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Recently, a forty-year-old man was stopped from hugging Princess Jasmine at Disney World, leading many to question his intentions at the parks.
Any Disney fan will attest to how magical and wonderful a Disney vacation is for guests from all around the world. A Disney theme park visit is fairly singular and spectacular in what it offers to visitors. From enthralling lands like Pandora at Disney’s Animal Kingdom at the Walt Disney World Resort to wonderful attractions like Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise at the Disney Parks, there’s a lot to love.
However, all guests will undoubtedly agree that cast members are the best part of a Disney vacation. They are the heart and soul of the Disney experience.
Cinderella Castle, Magic Kingdom Park, Walt Disney World Resort / Credit: Greg Park, Unsplash
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Cast members are beloved by all guests. But sometimes, there are some who take it too far, leading to the common yet unspoken “creepy guest” behavior coming into place on the part of CMs. A guest took to Reddit to share one such story recently.
The guest explained, “Some of my friends just went to WDW and they waited in line to meet Aladdin and Jasmine (this is a group of four 17-18 year old girls for reference). They told me a story about how while they were in line, an adult man (40+) tried to hug Jasmine, but Aladdin got between them and scolded the guy for “moving in on his girl”, ended calmly but guy didn’t get his hug from Jasmine.”
Noting that it would be a difficult rule to maintain at the parks all the time, considering the etiquette expected of a Disney character at the parks, the guest asked, “this made me wonder if it’s discouraged for adults to hug face characters?”
Are adults discouraged from hugging face characters?
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One guest posited, “Not a cast member, but a podcast hosted by a former CM and character actor (Keys to the Kingdom by Matt Gourley) talks about these things they encountered, as well as guests on the show who talk about their experiences too. Like one guest spoke about her Cinderella days and that there was a couple guests who came by frequently and could be a bit creepy toward them. Perhaps this could have been a ‘creepy frequent flyer’ thing?”
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Theme Park, Walt Disney World Resort / Credit: Disney
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There were also former cast members who took the opportunity to shed light on the situation.
One wrote, “Adults are welcome to hug characters. There is no rule against it! Characters love all their friends regardless of age, and some of the best interactions *I’ve had were with adult guests who embraced the moment. Once I had an adult man crying while hanging out with Eeyore and the Disney hug rule was followed.”
The cast member continued, “However, I can say that there are certain regular guests we know will cause problems. The character attendants and cast learn them and will try to head off a problem before it starts.”
Tree of Life, Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park / Credit: Disney
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Another former CM corroborated this story, adding, “Another former CM here, former character performer. Vibes are a big thing, and we definitely watched for it, attendants and performers alike. Some people just clearly aren’t there to see their favorite character, they are there to harass you.”
It’s unfortunately not the first time this kind of situation has come to pass at the Disney Parks.
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I am 54 years old but look much younger whenever I go to Disney. Around all these wonderful characters I do admit acting like a kid and am entranced just to be in their presence. I am often offered a hug and consider it the pinnacle of magic to my day. But I never ask the characters for one. The most I do is ask if they will do a “heart hands” pose with me. Most do, other say they prefer something else in a non-touching way, and I ALWAYS listen to and respect their wishes. To do otherwise not only would go against every value and moral that Disney ever taught me, but also ruins the magic for those who come in line after me. If a cast character experiences something like that, it can take some time to shake off that uncomfortable feeling, which deprives the ones next in line from receiving that same magic that I feel in every photo opportunity, because the cast members are not quite into their character 100%.