Disney Parks fans online are furious after a video of a young Walt Disney World Resort guest touching a character performer without consent went viral. Luckily, cast members responded quickly and prevented damage or injury.
Disney character performers make the magic real at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort. They’re specially trained to seem like they stepped out of your screen! But even though they’re there to make your trip magical, Disney characters should be treated with the respect you’d grant any other cast members or guests.
For characters like Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, or a Disney Princess, it’s a bit easier to signal distress–they can talk! But for fully costumed pals like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, or the Toy Story (1995) gang, silence makes communication much more difficult. Luckily, they have subtle hand motions and other body language signals that allow Character Attendants or other performers to intervene in guest behavior, costume malfunctions, or medical emergencies.
Stormtroopers in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge fall under the latter category. Though they “speak” to guests, it’s only through a set of pre-recorded dialogue lines triggered by the press of a button. They’re unable to ad-lib or communicate directly with Character Attendants.
This made it even more complicated when TikTok user Levi Lundberg (@levilundberg1) and his friends decided to prank the stormtroopers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. In a now-deleted video, one of the young men grabbed onto a stormtrooper’s mask and pulled their face forward. A Disney cast member yelled, “Let’s keep our hands to ourselves, please!” as the friends laughed.
The stormtroopers guided the guest away with a well-timed “Move along,” and the Character Attendant warned him not to “try that with anyone else today” and “follow the rules.”
Former Disney cast member Vanessa Marie (@xvanessaxmariex on TikTok) preserved the viral video and uploaded it with her commentary on the viral incident:
@xvanessaxmariex Just keep your hands to yourselves, friends. Don’t jeopardize their safety or your park admission. Also for my friends in school, your actions can get your entire school banned. (: #greenscreenvideo #greenscreen #wdw #waltdisneyworld #disneyworld #disney #fyp #foryou #foryoupage #foryoufeed #dcp #disneycollegeprogram #character #characterattendant #tips #tricks #hacks #disneytips #disneytipsandtricks #disneyhacks #meetandgreet #entertainment #story #storytime #storytimes #skit #karen #castmember #excastmember #disneycastmember
“When you post stuff like this on the internet, it leaves room for other guests or people seeing it to also think it’s okay to do stuff like this,” Vanessa said. So, while you may be thinking, ‘He didn’t hurt him. He didn’t physically attack him or hit him with anything,’ It’s still not appropriate to touch characters like this in general.”
According to the former cast member, the stormtroopers face more harassment from guests than most Disney Parks characters.
“The stormtroopers get the most physical attacks out of every character I’ve ever worked with,” Vanessa continued. “…I have seen people physically get in their way and try to intimidate them and not move, throw things at them, hit them with lightsabers.”
“The stormtroopers get so much hate from guests,” @wiiildflowerss confirmed.
Fans were furious that the guest didn’t face harsher consequences.
“Why doesn’t Disney ban people for this?” @samanthajmiles asked.
“Ban him and his ‘rizz’ for life,” @jamesbuskell25 agreed.
While the guest didn’t get banned, Vanessa assured worried Disney Park fans that other Character Attendants were warned about his behavior: “His description was probably all over the radio.”
Never touch a Disney character or other cast member without consent. Alert the nearest Disney cast member if you’re concerned about another guest’s behavior.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve witnessed another guest do at Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, or Disney Springs? Share your story with Inside the Magic in the comments.