Disneyland and Disney World theme parks have been captivating the hearts and imaginations of guests for more than 50 years. However, it hasn’t all been magic rainbows and fairie dust.
According to several ex-employees, there are some serious skeletons hiding in Walt’s closet. Have a look and check out the Disney park secrets I really wish I’d never learned.
Your name is not your name.
“I worked in reservations. They give you a name that is not your own, and you better use it. My name is not Robyn Leigh, but in Disney reservations, it was.” – Reddit u/honeybunhitta
The parks can be a hazard for baby ducks.
Disney theme parks have a lot of water elements to them, as such, they attract nesting birds like ducks and geese. Reddit user and former employee Lrehcsa1926 says that they used to watch baby ducks get stepped on all the time.
The park takes in an incredible amount of money.
“There was a central ‘bank’ near the Magic Kingdom tunnel entrance where all the park gift shops, restaurants, etc., would deposit the day’s cash. Each day an armored truck would drive into the tunnel to haul away the loot.” – Reddit u/Aware_Masterpiece_23
Costume characters have to seriously commit to the part.
Redditor thistakestoolongtodo says that their mother used to work as a nurse for the park. One day, one of the costume characters was hit with heat exhaustion but the park administration wouldn’t allow him to remove his head in public — even to seek medical attention.
Sexual harassment comes with the territory.
“People sexually harass the characters super frequently. I was working with Ariel, and cast members would always count down before they took a photo so people had time to get into position. I counted down, and this teen boy decided to try to rip off one of Ariel’s shells.” – Reddit u/leopoldisacat
You must be this tall to play the character.
Certain costume characters have height minimums and maximums. For instance, Reddit user leopoldisacat says that the majority of the time when you see Mickey or Donald Ducking strolling the park, those costume characters are usually played by women.
The Haunted Mansion ride is actually disgusting.
“The guest-inaccessible parts of the Haunted Mansion are gross. Think asbestos, dust, grease, cobwebs, and all kinds of other crap that has accumulated over decades. Every time wifey had to work there, she came home and bolted for the shower.” – Reddit u/Opheltes
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“You are being watched everywhere.” – Reddit u/GoingApeCostume
That’s a slightly ominous statement, and to what extent? Are you trying to tell me that Mickey and Minnie have the bathrooms bugged? Are there secret spy cameras in the giftshop? Also, how has this not been made into a documentary by now?
The life of a face character isn’t enviable.
“I was friends with a woman who played Snow White. She said she wanted to quit on her very first day because she had so many screaming, vomiting, angry, hungry, drooling children handed to her for photos.” – Reddit u/Witty-Message-2852
Disney doesn’t prosecute assaults committed by park guests.
Redditor jon98gn remembers seeing a drunken guest grabbing/twisting a face character’s wrist so badly that it snapped. Disney never did a thing and as a result, the girl had permanent nerve damage for the rest of her life.
There are people walking in the walls.
“I continued to use the backstage passages and the tunnels long after I quit. Nobody ever challenged me. As long as you met the grooming standards and looked like you knew where you were going, it was easy.” – Reddit u/coprolite_hobbyist
Disney wants to know where your tattoos are.
According to Reddit user case_sensitive, Disney used to include a blank body outline with their application papers. Prospective employees were instructed to indicate on which parts of their body did they have tattoos.
I do believe in fairies, I do believe in fairies…
“At Disneyland, on the Peter Pan ride, I was always in awe of the floating stars that you zoom by in the ride. Turns out, they are just LEDs on the end of wire hangers (attached to the walls, mostly) that are wrapped in electrical tape.” – Reddit u/Amazingawesomator
Even the most magical place on earth has some skeletons.
This Redditor had the misfortune of working at the park during the monorail crash of 2009. They say that they still wake up at night to the sounds of screaming in their head.
Big Mickey is watching you…
“Former Disneyland employee here. We see everything in the rides. There are cameras everywhere, and we have night vision. Yes, I saw you cop a feel on your girl when you thought no one was watching.” – Reddit u/ragingduck
h/t: Reddit
