One of the most iconic parts of the Haunted Mansion at Disney World isn’t even the ride itself, but the maids and butlers that operate the attraction.
The Haunted Mansion
Okay, fine. I might be a bit biased. I used to work at the Haunted Mansion, and it was honestly the coolest job I’ve ever had aside from working here at DFB, of course! I made so many memories, met some of my lifelong friends, and even learned my fair share of SECRETS. Some of those secrets will forever remain secrets as I love my fellow maids and butlers too dearly to expose some of those, but I love to share a few of the things I learned with you all. Today, I’m ready to spill more tea!
Okay, back to my first statement. Part of what makes the Mansion Cast Members iconic is their iconic COSTUME! There were several things about the costumes that I totally didn’t realize until I worked there, and I’m here to share those details with you.
It’s not all one piece!
A lot of folks (myself included) thought that the maid costumes were a dress and an apron. Nope! The costume consists of a long skirt, a blouse, an apron, and then we’re told to wear either long black socks or tights. In the summer, we typically opted for the shorter socks, but in the winter, those tights were our friend. It gets chilly in Florida at night!
Me at the Haunted Mansion
Also, a lot of folks take interest in the bats that the maids wear on their heads! A lot of the maids attach their bat with bobby pins, but there’s actually a slot underneath it so that you can slide it onto a headband. I wore mine as a headband so that I didn’t have to worry about the pins slipping!
Is it comfortable?!
Well, it depends on the day whether or not the maid costume is comfortable. It’s made of a wool blend, so it can get pretty toasty in the summer. However, it’s breezier since you have a skirt. I also appreciated that the skirt had deep pockets. I was always able to keep my essentials with me, like hand sanitizer, a small flashlight, and my BlueID (Disney’s ID card).
Me in the butler costume! And a toothpaste mirror!
In the winter though, I got pretty chilly. When that happened, I just went to costuming and grabbed a butler costume and wore that instead. I wore it a lot during the winter months! That leads us to my next secret.
How do Cast Members GET costumes?
I can only speak for Magic Kingdom costuming, but you scan into the building with your BlueID, and the whole building is organized based on location and role. There are multiple sizes of the same garments, of course, and there are even little fitting rooms so that you can decide on which size is more comfortable.
Haunted Mansion in Disney World
After that, you’ll carry your chosen costume pieces to the front of the building, where you’ll scan your BlueID again and walk through what looks like security scanners. As you walk through, the machinery scans which item of clothing you have in your possession automatically. You can keep these costumes in your possession for as long as your program, if you’d like. Or, you can return them to costuming and swap them out if you don’t want to wash them yourself. Both options are acceptable! You can keep up to eight costume pieces at a time, if I remember correctly. I chose to wash my own clothes because they tend to be a bit stiff and smell strange when they come straight from costuming. To return clothes, though, you just drop them into a bin at the back of the costuming building and it scans that you’ve returned them. Easy peasy!
Do you have to buy your costumes?
Only if ya steal them! No, seriously. You don’t pay for your costumes unless you just never return them after you no longer work for Disney. You might also have to pay for them if you just totally destroy it.
Haunted Mansion
If you’re a Disney College Program participant like I was, though, you pay a costuming fee that’s part of your program fee. At least that’s how it worked when I did the program in 2022!
Well, I hope you were able to learn something about Magic Kingdom costuming as well as what it’s like to wear the Mansion costumes. We’ll be sure to keep you updated with more Disney news, so make sure to follow along so that you’re always in the loop.
Looking for more about my time working at the Spooky Haus? Click here!
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I can’t believe they left this out. At the Haunted Mansion, the female cast members all have head pieces, or hats. They name them! Next time you go through the Haunted Mansion, ask a female cast member the name of her hair piece.