What It’s Like Being a Costumed Character for a Theme Park
Hint: It’s hot and you can’t see
A mom in Philadephia is claiming a costumed character at Sesame Place deliberately ignored her two African American children. As a former costumed character, I want to share what it’s really like to spend time pretending to be a giant imaginary creature.
It’s hot. You’re wearing at least 30 pounds of fur, neoprene, foam, or some combination of those. And you have to dance around and pose for pictures while sweat pours into your eyes.
When I was Feivel the Mouse at Universal, I had to learn to sign autographs while wearing a furry glove. I held the pen between my index and middle fingers and practiced for hours. The signature had to be readable and had to include the phrase “Dream Big Dreams!” It was incredibly difficult, but I mastered that autograph. And I signed “Dream Big Dreams! Love Feivel” over and over, even while being punched in the kidneys by random kids hopped up on sugar whose parents were too tired to care.
I was also groped, yanked, hit, shoved, and pushed by both kids and adults. I spent a few weeks playing Jane Jetson, and all sorts of people wanted to know if “Jane” was a guy or a girl. So they would try to grab my breasts or my crotch. This happened to nearly every person playing a costumed character.
Oh, and you have no peripheral vision. None. Zip. You have a 4–6 inch screen in the head to see out of, and that’s all. You cannot see past the screen, which is why we got assaulted so often. Yes, we had escorts, but two people trying to corral Yogi and Boo Boo while trying to control throngs of spoiled brats and their children wasn’t as effective as one might think.
Do I know if the person playing Rosita at Sesame Place is racist? Of course not. I do know what it’s like to put on a hot, furry costume, and dance on asphalt in 90-degree heat surrounded by screaming children. I do know Rosita has limited vision and sweat dripping into their eyes. I do know how hard it is to see every single child when you’re just trying not to pass out.
The video of this event also seems to take place during a parade. During a parade, you can’t stop. You are on a set schedule, and you have to make it from point A to point B, dancing and waving. If you stop, the entire timeline is screwed up, and I promise you will be yelled at by your lead when the parade is over.
Finally, Rosita is most likely played by multiple people. I wasn’t the only Feivel, or the only Boo Boo, or the only Jane Jetson. I took over medium parade Tigger at Disneyworld for a few days because one of the other medium parade Tiggers had a baby. There’s more than one Rosita.
Again, I have no idea if the person playing Rosita during that parade is racist. What I am sure of is it’s incredibly difficult to be a costumed character at a theme park.
