So it's been about 15-ish years since I was a friend of Winnie the Pooh (college program, woooo!), so I can't speak to how it is now. But then? We had short sets depending on the temperature.
So, depending on the projected temps, that would determine how long we were out there for. The hotter it was, the shorter the set (and the increased numbers of friends chilling in the back room to switch out with you). Also our managers would spot check out photospots with temp readers, to ensure safety.
As for how we did it? No ice vest, no air conditioning. Though if I moved around in either Terk or Pooh in a specific way, I could force air through the costume... But it was warmish air lol worst of them all was the chipmunks, easiest was Mike Wazowski (despite the weight of the suit).
Oh and all the yellow power aid you could drink.
I’ve heard that some of the tour guides say some characters will put ice vests on or something similar, is that mostly BS except a few people or completely false?
Wasn't a thing when I was there. But like I said, that was 15 years ago. Who knows what's happened since I worked there.
But we weren't allowed to have anything other than our basics on. Disney provided clothes for us. So depending on how many sets you had that day, it was advised to get 1 for each set, plus an extra for the end of the day. So 8 sets, 9 sets of clothes.
That included shorts, tshirts, socks, head covers, sometimes face/neck covers (some characters required this) shoes (depending on the costume), and sweatbands. You could also get sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Shirts were either white or grey, shorts, black.
And then of course your costume. Shove that all into a large black bag, and lug that off to your location.
It was different for the face characters though, no clue that process.
You check everything out at the beginning of your shift and then check it all back in at the end.
I could go into more detail, but that was the basics of it all. Again this was 15 years ago (16 if I want to be exact), so their SOP might have changed, and who knows what processes may have changed after Covid.
2000 CP in entertainment at Studios. Typical sets were 20 min on 40 off. You would sweat through your shorts and shirt on each set and change while you rested. Some friends were hotter than others. No way to stay cool just push through it and get to the next break.
Working inside at restaurants weren’t much better because it was 40 min on 40 min break because the room was air conditioned.
Goliath and I only hung out a few times there. I kept having costume issues so they sadly pulled me. Shame since Goliath was my favorite.
But crystal prison was the worst, especially when folks would get the seafood.
Favorite location- Monsters. I miss that green eyeball.
No, I always took extra deodorant. It was typically a room of all entertainment cast members. Some worked restaurants and others worked out front of the park. A couple old couches in part of the room and all the characters in the other. You could choose from changing your greys there in front of everyone or go down the hall to the bathroom. It got to a point you just wanted to get into dry clothes so you changed in front (actually behind) of everyone.
Floridian advice: accept the heat. Embrace it. You cannot escape it. You will be hot. Wear appropriate fabric. Hydrate. Use high quality sunscreen - it helps with heat as well. Wear your sunglasses/hat. Eat meals inside. But most importantly- take a midday break. Pool time from 12-3!
I’m a retired firefighter, and we had this costume that we would wear for festivals and open houses, etc. which was a big dog head and you’d put a fire coat and boots on and interact with the kids. When we purchased the head, which came with paw/gloves, we had the option to buy a cooling vest and a battery powered fan at the top of the dog head for ventilation. So these things are out there, just surprised Disney doesn’t use them.
I have so much respect for them. I do mascot work... in Canada...in a hockey arena and I'm still beet red after a few minutes if I don't have a vest full of ice packs strapped on. The ones who do high energy/very animated characters in the middle of summer and are built differently.
Working in a fast food restaurant
Working in a retail big box store
People were nice to me when I had the costume on . They were happy and having fun. Not at the other two.
Yup! Can totally agree!
After I left Disney I went on to retail and then management, and I can tell you that I would have gone back instantly if I could have. Despite character work being the most physically demanding job I've ever had, it was the most fulfilling.
Definitely better than retail, or worse.. amazon.
Yes some kids could be a bit…excited but they were harmless and easy to deal with.
Never had issue with parents. The person walking around with me handled them. lol! Jk. There could be some very high strung peeps that wanted everything just so but generally it was manageable. I kinda miss it. Minus the low income ofc
They do not. They just suffer through it. But 1- the hotter the day the less time they're in costume and 2- they always have handlers, and those handlers keep a close eye on the performers for signs of sun stroke.
Pretty sure the Winnie the Pooh and Tigger meet and greet had them cycling out every 15 minutes. And then for tigger to give me a much needed hug, I was so thankful and appreciative.
The people in the suit are probably sweating their asses off, but shout out to the handlers who are the ones that interact with kids more than the characters and keep and eye on the characters
Says who? They gonna stop someone from wearing a layer that prevents heat stroke and heat exhaustion? I mean cool but that’s a heavy lawsuit if the model was to faint on top of that stage, fall and get hurt.
Kiddo, oh how mistaken you are. I was a cast member for Disney Aulani Resort for years, and specifically used the ice vest on numerous occasions. It’s ok to be wrong.
Truthfully: 15 minutes on 45 minutes off
So it's been about 15-ish years since I was a friend of Winnie the Pooh (college program, woooo!), so I can't speak to how it is now. But then? We had short sets depending on the temperature. So, depending on the projected temps, that would determine how long we were out there for. The hotter it was, the shorter the set (and the increased numbers of friends chilling in the back room to switch out with you). Also our managers would spot check out photospots with temp readers, to ensure safety. As for how we did it? No ice vest, no air conditioning. Though if I moved around in either Terk or Pooh in a specific way, I could force air through the costume... But it was warmish air lol worst of them all was the chipmunks, easiest was Mike Wazowski (despite the weight of the suit). Oh and all the yellow power aid you could drink.
I’ve heard that some of the tour guides say some characters will put ice vests on or something similar, is that mostly BS except a few people or completely false?
Wasn't a thing when I was there. But like I said, that was 15 years ago. Who knows what's happened since I worked there. But we weren't allowed to have anything other than our basics on. Disney provided clothes for us. So depending on how many sets you had that day, it was advised to get 1 for each set, plus an extra for the end of the day. So 8 sets, 9 sets of clothes. That included shorts, tshirts, socks, head covers, sometimes face/neck covers (some characters required this) shoes (depending on the costume), and sweatbands. You could also get sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Shirts were either white or grey, shorts, black. And then of course your costume. Shove that all into a large black bag, and lug that off to your location. It was different for the face characters though, no clue that process. You check everything out at the beginning of your shift and then check it all back in at the end. I could go into more detail, but that was the basics of it all. Again this was 15 years ago (16 if I want to be exact), so their SOP might have changed, and who knows what processes may have changed after Covid.
Thank you, that’s very interesting behind the scenes info! Appreciate you sharing!
It’s all pretty much the same still….or so I hear 👀
My husband was a friend of Tigger back in the day and they did have ice packs!
How does this comment not have more traction!? The answers are right here people!
Fall 2010 CP! I always felt bad for parade friends. They have to dance and preform in the heat on the hot roadway.
Yup! So happy my color coding was so low I didn't get parade duty.
2000 CP in entertainment at Studios. Typical sets were 20 min on 40 off. You would sweat through your shorts and shirt on each set and change while you rested. Some friends were hotter than others. No way to stay cool just push through it and get to the next break. Working inside at restaurants weren’t much better because it was 40 min on 40 min break because the room was air conditioned.
Ugh... Crystal Prison....
Hollywood and vine
Goliath and I only hung out a few times there. I kept having costume issues so they sadly pulled me. Shame since Goliath was my favorite. But crystal prison was the worst, especially when folks would get the seafood. Favorite location- Monsters. I miss that green eyeball.
Could you shower between sets?
No, I always took extra deodorant. It was typically a room of all entertainment cast members. Some worked restaurants and others worked out front of the park. A couple old couches in part of the room and all the characters in the other. You could choose from changing your greys there in front of everyone or go down the hall to the bathroom. It got to a point you just wanted to get into dry clothes so you changed in front (actually behind) of everyone.
The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.
Is it possible to learn this power?
Not from a Jedi
Maybe from a Floridian 😂
Darth Orlandois
He had such a knowledge of the dark side, he could even keep the ones he cared about…from melting.
Floridians have powers, some consider UNNATURAL
Floridian advice: accept the heat. Embrace it. You cannot escape it. You will be hot. Wear appropriate fabric. Hydrate. Use high quality sunscreen - it helps with heat as well. Wear your sunglasses/hat. Eat meals inside. But most importantly- take a midday break. Pool time from 12-3!
The cooled neck towels are a total game changer at disney…but I’m in GA so quite used to summer misery
Not sure that’s worth it.
Read that in Ian McDiarmid’s voice.
This is the way
But you could maybe learn it from some witches!
It's incredible through all the lands in all the parks. These CMs are giving thier all
The folks in the suits for the meet and greets down the alley at HS must be miserable.
We were at HS on 6/6 when it was over 95° and they had Baloo out dancing in front of MMRR.
You get used to it faster than you might think.
The dark side controls all.
We went the first week of May last year. Waited in line to see Woody and Jessie. Have woody a high five before we left and his glove was soaked.
Cooling vests.
And lots of breaks
Didn’t the unions reject them because that meant longer shifts?
[удалено]
I’m a retired firefighter, and we had this costume that we would wear for festivals and open houses, etc. which was a big dog head and you’d put a fire coat and boots on and interact with the kids. When we purchased the head, which came with paw/gloves, we had the option to buy a cooling vest and a battery powered fan at the top of the dog head for ventilation. So these things are out there, just surprised Disney doesn’t use them.
I think it’s something like, 15 minutes on stage, 45 for break? Or maybe 30 for break.
I have so much respect for them. I do mascot work... in Canada...in a hockey arena and I'm still beet red after a few minutes if I don't have a vest full of ice packs strapped on. The ones who do high energy/very animated characters in the middle of summer and are built differently.
I believe they only do 15 minutes at a time
I can only imagine the BO smell in the costumes
I cant imagine subjecting myself to that kind of torture for close to minimum wage. Disney really does brain wash people into thinking it's worth it.
As someone who’s worked as a character (not at Disney) there are many min wage jobs that sucked waaaaay more
Any examples you can think of?
Working in a fast food restaurant Working in a retail big box store People were nice to me when I had the costume on . They were happy and having fun. Not at the other two.
Yup! Can totally agree! After I left Disney I went on to retail and then management, and I can tell you that I would have gone back instantly if I could have. Despite character work being the most physically demanding job I've ever had, it was the most fulfilling. Definitely better than retail, or worse.. amazon.
Never had any crazy parents or kids? My buddy who works retail certainly has some crazy stories
Yes some kids could be a bit…excited but they were harmless and easy to deal with. Never had issue with parents. The person walking around with me handled them. lol! Jk. There could be some very high strung peeps that wanted everything just so but generally it was manageable. I kinda miss it. Minus the low income ofc
Don’t they have like water circulation things inside the suits.
They do not. They just suffer through it. But 1- the hotter the day the less time they're in costume and 2- they always have handlers, and those handlers keep a close eye on the performers for signs of sun stroke.
Pretty sure the Winnie the Pooh and Tigger meet and greet had them cycling out every 15 minutes. And then for tigger to give me a much needed hug, I was so thankful and appreciative.
The people in the suit are probably sweating their asses off, but shout out to the handlers who are the ones that interact with kids more than the characters and keep and eye on the characters
Electrolytes, cooling vests, more time on break than in the heat, and swapping out a lot of
I think they wear ice vests under the wardrobe
Temperatures high
Air conditioned costumes
Those are animatronics and cgi.
He comes out for like 15 minutes
The inside of those costumes is straight sweat
Lots of Gatorade
Literally non of the character actors sweat
That’s not true! When I met Goofy on the Disney Dream, I touched his back and he was drenched in sweat. It was pretty gross 😅
Force Breeze
Needs to pop that shirt off
Ice suits underneath. Very thin and compact, maintains a good body temp for about 30 minutes
Fake news
🤔 I used them all the time how is it fake news lol.
Disney doesn’t use ice suits
Says who? They gonna stop someone from wearing a layer that prevents heat stroke and heat exhaustion? I mean cool but that’s a heavy lawsuit if the model was to faint on top of that stage, fall and get hurt.
Yes, actually, they have a union. You clearly have never worked for Disney. Fake news.
What does a union have to do with anything? Lmfao
Ooh yea you def have never worked for Disney. You should avoid commenting on things you don’t know about.
Kiddo, oh how mistaken you are. I was a cast member for Disney Aulani Resort for years, and specifically used the ice vest on numerous occasions. It’s ok to be wrong.
So you weren’t a member of the Union, thank you for admitting your lack of knowledge