After nearly 60 years, Disney to let theme-park workers grow beards

[Aurora]

From the Orlando Sentinel:

After nearly 60 years, Disney to let theme-park workers grow beards

By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel

5:04 PM EST, January 23, 2012

After nearly 60 years, Mickey Mouse has decided to let his workers put their razors away.

The Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that it would let employees at its two U.S. theme-park resorts — including its more than 60,000 workers at Walt Disney World — grow beards or goatees.

The new policy, which takes effect Feb. 3, eliminates a facial-hair ban that has for decades been a source of grumbling among some of the company's male theme-park workers.

That's not to say Santa Claus can suddenly start working in the Magic Kingdom. Disney's new policy restricts any facial hair to no more than a quarter of an inch in length. And the company says any chin whiskers "must create an overall neat, polished and professional look" and must be fully grown in and well-groomed.

It is one of two notable changes Disney is making to "The Disney Look" — the clean-cut, all-American appearance that Disney has demanded of its theme-park employees from the day its original theme park, Disneyland, opened in 1955. The rigid code was instituted by Walt Disney himself, who wanted to distinguish his theme park from the sleazy carnivals of the time.

The other change: Casual Fridays. But only for employees who work in non-costumed jobs and who don't interact with theme-park visitors.

Disney said it finally relented on beards in response to requests from its employees, or "cast members."

"Disney Look guides are periodically reviewed, given the unique environment of our theme parks and resorts," Disney spokeswoman Andrea Finger said. "While we're careful to maintain our heritage and the integrity of our brand, a recent review of our guidelines led to a decision that an update was appropriate at this time."

Disney doesn't tinker with its look lightly: Changes are typically made only after the company has studied similar guidelines at other theme parks and Fortune 500 companies. The last major change occurred two years ago, when the company finally allowed female workers to forego wearing panty hose when wearing skirts — a rule that had been particularly uncomfortable for women working outside on steamy summer days in Central Florida.

The company began inching back from its ban on facial hair in 2000, when it finally decided to allow mustaches.

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Copyright © 2012, Orlando Sentinel

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

As someone that was raised by someone that went from Grizzly Adams to a neat trim Santa Claus and has raised a bearded son....I personally have no issues with facial hair. Only reason my husband doesn't have any - he has issues with it filling out.

[Buttercup]

BEARDS?!?! ON CAST MEMBERS?!?! Well, there go the parks...



(I'm kidding...)

[tinkman]

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I totally disagree with facial hair being allowed. If someone doesn't want to work at Disney, don't. There are plenty of jobs at the Six Flags type parks all over the country. Disney was/is famous for setting the bar high. Preception is everything. What's next? Piercings? Tatoos?

[Buttercup]

I'm not flaming you, tinkman... but I'm going to try and put a bit of perspective on it!

In the 50's when this policy was set by Disney, nobody really wore beards in their daily life. Having a beard was associated with being unkempt, or a sleazy carnie at those dirty roadside carnivals. So it is understandable why Disney would say "Ew... we don't want people to think we're hiring scary people". And that's why they made the rule.

60 years later, having a beard is no longer associated with being a bum. Many people have facial hair, and they hold high offices and are well respected. Most of us don't even notice if the people we come into contact with have a goatee or not. It's not so outrageous to see people with facial hair.

And I think that's why Disney changed the rule. Times have changed -- having a beard is not a symbol of being in a biker gang, or being a sleazeball. Just as not wearing pantyhose or having a moustache isn't a sign of anything negative either. And it's not even as though they're letting CM's have big bushy Zach Galifianakis beards either -- they're restricting it to 1/4" so it's not going to be a big ZZ Top convention the next time you're at Disney World... don't worry!

It's a bit of a jump to piercings and tattoos from there because their popularity is still relatively new and so many people still have negative connotations towards them. But I imagine, yes, probably in 60 more years, seeing someone with a tattoo or piercing is going to not seem so terrible to the general public (I don't even think they're bad right now as it is!) and it will be allowed.

Times change.
If Disney World had opened in the 1800's, women wouldn't have been able to show their ankles... (or work there, for that matter). But seeing an ankle on a woman nowadays is no big deal, right?

Hey, could you help me down off of this soap box? Thanks... lol

PS - thank goodness for my husband's goatee... without it, he looks like a creepy 14 year old boy....

[Scar]

If Disney World had opened in the 1800's, women wouldn't have been able to show their ankles...

... and beards would have been the norm.

[brivers222]

I personally think its awesome... not just because I am beard / Goatee guy...

But since they allowed the ladies to go hairy legs instead of Pantyhose in 2010... its only fair that guys can go hairy faces.

[BrerGnat]

Eh, I don't like this change. I think facial hair is , personally. I like clean cut, clean shaven men. Nothing against people with facial hair, but I just think men look better shaved.

[PopPhan]

I think it's kind of funny, actually. They are going to be allowed facial hair, but only to 1/4 inch in length?

Let's all get out our calipers, rulers, etc. and start measuring beards, mustaches, and goatees!!

[brivers222]

I am guessing that they will have 1/4" electric razors around the utilidors that each grizzly adams will have to run over their face before going on stage lol

[minnie04]

I'll probably get flamed for this, but I totally disagree with facial hair being allowed. If someone doesn't want to work at Disney, don't. There are plenty of jobs at the Six Flags type parks all over the country. Disney was/is famous for setting the bar high. Preception is everything. What's next? Piercings? Tatoos?

You said it!!! Just wait that will be next. I really never noticed that no one had any facial hair...lol I guess I’m too busy having fun to notice. As long as it is kept nice then who cares. I know Disney has/had high standards, but times are changing and as long as it doesn’t get in the way of how people are treated there then I have no problem. Some people will do it for a while, but once they are out there in the HOT Florida sun they will think twice...

[SteveL]

Hopefully female CM will be afforded the same priviledge.

On a serious note, I don't think that they can afford to summarily discount that portion of a potential work force. I would think that the labor pool in Central Florida has to be running really low by now, especially considering the pay scale.

[Ian]

I have no problem with this. In fact, you could make the case (as someone already referenced above) that many of the "roles" that Disney CM's play should have facial hair. For example, male CM's in Frontierland? Lots of men in that era had beards (Abe Lincoln anyone? Can't get more upstanding than that!).

As long as it's not a slippery slope, where next you can have long, shaggy beards and tats all over the place it's fine with me.

Honestly, I have a much bigger issue with the CM's who wear sunglasses while working than I do with this. I know it's a UV/safety thing, but it doesn't totally break role when you see a "cowpoke" wandering through Frontierland wearing a pair of Ray-Bans.

[MizMissy]

Maybe I'm off base, but could this change have been in response to a discrimination lawsuit?

I seem to recall someone suing WDW for not considering them for hire because he was Muslim, wore a beard and a turban? He claimed religious discrimination.

Seems a little out of the blue for the change, but if they allow beards in their dress code, but regulate the length, this may be a way for them to say they are not discriminating based on religion.

Or, maybe it's just the lawyer in me who thinks this way ...

[PirateLover]

I like the part about how your beard has to be fully grown in. So that pretty much excludes current workers, unless they grow their beard over a few days off!! It takes some guys weeks to grow a full beard (although it seems to only take my husband half a day)

Seriously though, this seems like a no brainer. At least around my area, beards are certainly becoming very "in-style" again. I don't really have a preference looks wise, although my skin is sensitive, so I do prefer my husband clean shaven

[joonyer]

Anyone else find it interesting that CM's were not even allowed to have a mustache until 2000, even though Walt himself sported one his entire adult life.

[Disney Hungarian]

There was an excellent article on Jim Hill Media today about this topic. Very enlightening.

[Aurora]

Anyone else find it interesting that CM's were not even allowed to have a mustache until 2000, even though Walt himself sported one his entire adult life.

When I told my 13yo son about the new rule, he immediately said, "Wait, didn't Disney have a mustache?" Totally forgot about that.

[Ian]

Maybe I'm off base, but could this change have been in response to a discrimination lawsuit?

I doubt it. Because Disney World considers their employees Cast Members playing roles, they have an exemption from laws like that.

For example, you can't sue Disney World for gender discrimination if you're a man and they wouldn't let you play the role of Ariel.

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