Riding crop costumes go bye bye

[tracilicious]

So only attractive people should interact with DL guests? Consider this: Disneyland's mainly a place where families go. Most of those people will be very average looking. Many of them will be fat. Do you really think that all these people want to be in a park populated by thin beautiful people? Chances are that they want well groomed average looking people.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Crap, running behind....too many posts to catch up with

[€uroMeinke]

I don't know, by broadening the hiring standards I think you bring in a wide range people increasing the likelyhood of a guest encountering an attractive CM.

Personally, as I check out the various CMs I rarely have difficulty in finding someone I think is attractive. I know my standard is different from everyone elses - and that's okay, I don't need everyone to be Natasia Kinski.

But then I prefer foriegn and independent films where the actors look more like real people - so maybe my whole "entertainment aesthetic" is flawed.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

And it's based on the famed "Disney Look" that was the basis for hiring and firing for many decades, and is making a rightful comeback.

What the For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge are you talking about? They're firing people for tardiness and unexcused absences. They're requiring people to tuck in their shirt and keep hair kempt. They're in a employment crisis; there's no need to not hire the plus-sized even IF you feel that the unattractive should be kept in the stockroom (and you're welcome to your prerogative however bigoted and archaic I find it.) Like the Catholic church wouldn't run out of appropriate people to be priests if they just let women join in, Disneyland would run out of employees if they stuck to only thin people. You're the one preaching obesity crisis, Steve. What do you want them to do, recruit from third-world countries?

Of fat equalling unattractive being "fact"? Oh, my. I'm going to dial down the rage long enough to point out that the plus-sized porn industry, the plus-sized dating website industry, the amount of art prints purchased that depict the large... is LARGE LARGE LARGE. Sure, a major portion of society shares your opinion. But fact it ain't.

This isn't the fifties anymore. Times have cha-anged. Anything goes. Blow, Gabriel, blow me.

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

You're the one preaching obesity crisis, Steve. What do you want them to do, recruit from third-world countries?

I'm also the one who said that Tour Guides needn't be slim. I said they should be pretty.

Interesting how I think all the costumed characters we have discussed should be amongst the Park's most good-looking. I certainly want my Club 33 french maid to be quite the coquette. And I want the girl telling me my bedtime story aboard a Canal Boat to be sweet-faced. Certainly, I'd like that muscle-stud paddling my canoe to be a looker.

But, as CP pointed out, I'd cast those able to convey a creepy visage for Haunted Mansion duties. Some roles at the Magic Kingdom call for prettier people than do others. I would contend that the Tour Guide role is one of those. And it's because I love the current costume that I bemoan the change, not because the future outfit will accommodate larger women. I am far more upset that they're changing red plaid to blue than I am that the skirt is going from below the knee to above.

If they were really getting rid of the riding crop, I'd be heartbroken. But there's no point to the riding crop, imo, unless I can enjoy the thought of being swatted by the tour guide wielding it.

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I'm also the one who said that Tour Guides needn't be slim. I said they should be pretty.

Touche! Point taken.

(But I still don't agree. This is officially my I-suspect-I've-said-all-I-need-to-say point.)

[innerSpaceman]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

Touche! Point taken.

(But I still don't agree. This is officially my I-suspect-I've-said-all-I-need-to-say point.)

Ah, and yet I, too, find Gretchen to be quite the hottie, completely gorgeous, and certainly beautiful, vivacious, and intelligent enough to be the perfect Tour Guide!

Frankly, for a position as uniquely important as Disneyland Tour Guide, I would indeed have the outfit custom tailored. You have come into quite a position of trust if you've landed that job (heck, I think you need to be bonded just to wear that uber-cool jacket pin), and it's hardly the standard, revolving-door CM job. Custom tailoring would be a must, cause I'd want both Gretchen and, say, Jen to look their best when showing guests around the Magic Kingdom.

[Ghoulish Delight]

Originally Posted by €

I also think the current policies of Disneyland help promote that belief. Sure Disney is within it's rights to require weight standards (though actually that might not be true if my recolection of recent stewardess lawsuits are correct)

A side note re:legality. Save for a small handful of states that have passed specific laws, "overweight" is not legally considered a protected employment class unto itself. Therefore, an employer has the right to refuse employment based on weight/size, unless there is a specific medical reason for the applicant's weight. at least, this is according to the results of some ineternet research. ymv

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

A side note re:legality. Save for a small handful of states that have passed specific laws, "overweight" is not legally considered a protected employment class unto itself. Therefore, an employer has the right to refuse employment based on weight/size, unless there is a specific medical reason for the applicant's weight. at least, this is according to the results of some ineternet research. ymv

I believe what I am refering to would be case law, in that a stewardess sued for wrongful termination when she no longer fir within the airlines weight guidelines. I'm not sure where this case went, if it settled (probably) or went to trial - or if it really exists - such is the faultiness of memory.

But yeah it's not a protected status in some states, just like homosexulaity.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

But yeah it's not a protected status in some states, just like homosexulaity.

Whoo boy, that there is one can o' worms, and I haven't even begun contemplating what I'd feel regarding it, never mind actually open the can...

Originally Posted by LSPE

That's just my taste. Please don't imply that I am, or anyone else is, wishing for less plasticism in their pallate because it's "hip."

There have been plenty of posts here affirming what you're affirming - that the "standard" isn't anywhere near your own standards, and that the idea that there even is a standard is silly. I can see your points but I must also point out that in the end, there is going to be some sort of bell curve, some sort of gradiation. In the end you can go out and poll people, or see which body types get the best movie roles, or which kinds of porn are the most popular. And the businesses are going to do their best to find a common denominator.

Anyway. I think I've said everything many, many times. If there's anything I missed please let me know. I'm exhausted!