AMA: Former Walt Disney World Character Performer

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
201

Is the chinstrap so secure that it’s impossible for it to come off under any circumstances?
The chinstrap and other headgear are adjustable. You can make it so tight that it cuts off circulation to your brain and will never come off (slight exaggeration) or so loose that the costume head flops around whenever the human head moves.

I did like the way he grabbed the headpiece and shoved his head right back into it. Like a soldier diving on a grenade.
Aye, good reaction time. I also liked how all the nearby characters crowded around to block the line of sight between guests and the fallen performer. Really good way to handle the situation, in my opinion.

202

When transporting characters in the van, are they dressed in costume, or do you store the costumes and dress when you get to the hotel?

Do all the hotels have designated character dressing rooms like the parks?

I’ve always wondered how they transport costumes when characters make an appearance on Good Morning America or the Ellen show, etc.? It looks like the heads would require huge boxes.

If they fly, Disney probably wouldn’t want to mark “Caution, handle with care, Mickey mouses head” haha.

203

When transporting characters in the van, are they dressed in costume, or do you store the costumes and dress when you get to the hotel?
The performers would be dressed in their basics. The costumes would all be in big black bags. If you’re an efficient packer, you can fit your head, body fur, footwear, accessories, extra basics, and skull caps all in one black bag that’s small enough to be carried over the shoulder.

Do all the hotels have designated character dressing rooms like the parks?
Presumably, but I never worked a shift at a hotel, so I wouldn’t know. I do know that at more unusual venues (such as hospitals or convention centers), performers have to improvise with walk-in closets or empty rooms.

I’ve always wondered how they transport costumes when characters make an appearance on Good Morning America or the Ellen show, etc.? It looks like the heads would require huge boxes.
The heads are a lot more durable than they look. They’re made out of Kevlar, which is the same material used in bulletproof combat armor. A simple cardboard box would probably be sufficient, or perhaps a roadbox like the ones used by musicians and theater companies.

204

So if I shoot Mickey in the face, it wouldn’t kill him but merely anger him?

205

How tall are you?

206

So if I shoot Mickey in the face, it wouldn’t kill him but merely anger him?
Correct. In full seriousness, Kevlar is used for a lot of different things, and while character heads are pretty damn durable, I seriously doubt that they are bulletproof.

How tall are you?
5’ 10".

207

Hello!
Sincerest thanks for this thread; I am so grateful for your thoughtful responses!
I read with particular interest because my daughter was just offered a CP position for Spring, 2013, and she happens to be your height (5’10" Disney height, though in actuality is closer to 6’). You mentioned fit specifics re: Buzz; are there other fit requirements in your size range that are impacted by gender differences in body builds, etc? I smiled when I read that you had a female Tigger friend; was your friend only friends with Tigger, or did she have other friends/roles as well? Does my daughter’s height preclude her from anything other than fur? I hasten to add that she’s delighted to do fur, but she’s a dancer, and we are curious if there might be any opportunities for tall female dancers and/or postions to which she might aspire, were she to extend, etc. From what we’ve read, it sounds like most female parade dancers, etc. are far shorter than my daughter, but I figured that it couldn’t hurt to ask!
A couple more questions, if I may: Do you have strong feelings about any of the three housing complexes? Is any of them more conducive to being carless and/or doing coursework outside of work? Any pointers re: roommate selection? Is it better to room with comparable roles, or? We’ve read that approx. 1/3 of the CP’s are termed or leave before completion of theie program. Do you think that guesstimate is accurate? Did you yourself lose roommates/apartmentmates along the way?
Heartfelt gratitude for your time and thoughtfulness in responding!

208

Coming this fall: No Ordinary Day at Disneyland.

209

Best zombie thread ever!!!

210

Hey there, Brockdancer! I’m glad that you’ve found this thread useful, and I will endeavor to help out as best I can. Bear in mind that it’s been over a year since this thread started, and my memories have only gotten hazier since then. Nevertheless…

You mentioned fit specifics re: Buzz; are there other fit requirements in your size range that are impacted by gender differences in body builds, etc?
Of the characters that I was scheduled to befriend, Buzz was the only one that required a costume fitting beforehand for approval/disapproval. However, I seem to recall that it is possible to have oneself voluntarily disapproved if a costume is causing physical pain. Playing Tigger is like wearing a coat, and I really can’t imagine why it would be difficult or uncomfortable. Eeyore is a bit different, as most of the weight hangs from the shoulders, which might be painful for those with previously existing shoulder problems.

I smiled when I read that you had a female Tigger friend; was your friend only friends with Tigger, or did she have other friends/roles as well? Does my daughter’s height preclude her from anything other than fur?
In addition to Tigger, this lady critter also performed in several parades. I specifically recall her mentioning that she was a stiltwalker for the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It parade. Such “nameless” roles are somewhat less stringent on height requirements, and I have no reason to believe your daughter would be precluded from them. It might take a while to get trained in something as specific as stiltwalking, but she can get there in time.

Do you have strong feelings about any of the three housing complexes?
I do not have strong feelings about housing complexes. This is true not only of my experience at WDW, but also back at school in Boston. I need a bed, a chair, a fridge, a computer with internet, and a place to plug in my guitar amp, and I’m a happy camper. I chose to live at Vista Way because it was the least expensive option, and having spend time in Chatham apartments, it was not immediately clear to me how they were “better”, nor why someone would voluntarily pay more to live there. Others disagreed with me, some quite strongly.

Is any of [the housing complexes] more conducive to being careless and/or doing coursework outside of work?
If by “being careless” you mean “becoming inebriated and fornicating with strangers”, then I believe Vista Way was the most conducive to carelessness. I, being a one-man wolf pack, never experienced such carelessness firsthand, but my cohorts who were more careless than I seemed to think that Vista Way was the first choice for those activities. I don’t know why, and it may have changed since then.

Any pointers re: roommate selection? Is it better to room with comparable roles, or?
Is it even possible to select roommates? If it is, then either that’s a new option, or somehow I completely missed it when I was doing housing stuff. If it is possible, I can’t think of any reason why it would be preferable to room with someone with a similar role. Given the option, I think I would prefer the opposite. Spending all day every day with character performers might get a little stale after a while, no? In my apartment, there were two lifeguards, one parking dude, two merchandise guys, and myself. I enjoyed the variety.

We’ve read that approx. 1/3 of the CP’s are termed or leave before completion of their program. Do you think that guesstimate is accurate? Did you yourself lose roommates/apartmentmates along the way?
I’d say that 1/3 is probably a bit on the high side, but certainly a lot of people end up leaving early for one reason or another. One of my apartment mates left early because he was deploying for Afghanistan the next year and wanted to spend Christmas with his family. One of my friend’s roommates left early because she didn’t like the work. Another friend was terminated for underage drinking.

211

I suspect Brockdancer means being without a car.

212

Wow, ten thousand apologies for that freudian misread on my part. Somehow my brain just refused to see “carless” as meaning “without car”.

It is very easy to be carless when one is doing the DCP, regardless of the housing complex one lives in. Buses to and from the parks run often enough that you’ll always be able to get to work on time. There is also a bus that makes stops at Walmart and a post office, which I found helpful on occasion. Vista Way is/was within walking distance of a Walgreens or CVS or something, which was nice for when I just needed a box of cereal or some such. Chatham is/was within walking distance of a string of small shops and restaurants, one of which was Panera.

As for things that do require a car, such as dance clubs (if that’s your daughter’s slice of cake), chances are she’ll make friends with someone who does have a car. Two of my five housemates had cars, and three of my female friends had cars.

213

Cryptic,

Do the face performers have a different dressing room than the fur characters? If so, do they have employees whose job is to do the princesses/prince make-up, hair, etc?

Is Fantasmic treated like any other shift?

214

Do the face performers have a different dressing room than the fur characters? If so, do they have employees whose job is to do the princesses/prince make-up, hair, etc?
I suppose this depends on what you mean by “dressing room”. If you mean the break room where performers relax between sets, then I’ve seen it both ways. Pooh’s Playground (fur) shares a break room with Alice’s Story Time (face) or whatever it’s called. Boat Dock at Animal Kingdom only has fur performers.

If by “dressing room” you mean “place where performers get ready at the beginning of the day”, here’s my understanding of it: all performers pick up costume pieces and accessories at the same place. Face performers have a room in which they apply their own makeup and fix their own wigs. Based on what I was told in training, face performers don’t have any leeway regarding, for example, what color lipstick they apply. Each face character has a sheet explaining exactly what makeup needs to be applied. I could be wrong though, as I never saw it for myself.

Is Fantasmic treated like any other shift?
I’m not sure, I never did it. Educated guess time: some of the roles are probably staffed by specially-trained union performers. Other than that, it’s probably just like any other parade or performance: you get trained, you clock in, you prepare, you perform, you break down, you clock out, you eat ravioli (optional).

215

Hey cryptic, thanks for answering my last question, it means a lot.

I have another quick one for you, which characters are usually in your height range when you’re 5’9 and 5’10?

216

Which characters are usually in your height range when you’re 5’9 and 5’10?

These posts might be helpful.

217

I found this on some thread a long time ago and saved it because the question comes up quite a bit:
Cryptic can probably attest to its accuracy.

less 5’ Duck height
5’-5’2 Mouse Height
5’2-5’4 Chipmunk height
5’6-5’8 (or so) Pluto height
5’4-5’7 Princess Height
5’9 - 6’0 (or so) Goofy Height"

" 4’6" - 4’7": Daisy, Donald
4’8" - 4’9": Daisy, Donald, Dopey, Jiminy, Mickey, Minnie
4’9" - 4’10": Daisy, Donald, Dopey, Jiminy, Mickey, Minnie, Pinocchio
4’10" - 5’0": Mickey, Minnie, Pinocchio, Brer Rabbit, Meeko, Piglet
5’0" - 5’2": Max, White Rabbit, Pooh, Robin Hood, Timon, Bashful, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Scrooge McDuck, Terk
5’1" - 5’2": All of the characters listed above in the 5’0" to 5’2" range, plus Chip, Dale, Suzy, Perla.
5’2" - 5’4": Doc, Gideon, Happy, King Louie, Suzy, Perla, Chip, Dale, Jessie, Bullseye, Penguin
5’5": Mr. Smee, Lagoona Gator, Ice Gator (not much for this height!!)
5’6" - 5’7": Friar Tuck, Mr. Smee, Pluto, Rafiki, Wendell, Buzz Lightyear, Flik, Lagoona Gator, Ice Gator
5’7" - 5’8": Rafiki, Eeyore, Pluto, Prince John, Wendell, Friar Tuck, Buzz Lightyear, Flik
5’8" - 5’9": Prince John, Brer Fox, Eeyore, Shaker, Tweedles, Liverlips, Dumbo
5’9" - 5’10": Liverlips, Tweedles, Shaker, Brer Fox, Geppetto, Dumbo
5’10" - 5’11": Geppetto, Sherriff of Nottingham, Foulfellow, King Lion, Tigger
5’11" - 6’0": Foulfellow, King Lion, Sheriff of Nottingham, Tigger
6’0" - 6’2": Baloo, Big Bad Wolf, Brer Bear, Captain Hook, Genie, Goofy, Launchpad
6’2" - 6’3": Baloo, Beast, Brer Bear, Goofy, Woody, Jafar, Launchpad
6’3" - 6’4": Beast, Jafar, Launchpad"

218

Hello Cryptic & Others!
I jotted you (Cryptic) a quick email, but I’m posting thanks here too, just to sure that you receive them…thanks so much!
Many thanks to all of you other folks too, for asking great questions and participating in the exchange.
My update is pretty gratifying to share: upon paying her deposit, my daughter received an email that said: “…We are thrilled that you have decided to join us in the CHARACTER PERFORMER-TIGGER role!”
And what mighty big shoes…er paws she will have to fill!
We have not come across anyone else yet who reports being offered a specific fur role from the get-go. Is that, in your experience, unusual?
My daughter is a dancer, but from what we gather, she’s too tall for most dance roles…perhaps that’s why?
Any other tall female performers out there? How 'bout others (in addition to you yourself, Cryptic!) who are/have been friends with Tigger?
We’d be delighted to hear your thoughts!
Gratitude and best wishes to all of you!

219

My co-workers’s daughter auditioned in Philly a little while back, got the early notification she was accepted to the College Program, and today she got the word (first via her college newspaper press release, then the phone call) that she got the MOUSE position, one of the two characters, I guess. Her goal in life was to be in the parade, now her goal is to be on 100 refrigerators. I think that would take maybe a week.

220

Cryptic,

I know you weren’t working at Disney in May when Hollywood Studios always does the Star Wars weekends, but do you think or know if they hire more people to fulfill all the roles?

Do they take character performers away from other popular meet and greets or parades to fulfill the needs of all the storm troopers, Imperial guards, etc?

Does Disney keep a few little people around to play a lot of the small roles like Ewoks, R2D2, and other tiny roles? Would those people have any other roles to play for the rest of year that aren’t Star Wars?

You had mentioned previously that there is always a back up performer ready in all the different height ranges. Do face characters have back ups waiting too? I always wondered what would happen if Prince Charming woke up with a big zit, would cost him a day or week of work?

I guess he could play fur until it cleared up?

I’ve heard a lot about character performers having bad attitudes about being under paid, over worked, etc. (just like everyone else) Did you encounter a lot of negativity from full-time performers?