Theme Park Characters

Theme Park Characters are Disney Cast Members who work at the Disney Parks and Resorts and on Disney Cruise Line ships wearing costumes of characters from many Disney properties. They interact with guests to further enjoy their visit or vacation. The characters are broken down into two distinct groups, as many cast members play more than one character.

Atmosphere Characters
These are the most common type of characters; dressed in a mascot-style costume with oversized hands, heads (with limited perephial vision) and feet. A host often accompanies them to help them to guide them around the park. Examples of an atmosphere character includes Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy.

Face Characters
These people wear costumes but interact with the guests via improv acting and theatrical expertise as part of their job. Like the Atmosphere Characters, they are assisted by a character host at all times. Noted examples include all of the Disney Princesses, Fairies, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. An example of a change for the better came in the 1980s, when park executives (and Michael Eisner) decided to change the Mad Hatter from an atmosphere character into a face character so they be allowed to interact with guests.