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Guests visiting a Disney park usually have a magical day, thanks in part to all its dedicated employees.
They are affectionately known as "cast members" in Disney parlance and are known to go above and beyond to safely ensure all park guests enjoy Disney's world-class attractions and entertainment.
But one Disneyland Paris cast member was slammed online for taking his job a little too seriously after he ruined a marriage proposal in front of the park's iconic Sleeping Beauty castle.
\u201cMickey Mouse employee ruins proposal\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
Disneyland Paris is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, and one of the entertainment offerings honoring the milestone is a daytime spectacle that incorporates performers and pyrotechnics on a number of stages in front of the castle.
The video showed a couple standing on one of these platforms that were not being used at the time for the show.
The boyfriend went down on bended knee and presented his unsuspecting significant other with the ring, only to have the ring and its box snatched away by a male cast member who swooped in and forced his way in between the couple.
Onlookers subsequently booed the cast member.
The boyfriend was heard telling the employee, "She said yes," to which the cast member—who had stepped off the stage with the engagement ring in hand—replied:
"Yes, that's great but over here will be even better."
\u201c@barstoolsports Whattttttt.... Completely unnecessary. They would have been finished in exactly 1 minute. That's horrible. Were there signs all over the place that said they couldn't be up there? Even if that's the case, that is horrible.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports He\u2019s lucky the guy proposing didn\u2019t tackle him.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
While the cast member presumably tried to protect the guests from standing in an area reserved for fireworks and performers for safety, he didn't realize the boyfriend had made previous arrangements with Disneyland Paris to publicly declare his affection.
According to Newsweek, the clip originally posted on the "I Am a Total Piece of Sh*t" subReddit forum was titled:
"POS destroyed my best friend's moment. He asked for permission beforehand."
Users lambasted the cast member and criticized him for being "smug" while handling the situation. "Look how f**king smug this guy is, just standing there and pointing to the gate," wrote a Redditor.
Another said, "He's so proud of himself."
\u201c@barstoolsports Even if they weren\u2019t suppose to be there. The deed was done & they weren\u2019t hurting anybody. Bro took pride in interjecting himself there at the worst possible time lmao Everything about this video sucks\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports I get that they weren't supposed to be on that stage, but if dude had grabbed my engagement ring out of my hands... that woulda been a fight.\n\nHe could've interrupted the proposal and told them to leave, but grabbing the ring out of his hands was too much. I woulda swung on him.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports He could have let them have their moment and then discreetly asked them to move away from the area. Not everyone is cut out for customer service\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
Many called for the cast member to be terminated, but some defended his actions as an employee of Disney.
\u201c@barstoolsports As an ex Disney employee, gotta say that this dude did everything right. I'm sad for the couple, but you have no clue of the consequences he might have faced if the proposal kept going in there. The employee handled it exactly as they train us to do.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports Here I explain why. He wasn't smiling to be cocky, it's literally what we have to do (by contract). I've said many times that luggage was lost with a smile on the face. How you ask them to leave if you are not allowed to say it? Disney is a very odd place.\nhttps://t.co/1HOgJlByWe\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports Good on the employee I see 2 people breaking the rules being somewhere they shouldn\u2019t so he can have some cool engagement.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports Imma need proof that he got permission to be in a restricted area. Disney rarely does that. From what I gathered a show was about to start & the couple were on a pyrotechnic stage. The Disney employee was doing his job to 1. Stop trespassers 2. Keep them from getting burned\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
Others remained critical of the manner in which the cast member responded.
A Redditor who alleged to know a Disney cast member shared that the workers are "explicitly told that we never touch a guest without their clear permission, given either verbally or through body language."
"We're not allowed to take their property under any circumstances and doing so results in termination."
\u201c@barstoolsports Doesn\u2019t matter if they broke the rules. He proposes, they move stage right, no one is hurt. They leave. Making a situation escalate when you grab his ring. Be smarter Javier.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports So how \u2018bad\u2019 would it have been to pause for 15 seconds. \n\nThen politely escort them off the stage and write them a Disney \u2018traffic ticket\u2019, that they would keep forever.\n\nHe enjoyed killing that moment way too much.\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
\u201c@barstoolsports Terrible employee\u2026. Let him finish this action. Move them. And then put more protection around this area to stop future situations\u201d— Barstool Sports (@Barstool Sports) 1654293057
A spokesperson for Disney told the news outlet:
"We regret how this was handled. We have apologized to the couple involved and offered to make it right."