V. The "Disney Look"

Now working for Disney as a CM - Cast Member - or in my case, a Crew Member on board the ships, you are expected to follow a set of appearance guidelines while On Stage - that is to say, whenever in sight of guests and on duty.

This is known as the "Disney Look". 

According to the Mouse, it's: " a classic look that is clean, natural, polished and professional, and avoids "cutting edge" trends or extreme styles... when you take pride in your appearance, you become a role model for those around you, and you convey the attitude of excellence that has become synonymous with the Disney name."


To achieve this classic, traditional circa 1950s-era looks, they've created a very strict set of rules that outline how you're expected to dress, they way you're to groom yourself, and what your overall appearance should convey. Everyone that works for Disney is expected to follow this. Everyone. (Except of course, character performers or Face Characters like....Tarzan, let's say.)

 For a wee overview of it, take a look here: https://www.disneyinternationalprograms.com/seasonal/look_intro.html


Now this stuff is VERY detailed. Likely much more detailed than any other job you've held thus far, unless you've worked in Entertainment/Theme Parks/Theatre where your appearance is key to your continued employment.

 So it begins with an overall glance at what's expected of you, depending on what you're wearing:

Notice - the smile is key!
Name tags are a must - especially since Disney is a first-name company, you're expected to address everyone in this way.

And from each part of the ideal Disney Male, it is broken down into sub category specifics.
For example - on the topic of Hair alone:

HAIR

Now hair has been really important to me in that I really like varying how mine looks. Sometimes I grow it out in credibly long and straight, and about two years ago now I got it permed into a mass of curls. For the duration of my time with Disney though, it'll have to be cut short and cropped close.

This is a sacrifice I am willing to make.

 If your hair matches any one of this multicultural array of styles, you're in the clear!

(Clearly Asians are only allowed to wear their hair one way.)

But if it's even a wee bit too long, rugged, or if you're growing out some hockey flow...

UNACCEPTABLE.

We then move on to sideburns:

 Pretty much if you're Abe Lincoln, Amish or a leprechaun, you're not getting in.

And now for the NEWEST and most GROUNDBREAKING revision to the Disney look,

this was something that remained unchanged for decades and decades.

 Facial Hair.

Up until the year 2000, all employees had to be entirely clean shaven. No hair on the face whatsoever. Even the ladies, regardless of hairy origin.

Now even this image is a bit outdated; as of this year, beards and goatees are no longer prohibited! The jury's still out on the "extreme mustaches".

Apparently it's very common practice for fellow Cast/Crew Members to wake up and shave every single morning which made me debate the merits or purchasing a brand spankin'-new electric shaver for a couple hundred bucks. In the end I figured it was useless as I can barely grow stubble, let alone a mustache or a beard.

Apparently the first thing I'll be doing at training is a Disney Look inspection to make sure I'm up to snuff, and then once again upon embarkation or boarding of my vessel. And if I get the green light everywhere, I'll be able to get the next part of my Disney Look --- my costume!

COSTUME

 

So Disney's cute and quirky in that everything has its own set of special lingo, and it's all part of what they call the Disney "show". 

• So Employees are called "Cast Members".
• Being On/Off Duty id being "On/Off Stage"
• Passengers/Customers are always "Guests"
• Credit Card signatures are called "Autographs"
• Managers are "Lead Roles"
• Uniform distribution folk are "Wardrobe"
• and of course, our uniforms are called our "Costumes"

Being on the lovely Youth Activities Counsellor team, I get to wear bright yellow! (Hooray.)

Here's the best picture I could get of what the costume for my position entails:

 (Incidentally, this is Rebecca Coriam from the UK who mysteriously disappeared off the ship last year and who was never found again!)

Even better, here's a video of people on the job/living on the ships doing what I'll be doing:

 It's looking like a super bright yellow polo shirt, with an option of navy shorts or pants with bright white sneakers. Not the most attractive or flattering thing, mind you - I wonder if the yellow's meant to disguise it when the kids decide to urinate on us en masse. Ugh. Shudders.

NON-COSTUME CLOTHES

However, I've been doing a lot of reading in the months leading to my departure date on various websites - namely:

DISboards - the Cast Members only section
http://www.disboards.com/index.php

WDWIP - Walt Disney World International Programme - Cruise Crew section
http://www.wdwip.com/smf/index.php?board=2.0

- and a bunch of random older blogs like mine that I dug up. And from what I can tell, I get to be in the upper end of the Cruise Ship hierarchy. What this means is that technically the folks in the Entertainment department (which includes the Cruise Staff and us Youth Staff) are considered Petty Officers as compared to the rest of the other CM's on board who are considered "Crew" - i.e.: Pursers, Room Stewards, Dining Servers, Galley Cooks, Housekeeping.

 If you talk to people who work in the Cruise Line industry, on most ships - the Staff tend to come from English-speaking, First World countries (USA, Canada, Australia, the UK). The Crew on the other hand, tend to overwhelmingly come for Third World countries and outnumber the Staff.
 
The primary difference here (besides salary, which is most likely definitely the case) is that the "Staff" gets to have Guest Privileges. Which means we technically should be getting access to a bunch of Guest-Only areas that the rest of the CMs on board don't get. Yet what this also means, is that any clothes that I wish to wear on my off-duty time has to be acceptable and within Disney Look as long as it's "onstage". So if I were to walk around topless displaying my big ol' tattoos on my torso, that wouldn't be looked upon too kindly by the Mouse up top.

So when I pack I have to think extra hard about the kinds of casual-wear clothing I'll be bringing when I'm out of costume. Think J-Crew/Tommy Hilfiger prep and you got the idea.

 Buttt on the other hand for our Crew parties and hanging out below deck, I want to stay as far away from polos and bright yellow as much as possible. Still debating what to wear, but it'll likely be a bunch of V-necks and plaid. I kinda wanna rep the Canadian-ness as I have a feeling I'll be one of the only ones on board. And I want fellow Canadian passengers to come up for a chat so I don't forget what our accent sounds like :P


BONUS! - if you're interested in checking it out yourself:
For me and my fellow Crew Members at Sea - our extensive Disney Look Book:
http://welcome.dcljobs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/dlook_book.pdf

UP NEXT: THE WELCOME PACKAGE AND PREP!