Creative Costuming Conundrums?

Due to the secrecy around Mickey and all of his friends who work so hard to keep the magic of Disney alive, it is very hard to answer that question specifically (even harder for my mother when she wants to brag about me.)

"I help Mickey Mouse and all of his friends at Hollywood Studios get dressed, do their laundry and prepare for shows/meet 'n greet's."

Because there are different 'themes' and atmosphere to each park, Mickey and his friends need a lot of different outfits to wear. Our job is to help put together, clean and organize those outfits so that when they come to visit they can pick out their outfit and go meet the public. After all there's only one Mickey Mouse so he has a very busy schedule going from park to park everyday.

We get a lot of visitors asking us to help them get dressed; Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, Lilo, Stitch, Mr (Bob) Incredible, Frozone, Captain Hook, Smee, Genie, Jafar, Pooh, Jasmine, Aladdin, Tigger, Ozo, Phineas, Ferb, Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Sully, Mike, Pinocchio, Queen of Hearts, Pocahontas, Meeko, Chip & Dale & the little Einsteins. Of course, I can't name all of Mickey's friends that come to visit; they're all very busy and have a lot of destinations get to.

We have to make sure all of their gloves and shoes are clean, there are no snags in any coats or dresses and wash out any pen stains from signing so many autographs. We have to separate the basic undergarments from the dry cleaning and the clothing that we can wash on-site. Not to mention some clothing cannot be put into industrial sized washing machines or  dryers - that's why we have drying rooms. We wouldn't want to damage Mary Poppins' dress or put holes in Captain Hook's coat... Sometimes accidents happen and we will have to drive pargos (yes golf carts) with extra outfits, clothing or accessories to Mickey and his friends in time for their appearance - it's a very fun and continuously busy job for sure.

We recently took a tour of Disney World's full costuming department, where all of the outfits, clothing and dresses were created. From researching  patterns, cutting out the material to sewing it all together... everything is made in-house (on-site) and everyone works hard to meet Disney's impeccable show quality standards.

Having great co-cast makes the days go by faster as well (since Disney is an entertainment business all employees are called cast members, your uniform is called your costume and all customers/patrons are called guests.) I have already become friends with cast members from Haiti, Turkey, France, Louisiana, Bronx, New Jersey and am determined to learn some Spanish from my lovely Hispanic friends as well.

Although I cant go into grave detail about my position, I can tell you that working backstage/behind the scenes is one of the most exciting jobs I have ever had. To see how the shows are done and scheduled is inspiring. To be proud that you are part of the magic that gets seen on the other side of the curtain is a feeling I wish I could share with every creative person out there (it also helps that we get the AC and fans in the warehouse.) Even though we've only been at Disney for almost 2 weeks now.. I would DEFINITELY recommend this to any student apprehensive or not.