I think the difference is that with movies, they are playing one specific character. One time. Disneyland is a job, not a movie. They play a character of sorts, but are still themselves at the same time. I wasn't even aware that the tour guides ever were attractive. Regardless, if they start only hiring attractive people, there will be just as many skinny people discriminated against. I've seen plenty of sticks that still weren't pretty.

It's not so much the "fill a role" opinion that I take issue with though. It's the "hide the fat people" message that seems to be in a few of these posts. I'm sure the posters didn't intend offense, but they sort of come across as a bit degrading in a "nobody really wants to see fat people in public and certainly not as a cast member" kind of way. That can be hurtful because maybe some of us already feel that way about ourselves.

How far would you like to take that? Are you willing to accept that race and gender also play into perceptions of attractiveness? Or is it just fat cripples who should man the stockrooms?

Wait a sec, this isn't a breastfeeding thread. :eek: :p

At least you guys aren't talking age, if that was the case, there wouldn't be anybody to take the tickets at the gate...

As much as Disneyland likes to pretend it's employees are "Cast Members," they don't want to pay them at the "entertainers" pay scale so they long ago gave up the right to dictate that part of the "show."

While I'm sad to see this traditional costume go, I'll wait to see what replaces it. I've liked some of the new costumes I've seen and hated others. But if they are better tailored for who will be wearing them, I think that's probably a plus.

People come in all shapes and sizes (in ways much more complex than fat vs skinny), and clothing styles and cuts that looks good on one doesn't necessarily look good on another. I'm just hoping the costumes look good when they're worn.

That much is very true. Attractiveness is about personal presentation. Any position that requires someone to have a significant amount of interaction with customers is going to be best filled by someone who customers feel comfortable interacting with. Fat, skinny, tall, short, whatever. "Attractive" can be a broad term. So even dispensing with the "skinny=attractive" definition, one-shape-fits-all costuming is going to impact the perception of attractiveness for ALL CMs, regardless of their body shape.

What about a play ;)

I think the other thing that gets lost in the "fat/skinny" debate, is that our culture generally doesn't accept the objectification of women they way we once did in 1955.

As sexy as a French Maid Costume might be, it come off a bit embarrassing by contemporary standards in whcih clientel to private clubs is now both women as well as men in power who might take some "eye candy" positioning as a way of undermining their own respectability.

Sure I'd love to see hot sexy CMs in fantasy garb, but I can understand that despite the nostalgia, such costums may not be appropriate for contemporary audiences. Not that we have become more prudish (though maybe we have) but that such costumes convey a different message than they once did.

More like a paid RPG. :p

I absolutely agree that CM's should look their best. And perhaps several variations of costumes made available for different body types. I don't go to DL for the eye candy, I go for the experience. My experience isn't hindered by an extra 20, 50, 100 or whatever pounds. As long as they are everything a cast member should be, then it's all good for me.

Pay scale is not relevant to whether someone is or is not an entertainer. Most entertainers make less than CMs. While I agree that mysogenistic costumes are out of style, I remain convinced that role-appropriate costumes should remain ... and that means that costumes portraying an historical era do not have to conform to modern sensibilities. Dancing girls at the Golden Horseshoe, for instance, should not wear pants. Get my drift?

It's not a matter of not wanting to see fat people, or people of color, or short people ... it's a matter of people being able to loosely fit the requirements of vaguely belonging to the worlds of Main Street, U.S.A., Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Frontierland, Fantasyland or Tomorrowland. If the fit's not right, there are thousands of other jobs ... both interacting with the public and not ... in many other areas of the resort.

But Disneyland IS an entertainment venture. Casting may of necessity be lax, but I don't think it should be eliminated.