A former Disney princess has revealed the ‘traumatizing’ aspects that came with parading in a character costume at the ‘happiest place in the world.’
Hunter Haag, 30, is an ex-Disney princess who strutted her stuff and flashed a smile as Rapunzel and Belle at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida.
The former contestant of season 26 of The Bachelor and season eight of Bachelor In Paradise frequently shares videos to her TikTok channel detailing her time at the amusement park.
Most recently, Hunter got candid about her job in a clip posted to the video-sharing platform, shedding light on the ‘not-so-great parts’ of the highly sought-after job that often go unnoticed.
Hunter Haag, 30, is an ex-Disney princess who has revealed the ‘traumatizing’ aspects that came with parading in a character costume at the ‘happiest place in the world’
She strutted her stuff and flashed a smile as Rapunzel and Belle (pictured) at the Walt Disney Resort in Orlando, Florida
The former contestant (pictured as Rapunzel) of season 26 of The Bachelor frequently shares videos to her TikTok channel detailing her time at the amusement park
In a viral video, which garnered more than 2.2 million views, Hunter opened up about all there is to know when it comes to working at a Disney theme park – including the effect it had on both her mental and physical health.
‘For those of you who do not know, I was a Disney Princess at Walt Disney World from 2016 until 2021, when I was laid off due to COVID-19,’ she says.
Hunter portrayed Belle and Rapunzel during this time.
The first complaint Hunter had about her time at the theme park was the fact that she was unable to ‘talk openly’ about her position there.
She explained she was never able to tell anyone that she was ‘a character.’
‘It’s a super exciting job, but if someone asks what you do, I would say something like, “Oh, I work in merchandise at Adventureland,” because they can’t know you’re a character,’ she explained.
In addition to keeping tight-lipped about what your day entails, the 30-year-old also revealed you have to be cautious of what you post to social media and filter out any compliments made to you.
She added: ‘You also have to be really careful about what you put online as far as pictures go, and make sure no one comments on your photos being like, “Oh my gosh, you’re so beautiful!” because all of the comments have to be directed to the character.’
Most recently, Hunter got candid about her job in a clip posted to the video-sharing platform, shedding light on the ‘not-so-great parts’ of the highly sought-after job that often go unnoticed
In a viral video, Hunter (pictured as Belle) dished the gossip on all there is to know about working at Disney – including the effect it had on her mental and physical health
The first complaint Hunter (pictured as Rapunzel) had about her time at the theme park was the fact that she was unable to ‘talk openly’ about her position there
As far as getting the job, Hunter said it was not any easier because it had an extreme effect on your self-confidence.
She branded the audition process ‘traumatizing’ because it solely based on your looks.
Because of this, you can start to compare yourself to others and even enter competitions with fellow characters.
And comparing herself to others didn’t stop after the auditions because the park made the characters participate in body checks every ‘eight months’ to make sure they were still fit enough for the role, Hunter claimed.
‘Every eight months, we would get checked to make sure that we still fit the character profile, meaning that we still look young enough to be the character that we’re portraying and that we still have the same silhouette we did when we were hired.
‘Your silhouette is your body, and they want to make sure that you’re still fit enough or slender enough,’ the ex-Disney princess alleged.
She claimed you would no longer be allowed to play the role of the character if you got a ‘disapproval’ during these checks.
Hunter added that the costumes even affected her physically.
‘The costumes are very, very heavy and can cause issues. Like, Rapunzel’s wig actually gave me neck problems,’ she said.
She added: ‘Our locations are typically inside and there are no windows because there are characters inside, so you get absolutely no sunlight.’
Hunter added that the costumes even affected her physically, revealing that a wig gave her ‘neck problems’
Hunter (pictured as Belle) revealed she often wanted to just be alone and ‘cry’ instead of flashing a fake smile
Hunter explained that while you would meet some of your very ‘best friends’ while working at the theme park, you would also encounter people who were trying to ‘sabotage you.’
‘These are the people that talk badly about you, that aren’t excited for you if you get a parade or show,’ she said.
‘I’ll never forget, there was this one girl who really wanted to be Ariel, and she sent casting pictures of Ariels through our picture system that she didn’t think were well-suited to be Ariel. And you wanna know what happened to her? She got Ariel,’ Hunter claimed.
And because of this toxic environment, Hunter claimed her mental health took a big hit.
She revealed she often wanted to just be alone and ‘cry’ instead of flashing a fake smile.
Hunter claimed: ‘I feel like it can be really hard working at Disney as a princess when you have to be happy 100 per cent of the time because you can’t ever give yourself any grace to just be upset.’
Viewers rushed to the comments section to praise the former Disney princess for being transparent, while other ex-employees even shared their own experiences
She added that while working at the theme park she was going through a breakup with her partner of seven years and struggled to pretend everything was okay while working.
She added: ‘Like, can I just cry by myself?’
Viewers rushed to the comments section to praise the former Disney princess for being transparent, while other ex-employees even shared their own experiences.
One person said: ‘Thank you for being so transparent!! It’s amazing to share the good times, but important to bring awareness to the not-so-magical parts!’
Another user added: ‘So it’s like being in high school!’
‘This kinda shows that Disney’s magic only applies outside work doors. Behind them on the other hand… with that girlie getting the role? Ick,’ a third comment read.
‘Ugh the comparison part is so true! It’s absolutely one of the hardest parts I struggle with,’ someone else said.
‘This is 1000 per cent accurate and you didn’t miss a beat – a former Disney entertainment cm,’ a fifth TikTok user wrote.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk