6 Things Nobody Tells You About Working at Disney World
#5. The Costumes Are Hell
The regular cast member costumes are bad enough -- wool and heavy polyester in a super-hot and humid climate gets disgusting fast.
They're heavy, they cover your whole body, and they absorb every last
drop of the sweat pouring out of every inch of you, so they stink. It's a
hot mess. Wearing a full-body costume will also make you go through a
total body change :After a few weeks in costume, your sweat started to run clear. Salt just
stopped coming out of your pores. You have to change your diet -- you
can't eat burgers and fries all the time or you'll pass out.
Meanwhile, the Panic costume needs to be closed by someone else and ends
up mashing your face against a metal screen that heats up instantly.
Really, any time you can't get into your costume by yourself, you know
you're in trouble. I remember struggling through a parade in July when
the heat index was well over 100, and I was in one of those horrible
costumes that I had been practically sewn into. Well, before the halfway
point I was just trying not to pass out, stumbling along, not going
over to interact with the kids along the route. When I finally got to
the end, I had tunnel vision and was screaming for someone to get me
out. When I had finally been unzipped, I shot out of that costume like
I'd been squeezed from a birth canal, and I just laid there on the
pavement, shivering and dry heaving until the entire parade had
finished.
And before going any further: Yes, it's all worth it.
You'd be amazed at how happy just showing up as Mickey makes
people. It's like being a rock star, with all the photos and autographs
and adoration. You really do get to create a kind of magic for people --
the day I die, I will remember what it was like to look out through
Mickey's eyes. It sounds corny, but it's true. So try to keep that in
mind while I talk about how ...
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