| Hi Andy,
My cousin worked at Disneyworld for several months about 2 years ago. He was
one of the boat pilots on the jungle cruise, and had a few insider tales to
tell...
First, just as you had assumed, he mentioned to me that the "character" roles
are indeed considered plum positions and are very high on the 'status'
hierarchy (at least by the people who hold the positions!!!) Most of the people
under the costumes are recent drama school graduates who get a charge out of
the acting aspect of being a character. Because of the intense heat, characters
are limited to XX number of minutes outside (I think 15 or 20). Also, the
characters are geographically limited to certain areas, because there may be
duplicate characters out at any given time. In addition, my cousin mentioned
that employees in costume have fainted, but their helmets are not removed
outside. Rather, the character is loaded onto a stretcher and immediately
wisked inside!!!
He told some other stories, but they are more like legend (and possibly
just rumors.) For example, the haunted house ride vehicles had to be modified
because people used to disembark mid-ride and wander inside the building.
One woman injured her head and moaned for help, but nobody paid any attention
to her because they thought that she was a part of the display. Another story
involved Disney slowing down the space mountain ride shortly after
installation because riders were losing eyeglasses, false teeth, etc.
Words to the wise that my cousin also mentioned: Visit the Captain Eo exhibit
after lunch. Everyone flocks to that exhibit first thing in the morning and
the lines get extremely long. You may be able to walk right in later in the
day. Also, the busiest day at Disneyworld is Monday, not Saturday or Sunday
(weekends are travel times), so plan side trips accordingly.
Shawn
|
| Shawn,
Thanks for the information & hints, but you've disillusioned me
now! ..... it was bad enough finding out the characters aren't
real, now you tell me there's no wondrous technology involved.
I had visions of an intricate network of coolant tubes powered
by solar panels hidden in the characters ears ..... or perhaps
several tiny electrical fans, directing cool air at all those
'important little places'.
Ah-well ...... I wonder who'll be the first to report back after
witnessing a 'character fainting session?'
Andy (who-is-considering-designing-and-patenting-a-cooling-system-to-
sell-to-Disney-at-a-vast-profit)
|
|
>Actually the eyes are interesting in that unlike most character
>costumes, you can not see in the disney costume eyes.
That's not completely true. Standing back fron the character you
cannot see inside. Up close, you can. I saw a guest ask the
character one time if the character was a boy or a girl after the
two were having fun playing around with each other. The
castmember motioned to the person to look in the eye, up close and
personal. The guest freaked out because the person inside the suit
was the same gener as the guest.
The White Rabbit made a pass at me. I found out the name of the
person inside the suit was Chris. I did not go down into the Utilidors
to find out.
|