After a decade under the tiara a Disney Princess has revealed what it was really like to rule over the magic kingdom. Photo / Lydia Turner
After a decade under the tiara a Disney Princess has revealed what it was really like to rule over the magic kingdom. Photo / Lydia Turner
Many girls grow up dreaming of being a Disney Princess.
Be careful what you wish upon a star for.
That's the advice of one who realised this dream and for 11 years played a host of characters from Tinkerbell to Elsa From Frozen. She has done Parks, Disney Cruise Lines and even parades meeting hundreds of thousands of kids in character.
"I started really, really young" says Sarah Daniels.
Daniells who among other things is an actress, singer and pro-computer gamer says the most defining thing on her CV is the decade spent in the Magical Kingdom of Disney World.
The she told USA Today the vocation came to her on a family holiday aged 8, but she didn't want to be a princess, she wanted to be a mouse…
"When I saw Mickey dancing his little tush off in Fantasmic!, I was like, 'That is what I want to do. That is all I want to do,'" she said.
She realised this in 2006 when she got cast as Mikey in the Disney Parade. Soon she took on her first role as disney princesses, Ariel the Little Mermaid.
Here's what she learned from ten years in the Disney castle.
It's not easy being a princess
There are two types of performer, costumes and "face characters". One is far harder than the other and Daniels has played both. If you can hide behind a Mickey Mouse head the role is far more forgiving. Adding to the difficulty is the fact that face characters are expected to interact and answer questions.
One lapse of character, an off expression or wrongly answered question, can break the magic that kids come to the park for.
"You just have to really be good at working quickly on your toes, so that you don't get yourself stuck in a corner."
Kiss and tell: A former Disney Princess who played characters for a decade has revealed what life was like under the tiara. Photo / Brian McGowan, Unsplash
Yes, there is a finishing school for princesses
Of course it helps to be a Disney Fan, but the park makes sure all princesses know their backstory, look, sound and act like their roles.
"You have two full days of training, where the first day, they're really going through the story. They go through the gestures, the way that you carry yourself, the way you speak, you know, just different things to really get you in character."
This also includes handwriting and practice signing paper. "All the autographs have to look the same across the park," she says, so kids don't have mismatched autographs if they meet a different performer.
An important part of this training is how to field difficult or awkward questions, of which there are many.
As a princess, people will try to trip you up and break your act
It's a problem that has only got worse with the rise of social media platforms like TikTok. Guests will try to ask off-kilter questions to get performers to break character, especially if it gives them a viral video.
"Videos get made and then those performers [can] get fired. So people are taking people's jobs away because they wanted to get internet clout. That's not a great thing to do to any human being."
Even if people you know come to visit you have to stay in character. Daniels says this is something that is far easier in a costume - even her own mother didn't recognise her when she was dressed as Whinnie the Pooh.
When not in character Disney character actors have a secret code and etiquette around their job. For example when asked which characters they "'Friends with' Ariel" rather than "I acted as Ariel". It's a point that irks many fans, but doesn't deter Daniels.
Disney princesses have to navigate inappropriate behaviour
Kids can be difficult, particularly at a certain age when their favourite thing to do is challenge characters and say "You're not really Ariel".
However adults can be even worse. Daniels says she has had inappropriate comments about her body and even guests try to slip her hotel room keys while she's on the job.
While Disney says it reserves the right to bar guests for offensive behaviour, often it's an off-colour comment by a weird uncle that can ruin an actor's day.
"When you walk through the gates of Disney, you have to remember everyone you encounter is a human being and should all be treated as such. Yes, you paid a lot of money, but it doesn't mean you can say weird stuff to Ariel about her seashells."
You have to audition and you can't 'pick' your princess
While there are auditions on acting, dancing and other key competencies, a lot of casting is about appearance.
"You go to auditions, where it's basically like a "type out." They look at you, and they decide what characters you look like, and they also fall between height ranges."
There are only off-the-peg costumes so if the slipper doesn't fit, you'll never be Cinderella, no matter how perfect you think you'd be.
It's very strict, you can see the prescribed dimensions of characters at disneneyauditions.com.
"They literally advertise how tall a princess needs to be, face characters need to be and who they're looking for."
They will however provide coloured contacts, makeup and wigs to help with appearance.
As a job that largely depends on how actors look and wearing beautiful costumes, many people can be wrapped up with the image of being a Disney princess.It's not as glamorous as you might think, says Daniels.
"Kids get their boogers on you. You get thrown up on. People aren't very nice to you sometimes."
It's not all about being a princess, she says. Some of her more memorable jobs have been in costume behind a mask.
"If you want to be a Disney character, go be a Disney character. Go do the fur thing, it's amazing."
