AMA: Former Walt Disney World Character Performer

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
161

Hi there neugs and MissPennylane! These three posts contain answers to some of your questions, though I would be more than happy to elaborate further if you’d like.

As for height stuff, unusually tall and unusually short performers are especially sought after, so neugs’s towering frame may serve him well. I have heard the phrase “dead height” before, but from what I can recall, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t any characters at that height. It means that there won’t be a lot of variety in the characters that you can play. I was slightly too tall to play Pluto but also slightly too short to play Goofy, so I ended up being scheduled for a million scrillion billion shifts as Tigger and Eeyore and not much else.

162

ABC technicians the world over also use this sadly accurate appellation.

163

Cryptic,

Did you have any dancing experience? Kinda worried about this part haha, because I don’t have any experience in that…

164

I have done a college program before, Spring Advantage 2011, and am accepted for another one as an attendant for Fall Advantage 2012. I just recently completed an audition, I made it through the rounds and then was actually called out for face. They didn’t do any fittings (since it was a traveling audition) but they did take a few extra photos of me, 3 other girls, and 1 boy. So I have a few questions for you.

  1. The casting director seemed to have been writing a LOT on my paper, more so than the normal scribbling, and I was wondering what exactly are some of the things they write?
  2. I’ve heard you figure out your movement/animation scores after you are officially in entertainment. What exactly do these scores mean? I also heard that they signify you can be trained for certain parades, but that you can also do workshops to improve your scores and/or become parade trained.
165

Clicking on “posts” reveals…

This is why reading was invented :stuck_out_tongue:

The casting director seemed to have been writing a LOT on my paper, more so than the normal scribbling, and I was wondering what exactly are some of the things they write?
Your guess is as good as mine, friend. shrug

I’ve heard you figure out your movement/animation scores after you are officially in entertainment. What exactly do these scores mean? I also heard that they signify you can be trained for certain parades, but that you can also do workshops to improve your scores and/or become parade trained.
As far as I understand it, you’ve hit the nail on the head right there. Lower scores mean fewer shows for which you are qualified, and vice versa. When I was hired, the system was green-blue-yellow-red, with green being the lowest. According to Special K, it has since switched to a 1 through 5 system.

166

Thank you so much for all of the information you have posted. It has gotten me very very excited for my audition on Sunday.

I’ve been looking around, but haven’t seen much information on how tall you have to be to be a male face performer. I’ve seen that princess height is about 5’4"-5’7" but I haven’t seen any typical heights for princes. I’m about 5’8" so I wouldn’t be towering over any princesses, but I feel I could have a solid shot for newer male characters such as Aladdin or Eugene from Tangled.

Do you know how tall a male face would have to be?

I’ll be super stoked to get any kind of performance position so thank you for all of the work you’ve put into this thread.

167

Hi TheBaron! I didn’t know the answer to this off to the top of my head, so I asked Special K about it. This is how the conversation went:

Cryptic: Random question: would you happen to know what the height ranges are for some of the face princes?
Special K: I think it starts at 5’10" and goes up from there
Cryptic: Are there any male faces you can think of that would be around 5’8"?
Special K: Um… maybe Terence the male fairy. Technically Peter Pan is supposed to be 5’2"… but really most of them are around 5’7". Star Wars is a bit different though, there are some face roles there that require shorter men

I hope this helps!

168

Thanks for your response! It definitely helped!

We went to the audition and they very clearly stated that they were only looking for specific heights. I guess we weren’t tall enough b/c after the dance portion almost all the people cut (including me) were between 5’5" and 5’9."

Oh well! It was a fun experience and hopefully my girlfriend and I still get accepted as Ride Operators or something.

Thanks again for all of your help!

169

I’d like to know what the rehearsals are like for performers? Like parades, shows
etc.?

And you mentioned there was a scoring system based on your skills… Out of curiosity, what did you get?

Also, I’m pigeon-toed when I walk (meaning feet turned slightly inward)… However , It’s not a disability that limits anything
I do like movements, dancing etc. Would Disney take this into consideration? As in would it affect my chances?

170

I have a question… *UKCatGirl *might be able to help you out with this one.
Did you meet any international Cast Members (in Entertainment) whilst you were at Disney? When they spoke to the guests (if they had to at all), did they have to speak with an American accent?

I only ask because I’m thinking of signing up for the ICP for 2013, and was reeeeally hoping to get into Character Performing and even face characters. However, I’m British, and nearly all the characters are American. If you don’t know, don’t worry, just curious :slight_smile:

Fantastic thread by the way! By far the most valuable source on the Webernet. :slight_smile:

171

I’d like to know what the rehearsals are like for performers? Like parades, shows
etc.?
About halfway through my program, I was selected to be a Toy Soldier in the Christmas Parade. Before any rehearsals happened, there was an orientation session in which everyone in my unit was shown the parade route, the rehearsal space, and other stuff like that. Once rehearsals started, we would meet once a week for four hours. The first few sessions were just about learning the choreography and formations inside the parade building. From there we started training in partial costumes and marching around the building, and eventually we started doing full costume runs with music.

During the week before the show opened, the entire cast would do overnight rehearsals, as that was the only way we could practice the actual route without any guests seeing us. The first overnight was partial costume just to familiarize the performers and float drivers with the route, but then we had a few overnight runs with everything: Full costumes, music, floats, and some cast members lined up along the route to watch us.

The overnights were pretty brutal for one’s sleep cycles, but we all got through it okay. I remember my work schedule, which used military time, listed a rehearsal as ending at “29:00”. Only at Disney will you be expected to work 29-hour work days :stuck_out_tongue:

And you mentioned there was a scoring system based on your skills… Out of curiosity, what did you get?
I was a blue in movement and a yellow in animation, meaning that I was considered a stronger animator than a dancer. A very fair assessment, in my opinion. I’m not sure what that rating would correspond to in the current 1-5 system.

Also, I’m pigeon-toed when I walk (meaning feet turned slightly inward)… However , It’s not a disability that limits anything
I do like movements, dancing etc. Would Disney take this into consideration? As in would it affect my chances?
I’m honestly a bit mystified by the abundance of questions of the form “Hi, I am an example of some random corner case that no one ever thinks about. Will this help/hurt my chances?” If you rely on some perceived advantage and assume that it will get you in, you will probably perform poorly and not get selected. Conversely, if you assume that some perceived disadvantage is reason enough to not audition, then you won’t get in, period. I know it sounds corny, but just forget about all the special considerations and just give it all you’ve got. The worst case scenario is you have some fun and don’t get hired, end of story.

Did you meet any international Cast Members (in Entertainment) whilst you were at Disney? When they spoke to the guests (if they had to at all), did they have to speak with an American accent?
I did meet some international cast members in Entertainment. I specifically recall meeting a Pooh who was fresh-off-the-boat Chinese and barely spoke any English. As for face characters, I believe there may be some dialect training involved for those who are selected. I met an American performer who portrayed Alice (from Alice in Wonderland), a character that has a British accent. As far as I know, the first criterion for face characters is not their voice, it’s their face.

172

Here’s a question I just thought of today:

Since there’s only a handful of Disney parks and only one Disney World which is the major vacation destination for just about everyone, have you ever met or seen any celebrities visiting the park while you were in character?
You’d think all the major celebrities with kids would at some time bring them to Disney if not multiple times.

173

Was 29:00 hours 5 AM the next day?

174

I bet celebrity sightings are much more common at Disneyland.

175

Thank you so much for posting all of these answers! It has been so helpful! I just have a few questions…

What kind of characters can a girl who is 5’8" get? I know that the princesses are supposed to be 5’3-5’7, and others like the fairies and Wendy are supposed to be even shorter.

Also, with the signing autographs, if you are left handed, would you have to learn to write with your right hand?

176

Hey all, somehow I missed the most recent batch of questions. Sorry about that!

Have you ever met or seen any celebrities visiting the park while you were in character?
This post contains a (woefully brief) answer to your question.

**Was 29:00 hours 5 AM the next day? **
Nope, they would make us parade so fast that time would dilate, giving us an extra five hours in the day. This video explains how it’s possible. (Not really. 29:00 was 5 am the next day.)

What kind of characters can a girl who is 5’8" get?
If memory serves, both Pluto and Eeyore can be portrayed by 5’8" performers. Possibly Rafiki as well.

Also, with the signing autographs, if you are left handed, would you have to learn to write with your right hand?
That’s a damned good question! Oddly enough, I never encountered any left-handed character performers while I was down there, so I don’t have a definitive answer for you. I’ll ask Special K and see what she says. In the meantime, my guess is that it doesn’t matter which hand you sign with. Kids are too starstruck to pay attention, and the adults all know that there are performers inside the costumes. I do have a vague vague vague memory of one of my trainers telling a story about a lefty who learned to sign righty, and it seemed to have been an “above and beyond” sort of thing to do, but that may have been a dream or just blatant fabrication. shrug

177

Also, with the signing autographs, if you are left handed, would you have to learn to write with your right hand? (Part 2)
I conferred with Special K, and she reminded me that Captain Hook wears a hook on his left hand, and therefore must sign with his right. As for the other characters, it doesn’t matter which hand they sign with. Buzz Lightyear doesn’t sign at all; he just has a stamp.

178

Do you know any cool insider trivia (other than what you’ve already shared)?

What was the worst thing you saw while in costume?

Was there any interesting technology in the backstage areas?

Did you learn anything that would help a guest get more out of a visit?
This is a fantastic thread as others have noted.

179

Do you know any cool insider trivia (other than what you’ve already shared)?
On any given day during the hot season, it requires 14 character performers to fill all of the Tigger shifts: 3 shifts at Boat Dock (DAK), 3 shifts at the UK (Epcot), 3 shifts at Pooh’s Playground (MK), 4 shifts at Crystal Palace (MK), 1 shift at Magic Hat (HS). This doesn’t even include the various parade Tiggers or the spares. Spares are people who are on call for the entire day in case a performer calls out, doesn’t show up, requests early release, or gets hurt. If they’re not needed, they can help fold laundry or drive vans, though I often saw them sitting around reading. I think there’s typically one spare per height range per park per day, or something like that.

What was the worst thing you saw while in costume?
I saw a kid trip and smash his face right into the concrete. He started wailing and bleeding immediately and was quickly brought to a first aid station (or so I assume; I never saw him again). It was not a pretty sight, and I was standing right next to him when it happened. Probably not as exciting as you had hoped, but I really can’t think of anything awful that I witnessed. No one threw up in front of me, no one punched anybody, no one passed out, no one had seizures, no one whipped out their wiener, no one devoured helpless infants…

Was there any interesting technology in the backstage areas?
I was surprised to learn that managers use Segways to get around backstage. It’s very practical, as far as I can tell: they’re faster than normal walking speed, they’re small and maneuverable enough to be used in the tunnels, and they can be charged up overnight while plugged into a regular outlet. However, even with all these benefits, I really don’t understand how it can possibly be cost-effective. New Segways cost thousands of dollars, and even if you buy them in bulk, it’s still going to be a big chunk of change.

The barcode scanners are fun. All of the costume pieces (not skull caps or socks, but all the important stuff) have barcodes sewn into them. When you’re checking out your costume at the beginning of your shift, you simply bring everything over to a costume attendant and she’ll swipe your ID and the barcodes, then you’re good to go. At the end of the shift, you swipe the barcodes again to remove the item from your account, toss them into the appropriate hampers, and you’re done for the day.

Did you learn anything that would help a guest get more out of a visit?
Hidden Mickeys! There are secret images of the iconic Mickey Mouse head hidden all over the parks. In the waiting area for the Test Track ride at Epcot, there’s a desk with a bunch of car parts and papers on it (just a prop, not actually used for anything). On that desk is a cup with some pencils in it… and a Mickey Mouse Pez dispenser! I love easter eggs like that. Apparently there are guidebooks you can buy that will show you where to find all of the hidden Mickeys.

180

We were down there last week with my four year old and seven month old. I was amazed by how well run the place was. It’s interesting how easily I fell in to interacting with the characters as themselves, without thinking of the people inside the costumes, even of course knowing the real deal.

The face performers, I’m sure, have some dialect work. The Cinderellas (of which we saw many) all talked in a kind of lilting voice, and when we met Snow White she spoke in a pixie little girl voice that seemed a little offputting until I realized that’s just how she sounds in the movie. And as well practiced as I’m sure it all is, I laughed very much when Ariel told us the baby had a very pretty name for a human, or when Cinderella asked my older daughter if she’d also taken a pumpkin carriage ride to the park.

–Cliffy