As Mark Twain once quipped: the rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. And so it was for one Snow White when it was reported that her presence at Disney theme parks was to be indefinitely canceled. In this case, it’s not the demise that proved to be exaggerated, but the circumstances surrounding it–and it’s not Snow White who will be terminated, but only one “cast member” who impersonates her.
A few days ago, what has been termed “a scandal” broke out when Sophia Dottir (aka Snow White) was fired from playing the character, or in Disney parlance, she was dismissed from the Disney College Program. Sophia was a character performer for a couple of months, and according to her Instagram, it appears that she played Snow White and Anna.
If you have visited a Disney theme park, then you know that it’s an organization that is fiercely protective of its brand. This is why their strict rules forbid guests from wearing a full costume onsite or from impersonating any of the Disney characters (failure to comply with these rules will have you rejected at the gates, or banned from the parks for life).
This secrecy is even more rigid when it comes to their “cast of characters.” They must never reveal—in any part of their lives—that they impersonate a Disney character. According to Disney, this is so that the magic of illusion is not tarnished in any way. They don’t call it the Magic Kingdom for nothing.
However, when Sophia posted a picture of herself as Snow White and videos on Youtube, they believed that she had broken the cardinal rule of maintaining “character integrity.” In the video Sophia lets the cat out of the bag, talking about her work at Disney, revealing details about the ironclad rules that they don’t want the public to know—such as how strict they are about punctuality, working hours, and appearance. A character cannot gain weight or get a tan that will change their appearance, for example. She claims to have got into trouble for being sick, even though she had a doctor’s note to prove it.
After a short investigation she was fired and booted out of the “Disney College Program” housing at Flamingo Crossing–and told to vacate within 24 hours. It bears noting that Sophia/Snow White was not an easy employee, she was often late, had multiple reprimands, and spoke badly of the company.
Her termination has led to a plethora of reactions. While a few praised her for her impersonation of the fairytale princess, most had a pretty clear opinion on her firing: Sara said, “I watched the whole video and saw her name, Disney, by name, several times, criticize company policy, hint around that she played a character, and in the last few minutes, she promised to do an exposé of “Disney’s dirty little secrets” of the college character program in her upcoming podcast series. Yeah, I would have fired her too.”
Another identified as DM, stated, “When you get hired you know the Rules all you have to do is follow them if you want to be a cast member at The WDW. It’s simple: cast members’ integrity follows rules.”
But no fear for the Snow White lovers among us, Sophia may be gone but there is always another “cast member” to take her place, and no one has banned the character from the Disney parks—only one actress won’t be making any more appearances to put the magic in the kiddies’ eyes.
