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Pirate's Booty: Confessions of a Disneyland Jack Sparrow

lamag.com — Thirty-seven actors showed up that day, four of us in costume. After 15 minutes they pulled me into another room where two other guys were sitting. They told us we were going to be Disneyland ’s first Jack Sparrows. I played Jack like he was real, and if a woman flirted, I would flirt back. Women loved it....

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  • IanPR, on 05/27/2008, -205/+52What an interesting story. I doubted the potential of it, until I saw that MrBabyMan submitted it. :P
    • ElbertF, on 05/27/2008, -41/+11Haha, I'm sorry you're getting buried. ^_^
    • foreignwarren, on 05/27/2008, -11/+11your only crime is that you didn't speak like you're a 15 year old ***** ***** who can't form a sentence....granted not all 15 year olds are ***** *****, but Digg is crawling with a certain rare breed and they've become the arbiters of cool here....increasingly impossible to have a coherent conversation on here without being buried.
      • ShainRules, on 05/27/2008, -4/+8Oh the irony is delicious. OM NOM NOM.
      • IanPR, on 05/27/2008, -4/+9Wow... thank you.
        I really don't get what the hell was so wrong with what I was saying.
        I'm sorry i'm somewhat mature.
      • dickardwa, on 05/27/2008, -2/+7They think you're serious. Or they love Mr. DupeSubmit. Probably the latter. Maybe both.
  • AManWithNoName, on 05/27/2008, -16/+526Dugg for horny women pinching Tarzan's ass in disneyland.
    • UtopiaInTheSky, on 05/27/2008, -11/+3I don't see any ass pinching!
      http://youtube.com/results?search_query=jack+sparr ...
    • miggie, on 05/27/2008, -27/+2This is so lame! Buried for lameness!
    • LeeSoong, on 05/27/2008, -6/+16He met his 'Ariel' girlfriend, they might even get married, so that was worth the whole adventure.

      There are jobs better than Disney,
      playing Jack forever would get boring and tedious.

      As an actor - he should be looking for new parts,
      theater, TV, film, and commercials.


      Good luck with the girlfriend, and
      all the best to his career.

      (He should even try writing a few shows / films,
      he is a good writer...)
      • tonich03, on 05/27/2008, -9/+3"Try writing a few shows/movies". Sorry to mock you, but you don't just "try" to do so, it would take a succesfull career to do so, unless you live in a Hollywood movie.
        • LeonidasStokely, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6/ bitter and disappointed that he doesn't live in a Hollywood movie
    • ramunenke, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1i wonder if he still has kim's digits
    • BlGBOSS, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3Reposting this from like 300 comments down:

      Jericon: Found the picture he was talking about that was on his myspace, if anyone is interested

      http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/OoahLady/Ja ...
  • UltramegaOK, on 05/27/2008, -36/+18http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsJyfN0ICU
  • JrGhoull, on 05/27/2008, -15/+506a very interesting story about the inner workings of disney, a company with huge ties to american culture (which makes the story a good thing to read)
    • nedev, on 05/27/2008, -15/+55This story is also made of words. (which makes it a good thing to read)
      • Fxer, on 05/27/2008, -0/+49Good things to read are generally made of words, but things made of words are not necessarily good things to read.
        • nedev, on 05/27/2008, -0/+22It's still a better bet than things made of other things. Like houses, which are made of bricks. (which make them bad things to read)
        • nickj6282, on 05/27/2008, -4/+22My house is made of wood and sheetrock you insensitive clod!
        • ucbluman, on 05/27/2008, -0/+5do you write lsat tests for a living my good sir?
        • skyroket, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4Keanu Reeves' "Whoa"®
        • LeonidasStokely, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1@ nedev

          Some houses made of bricks are already read.
      • Rally603, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4This is like something straight out of Dr. Seuss.
    • angelad, on 05/27/2008, -2/+62I really enjoyed this story. Who knew there were Jack Sparrow character groupies?!?!?!!!! That's insane. I'm a fan of Disney and POTC, but I never know people were THIS fanatic. Great article.
      • nickj6282, on 05/27/2008, -0/+43I knew there were Jack Sparrow groupies. I'm married to one. She has a huge poster of Jack Sparrow hanging in our bedroom. Right next to my huge poster of Master Chief.
        • cyberwiz01, on 05/27/2008, -0/+33You are such nerds!

          /says the man on digg
        • nickj6282, on 05/27/2008, -1/+15Yeah, we're a nerdy couple. Stop by our house any given week night and we'll both be sitting on the couch with our laptops watching Heroes or BSG, or playing DS together.
        • screamokid, on 05/27/2008, -1/+11you two are what nerds strive for!

          why do i get stuck with scene chicks :(, i need a nerd (is that weird?)
        • srgtTarantula, on 05/27/2008, -1/+26Maybe because your name is screamokid?
        • MadOgre, on 05/27/2008, -2/+5You guys are 16?
        • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/28/2008, -0/+7I was going to say something mean, but it was mainly because I am jealous. Instead, best of luck to you.
      • UNL1M1T3D, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3Replied in the wrong area. My bad.
    • DeucesWild, on 05/27/2008, -1/+18I spent over 5 years working there as an attractions host (ride op). When I was there at the end of my time there I really started to hate it but now I really miss it. Funny how it goes...

      But anyway the points system wasn't all that bad! Yes you get 1.5 points for being late or 3 points for being absent... but that three points can cover a 3-4 day sick period. For example miss one day, three points, call in sick three consecutive days (4 is pushing it but doable) you still only get three points. Call in sick three days before your two days off (if you are lucky enough to have consecutive days off!) and you get a nice 5 day vacation for only three points. I wish I still had points at my current job. Though now no one else will do my job if I'm gone.

    • DarthTatr, on 05/27/2008, -0/+21a very interesting story about hot chicks dressed up like Mermaids (which makes the story a good thing to read)
    • Retrodigg123, on 05/27/2008, -4/+6This isnt Disney.. It's Nazi germany
      • skyroket, on 05/27/2008, -1/+2The glam of this story is that it's Disney. We could have an entire website dedicated to people's ***** jobs and horribly work environments.
      • Suil, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4It's a space station.~
    • loveandrockets, on 05/27/2008, -0/+14Definitely an interesting read.

      I read somewhere that Disney executives were ***** their pants when they saw how Johnny Depp wanted to play Jack Sparrow on the set of the first Pirates. They asked him to 'tone it way down' and he refused. Shows what they know about 'culture'. Sparrow could have been completely antiseptic and cliched but for Depp's integrity.
    • mnortei, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1http://youtube.com/watch?v=byaMd_PNyIY
  • jackofarcades, on 05/27/2008, -88/+12Stolen from reddit/dupe/etc
    • OfNumbers, on 05/27/2008, -14/+36That's MrBabyMan for you.
    • itsthebrod, on 05/27/2008, -12/+44Nobody cares, shut the ***** up, etc.
    • aflaks, on 05/27/2008, -3/+46i dont read reddit/dupe/etc, I read digg.
    • ieatsmurfs, on 05/27/2008, -3/+8Your an idiot. So stories posted on the internet can only appear on one social news site?
  • UtopiaInTheSky, on 05/27/2008, -6/+536Screw it. I'm dropping out of college and becoming a Jack Sparrow actor.
    • MrPingu, on 05/27/2008, -0/+82If not only for the leg-humpings...
    • EarlOfLade, on 05/27/2008, -2/+33And after the 10th fat drunk trailer trash lady has burped all over you and squeezed your balls a couple of times, I'm sure the move would look like a genius one!
      But, when you don't get any....
    • mofro99, on 05/27/2008, -19/+1I say so freakin what. so a few ladies wanted to bone him, that ***** happens to guys all the time! when I was a sixth grader I walked through a cemetary and a suprisingly hot goth girl offered me a bj! and even my fatass friend who I played basketball with got offered a bj by some girl ON the basketball court! I only wish I were makin that up.

      actually I take that last part back
      • Orangutan, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4congrats..? and goth lipstick stains like no other, so i hope you didn't take that offer
      • RoflCoptah, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2wtf? in a cemetary? first, what were u doing there im wondering, and second, would you even consider the chick in a cemetary? thats just plain awkward/creepy
    • indiandudeo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+17With the chance to date Jasmine? I would be down.
  • dickardwa, on 05/27/2008, -152/+750Hmmmm...this is strange. Here’s the SAME post from yesterday.

    http://digg.com/movies/The_Magic_Kingdom_Confessio ...

    Which was a duplicate of THIS post from the same day...

    http://digg.com/celebrity/The_Magic_Kingdom_Confes ...

    Which was a duplicate of the same post from a few days before that.

    http://digg.com/arts_culture/Ex_Jack_Sparrow_spill ...

    Notice they all have the same photo?

    Then today -- of course -- Mr. Baby Spam gets his up here. Same remotely moderately interesting story, now with 94 Digg Goodness.
    • jklikesnews, on 05/27/2008, -7/+218I noticed this also. It's unfortunate.
      • aelias, on 05/27/2008, -2/+22I didn't notice till it was posted.

        Undugg and buried.
      • HisTumness, on 05/27/2008, -1/+13Why does jklikesnews' comment have 126 diggs, but dickardwa's only has 1?
      • beabis, on 05/28/2008, -2/+3Why not make all article submissions anonymous? Then Digg could be about quality content instead of being some high schoolish popularity contest.
    • Rysac1, on 05/27/2008, -74/+22Somebody call the waaaaaahhhhhhbulance
    • D14BL0, on 05/27/2008, -16/+179Buried as dupe of a dupe of a dupe.
    • Scrappy1850, on 05/27/2008, -34/+6so? whats your point?
      • tehHardcorez, on 05/27/2008, -5/+2That you're a moron. Thanks for making it so easy.
    • Wootstapler, on 05/27/2008, -4/+50Couldn't agree more.
    • Ockniel, on 05/27/2008, -18/+4I digg dupes, ya dig?
    • Masterteedy, on 05/27/2008, -28/+4Two of the stories you linked don't exist. /prepareforbury
      • Wootstapler, on 05/27/2008, -1/+13I hope you realize all stories in upcoming don't last forever.
    • MusicMagi, on 05/27/2008, -28/+8You seriously have no life, do you?
    • worthone, on 05/27/2008, -20/+3I saw this on Reddit, as well.
    • saucedmike, on 05/27/2008, -20/+9And I would not have seen this story if MrBabyMan had not submitted it.
      Quit complaining about it
      • sevenslashfour, on 05/27/2008, -3/+8That's not the point, smarty.
        • Jonjonr6, on 05/27/2008, -5/+2That IS the point. I read THIS submission. I come to Digg to read articles I find curious or interesting. If the article I see was submitted by someone like MrBabyMan, I don't really care, as long I read what I wanted to read. And I couldn't care less if it was submitted 5 times by 5 different people in 5 days. I read the one I see.
          I guess what I'm saying is everyone else should get a life. Put down the mouse and go outside for 10 minutes.
      • ahawks, on 05/27/2008, -1/+12It kinda is the point. I enjoyed reading this, I'm glad it hit front page. I don't really give a ***** if MrBabyMan submitted it or someone else.

        If there's an issue with certain users posts getting more diggs than others and causing an unfair system, the system needs to be looked at, not the user. On the assumption that this article is front page material, even top 10 material (as it is right now), why weren't the original posts dugg?

        WHY do MrBabyMan's posts get front paged so much? More friends? Does he "shout" his stuff more? Is the digg algorithm unfair?
        • fantasyflamz, on 05/27/2008, -1/+6I think that's what he's saying... the system is flawed if mrbabyman keeps submitting others' posts and getting instant front pages.
    • sevenslashfour, on 05/27/2008, -3/+36Yuuup. Welcome to digg :
    • FUR10N, on 05/27/2008, -34/+119actually I've noticed that MrBabyMan has duplicated several articles, what a fagot.
    • Vagari, on 05/27/2008, -6/+25Well except this is a link to the actual article, while the _single_, original post was to a poorly written blog piece.
    • anonymousbosch1, on 05/27/2008, -4/+41i don't know much about digg so here's my question... do you get paid if your submission makes it to the front or something? why do so many people care who submits a story? just curious is all...
      • pantamonkey, on 05/27/2008, -4/+21To be the first (or at least the one thought to be first) for finding something interesting. The possibility of ending up on diggnation. General web credit.
      • EarlOfLade, on 05/27/2008, -2/+27It's the internet version of who has the biggest penis, see "e-penis"


      • mille716, on 05/27/2008, -2/+16Look, its not just about getting credit for a good story. Digg users have become lazy and allowed the site to largely frongpage only submissions from a select few. This gaming of Digg is perceived by many to have taken away its democracy and diversity of submissions.
      • skyshock1, on 05/28/2008, -0/+7eGo stroking.
    • sap959, on 05/27/2008, -15/+3get over it!
    • wrongonce, on 05/27/2008, -5/+15Would love to see this digg thing become a social network site.
      • screamokid, on 05/27/2008, -1/+5we need more fat chicks taking pica to make themselves look thin
    • Zippo, on 05/27/2008, -6/+5Some serious butthurt going on here.
      • thanakar, on 05/27/2008, -2/+8If you want a social networking site, go to Facebook or MySpace. I'd much rather Digg stay as a news collection site.
    • Kotoyumu, on 05/27/2008, -7/+6buried for being a dupe, read this yesterday on someone else digg
    • darthdusty, on 05/27/2008, -16/+64I'm sick of Mr. Baby Man. This is a much better article of mine with only 2 diggs! I've been here longer ***** baby man...***** you.

      http://digg.com/odd_stuff/Raining_cats_and_dogs_Ho ...
    • dbdudley, on 05/27/2008, -5/+90Am I the only one that just reads the stories and doesn't obsessively check who submitted them?
      • recruz, on 05/27/2008, -2/+11i have no clue who submits them
      • MattBot5000, on 05/27/2008, -1/+22i too have no clue who submits them until i read about it in the comments. i then care a little that its a dupe, but it doesnt really matter that much to me
      • mockupscaledown, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6Finding an article on the Internet isn't some honorable achievement. Besides, every day you get to wake up and know you're not one of "those" people. That's pretty rewarding.
      • sassafras1232, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4I don't care who submitted it, but what I do care about is if good articles by people who are not "big names" are not making the front page. That is exactly what the original articles that this is a dup of not making the front page implies.
    • lis880, on 05/27/2008, -14/+10Honestly who gives a *****? get a life man.
    • apollo168, on 05/27/2008, -8/+32I enjoyed this article. I am glad it got to the front page, or I would have not seen it. That being said, I don't care if MrBabyMan duped it because now I got to read it and I otherwise would not have found these obscure other submissions of the same story. I am not a power user, I do appreciate a good article, and I absolutely hate when I find something that was on the front page a while ago getting duped and put back on the front page. This was new and original content for the front page, so although it was a dupe submission I rule in favor or MrBabyMan for at least getting the article to me.
      • recruz, on 05/28/2008, -0/+0we gotta be careful tho- or MrBabyMan will be in the next Weezer video ...
    • ieatsmurfs, on 05/27/2008, -5/+29Yet none of those ever made it to the frontpage. So because MrBabyMan submitted it thousands of more people were able to enjoy it (like me), because many people like me don't browse the upcoming section.
      • Phyltre, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2Congratulations, that's the point. And the problem. So long as we don't browse the upcoming section, a small number of people will control the front page. If you believe in democracy, that's a bad thing. If you prefer a vaguely representative republic--well, I suppose it's right up your alley.
    • cl2yp71c, on 05/27/2008, -8/+13He should've just left...
    • oyflaaaayvin, on 05/27/2008, -7/+14Just find comfort that MrBabyMan's only reason for existence is having the most approved stories on a website, which is a shallow existence in itself. Join the movement to bury everything he submits just for the hell of it.
      • max420, on 05/27/2008, -2/+7Hah, I have joined the movement. From this day forth... EVERY submission I see by Mr Babyman is being burried.
      • Aerandir, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3And still, people are digging up his stories to front page.
        Don't get me wrong, I hate MrBabyman's method, but unless you have as many e-friends like he does, you dont have a chance.
        • max420, on 05/31/2008, -0/+2But if we all just band together, we can take him on.
    • JohnnyRad, on 05/27/2008, -2/+5whooooooooooooooooooooo cares?
      • ruinedbydesign, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3I was thinking the same thing. And then I found 5 dollars.
    • sfacets, on 05/27/2008, -1/+11There is a reason for the dupe filter. MrBabyMan's behaviour makes potentially active members less keen to share stories, and creates less varied content.
    • dickardwa, on 05/27/2008, -1/+14Saying you are "happy" this got to the front page presupposes that it was one of the best articles on Digg. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. Frankly, I think it speaks volumes about the quality of the article that it got no more than 8 Diggs when previously submitted. On the fourth try -- carrying the weight and machinations of BabyMan -- it made the Front Page.

      There's a system set up to find the best posts and Mr. BabyMan is willfully violating that system when he answers "yes" to the "Is This Original?" question. This hurts Digg. It bumps an otherwise worthy article that doesn't carry that sweet BabyMan cache and it discourages people who submit content just to see it jacked by some elite "Power Digger."

      Let's put it this way: If Mr. BabyMan really thinks this is a great story worthy of Front Page status he is free to click Digg and get his pool of friends to vote for it. Resubmitting it as "his" is egomania, pure and simple.
      • MrBabyMan, on 05/28/2008, -8/+11We've been through this, dickardwa (http://digg.com/people/Pirate_s_Booty_Confessions_ ... ). I DID click digg on the original submission (http://digg.com/travel_places/Sex_and_scandal_in_t ... ) AND shared it with my pool of friends. It didn't help. What then? Let great content die? I happened to think it was worthy of the front page, and as of this writing over 4000 people seem to agree with me. Frankly, I don't care about the ego issues (as is evinced by the fact I did everything I could to get the original submission promoted), I just want to see good content on the front page. I didn't create the system that allowed the original submission (and 3-4 dupes) go unnoticed. All I can do with what little cachet I have is get more exposure to the articles I feel the Digg community should see. My submission could have just as easily gone unnoticed as the others. Fortunately for this article, the Digg community decided to promote it.
        • mille716, on 05/28/2008, -1/+2I've been knocking you for awhile, MrBabyMan, but it is respectable you've tried to get others to digg the original submitter. I guess I still don't agree that blasting out digg request to friends to ever FP an article is the best interest for digg, I can't really fault you for it. Respect.
        • dickardwa, on 05/28/2008, -1/+5Can you at least give the "Digg Community" the honor of dropping the "who, me?" bit. You were profiled on NPR two days ago about this very same topic then express astonishment that people are irritated.

          http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story ...

          You're courting this notoriety at this point dude.
        • Phyltre, on 05/28/2008, -0/+5Perhaps you did not create the system, but as a user of it, you are not blameless. Of course, neither am I (nor probably everyone who will read this.) We ALL have to participate in the Upcoming section for Digg to be worthwhile. Otherwise, it's trash--subject to a few power users such as yourself. I value what you do, but I abhor the system that allows you to do it. We need to do away with crutches like the shout system and make one person count for one vote.
    • jtorkbob, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2I think it's the word 'booty'
    • mkling176, on 05/28/2008, -9/+2***** YOU ALL
      DIGG HAS DESCENDED INTO A BUNCH OF PEOPLE WHINING ABOUT MR BABYMAN
      IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT LEAVE
      AT THIS RATE I WILL SOON
      CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL
      THAT IS ALL
      • dickardwa, on 05/28/2008, -1/+1No one forced you to read the 49th subcomment of a comment *****. If you're not interested, go do something else.
      • techie4life, on 05/28/2008, -1/+1Watch the door on the way out dumbass.
      • mkling176, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Haha kind of kidding. But seriously... do we need to have the same discussion everytime a story from mrbabyman gets popular? Whatever happened to talking about the content?
    • ParanoidArtemus, on 05/28/2008, -1/+5I say we just bury anything MrBabyMan touches.
    • emyo, on 05/28/2008, -2/+0He does have a better title though... really those other titles suck.
    • dickardwa, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3Actually the title isn't his either.. The title of the third submission was "Magic Kingdom: Confessions of an Ex-Captain Jack Sparrow." Geez dude, give me a break.

  • dickardwa, on 05/27/2008, -35/+188Ooops sorry...here was the last one.

    http://digg.com/arts_culture/Ex_Jack_Sparrow_spill ...

    • SeaweedWater, on 05/27/2008, -36/+23I could care less if it's stolen or he makes front page every time or whatever, he's constantly bringing good content to Digg, and it makes my work day go by super fast.
      • bluntphallus, on 05/27/2008, -2/+10* couldn't care less.

        Argh, hell. Why do SO many people make this mistake? It's almost as bad as "I will loose a bet", "Your an idiot", "Irregardless of that", etc.

        Ah, don't mind me. I feel vindictive. /kicks cat
        • shortyjacobs, on 05/27/2008, -4/+7Maybe he really could care less. Maybe he knows he has the capacity to care less, and he'd like to inform us of this fact. Maybe you're just getting a little too worked up about simple phrases on the internet.

          Irregardless, your an idiot, so you loose.

          Although I like the fact you kicked a cat.
        • NoStoppingUs, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2wasnt that lame ***** supposed to quit digg?
        • wrongonce, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1That was just drama.
          The inverse of lulz.
    • dickardwa, on 05/27/2008, -11/+64
      (1) This story is hardly "good content." It's okay but not all that great. If you follow the upcoming stories there are many stories out there as good as this one. That's subjective, of course, but leads to point two.
      (2) He didn't "bring" this content to Digg. Judged on its own merit -- when it was submitted by a nobody -- it got three Diggs. Why? Because it's not really much better than everything else out there.

      More importantly, this isn't really in the spirit of Digg. He should start his own site or at least be honest about the process. The click through asks if you are submitting a duplicate story with the admonishment that you are being "honest." He's not. Plain and simple.
      • Nougat, on 05/27/2008, -3/+25I'm convinced. On to the burying!
      • sovietninja, on 05/27/2008, -2/+14Well, what he could have done is seen that, oh look someone else submitted his before me, I should digg it and then "share" it with all my friend's so that they can digg it up too. Especially since I'm part of this "community" and I should support it.

        But no, that makes too much sense.
        • WindReaver, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4And not very many Cents.
        • MrBabyMan, on 05/27/2008, -13/+20If you look at the original submission of this article, you'll see I did in fact digg it while it was active. I also did share the original submission. None of this helped, unfortunately. And unlike dickwarda I did feel it was good content and worthy of the front page. What's unfortunate is the attitude that once submitted unsuccessfully, a fantastic article should disappear into obscurity to never be seen again by the Digg community. Why should the content suffer because of the circumstances of the submission? I'm glad this article is getting a second chance at exposure. I know I'm not the only one that feels this way. Even Digg's founder has revived plenty of great articles previously unsuccessfully submitted by other users (http://www.techipedia.com/2007/diggs-kevin-rose/ ), and he should know more about the "spirit of Digg" than anyone.
        • Nougat, on 05/27/2008, -1/+8So the only difference between the original submission and yours is that yours was submitted by you, and the original was not. Even your digging and sharing the original did not boost it to front page. So - the community didn't see that it was worth it to put it on the front page. Does the article gain some greater intrinsic value because it's got your name on it? I have to think that you think so, else you wouldn't have reposted it.
        • sovietninja, on 05/27/2008, -0/+8Looks like MrBabyMan is suggesting the Digg community itself is broken. Perhaps we do need these "power" Diggers in order for the system to look like it works.

          However, from personal experience, looking at upcoming articles has been filled with so much LAMENESS and SPAM, I also find it hard for myself to find good articles and still have a life. Most of the time i just look at the top ten in upcoming, and of those I may only like 3-5 which perhaps perpetuates the problem of fantastic articles disappearing into obscurity.

          Perhaps Digg is just too big to be as effective or interactive on a personal level as it once was.
        • MrBabyMan, on 05/27/2008, -16/+10Nougat, it's not about intrinsic value. The real problem is exposure. The original submitter, hobbit360, could not gather enough exposure for this great article, even with me digging it and sharing it. I have commented often on tips to garner exposure to articles (chief of importance is to use the friends system--friends *really do* matter on digg). Most people complaining that their submissions do not get the exposure they feel they deserve most likely don't have the infrastructure of mutual friends to support them. This is CRUCIAL.
        • fantasyflamz, on 05/27/2008, -0/+7For a social network where we get to decide what's good and not, it seems like the power users have all the control and everyone else has no chance of making the front page, unless one of them picks it up.
        • wrongonce, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4So, what we're saying is:
          Most people don't use all the tools and tricks to make their submissions popular, so those stories get lost to obscurity because they only get diggs from people who find them interesting.
          But if a power user re-post the story it'll go to the front page because they all religiously digg each others' posts, regardless of content.
          But the reason it is so hard to make something popular is that the power users have inflated the number of diggs required to make something hit front page, artificially.

          I really don't think this was the point of the whole thing -- setting up a site for people to either spam or a very few power users to decide what is "popular-worthy" content.
        • meruru, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4Digg is too big for it to really work without power users. There are some 800-1000 pages of upcoming stories at any given time. I could submit the best article in the world and it would receive 1 digg because I'm a nobody. With that many stories at any given time it's damn near impossible for a nobody user to get to the front page without massive spamming or some other shady method
        • AnOMNOMymous, on 05/28/2008, -5/+1The important thing with this system is that people like MrBabyMan bring useful or interesting content. Thank goodness MrBabyMan isn't an Obama or Ron Paul supporter. MyBabyMan has good taste in articles.
        • SeaweedWater, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1At the end of the day, he has the 'friends' to shout to or whatever he does, and that technique works. He has a reputation for good content, either for finding it or seeing that someone submitted it first, but didnt have the know how to get it front paged.

          Take FOD, I've seen lots of hilarious videos on there that were submitted to digg by users that did not know how to use the shout system or things like that. These are now dead videos.

          Getting angry with him after reading the article, video or imagethat he submitted is just childish & dumb. I don't even know how he can stay digging when he gets trashed on quality *****...

          I'm mad now..youse guys are too cynical for me..im going to thesixtyone.com forever..
    • skyroket, on 05/27/2008, -3/+5MrBabyMan posted in the comments of that one. I think we should all read it and think twice about hating him.
  • fowleryo, on 05/27/2008, -10/+328the end felt very "1984"
    • PoonGnarfler, on 05/27/2008, -1/+51"He loved Jack Sparrow"
    • tyywebb, on 05/27/2008, -1/+25"He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark moustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother."
    • rblancarte, on 05/27/2008, -0/+9You know, as someone who has worked service industry, this is IMHO par for the course. And not just theme parks. I have worked in a couple of major hotel chains, management in these places always have the major league nazi types. It cost me my job too.
      To be fair though - they have a product they want to sell, and the biggest part of that product is the service. In the case of Disney, they want to make sure their characters are BIG TIME up to their standard. I can get the Nazi-esque attention to detail.
      That being said, IT SUCKS, because IMHO, that level of attention to detail really does more to hurt the product than what the employees do themselves. Have to watch over your shoulder all the time is one of the most downer aspects of that type of job, and trust me, when you dread going to work, it makes doing that job all the worse.
      • Wolf3235, on 05/27/2008, -7/+0Wall of text crits me for 5000 dmg.
    • Supermodified, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4Haha, I was just thinking the same thing.

      1984 is awesome.
  • LLamaStar, on 05/27/2008, -15/+8god damn this was just on the front page a few days ago.
    • Gimpishi, on 05/27/2008, -0/+8Apparently, so where you, but the people who dugg this apparently were not here a few days, or didn't see this. Understand?
      • Wartz, on 05/27/2008, -1/+11MrBabyMan does this constantly. He gets an old article that was frontpaged in the past and reposts it, often from a new source (blog, whatever) what is paying him to submit.
        • chevyorange, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Right, we're just piecing this together. He used and RSS feed in this case to get around the "dupe" factor.

          Weak.
    • nkfallout, on 05/28/2008, -1/+1well digg mine then

      http://digg.com/politics/NEW_GI_BILL_TO_GIVE_TROOP ...
  • sexybobo, on 05/27/2008, -1/+55Reminds me a lot of when i worked at an amusement park. Like if you talk to the media for anything you are fired (had some one witness a house fire off property he talked to the reporter a manager saw him on tv and he lost his job) We also had a 24 point system till you get fired but they only used it as an excuse to fire people i had 124 point with out getting fired because they liked me.
    • fantasyflamz, on 05/27/2008, -3/+3I worked at a tech kids camp last summer and they were very strict about exposure too. Like we couldn't go out and get rowdy during our free time if we were wearing something with the camp logo or name on it. We couldn't go out and legally buy wine or anything with dinner even if we were 21, which is bs b/c if you're of age, and you're not being unruly the there should be nothing wrong with it.
      • Hillyard, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2It's bad PR
        • fantasyflamz, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2what, to legally drink one glass of wine with dinner if you're at least 21?
      • redslash, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3Seriously, dude, how old are you? It's spelled "because". "bs b/c" is almost totally illegible.
      • lisaawesome, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Unfortunately, it seems like many large companies goes overboard trying to protect their reputation. I worked at a large retail chain store where taking your company smock or vest out of the store could get you fired. If it got dirty they told you to throw it away and get a new one rather than risk you taking it out of the store to launder it! I know before I go to do something that could be potentially shameful to where I work I always put on hideous looking smocks.
  • igothugeguns, on 05/27/2008, -14/+3I think the server just eh-sploded. ***** thing sucks?
    • Tyrghast, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1at 203 diggs the link still works for me.
    • hellathatguy, on 05/27/2008, -2/+8We'll do it live!

      ***** thing... SUCKS!
  • friendlyman, on 05/27/2008, -9/+246It's all fun and games until guys with guns lock down the place asking for a key combination. "Never break character"
    • EatChex89, on 05/27/2008, -0/+14.. and sich
    • allothersnsused, on 05/27/2008, -1/+12Back in Jack Sparrows days, they had to deal with pirates and robbers and siiiiiiiiich
    • eatsleeptrumpet, on 05/27/2008, -1/+14"I don't know nothin' about no door code!"
  • phydeaux70, on 05/27/2008, -6/+113There are rules to follow in all parts of corporate America. But the one that troubles me the most is that they can tell you what to do on your own time. I understand if there are rules to follow while you are at work, but once you are no longer being paid by them, you should be able to do what you would like to do. This infringes on your personal time and I don't think that a job should be able to that.

    But....if he broke rules, regardless of whether or not he was told about them at the time, so be it.
    • DangerCollie, on 05/27/2008, -2/+55Everybody's all for freedom of expression during off work hours until it's one of your employees. Imagine one of Disney's Cinderella characters with her own costume working a strip club after hours. Personally, I'd go see both shows, but Disney would have a fit. Their brand is their life and when people are diminishing their brand it could cost them millions. That's the theory anyway.

      In practice companies like Disney end up dissolving into a million mindless rules that even the people enforcing them don't fully understand. I'm sure the rules started out with the best intentions but have since been twisted far out of their original meaning. There isn't any communication between staff level employees and upper management. The controlling force are the legions of low-level and middle managers trying to justify their petty existence. So they seize on any minor offense. Disney is not alone but being hyper-vigilant about their image, they'll be one of the worst.
      • norcalscan, on 05/27/2008, -0/+8I'm imagining....
      • Hillyard, on 05/27/2008, -1/+1DangerCollie in the second paragraph it sounds more like you are talking about America then just one company.
    • Kaltenstadler, on 05/27/2008, -3/+2I'm pretty sure he and others know what they are getting into when they get jobs like that. They are not forced to work these jobs. Almost all jobs to some level have things that needs to stay in the work environment and should be shared out side it.
    • EarlOfLade, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4From what I could see in the article, everything Disney did would have been illegal in most of Europe.
      Not sure how this works in Disney, Paris. France has some reals strict laws regarding what a company can or can not do to their employees. Any French here that can fill in the blanks?
    • recruz, on 05/27/2008, -3/+0true- but you have to imagine- this is Disney- if all the employees just blabbered everything about how everything works, it does kind of lose the magic of being the 'magic kingdom'. there is something to be said about keeping things hidden and secret. as a person who is trying to apply to work at the disney, you have to expect to keep mum about things
    • joegibes, on 05/27/2008, -2/+1Of course, if he signed a contract (which I believed he did) in which he agreed to their rules, well, that's that.
    • Gemfinder, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1It seems to me as if at least some of the Disney rules are arbitrary, "gotcha"-type rules. What I don't get is the "Don't Date Disney" rule; if they have to be so personally secretive, wouldn't it make sense to "keep it in the family"? Unless they're trying to avoid "abusive partner" situations.
      • jpop, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2Well, It sounds like the standard no fraternization rules with a twist. The twist being that if you are seen in costume it hurts the image more than usual (ie. Jack Sparrow swapping spit with Cinderella and it getting on youtube and the like) vs. Joe Schmoe and Annie kissing.
      • thespiff, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2I think they just don't want kids to see, for example, aladdin holding hands with sleeping beauty. It would totally screw with the mythology.
    • misterjangles, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2I doubt a Disney hot dog vendor or janitor has to worry quite so much about his personal time. But when you're an actor playing a high-profile character, you're practically a spokesperson for the company. If you go to work for them, Disney is pretty upfront about the rules so he shouldn't have been too surprised when he got canned.
  • jglaser, on 05/27/2008, -9/+36Wow, that was really interesting
  • ustice, on 05/27/2008, -13/+2Worst Pirate in the World song... Freakin' Awesome!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7OEdcD0clI
  • ericdano, on 05/27/2008, -22/+284I'd last like a day as Jack Sparrow..............before I got caught boning some Princess during a break...........
    • tnoy, on 05/27/2008, -1/+155I dont think they'd let you dress your hand up like a princess, so you're safe.
      • onionlayer, on 05/27/2008, -0/+53I love how every sexual reference comment on Digg immediately has a reply about how Diggers can't get ass.
      • ResonantFish, on 05/27/2008, -1/+11First time I ever laughed out loud at Digg.
    • GatorAJ, on 05/27/2008, -2/+8Oh snap!
    • aelias, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4Sounds like a Chuck P storyline.
    • StickWST, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Yeah definitely, Chuck P is my homeboy.
  • MadOgre, on 05/27/2008, -67/+111Pirates > Ninjas.
    • Tyorant, on 05/27/2008, -28/+10Ninja digg-down!
      *Woosh!*
    • aj3289, on 05/27/2008, -20/+27false.
    • ZenMojo, on 05/27/2008, -10/+3I think you hit "Shift + ." instead of "Shift + .", but it's cool, since they're so close together.
      • Appleologist, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3dumbass you didn't even get it right…
  • wefarrell, on 05/27/2008, -9/+3mirror anyone?
  • Samohtneas, on 05/27/2008, -10/+70"Look mommy, it's Jack Sparrow!"
    "No *****"

    I laughed heartily

    The end line was very nice though. I enjoyed reading this story!
  • demigod, on 05/27/2008, -35/+141wow mr spam himself ripping stories already posted and getting them, again, to the front page. Whod a thunk it? buried, dup. leave already or start posting original stories thief.
    • Zephik, on 05/28/2008, -0/+4I used to like reading comments on Digg. I still do, but its becoming increasingly annoying that every other comment is about mrbabyman.

      I don't really give a ***** what mrbabyman does. I come here to read interesting articles and read interesting comments on the interesting articles.

      mrbabyman is not leaving (well he might eventually, idk, idc). its not your right to tell him to leave. Its not even that big of a deal! Just drop it, please. These comments about him are so useless and irritating. Sure, everyone can gang up on him and persuade him to leave, but another mrbabyman will just rise again eventually.

      So drop these stupid comments and submit something that takes more than half a brain cell to write.

      Sorry about the rant, just annoyed I guess. ...lol I guess that makes me somewhat of a hypocrite.
  • wannapiece, on 05/27/2008, -1/+24mirror:
    http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:B-avrI3snmoJ: ...
  • Klowner, on 05/27/2008, -1/+427At least he got an Ariel out of it
    • Afrochu, on 05/27/2008, -10/+6OMFGARIEL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • DemDude, on 05/27/2008, -1/+11mmmm, Redheads.

      Seriously, redheads rule! Ginger Kids still suck, though.
  • mizuhri, on 05/27/2008, -9/+298I didn't know Disney was rated Arrrr!

    Did it work? No.. damn it.
  • kevlarbaboon, on 05/27/2008, -12/+92To echo previous sentiments, this a dupe in a long list of dupes. Could MrBabyMan really have missed all of those?
    • endlessoul, on 05/27/2008, -1/+33No. That's the point. He submits whether or not there is a duplicate already in the system or not.

      He purposely creates dupes.
      • Maver1c, on 05/27/2008, -7/+23and I don't give a ***** bc if it wasn't for him I wouldnt have seen it
        • thaglove10, on 05/27/2008, -3/+2Agreed, I don't usually feel like digging into the last year's worth of stories. And some people don't read EVERY story on here, so if it's a dupe JUST DON'T READ IT AGAIN. Obviously a lot of people hadn't seen it because it has like 3000 diggs.
        • kevlarbaboon, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3That's a good point. I'm probably just being a baby but the fact that what MrBabyMan finds interesting automatically gets special treatment no matter if it is a dupe or not is kind of unsettling. I mean, I don't know; it just doesn't seem right.

          And glove, I feel for you more when you say "last year's worth of stories", but this is a very recent dupe.
    • DemDude, on 05/27/2008, -4/+3I kno I've missed all the previous stories, and I really liked the read. Thanks, MrBabyMan!
  • plizard, on 05/27/2008, -9/+26thats about right.
    the only reason most people continue to work for disney is the crazy amount of pussy that goes through there that is easily obtainable.
    lol now i miss being a cp
  • thehouse, on 05/27/2008, -14/+7What a ***** loser. I don't think I could even stand a minute of that kind of micro-management. But, the drunk women did make me laugh.
    • DangerCollie, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3You can get the drunk women and cons and festivals if that's what you're after. Anywhere costumes are the norm for some reason women just go nuts. I'll never figure it out. Try being a bartender at a theme restaurant, you'll be knee deep in women. Even stage shows or community theater, though not so much as when there's alcohol involved.
    • Elliuotatar, on 05/27/2008, -1/+9You call him a loser because he was willing to put up with their ***** for so long in order to do something he loved? You're the loser, loser.
  • ImmediateAction, on 05/27/2008, -26/+86BabyMan digging a deeper hole...
  • Stomper622, on 05/27/2008, -18/+11Am I the only one that thinks this guy deserved to be fired? He just couldn't resist putting pictures up on Myspace?

    I though only 15 year old girls used mypsace.
    • MusicMagi, on 05/27/2008, -4/+415 yo girls are not the only people that use myspace
      • secrity, on 05/27/2008, -0/+10I guess that some 12, 13, and 14 year old girls also use myspace.
        • grhomepage, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3and guys trying to get with 12,13, 14 year old girls.
    • Crucible1001, on 05/27/2008, -2/+2He did seem to be asking for it.
    • Elliuotatar, on 05/27/2008, -2/+3Oh yes, he so deserved to be fired for sharing with people what he did for work and what he loved.

      Don't be an idiot. Disney is stupid if they're firing people who love to work there, and who take the role seriously enough to play it in a way which is entertaining. In the end, after they've fired all the Jacks who break the rules, the only ones they'll be left with are the bland generic ones who don't draw crowds. Hell, if they had their way, Johnny Depp would have played the character straight, without the swagger, or the drinking, and they wouldn't even be hiring these people because folks would have hated the movie for being BORING.

      This is why the last time I was in Florida on vacation and went to Orlando I went to Seaworld and chose to skip Disney, even though I'd never been there. Because Disney is crap these days. All their movies, with few exceptions, are watered down by the corporate types until they're a bland mush. Why would I want to visit their park to get that kind of super sanitized experience?
  • shadowman99, on 05/27/2008, -3/+11I read page 1 and the server dies. Anybody got a mirror of page 2?
  • xtrench, on 05/27/2008, -6/+36Jesus, is it disneyland or gestapo?
    • MusicMagi, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4Walt Disney is said to have ties with the nazis
      • joegibes, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1Hitler was a fan of Disney, and even sketched some (nice) versions of classic characters. The ties only go one way -- Disney was not involved.
      • blorguehad, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1actually. he may not have ties to hitler, but stalin... yeah. he bought the secrets of preserving bodies from ussr in the 50's. he now preserves his body in the underlair of disneyland in florida, where one day executives will revive him using stem cells to reanimate his brain matter, therefore making him a zombie, but an influential puppet zombie nonetheless. then he will raise his campaign and blood hungryness. they will feed him little cuban boys and give micheal the remains.
        • MusicMagi, on 06/12/2008, -0/+0if you write a book i will read it
    • joegibes, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2It's disneyland.
  • DaveTehWave, on 05/27/2008, -23/+38I wish we could block stories submitted by certain digg users.
    • EtherGnat, on 05/27/2008, -14/+19I wish we could block comments *complaining* about certain users. I've got this radical idea where I only click on stories that interest me. Unfortunately I still have to read through the dozens of comments complaining about the story. Bury it if you must and move on, stop wasting the rest of our time.
    • Balloondoggies, on 05/27/2008, -2/+6or EhterGnat, you can could block the users that you are complaining about that you think complain to much.
    • recruz, on 05/27/2008, -3/+1i thought you can ... not that i've tried, so i actually don't know
  • CabesMojo, on 05/27/2008, -2/+49Haha, chicks just dig pirates. Seriously playing the character just leave the door open to so many sexual innuendos it almost can't be helped. It doesn't even have to be Jack Sparrow. Being a pirate in Vegas lead to some of the craziest night I've ever had. This article is hilarious though.
    • sovietninja, on 05/27/2008, -1/+5Don't lie people, you'll call a pirate tramp too, if those guys handing out those lil cards on the strip offered "Pirate's Booty".
    • CabesMojo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3Always down for hot pirate on pirate action, haha.
    • grhomepage, on 05/27/2008, -0/+18Oh I get it now. Mystery from "the pick up artist" is cool because he dresses like a pirate.

      I don't understand women.
      • CabesMojo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+8They say they want commitment, conversation, love, and chocolate. What they really want is for you to go YAR!! A lot while you pillage their booty and make them walk the plank.
        • PrincessSalami, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6Dont forget showing them your Hook!
        • Junpei, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Your penis is shaped like a hook? I don't think that's normal...
    • kerguelen72, on 05/27/2008, -0/+1At the TI?
  • Ninjao, on 05/27/2008, -1/+26One of the most interesting blog entries i've read in awhile
  • KyleRayner, on 05/27/2008, -26/+94I thought babyman was threatening to leave? Leave already!
  • 24imac, on 05/27/2008, -33/+89An ex-Jack Sparrow spills on life at the Magic Kingdom



    Photograph by Mark Hanauer
    Like everyone, I grew up going to Disneyland. Even as an adult I loved it there and went at least once a month. I was an annual pass holder, though not like the freaky ones you may have heard of. I’d see the park’s characters and think, “It’d be so cool to work here.” But there was never a character I really wanted to play. I had a role on the television show Veronica Mars and was working at Coco’s when a friend told me Disneyland was casting a Jack Sparrow character. I had already played Jack as a hobby at San Diego’s Comic-Con and the Renaissance Faire.
    Thirty-seven actors showed up that day, four of us in costume. Only eight were chosen for the next round. We were told we would be auditioning the next day at Disneyland. When I showed up, there were now 23 guys—15 that had been pulled from in-house auditions. There was this assistant who would come in and pull people one by one—“Steve, can you come with me?” Then you’d never see Steve again. Finally I was sitting all alone in the room. After 15 minutes they pulled me into another room where two other guys were sitting. They told us we were going to be Disneyland’s first Jack Sparrows.

    Disney warned us we were going to have a lot of horny women coming on to us. They were also worried about girls. I heard Disneyland had an Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She was very flirtatious, and they finally pulled her because men found her too sexually arousing and were acting out.

    The male character they had pulled was Tarzan. He moved around the tree house dressed in just a butt flap. Disney had hired these good-looking, muscular guys—even airbrushing abs on—and apparently there was excessive pinching of Tarzan’s ass by the park’s female visitors. Knowing all this, and also knowing what women were like around Jack at the Renaissance Faire, I told the other guys, “Don’t complain if girls flirt with you too much. If you do, they’ll pull the character from the park.”

    Disney wanted us to tone Jack down, so they put us through an acting class to discover reasons why Jack walks and talks the way he does. Obviously he is based on Keith Richards, who’s always messed up, which is why they came up with the class. “Don’t be flirtatious,” they told us. “See women as trouble.” And they said as far as alcohol goes, don’t even mention drinking. But the Pirates of the Caribbean song is all about drinking, and they’re drinking all along the ride. So I eventually broke that rule, because it would have taken me out of character. When parents took pictures, I’d say, “Everyone say ‘rum,’ ” and the parents loved it. The kids would just ask, “What’s rum?”

    When training started, I found out the park allowed mustaches but had a no-facial-hair policy for all employees. I had the Jack goatee, and I threw a small fit. No facial hair for this character? Why would you want to glue on a mustache in summer? You can see the glue! I took a day to consider whether I wanted the job. I walked the park, and suddenly I saw the most amazing Belle I’d ever seen. Beautiful. She was coming out of the characters’ entrance near Star Tours and bantering with Push the Talking Trash Can. An entire crowd was being entertained, and that just sold me. I thought, “I want to work here.”

    I had a MySpace page as Jack Sparrow, and I asked if I could keep that. They said no. Two days later an assistant found a blog I’d written about auditioning. They said, “You need to take that blog down in two hours or you’ve lost your job.” They said, “You cannot give out information about auditioning for Jack Sparrow.” I also had to sign documents that stated if I was in the park and out of costume, I could not tell people that I played Jack Sparrow. I was told that the thing for employees to say was, “I am friends with Jack Sparrow.” I was worried I couldn’t do the character at Renaissance Faires anymore. But as long as I didn’t make money, I was told, I could put on my own costume outside the park.

    It took over an hour to get Disney’s suit on. In the dressing room there is one long makeup table and a wall with a long mirror. I think over 100 character actors were there. You had face characters like Jack, Aladdin, the Mad Hatter, and you had fuzzies, the characters in costumes. The face characters and the fuzzies dressed apart. There was a ranking system in the dressing room: If you were a princess, you pretty much got that long mirror wall. For some reason the Jacks always ended up in the back corner.

    As Jack, I had four hour-long sets a day. We worked in New Orleans Square. I would find a place I liked, and the hosts would set up my line. A host is someone who helps run the line of people that forms to meet you. They’re basically your security. When we started, Disney thought they wouldn’t give us a host. They thought we’d mingle. I laughed at that. I said, “I don’t mean to be the guy that knows it all, but from Renaissance Faires I can guarantee you this character will have the park’s longest line.” Disney had invented a Jack Sparrow autograph the three of us learned, and immediately the line for autographs was gigantic. The Jacks ultimately got two hosts.

    We were the Johnny Depps and the Jack Sparrows of Disneyland. People called you either “Johnny” or “Jack.” They wanted to talk with you or ask for your autograph. It took me a while to get my rhythm down. I could figure out five or six different things to say to kids, so that by the time the sixth kid was gone, the next group in line hadn’t heard what I’d said to the first kid.

    You never knew when the casting department was going to come into the park and watch you—they came out of nowhere—or something might end up on YouTube. If a character does something a parent believes is wrong, that’s the video that ends up on YouTube. I was on YouTube after I sat in a lady’s stroller. It’s something I often did, and parents would laugh and take pictures. But management came to me and said, “It looks like you’re sitting down on the job, and we can’t have that.”

    There is a big thing in the park about not being visually linked to another character. You’re told to stay in your area. But Pluto was a friend of mine, and one day he came over to see me. We posed for photos, and the next day he told me it was on YouTube. Eventually he got fired.

    I'll be honest: I didn’t follow all the Disney rules. I played Jack like he was real, and if a woman flirted, I would flirt back. Women loved it. But there were also women who would have too many beers at California Adventure or smuggle in alcohol you could smell on their breath, women who were clearly sloshed.

    Here’s a napkin someone wrote on for me: “I will give you a blow job on your break, so sexy! Kim—714-XXX-XXXX.” I would also get offers from women in my ear: “Anything you want, just find me.” I had a girl who had turned 18 the day before. She was with a high school group, and she wrote down her room number at the Downtown Disney hotel. I had a lady hump my leg one day in the park.

    Annual pass holders—eventually you would become the favorite of certain ones. Most characters were weirded out by the pass holders. Weird was a mother having her kids ditch school so she could come see me. Or coming to every set I did and walking the line over and over again just to talk to me. But I didn’t mind them. I built up about eight solid regulars that came for me. My biggest fans were a mother-daughter team that would talk a little, walk to the end of the line, and then come around again. I could see them twice a week, every week, every set.

    We were told Disney prefers that the characters don’t date, and the characters even have a slogan: “Don’t Date Disney,” or DDD. Dating at Disneyland is difficult. But I already had a thing for the Ariels when I arrived. They have red hair, and I love red hair. After I met my girlfriend, an Ariel, and we started dating, we would need to talk to each other backstage under our coats because employees would try to snap photos with their phones—Ariel and Jack together.

    One problem about playing a character at Disneyland is that you are the Hollywood of the park. For the most part, ride operators and the people making the food love the characters, and they treat them like royalty. But the leads—the park’s assistant managers—every character had problems with them. The smallest rule broken, they call upper management and complain.

    For the most part, if you’re not in trouble, you don’t see management. It wasn’t until the end that I started seeing them a lot. I had a lady who wrote on a comment card that her son had seen me and said, “Look, it’s Jack Sparrow!,” and Jack Sparrow had turned around and said, “No *****.” My manager said, “I don’t think you would say this, but where’d they get the idea?” I said if they’re in a stroller I say, “Nice ship.” She told me to say “Nice boat” from now on.

    What people typically get suspended or fired for is a hugely flawed point system. If you’re part-time and you build up 24 points, you can be fired. Points come from things like clocking in late—even only a minute late. That’s one-and-a-half points on your record. You call in sick the day of work? Three points.

    I was driving from L.A. and traffic in the morning was awful, so I started coming in at six because I was so worried about being late. I’d arrive early, get breakfast, and then forget to clock in on time. I never heard anything about it until seven months later, on a day when I actually was late and they told me I had 23 points. At that time I was working five days a week. Now every day I had to worry about hitting that clock because I was up for being fired if I missed it.

    We were also not allowed to post pictures of ourselves in costume on MySpace. But I had a picture of Ariel and me kissing backstage, a photo I kept on my private page. I was warned by friends to take it down, and I did, but not before someone made a copy of it and turned it in to Disney. Management pulled me in and talked to me about it.

    Then I got a good amount of money back on my tax return, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation was holding a fund-raiser where, for $1,500, you could see the premiere of the third Pirates film at the park. My girlfriend and I bought tickets. People who had worked earlier premieres said attendees came in costume. I had my own pirate costume, and I thought, “Let’s go in costume.” I was playing with danger, but my contract said I could dress up if I wasn’t being paid. They closed the park early that night and showed the movie over the river by the ride on a huge screen. It was amazing.

    A week goes by. I think nothing of it. Then I see another Sparrow is scheduled the same day I’m on. I didn’t know what was happening until a manager came and said, “We got to take you down and talk to you.” At the premiere some foreign press outfit had done an interview with me. They asked my name. I didn’t give my real name, Pinto; I gave my stage name, Hillock. But someone behind the camera also filmed the interview, and they put it on YouTube. Management said, “We saw the video. You went to the premiere, you gave your real name, and we’re letting you go on that.” I said I wasn’t working that night, but they told me that I still represented the company.

    They had a manager walk me off the property. She told me she felt bad. She took me past security and then asked for my Disney ID. I asked when I could come back. She said in five years I could reapply.

    You’d hear that it sucks to work for Disney. They’re Nazis in Mickey hats. But I’d thought, “How bad could it be?” By the time I got fired, half of me was relieved. I was getting sick of constantly being barked at about what to do. It was a month before I went back to the park. I missed it. At first I thought it would be a Walk of Shame, but everyone was very nice.

    Not long after that I went back to stand in my girlfriend’s Ariel line on Valentine’s Day and give her flowers. I was wearing a beanie and a sweatshirt, but the parents in line were asking me, “Are you Jack Sparrow? You’re him, aren’t you?” I looked to the line’s host, who was a friend of mine. He said, “You don’t work here anymore—do what you want.” But I did what I was trained to do. I said, “Jack Sparrow and I are just friends.”



    • wrongonce, on 05/27/2008, -1/+17I think we should be doing this as first comment on every story / link / blog like this.
      • t3rmv3locity, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Agreed.
      • thedarkhaze, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2It would be nice, but the end result is that if the original site doesn't go down the copied text gets buried hugely which isn't so nice for the person copying the text...
    • finista, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2Nice ship, Sherlock.
    • misterjangles, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Here's the video that got him fired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AdFA6WWJ7E
      • dred1367, on 05/29/2008, -0/+1DAMN...you foiled my two week streak of avoiding rick-rolls!!!
  • Fistdantilus, on 05/27/2008, -8/+350Disney does a *ton* of internal policing. A few years ago when I was down there for a emergency medicine conference, the story was going around that a Goofy recently had a heart attack on the street. Instead of pulling off his costume and working him right there, the medics were forced to *wait* until they got him underground and away from the visitors. Can't wreck the illusion, you know?

    And that's how Goofy died that day.
    • visje, on 05/27/2008, -1/+101Holy *****.. that is ***** up.
      note to self: never go work for disney
    • rodon, on 05/27/2008, -6/+78...and remember, nobody dies at Disneyland. In fact, they make sure that any medical staff pronounces somebody's death once they are taken off Disneyland property.
      • ThornHarvestar, on 05/27/2008, -0/+36I've heard that before, but it's not true:
        http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/declare.asp

        A cousin of mine was killed at Disneyland before I was born (she was an employee). Her story is here:
        http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/amersing.asp
        • sexybobo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+21At worlds of fun were i worked for a couple of summers it was policy to #1 not let marked ambulances into the park in the 3 years i worked there it only came up twice were some one was injured badly enough to require an ambulance to go to there aid each time an employee was fired for letting them into the park (some one always volunteered to get fired because their $5.15 an hour job is not worth some on dying over) #2 no matter what the person is actually suffering from we are supposed to say heat exhaustion and make sure the people know were to get free water from.
          I don't know what their policy was on death but i am sure no one would have followed it.
        • CiXeL, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3whoa dude. that was your cousin? i remember all about that.
          it always gave me the creeps going on that ride after hearing all about that.
    • NCSUspoon, on 05/27/2008, -1/+46I think that story just killed my childhood
    • zerodaysoon, on 05/27/2008, -0/+18WTF!!!! *head explodes*
    • kurtisnelson, on 05/27/2008, -2/+22Yeah, you just completely made that up. And it is a friend of Goofy, not Goofy. If there were a health emergency, they would definitely drag him off stage first to avoid scarring many kids.
      • Fistdantilus, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2It was a discussion we had with local doctors at an EMS conference in the early 90's. Take that for what you will.
    • Ouze, on 05/27/2008, -2/+31(needs citation)
    • diadelsuerte, on 05/27/2008, -7/+4disney has a history of doing this, not just for cast members but also park guests

      In order to avoid saying that guests "died on the property", even if the person did drop dead at the park, they usually wait until they get off disney property to "declare them" - except for the few poor souls that totally went splat inside the park.

      I believe I read something at snopes that confirmed this as well.
      • Bahimiron, on 05/27/2008, -1/+4I love it when people cite snopes as their backup when snopes says the exact opposite.

        Of course, it is super hard for you to go to snopes and double check this ***** story, so why would you bother?

        What I'm saying here is that snopes says you're a ***** liar.

        http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/declare.asp
    • robwolf100, on 05/27/2008, -1/+8I am a former cast member and during Christmas Eve of last year, we had a guest die on propriety while playing a video game. The mangers took all the Cast members they could find and we created a human shield circling the injured guest until the paramedics arrived. When they got there we were told to tighten the circle so no one could see them work. He was taken out under covers of a blanket with his family being escorted out with him. When Guests Asked what was going on we were told to say it was just a precautions and to keep enjoying your day.
      • Bahimiron, on 05/27/2008, -4/+2It's like you people don't realize how easy it is for us to confirm or deny your ***** stories.

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incidents_at_Disney_p ...
        • robwolf100, on 05/27/2008, -1/+3 I worked at the ESPN Zone In Down Town Disney. We follow all the same rules as the parks.

          And don't bet your life on a wikipedia article.
        • sassafras1232, on 05/28/2008, -1/+2"This list is not intended to be a comprehensive list of every such event"

          Don't call ***** on someone unless you really can. That list has maybe 100 "events" total. Do you really think that places with tens of millions of people coming to them every year would only have ~100 incidents involving people dying at them?
        • Bahimiron, on 05/28/2008, -2/+2Yes, it's not a comprehensive list of every stubbed toe and broken arm.

          Robwolf, I'm less counting on the Wiki than I am on the fact that there's no news of anyone dying at an ESPN Zone in December of 07 or 06.
    • grason1129, on 05/28/2008, -1/+1I knew some life guards from Blizzard Beach(Orlando,FL) this is disney's water park. They told us how people were not allowed to be declared dead on disney property. They would drag their dead bodies out side the parking lot and let the doctor declare them dead.
  • BobbyMC, on 07/21/2008, -3/+7I always imagine Disney character relations as corresponding directly to the Watchmen affect.
  • timsline, on 05/27/2008, -22/+2So, he broke the rules because he sucks at being an actor? Seriously, Disney gave him a a role to play, and guidelines for what was appropriate and what wasn't, and he broke the rules because he couldn't stay in the character he was payed to perform as. He wasn't acting anymore, he was just being an ass. Good riddens to trash like that.
    • mrgreen4242, on 05/27/2008, -0/+11I think the message here was that he wasn't upset about being fired, he said he knew he was walking a fine line, and was OK with it. He had fun at his job, and was probably quite good at it, and when it ended it didn't sound like he was complaining about Disney's policies or what happened to him.
    • Jones82, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2Tim's just upset because Jack Sparrow boned his wife
  • dissurmom, on 05/27/2008, -1/+28Well, I guess I know what I'm dressing up for Halloween as this year... Hope I get my leg humped.
    • MrPingu, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3Hell, i might just dress up as right now....
  • skrowl, on 05/27/2008, -11/+17Dupe. Please bury this story.
  • toastgodsupreme, on 05/27/2008, -18/+33Is there a way to block a user *cough* MBM *cough* so that you never have to see stories submitted by them?

    Tired of him and his army of followers who digg up his stories simply because of who he is and no other reason.
    • wrongonce, on 05/27/2008, -1/+14I'm starting to notice that a large percentage of the front page is either mbm or mutual friends of his. Maybe they could start their own blog or something and leave the digg gaming/spamming alone?
    • Jones82, on 05/28/2008, -2/+2But it was a good story. Clearly most people agree because it's being dugg high even for a MrBabyMan story
      • toastgodsupreme, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2No, his army is what got it to the front page (side thought... would it be easier to get articles to the front page if not for people like MBM making the algorithm need higher standards?).

        Once it hit the front page, the general population, those not under the control of MBM has dugg it for the story it is.

        And I think that's where people are having a problem with things. The fact that any story he submits, regardless of quality, has a VERY likely chance of making the front page. That's not what Digg is about.

        Digg is TOO social now. MBM is proof of that.
  • ric2084, on 05/27/2008, -2/+54I used to work at Disneyland in entertainment. The point system is amazingly Draconian like he says - one minute late and you've got points that last for a year. My wife just had our first child so I had to call in sick occasionally because I was accumulating too many points for taking care of my son. Eventually I asked to be taken off the schedule so that I wouldn't get fired. The idea was to go back a couple of months later.

    A couple of months later I got a letter from Disney. It went something like "We'd like to improve our exit interview process. Please call this number and let us know how you thought the experience went." Huh? I called my supervisor and asked, "Did I get fired? How is that, I haven't worked there in months?" She hemmed and hawed and said that I was 'Laid off' with no further explanation. I told her that I never received a warning, call or letter about this. She said that she didn't know anything about it and that I was free to apply in the future. Outstanding.

    Still love Disney, and take my kids there. But working there is a different experience to be sure...

    • mustafya, on 05/27/2008, -0/+7You are lucky they didn't just put down you quit. At least this way you were eligible for unemployment. Everywhere I've ever worked if you "ask to be taken off the schedule" that is interpreted as "I quit." Even if you ask for extended leave they don't have to let you keep your job. In fact again nowhere I've ever worked has allowed a low-level worker to go on an indefinite leave of absences and return after months of abscence. At some point they have to assume that you are not going to return to work.
      • chicagodj, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Please look up Family and Medical Leave Act.
    • securitymonkey, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2Were you on HMLA? They can't fire you during your HMLA period and having a child is a qualifying event.
      • mustafya, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1First it is FMLA
        "The leave guaranteed by the act is unpaid, and is available to those working for employers with 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius. In addition, an employee must have worked for the company at least 12 months and 1,250 hours in those 12 months"
        I don't know if he met those conditions or not. But many people seem to forget there are eligibility requirements for FMLA leave. Having a child is a qualifying even. He didn't "have" a child though. He was dealing with the normal illnesses children get. So FMLA does not apply. FMLA would have applied if he spend 8 weeks taking care of his bed ridden son. Not if he took 8 weeks off work while his kid was sick every once in a while.

        Finally you have to file specific forms for FMLA. Not just ask to be taken off the schedule and then not showing up any more. The former is called taking FMLA leave, the latter is called quitting the job.
    • joeydoo, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Why the hell take your kids there after that? You voluntarily give them your money after they ***** you over when you had a new baby.. that's crazy my friend. What they did to you and the other guy in the article, put me off going... and that stuff didn't even happen to me!
  • petebot, on 05/27/2008, -6/+95Can we get more comments here about the story being a dupe? Thanks!
  • sonicomega, on 05/27/2008, -8/+45I would have so much sex with the children's mothers. I know it sounds wrong but that's what I would be doing. Oh the sex I would have!
    • hollywoodphony, on 05/27/2008, -2/+15You honestly believe anyone here thinks you could pull that off? Set realistic goals: like maybe some kid's grandfather?
      • Hillyard, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2No from the story it sounds like he could pull it off...

        and damn it was funny
    • ZenMojo, on 05/27/2008, -0/+6I could never have that much power. I would simply abuse it and lose my soul in a tide of neglected middle-aged poontang and budding freshly-legal punani.
  • Jericon, on 05/27/2008, -1/+374Found the picture he was talking about that was on his myspace, if anyone is interested

    http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t55/OoahLady/Ja ...
    • bearcat8543, on 05/27/2008, -1/+119this is why i love digg. great detective work.
    • NCSUspoon, on 05/27/2008, -2/+90*starts slow clap*
    • tyywebb, on 05/27/2008, -2/+30Nice!
    • nobodynoes, on 05/27/2008, -3/+27lucky guy
    • hexydes, on 05/27/2008, -0/+123OMG JACK SPARROW DOESN'T KNOW ARIEL! THIS NEVER HAPPENED! NOW I'M NEVER GOING TO DISNEYLAND
      • m1zl3d, on 05/27/2008, -1/+26Jack is always at sea and Ariel lives in the sea. It could happen!

        She's pretty hott too. Lucky him! ;)
    • 7footjesus, on 05/27/2008, -2/+4That's fantastic
    • phrenzy, on 05/27/2008, -0/+28things like this makes up for any of the bad things about digg.
    • iperalta, on 05/27/2008, -1/+51how do you even find this?
      • Intamin, on 05/28/2008, -1/+2Like this:

        http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=jack+sparr ...
      • Jones82, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1There are ways. Believe me, there are ways.
      • Jericon, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1I was pretty sure I searched for "jack sparrow" ariel kiss on google... but doing that search now doesn't come up with the result. I did it at work, so I don't have the search history in front of me. :(

        [Edit] It was a link through the myspace that is linked below to photobucket. It appears that the original search has either been removed or the fact that the myspace is now private removed the item from Google.
    • KevinRWright, on 05/27/2008, -1/+35SHELL BIKINI FTW!!!
    • joecool88, on 05/27/2008, -8/+3Hey you should submit this to Digg. What with all the MBM brouhaha, you might be able to ride on his coattails.

      Just a thought....
    • danefett, on 05/27/2008, -0/+4hot
    • Slayerdude51982, on 05/27/2008, -0/+3Wish there was more of this stuff around, I think it's just great to see crap like this getting out.
    • jordan314, on 05/27/2008, -0/+46this is why I kept scrolling through the comments.
      • Jones82, on 05/28/2008, -0/+3I do it because I have nothing better to do
    • pandorazboxx, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2wow, where was this? good job
    • uriman, on 05/27/2008, -0/+7wasn't a striptease video of Snow White doing a lapdance in in the backstage area of Disney? I remember seeing it, but could never find it again.
    • roastedbagel, on 05/27/2008, -11/+6Submitted here and credited you Jericon
      http://digg.com/people/Jack_Sparrow_kissing_Ariel_ ...
    • kuchino, on 05/27/2008, -6/+8her myspace http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=us ...
    • MaddieCakes, on 05/27/2008, -0/+7Omg... that's hot. Just wait until someone makes a crossover fanfic of Little Mermaid and Pirates of the Caribbean. It'll work. It'll work!
    • sassafras1232, on 05/28/2008, -0/+2So much for her career at Disneyland...
    • MUX667, on 05/28/2008, -1/+1jewish nose..
    • Stketcher, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Straight out of the new Kingdom Hearts movie
  • mnemy, on 05/27/2008, -24/+44$1500 a ticket for a premier?? Obsessed much?
    • sgregory416, on 05/27/2008, -1/+14its a charity and its for fun, how many times are you going to see a disney film premiering at the very park? none!
    • Henwood, on 05/27/2008, -2/+7Especially considering how bad the third film was.
    • repick3, on 05/27/2008, -0/+9It was only like $500 an hour...
    • LogicBomB, on 05/27/2008, -0/+2It's for a charity. People with money to spend and big hearts will drop that kind of cash for a good cause, regardless of what they are actually paying for. A movie premier, an autograph, a dinner, etc...
    • Zipko, on 05/28/2008, -0/+1Tax write off and you get to go to a movie premier in the park. Sounds like a good deal.
  • HaSatan, on 05/27/2008, -2/+13, “Are you Jack Sparrow? You’re him, aren’t you?” I looked to the line’s host, who was a friend of mine. He said, “You don’t work here anymore—do what you want.” But I did what I was trained to do. I said, “Jack Sparrow and I are just friends.”

    Thats like the ending of "1984".

  • leif777, on 05/27/2008, -7/+3great story... but if you read between the lines I think the guy is a little nuts
  • ayeroxor, on 05/27/2008, -2/+8WHERE THE HELL are the pictures of Disney's live Ariels?!?!?! Come on, people. This went popular 18 hours ago and not a single one. Not even a Belle?