Walt Disney World allows cast members to have facial hair

It's about time. Beards are so becoming.

I've never understood the anti-beard bias in amusement parks (Dollywood being the lone exception; I sometimes wonder if men over 35 are required to have long beards in that park...). My pet theory is that it was to make all the employees look like children or something.

Now that Disney has come around, will Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and others follow suit?

--Dave Althoff, Jr. (Maybe I CAN go to work for an amusement park!)

I think the strict guidelines are a bit silly... At Cedar Fair, women cant have more then two earrings, no cartilage piercing... Men can't have hair touching collar of shirt, tattoo's (for either), neutral fingernail colors, etc... I mean, as long as you are professional and can do the job, who cares? As long as nothing disruptive to the guests. As far as I know, Disney and Universal are similar with their rules.

I can see Disney being more focussed on the issue of appearance because image means so much to them. More so than any other park. For Cedar Point, how about more ride ops who speak English well enough to be easily understood? If that means some long hair or multiple ear piercings, so be it.

Yeah, but when the Disney princesses start growing out their moustaches, I think it's gone a bit too far...

As long as people with tattoos can't handle food, I'm okay with it. That's just so unsanitary.

Vater said:
It's about time. Beards are so becoming.

Pretty sure that would violate their 1/4 inch rule.... :)

If you want a good laugh, go to one of the Disney forums and read the comments on this. It's like the world is coming to an end..........

This is why I love going to Hard Rock at Universal. The food is mediocre at best, but I've got a thing for pierced and tattooed chicks. I guess when it's all part of the theme, it's OK.

I'm still trying to figure out what is unsanitary about a completed tattoo...

That said, I am more understanding of restrictions on certain piercings than I am of facial hair. To a degree, piercings are not a problem, but where do you draw the line between a couple of piercings and someone who comes off looking (to Average Midwest Customer) like a sideshow freak?

Thing is, facial hair has been mainstream in the US since the 1700s or earlier. The other body decorations (especially unusual piercings), though they've been around forever, are a little more recent...

And of course, tattoos have another problem. Some are perfectly OK; others are, shall we say, NSFW.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Imagine working for Cedar Point during the 70's, when hairstyles were long to the extreme. It about killed us to cut our hair and shave our faces (I had the 70's big curly natural and the pornstar moustache, of course...) but once there we got used to it pretty quick - most of us lived there and we all looked the same, after all. In town we were easily recognized as Cedar Point kids, though. Nowadays with hairstyles pretty much across the board the 'theme park look' is less blatantly obvious.

I seem to remember seeing an ad this year for Halloweekends employment that mentioned it was the one time of the season where long hair and tattoos were acceptable, and I would assume that would be for scareactors only.

My guess is most Disney customers won't even bat an eye at the sight of some well trimmed facial hair.

This all goes back to Walt & his desire to keep the "seediness" out of Disneyland. This topic frequently gets mentioned along with his desire to keep cigarettes and gum out of the parks as well. Ever the lovable hypocrite, Walt had a mustache and was a chain smoker.

Did you know that you've always been able to buy cigarettes & gum at Disneyland? They're kept under the counter at Kodak Corner. This is really the Disney we know & love -- keep everything nice on the facade, but hide the inner workings and garbage behind it.

/m

RideMan said:
I'm still trying to figure out what is unsanitary about a completed tattoo...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

You're screwed Dave. Don't you have a tattoo of a mustache on your face? :P

/mike

Cincinnati Reds had restrictions on facial hair and long hair in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Yankees have some restrictions now I believe.

kpjb said:
As long as people with tattoos can't handle food, I'm okay with it. That's just so unsanitary.

I am not getting the connection. Please explain,,,,,,

I think it's about just the look and appeal of a beard. A nice short beard is ok cause it's clean but when it starts getting longer than an inch, it just looks messy and dirty and that's not a good business look in today's society.

This discussion reminds me of this entertaining thread- http://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/58829.aspx

Chitown said:

I am not getting the connection. Please explain,,,,,,

Tattoos are for thugs, and people who have no place in society.

Jeff said:
This is why I love going to Hard Rock at Universal. The food is mediocre at best, but I've got a thing for pierced and tattooed chicks. I guess when it's all part of the theme, it's OK.

Just think how hot they'll look when they hit 70.