The day from hell...
Here's an e-mail I just wrote to Drew:
Hey Drew,
Well the reason why I called you tonight was because of what happened to me at work today. It was one of those days that I wish you were there to protect me in the park. Long story short, I was mobbed by 15 girls between the ages of 16-18 as Prince John in Town Square. Not only did they manhandle me, but they treated me as if I were a rag doll. I got my head grabbed, hit, they kept trying to take off my head, I had my arm grabbed, I was pulled and groped while they yelled "ARE YOU A BOY OR GIRL IN THERE? YOU MUST BE A BOY BECAUSE YOU'RE FLIRTING WITH US!" which yeah right because they were all donkey faced ugly, and not to mention rude. They kept singing "WHY IS PRINCE JOHN ALL ALONE? BECAUSE HE HAS NO FRIENDS!" and then they expected me to be nice and humble and take pictures with them and be at their bidding. They were pushing me and when I tried to get away from them, they got even more aggressive. It was honestly the WORST experience ever that I have had as a character. I left set early and I came off shaking, hyperventilating and in hysterical tears. Luckilly, Ashley was with me today in town square to listen to me after this happened. These girls should have been thrown out of the park. At one point when one of the girls hit me, I swung back and just missed her. When I told my Captain that, she said "Good!".
I have heard horror stories about characters getting mobbed, but never did I think it would happen to me. On my way home tonight, I even considered going seasonal at Disney, since I don't know how much more abuse I can take. I feel like if something were to go wrong, Disney would not support their cast members, but instead turn on them. I shouldn't have to go to my job feeling threatened, and even after today when I thought "I can't believe anyone could be so cruel to someone they don't know" I now know that people are cruel. I joined characters because I wanted to make others happy. Never in a million years did I expect to feel threatened, or hurt at my job by other people. I'm now considering going seasonal at Disney. It's not for sure, and maybe I just need a couple days to relax since the past 4 days have been constant stress. I also am getting over being sick, I have some sort of a cough and some serious allergies so it feels like I have a constant cold.
I sit here and say "I wish I could have hit them, or bitched them out letting them know I was a girl" all these "I wish....." but I now realize that tomorrow i'm going to have to put it behind me despite my soreness and achy body. Anyway, i'm going to shower and go to bed. But, I will talk to you more later and keep you updated on how things are going.
Hey Drew,
Well the reason why I called you tonight was because of what happened to me at work today. It was one of those days that I wish you were there to protect me in the park. Long story short, I was mobbed by 15 girls between the ages of 16-18 as Prince John in Town Square. Not only did they manhandle me, but they treated me as if I were a rag doll. I got my head grabbed, hit, they kept trying to take off my head, I had my arm grabbed, I was pulled and groped while they yelled "ARE YOU A BOY OR GIRL IN THERE? YOU MUST BE A BOY BECAUSE YOU'RE FLIRTING WITH US!" which yeah right because they were all donkey faced ugly, and not to mention rude. They kept singing "WHY IS PRINCE JOHN ALL ALONE? BECAUSE HE HAS NO FRIENDS!" and then they expected me to be nice and humble and take pictures with them and be at their bidding. They were pushing me and when I tried to get away from them, they got even more aggressive. It was honestly the WORST experience ever that I have had as a character. I left set early and I came off shaking, hyperventilating and in hysterical tears. Luckilly, Ashley was with me today in town square to listen to me after this happened. These girls should have been thrown out of the park. At one point when one of the girls hit me, I swung back and just missed her. When I told my Captain that, she said "Good!".
I have heard horror stories about characters getting mobbed, but never did I think it would happen to me. On my way home tonight, I even considered going seasonal at Disney, since I don't know how much more abuse I can take. I feel like if something were to go wrong, Disney would not support their cast members, but instead turn on them. I shouldn't have to go to my job feeling threatened, and even after today when I thought "I can't believe anyone could be so cruel to someone they don't know" I now know that people are cruel. I joined characters because I wanted to make others happy. Never in a million years did I expect to feel threatened, or hurt at my job by other people. I'm now considering going seasonal at Disney. It's not for sure, and maybe I just need a couple days to relax since the past 4 days have been constant stress. I also am getting over being sick, I have some sort of a cough and some serious allergies so it feels like I have a constant cold.
I sit here and say "I wish I could have hit them, or bitched them out letting them know I was a girl" all these "I wish....." but I now realize that tomorrow i'm going to have to put it behind me despite my soreness and achy body. Anyway, i'm going to shower and go to bed. But, I will talk to you more later and keep you updated on how things are going.