TW: confession of family violence from underage park visitors to a character witnessed during the last night of Fan Fest 2026
This was my second Fan Fest attended, and while the experience has always been a top treat, I couldn't shake a particular episode. I read before that park actors find themselves confronted with similar sensitive situations.
I witnessed a rather concerning exchange between two young sisters (one was around 8-9, the other a very early teen) and a character at the Scooby Doo experience. It must be incredibly challenging to be in the position of a character receiving traumatic information from children who finally find safety in a familiar figure and I hope they are supported in addressing this.
On Saturday evening (05/16/26), those two sisters were telling Velma the real villain was their stepdad who would, I quote, "hold their younger brother upside down when upset". They kept saying how they wish he would just go away and the older sister said while looking down, "yeah, he is mentally and emotionally...unstable". It took the actress aback for a second before she answered in character, "jinkies...is your brother's brain OK?"
This exchange really stuck with me. I hope they get the right support, but I'm not sure what chain of actions would be helpful to children in such situations when they finally get a moment to unload to a familiar figure. 💔💔💔 Any recommendations other than emailing guest relations?