Disney Cast Member Refuses to Take Photo, Raising Guest Suspicions

A guest recently had a strange experience at one Disney theme park when a cast member refused to take their picture.

There are thousands of cast members scattered across the globe, each fulfilling a critical role in the magic-making machine that is Disney Parks.

Since Disneyland Park opened in 1955, responsibilities for said cast members have spanned everything from character meet and greets to operating theme park attractions. Each cast member is carefully trained to uphold Walt’s high standards of guest service and to contribute to the Disney magic – which is exactly what sets Disney theme parks apart from their competitors.

However, at the end of the day, all cast members are human. They also work in an extremely pressured job (let’s face it, Disney guests may be there for the magic, but they’re not always in the most magical of moods), in which employees at any other location wouldn’t be expected to process these kinds of stress or demands with a smile on their face.

With that in mind, we’d take the following story with a grain of salt.

Recently, one Reddit user shared their story from Disneyland Paris, where they claimed that a cast member refused to take their picture while meeting characters.

We met Terk and Price John yesterday and when we met Prince John the CM refused to take a picture even though the Prince kept pointing at him to do it. We were well behaved, the only thing I can think of is that my wife asked what the characters name was because we are not really familiar with Jungle book?

They later added that “the first CM that was with Terk was happy to take a picture. She offered before we even asked.”

As fellow guests pointed out, there are plenty of reasons why a cast member wouldn’t take the picture (a decision that most likely wasn’t made purely out of rudeness).

“While most CM’s with characters are happy to take a photo on your phone, you may have just gotten someone who never takes anyone’s phone/camera,” said one Reddit user. “I’ve had it happen before and I understand, especially after Covid! I doubt it was a personal thing and I wouldn’t think too much into it.”

Meanwhile, as one user said, taking pictures of guests isn’t a character attendant’s number one duty. Instead, it’s taking care of the characters themselves. “Cast members don’t have to, they can if they want and the situation allows it,” they wrote. “They always need to keep a close eye on their character for their safety especially on very warm days. Also some cm’s with the insane spike of covid don’t take your phone anymore for health reasons.”

Others doubled down on this idea, noting: “It could have been a safety thing. If the character attendant is new or in training they may have not felt comfortable focusing on taking the photo rather than watching Prince John for any signals he needs a break. I suspect it’s up to their discretion.”

When a PhotoPass cast member is present, others noted that cast members will sometimes decline your phone or camera to encourage a professional picture, instead. “The cast members will refuse to take pictures with your cameras/phones,” one user said. “If it’s an official photo place with their cameras they should have done it.”

Whatever the reason, they’re not the only guest to be declined a photograph at Disneyland Paris lately. Another guest at Disney’s French theme park resort (which currently encompasses Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, soon to be renamed Disney Adventure World).