Do you enjoy working long hours in the hot sun for next to no pay? Do you like being made into a sexual object for creepy old men to stare at and idolize? If you answered ‘yes,’ then being a Disney parks face character may be the job for you!
Recently, an ex-Disney employee named Sarah Daniels began sharing an assortment of videos detailing her time spent working for the house of Mouse. Among them, she discusses which face character got hit on the most by the park guests.
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Sarah Daniels is a full-time content creator, a Twitch streamer, as well as a former Disney employee.
Before finding her way to TikTok, Sarah worked for nearly 12 years as a Disney employee. She began her tenure as a “face character,” worked the Disney Cruise Line, as well as helped open up the Frozen musical in Los Angeles.
On paper, her experiences sound like every little boy and girl’s dream job. But according to Sarah, her time spent working for the House of Mouse was anything but magical.
In a series of TikTok videos, Sarah explains how she used to get harassed and propositioned by men on a regular basis.
“I was always caught really off-guard when people would do this,” Sarah began. “So usually if I was having an issue, I’d divert them to my character attendant because you’re not supposed to say ‘no’.”
That’s right — face characters aren’t allowed to break character even if they’re being sexually harassed by creepy old men visiting the park (with their wives and children, no less) while on vacation.
Sarah says that “as a face character, ‘no’ isn’t a part of your vocabulary. You have to find ways around ‘no’.”
For instance, for those times when Sarah used to dress up as Tinker Bell and a child would ask her:
“Tinker Bell, can you fly for us?”
Instead of saying ‘no’, Sarah would have to come up with something along the lines of “Well, if I flew right now then I wouldn’t have enough fairy dust to be able to get home!”
Sarah was asked whether she thought that men hit on her because she was in character or simply because she was an attractive woman?
Sarah said that in her mind, a creepy guy will hit on a woman whether she happens to be in character or not. She did confirm, however, that of all the characters she played over the years, Tinker Bell was the worst by far the most uncomfortable.
Sarah said that “There were many moments, especially as Tinker Bell , when I’d have men, married men , hand me the keys to their hotel room and tell me where they were staying.”
Yet even in those blatantly inappropriate situations, Sarah was forced to remain in character.
One of Sarah’s followers on TikTok commented on her video, saying “I would’ve said ‘ oh, fairy Mary and your WIFE probably wouldn’t approve that.”
Sarah swiftly replied to the comment, stating “And then you would have been promptly fired.”
Is sexual harassment listed as part of the job description? How could Disney possibly be able to get away with risking the physical and emotional wellbeing of its employees?
Since sharing her story, a very large minority of men have begun spamming Sarah’s social media with angry comments and messages.
In a separate video, Sarah said that “I think my favorite part about sharing stories about creepy dads at Disney is that now I’m inundated with men, on every platform, telling me that it’s my fault — that I sexualized Tinker Bell. So I deserved it.”
Upon watching this video, fellow TikToker/party princess, Julia Condon, was quick to come to Sarah’s defense.
“As a party princess, there is nothing sexual about portraying a princess or fairy. Ever,” Julia wrote bluntly.
“The job is literally about bringing joy to children,” she concluded.
Another user wrote, “people saying “it’s the outfit Disney makes you wear!’ have big ‘What was she wearing?’ vibes.” A sentiment that Sarah wholeheartedly agrees with.
The moral of the story: don’t make women uncomfortable. Treat everyone with respect and try not to act like a giant creep — especially if you also happen to be vacationing with your wife/partner and children.
