'I was a Disney Princess and there's one change we make when new film comes out'

The performers playing characters at Disney theme parks must follow strict rules whenever a new film is released.

Disney owns several theme parks around the world, and each one is full of paid performers who dress up as beloved characters from the company's franchises and interact with adults and children alike. But what happens when a new film features one of the characters?

According to a woman who used to work at a Disney park as various Disney Princesses, strict rules need to be followed - especially if the new media drastically changes the character's story. Kayla posted a video on TikTok after someone asked her if the character of Snow White would "act differently" at the parks since the release of the live-action Snow White film.

Kayla - who has played Merida from Brave, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, and Cinderella at Disney parks - said her bosses told her that any new films are just "inspired" by the original stories.

This means the performers should keep their performances the same, but they may need to make one small change - as they may need to deflect more often to get children to stop talking about things that aren't canon to the character.

She said: "I performed at Disney for eight years, and two out of my three characters had live-action adaptations made after them - this is what we were told. The new movie is just inspired by Snow White's story and although they may have some similarities, her backstory doesn't change at all. It's just another adaptation of her tale.

"Snow White will act the same as she always does, and she will not be referencing the live-action movie. If a guest specifically says something like, 'I just saw your new film,' then she can acknowledge and redirect, saying something like, 'Oh then you must have seen my sweet friend Dopey, why just this morning he helped me make a gooseberry pie'.

"The art of deflection is a princess' best friend. That goes for anything that guests ask that may be inappropriate to discuss."

Kayla went on to explain that she was once asked, "Where's Pascal?" when she was working as Ariel. She had to figure out a way to redirect the conversation because Pascal is a character from Tangled, not The Little Mermaid. Her response was something like: "I don't know about Pascal, but I did see Flounder down by the reef."

In the comments, Kayla also said that as Ariel, she wasn't "supposed to" talk about her daughter Melody, who is featured in The Little Mermaid 2, unless "a guest brings it up" first. She also said there are now two Ariel performers at the Disney parks, with one specifically referencing the live-action character.

Commenters on the video thanked Kayla for opening up on the topic, while others who had seen performers in action said they found it "amazing" how good they are at deflecting. One person said: "Good to know, honestly."

Another added: "I don't know why it's so hard for people to separate different versions of Disney princesses but have no problem acknowledging the different [versions of] Spider-Man. Like brother, it's the same thing."

While a third wrote: "I worked at Disney and loved to see how effortlessly [the cast] deflected no matter how hard [guests] tried. Watching them be humbled in real time was an unexpected perk of the job."