It's Not Such a Small World After All

As a Disneyland alum, I'm always interested in stories about the park and its operations, and today the L.A. Times reports on the challenges facing the costuming staff - overweight and obese employees:

A couple of decades ago, the park's wardrobe department stocked only a narrow range of sizes. Today, the uniforms for women extend from size 2 to 30. And men's trousers have stretched to 58-inch waists.

The super-sizing of costumes is the latest wrinkle in the park's unending quest to balance Walt Disney's storybook vision of perfection against real-world practicalities.

The demise of longtime bans on mustaches and cornrow hairstyles drew considerable publicity a few years ago. But the shift on weight escaped attention. Although employee contracts still require medical leaves for workers who are "unable to maintain their physical proportions," the clause is no longer enforced.

Disney officials downplay the issue, saying they're simply aiming for a more diverse workforce. But outside observers say a tight labor market for low-paying jobs has forced the company to loosen its strict personal-appearance standards.

"Disneyland can't be as picky as it used to be," said Jamie O'Boyle, a theme-park scholar at the Center for Cultural Studies & Analysis in Philadelphia.

I've noticed the change in the workforce over the years. In fact, just last Friday night we were over there and were waited on by a very large female employee. I commented to my wife that the girl never would have gotten a public position at the park when I worked there.

The job market in Southern California in the 60's & 70's was very different. In 1975 when I was part of the Disney team, there were far more applicants than there were available jobs, and Disneyland was really, really picky about who they hired. You never saw a significantly overweight or obese person working in the public areas of the park (I was a little skinnier back then...okay, a lot skinnier). Disney favored attractive people (and no, I don't know how I got hired), and the atmosphere was definitely different back then. Now it's common to see very large, and even somewhat sloppy individuals working in the two parks.

I don't think Walt would be pleased, but there probably wouldn't be anything he could do about it, either. That's the work force today.