Excitement is building over a new Star Wars land opening later this year at Walt Disney World in Florida and at its California cousin, Disneyland. But that’s not the only show happening in the “Happiest Place on Earth.” Contrary to popular belief, there is no pixie dust at Disney. Every show involves hundreds of behind-the-scenes, real-life people.
Last week alone, Disney unveiled a new Magic Kingdom parade, a street show featuring characters from The Incredibles, a Caribbean-style street band in Animal Kingdom, and an arts festival at Epcot. In a few months, the resort opens a new animatronics show based on Cars character Lightning McQueen.
Once a character or movie theme is picked to use for a show, a host of writers, performers, technicians, and musicians brainstorm about how to bring the story to life.
One of the busiest members of the Disney team is costume designer Harmony McChesney. She wears costume jewelry and big glasses—and carries a piece of Velcro in her purse at all times.
The Magic Kingdom parade that opened last week stars Mickey and Minnie. McChesney designed their costumes to resemble vanilla cupcakes with colorful sprinkles and trim that looks like icing.
McChesney works in a room the size of a football field. Her department makes 10,000 costume pieces with the help of 300 sewers and six designers—and none of the Cinderella cartoon mice. Hundreds of bright-colored costumes and dozens of torso dummies hang from racks along the wall.
What’s McChesney’s Velcro for? It’s the costume designer’s durability tester. Tough fabric is a must—since the costumes worn by dancers, singers, and characters get washed daily.
When it’s time to test hardiness, McChesney rubs Velcro against the fabric. If it snags, she says, “This doesn’t belong to us. It’s not our friend.”
(Harmony McChesney, costume designer discusses the work that goes in to creating costumes at Walt Disney World in Florida. AP Photo/John Raoux)
