How do the characters get cast?

[lilpixie]

I am so curious about the casting process for characters in DL. When we were there last month, my girls were obsessed with meeting all of the princesses. OK, all of them were absolutely gorgeous (we saw a lot of them at Ariel's Grotto, too). We saw the Storytime with Aladdin and Jasmine and they were both awesome! I said to my husband "Do you think they have to be absolutely gorgeous to get cast as the "face" characters?". They were just all so sweet and stayed in character as they talked to my kids. What kind of training to they get? Just curious. My DH said "That would be your dream job, walking around in a princess costume all day" LOL!

 

[spazzyjazzy]

I have a friend who was Mickey at WDW a while ago. I will ask her for you and let you know.

 

[lilpixie]

I bet your friend has some cute stories of being Mickey!!!

 

[caitlin]

I want to be one so bad, lol. I did some looking around on forums and from what I've read, it is an open audition. They eliminate some, the rest go do a dance audition. They narrow it down again until eventually they have a top 15. They have a cosmetology team apply the make-up and wigs. When you try on the wigs, they take a poloroid of you in it, unless they don't like it on you. Then you try on another one.

Here's a links, it's is a bit depressing torwards the end but a lot of info:

http://www.mouseplanet.com/kevin/st041001.htm

Here is an article I found, some of which I edited out because it had some questionable bits. It is also from the POV of a WDW worker, so I don't know if it is different from the DL audition process.

People will see me and cry
The auditions were held at a soundstage far removed from Disney property. A massive line of people who appeared to have stepped out of the movie Fame stretched around the building. Wearing tights, headbands, and those fuzzy things dancers put around their legs, they chugged bottles of Evian and clutched their headshots.

Once inside the building, we were all given a number and divided into groups of 40. Then we waited. And waited. Finally my group was called and I followed the others into a giant dance studio. A little man in a beret quickly mumbled something and then busted into a fury of wild dance moves. The other auditionees followed suit and mirrored the choreographer move for move. I, on the other hand, was lost.

The choreographer stopped dancing as quickly as he had started and walked among us, tapping some of us on the shoulder. I wasn’t tapped. He walked away and we were led into another room to wait.

The second part of the audition involved about 20 of us standing in another room while a tall man with glasses barked out orders.

“Okay, show me ‘packing a suitcase’!”

I looked around and saw the others silently going through the motions of folding imaginary clothes and putting them into an imaginary suitcase. I followed suit.

“Show me ‘trying on a pair of shoes but putting them on the wrong feet and walking around’!”

“Show me ‘sleepwalking and winding up in a room filled with banana peels!”

And on and on. Finally, we were brought into yet another room to wait. About 90 minutes later, the tall man with glasses came out and read about 40 names from his clipboard. I was one of the names.

Basic training
After the names were called, each person was briefly interviewed by the tall man with glasses. At the end of the interview, he gave each person a different color paper, indicating which Disney park you’d be working at. I was placed at the Magic Kingdom and couldn’t have been happier.

But before I could go behind those secret doors, I had to complete the Magic Kingdom orientation program. For the next two weeks, I’d report to Casting and learn about the characters I’d be playing (a decision determined by height). At the end of the two weeks, an exam tested my knowledge of these characters and my ability to sign their names. After all, if little Billy gets an autograph from Mickey in 1985 and then again in 2005, the signatures must be identical.

I passed the exam, received a little diploma (signed by Mickey, of course) and joined my fellow trainees on an awaiting tram. This was it. I was finally going to see what was behind those doors.

Behind the doors
The tram drove a mile or so from Casting to the Magic Kingdom. During the drive, we passed what resembled a graveyard of miscellaneous ride elements, like a hippo from The Jungle Cruise and a sub vessel from the defunct 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The road sloped downward and we drove up to a gigantic hanger. This was the gateway to the Utilidor, the underground tunnel system that covered the entire Magic Kingdom. Each attraction is accessible via the Utilidor and you can get to any of them within minutes.

Know your role
Make no mistake about it, there’s a definite pecking order among ‘character performers’ at Disney. At the top of the food chain are the ‘face characters.’ These are the unmasked performers who portray characters like Cinderella, Jasmine and Prince Charming. They’re the stars of the show (just ask them and they’ll tell you so) and rarely associate with anyone outside their circle. Further down the ladder, you’ve got your ‘main 5’, which includes the five classic Disney characters, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Pluto. Underneath them you’ll find the rest.

But don’t think for a moment that we’ve reached a land of equality here. Characters that have broken through the mainstream via TV, movies or massive merchandise sale are regarded as stars. Winnie the Pooh and his neurotic friends, Captain Hook and The Beast all fall into this category. At the bottom of the list are characters based on rides (the Country Bears), characters long forgotten (Pinnochio’s Gideon) and worst of all, characters who received a promotional push but still failed to connect with the crowds (Goofy’s son, Max).

Just another day at the office
I portrayed five different characters during my four months at Disney. During that time, I worked all over the Magic Kingdom. Oftentimes to make extra money, I’d pick up additional shifts at one of the other parks or at a hotel character breakfast. Also, there were plenty of cool perks about the job, like riding Space Mountain with the lights on and getting sneak previews of new attractions before they open to the public. Oh, and you get free parking!

FAQ
When I tell people that I worked at Disney, they usually have a list of questions for me. I hope this forum can provide some answers:

Q. Are the costumes air conditioned?
A. No.

Q. Is it hot inside?
A. Oh yeah.

Q. What if you need to use the bathroom during a set?
A. You hold it.

Q. Are you bitter that you never became a face character?
A. I was actually given the opportunity to turn in my sweaty fur for tights and play Peter Pan. I declined when I was informed I'd have to shave my chest.

Q. Is Walt Disney really frozen in a block of ice underneath the Magic Kingdom?
A. Sorry, I can’t answer that. What happens at Disney...stays at Disney.

Reflections of a character
It’s been several years since my exposure to backstage Disney. And in case you're wondering, going to the park every single day did not diminish my love for the Magic Kingdom. I still turn into that young boy whenever I walk through the front gates down Main Street and I still rush to stand in line at Space Mountain. In fact, having worked at Disney and going behind-the-scenes only fed my craving to be part of the magic.

In actuality, I guess I’m just like that saucy, rebel mermaid Ariel. I just want to be part of that world.

 

[lilpixie]

Wow, I didn't know the characters had to go through that involved of an audition!! And for $7/hour -- wow, I am thankful that they do it because they make the parks magical for the kids!
I have given up my dream of being Belle LOL, now that I am 32! I think most of them are young 20 somethings
Thanks for the articles. They were interesting to read. I was always curious as to how it all worked.

 

[spazzyjazzy]

Ok, here is the response from my friend who was Mickey at WDW...

Mostly, it has to do with height. If you fall into the height ranges they need characters for, (generally really short or really tall), you are more likely to get it.

There is an audition process, consisting of them measuring you first. Then you go in and do these little improv things (for example: Pretend you are Goofy building a snowman). Then you learn a dance, and you perform it for them (I'm the worst dancer in the world, and I passed).

If you are in the more competitive height ranges (basically over 5'0" and under 6'0"), then it gets more competitive. However, they measured me at a whopping 4'11 & 3/4" (mouse height baby!) and I think that as long as I tried and was breathing, I got the part. hehe

It really depends on what height ranges they are needing characters for. They almost always need characters that are shorter than 5'0" and taller than 6'0", but the other ranges get more competitive and difficult to get.

That's mainly for "fur" characters (the characters that have a head covering your face). "Face" characters (the princesses, etc) is much, much more complicated. Not only do you have to be the right height, but they inspect your face like crazy to see if your nose turns up the right way, and your jaw structure is right. It's crazy.

Also, to become parade characters and show characters, you have to reach a certain level in dance. You can audition for dance, and they rank your skills and assign a color code to you (I don't remember the colors, but for example green would be the worst, blue is the next up, then red, etc on up). You have to be a certain color to get approved for parades, and then you have to be an even higher level to be approved for shows. Otherwise, you are just "lowly" parks characters (the ones that you meet and greet with).

It's this insane hierarchy within the Entertainment Dept. It's the biggest clique I've ever seen. WAY worse than high school!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Cliques way worse than high school? Who knew that was even possible?!

Thanks, Spazzyjazzy and Caitlin, I've enjoyed (and been a bit saddened) by your posts.

 

[carolfoy]

A friend of a friend was Snow White in Disney Paris when it first opened, she said that in one of the first audition stages you were categorised by your face shape, ie a 'heart shaped' face was only good for Aurora, Snow White and Ariel and a 'long face' was only good for Cruella, Cinderella etc, (I can't remember which shape went with which character etc) and you could get disregarded for something as small as having the wrong shaped nose!

 

[Amphigorey]

There's a lot in there that, in my experience, isn't true. For example, the hierarchy of characters. It's true to an extent that the face characters can be cliquish (the princesses especially have something of a reputation for letting it go to their heads), but beyond that, I didn't see a hierarchy of fur.
Part of the cliquishness is simply circumstances. The face and fur characters are often segregated, so they don't work together, so they don't interact in their off-time. (I can think of very few times when I shared a break room with a face character.) Another note on face: If you do face, you also do fur. Also, fwiw, the face performers I met were all very nice. Even Cruella (sorry to spoil her!).

In fur terms, the more desireable and therefore "cooler" characters are the ones that are either rare (like Darkwing Duck) or known to be comfortable (like Suzy & Perla or Robin Hood). The Fab 5, as claimed, aren't really more prestigious than any other character, partially because they are EVERYWHERE. Also, since everything is done by height, everyone has an "index" character, so there really are very few performers who don't get to do the popular characters. (An index character is a popular character that also indicates height. For example, Mickey height or Goofy height. I'm Pooh/Munk height. It gets to the point where one refers to people not in feet but in characters. "Brown hair, blue eyes, Pluto height...")

Performers often really enjoy doing the less popular characters because not as many guests know who they are, and so they don't get a long line, which means they get to play more. The Country Bears and Gideon are good examples of that. (Nobody knows who the heck Gideon is, so he often gets to spend his whole set wandering around and messing with guests, which he loves.)

Oh yeah, visibility is a *huge* factor in terms of costume desireability. Piglet and Miss Piggy are possibly the worst for visibility.

 

[justplaingoofy]

When we did a backstage tour at Disney World Magic Kingdom they told us that first you have to be a regular character before you can be a face character. They also went through body shapes, etc.. saying most characters are woman because they are smaller, etc. Although they did say that my husband (5' 9 1/2") would make a good Buzz lightyear, or Eyeore.
I immediately said.. Eyeore is a donkey right??? that explains everything!

 

[lilpixie]

Thanks for the insider info. I was always so curious as how it all worked. I had a friend who worked at WDW and though she loved it, she thought it was like a big soap opera!! LOL I'm sure different CM's have different experiences . . .
But thank goodness when we visit we don't know all of that stuff, and it is magical for us
Hmmm, since I am barely under five foot, maybe I can try out for Minnie or Mickey one day LOL!!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

I didn't realize, before I started reading on this site, that the parks actually have the villains in costume. (I guess I figured they might be too frightening for the kids.) From what I've read about Cruella and the White Witch, the CMs really get into their role, which would be so fun to see! Does anyone know if there are particular acting requirements? Or do all the kids doing characters have some sort of stage experience?

This reminds me of my sister, who did a bit of clowning for birthday parties in her younger years. She's typically quiet as a mouse; so when my mom saw her in character the first time, she was shocked! My sister was a non-speaking clown, but she was using body language and a horn (a la Harpo Marx) and was hysterical! So maybe there's just a bit of magic in putting on a costume...

I hope we get to see Cruella or the White Witch; would love to get a picture with my DS5, but I'm not sure if he would be afraid or not.

 

[DLcastmbr]

when i was on my break i saw the wicked witch ready to start a set ( you know mirror mirror on the wall etc) I was really surprized to see such a villian going out because i rarely see villians i wish i had a chance to ask her about it.