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Credit: DisneyLast week, a video showing the aftermath of an assault on a Disney character performer went viral on TikTok. The social media clip showed Figment, EPCOT’s beloved purple dragon, collapsed on the floor after a Disney Park guest allegedly attacked him.
Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort give character performers, both “face” (your favorite Disney Princess and Peter Pan) and “fur” (Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck), subtle emergency signals and code words to signify that they need help.
From costume malfunctions to medical emergencies to inappropriate guest behavior, Disney characters can communicate just about anything to their attendants without guests ever noticing something awry.
Unfortunately, Figment’s character attendant didn’t have the chance to stop the recent emergency before it began. A video posted by TikTok user Stacey Mavilia (@theladymavs) showed the Disney character lying on the ground at his EPCOT meet-and-greet location “seconds after” he was “rocked” by a theme park guest:
@theladymavs This is just seconds after Figment got ROCKED! #disneyworld #epcot #figment #imagination #travel #disneyvacation
In the clip, Disney cast members helped Figment stand up. He shook his head “no” when they asked him a question, made a heart sign to a nearby guest, and headed backstage.
“I think this meet and greet is over,” a Disney Park guest said.
The video blew up, amassing nearly 17 million views and almost one million likes. “The cast members handled it very well as did Figment!” Mavilia wrote.
Although Walt Disney World Resort didn’t issue a public statement on the viral incident, multiple witnesses have reported that an “upset or scared” neurodivergent child pushed Figment over.
Some Disney Park guests reported that the person Figment made a heart sign to was the child’s mother: “The parent did stay until Figment was up and was profusely apologizing.”
Mavilia confirmed: “They said the boy was older and had special needs. We didn’t see it. We heard the head hit the ground and our heads whipped to see. The family rushed the kid away and came right back to apologize.”
Some Disney Parks fans blamed the child’s parents for putting the character performer at risk.
“Special needs or not, she should have kept a huge eye out for the kid,” said @samwisethegamer. “I’m more mad at her than I am the kid.”
“They need to be kicked straight out,” @crhughes9511 replied. “That’s just not cool.”
Still, others called for more understanding toward the young Disney Park guest.
“They aren’t going to kick out a special needs child for having an outburst, kids sometimes can’t control their reactions, they didn’t do it maliciously,” @user1989zzz wrote.
“Sometimes they can’t control themselves and the parent didn’t expect him to do it,” @ravenmoon996 replied. “There isn’t always a meaning behind stuff people do sadly.”
It’s unclear if the Disney character performer playing Figment suffered lasting injuries from the incident.
Do you have a favorite Disney character meet-and-greet memory? Share it with Inside the Magic in the comments.