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For those still here, thanks for your patience and understanding.

I cringe when I hear lines like “Tigger’s in trouble with the Law” or “Disney’s ‘Tigger’ Arrested”. Why must they always use the name of the character in their headlines? Oh yeah, ratings...

It is always so sad when something like this happens. For those of you who may not know about the incident I’m referring to, here’s a quick breakdown of what happened:

• On February 29th, 2004, a family staying at the Pop Century Resort in Walt Disney World called police regarding inappropriate behavior on the part of a Disney Character in the Magic Kingdom’s Toon Town area.

• An Orange County Sheriffs Office Deputy arrives, and proceeds to file a report regarding an incident that happened earlier on February 21st, 2004 in the Magic Kingdom.

• The report states that two members of the vacationing family, the mother and a daughter (who was 13), were posing for pictures with the Disney character “Tigger” in the Toon Town section of the park, where such photo opportunities are set up in a (semi) permanent fashion. When each was posing for their picture, the Tigger character placed his hand and arm around the waist of both of them. The report describes that the character then proceeded to act in an inappropriate manner with both women with his hands.

• The subject in question, (what I am calling) a “Close Friend” of the Tigger character at Walt Disney World, was identified as Michael Chartrand based upon the time and day of the incident, and that he was the “Close Friend” of Tigger at that time in that area. (Please note that I am not referring to “Close Friends” as the escorts of the characters; rather the people who would know that character the best of anyone, who are good at mime, and just may be the same height of the characters themselves...yeah, you understand what I mean now)

• The subject was taken into custody by an Orange County Sheriffs Office Deputy once the subject had been taken to his place of residence and had given the Deputy some photos of him being a “Close Friend” of Tigger in the past. The subject had stated that since he had Dyslexia, he did not remember events well and that the conditions of his “environment” as a “Close Friend” of Tigger, namely the large paws, may have caused the complaint but was inadvertent and accidental. The subject also said that he would be willing to write a letter of apology and was sorry for any incident which may have occurred. He has since bonded out of the Orange County Jail on a $2,500 Bond, and is suspended without pay from WDW pending the investigation results.

• Twenty four additional complaints have been filed with the Orange County Sheriffs Office regarding other similar incidents in which a Tigger character was present. Of those, thirteen are being looked into as credible allegations. It seems that the increased publicity surrounding the previous incident caused others to come forth.

That’s a basic rundown of the events so far, and we’ll honestly just have to wait and see if Michael Chartrand is charged with any additional crimes from the additional complaints made recently, if another different “Close Friend” will be charged, or if nothing may come of them. I also don’t want to speculate if Michael Chartrand is guilty or not, because I simply don’t have enough information to form an opinion that will be fair to the alleged victims and the suspect.

While listening to this story, I did start to think about how this story progressed and what may come of it.

First, I couldn’t get over how the media kept using the name “Tigger” in most headlines that I heard. I actually got quite offended being the Disney fan that I am, that they would dare use a character name in reference to an official criminal arrest. Of course, the only reason that was done was to draw the reader/listener/watcher into the story, which probably worked very well. After all, how exciting would the headline “Disney worker gets arrested” be anyway, especially in the Central Florida area?

Seriously though, Disney is a very great topic for good media coverage, since it is so engrained with American history and culture, including everything that is family-friendly and good (at least in theory). That sort of image, mixed with something not-so nice or friendly, leads to reporters and journalists foaming at the mouth to use beloved characters in their headlines, while hinting at problems with happily-ever-after.

Who knows how many children may have heard those sorts of headlines, and thought that Tigger was actually being handcuffed and sent to jail? I think it would have better to not emphasize the use of the name Tigger in the headlines, and rather bring out the name specifically in the article or story later on. On that note, I’ll be over here in my naive little world where the media is sensitive to everyone’s feelings, okay?

Back in reality, I also was very impressed at how the Orange County Sheriffs Office handled this incident, making sure that while everything was transparent to public view, the suspect was apprehended and charges were filed. Make no mistake about it: Disney and the Central Florida area really have no benefit from this story getting out into the public. However, the smart thing to do would be to follow up on the charges made and make an arrest if necessary. It wouldn’t be pretty for the area’s promotion, but at least appropriate action would be taken to stop this sort of activity, if in fact the suspect is found guilty. It’s no light charge, either. Michael Chartrand is facing a Felony conviction on two charges here.

Both Walt Disney World and the Orange County Sheriffs Office did and are doing exactly what they should do, and I commend them for that. While a black eye in the media isn’t ever pretty, it will heal eventually. Given the strong response to the situation as well, that healing will occur faster.

I also feel bad for the rest of the “Close Friends” employed at Walt Disney World. These folks have a hard time as it is, fighting the heat and trying to express emotion and create Magic while in the direct view (and stares) of guests around them. In addition, they have to constantly battle unruly children and others who think it is funny to abuse the characters, pulling on tails, kicking and punching them. Given the recent arrest, now they are going to be scrutinized by both management and the guests in the park. I couldn’t imagine how I would feel if I were a “Close Friend” of Mickey, say, and I saw parents of children pull them away from coming to say hi to me.

Which brings up another factor which is unfortunate from this story, that being the little bit of Magic which was chipped away from incidents like this. While it is very important to understand if this sort of thing really occurred the way it was reported, and to have the appropriate consequences if found to be true, it really doesn’t matter to the majority of the public at large.

I would venture to argue that the public has a “guilty until proven innocent from a technicality” mentality. It seems to me that once someone is arrested, the public at large throws the “innocent until proven guilty” idea out the window and associates the word “suspect” with a guilty person. I’ll be the first to admit that I catch myself thinking this way, which is unfortunate since it really flies in the face of our structure of Justice.

The point here, though, is not whether Michael Chartrand was treated fairly in the media, but what the interpretation of the public at large did for Disney and specifically Walt Disney World. What it did in my opinion was to allow harsh reality to seep into a place which was supposed to keep the bad side of reality out of mind.

That fact is just sad, since there are over 55,000 Cast Members and countless others who have and still do work very hard to make the Walt Disney World Resort a Magical place where reality is forgotten for a little while.

Of course, if the report is found to be true, the worst part of all of this is the result that such an incident will haunt those victims forever. Not only would the alleged victims have been affected emotionally and possibly physically, but chances are that they both (and especially the 13 year old girl) will never look at Disney or Walt Disney World in the same way again.

We’ll just have to see what comes of the charges, and of the other thirteen credible allegations which are currently being investigated. I have full confidence in the Orange County Sheriffs Office and Walt Disney World management to do what they can to ensure that Justice is done in these cases. Until then...

Thanks for stopping on by, and I’ll see you next week!