Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck were fondled at Disney World this season
While Walt Disney World can be “the happiest place on Earth,” it’s not always fun for the employees who work to bring that magic alive every day.
Earlier this month, three Disney character actors were touched inappropriately, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
On Dec. 3, a cast member wearing a Donald Duck costume was doing meet and greets with guests at Yak and Yeti Restaurant in Animal Kingdom.
She waddled over to a table seating a family of 10 when a woman in her 60s asked her if she could give Donald a kiss. The female cast member signaled yes and the elderly woman kissed the beak of the costume.
The woman then continued to touch the cast member all over her chest, grabbing her arms, belly and face. The actress began walking towards her character assistant but the woman was still holding onto her.
As she got closer to her assistant, the guest put her hands inside the front of the costume and began “frantically” touching the actor’s chest over her bra, deputies said. The family began yelling at the woman to stop as the cast member put her hands up.
The character assistant was able to take the actress into the break room. She told deputies she didn’t want to press charges as she thought the woman had dementia.
On Dec. 4, a cast member dressed as Mickey Mouse was strolling around Magic Kingdom. A family of three — a grandpa, grandma and grandson — walked up to her, but the grandson was scared by the life-size walking mouse costume.
The grandma patted Mickey’s head about five times to show the mouse wasn’t scary, but unknowingly forced the head piece down on the cast member, hurting her neck.
The actress later went to the hospital and told deputies she did not want to press charges, but did want it documented. The sheriff’s office classified the incident as a civil matter.
The grandma’s son-in-law, Boone Scheer, told the Orlando Sentinel that she wouldn’t have meant to hurt the actress.
“She barely touched him,” Scheer said.
On Dec. 4, a cast member dressed as Minnie Mouse was doing meet and greets near Pete’s Silly Sideshow.
While taking pictures with a husband and wife, the actress hugged the husband before they left. He “groped” the left side of her chest three times, deputies said.
The Minnie Mouse actress told deputies she did not want to pursue criminal charges.
The next day the man touched another cast member also at Magic Kingdom, but deputies did not say if that employee was dressed up or wanted to press charges.
These three incidents weren’t the first time workers have been touched at the park. Disney has a history of its character actors being touched inappropriately.
In November, Brian Sherman was arrested on charges that he groped a Disney princess and touched her breast for three to four seconds, deputies said.
While Sherman’s case has been locked from public view by the Orange County Clerk of Courts, The Smoking Gun reported that his charges were dropped and he will not face trial.
Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger told the Orlando Sentinel, “Everyone should feel safe at work, and we encourage Cast Members to come forward in any uncomfortable situation. We provide multiple resources to protect our Cast Members’ well-being, including on-site law enforcement officers who respond, and are available to them, if needed.”
This story was originally published December 27, 2019 at 4:44 PM.
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