Disney owns the Tooth Fairy too

Originally Posted by bbc.co.uk

When James Worley paid a visit to Disney World in Florida his portly frame and white beard soon had kids asking: "Are you Santa Claus?"
Not wanting to disappoint, Mr Worley, 60, played along with some "ho-ho-hos". But Disney officials descended, telling him to stop the impersonation or get out of the park. They said they wanted to preserve the magic of Santa.

Mr Worley took off his red hat and red shirt but said: "I look this way 24/7, 365 days a year. This is me." Even after bowing to the request to alter his appearance, Mr Worley, from Tampa, said children continued to ask if he was Santa. "How do you tell a little kid, 'No, go away, little kid'," Mr Worley told local television.

He said Disney had told him "Santa was considered a Disney character".

Officials at Disney World's Epcot park said they had had complaints from "several guests who were very upset". Disney said it had its own Santa at Epcot and Mr Worley was "confusing" the children.

Mr Worley said he had played a jolly elf at charity events for a number of years, while his wife sometimes dressed up as Mrs Claus.

Mr Worley said he still loved Disney and Christmas.

Wow. I wish I could find a picture of the guy, but how can you tell someone to stop being Santa? Unless he's doing something inappropriate or creepy, there's nothing wrong with playing along with little kids' belief in Santa.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I'd like to see someone who naturally looks like the easter bunny.

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Would The Great Pumpkin or the Headless Horseman be more of an icon for Halloween? Either way, someone natually looking like either would be ace.

As for Mr. Wannabe-Claus, that pretty much stinks. I feel sorry for the guy, and it seems pretty reprehensible that Disney would try to mandate his appearance and claim they own Santa Claus. That won't confuse the kids at all.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by some dumbass at bbc

Mr Worley said he still loved Disney and Christmas.

Luckily he still loves Christmas as though the confrontation would some how put him off.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

If I were him, i'd just stay in the park. What would Disney do? Send the seven dwarfs after me?

If that's who he is, cool. It'd be pretty dope looking like santa when you're older. And Bull shit Disney owns Santa.

I was speaking idiomatically.

It's Coca Cola that has created the old man wearing the red costume. Disney is wrong.

EDIT: just in case someone is going to bitch about it, I just want to specifiy that I was sarcastic. Thank you.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Did you know AOL Time Warner owns the rights to the song "Happy Birthday."

Commercialisation is very true and very ridiculous.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by RABicle

Did you know AOL Time Warner owns the rights to the song "Happy Birthday."

Yes, I knew someone owned the rights, just didn't know who. That's why you never hear it on TV or in restaurants, so they don't have to pay royalties.

Disney certainly doesn't own Santa, but it's freaky how much they do own. The Southern Baptists tried to boycott Disney a few years ago for giving their gay workers benefits (or something like that), and they found it difficult to do because Disney owns so many things.

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Ridiculous really. Disney owning Santa Claus? You have got to be joking me...

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Fiddlegoof

If I were him, i'd just stay in the park. What would Disney do? Send the seven dwarfs after me?

If that's who he is, cool. It'd be pretty dope looking like santa when you're older. And Bull shit Disney owns Santa.

They already own the notes C, B and D flat. They got Santa in the fucking bag.


Bastards.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Disney didn't want this man telling children he was Santa Claus as they already had a Santa Claus running around the park. A that kid is told by one man that he is Santa, while he can clearly see another "Santa" sitting on a throne decked out in red is a kid that is going to start asking very difficult questions.

Parents complained, and Disney acted on it.

Frankly, I support them.

Disney is not claiming they own Santa Claus. They are saying that while they have a "Santa" on park grounds, greeting children, they consider him one of their characters. And thus they don't take kindly to other people confusing children. In order to prevent more pissed off parents, they told this dude to stop. The representative just said it in a profoundly dumb way.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by RABicle

Did you know AOL Time Warner owns the rights to the song "Happy Birthday."

Commercialisation is very true and very ridiculous.

Isn't it like $10 000 to have the song in a movie or something? I remember watching a documentary on how corporations control and own things we have taken for granted in the past.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by acid

Disney didn't want this man telling children he was Santa Claus as they already had a Santa Claus running around the park. A that kid is told by one man that he is Santa, while he can clearly see another "Santa" sitting on a throne decked out in red is a kid that is going to start asking very difficult questions.

Except that every mall in America has its own Santa, as well as plenty of other places. It's not hard for a kid to see 2 or more Santas in the same day, so parents already have to come up with an explanation.

I've never been to Disneyworld, but in such a massive park, don't they have more than one person dressed up as Mickey Mouse?

I was speaking idiomatically.

some things should be 'public domain' sheesh. Does that mean that since Beethoven is dead, I can copyright his fifth symphony and charge people for it!?

How ya doing, buddy?

It's not particularly surprising that Disney would freak out (as would just about any other company) when someone doing this could potentially cause them to lose money. Obviously if there is a "real" Santa all dressed up sitting in the middle of the park charging children's parents for pictures, then the presence of a man who's willing to just pose as Santa without any pending charges is seen as a threat to Disney. I seriously doubt that they're as concerned about confusing the children as they are with the fact that money is to be lost if they allowed him to continue.

Quote:

Originally posted by nuttyturnip
but in such a massive park, don't they have more than one person dressed up as Mickey Mouse?

Good point. I've never been (at least not old enough to remember) but if it's anything like Universal/Islands of Adventure, there really is in fact only one actor for a specific character at a time. But it's still a good point.

How ya doing, buddy?

Like everyone has said, Disney is pretty much all about kids. Hell..when was the last time disney made a rated R movie? Their basis was probably so that the kids don't get confused and what not. After all, thats why there is only one Santa in the malls.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Bolide

It's not particularly surprising that Disney would freak out (as would just about any other company) when someone doing this could potentially cause them to lose money. Obviously if there is a "real" Santa all dressed up sitting in the middle of the park charging children's parents for pictures, then the presence of a man who's willing to just pose as Santa without any pending charges is seen as a threat to Disney. I seriously doubt that they're as concerned about confusing the children as they are with the fact that money is to be lost if they allowed him to continue.

Disney does not charge to meet characters in the park. Or for pictures. I've been there three times.

And if they do have more than one character roaming the park, they are strictly confined to opposite areas. You will never see two Mickey's walking down the street. You may see one in Tommorowland and one in Frontierland, but never at the same time.

The Islands of Adventure only have one actor for each character because the Islands themselves are rather small. Marvel island isn't that big, so you could easily spot two Spidey's running around. And having a Spiderman in the Jurrassic Park area would just not make any sense.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by acid

Disney does not charge to meet characters in the park. Or for pictures. I've been there three times.

Well, if you look again, you'll notice that I wasn't making a claim to Disney charging people to meet characters. I said that Disney possibly charged a family for their kid to sit on Santa's lap for a picture, if they were anything like every mall I've ever been in. Pictures in general (photo opps) would of course have no charge (I wasn't making that claim). And although the statement was in fact no more than an assumption, it was more along the lines of empathetic dialogue directed towards the other "Santa."

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I think acid covered this well in his first post. I'm just surprised kids still believe in the fat fuck in red. Guess that sort of depresses my bitter, miserable ass.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by OctoberOmicron

I think acid covered this well in his first post. I'm just surprised kids still believe in the fat fuck in red. Guess that sort of depresses my bitter, miserable ass.

Yeah! Don't believe in him. HE MIGHT RIDE IN ON A MOTORCYCLE AND KIDNAP YOU!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQYLEsMxS4U

Well, I wanted to find the clip right before this scene, when the Simpsons are singing Christmas carols, and the lawyer tells him that Disney owns the copyright to most of the Christmas songs, prompting Homer to write his own Christmas song (after Ned visits and annoys him).

Regarding this topic though, yeah, some things are getting ridiculous. Is Happy Birthday seriously owned by Timer Warner?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Quote:

The melody of "Happy Birthday to You" was written by American sisters Patty Hill and Mildred Hill in 1893 when they were school teachers in Louisville, Kentucky. The verse was originally intended as a classroom greeting entitled "Good Morning to All". The version as we know it was copyrighted in 1935 by the Summy Company as an arrangement by Preston Ware Orem, and is scheduled to expire in 2030. This was the first copyrighted version to include the lyrics. The company holding the copyright was purchased by Warner Chappell in 1990 for $15 million dollars, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at $5 million. [1] While the current copyright status of the song is unclear, Warner claims that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to them. It is unknown, but speculated upon who wrote the lyrics to "Happy Birthday to You".

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Birthday_to_You

So yes, they "own the copyright", but if you sing it for your parents, I doubt Time Warner is gonna show up at your door.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by The Wise Vivi

Isn't it like $10 000 to have the song in a movie or something? I remember watching a documentary on how corporations control and own things we have taken for granted in the past.

The Corporation. I think I began to fall asleep in the midst of the depression it was giving me by part 3.

FELIPE NO

I guess when you're at Disney World whatever they say goes. It's not like they went out to the local Mall and replaced their Santa with somebody on Disney payroll.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by RABicle

The Corporation. I think I began to fall asleep in the midst of the depression it was giving me by part 3.

Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. It was still interesting though.... But yeah, very drepressing...

Jam it back in, in the dark.