Confessions of a Disney Princess

And Her Royal Tips on Visiting With Characters

Get ready. It’s confession time.

What secrets could I have to share about Disney? Well, I’ve been going to the parks all my life. Not a let’s-go-for-a-vacation thing.

More like a my-Dad-worked-there-for-three-decades-and-I-grew-up-going-to-the-parks thing. And then, I-worked-there-for-four-years-kind-of-thing. (I’ve visited Disney World, Disneyland and Disneyland Paris, too!)

So, I know a few things about Disney secrets. And this former princess (AKA Snow White) is going to spill the beans…and share some good advice for visitors in the process. Get ready for confessions of a Disney Princess.

There is an Underground World at the Magic Kingdom, and it Stinks.

Starting from the top, YES, there is a hidden world under the Magic Kingdom. It’s actually kind of sad how it was developed.

Florida is known for its swamps…there was swampland on the property Walt purchased, and he drained it as needed. Goodbye, wildlife. Hello, Mickey Mouse.

Then, to keep up the appearance of an “onstage” and “offstage,” he prepared an underground tunnel system that employees use to walk to their jobs. Maintenance crews and sanitation teams use it to keep unsightly and annoying things unseen.

Hence the smell. There are large garbage collection sites in the tunnels (officially named the Utilidors). And there’s a constant drip from pipes or who knows what trickling down the halls in little streams. Gross!

Epcot was also built with a tunnel system under Future World only. And Disneyland has mini utilidors just in Tomorrowland. But the last two parks in Florida don’t have tunnels, nor do the overseas parks in Paris, Hong Kong or Shanghai.

The Princess’s Guide: Know your Disney shortcuts to move around the parks more freely. Be sure to download the My Disney Experience app to always have a map at your fingertips. And be aware of parade times and routes.

The afternoon parade goes from Main Street to Adventureland at 3 p.m. The evening parade(s) goes from Adventureland to Main Street at 9 p.m. (and 11 p.m. during summer and holiday hours). Of course, check official times to be sure.

Face Characters Have to Go to Princess School

Characters come in two main varieties at the parks: face and fur. Face means your face is showing, and you talk to guests, and you have to go through multiple auditions to resemble the character somewhat. Fur means you wear a costume that covers your head…think Mickey Mouse.

To be a fur character, you simply need to audition, which involves some basic dance moves. That was kind of a surprise when I tried out. But they may have been exceptionally forgiving (or desperate) when I auditioned, and I made it.

I played about ten different fur characters over my tenure in the Entertainment department. I usually portrayed Chip or Dale, which was really enjoyable. They are mischievous and fun. Kids just love it when you try to wear their hat or pretend to try to steal a snack.

But getting the face character gig was also pretty awesome. First, I had to go to an audition with a couple of hundred people (not just girls, male roles like Aladdin or Peter Pan were also selected). Once I made that cut, there was a training class and a follow-up audition where I was in full costume and had to answer to speak like my character.

The Snow White audition process went great, and I played Snow for about three years off and on. However, I was selected for Ariel at another audition, and that….didn’t go so well! Although the wig looked much better than Snow’s, I thought. (One ding against me is I have brown eyes, not blue like Ariel’s.)

So, once I’d passed my first selection for Snow, I had to go to Princess School to actually learn how to talk, move and act like her. And I watched the movie maybe 40 times within a couple of weeks. Really!

The Princess’s Guide: When meeting with a face character, aka a princess, prince, Fairy Godmother or Peter Pan, feel free to ask them anything, even to act out a scene with you! They get pretty bored with typical questions, like “Where are the dwarves?”

(The dwarves are in the diamond mine, by the way. Please don’t ask me about the Evil Queen, who seemed to die in the movie [we would never say that to a kid, of course!], but she appears in the evening parade. So…that’s awkward.)

No Characters Have Fans in Their Costumes. They’re Just Burning Up.

I worked at the Magic Kingdom, which is at Disney World in Florida. You may be aware that Florida summers are a cruel amalgamation of heat and humidity. In July and August, fur characters are generally sweating their butts off in those costumes.

There’s a rumor going around that characters have fans in their costumes. Alas, it’s not true. You would not believe how drenched in sweat characters become. It’s disgusting. (We wear shorts and a T-shirt underneath if you’re wondering.)

Thankfully, the costume department cleans and airs out the suits and rotates them by use. In the winter, we feel nice and cozy, of course.

The Princess’s Guide: Guests can stay cool in the summer heat by alternating indoor and outdoor rides/shows. For instance, after Thunder Mountain Railroad, go inside the cool air-conditioning at the Country Bear Jamboree for a while. Lines are typically short for shows. Sit down and enjoy the air for a few minutes!

The Afternoon Parade is Wonderful and Awful.

Ok, so we’ve established Florida afternoons in summer are horrible. Now, if you’re in the 3 o’clock parade…add heavy costumes and dancing to the mix.

Needless to say, it’s difficult for parade performers. I did the afternoon parade only occasionally, but it was so much fun as a face character! I rode a float and danced with Dopey, and waved to (literally) thousands of people. I’ve never been a celebrity or beauty queen, but it felt like what I imagine that to be.

But I’ve also done the afternoon parade as a fur character. I was literally. Dripping. Sweat. All over my face. The skull cap holding my hair back fell over my eyes, and I had to be led off the parade route.

So, if you’re on a float with your face exposed to air, the parade can be a phenomenal experience. But if you’re trapped inside a costume with little fresh air and extra weight to drag around, it is a nightmare. And it’s not just me. Performers pass out almost daily in the blazing summer heat.

The Princess’s Guide: Skip the afternoon parade in the summer. You may melt into the sidewalk while waiting for it to start, and there is little shade along the parade route. And sometimes it’s canceled because of afternoon showers anyway.

Go to Space Mountain while the lines are (a little) shorter and line up for the evening parade. Where you won’t die of heatstroke.

Kids are Truly the Best Part of the Job.

Oh, I just adored the cute kids who came through my lines to take a photo and get a hug. As a fur or face character, they were the best part of my day and the reason I loved my job. (and suffered in the heat!)

Kids ages 3-5 years old tend actually to believe the characters are real. After that, they kind of get a clue. But I loooved those precious four-year-olds who were in awe of meeting THE Snow White. The one in their movie that they had watched dozens of times.

I always tried to make them feel special and loved. The world is a tough place. Let preschoolers live in a dream world for a short time!

The Princess’s Guide: We absolutely love your kids! Things we don’t love: parents who don’t have the camera turned on for pictures, stopping us as we walk through the park and (obviously) rude or violent behavior. Try not to do these things, please!

You Take a Thousand Pictures. You Learn a Few Things.

I have no clue how many photos I was in during my tenure in Disney entertainment. Thousands, probably. Most don’t have my face (I was pretending to be a chipmunk), but some do.

One of our face character trainers told us the most bizarre story. He went to a small B&B in Scotland and saw his face in photos on the wall. You never know where your picture might show up!

For your character photos, take the time to wait in line for a few minutes to have your own special moment with Mickey. Every day people try to shove their kid beside us as we meet other guests or try to leave/arrive at an area.

You don’t get a good photo, and your child may be confused about why Minnie won’t pose with him. Be polite and do it the right way.

Also, the most enjoyable setting for photos is an indoor location. Not many characters have this set up, but in the Magic Kingdom you can meet Mickey inside in Town Square, and his friends (aka the rest of the Top 5: Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy) in Fantasyland at Pete’s Silly Side Show.

Speaking of fantasy, if you love Star Wars, you need to check out 5 Awesome Things About Galaxy’s Edge at Disney.

The Princess’s Guide: If you’re in a restaurant, have your kids stand away from the table to avoid getting food in your photo. Nothing ruins a beautiful Cinderella pic like Mickey waffles and orange juice in the foreground.

Characters Have a Back-to-Back to Keep the Lines Moving.

Of course, there is only one Mickey Mouse. (wink) THE Mickey. (wink, wink)

But when park attendance is at 60K in the summer, never mind the three other parks and resorts in Orlando, it takes a small army of Mickeys to keep the crowds happy. Ditto for dozens of other characters as well.

It works like this: Team A Chip and Dale comes out and visits with guests waiting in their line. Then, their handler announces they need to eat some nuts for a snack, and Team A Chip and Dale go backstage, only to be replaced by Team B Chip and Dale.

We typically worked 30 minutes on/30 minutes off, although, in the hottest part of the summer, we did 20-minute shifts. Then there were three sets of back-to-backs!

With face characters, we don’t have someone sharing our shift because people would notice the difference, even though we wore the same outfit, wig and makeup. (We had to do our own makeup…ugh, that pancake foundation was so hot and thick!)

Face characters just get assigned to one area and stay there. (You DO NOT want to run into yourself in the park!) For instance, when I worked as Snow, there were about 25 women approved to play her.

Snow was at the castle for breakfast in the morning, in both parades, at Germany over in Epcot and (me) in Toontown. I’m sure she appeared in other places as well.

The Princess’s Guide: When waiting in line to meet the characters, don’t be stressed when it’s your turn. Just keep that camera on and be ready to get your photo. Videos can also be a sweet moment of interaction with your kids and easy for you.

Fur characters love high-fiving and horsing around with kids. Face characters love to talk with kids about a variety of things, including our movies.

Characters are Not Paid Well. At All.

You may think it’s a sweet deal to be a Disney character. And it IS a fantastic experience. But we are not in it for the money- characters get paid the minimum wage.

Supposedly it’s different in California, though. I have heard face characters at Disneyland get paid better. They are considered “talent,” and there are fewer people approved for each role. But in Florida, we don’t make the big bucks.

Disney does share the love with excellent benefits, though. And free park admission isn’t a bad perk, either!

The Princess’s Guide: Disney character autographs are highly regulated. Cast members are taught the correct way to sign an autograph, which is the same way it has always been done. In case guests have previous signatures at home, even from decades ago, they should be a perfect match.

Well, that was fun! I hope you enjoyed learning a few secrets, and some tips for character experiences as well. Stay tuned for more Disney gossip and insider info in my new website category: The Princess’s Guide to Disney. Just don’t tell Mickey that I told you!

Editor’s Note: Due to park restrictions during Covid-19, character meets are suspended. Check back with Disney Parks to make sure you can say hi to Mickey before planning a trip to the parks.