Look, it’s about time we start to give more credit to the Disney Parks characters. These theme park cast members wear massive costumes all day, often in warm conditions as they embody many beloved animated characters in real life. How do they see? How do they not die of heat stroke during the Florida summers? Or, here’s the big question: What happens when their heads fall off?
TikTok recently posed this question to a Disney Parks superfan account, The Mouselets. Check out this video revealing what the protocol is:
@themouselets ♬ Mad at Disney - salem ilese
According to the video, when a character’s head falls off, they are trained to quickly put it back on, and if other characters are around them they may help by shielding their fellow cast members while they make sure their heads are fastened back in place. It is illustrated through a moment where a skipping Tweedle Dum, Tweedle Dee and Tigger are disrupted when one of the Alice In Wonderland characters’ heads comes off and the person underneath quickly responds in hopes of not ruining the magic for any parkgoers.
Though, in the case of the example video, it’s kind of perfect. The Queen of Hearts is well known for saying “Off with their heads!” and she stood in the background as one of the Tweedles fixed the costume mishap. According to another Mouselets’ TikTok regarding the issue, if a character voluntarily takes off their head, whether it be under their own volition or due to some kind of emergency, they could be fired for it.
With that said, it has not been confirmed by Disney that this is an instantly fireable situation all the time. It’s likely a case-by-case scenario. For a long time, there’s also been a policy in place that adult guests cannot dress as Disney characters. This is because if a child believes them to be from the park and they, let’s say behave badly, it would reflect negatively on The Happiest Place on Earth. Though, for the most recent Dapper Day, an adorable viral video of Mickey Mouse meeting a man dressed like Walt Disney warmed the internet’s heart.
As Disney’s recent revenue quarter came to a close, the Walt Disney Company announced that it has made $7.4 billion in revenue from its theme parks this quarter. That’s obviously a huge number, and it comes out as House of Mouse has received criticism for price increases. The company has explained the reasoning for hiking up prices is that “200 new lands, attractions, experiences and festivals” have been added since 2016. Disney fans have also commented negatively on the park hopping rule currently in place.
And as numerous exciting upcoming Disney movies come out in theaters and streaming, we can bet more guest experiences, including more character meet and greets, will continue to form. For now, a moment of silence for the Disney Parks characters who are in fear of their heads not staying on – this looks like a stressful part of the job!
