Credit: Inside the MagicMillions of children around the world grow up wanting to become Disney Princesses like The Little Mermaid‘s Ariel or Aladdin‘s Princess Jasmine, and some of them do. However, according to a former Disney World princess, the actual job of portraying a Disney Princess can be “traumatizing,” “ruthless,” and emotionally destructive.
Disney Princesses are one of the most iconic elements of Disney Parks, allowing Guests of all ages to actually meet and interact with Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty (1959), Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog (2009), and all the rest. At least, kids and adults alike get to meet highly talented actresses who manage to stay in cosplay character through sweltering heat and thousands of interactions.
However, it seems there are some worse parts of the job than that.
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Former Disney Princess Reveals Dark Side
Hunter Haag, who worked as a Disney Princess at Walt Disney World from 2016 to 2021, posted a TikTok video pointing out a number of the downsides of the coveted fairy tale role. Tellingly, the caption to the post read, “GRWM: Traumatic and not-so-great things about being a Disney Princess.”
As Haag applied her makeup (that’s the GRWM part, which stands for “Get Ready With Me”), she revealed some of the pressures involved in the job, including a “traumatizing” audition process and intense pressure to constantly live up to the role whether in costume or not.
@hunterhaag GRWM: Traumatic and not-so-great things about being a Disney Princess #disneyworld #characterperformer #disneyprincess #beautyandthebeast #tangled
Actresses Cannot Reveal Their Job
According to Hunter Haag, actresses working as a Disney Princess cannot talk about the job, saying, “Super exciting job, but if somebody asks you 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 also mentioned how that pressure continued in their personal lives: “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.”
Competition for Roles Is Intense
The video went on to say that backstage and competition for particular roles could become ruthless. While Hunter Haag was emphatic that many Disney employees became lifelong friends, it seems the drive to gain coveted Disney Princess spots enabled negative behavior.
Haag 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.” She then went on to reveal that the actress in question did indeed get the role as Ariel, shrugging as to whether that meant that her actions had been rewarded.
Princesses’ Appearance Is Constantly Judged
As one might expect, when the job is to cosplay as iconic figures, Disney Princesses have to look the part. Hunter Haag says that some guests who were disappointed with the actresses in a particular role would be vocal about it and basically treat them as objects, rather than people, which seems harsh.
She also says that Disney management evaluated their silhouette” (“Your silhouette is your body, and they want to make sure that you’re still fit enough or slender enough”) remained appropriate for the character, revealing that “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.”
Haag says that actresses were “disapproved” (i.e., removed or rejected) for physical imperfection, even if they were, say, a facial laceration from a car accident. She also says that the costumes themselves were incredibly heavy and that she developed a neck injury from the weight of her Rapunzel wig.
Guests Treat Actresses Like ‘Zoo Animals’
Although Hunter Haag was clear that she found the job rewarding and that she liked to bring happiness to crowds at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, there were frequent unpleasant encounters with Guests, saying that Disney Princesses were “tugged on” and essentially treated like “zoo animals.”
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Even more concerningly, she said there were Guests who seemed to take enjoyment in saying unsavory things to Disney Princesses and making them feel uncomfortable.
Disney Characters Go Through a Lot
To reiterate, Hunter Haag clearly enjoyed her time as a Disney Princess, after which she became a contestant on the popular ABC dating The Bachelor in its 26th season. But just like any job, there are some intense downsides to the role. Not everything is a fairy tale.
Do you think Disney Princess is a difficult job? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!