A Disneyland Story

So A story...

A long time ago I lived in Orange County and decided I would audition for the Character Department at Disneyland.  This was in the Early 1980's and I was just a kid.  

The audition started as a basic cattle call and I was later told there were 500 people there.  I will never forget the  young man in leg warmers, yes I just used the word leg warmers in  a sentence.  He  jumped up on a stage with a flourish and quieted us all down so we could learn our audition dance routine.  It was a basic eight count of eight routine.  I really am no professional dancer and I have no real dancer lingo but that is what I called what he taught us.  Anyway,  he showed us the dance. Then we had one time to learn it and we all followed him as he called out the moves in slow motion and danced facing away so we could mirror him.  He did this one time.   He then counted out us in groups of fifty.  

We had about ten minutes outside of the audition hall or what was used to be called the parade rehearsal building.  I think that is what it was called.  This was a long time ago and I am old now.  It looked like a giant metal barn.  I was very thankful that I was not in the first group because I needed all the time I could get to make sure I had those dance moves down.  

There were some really good dancers in my group and we practiced together. I think they felt sorry for me.   I was really regretting my choice of wardrobe.  I was wearing matching peach shorts that went to my mid-thigh and a t-shirt that was, of course a lighter shade of peach that had cap sleeves.  My socks...um peach that were ankle socks and my shoes...do not kill me... were white ladies tennis shoes.  My hair was hair bear styled  and parted in the middle.  I looked around at all the other dancer's and they were wearing basically nothing.  Ballet clothing or 80's work out clothes.  I looked like a church lady.  All the girls had on false eye lashes and big 80's make up.  I had on a fresh face with lip gloss.   I was feeling the ugly duckling in a world of swans.  I was thinking there is no way I am ever making this audition.  Then some hot barley clothed gorgeous girl would do a kick up to her eyeball in front of me.  Yep...I am doomed. 

Anyway, it was my groups time to audition.   I made sure I was front and center.  Me and my peachiness.  I looked at the Judges, made eye contact and did my best I have been a cheerleader since birth look and danced like I would be killed, if I didn't do it perfect.  At the end of this very short dance, they lined us up in a row and that leg warmer guy went down the row and picked a bunch of folks, me not being one of them and had them step out.   a lot of them were the hot girls in my group and the really good dancers.  They were all excited and jumping around.  Then leg warmer guy said thank you and told them to go home.  I was like what? I get to stay?

After that, leg warmer guy kept doing the same thing.  He would re-group us into smaller and smaller groups and then we would keep auditioning over and over again.  Finally there was about fifty of us left.  That is when, they asked us to come back the next day.  

I came back the next day.  I decided to wear a very similar outfit but all in pink.  I like pink.  There was no way I was going to go all slut girl and get thrown out.   I show up and realize there are about five girls left in the audition and the rest are all boys.  I have no clue as to why.  I look at the girls and they are all fresh faced and all of them are so beautiful.  I mean perfect.  I am thinking what the hell am I doing here?  Do they need one ugly girl to compare these beauties to?

We do the routine again.  More people are asked to leave.  There are only three girls left.  Then they bring out a few character costumes.  We put on heads and some of the bodies.  That sounds weird.  The character heads and character bodies.  Then they have us do the routine again.  More people are asked to leave.  Then we are asked to do impromptu stuff.  Basically just be silly.   More people are cut.  It is down to 25  people.  They took pictures of all of us.  I saw that picture a few years later.  I was all squinty.  It was a bad picture.  

At this point they take the only other girl away and she is doing some stuff with wigs.  Then they take me and interview me over and over.  They do the interview stuff with the rest of the folks.  The whole time there are a lot of folks that keep looking at me.  I mean looking at me.  It was kinda creepy.  At the time I had this mole on my nose.  It was a small tiny mole.  I never thought it was important or worthy of notice.  Apparently it was. 

I was sent home and told I would receive a telephone call within three days as to whether I would have made the audition or not.  I waited by the phone.  I didn't have to wait long.  I was called the next day and offered a job as a Disneyland Character.   I had no idea what that meant or how special that was but I was really happy about it.  

After all the audition and fuss and muss, I found out that there was only 15 people that made the cattle call.  I think that there was only 15 people.  Anyway, that is what I was told or what I remember.  There was the girl that had tired on all the wigs and me.  We were the only girls who made it in our group.  I asked her about that at our orientation.  She said that they had thought she could be a "face Part" or Snow White or Cinderella or something.  I said really?  How cool is that.  She told me she wasn't pretty enough.  I said well, I didn't even get to try on any wigs.  I get to hide behind the masks.  Don't want to scare any children with this face do we...HA HA.  I hoped I made her feel better.  

I loved my time at Disneyland.  I made the best friends there.  People I still talk to almost daily.  Some of my fondest memories are from my experiences there.  I think the best take away I have from my time there is the ability to watch how people behave towards you from behind a mask.

  Some people (I mean adults) get so excited to see their favorite cartoon "Star" and believe that they are friends with this toon that really does not exist.  They run up to a person who is essentially in a sleeping bag and a helmet and hug them and tell them how excited they are to meet them.  Take their picture with them and ask for an autograph.  I have had grown women feel me up to make sure I was a man and then once in their minds I was a "man" ask me to meet them later for a date.  So...so....creeper.  I have see adults push their children into my space... who do not want to see or be near this scary tall fury thing and are screaming at the top of their lungs and then force their child to be with something that terrifies them.  I will never understood that.  All this happens, when you cannot speak and basically have to just stand there and take it.  It is not like you can rip off your character head and give lessons on parenting or basic manners.  It was part of the job to keep the magic alive for everyone no matter how vile the guest was.  

Then there is the pure joy.  Of the children who are in wonder that the animated character that they love is standing right before them and they can touch them... be with them.  They are blown away that this is real and happening.  They hug you with their whole heart and it is magic and you can feel it.  You look over and their parents are smiling and are so happy that their child is glowing and in a moment of wonderment.  This is priceless.  The little boy or girl who asks you to please sign his autograph book.  Is such a wonderful thing.  The word please is a gift that was rarely heard.  When a child was scared, the parents who stood back and just let that child look from a far and did not push their child into something he or she was not ready for.  This also was a rare moment.  I loved the babies and children.  If I could have just had them, I would still be working at Disney today.  

I could go on and on about the crowds and how scary that first summer really was.  Then you get used to it.  You learn and then you enjoy it and become a better person for it.  Well, at least my heart and soul became a better person for it.  I learned patience and tolerance.  I learned to forgive people for everything.  You just had to.  Once you have been felt up 50 or so times a day by excited female guests you stop asking why and just forgive them and go with it.  The families of twenty or so folks from other countries who rush you and basically are so excited to see you and beat the hell out of you in their frenzy you end up forgiving and let it go.   Bruises and all.  They just want a picture of their friend.   I rolled my eyes a lot in my character head and prayed to whatever God would listen to me for help that I would not deck someone.  I  never did deck anyone so my prayers were answered.  

I am sure I broke some character rules today by talking about being a character.  We were always told to keep it a secret to keep the magic alive.  Things are different now.  People are different now.  The Character department is different now.  The Park is different now.  There used to be 50 people in our department and the Park was closed on Monday and Tuesday in the winter months.   Not anymore folks.  

Like I said.  It was a special experience and time in my life and I am glad to share it with you.  I hope you enjoyed it and that the next time you go to the Park with your babies you will let them just be in the moment with their special character friends.  Its not all about the picture.  Its about that one magic moment that will forever be in your child's memory and heart.  Let them have that one special tic of time.  Take the picture of your child reaching for Goofy and Goofy reaching back instead of the pose of everyone facing the camera.  Try it.  You just might like it.