"Here stand there, I'll take the picture"

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

One of my favorite memories was when I got a picture with Pinocchio by Snow White's Wishing Well. When I went up to him, he grabbed Stitch, a plush I bring along all over Disneyland, and he held him over the well. There's a great picture of me trying to grab Stitch from Pinocchio as he holding Stitch over the Well. It's HI - Larious!! I will need to find it.

Here they are:

[DisneyMom]

Here they are:

I TOTALLY LOVE those pictures!!!! :)

[ktulu]

Awesome! I love it when the characters take time to play. We couldn't pull our daughters away from musical chairs with Alice, The Mad Hatter, and Peter Pan. They just wanted to watch! I must say it was rather amusing!

[BRWombat]

Funny! Stitch is a fun one to watch, too, since people are disappointed if he's not mischievous!

Back in '05, my younger son, who was a huge Stitch fan at the time, was wearing Stitch ears when he got to meet the blue alien. Stitch first made a big deal over them, and then swiped them off of his head! But then he took them over to his attendant for a Sharpie and autographed one of the ears!! My son had a huge grin the rest of the day, and still has the autographed Stitch ears.

[disneywizard]

I have a question for all the friends of the characters and any one who works with the photographers who take the character photos. I'm actually posting this on behalf of my mother and myself since she doesn't have an account here. The two of us travel to the World quite regularly and we like to visit the characters and get our pictures taken with them, just like all the other families out there. The only difference is, we don't have any children with us, it's just us. Her and me, and I'm far from being under the age of 12. We wait in line just like all the other families with kids out there and then get our pictures taken when it's our turn with the characters. The thing is, we get nothing but odd and funny looks from all the families in line around us, like we shouldn't be there in line, like we have no right to get our pictures taken with the characters, like we're committing a major faux pas or something because only little kids or families with little children are allowed to visit with the characters.

We were just wondering what the cast members thought about having two adults visit with the characters?

The best and most delightful are the old couples - they're as comfortable together as they were on their 30th wedding anniversary. Isn't that the point here where the young at heart are "reliving fond memories of youth." CM's pay it no mind.

You think that's bad, try going it alone. One out of every three times I hand the camera off to the handler or photo pass the folks behind me in line will jump in on my turn, three out of ten of those won't back off and wait their turn. It's even worse if you just want a photo of the Character/characters alone - without anyone else in the shot - EVERY time I tried that it's been walked on.

During the Summer of Indiana Jones here at Disneyland there was a Rolling Boulder Standee unattended in Adventureland. I got in line behind three groups and patiently waited my turn as a guest (off the clock, street clothes) no one queued behind me. Just as the last group was leaving I was ready to take my shot of the unoccupied standee and SG and her kids jump into, onto and all around the photo op. So, I'm patient. I don't mind much, I figure I have time and just wait it out. Then SG decides she wants to be in the picture and asks ME to snap it. Sure, and when I hand her back her camera, I mention she's out of turn, while her six year old boy sits on the standee, and sits... and sits. When I gently request him to stand clear SG gives me an earfull, starts a scene about not telling her kids what to do, and has her one-sided argument for three minutes. A half hour later I am approached by security regarding the 'incident'. I suggested that line-jumpers be escorted from the park. Security suggested only pedophiles take pictures of other peoples kids.

Infuriating SG - and yet I remained polite to the impolite.
Her prejudice was that single adult older males are third class theme park guests who should have no rights to enjoy a park 'for kids'. I had trouble paying attention to her because she kept tripping on moral and philosophical incorrectness, like telling me how I should feel and projecting her frustration. I just figure that ten percent of United States citizens are addicted to smoking meth, more than half are dehydrated alcoholics and 95% of people having a miserable day will try to take someone down with them.
One quarter of the world's population is suffering from mental illness - gather three friends, look around, if they seem normal it's you.

My wife pointed out two things before she died.
1. Like Jimmy Stewart characters, I'm always an ordinary person thrown into extraordinary circumstances.
2. I attract far more than my fair share of nutcases.

It has been my experience that most CMs opinion regarding adults are: "Go, have fun, and don't let the misperceived prejudices and derogatory opinions of SGs spoil it." :p:

p.s. I never did get a clear photo of the rolling boulder.

[disneywizard]

Only really an issue though if you use their picture for commercial purposes (as in advertising or endorsing). As long as they are in a public space and have no expectation of privacy you are in the clear to do pretty much anything else with the picture.

Correct, in the United States. And anyone who tells you different is guilty of infringing your civil liberties under the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

After someone snaps a shot with you in it you have no recourse other than libel and royalties.

I've had SGs upset that I took a picture of them, after they saw me with a monopod mounted camera at the curb waiting for a parade and squeezed in front of me. If you don't want to be on film don't make an effort to stand in front of a lens.

If anyone wants you to show them what you shot tell them to get a subpoena. If anyone wants you to destroy your shots, say you would be happy to, with a court order. If anyone, including the police, inform you that you can't take pictures somewhere, the most they can legally do is ask you to leave, never permit them to touch you or your equipment. I have a problem with places that prohibit cameras, yet roll digital video recorders capturing anything that comes and goes and everything in between 24/7/366. I was in a nursing home (with cameras everywhere) to take my great grand aunt to a medical appointment, with my video camera around my neck because I don't leave anything in the car I can't afford to loose, and was detained when I signed in for it. "You can't use your camera here!" I said the lens cap would stay on and they brought her to the lobby without letting me visit her room. I put the camera in the trunk when I left the appointment. When I escorted her to her room, the family of the lady in the next bed were snapping all kinds of photos and video with phones and such, even the big flash on the Canon SLR popping, and no enforcement of the policy. Yet I couldn't even take a closeup of a "loud" button on the payphone in the lobby. And that's all it is - policy. Stupid host trick.

Of Rogues and Rebels.
Folks naturally think that "Everything is about them." Just because someone is looking at the viewfinder of a handycam doesn't mean they are recording. They could be taking a snapshot, using it to improve or extend their natural vision (as I often do), adjusting a menu, or reviewing a previous recording. I had a bit of action when Minnie and Goofy were dancing on Main Street when I noticed that when I swapped cameras that morning the backup battery had run out in storage, so it had forgotten my preferences. While I was setting the aspect ratio, compression, tape speed and setting the date and time, some stupid guest complained to a handler that I was filming his daughter. I was looking at my watch to synch at :00 seconds when I was interrupted by security who insisted I rewind and play the tape without saying why. So I showed him Pluto walking by, some face characters cavorting and Minnie dancing with Goofy. If he just told me what it was all about to start with, I would have started with what I ended with and pointed out the lens cap was on during SGs freak-out. My attorney advised me never to respond to a request to review my recordings - hand them his card and he will demand a search order. Or better yet if SG asked me not to film his daughter I would have pointed to the lens cap protecting the lens while I fiddled with the buttons. And the reverse is true. I wear a wristwatch with a camera in it that my father gave me when I was a hotel captain, for my safety, which came in 'handy' when identifying perpetrators. Anyone could hang a Canon Rebel on their chest by the neck strap while covertly capturing candid high definition video, or stream to YouTube but look like they're talking on their mobile phone, or take snapshots of your credit card numbers and expiration date while standing behind you in line at the cashier. You can't tell what device can capture what anymore. But ultimately the responsibility for protecting yourself and your privacy from criminals with technology is your own.
I was standing on the sidewalk near a Starbucks at night just looking through my lens to zoom in and amplify the light of a curious shape waving at me from the top corner of the strip-mall beyond - which turned out to be a plastic shopping bag caught on the roof. While I was trying to figure that out, the girl in the Starbucks drive-thru window kept shouting at me "You can't film here!" I told her to call a cop. A uniformed officer did show up. I insisted that he inform the stupid hostess that her reasonable expectation of privacy did not extend include "open field" views of anything visible from public space. If you demand privacy, draw the shades and turn out the lights. Just as it is the responsibility of each citizen to take proactive measures to ensure their privacy it is also their duty to defend our constitutional freedoms.

[DisneyMom]

I'm sure YOU are not doing anything evil, but as a nurse,if I thought someone were violating someone's privacy by declining to cease photographing (not just possession of equipment), I would have no trouble asking security to intervene. My Clinic (inside) is a private,not public facility. Nursing Homes are the same, but may ask residents for written permission to be incidentally photographed by staff. Rules should be the same for everyone in facility- Not sure why anyone would disagree. Situation is key-
Picture of Crowd at Fantasmic-OK. Picture inside occupied Bathrooms at DLR-NO
I do have a picture of an UNOCCUPIED Bathroom at DLR-I know, GEEK ;)

[aixia]

I'm a house manager at a theatre. We do not allow photography inside the theatre for 99% of our performances, the main reasons being to protect the intellectual property of our designers and performers, and to keep from distracting the performers. You better believe that if I see someone snapping pictures inside the theatre, I'm going to ask them to delete the pictures. It is clearly posted in the lobby, in the program, and announced from the stage, so if someone's dumb enough to keep doing it, then I consider that to be my grounds to go after them. If they show them to me and prove there's nothing of the stage in there, great, but they'd better put the camera/cell phone/whatever away. Too many great designers and directors have had their work copied without any sort of credit or payment for their artistic endeavors. It's just not right. As for distracting the performers, I think that one's self-explanatory. It was slightly awesome/slightly uncomfortable to see Stephen Sondheim flip out and take SP's (Stupid Patrons) to task for taking photos when it's been clearly posted and loudly announced not to.

[delsdad]

I'm a house manager at a theatre. We do not allow photography inside the theatre for 99% of our performances, the main reasons being to protect the intellectual property of our designers and performers, and to keep from distracting the performers. You better believe that if I see someone snapping pictures inside the theatre, I'm going to ask them to delete the pictures. It is clearly posted in the lobby, in the program, and announced from the stage, so if someone's dumb enough to keep doing it, then I consider that to be my grounds to go after them. If they show them to me and prove there's nothing of the stage in there, great, but they'd better put the camera/cell phone/whatever away. Too many great designers and directors have had their work copied without any sort of credit or payment for their artistic endeavors. It's just not right. As for distracting the performers, I think that one's self-explanatory. It was slightly awesome/slightly uncomfortable to see Stephen Sondheim flip out and take SP's (Stupid Patrons) to task for taking photos when it's been clearly posted and loudly announced not to.

MR Sondheim is a broadway veteran, and a very classy guy. When I worked with him early this year he was ever so gracious in making a point of meeting the entire crew, and learning our names. I can only imagine how far the stupid patron had pushed to cause him to interrupt his show and address the offender.

In many cities, the no photography or recording devices rule is also a law. More than once when I worked FOH at Cats, we confiscated cameras during the show. We would run the film to a one hour place across the street, and remove the show photos before returning the camera and non show photos. Of course the Sg had to pay for the photofinishing.

[Zazu]

I'm a house manager at a theatre.

At one very small theatre, a patron started taking flash photos during the opening song. After that piece, instead of proceeding to the next scene, the troupe left the stage, the owner came out, and informed the guest that their camera was about to leave the theatre, and they could go with it if they wanted to see it ever again. :D:

Guest got stupid. Guest got stubborn. Host apologized to the audience, and explained that it might take a few minutes for the police to arrive, then took out his cell phone and dialed three digits.

Not willing to wait, several large members of the audience "assisted" the guest out into the street, kicking and screaming (I think they were kicking and he was screaming). Word has it that the camera didn't quite fit through the door, and was no longer functional -- just like the SG's brain. :tossout:

I like little theatre in a tight-knit community like that!