” and his inventions. I think she was out in the sun a little too much that day. 
OMG, I’ve been laughing myself sick at this thread… 
And I’m too tall to wear a giant suit at Disney World. Intriguing. (I bet I’d make a damn fine Mary Poppins though. ;))
Oh, and I want to hear obfusciatrist’s stories, spam or not!
My g-friend said that once when she was playing Eyore in Anaheim, she went into the dance club (she was a dancer for real, too).
Two s insisted on pressing their phone numbers into her hand, despite the fact that they had absolutely no idea who was in there (obviously!).
Sorry to bump the thread, but I saw it in “Threadspotting” and couldn’t resist.
I worked at Camp Snoopy in the Mall of America in MN for a few months, and learned a lot about being a costumed character. No, I wasn’t one (I’m a LOT too tall; these are kids, remember), but I talked to a woman who has been one, and still works in that department.
She told me that Disney and a few other large parks have internships for these characters. College kids are invited to apply for them, and a lot of them are education and arts majors. If you’re selected, you go to one of the Disney (or wherever) parks and learn the finer points of being a character.
She also told me that there’s usually a “human” escort somewhere in the vicinity in case the character gets mobbed or attacked. (It does happen) There are also visibility and safety issues involved in wearing these costumes; as some have mentioned, and the handlers can lead the character to safety.
I learned a LOT working there.
Robin
I took my son to disney in ca for his birthday, he was 4 at the time. I earned a new respect for all of those characters as I watched my 4 yr old, who is obviously about crotch height to most of these people, launch himself at these people from acros the room at a full run. I think winnie the pooh was actually scared of my son, or he may hae been injured I’m not sure.
I promise I really can spell, I just can’t type.
Yes, I live within a few short minutes of where this project was about to take place. It was going to be in a town called Manassas, Virginia which is about 5 minutes from me. The park was proposed to be built on top of a Civil War Battlefield, which is why it was opposed. The idea of it frightened me so much I vowed if it was built I’d move out of Virginia for life.
Attacked?
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
wow (still chuckling - and will be for some time)
p.s. - hi dlgirl
Relating to Disney World Characters:
When i was about 4 or 5 years old, we were eating at the buffet in the Contemporary Resort. Me and my twin brother saw Goofy, and decided we want to pull his nose off. So we walked over to him, and i lifted my brother with all my strength, and his yanked his nose right off the mask. after that we recieved a good spanking from my dad. But it was awfully funny.
MsRobyn, you are right. There are escorts in the vicinity. I was at Disneyland one time and a kid started to go for Pluto(he wanted to hug him). It was impossible to stop this. The kid was at crotch level, so he hit poor Pluto pretty hard. His whole body just went back toward a brick wall. I could just imagine the person’s face! Anyway, there was a cast member nearby to regain control and make sure no one else tried the same thing.
::waving::
Hello, Tyklfe! [sub]I have IM on if you need me.[/sub]
Walter Koeng’s behind-the-scenes-at-Disneyland book Mouse Tales documents a number of these attacks before Disneyland started adding escorts. Four teen girls mobbled the Big Bad Wolf and fondled him for a lewd picture. A psychotic stalker went after Alice in Wonderland with a knife. Young teens routinely kick characters in the shins. A jealous boyfriend assauted Mickey when he thought the person inside the suit was flirting with his girlfriend. And on and on and on…
(The book is highly recommended, BTW, for revealing all the less-than-saintly stuff that happens at Disneyland.)
That’s DAVID Koenig.
WALTER Koenig played “Chekov” on Star Trek. I don’t believe they are related.
Right-o. You’ll also notice that a lot of characters now have “meet n’ greet” spots so they’re not swamped by kids all the time with no escape. Also, if they are free-roaming characters, they usually back up against a wall so they’re not surrounded on all sides.
I’m a certified Disney freak, plus a good friend used to be “friends*” with Eeyore.
Esprix
[sub]*“Friends” being a cast member’s code for “I wore the costume” when wee ones are around.[/sub]
Oh, and Cookie Monster got the cookies beaten out of him at Sesame Street in Pennsylvania just a few months ago.
Esprix
You may want to stay away from Paramount’s Kings Island here in Cincinnati, OH. We read in the local paper, under arrests, that a mother had lodged a complaint of assault against her 6 year old son. The assailant? Yogi the Bear.
Thank God BooBoo wasn’t around. It could have gotten ugly.
The proposed theme park was supposed to be in Haymarket, Virginia, about 50 miles straight west of Washington, DC.
There are a number of things that contributed to its demise. However, the real reason was that the people living in the surrounding areas used political influence, publicity campaigns, etc. to defeat it. There’s a LOT of money in that area (Middleburg, The Plains, etc.), and the last thing they wanted was a ton of tourist traffic, and an influx of $10/hour jobs, which would compete with their finding help for their estates, and make it more expensive. It was pitted as a battle of “the rich snobs” versus “the good of Virgina”. Well, you know, if I was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes every year, I wouldn’t want a Disney park down the street, either. Losing the Disney project was a big embarrassment for then-governor George Allen.
As for wetland and historical concerns, that was the excuse given by the people who were against it, but that’s a joke. The reality is that land developers and politicians around here don’t give a crap about that. If they did, crammed-in housing developments wouldn’t be going up where the Disney Park was supposed to go.
A “funny” side note is all of the get-rich-quick schemers that paid millions of dollars for way-overpriced land near the Disney site after it was announced, assuming they were going to get rich eventually selling the land to Disney. When Disney pulled out, they lost their shirts. Literally, within a matter of minutes of the cancellation of the Disney project being announced, the value of their investments went down several magnitudes.
Awwww…
screech-owl, the rumor 'round my part of Orlando is that most of the cast members in the outfits are … uh, they lead an “alternate lifestyle.” Orlando has a sizeable gay population, so I’m thinking … if Mickey gooses me … not that there’s anything wrong with that …
What a great thread to be bumped!
I was 20 the first time I went to a Disney theme park. I thought I was immune to the hype, but the first time I saw Mickey Mouse I nearly went ape. I pointed and squealed… it was sort of embarrassing, but I couldn’t help it. I was down in Orlando for a professional conference a few years ago and had pretty much the same reaction, even when they sent one to show up in our exhibit hall.
There is a very funny (but not well-known) comic who does this bit about going to Disneyworld… his whole schtick is that he’s very tightly wound and pretty neurotic (he says “Back OFF!” a lot) and the thing about meeting Mickey Mouse nearly made me wet my pants. I wish I could see his act again. Anyone know what I’m talking about? I must have seen him on HBO ten years ago.
Anyway, obfus, if you’re looking in on this thread, I’d love to buy those books!
Yeah, well, David probably has been on the Submarine Ride a few times (when it was still open, anyway), and the submarine is supposed to be nuclear-powered, and Chekov was looking for “nuclear wessels” in Star Trek IV, so … oh, never mind. 
When the future Mrs. Six and I discussed where to spend our honeymoon, she was somewhat noncommittal until I mentioned Disneyland, and she went wild. Well, actually she said something like “I think that might be a good honeymoon. I want to do that one, if it’s OK.” Which in Mrs. Six speak is practically an ultimatum.
I can imagine her having the same kind of reaction Cranky described, in a subdued, shy little girl kind of way. Personally I prefer Six Flags Magic Mountain, but that’s because I’m a roller coaster freak, and Magic Mountain has the greatest collection of roller coasters in existence. But I know that I’m going to have a good time at Disneyland and will end up with a lot of pictures of Mrs. Six with the Characters. This is, literally, going to be a dream come true for her. How often do you get to do that for someone?