Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Disney Princesses Expose “Obscene” Truth About What Really Goes On At Theme Parks
Woman dressed as a Disney princess smiling and waving at a theme park performance with colorful lights in the background

Disney Princesses Expose “Obscene” Truth About What Really Goes On At Theme Parks

27

ADVERTISEMENT

Even though Disneyland has been promoting itself as “The Happiest Place on Earth” since 1955, many who worked there have had a very different experience.

Influencer Alyssa Klinzing, 28, recently shared horrifying experiences she had while working as a Disney princess at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

She also alleged that the character performers were put at risk by the multi-billion-dollar company’s rigid rules and would lose their jobs if they couldn’t meet the employer’s expectations.

Highlights
  • Alyssa Klinzing, a former Disneyland performer, opened up about the time she got harassed and inappropriately touched by a guest.
  • Disneyland management did not take any steps, despite multiple other employees having filed similar complaints against the aggressor in the past.
  • Klinzing, now an influencer, admitted that Disneyland’s rules gave her PTSD and made her quit the job after seven years.

“It’s very stressful for performers to have to navigate these situations on a daily basis,” Klinzing said.

RELATED:

    Disneyland rules forced Alyssa Klinzing to stay in character as a guest groped her under the skirt

    Image credits: jaimexhart

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Alyssa Klinzing, currently an influencer and gym co-owner with over 52,000 Instagram followers, worked at Disneyland from 2016 to 2023. She was initially cast as Princess Elsa from Frozen, and later performed as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, and Captain Marvel.

    In a column published on June 2, 2026, Klinzing revealed the harrowing ordeal she went through after landing what she considered her “dream job” at the age of 20.

    In February 2018, one interaction quickly became uncomfortable for Klinzing as she entertained guests in an ornate gown and heavy makeup.

    Image credits: alyssaklinzing

    “The guest basically took a hug from me, then sniffed me up from my shoulder all the way up into my ear with his lips pressed on my skin and whispered in my ear that he had dirty dreams about me,” she told the Daily Mail.

    “He took his hands underneath my cape, so that no one could see where his hands were, and he was trying to get his hands into my skirt and had tried to unzip the back of my skirt. I was alone as a performer, so I remember that moment feeling like it was slow motion and I really didn’t know what to do.”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: alyssaklinzing

    Klinzing added that Disneyland has a strict rule about performers being required to stay in character at all times, no matter what, which forced her to continue smiling and performing even as the man groped her.

    However, she filed an incident report with management afterward, but they took no action.

    She was told that the guest had “intellectual disabilities” and would be allowed to keep visiting as long as he was with a chaperone. All performers, in general, are instructed to “divert the best” they can in such circumstances, Klinzing said.

    Image credits: alyssaklinzing

    ADVERTISEMENT

    The man returned several times and repeated the same behavior. After Klinzing asked Disney security to look at the guest’s file, it came to light that he had previously done the same thing with multiple other performers.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “If the same guest were defacing property, breaking a window, or doing something to the physical property of Disney, they would be kicked out, and they would never be allowed back in, ever,” Klinzing pointed out.

    Alyssa Klinzing admitted she has PTSD from Disneyland’s rigorous demands

    Image credits: hunterchaag

    The appeal of working at Disneyland quickly faded for Alyssa Klinzing as cases of character harassment piled on for her and fellow employees.

    Moreover, the performers were expected to maintain the same physique and appearance as when they were hired, and failure to comply often led to termination.

    “For all performers, there is an expiration date,” Klinzing said. “You’re portraying characters that are oftentimes 16 to 21 years old. The character stays that age, that look, and that silhouette forever, and you don’t.

    Image credits: hunterchaag

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “I honestly think I have some PTSD [from it] that makes it really hard for me to deal with the aging process.”

    Realizing she could not keep up with unrealistic beauty standards, she quit her job to “control” her career.

    She revealed that her friends from the theme park, who have worked there for a decade, are now “going through the disapproval process” and losing their jobs as their appearances have outgrown the characters.

    Image credits: hunterchaag

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “Smile lines, wrinkles, sunspots – these are things that show that you’ve lived a really long and beautiful life and you’ve had the privilege to get older, but they’re not things that a Disney princess is going to portray,” she said.

    “It makes me feel like I made the right decision for myself to be the one who decided when my time was over.”

    Image credits: hunterchaag

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Long removed from the job and happily managing her business with her wife, Ale Vega, Klinzing now understands that the allure of Disney is strong enough to make employees endure such experiences.

    “There are people who want it so bad that they don’t really care what the pay is, they don’t really care what the treatment is,” she said. “You’re going to find people who are willing to deal with whatever it is in order to be able to say that they are a Disney performer.”

    Another Disney princess performer previously called the audition process “traumatizing”

    Image credits: magicwiththomas

    Over the years, several other Disneyland employees have come forward with complaints about subpar treatment of staff.

    Influencer Hunter Haag, 33, worked as Rapunzel and Belle at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, from 2016 to 2021 until she got fired during the pandemic. In multiple posts on her social media platforms, she has talked about experiences of harassment similar to Klinzing.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    In one, she talked about a man who made a lewd gesture at her with his tongue in front of his wife and children. She also spoke about one guest who asked her “how big” the Beast was while she performed as Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

    Image credits: sabrinavonb

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “If someone is negative to you, then you deflect, or if they’re inappropriate, you get help from your character attendant, but instead of saying, ‘Hey, this guest is being weird,’ I would say something like, ‘Can I go see Pascal [another character]?’ really quickly to my attendant, so they would know something was wrong,” Haag said, emphasizing the importance of maintaining “character integrity.”

    In another video, she branded Disneyland’s audition process, which was based entirely on appearance rather than any other skill set, as “traumatizing.”

    According to her, the company would review each performer’s physical measurements every eight months to ensure they still fit the character’s “silhouette.” She also said that the heavy costumes and wigs gave her health problems, and that they were not allowed to “talk openly” about their jobs.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: hunterchaag

    However, some have shared the other side of the story as well.

    Sabrina Von B., now a music artist, portrayed Lady Tremaine, Maleficent, and the Evil Queen from Snow White for 8 years before she was let go in January 2026. Many videos of her interacting with visitors had gone viral, amassing millions of views.

    After being fired, she revealed her real identity and shared her experience with People magazine, but she had nothing negative to say. She called her time at Disney “very rewarding” as she got to “create joy for people and make people smile, all while being a villain.”

    “I don’t take it lightly that these experiences that I created for people are stories and things that they will take with them, for years to come, and hopefully make them like villains more and get on the side of villains and not just be scared of them,” she said at the time.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    “I hear this happens a lot at Disney.” Users expressed concern over Alyssa Klinzing and other ex-Disney employees’ stories

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook
    Anwesha Nag

    Anwesha Nag

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    Anwesha Nag is a seasoned digital journalist with nearly a decade's experience in covering sports, lifestyle, and entertainment. Her work has previously been published on Sportskeeda, FanSided, and PFSN, and featured on Google News and Discover. She is also a reader, a caffeine enthusiast, a cat parent, and a nerd, who is obsessed with the power of words and storytelling.

    Read less »
    Anwesha Nag

    Anwesha Nag

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Anwesha Nag is a seasoned digital journalist with nearly a decade's experience in covering sports, lifestyle, and entertainment. Her work has previously been published on Sportskeeda, FanSided, and PFSN, and featured on Google News and Discover. She is also a reader, a caffeine enthusiast, a cat parent, and a nerd, who is obsessed with the power of words and storytelling.

    What do you think ?
    Nathaniel
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why would anyone think it is okay to grope a Disney employee? There was a story on here a while back with a male employee stating how women would often grope him. Do you go around molesting people in normal life? No. So why would you think it is okay at Disneyland?

    Lukas (f​u​ck/tra​ns​pho​b​es)
    Community Member
    Premium
    57 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I remember that article, the one with the Halloween performer? I don't understand why people seem to think it's okay to touch actors without their consent. Also, is your main account still suspended? When UKGrandad is still spreading his b​s? That's f​u​c​k​​e​d up.

    Load More Replies...
    Leanora Burton
    Community Member
    55 minutes ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    My last salary was $8750, ecom only worked 12 hours a week. My longtime neighbor yr estimated $15,000 and works about 20 hours for seven days. I can't believe how blunt he was when I looked up his information, This is what I do..... 𝐏­𝐚­𝐲­𝐀­𝐭­𝐇­𝐨­𝐦­𝐞­𝟏­.­𝐂­𝐨𝐦

    Nathaniel
    Community Member
    1 hour ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Why would anyone think it is okay to grope a Disney employee? There was a story on here a while back with a male employee stating how women would often grope him. Do you go around molesting people in normal life? No. So why would you think it is okay at Disneyland?

    Lukas (f​u​ck/tra​ns​pho​b​es)
    Community Member
    Premium
    57 minutes ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I remember that article, the one with the Halloween performer? I don't understand why people seem to think it's okay to touch actors without their consent. Also, is your main account still suspended? When UKGrandad is still spreading his b​s? That's f​u​c​k​​e​d up.

    Load More Replies...
    Leanora Burton
    Community Member
    55 minutes ago

    This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

    My last salary was $8750, ecom only worked 12 hours a week. My longtime neighbor yr estimated $15,000 and works about 20 hours for seven days. I can't believe how blunt he was when I looked up his information, This is what I do..... 𝐏­𝐚­𝐲­𝐀­𝐭­𝐇­𝐨­𝐦­𝐞­𝟏­.­𝐂­𝐨𝐦

    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    ADVERTISEMENT