Did You Know that Santa Claus is a Disney Character?

By Linda Orlando

J. D. Worley, 60, has been mistaken for Santa Claus for years, something that has always made him very happy. Worley, who has a long white beard and mustache and looks quite a lot like jolly old St. Nick, made a visit recently to Disney World, where he smiled as youngsters and adults alike did double-takes at the sight of Santa walking around the park. But it wasn’t long before the wonderful world of Disney wiped the smile right off his face.

When a group of excited children approached Worley and asked if he was Santa Claus, he told them he was. Someone apparently complained that a man in a red shirt and blue jeans was pretending to be Santa Claus and managers asked him to stop. Walt Disney World gave Worley an ultimatum—he had to either stop dressing in red and green and acting like Santa Claus, or he’d be asked to leave the park.

Worley was puzzled by Disney’s reaction. "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. When children came up to him and asked if he was Santa Claus, Worley smiled and said he was, even though he readily admits to adults that he is not. "Christmas is supposed to be about kids," Worley said. "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?'"

Worley’s wife, Darlene, was shocked at the park’s response, saying they overreacted. "J.D. has been playing Santa for a long time," said 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."

But Worley’s years of experience didn’t count with Disney, who told him that the park’s official Santa Claus was the one and only Santa, and Worley would have to cease and desist. "They told me I either needed to alter my appearance or I needed to leave the park because I was impersonating Santa Claus," Worley said. "They told us that Santa was considered a Disney character."

Walt Disney World spokesman Jacob DiPietre said that Worley wasn’t banned from the park, and that park officials only asked him to stop impersonating Santa. ""We're very committed to protecting the magic of Santa Claus for all our guests, especially children," DiPietre said. "We asked him to stop presenting himself as Santa Claus and he agreed."

But park officials might just have tarnished the magic of Santa by the way they treated Worley, according to Darlene. "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," said Darlene, who feels that the incident took away some of the joyful spirit of Christmas this year.

Worley himself is doing his best to put the matter behind him. "I’m still angry with Disney, I’m still hurt," he said. "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."

Disney could have taken advantage of Worley’s visit to the park and turned it into a positive PR event. But instead, they decided to protect "the magic of Santa Claus" by kicking out a real-life Santa who was doing them no harm whatsoever. Who knew Disney owned the exclusive rights to Santa Claus? Someone should warn the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny that they aren’t welcome at Disney World.