This article was in the NY Daily news:
Beneath the Goofy looks
By CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A new magazine article exposes the dark side of Disney.
There's a rat in the Magic Kingdom.
A new exposé rips the enormous fiberglass heads off Mickey, Goofy and other beloved Walt Disney characters and reveals the stressful and sometimes seamy underside of Disney World.
"The pressure is enough to drive some Goofys to drink," reporter Tyler Gray reports in the debut issue of Radar magazine.
Whenever possible, the actors flee the sterility of Disney World and seek sanctuary in the grungy 1.5-mile network of dank tunnels below. There they shed their heads in the "zoo" and unwind in ways Walt Disney would frown upon.
"My first day off the bus, I remember seeing Snow White, Mary Poppins and Ariel in costume, standing out there puffing on cigarettes," a former Pluto said.
Then there's Vista Way, an apartment complex known as "adult amusement park where they can shed their costumes altogether" and often do.
"The building houses students from around the world," Gray writes. "It serves as a breeding ground for legions of wanna-be Goofys, Donalds and Plutos."
While recruits are supposed to be living there under Disney's draconian code of behavior, "they're among the youngest, freest, and of the corporation's workforce," Gray writes. And they learn "the thrill of defying the Disney image."
______, drinking and drugs are rampant. And the place's reputation is so notorious that Paris Hilton "is rumored to have dropped by," according to Gray.
It's the chance to perform before a crowd that draws so many young people, many of them gay.
"Prospective characters must meet strict guidelines," Gray writes.
Nobody taller than 5 feet tall gets to wear the Mickey head. Nobody black gets to be Snow White. Nobody white gets to be Mulan. And everybody has to audition to get in.
There's also an unofficial pecking order.
The best gigs are for the "chosen few" who have the "delicate bonestructure" to play Prince Charming or Cinderella.
Then come the big five characters - Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald.
"At the bottom rung are obscure fur characters like Mr. Smee, Captain Hook's sidekick in 'Peter Pan,'" Gray writes.
For $6.50 an hour, they don the oven-like costumes and endure the endless parade of signing autographs, posing for pictures and hugging tykes.
"The first time I stepped out in character I felt like I was famous," one Pluto said. "Everybody freaks out and rushes up to you."
All the while, Disney is watching.
"You don't want someone to start hip-hop dancing or doing the robot in Goofy," said Justin Alt, who trained actors to be Disney characters. "You don't want to ruin the fantasy."
Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chairman and publisher of the Daily News, is co-chairman of Radar, a glossy new general interest magazine edited by Maer Roshan.
Beneath the Goofy looks
By CORKY SIEMASZKO
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
A new magazine article exposes the dark side of Disney.
There's a rat in the Magic Kingdom.
A new exposé rips the enormous fiberglass heads off Mickey, Goofy and other beloved Walt Disney characters and reveals the stressful and sometimes seamy underside of Disney World.
"The pressure is enough to drive some Goofys to drink," reporter Tyler Gray reports in the debut issue of Radar magazine.
Whenever possible, the actors flee the sterility of Disney World and seek sanctuary in the grungy 1.5-mile network of dank tunnels below. There they shed their heads in the "zoo" and unwind in ways Walt Disney would frown upon.
"My first day off the bus, I remember seeing Snow White, Mary Poppins and Ariel in costume, standing out there puffing on cigarettes," a former Pluto said.
Then there's Vista Way, an apartment complex known as "adult amusement park where they can shed their costumes altogether" and often do.
"The building houses students from around the world," Gray writes. "It serves as a breeding ground for legions of wanna-be Goofys, Donalds and Plutos."
While recruits are supposed to be living there under Disney's draconian code of behavior, "they're among the youngest, freest, and of the corporation's workforce," Gray writes. And they learn "the thrill of defying the Disney image."
______, drinking and drugs are rampant. And the place's reputation is so notorious that Paris Hilton "is rumored to have dropped by," according to Gray.
It's the chance to perform before a crowd that draws so many young people, many of them gay.
"Prospective characters must meet strict guidelines," Gray writes.
Nobody taller than 5 feet tall gets to wear the Mickey head. Nobody black gets to be Snow White. Nobody white gets to be Mulan. And everybody has to audition to get in.
There's also an unofficial pecking order.
The best gigs are for the "chosen few" who have the "delicate bonestructure" to play Prince Charming or Cinderella.
Then come the big five characters - Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Pluto and Donald.
"At the bottom rung are obscure fur characters like Mr. Smee, Captain Hook's sidekick in 'Peter Pan,'" Gray writes.
For $6.50 an hour, they don the oven-like costumes and endure the endless parade of signing autographs, posing for pictures and hugging tykes.
"The first time I stepped out in character I felt like I was famous," one Pluto said. "Everybody freaks out and rushes up to you."
All the while, Disney is watching.
"You don't want someone to start hip-hop dancing or doing the robot in Goofy," said Justin Alt, who trained actors to be Disney characters. "You don't want to ruin the fantasy."
Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chairman and publisher of the Daily News, is co-chairman of Radar, a glossy new general interest magazine edited by Maer Roshan.
