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Being a Cast Member at Walt Disney World can be daunting, especially for those portraying Disney characters. The number of guidelines Disney character actors must adhere to can be overwhelming and challenging to remember.
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Disney, in an effort to protect its brand and characters, places great emphasis on how Mickey Mouse, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Mirabel, and other popular characters are portrayed around their theme parks.
Strict adherence to these rules and procedures protects the Disney cast members. It maintains the proper guest experience, ensuring that the magic we associate with parks like Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is real.
Related: Disney Cast Member Speaks Out Against Recent Guest Behavior
For this reason, firstly, you’ll most likely never see a Disney character actor, whether they be masked, like Kylo Ren at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, or unmasked, like any Disney Princess, break away from their role.
Credit: Disney
Although there probably are certain situations in which a character actor may be caught off guard, leading to a real-world reaction, it is highly suggested within the cast member community that breaking characters is a big no-no in Disney Parks.
Disney World is an Escape, and Disney Character Actors Make it Happen
We often discuss the ability of Disney theme parks, specifically Walt Disney World, to present a stand-alone experience for its guests. Disney, being master storytellers, is well known for creating immersive environments that engulf guests into whimsical, magical fun.
Disney character actors are a huge part of creating that magic. I can recall a trip back in 2017 when my youngest daughter was meeting Mickey Mouse for the first time at Town Square Theater in Magic Kingdom.
For whatever reason, the actor portraying Mickey was having an off day. Upon walking in, Mickey Mouse was interacting with his handler, and although we don’t know what was happening, the actor was visibly upset. That mood carried over into the meet-and-greet with my daughter, who, after the attraction, asked, “Why wasn’t Mickey Mouse happy to see us.”
After that experience, she hasn’t wanted to do a character meet-and-greet since, which is heartbreaking as she’s now almost a teenager and has outgrown the childlike love for characters like Tinkerbell, Tiana, and Mickey.
Credit: Disney
The responsibility of the Disney character actors to bring enormously adored animated favorites to life within the parks is a serious one, as it has a lasting impact on guests, especially children.
A Disturbing Trend
As we mentioned, Disney takes the representation of its intellectual properties exceptionally seriously. They are notoriously protective of their beloved characters, and for good reason; they’re the backbone of what makes their parks work.
Magic Kingdom only works if Cinderella is there. Batuu is just a highly decorated theme park land if Rey and Chewbacca aren’t running around, hiding for the First Order. Disney simply isn’t Disney without Mickey Mouse. The characters, portrayed by cast members, are what set Disney World apart from other theme parks. They’re the reason the story comes to life.
Related: Disney Notifies Cast Members, Family Members of Possible Explosion
Despite the honor of playing a character like Ariel from The Little Mermaid (1989) or one of the fab five, like Pluto, sometimes cast members can get a little out of hand. Most recently, this was noticeable as a TikTok account blew up overnight, posting backstage footage of Mickey Mouse twerking and other behind-the-scenes shenanigans.
Although this probably felt harmless to the poster, it could have been extremely damaging, and even traumatic, to certain guests who are too young and don’t understand that the characters aren’t real. Much like the idea of Santa Claus, why would someone want to kill that innocence?
Disney Characters Actors Protect the Magic at All Costs
Outside of a few bad apples, most cast members take their roles seriously, and they understand that their interactions with guests at Walt Disney World could make or break their vacation.
Credit Disney
They also understand that Disney incorporates many of their restrictions on physical appearance, weight, height, and other attributes in an attempt to make their character interactions as authentic as possible.
Most are well-equipped and tight-lipped about their daily performances because of the detrimental impact of breaking character or not following other rules for cast members playing Disney characters at the parks.
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In fact, they kind of have to be, as Disney does not allow character actors to divulge who they play to others. When asked, they can acknowledge that they are friends with Merida, Rapunzel, or Jack Sparrow, but they cannot let the cat out of the bag.
As it isn’t uncommon to see cast members come and go while you’re visiting parks like Disneyland or EPCOT, this not only ensures that children don’t see that “Joe from Oklahoma” is playing Flynn Rider but it also builds more in terms of storytelling as Joe will likely tell you that he’s close friends with Flynn.
No Donations Please
Another way that Disney protects the innocence of their massively popular characters is by regulating gifts they may receive from guests during parades, shows, and meet-and-greets.
Credit: Kristin Harmel/ Facebook
Although most Disney characters wandering around Adventureland or Storybook Circus have no issue with signing an autograph for you, sometimes you may want to leave something special for them to show your appreciation for their hard work.
Disney does limit what you can give them, especially when it comes to money. According to a recent Reddit post, when asked what they could give to Disney character actors by user u/Suspicious_Ad1663, one guests provided a detailed answer.
Question for former/current character actors
byu/Suspicious_Ad1663 indisneyparks
User u/DHSchaef noted that Cast Members can only accept certain items, but never donations of money, “Speaking as a general rule for cast in general, gifts under $50 of value are allowed to be kept. Any money, even a penny, has to be denied and if the guest insists you turn it over to leadership.”
Of course, others jokingly noted that they are unaware of any character actors at Disney World, only close friends to characters like Mickey Mouse. Adding that cast members are not able to disclose any information regarding “Disney friends” online or in person, another user helped to protect the integrity of character acting at Disney, keeping the magic alive.
