A whole new respect for characters

[LittleDollClaudia]

OSHA records show high rate of injury for costumed Disney characters
By Beth Kassab
Orlando Sentinel

In an age of $100 million thrill rides, Walt Disney Co. is still struggling to perfect one of its oldest and most low-tech forms of entertainment: the costumed character.
The thousands of performers who wear the costumes at Disney parks around the world are exposed to physically demanding conditions and injuries from heavy and stiflingly hot costumes, overzealous children and other hazards.

Performers at Walt Disney World's four Orlando theme parks reported enough injuries in 2005 to affect more than a third of the local 1,900-person work force that portrays 270 different characters, an Orlando Sentinel analysis of injury reports found.

Costumes weighing as much as 60 pounds were blamed as the cause of 282 out of 773 injuries, mostly to the neck, shoulder or back, according to reports kept during 2005 by Disney for the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.

Incidents ranging from a death in 2004 to minor ailments such as skin rashes afflict the performers, who typically work 30-minute sets posing for photographs, signing autographs, marching in parades and interacting with Disney guests, records show.

In recent years Disney recruited a former NASA engineer who specializes in materials, and honed its character-development department -- which spans four nations on three continents -- with research on how the human body endures heat and weight.

The company also works with military researchers who examine the effects of heat and heavy loads on soldiers, and has adopted some materials for costumes originally developed for the auto industry and the international space station.

"We've benefited from a lot of work that the government's been doing," said Carol Campbell, vice president of character programs and development for Walt Disney Entertainment. "We've been able to take some of their technology to a new level."

When Disney World opened in Orlando in 1971 there were fewer than 100 employees who worked as character performers, said R.K. Kelley, director of entertainment for park operations.

Today, Disney World employs more people than ever -- about 1,900 -- to work as character actors, about 40 percent more than 10 years ago. The performers earn between $7.60 and $13.65 an hour with opportunities for extra pay for certain duties such as driving parade floats.

The department has grown, along with demand by guests for more interactive experiences with their favorite characters, Kelley said.

It's a phenomenon fueled largely by the release in the 1990s of hit animated films such as Toy Story and the merchandising boom spurred by the craze among young girls to emulate the classic Disney princesses.

"It's extremely important to Disney," Kelley said of the characters. "It's what makes Disney Disney. We hear that quote over and over and over again."

The program is so important to the company that it conducts interviews or focus groups with tens of thousands of guests each year. Everything from how a character signs an autograph to how a performer walks and gestures is taught in intensive training sessions.

As the program has grown, Disney has grappled with how to keep injuries at a minimum while keeping consistency among characters in the way they look and act.

The classes now include sessions that detail how actors should bend down, pick up heavy items, such as the bag that contains their costume, and other ergonomically correct movements.

The injury reports examined by the Orlando Sentinel show several patterns.

A burdensome costume head, typically a weighty part of the costume, was specifically cited in 49 cases often resulting in neck or back strain.

Children or adults were cited as a cause in 107 injuries, in which they pushed, pulled or otherwise hurt performers in costume.

Some reports specifically cited "excited" guests, characters who were "hit by guest," "jumping" children or "heavy" children. Injuries from those incidents include bruises, sprains and other ailments.

While some injuries are minor, the reports show that actors were injured badly enough to miss a combined 105 days of work in 2005. Actors were transferred to lighter duty jobs for a month or longer at least 13 times that year.

In 2004, 38-year-old performer Javier Cruz died after he was accidentally hit and run over by a parade float while dressed as Pluto.

That incident raised questions about performers' poor vision and decreased mobility while in costume. OSHA, the federal agency that enforces labor rules, fined Disney $6,300 because employees were in areas they were not supposed to be in.

Since Cruz's death, the company has introduced float spotters who look out for potential hazards alongside the float. They use radios to communicate with the float driver in case an emergency stop is needed.

John Dodson, a union steward who has worked as a performer at Disney for nine years, said some costumes cause more injuries than others because of the weight or mobility constraints.

Some costumes are so large and difficult to move in that performers, once inside the suits, must be picked up by a forklift and hoisted on top of parade floats.

Campbell, the Disney Entertainment executive, said function has come to rival looks in importance during the design of a costume, which can cost upward of $100,000.

While costumes can be redesigned to better distribute weight or trim pounds, less progress has been made in the way of keeping performers cool inside the sweltering costumes.

"I have never heard of a costume that's been redesigned to make it not as hot," Dodson said.

Various gadgets such as battery-powered fans, cooling tubes filled with ice water and ice vests have been tried, but for the most part tend to add more weight to the costume than they are worth. The gadgets tend to break, performers say, leaving them carrying additional pounds without any benefit.

During the hottest months of the summer even ice vests are only a temporary fix.

"When it gets into the dead of summer, it gets so hot you really can't use an ice vest anymore because it melts before you get started," Dodson said.

[joanna71985]

I found this article to be very interesting.

[mechurchlady]

I hear people saying they want to be a costumed character and wonder if they really know how hard it is. Thank you for the article, very informative.