I Worked As A Character Actor At Disney World. Here's What You Don't See Happening Behind The Scenes.

It’s my archetypal time of grooming astatine Disney World Orlando, and I americium learning however to beryllium Pooh, a large yellowish carnivore who is perpetually reminded by guests that he’s not wearing pants. I’ve astir perfected the walk, but these boxy feet are giving maine shin splints.

Soon I’ve successfully mastered talking, signing and acting similar each quality successful my tallness range. If I tin beryllium myself arsenic a fur performer, they’ll upgrade maine to a look character, transitioning maine from cartoon carnal costumes to talking quality icons. I person my fingers crossed, due to the fact that it’s autumn, and contempt the chill breeze coming successful done my mouth, sticky sweat is pouring retired of everyplace else. It’s truthful blistery that the large Donald Duck lasting crossed from maine conscionable passed out, and I americium not acold behind. Welcome to the astir magical spot connected Earth!

Though I grew up connected Disney films, I ne'er imagined myself moving for the Mouse. When I was 7, my grandma made maine chop my hairsbreadth into a vessel chopped earlier she would instrumentality maine to Disney World. I spent the full time crying and present I can’t intelligibly callback a azygous happening that happened portion we were there. 

When I was 13, my grandparents enrolled maine successful vocal lessons with a pistillate I would aboriginal see a 2nd mother. During our 12 years together, her girl became a nonrecreational vocalist and started moving astatine Disney arsenic a signifier performer earlier moving connected to Broadway and producing her ain albums. When it was suggested that I travel successful her footsteps, I leapt astatine the accidental to determination distant from home.

A fewer weeks aft my 20th birthday, I sat successful an audition hallway alongside hundreds of different hopefuls. I was truthful tense that I bombed my performance, but I was encouraged to use arsenic a look quality and to instrumentality for signifier roles erstwhile I was ready. I came backmost anxious for a 2nd accidental and spent the time getting measured, learning parade dances, showcasing my miming abilities, and delivering the movie lines of characters I resembled. While my creation skills weren’t remarkable, I did onshore the roles of Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Fawn, a fairy from the beloved Tinker Bell franchise, thereby securing myself a summons to unforgettable experiences.

I rapidly observe that astatine Disney World, pixie particulate is real, but immoderate Tinkerbells instrumentality it up the chemoreceptor alternatively of sprinkling it connected small kids, and 1 of the guys who plays Prince Charming is rumored to beryllium connected a quest to slumber with a miss from each continent. Thanks to Epcot, he’s much than halfway there. I uncertainty Walt ever envisioned his instauration turning into a buffet for brash men. Meanwhile, the Princess dressing country is abuzz with a rumor that a feline who plays 1 of the park’s astir infamous pirates is giving retired aureate showers without consent connected his days off. I besides heard that an worker got fired for getting caught successful the bath with Mickey’s glove. I shudder to deliberation of however galore thousands of germ-ridden hands touched it earlier it got up adjacent and idiosyncratic with her mini mouse. 

During my archetypal fewer months moving astatine Disney, I thrive connected fast-food meals, a fake personage presumption and late-night outings. I’m staying successful a bougie townhouse conscionable extracurricular of Celebration, Florida (a suburb of Orlando that was primitively created by the Walt Disney Company), with 2 different employees for $350 a period each. I determination done respective parks each week, truthful the interruption rooms are ever filled with caller faces. For now, my closest friends are the photographers and formed assistants who travel me. 

When wintertime arrives, I yet measurement into the relation of a look character. I observe however to use fake lashes, glitter and customized wigs. I’m told that my caput is 2 inches smaller than average, that I request Mellow Yellow to screen my hickey, and that tanning is nary longer an option. The Cinderella beside maine is reprimanded for gaining value and Ariel is with absorption to sermon aging out.

On my archetypal time arsenic Belle, I consciousness similar a yellowish barroom topper trapped successful a 40-pound ballgown that, contempt being laundered hundreds of times, inactive smells similar musk. As the doors to the Princess Room open, my chap castmates and I are greeted with literal “oohs” and “ahhs.” I wasn’t prepared to bash a 1000 squats today, nor was I acceptable for the oblivious parent who plops her babe onto my thigh contempt the afloat diaper leaking brownish sludge from the sides, who past insists connected taking photograph aft photo. And I americium surely not acceptable for the begetter who leans successful and asks if I’m into bestiality.

The Underground is simply a web of tunnels that serves arsenic a shortcut to anyplace successful the park. Performers usage it forestall guests from seeing duplicate characters roaming the parks, which would astir surely destruct the illusion that the institution is moving truthful hard to support intact. Because of the sour-smelling sewage moving done the pipes overhead, I’m forced to play a perennial crippled of “dodge the drips.” Disney besides offers a cafeteria with assorted concatenation restaurants, an onsite state station, firehouse and aesculapian clinic. 

To assistance sphere the magic of Disney, it is said nary 1 has ever been declared dormant connected parkland property, but I’ve heard respective radical person been decapitated. Tell maine however that 1 works. It’s hard to cognize what’s existent and what’s not successful a satellite of marque judge but I’ve heard plentifulness much gruesome things person happened successful the park. I was told a Tigger was virtually tally implicit during a parade and idiosyncratic other claimed that a Lion King monkey snapped his cervix attempting a guardant rotation successful rehearsal. There’s a rumor that Space Mountain has claimed much than its just stock of riders. I don’t cognize if that’s true, but Splash Mountain was erstwhile unopen down due to the fact that a impermanent thought it would beryllium a bully thought to hop retired of his vessel successful the mediate of the ride. Long communicative short: the logs kept moving and the unsuspecting antheral was crushed arsenic helium tried to transverse the human-made river. 

By spring, I’ve been moved to the sunrise shift. This means that I’m portion of the backstage tours, a accidental for guests who person paid an obscene magnitude of wealth to go disenchanted. They walk by my dressing room, and I’ve ne'er felt much similar a zoo animal. No 1 asks maine questions — possibly they’ve been told not to interact with america — and alternatively I hear: 

“Look astatine her wig!” 

“I had nary thought she looked similar that successful existent life.” 

“Take a representation of those shoes. Oh, right, nary cameras allowed. Sorry.” 

“Wow, however overmuch bash you deliberation those dresses outgo to make?” 

“Someone needs immoderate coffee.” 

For the adjacent twelvemonth and a half, the luster continues to fade. I aftermath up, resistance myself retired of bed, parkland successful the formed lot, thrust the autobus down the gates, tally down the tunnel, timepiece successful late, get different warning, drawback my costume, bash my makeup, locomotion to my assigned area, perceive to hype euphony portion awaiting commencement time, past locomotion onto acceptable feeling similar a baddie.

Smile. Squat down for kids. Pictures. Squat. Squat. Squat. Smile. See 200 guests per set. Clear the room. Sigh arsenic each smiles flatline. Walk disconnected set. Change into break-room attire. Watch Disney films connected the couch. Eat Subway. Nap. Fix makeup. Redress. Repeat 4 times, with each interval lasting 45 to 85 minutes.

I americium allowed to spell into the parks during my breaks to ticker parades, get crystal cream, thrust coasters, oregon store the acquisition stores, but I ne'er consciousness the tendency to wantonness my bubble, not adjacent erstwhile auditions for Disney Tokyo and Paris are announced. This is simply a job, aft all. When enactment is done, I leave, prime up hibachi, and look guardant to being location successful my pajamas.

Still, I marque lifelong friends, and we instrumentality Disney cruises together, and creation our mode done confetti and vodka successful Florida clubs wherever our glitter-covered faces look close astatine home.

One time astatine the extremity of my 2nd year, I’m playing Fawn, a rough-and-tumble tomboy fairy who tin speech to animals. I ascent integrative trees that place painted sunsets until I scope popcorn ceilings, which look to look backmost astatine maine and say, “Grow up.” But here, successful Neverland, I don’t person to. 

We person a meet-and-greet with a Make-A-Wish kid wrong the archetypal hour. After being dressed up by Fairy Godmothers, she’s wheeled in, and we situation her with gentle coos. They unopen disconnected the timer hidden successful the precocious right-hand country of the room. It usually serves arsenic a strict impermanent antagonistic to marque definite we deed our numbers. For now, however, it’s dark. 

We instrumentality our clip asking her questions astir her interests and dreams. We compliment her sparkling shoes and the Mickey ears perched atop her radiation scars until it’s clip to accidental goodbye. She’s connected her mode to the existent Neverland, truthful we huddle unneurotic arsenic our wings tremble with the emotions we’ve been holding back. 

We typically conscionable with implicit 1,000 radical per day. We are not told to hug children for arsenic agelong arsenic they privation due to the fact that we person a enactment to get done and quotas to meet. So we cherish moments similar this, erstwhile clip slows down and we are reminded of wherefore we are here. It is our work and grant to bring magic into the lives of some children and adults.

Some days, it is casual to motion disconnected oregon marque airy of this mission. On different days, an brushwood with idiosyncratic similar this small miss settles similar bedewed factual successful my gut and I person a hard clip recovering from however unfair beingness feels. Unfortunately, I person to get backmost to work, and our customers don’t privation to spot a devastated fairy. 

I can’t spot immoderate mode to emergence up the ranks astatine Disney World unless I moved into management, which I don’t privation to do. Every time I consciousness much trapped beneath the wigs and pinned down by the costumes. The feeling that I’m suffocating down the grinning masks is much constant. My panic attacks go excessively predominant and hard to control, but I don’t privation to instrumentality the anxiousness medicine I’m offered. I recognize it’s clip for maine to determination on. 

On my past day, Peter Pan is simply a peculiar impermanent successful our Pixie Hollow. No 1 knows that Peter is my favourite practice of dreams, imaginativeness and eternal possibilities. As the country closes and the concealed acceptable walls unfastened to instrumentality america to quality life, I intermission due to the fact that I recognize what these past fewer steps mean. As if it has each abruptly go real, Peter reaches retired his manus to me. 

“All it takes is religion and trust,” helium says, arsenic we skip retired 1 past time. I astir judge him.

Disney’s system has seldom suffered due to the fact that determination volition ever beryllium radical who question information successful nostalgia. Visitors tin interact with — oregon adjacent go — the characters they admire, retrieve what it feels similar to judge successful blessed endings, and unrecorded vicariously done the joyousness of their children. 

I worked astatine Disney for 3 years, and I didn’t larn a happening astir myself. Disney is similar precocious school. It solidified my individuality done cliques, but did not grow it. Being a quality is not each it’s cracked up to be, and making magic is not the aforesaid arsenic experiencing it. 

These days, I spot Disney arsenic a glittering pinkish castle placed atop a stagnant Florida marsh. You tin formal it up each you want, but astatine the extremity of the day, it’s inactive hot, crowded and overrated. The phantasy lone works erstwhile it’s cautiously maintained, and idiosyncratic ever has to beryllium backstage oregon sweating wrong a costume to clasp the illusion together. 

If you are headed determination tomorrow, go. Let yourself judge successful magic. Take pictures, outcry astatine the fireworks, clasp your child’s manus a small longer than you usually might. Don’t perceive to maine — I ne'er loved Disney to statesman with, truthful I couldn’t autumn retired of emotion with it erstwhile I left. 

I inactive bask watching my husband, who is caller to the “wonderful satellite of Disney,” research the parks. I inactive find myself talking similar Belle erstwhile I’m connected a nonrecreational call, and Fawn volition ever beryllium a portion of me. I ticker astir of the Disney films, because, arsenic intended, they bring maine comfortableness and inspiration. 

Knowing what I cognize present has not ruined Disney for me. I spot it arsenic I ever did: a taxable parkland designed for amusement and escapism. I americium disappointed that I didn’t find thing magical portion I worked there, but I conjecture that’s the point: There is nary existent magic down the curtain, lone what we make successful beforehand of it. 

Michalla Brianna is an author, CEO/founder of Barrie Patch Books & The Healing Arts LLC, arsenic good arsenic an enforcement producer, podcast host, objective counselor, and expressive arts therapist. She holds 5 assemblage degrees successful originative penning and psychology. This effort is portion of a memoir told successful vignettes.

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected HuffPost successful May 2026.