Mom Visiting Disney World Calls Out Donald Duck For 'Ignoring' Her Son — But She May Have Missed A Key Detail
She claims it was a race issue. Others think it was a "waiting your turn" issue.
Maxew | Shutterstock A mother was left heartbroken for her two-year-old son after he appeared to be ignored by a cast member dressed as Donald Duck while visiting Disney World.
While the mom argued that the cast member could have at least waved or acknowledged her excited toddler, many online pointed out key details that would explain why Donald Duck did not pause to interact with her son.
The mother captured Donald Duck appearing to ignore her son after he ran up to him while visiting one of the Disney parks.
When Felicia (@fethelc) took her little boy to Animal Kingdom Park in Walt Disney World Orlando, she never would have expected that he would be let down by the one and only Donald Duck. While the two were in the Dinoland USA section of the park, the toddler spotted a cast member dressed as Donald Duck, one of his favorite characters.
Felicia recorded her son bolting toward Donald Duck as the character was interacting with another guest. Her voice can be heard behind the camera, encouraging her son to “go get him!” However, when her son was within arm's length of Donald Duck, the cast member appeared to ignore him and continued interacting with the teenage guest he was already with.
As Felicia told him to wait his turn, Donald Duck walked off hand in hand with the teenage guest toward his designated photo op spot where other guests could take pictures with him. Another cast member could be heard directing Felicia to where she could take her son to get a photo with the character.
The mom said that the entire situation put a damper on their day, insisting that her son's race was the reason for the lack of acknowledgment.
“Although our trip overall was great, this truly pissed me off and hurt my heart,” she wrote in the caption of her TikTok video.
“Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Mickey Mouse Clubhouse's target demographic babies and toddlers?? Why does this grown-[expletive] teenager get a cute personalized experience while my BLACK son gets ignored??" she continued. "I don't like pulling the race card truly, but what am I to make of this?? A high-five, a hug, something!?!?! It's just a really bad look.”
While the mom clearly believed that her son being ignored by Donald Duck was a racial issue, many people online disagreed.
Commenters noted that there were key details that explained why the cast member could not interact with her son that she missed.
For one, when a cast member is interacting with a particular guest or guests, they are required to give those guests their complete undivided attention during the entire interaction.
s_buckley | Shutterstock
If other guests run up to them and demand their attention, they are allegedly instructed during training to ignore them until they are done interacting with the current guests.
According to Disney travel bloggers, who always seem to be in the know when it comes to park secrets, characters no longer roam freely through Disney World parks, and anyone, at any age, who wants to meet their favorite must do so at either a designated character meal or at designated meet and greet locations that offer photo ops. These designated locations are for everyone so there are lines, and that means guests must wait their turn even if Donald is their favorite.
Thousands of guests visit Disney parks every day and most of them likely want to meet characters, so it's important everyone waits their turn.
Many people believed that instead of claiming discrimination, the mother could have used the opportunity to teach her child patience.
“How about, ‘Hold on, son, it's not your turn.’” one TikTok user suggested.
“That’s a good learning experience. We have to learn to be patient and put others before ourselves,” another user pointed out.
“It honestly doesn’t have anything to do with the color of one’s skin. Characters cannot stop interacting with one to interact with another. Sometimes it just happens. Do a meet and greet! He’d love it!” a third person wrote.
Others speculated that the teenage guest Donald Duck was interacting with may have paid for a personalized experience and was entitled to her time with the character — whether she was a fan of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” or not!
Despite people’s comments and suggestions, Felicia still believed that there was more Donald Duck could have done to make her son feel seen.
In a follow-up video, the mom revealed that she used to work as a mascot and wore similar costumes as the Disney cast members.
She argued that young children running up to you and wanting your attention is all part of the job, and if you cannot cater to them, then the job is not for you.
Felicia also said that she never expected Donald Duck to halt his interaction with the teenage guest but believed that the character still could have at least waved at her son or given him a high-five. “It takes absolutely nothing to acknowledge another person while you’re with another person,” she said.
While it may seem like Disney characters are ignoring you while they are with another guest, it is all part of their job.
If you want to spend time with the characters one-on-one, it is best to visit one of the designated areas where they usually are to get a photo or make a reservation at one of the character dining experiences.
With the millions of guests that attend the Disney theme parks each year, it can be difficult for cast members to give their full attention to multiple guests at one time. If they fail to acknowledge you, it's likely not intentional or targeted. They simply have places to be and things to do with limited time.
Unlike the Disney movie version of Cinderella, they cannot bippity boppity boo themselves to every guest at any given time.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.