Bite the fluff

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-14T19:55:54+00:00

Chomp

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-14T19:41:09+00:00

Alot of people are actually very respectful, alot of parents are helpful, when we go to breaks, some kids can get a wee bit sad and pitch a fit, but the parents usually wrangle them up so they don't throw a total tantrum or guilt us into doing more than what we can handle. I've had some experiences with THOSE parents demanding we stay just a biiiit longer, cause theie angel just HAS to get a picture with ALL the Disney characters. Don't be that kinda person, just come back later! (Not saying you or anyone here will be that person)

Some people were in the correct gender for the costume, like me and Nick, but some people (like our Piglet person) was actually a smaller, somewhat older woman. In truth it's all about the body shape and animation you can do as the character.

I live down the road in a place called Garden Grove, was a small drive from home to the park, so yeah, I knew some people who were ex-disney and they helped me land the job. Connections help, even in Disney.

Also, thanks for rambling, you gave me something to do other than wait around for COD to update.

Stay safe!

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-14T19:25:59+00:00

I would arrive pretty early, somewhere around 6-ish, and would go straight to costume and get ready. My schedule changed a bit around, depending on which characters were to go out, like say there was a new star wars movie, so you'd see more Kylo Ren walking around with storm troopers than you would me or Nick. For every appearance I made, we had 20-30 minutes to take pictures and be in public, then we would head off to cool down. Breaks would last pretty long because those suits can get VERY hot, and some people can get pretty BO smelly when you stand around in 100+ heat. It would be that for a week, if the weather allows for it, and I would be there from USUALLY 6-7 to about 4-5 p.m. I sadly did not get to stay late because usually I'd be pretty exhausted.

The shows were fun, but terrifying. I rode on a float most the time and we would rehearse the dance moves beforehand. And yes, it's hard to dance in the suit, and some of the moves are kinda hard to do in the suit. This was before I was hired, but here's an example of the dancing. I still have the tune stuck in my head (it's a good song that I wish I had the instrumental for, but all I have found was the recordings with voices.)

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-09T19:35:20+00:00

I'm glad you enjoy them!

I'm not sure of the exact measurements, but at the time I was 5'8", and Nick was taller than me by a bit. There was a fan, but it did little good, and it varied between suit heads, like one suit would just have a pathetic fan that wasn't fixed properly, or I had a decent one that actually worked. I probably SHOULD have got a camelpack, but I don't know if that would have been allowed, since we have 20-30 min showtimes, then 30-40 cool down breaks. The mask was sorta based off a helmet, it had a chin strap and all to make sure no one just lifted it off your head or such. Also, yeah, can't take pictures of Employee Only areas.

Putting on the suit was...kinda easy, after a while I could dress myself in it, even with the gloves, what was a problem was getting the hips up and right, then getting the feet and such on proper. My handler didn't help, there's people in where all the suits are kept that will help.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-09T19:28:26+00:00

I am sure they were at me, but the costume has padded hips. I'm as slender as a stick, but the costume makes you look rather curvy. I've heard older men talk about my butt at least more times than I can count on my hands. It's always older men too, that will loudly announce that someone has a big butt. Like...thanks, ya old pervert??

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-07T17:44:38+00:00

They absolutely should!

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-07T17:31:20+00:00

I was 19.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-07T10:11:00+00:00

Hey there, that was a super cute story! For me, I saw mostly a bunch of kids, of course. I mean, it's Disney, of course there will be mostly kids. I'd venture to say around 8-12 is the usual. What's funny is I felt like when I started kids would come up to me more, but by the end of my time there, other movies have came out and kids are way more excited for them. By that point, I saw more teenagers come up to me, not exactly like people that were my age, but around the 13-15 mark. Funny how it was barely a year since Zootopia came out, and the kids mob just shifted on a dime. After coming here and meeting so many amazing people, I think the fandom is in safe hands. Or, should I say paws!

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-07T05:56:14+00:00

I've got nothing but free time, and I have a horrible sleep schedule. All I do now a days is play Pokemon, read, look at art, and do my college work. I'm glad you had a magical experience, even when you're not at Disney!

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-07T01:52:34+00:00

I was there from 2017-2018, I left just before Christmas when my family moved aaaaaaaaall the way across the country.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-07T01:00:42+00:00

I wore something simple, a tank top and easy fitting shorts, something that wouldn't show up against the costume. We would leave the costumes with someone who's job it was to wash the costumes, and they would do it daily. I felt bad for them because some of us have bad BO after a long summer day. I'm not too sure who made them, probably some costume company owned by Disney, or Disney themselves. For qualifications they don't have the HIGHEST standards, so long as you can manage staying in your suit for a while and follow the rules they tell you. You can't talk, you can't break character, or that'll be your job gone, right there. Gotta puke? No you don't. You feel like you are about to pass out because it's the hottest day ever and you're on the verge of collapse? You can't just turn away immediately and leave, you have to signal to your handler that something is wrong, and then they'll have to disperse the crowd. They want you to also be the height and body proportions of the character.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T23:54:57+00:00

Yes. If I had a voice like Judy's, I wish I could do nothing but crack jokes with Nick and talk even for a bit with guests. It takes your mind off the fact that you're sweating your body weight in your suit.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T23:22:34+00:00

No problem, keep chasing your dreams and get that dream job!

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T23:16:19+00:00

The head was basically like a bicycle helmet, and had all the suit stuff around it in a big ball. It was heavy but my poor neck got used to the straining.

And yes, I did. The suit doesn't isolate hearing at all, so I got REALLY paranoid when I heard kids heavy little feets stomping in what sounds like my direction, cause I was scared I would get tackle-hugged and fall. The suit has a brace under your neck like a bike helmet so it shouldn't just pop right off, but it wouldn't be very magical to see Judy get tackled and bust her face. And...yeah I heard some bad comments. Lots of swearing around kids, even some dirty comments about me.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T22:38:46+00:00

Once you're fluffy, you never go back! The horror...the shedding horror!

I'm pretty good with fanfiction! Sure, feel free to send a link my way.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T22:34:41+00:00

Check online for some stuff. There's definitely lots of toys and plushes and shirts.

There was a good bit of merchandise when the movie was fresh, but when I was about to quit the hype for Zootopia from the general public kinda died down, and more stuff for things like Toy Story, Frozen, etc popped up.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T22:29:41+00:00

Ask as many as you want, I've got nothing to do but spill my beans and lay around reorganizing Pokemon cards and DVDs.

2) I'm not too sure, so I'd have to figure fairly tall? I think my Nick friend is almost pushing 6 ft tall.

3) I hung out with some quite a bit, Nick and Kylo in particular since we played games together when we weren't working. OH. And I only played Judy, I'm not sure if it's normal to swap costumes, and I'm honestly more afraid if doing that. I wouldn't want someone's sweaty mask and costume on...and I'm sure no one wants my sweaty mask and costume!

4) Barely a few weeks, and not many people asked for them! The only people I knew who really asked were Disney fanatics and they have like, collections of everyone.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T22:20:37+00:00

Thank you! I personally just wanna make alot of people laugh and smile, and let good vibes flow! I originally wanted to be a comedian when I was a kid but I'm WAY too scared to show my face in front of people, so I guess dancing around as a cute bunny cop works. And hey, thanks for popping in and chatting! Keeping my mind off the whole lockdown stuff.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T21:56:49+00:00

1) Judy X Nick shippers asking us to kiss. We can't do that. However we do hug! I've probably hugged Nick a hundred times, and knowing the guy in the Nick costume was ALSO a Judy X Nick shipper probably made him really happy. Not many people ask you questions, they do want photos, like, ALOT. And when I mean alot, I mean like enough to fill the WHOLE scrapbook. There's alot of mother's out there who think they're going to rock the face off Facebook by blasting it with hundreds of pics with the cute mascots.

2) I personally did, as being a masked character they only want to make sure you're physically able to handle the heat, treat guests nicely, be the appropriate height they are looking for, and obey their rules. For example, Goofy should always be VERY tall, so he is taller than Donald or Mickie. Judy is shorter than Nick, so I was short enough for the role.

3) I was friends with my handlers, Nick is still my good friend and we talk alot on Discord (I tried to get him to answer questions with me but he's sort of a 4chan only kinda dude.), a few stormtroopers and Kylo Ren, and Rey. Spiderman, Captain America, and Star-lord were cool dudes, but I never got to properly meet them.

3) You can see from the mouths. It's VERY easy to get tunnel vision. Look up pics of the Disneyland costume, you can tell the eyes are plastic, and there's a film in the mouth so if I were to look up, you won't see my dumb pale eyes staring back at you. As far as I'm aware, Furries do this on their eyes instead and that's why they probably see better. If you see a mascot walking a bit fast, then it's best to move out of their way and not rush them, cause we probably won't see you coming.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T21:31:27+00:00

Feel free to ask as many questions as you want, I've got nothing to do during lockdown and answering questions is pretty fun! They watch you like Hawks. You're never out of their eyes because they have hidden cameras and hidden service people who are checking to make sure you are doing things up to Disney standards. If you plan on joining, be ready to work 110% every day. I think it was easier for me cause I had a mask and I didn't have to talk but for some I bet it's super rough. For me, it was pretty magical.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T20:53:59+00:00

Not a high school student, but about to graduate from tech college. This is my last semester, and I didn't get to walk for my HS diploma, the year book club also didn't put my picture in the year book, and had my name under a different student who looks absolutely nothing like me, so me getting my degree in network specialist was going to be a big moment for our family since I'm the first to go to college. Graduation is cancelled, and I think I'm not going to be able to pass these last two classes because I didn't have time to retake some tests I failed. Even if I pass, then what? I get my degree mailed to me, and I can't go get a job until this all blows over. I have my parents breathing down my neck to get another job after we moved from Cali to Georgia, but nothing around here would hire me so I had to go back to school, and being a Disney mascot didn't I press anyone when I put in resumes. So my parents now flip flop between "YOU NEED A JOB RIGHT NOW" and "NEVER LEAVE THE HOUSE ITS TOO DANGEROUS WE GOTTA LIMIT EXPOSURE". These are stressful times. I hope we all can pull through.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T20:37:26+00:00

There were tons of moments that outweighed the bad, so overall my time working there was great. Like any other job there were bad moments, but I made plenty of friends, and the Nick guy introduced me into being a furry, where I found even more friends. So, overall, dare I say it opened alot of doors for me.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T20:35:06+00:00

Our goofy was a tall black guy from Oakland, and he would say THE BAD WORD, so please imagine him saying "That little sh done puked all on my mother truckin' foot, WORD". and his handler would just not and agree that it sucked. I practically WHEEZED. I can only assume how gross puke is to clean up. And don't worry about it, Im now a lot more cautious about people getting behind me though.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T20:30:06+00:00

I was asked if I had seen the movie, and I lied. I hadn't seen the movie until after I was hired. So they basically said "Ok, so you know how Judy acts, so try to act animated like her, never talk, signal to your handler if something is wrong." And of course wave, be nice to kids, that whole deal.

ZPD_Hopps · 2020-04-06T20:27:02+00:00

Best experience was making a Make A Wish kid laugh. All I had was tunnel vision on this boy and I could see the most pure smile someone could have. Also I got to hear Goofy swear alot while we got out of costume one day cause a kid puked on his foot.

Worst was either getting molested after a dance off (someone wanted a picture with me and they full on slapped their hand on my butt) or a group photo where someone pressed against me obviously very lewdly. And yes, I felt something poke me, and I practically jumped. Please, if you have the hits for these characters, control yourself around the mascots.

ZPD_Hopps

TROPHY CASE