Yoo hoo, performers at Disney World?

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 9:39pm

Hey y'all. I just got back from Disney World and loved it. Again. I know one BWW'er works as the Evil Queen at Magic Kingdom but don't know who she is? Anyone?

It almost makes me want to move there and work at Disney. Are the costume characters Equity? And the Finding Nemo production at Animal Kingdom was great. It makes me want to know about the levels of performers? From parade dancers to costume characters to stage performers. What is the hierarchy? Is being Mickey Mouse THE coolest? Is one of the three pigs a little lower than Alice or Mary Poppins? There should be a book about it.

[AnnaK<3LMIP]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 9:41pm

Well a friend of mine works as a princess down there and I don't think she's equity...if that helps at all.

I don't think there is a "hieryarchy" exactly..

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 9:45pm

So many questions...how many people play Cinderella? What type of training do you have to perfect Goofy's mannerisms? How tall do you have to be to play Peter Pan? I just wanted to ask them.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 9:46pm

"Again. I know one BWW'er works as the Evil Queen at Magic Kingdom but don't know who she is?"

That would be erikaamato, and it's over at Disneyland (California). In fact, I saw her perform (twice) as the Evil Queen/Hag and she was brilliant.

Updated On: 6/3/07 at 09:46 PM

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 9:50pm

For the face characters, there are many people that play them.

You go through a training process for the mannerisims, learn certian ways characters wave and also learn how to sign autographs.

No, the charachters are not Equity.

It's a crappy job. Trust me.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:24pm

I knew a girl in high school that got a job as a character, she hated it.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:27pm

I thought youw were going to say "... and she died."

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:31pm

They are all so good at making you think they WANT to be there. Of course it WAS Gay Days at Disney this weekend, so maybe some of the performers were a bit more into it than usual. It felt like Tigger was coming on to me, but maybe that was my imagination.

[erikaamato]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:31pm

Yes, for the record, I played the Evil Queen in a fully-staged, big budget musical version of Snow White at Disneyland, which closed back in '06. It was a union job (not Equity, but AGVA - don't ask). I've never been a face-character, but I can tell you that the job is not union, and it does not pay well.

As far as the hierarchy goes, basically the top is the union performers (Equity in FL, AGVA in CA), then the face-characters, then the costumed characters (the ones with the heads on), then the Parade performers.

[The Boy From Ohio]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:32pm

I don't think it killed her...haven't spoken with her since that summer.

Updated On: 6/3/07 at 10:32 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:34pm

It's a Data Lounge joke.

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:37pm

Thank you Erika! I just knew that there had to be some hierarchy. It seems that the performer being Snow White would have to feel a bit elite when next to Chip or Dale. Does it go to there heads at all? I imagine this big high school like cafeteria where the face characters sit at one table while the parade dancers sit in a corner. It seems like they have long days.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:41pm

Just so you know, Tigger's a whore. He feels up everyone.


I used it to my advantage.



*Edit* Yes, there is a bit of a clique thing going on, but anytime I got 'tude from a character, I would say, "Yea, but you only stand and pose for pictures for 1/2 and hour at a time. Try full out dancing all the way through the park, covered in a furry sleeping bag of a costume." They wouldn't have been able to make it down Main Street.

Updated On: 6/3/07 at 10:41 PM

[erikaamato]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:43pm

LOL! Actually, you're kind of right about that. At least, that's been my perception of it. A lot of the princesses are very sweet, but yes, they definitely have their clique and think of themselves as being higher on the totem pole, etc. As far as I can tell, the union performers look at it much more as a gig (as opposed to a lifestyle), and don't really buy in to any of that hierarchical stuff... I didn't work there very long, and I only ever worked in my one little corner of the park, but that's the vibe I've gotten.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:45pm

He's also rather hostile. Attacked some kid, I heard.

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:46pm

I knew there were union performers, I was just not sure where the line was. It seems like athere is fascinating book waiting to be written. Surprised there isn't yet. A Disney Princess' Diary or I was Teen-Age Face Character.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:46pm

That dude was trying to undo Tigger's zipper and deserved to get popped.

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:48pm

I also got the vibe from Pooh, but judging the person's size, I am thinking it was girl. I dunno, I'm just saying.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:50pm

You're not returning this year, erika?

[shermanslave]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:52pm

Theaterdiva, did you play a character at one time?

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 10:52pm

Pooh, Chip and Dale, Mickey and Minnie are all usually played by girls, as is Roger Rabbit.

[suzycat]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 11:03pm

RADAR magazine did a great article on Disney behind-the-scenes a few years ago... sounds pretty sordid!
Wild Kingdom

[erikaamato]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 11:08pm

SM2: Well, as I think you know, there is no Snow White show anymore. We closed back in Sept. '06, and there are no real plans to bring it back. I'm currently a sub in the little princess show that's in the same theatre, but I've only done the show 6 days so far this entire year ('07), because - fortunately - I've been too busy with projects up in LA. As of now, I'm booked through the middle of July, so I won't be able to work at the park again until sometime after that.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 11:28pm

Sherman,

Yes, I played MANY different characters in the parade department. Goofy, Tigger, King Lion, Tweedle Dee and Dum, as well as specific characters made for the parade including being a stilt walker.

[harris007]

Posted: 6/3/07 at 11:34pm

omg you guys, i was at that party they talk about at the end of the article