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In a shocking tale of mischief at the Most Magical Place on Earth, a disgruntled former Disney cast member stole a character costume and used it for an unauthorized meet-and-greet inside Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The incident has become infamous among Disney Parks employees.
Theft of a Beloved Disney Character Costume
Credit: Disney
The stolen costume belonged to a Green Army Man character from Pixar’s Toy Story (1995). According to former Disney cast member Patrick (@patricklyspeaking), who shared the story on TikTok, the theft and subsequent illegal meet-and-greet rocked the Walt Disney World Resort entertainment department.
@patricklyspeaking #onthisday the legendary unauthorized character performing set at Disney. #disneybehindthemagic #formerdisneycastmember #disneycm #disney #disneyparks #disneycharacters #formerdisneycm
If you worked in the entertainment department at Disney World sometime in 2016, you heard this story,” Patrick said. Believe it or not, there was a cast member who stole a Green Army Man costume [after] they no longer worked for the company. They went to the parks one day randomly and did a character meet-and-greet.”
The incident occurred before Toy Story Land existed when characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the Green Army Men sporadically appeared in Pixar Place. Patrick claimed the person responsible for the theft was a Buzz Lightyear performer, possibly a Disney College Program participant whose program was ending, or someone who had been fired.
Credit: Disney
“It was a Buzz performer,” Patrick continued. “I’m not sure whether or not their College Program was ending or they got fired, but they stole that Green Army Man costume…A whole bunch of people got fired because they were in on it.”
A Catalyst for Change
At the time of the theft, Walt Disney World Resort‘s procedures for tracking costumes were not as strict as they are today. The incident allegedly led to significant changes in how character costumes are distributed and monitored.
Credit: Disney
“That whole incident really made them change how you check out a Disney character costume because you could almost take them at that time,” Patrick said.
Walt Disney World Resort has since implemented stricter measures to protect the magic. Character costumes now have barcodes and scanning systems to ensure all pieces are accounted for.
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