Behind the Mask: The Emotional Labour of Mickey Mouse

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Many of us, when we hear the name 'Mickey Mouse', feel some sense of nostalgia from being a child, or for some, maybe even from seeing this character with their own children. Mickey Mouse brings a sense of happiness to many, and Walt Disney World (WDW) provides a place of belonging. Guests visit WDW and expect to be transformed by the magic and the excitement, yet many people get lost in this, and occasionally fail to recognise that there's much more that goes on behind the mask.

See below video for context behind the Mickey Mouse training:

(PrinceJoshThemeParks&MEI-Travel, 2017)

Emotional regulation is the concept that employees regulate their feelings to fulfil the standards set out by their job/ occupation, linking rather prominently to WDW (Reyers. A, Matusitz. J. 2012), and a prominent concept in this blog. Workers at WDW are known as ‘emotion labourers’, a label proposed by Hochschild, which means they have to engage in face and/or voice contact with the public (Reyers. A, Matusitz. J. 2012). With WDW workers, they are undertaking emotional labour as they are forming emotions and suppressing internal feelings for their job role. 

An example of the engagement with members of the public:

(DisneyParks, 2010)

Goffman highlights that the Disney workers are ‘feigning’ (Goffman. E, P.450) their emotions, whilst trying to upkeep the brands constant appearance of joy. Hochschild evolves Goffman’s idea with the method of deep acting- the actor changes how they feel in order to become the role they were given (Reyers. A, Matusitz. J. 2012). 

When in front of an audience, the performers’ objective is to influence the audience’s perception of what’s happening, which links successfully to WDW’s example with Mickey Mouse, with the workers having to remain in a constant state of happiness and joyfulness, regardless of their internal feelings. This job expectation puts pressure on each member of staff with WDW wanting to uphold their reputation of being the ‘happiest place on earth’ (Reyers. A, Matusitz. J. 2012). 

(Disneyland, 2024)

However, for many of the workers, they are struggling to meet their rent payments, with union officials stating that one in ten WDW cast members have experienced homelessness, and a survey highlighted that 73% of WDW staff don’t make enough to cover their basic necessities, with 1/3 experiencing house insecurity in the last year (Morris. R, 2024). This example reinstates the emotional toll of their labour, with wearing a mask all day, and not always even being able to go back to a secure home. 

(Morris. R, 2024)

There is immense pressure placed upon the WDW staff, for example their 1:70 rule, which means that it only takes one bad guest experience to undo 70 positive experiences. This means that each staff member is having to portray a constant façade of their emotions in order to maintain this rule when going ‘onstage’, this entails (Reyers. A, Matusitz. J. 2012):

-              - The start & end interactions must be met with direct eye contact

-              - Portraying an honest smile

-              - Maintaining a good posture

-              - Correct facial expressions 

-              - A clean appearance for a good impression

-              - Always ending an interaction with a ‘thank you’ and a smile.

 

Now, this list is based on the origins of what Walt Disney himself wanted for his park… to make each guest feel seen and valued. Disney also emphasises that “first, we practice the friendly smile at all times with our guests and among ourselves”, meaning that the ‘mask’ remains on for the whole duration of being at work, and there is no break (Tschan. F, Rochat. S, Zapf. D. 2011). Although each member of staff is provided with more than sufficient training, long-term surface acting can have a negative impact on the staff with them feeling emotional exhaustion. 

(PNGkey, 2018)

Bibliography:

Disneyland (2024). Enjoy Experiences with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at the Disneyland Resort.Available at: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/mickey-and-minnie/. Accessed: 05/11/25. 

DisneyParks (2010). "Play-Testing" With Mickey Mouse. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5wC-dBx7-Y. Accessed: 06/11/25. 

Goffman. E (1959). Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. In Social theory re-wired. Routledge. P. 450-459. Accessed: 04/11/25.  

 

Morris. R (2024). Disneyland workers say they live in cars and motels due to low pay. BBC NEWS. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2gpx7pnwdo. Accessed: 05/11/25. 

 

PNGkey (2018). Mickey Is All Worn Out, I'm Sure He'll Be Okay By Then - Mickey Mouse Tired. PNGkey. Available at: https://www.pngkey.com/maxpic/u2e6e6r5r5a9o0t4/. Accessed: 06/11/25. 

PrinceJoshThemeParks&MEI-Travel (2017). Disney Character Training - Mickey Mouse. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5jtdrgWA3Y. Accessed: 30/10/25.

Reyers. A, Matusitz. J. (2012). Emotional Regulation at Walt Disney World: An Impression Management View. Journal of Workplace Behavioural Health. Pp. 139-159. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2012.701167. Accessed: 04/11/25.

Tschan. F, Rochat. S, Zapf. D (2011). It’s not only clients: Studying emotion work with clients and co-workers with an event-sampling approach. Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology. Vol 78, Issue 2. Pp. 195-220. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1348/096317905X39666. Accessed: 05/11/25.