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Thomas Tolbert can’t be so Santa-ish at Disney World

The Santa Claus impersonator was told to change even though he wasn't in costume

With his big belly plus his bleached-white hair, mustache and beard, it's easy to confuse Thomas Tolbert with Santa Claus.

While the 52-year-old man from Georgia isn't actually from the North Pole, he is an impersonator and strikes an amazing resemblance to Saint Nick. He looks so much like the man who slides down chimneys that he once took third place at national Santa convention. It's that resemblance that recently got him in trouble at Disney World in Florida.

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On a Father's Day trip with his relatives, theme-park officials pulled him aside and told him to tone it down and stop signing autographs, posing for photos and dressing like Santa.

"He told me, you cannot be Santa and you can't wear that shirt in the park," Tolbert said to NBC News. He was wearing a shirt decorated with Santa Claus heads, but also had khaki pants and sneakers. But that was enough to go against the park's dress policy. "He asked if I had any clothes in my hotel room that were less 'Santa-ish' and took me into a shop and pulled a 3X T-shirt from the rack to see if it would fit me."

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That shirt didn't fit Tolbert, but they eventually found a shirt that did and they also told him to tell people he wasn't who they thought he was and that he was on vacation and didn't want to be disturbed.

"I told them Santa would never tell people that," he said.

Disney confirmed they asked Tolbert to stop interacting as Santa. "It was disruptive to our operations and confusing to our other guests, particularly children who asked to take photos with him," the company said.

This isn't the first time Disney World had an issue with people looking like fictional characters. In June, Disney officials made 15-year-old April Spielman and her boyfriend change clothes when they showed up in Tinker Bell and Peter Pan costumes. They said the couple looked too convincing and it may confuse kids.

As For Tolbert, he was given complementary park passes, but doesn't know if he'll ever return.

He told Fox News, "The only thing Santa can ever give is his time and his heart and if that means that I can't go back to Disney, who I love and adore, then that's a sacrifice I am willing to do."