Bad Character Interaction - Thoughts?

[Raven01]

I’ve already emailed to complain, but I’m curious as to other’s reactions.

My DD2 met Tiana on her birthday. And Tiana would not touch her - would not hug her, or come near her in any way. She stayed several feet away the whole time.

This was an early character interaction, so I picked up my DD2 and encouraged her to high five Tiana. I said it several times. And Tiana finally withdrew back and shook her head, and said no and that my DD had her fingers in her mouth.

WHAT?! I’m not going to lie, this still irritates me. She is TWO. And this was her birthday -yesterday she was ONE. DD sucks her thumb, absolutely. But for REAL? You are a princess in Disney World and you don’t want to touch a kid???

What if a child had a cold? Or a special needs child came up?

My kid didn’t understand the rejection, but I’m still livid. Oh, and Tiana wears gloves, folks.

She won’t ever see that movie, for sure!

 

[jo-jo]

That's awful.

Would you have an video? I'm sure disney would be interested in that.

 

[DisneyOma]

Did you offer to wipe the kid's hands?

 

[cgattis]

Wonder if Tiana had any idea how many other kids have had their hands in their mouths that she just didn’t see?? Or that have touched every handrail, seat, etc in the whole park? Geez. Yes, OP probably could’ve wiped the baby’s hands, but was probably so taken aback that it never even occurred to her to do so. Sorry, OP—try to remember these friends of characters are mostly just kids themselves and may never have been around that many (sticky, slobbery ) little ones.

 

[Ben E N]

I'm pretty sure there's no way management can require any of their employees to touch anybody, or allow anybody to touch them. Sorry this was disappointing, but touching should not be an expected part of interacting.
As a teacher, I refuse to touch my students, even for a high five. They think it is to avoid getting sick but the truth of the matter is it's my body, not their plaything, and I only touch people on my own terms.

 

[Raven01]

No video, but I do have Photopass photos showing the distance.

It was disappointing in that it was unexpected. Their job is interaction with children. This was the Fantasyland Meet and Greet. Um, she stands there to meet kids. If all she wants to do is wave, get a different job.

I was so taken aback I just moved on to Rapunzel, who got on the floor and interacted beautifully with my little girl. Tiana had avoided the interaction the whole time and only told me the problem when we were at the end, you know, when she curled her face in disgust after I suggested the high five several times and she just stood there.

I was up at 3 am that night and emailed Disney, but haven’t heard back.

In the end, my DD loved character interaction. She hugged them, she kissed them, she posed for pictures. This was pretty impressive for a child who just turned 2.

But yes, I’m still livid with Tiana.

 

[Lisa F]

I'm pretty sure there's no way management can require any of their employees to touch anybody, or allow anybody to touch them. Sorry this was disappointing, but touching should not be an expected part of interacting.
As a teacher, I refuse to touch my students, even for a high five. They think it is to avoid getting sick but the truth of the matter is it's my body, not their plaything, and I only touch people on my own terms.

why do you think physically interacting with the guests cannot be a job requirement for this particular job? In the case of a teacher, arguably it has nothing to do with the job (although I am forever grateful to the many teachers in my son's school who did allow physical contact with my autistic child when sometimes that could calm him down). But for an in-park guest interacting princess? Touch is part of the job. No one can force you to take that job but likewise you don't have the right to have disney to spend a ton of money dressing you up like a princess so you can parade around the parks under your own rules. No one has to be forced to endure touch they don't want, but then you can take a job that does not involve physically interacting with the guests. Of course inappropriate touch is never ok but hugging and letting little girls touch your dress and holding hands is all part of that particular job.

I am wondering if this Tiana is not typically interacting with guests but is rather a parade or show Tiana who never has to deal with that and was asked to fill in at the last moment or something. Uncomfortable situation all around. Good thing your child is too young for it to leave an impression or for it to affect her memory in anyway and if I were you I'd move past it and not hold it against the whole movie. Definitely say something but realize in the grand scheme your child was not negatively affected!

 

[Raven01]

Lisa F, it’s gonna take me a hot second . The rest of the interactions were fine. The non face characters actually were better than the face ones!

 

[Ben E N]

why do you think physically interacting with the guests cannot be a job requirement for this particular job?

Simply for liability reasons. The moment a guest gets too handsy with Tiana, touching her in places that she does not want to be touched, or accuses her of touching them inappropriately, then Disney as a corporation becomes liable as opposed to just the guest or character. If they say that characters are allowed to interact as they feel is appropriate, and then they catch a cold from a guest, or get touched in a way that they do not like, then that is between the guest and the actor, as they chose to take that risk.
When people touch one another, a whole lot is left up to interpretation. Just a few months ago, somebody was complaining that YeHaa Bob touched her inappropriately. Sounds like she was way off base to me, but if touching was part of his job description, than Disney would have to foot the bill of any civil suit.

 

[Lisa F]

Simply for liability reasons. The moment a guest gets too handsy with Tiana, touching her in places that she does not want to be touched, or accuses her of touching them inappropriately, then Disney as a corporation becomes liable as opposed to just the guest or character. If they say that characters are allowed to interact as they feel is appropriate, and then they catch a cold from a guest, or get touched in a way that they do not like, then that is between the guest and the actor, as they chose to take that risk.
When people touch one another, a whole lot is left up to interpretation. Just a few months ago, somebody was complaining that YeHaa Bob touched her inappropriately. Sounds like she was way off base to me, but if touching was part of his job description, than Disney would have to foot the bill of any civil suit.

That's why the characters have "handlers" - to handle the situation, and provide a witness - in addition to photopass photographers and everyone who is recording . I won't say it doesn't happen that a guest gets inappropriate but it is handled quickly if so. That said, I think the risk of a 2 year old "touching inappropriately" is pretty much zero and if you don't want to be touched by kids, you should not be a character who interacts with kids all day long in the Disney parks. There are plenty of other things that you can do other than that job.

 

[highlander]

I feel there is more to this story that we're not being told. Also, what if Tiana wasn't feeling well, would you still want a character to be in contact with a guest? It's using good sense to not touch a child's hand that has been in their mouth. Tiana's gloves would be a carrier of any germ and then potentially spread to others who she interacts with.

I'd rather enjoy the whole experience and let something go that, in the big picture, isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Ben E N]

That's why the characters have "handlers" - to handle the situation, and provide a witness - in addition to photopass photographers and everyone who is recording . I won't say it doesn't happen that a guest gets inappropriate but it is handled quickly if so. That said, I think the risk of a 2 year old "touching inappropriately" is pretty much zero and if you don't want to be touched by kids, you should not be a character who interacts with kids all day long in the Disney parks. There are plenty of other things that you can do other than that job.

I'm just pointing out that they won't do anything about it, and with good reason. The second they say you have to touch guests, you as an employer as responsible for whatever happens. A handler can help mitigate things, but the second a bad touch happens, hapit's happened, no matter how quickly the handler intervenes. They cannot set age limits, as an 8 year old is just as capable as an 18 year old, and there's no real way to set a minimum. This isn't even mentioning that if a CM feels that they could get sick touching someone, and Disney makes them touch that guest, they are opening themselves us for an easy lawsuit from that CM.

 

[piccolopat]

The fact that Tiana had gloves on is not relevant here. This child had her hands in her mouth and high fiving Tiana would mean her saliva (and any germs she had) would be on the glove that the NEXT child will also touch. Perhaps that is the simple explanation here.

 

[smiths02]

I'm pretty sure there's no way management can require any of their employees to touch anybody, or allow anybody to touch them. Sorry this was disappointing, but touching should not be an expected part of interacting.
As a teacher, I refuse to touch my students, even for a high five. They think it is to avoid getting sick but the truth of the matter is it's my body, not their plaything, and I only touch people on my own terms.

I really hope you teach upper grades.

 

[ruthies12]

That's why the characters have "handlers" - to handle the situation, and provide a witness - in addition to photopass photographers and everyone who is recording . I won't say it doesn't happen that a guest gets inappropriate but it is handled quickly if so. That said, I think the risk of a 2 year old "touching inappropriately" is pretty much zero and if you don't want to be touched by kids, you should not be a character who interacts with kids all day long in the Disney parks. There are plenty of other things that you can do other than that job.

Not disagreeing with your post overall but a 2 year old most definitely can "touch inappropriately", my one and a half year old DD once grabbed onto Ariel's seashells and wouldn't let go LOL. Ariel was very understanding about it. I did joke to my DH that Ariel would not be as understanding if he tried it

 

[NJlauren]

I’m following along to see if you get a reply from Disney.

While I agree I would be disappointed too, I’m not 100% sure where I stand on this one. Kids always have hands in their mouth, and these characters interact with kids all day. However I’m not 100% it’s fair to make them touch someone’s hands after seeing them in their mouth. She could have said oh princess let’s wipe our hands clean before we hug, you know all princesses need to stay healthy and not spread germs.... Now is that out of character I have no idea...

I also think the ‘fur’ characters tend to be better because you can’t read their facial expression, sometimes someone’s facial expression says a lot.

 

[smiths02]

I'm pretty sure there's no way management can require any of their employees to touch anybody, or allow anybody to touch them. Sorry this was disappointing, but touching should not be an expected part of interacting.
As a teacher, I refuse to touch my students, even for a high five. They think it is to avoid getting sick but the truth of the matter is it's my body, not their plaything, and I only touch people on my own terms.

why do you think physically interacting with the guests cannot be a job requirement for this particular job? In the case of a teacher, arguably it has nothing to do with the job (although I am forever grateful to the many teachers in my son's school who did allow physical contact with my autistic child when sometimes that could calm him down). But for an in-park guest interacting princess? Touch is part of the job. No one can force you to take that job but likewise you don't have the right to have disney to spend a ton of money dressing you up like a princess so you can parade around the parks under your own rules. No one has to be forced to endure touch they don't want, but then you can take a job that does not involve physically interacting with the guests. Of course inappropriate touch is never ok but hugging and letting little girls touch your dress and holding hands is all part of that particular job.

I am wondering if this Tiana is not typically interacting with guests but is rather a parade or show Tiana who never has to deal with that and was asked to fill in at the last moment or something. Uncomfortable situation all around. Good thing your child is too young for it to leave an impression or for it to affect her memory in anyway and if I were you I'd move past it and not hold it against the whole movie. Definitely say something but realize in the grand scheme your child was not negatively affected!

Cosmetologists, barbers, masseuse, etc. absolutely have to touch people as part of their job. I don't see why it could not be required of characters at Disneyworld.

 

[Ben E N]

I really hope you teach upper grades.

Why? Last I checked, touching little kids is not looked upon too highly, either. I personally would not be too thrilled if my kids came home telling me that their teacher gave them a hug at school, no matter the age.

 

[mom2rtk]

Why? Last I checked, touching little kids is not looked upon too highly, either. I personally would not be too thrilled if my kids came home telling me that their teacher gave them a hug at school, no matter the age.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. I'm pretty sure my kids got hugs and I'm glad they did.

 

[SteveH]

the truth of the matter is it's my body, not their plaything, and I only touch people on my own terms.

Congrats, this is exactly what we're teaching kids in school and trying to unteach some in college, it's called consent. Not everyone is a hugs or physical contact, totally fine in my book.

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. I'm pretty sure my kids got hugs and I'm glad they did.

If your teachers are not giving side hugs, high 5's and fist bumps they are setting themselves up for issues. In almost all Child Abuse Prevention trainings a full hug is a no-no for good reason. Sadly this has to be the new norm.