[KentB3]

The happiest place on Earth just said 'no' to the jolliest man on Earth: Santa Claus.

Walt Disney World resort gave an ultimatum to a Santa lookalike who was visiting the park Sunday, warning him to ditch his festive gear or get out.

J.D. Worley, 60, is used to being mistaken for Santa Claus. But it had always been something that brought him joy, until a recent visit to Disney World.

Worley, who has a long white beard and bears a striking resemblance to St. Nick, was followed around by many an awed youngster during his recent visit to the park.

"Adults and children alike came up to me and asked to take pictures with me. I even had my picture taken with groups of cast members and store managers," Worley said.

Several of the tiny tots asked if he was Santa Claus, to which he responded, 'yes, I am.'

But is Worley really Kris Kringle? He admits he is not.

"Christmas is supposed to be about kids, and how do you tell a kid that comes up to you and grabs your leg and calls you 'Santa,' how do I say, 'get away from me kid, I'm not Santa?'" said Worley.

Worley does, however, have some experience as Santa Claus.

"J.D. has been playing Santa for a long time," says his wife, Darlene. "He plays Santa and I play Mrs. Claus. We do it for charity, and we march in parades. We’ve done it for the troops in our local National Guard, and for disabled vets at the local VA hospital."

Disney, however, would prefer that the park's official Santa Claus remain the one and only.

"They told me I either needed to alter my appearance or I needed to leave the park because I was impersonating Santa Claus. They told us that Santa was considered a Disney character,' said Worley.

Darlene thinks the park was overreacting.

"Almost everyone there wears Santa hats and dresses in red and green during the holidays. The kids thought it was wonderful that Santa was actually a real person in the park," Darlene said.

Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Walt Disney World, said Worley was never banned from the park, only asked to stop impersonating the jolly man.

"We're very committed to protecting the magic of Santa Claus for all our guests, especially children. We asked him to stop presenting himself as Santa Claus and he agreed," said DiPietre.

Darlene says Christmas has lost some of its luster this year, in part, thanks to what happened at Disney World.

But Worley is working to keep his spirit alive.

"I'm still angry with Disney, I'm still hurt," said Worley, "but I'm not going to let it ruin my Christmas. I'm not going to let it stop me from going to Disney, if they let me in. I still look like Santa, and I'm not going to shave my beard off."


FOXNews.com - Disney World Tells Santa Lookalike to Hit the Road - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

[diisneygeek]

Originally Posted by KentB3

But Worley is working to keep his spirit alive.

"I'm still angry with Disney, I'm still hurt," said Worley, "but I'm not going to let it ruin my Christmas. I'm not going to let it stop me from going to Disney, if they let me in. I still look like Santa, and I'm not going to shave my beard off."

Yeah! Fight the power!!!

Interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[dznygrl]

Was he actually DRESSED as Santa Claus?

Because if he was, I completely understand Disney's point of view. Same reason they don't allow people to wear costumes that utilize masks. Causes serious confusion!

But if he was dressed in normal clothes, I think they overreacted.

[Dana]

I smell lawyers..... I do think that WDw was overreacting and I am not sure how they can tell someone not to dress a certain way. I think it's really cool that he looks like Santa....I can see where it would be confusing come parade time however. If he was dressed in the santa suit then I think WDW has a point. If he wasn't, they they (WDW) is totally wrong on this one.

[RowdyRAider]

I've seen him several times on parade route at DAK. While he didn't have the coat, boots and a few other things, a bearded jolly round man dressed ALL in red? And he did admit he tells children he is Santa. The man is very nice, but being with the characters I also understand Disney's stand on the matter. A perfect example is my roomie at the time. A HUGE Pirates fan. She hand-sewed an Elizabeth Swan dress for Halloween but was so proud she couldn't wait for a party, so she went to the park dressed in it. (Actually she changed after going inside). Went and watched Captain Jack's show. She never said she was Elizabeth or anything like that. Just wore the dress and the medallion. Security asked her to go take it off.

It all boils down to protecting the magic. Not to be mean or think he's muscling in on Disney. Far from it. As long as he says, "no I'm not Santa" then everything's OK...and prolly shouldn't dress in all red anymore.

[woohoo]

that is a tough one- I think its sad that he was asked to tone it down but also sad that since you can have several Mickey's throughout the parks and on the boats- why cant there be more Santa?
I too would have thought it a bit too obvious that he was trying to project Santa dressed all in red! Perhaps he should have been dressed in Blue?

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by woohoo

that is a tough one- I think its sad that he was asked to tone it down but also sad that since you can have several Mickey's throughout the parks and on the boats- why cant there be more Santa?

But you never see two of them at the same time, right? I can really see both sides of this.

[bikedealer]

I can understand Disney side on this one. He did dress in away to get noticed and he has not been thru Disney training, and not a CM. We all know they want everything done their way that is what makes the magic. If they let him do this how can they protect anything else. No matter how good he is at it, do you want other people walking around the park that you don't know if they are CM's or just a guest having fun.

[tigger]

I didn't know that Santa was a Disney character

I can understand that the parks need to protect the magic. If you don't defend your trademarks then you can loose legal rights to them...it is probably similar type of thing.

[Screever]

Here's why I'm confused; the article wasn't entirely clear:

Was he accosted by Disney "officials" simply from his Santa-ish appearance (beard and jolly eyes?) or was he actually dressed all out like Santa to go along with his pre-existing beard?

I mean...asking a guest who's a "furry" (some of you might know what that means) and has fashioned a pretty accurate suit of Pluto to leave, I can understand.

But if it was just cause of his beard...that's something I just can't wrap my head around.

[Experiment6-2-6]

My guess is he was "dressed the part"...,

Wearing a santa outfit, and in all respects "portraying" a cast member.

I can easily see why WDW told him to get lost.

Magic in the park needs to be protected, especially if the paying parents don't realize he is NOT a cast member..

I'm sure the guy means well, but there are certain things that if they went wrong, WDW would pay the cost in rumors or lawsuits..

Lawyers..

Hmph.

[Erin]

Rowdy said he wasn't in FULL Santa gear, but enough so that he definitely would cause people to think he was a CM, when he isn't.

I think that is the actual problem, like 626 is saying. It's that he presented himself like a CM when he isn't, and that can open up serious problems. Even if THAT particular man would of been a lovely addition to anyone's day, not everyone is as wonderful and sweet. If they allow SOME people to shade the area between CM and Guest, well, then we have a whole other issue when someone with a shady past or shady intentions does it.

[ddoll]

If he was smart, he could have just held a finger up to kids who asked like, "shh....don't tell anyone".
It was the representing himself as Santa that was the problem.

[Erin]

Good Point, Ddoll, that's all he had to do - play it off more diplomatically. It would of still created a ton of magic for the kids.

[Screever]

Hmm. Sad anyway. Though I can see both sides of the issue.

Darn these sympathetic, nuetral emotions!