ORLANDO, Fla. — A Walt Disney World employee dressed as the character "Tigger" was accused of hitting a child while posing for a photo, a spokeswoman for the theme park said Saturday.
Park officials temporarily suspended Michael J. Fedelem while they investigate the accusations, Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said.
"Naturally, physical altercations between cast members and guests are not tolerated," Suarez said.
Jerry Monaco of New Hampshire videotaped his son, Jerry Jr., posing with the costumed character at Disney-MGM Studios on Friday and recorded the confrontation, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
The father said Fedelem intentionally hit his son "on or about the head," said sheriff's spokesman Carlos M. Padilla. "The tape only shows a fraction of what happened. Now it's up to us to find out what led up to that."
A message left by The Associated Press for Monaco was not immediately returned. A telephone listing for Fedelem could not be located.
In 2004 a Walt Disney World employee dressed as Tigger was accused of touching the breast of a 13-year-old girl while she posed with him for a photo. A jury found the man not guilty.
I used to work at Chuck E. Cheese. I can tell you that it is very difficult to see and control your motions while in the suit. If you watch the video, it seems as though he didn’t mean to hit the kid and that the kid seemed to be pulling on him. Also the kid was being rather bothersome. You are also not allowed to talk while in the suit. I was pinned down by several kids once and couldn’t get anyone’s attention. The parents need to chill.
Found the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H2mIhnB1QE
Also after Tigger "hits" the he pats him on the shoulder.
