Nose rings are a no…and other ruminations on the restrictions of the Disney Look.
A friend recently asked me if she would be able to get a job at Walt Disney World with her new nose ring, to which the answer was an instant and resounding no. The other friends in our group, Orlando natives all, were shocked. We were standing in the middle of Epcot, and as I glanced around at the clean cut Cast Members manning every Food and Wine kiosk, I realized that the Disney look is something I’ve come to take for granted, and perhaps something not every visitor consciously notices.
When it comes to the Disney Look, the rules are strict and unwavering. Every Cast Member receives a Look Book as part of orientation. If you show up to your Traditions class in absolutely anything that doesn’t adhere to the guidelines, you’re sent straight home. A few examples of the things Cast Members are not permitted to have include:
- Eyeglasses or sunglasses with logos or bright colors
- Hair covering the ears or shirt collar for men
- Fingernails that extend past the tip of the finger for men, or more than a quarter of an inch past the fingertip for women
- Artificially dyed hair that does not look natural
- Shaving of the head or eyebrows for women
- Makeup in anything other than a neutral color
- Nail polish in anything other than a plain, neutral color
It wasn’t until 2012 that male Cast Members were allowed to have facial hair. Though facial hair is permitted within certain guidelines, it must be fully grown in. If a Cast Member decides he wants to grow a mustache, he must take vacation time to do so, which is exactly what many people did when the new rules were passed last year.
Disney enforces strict appearance guidelines for its staff.
This brief overview of the Disney Look doesn’t even begin to cover all the rules that Cast Members have to adhere to. Anything beyond a single ear piercing for women is prohibited, as are spacers in any body piercing while you’re on stage. And don’t think you can hide an extra ear piercing with carefully styled hair, or keep a tongue spacer concealed by keeping your mouth shut. Rule breakers that we were, my friends and I tried whatever tricks we could think of. Eventually our piercings just grew back after managers helpfully reminded us to remove them before we went on stage every day.
As for tattoos, though you’ll never see them on a Cast Member, they’re often there. Ever notice someone with a long sleeve costume in summer, even though their coworkers are wearing a short sleeve option? Chances are good there’s a tattoo hiding under there. Summer heat and humidity is brutal down here, even to native Floridians. Most people don’t dress like that just to stay warm and cozy.
The other option available to Cast Members with tattoos is to pile on a whole lot of makeup and hope you don’t sweat it off. The local Wal Mart that College Program Cast Members can catch a bus to even has tattoo cover-up makeup on an end cap.
If, like my friends, you’re thinking that all this seems to be a bit much, you’re probably forgetting that every last detail of the Disney environment is carefully orchestrated to provide you with a world that’s set apart from reality. The outside world simply isn’t visible from within one of Walt Disney World parks. This is wholly intentional. The fantasy of Disney is painstakingly cultivated here.
Even guests are expected to maintain a certain level of respect for their fellow visitors. Show up in an obscene shirt and you’ll be asked to change or turn it inside out. You might get away with a skimpy bikini top at other Orlando parks, but Disney will oh-so-politely request you put your clothes back on. This is a family park, after all, and you’re making Mickey blush.
Consider the fact that the World Showcase Cast Members loading you onto Maelstrom are actually from Norway and the idea of prohibiting purple nail polish doesn’t seem so elaborate of a concession. Walt abhorred even a stray piece of a trash on the sidewalk. He wanted nothing marring the idealistic setting of his parks and that part of Disney culture is something that endures even today.
Though tattoos and gauged piercings certainly don’t offend everyone, there’s no denying that these things do have the potential to offend SOMEONE. So in an effort to make Disney as sanitized as possible, every Cast Member is required to present a squeaky clean image that is as inoffensive as humanly possible. Every Cast Member is meant to be completely approachable with nothing about them that might make you, your toddler, or your grandmother stop and hesitate about asking for help.
Not all Cast Members are princesses. But they are ALL important.
If you’re offended by the idea of adhering to the Disney Look, then working for the company simply isn’t for you. Keeping shaggy hair from falling in your face isn’t nearly as annoying as wearing period appropriate clothing in Liberty Square, cleaning hotel rooms in a dress, or staggering through a guest relations tour in demure pumps. That’s just what we do. It’s all part of the magic. Cinderella and her friends aren’t the only Disney characters in the park. Every Cast Member puts on a costume and a certain demeanor to play a slightly different type of role for the day. We all have to sprinkle on a little pixie dust. It’s not just Tinkerbelle.
Is it annoying? Yeah, sometimes. But putting on a suit and tie wouldn’t be much better, and it certainly wouldn’t put you in a place to make a five-year-old’s eyes light up in wonder at the sight of the magical world that she’s just found. So, no, you can’t wear your nose ring. But if you do it right you can be part of something really special. You can make so many unforgettable memories in a day that you’ll lose track of them all – but rest assured that the guests won’t.
I suppose following the Disney Look isn’t for the faint of heart, but then not everyone can pull off striped knee high pirate socks either. If you can, then welcome to it. It’s a world like none other.
