In the January 8, 2007 Walt Disney World Park Update, Mark Goldhaber reported on the recent incident at Walt Disney World involving an alleged assault by Tigger on a teenage boy. This incident has garnered much response in the Disney community, including a great deal of letters to the MousePlanet mailbag. A selection of these letters is presented below.
Eric writes:
I just read the most recent update on your Web site and also heard the family is suing Disney because of the attack. My opinion is simply this… I have two kids, and if I ever felt they were being attacked or hit in anyway, I wouldn’t simply stand there and continue to videotape as this father did. If any father felt his child was being hurt, they would have intervened. Not only that, imagine the teasing this dad is setting up for his son “You got beat up by Tigger, watch out, I hear Snow White has a nasty uppercut.”
Andrew writes:
I am a middle school teacher and I noticed the child’s face before the “punch” and let me tell you… I have seen that look before and that child is guilty, guilty, guilty!
Even his post interviews you can tell he is lying and the father resembles a parent who comes into a parent conference and no matter how bad the child is will never be on the teacher’s side.
I hope the performer gets his job back and sues.
Jaret writes:
I agree that Tigger was only protecting himself. That kid and his dad should be ashamed of themselves. And the news team that covered this story should also consider what is actually reporting news and making the news up. To say that Tigger punched this kid is absolutely ludicrous.
What I don’t understand is Disney World’s actions following this event. Why did they suspend the performer? That, to me, has added fuel to the fire. The father and the media have immediately used that as Disney World admitting the performer did something wrong. Am I missing something here, but isn’t the performer innocent until proven guilty? And with all the evidence I’ve seen I would say the performer is innocent, and the kid is guilty.
Dwuane writes:
I watched that video, linked from your site, and I agree. It looks as though Tigger is trying to lock that young man’s arm, somewhat loses his balance, and accidentally slaps the young man in his face. To me, it’s obvious that Tigger is innocent in any wrongdoing. It seems to have been an accident on Tigger’s part while trying to defend himself.
By the way, I love this site. I can’t wait each week to read the updates. I live in Ohio, and it’s the only way that I can keep up on what’s happening at my favorite place.
Jonathan writes:
I’ve watched the video in question several times and this kid really seems to be up to something. And by that, I mean something no good. I’m for Tigger on this one.
Don writes:
I find it very disturbing that someone would attempt to make an assault out of a defensive reaction. I observed the video and read the police report. I found the police report incomplete at best. Why wasn’t the victim interviewed? What are the observations of the officer at the scene?
As a police officer I hate reading reports that show very little information. It makes the officer look incompetent. I know how overworked and underpaid they are but that isn’t an excuse for not doing a good job. I almost think that the officer is thinking that this is a joke by the victim and parent. As officers we see “real” assaults occurring everyday. The “real” assaults are far more interesting and usually bloodier. It’s sad to see that someone would try to sue a corporation that has at its heart the entertainment of children and families.
The video interviews of the victim and the parent looked staged. The father is trying to make the loudest noise to gain support from the public and especially the media. It looks as if the Tigger character is trying to stop the victim from pulling him backward over the small fence they’re standing in front of for the photograph.
This event is just another in a long line of people not taking responsibility for their and their families actions.
Marmiedook writes:
I’ve seen the video too. It is very obvious that the teenager was doing something behind Tigger’s head that caused the cast member to react. This family is just looking for a lawsuit or fame or both. This cast member should be put back in costume immediately!
John writes:
It’s very obvious to me from what I saw on television, that Tigger accidentally brushed across the kid’s face as he attempted to grab the kid’s arm and stop him from doing whatever he was trying to do behind Tigger’s back. There is no doubt that the kid had an “I’m up to no good” grin on his face. Tigger did absolutely nothing wrong in my opinion.
Meg writes:
I’ve never visited your site, so am not familiar with your audience, but I was surprised at your take of the Tigger incident. The impression I got was that it was unclear if the child provoked the situation. I think it is very clear this kid did in fact provoke it, no question, and this opinion is shared with the vast majority. Additionally, the father is seen as an opportunist, not a concerned parent. It’s most unfortunate that Disney is not supporting one of their most valuable assets, their employee.
Leanne writes:
I said from the very first time that I saw the footage… the kid was trying to either unzip the costume or trying in some way to take the headpiece off. It is clear as day! I think this was a teenager doing what teenagers do best sometimes “being irritating.” What the CM did was simply try to protect the magic for other guests and he didn’t have a clear field of sight. He should be commended for handling it as well as he did.
Chryste writes:
Having seen the video and reading many pro and con statements regarding this incident I feel compelled to comment… and with strong feelings. It is obvious from the smirk on the young man’s face (all the way through the video… including following Tigger’s paw brushing his face) that he is up to something.
Why his father did nothing to stop his behavior is even more unbelievable. From guest behavior I’ve witnessed firsthand at the parks I think it’s time that WDW staff begin to hold people accountable for their actions. Whether that is by expelling them from the park or through some other method. Those of us who frequent Disney deserve to have the magic preserved and to be protected from the growing number of other guests whose rude and obnoxious behavior affect the quality of our visits to the World.
Ann-Marie writes:
I too agree that the guest was doing something wrong—the video recorded that while Tigger was trying to move him away, the young man was laughing, not crying in pain.
The video showed that Tigger had a young child in front of him—perhaps the older boy wanted to play a cruel joke on the younger one by doing something to Tigger while he was standing with him.
Another recent hot topic here at MousePlanet was the subject of saving space for shows. We received so many responses that we devoted two MousePlanet mailbags to it last week, and we’re still not done! In the exchange below, MousePlanet CEO Alex Stroup responds to letters from reader Stephanie, who claims ownership of the blanket and bag in the photo from the January 2, 2007 Disneyland Park Update that caused so much controversy.
Stephanie writes in her e-mail dated January 3:
So I read your opinion on Camping Out and the picture that was attached to it. Just so you know, that was our blanket and bag on that bench and we must say that we were a bit offended by your remarks. You are making it sound like we as well as the other people there in the hub brought blankets and just set them there while we gallivanted around the park for the day.
For your information, we got into the park at 8:00, saved our bench and we were there with our bench the whole day, taking turns to use the restroom or whatever. We would agree that bringing blankets and leaving them there while you play in the park is crossing the line a little and we agree with the security guards that came by to remove those items. But, if the owners of the blankets have planned their day to sit and save their spot all day, then I see nothing wrong with that. That’s their choice to do so. It’s their day to do what they want with it.
So, for the future, you might consider talking to the people around the benches before jumping to conclusions that it was an abandoned bench saved for the evening festivities.
Stephanie writes in her e-mail from January 18:
I am really getting ticked off at this whole bit about the seat saving… This is really getting to be way too much! You are causing us to be the ridicule of people at work and that is not even cool with us! We were there… all day! We seriously must have been stretching our legs or something, but we were there with our bench! This was in one of your articles that you posted today… “On the subject of saving seats my opinion varies. From the photo you had posted it does appear that they were using their belongings to save that bench without having an actual person in attendance, to me that is ridiculous.”
You see, people say that our stuff was just left there… it wasn’t! But you guys don’t even care about our side of it or what? You are just going to believe that picture! Come on… get the whole story before assuming things happened when they really didn’t!
At least one person in our party was with our bench the whole time. Why aren’t you sharing that part of it? Why didn’t you take a picture of the group saving the seats at the bench right next to that one? I can send you pictures of us sitting there if you want… then you can see that we were there! Please post something to help clear our name! This is really getting ridiculous… not only on your site, but in our work place as well! Please put a stop to this madness… you are the only one with the power to do so! Please!
One other thing… I was reading another posting…
“I think that leaving out blankets, bags, and strollers hours ahead of time in order to save spaces to watch the various shows at Disneyland is somewhat extreme and definitely selfish and rude. If you are going to insist on taking up a space such as one of the park benches for hours, making it so that other visitors are unable to sit and rest or just enjoy the atmosphere that is Disneyland, then someone from your party needs to be sitting with your belongings at all times.”
Just so you know, we let other people sit on our benches if they wanted to sit… some people even sat with us to eat their lunch. We aren’t rude when we save our benches. Anyone who wanted to sit for a while was welcome! And if we chose to spend our day saving the bench… who cares? It’s our day we should do as we choose! Please post something regarding our side of the story instead of everyone else’s opinion about us… we didn’t do anything wrong!
So you know, it was not my intention to ignore your side of the story. In fact, I hoped that the owners of the stuff in the photo would reply. However, that bit in our Park Update generated well over 100 emails and while I tried to read them all, some of them did fall through the cracks, so I apologize for not responding. I blanket-forwarded your first letter to our mailbag editor so that is how it was published without my having taken note of it.
I would note that in my original piece I introduced the photograph with this:
“Now, I could be completely wrong about the intent of that blanket and bag. I have no idea who it belonged to. But I suspect they were put there to hold the bench for the afternoon parade and evening fireworks. At noon (and there were other benches similarly saved).”
Now, I assume I am correct that the reason you were there holding that bench at 8:00 a.m. is that you wanted a prime spot for the parade and/or fireworks? I think it is a valid question whether it is “polite” to do that. To hold benches meant for momentary rest and relaxation for 12-15 hours. I also think it is a valid question as to whether that look of blankets and bags laying about interferes with the pleasure of other park guests, even if you’re standing right there. Obviously there are valid opposing viewpoints and that is the discussion I was trying to start.
Now, I have no reason to doubt you when you say you were right there (though at the moment the picture was taken you must have been at least 15 feet or so away). That someone was with your stuff all day. Both I, in the original piece, and most of the responses said that nothing should be done with the stuff if the owners had only wandered off very briefly. But I think the discussion is a valid one (and judging by our message boards over the last couple years an increasingly brought-up topic) and I’m sorry it just happened to be your stuff that ended up being used as a visual example.
In your other e-mail today you said “anyone who wanted to sit for a while was welcome!” Out of curiosity, what if the person sat down and then showed no inclination of standing up again until 12 hours later? At what point have they abused your kindness of letting them sit?
I’m sorry you feel your side isn’t being shared and I can assure you we’ll publish your letters in our next mailbag.
Stephanie responds:
I think that the topic is worth discussing, but when it comes to posting the picture and stuff I would have hoped that you would have known the exact reasons why we were there, how long we had been there and ask some questions…. that’s what I don’t understand. I thought that you were journalists and tried to get the whole story out.
We were saving 2 benches for our party… one was the one you took the picture of… the other was directly across the walkway of the hub… much less than 15 feet away (about the length of one bench away). We were probably all sitting on that bench (which was in the shade) playing a game of cards or more than likely, eating lunch (corn dogs to be exact because we got lunch around that same time as you mentioned the picture was taken).
