IamA (professional party princess) AMA!

Do the kids actually believe you're the actual princess you're portraying? And has there ever been a time where a kid who didn't believe you were a princess and lashed out at your for it?

Yes! It's amazing! it took me a while to get adjusted to the blind trust many of the sweet children i visit have (now i get why a lot of religions encourage their believers to emulate the strength of faith exhibited by the young, lol)

the majority of them take me completely for face (and costume) value... i think in their heads, i haven't given them a reason to NOT believe that i am who they "know" i am, so the thought of deception doesn't even pop into their heads...

i had one little girl that got extremely upset at me while i was being Elsa for not displaying my ice powers, but she was mainly upset at me (as Elsa), not as me (random girl in wig) for deceiving her... again, i don't think many of them have the experience to conceive of that as an option yet... oh to be young, ha

Here's an idea... you can buy star shaped ice trays. Maybe keep a cooler in the car, then put into the star cubes into the freezer at the home of party. So if the girl asks for ice and you can't do it, wait until she's kind of by herself and slip one into her hand. It'll blow her mind.

That might work! lately i've been putting a ton of silver glitter into my hand and just waving them around and having the sparkles drift onto the children; then i make up a lame excuse about not wanting to get them too cold before we dance...which they usually begrudgingly accept, haha

Do you have partners to play other characters like Anna?

Yes! :) I have a cast of other coworkers that all play various roles that correlate to their abilities (singing/not singing) and/or appearance :) luckily, my company is busy enough that we all are frequently called in for a number of characters!

Do you get constant training, acting and singing to get as close to the portrayed princess as possible?

No! Luckily, i'm naturally peppy (not so lucky for people to have to tolerate me long-term, lol) so i mesh fairly well with the princess persona :) acting is something i've always found to come easily (especially regarding turning "on" or 'off' a character).. I think Disney is a bit more intense with their employees regarding reaching character quota, ha

From what I've seen in disneyland I have to disagree, they put a very non asian looking asian to play mulan. I was a little disappointed. I heard that their major rules are only below 24yrs ild and smile at everyone.

Really? disneyworld is extremely strict :o maybe they have more options?

You should bring some dry ice or liquid nitrogen with you next time ;)

oh my god, i run into the living room in costume with tears in my eyes, hands smoking, manic grin: "HELLO CHILDREN!" dry ice smashes to floor, children scream in terror

These Boo Bubbles pop into smoke as long as you wear Elsa's gloves for protection. You could teach them a little bit about science too.

We did it a literal science fair that my company helped organize.The kids loved it.

oh my god, that's actually really awesome! i'll show my boss, thanks! :)

bad idea, very dangerous. I hope you're not serious.

Oh come on, flash freezing things is fun!

lawsuit? what lawsuit? this is MAGIC

I took 'professional party princess' completely out of context

lol, you aren't the only one, haha

Not a question but a story.

I used to date a girl who played snow white and others at childrens parties. I lived in colorado. And at that time I was in the army. This was before my deployment, so I would spend all day at fort carson doing nothing but busy work and then go home.

That day my girlfriend asked me to pick her up after a party. I told her sure. It was kind of on my way and we could go back to my place. Change out of our respective work gear and then go get dinner. No sweat.

So I drive straight off the base in my ACUs, tired out and kind of a bit stressed. I was going to be moved to 1st battalion in stuttgart germany in like 5 weeks so that was weighing on me.

I pulled up to the house without really thinking. Got out of the car and leaned on it and was going to have a smoke while I waited. Nope.

Around the house comes a herd of little girls. Swarming around my then girlfriends ankles, squealing and peeping and giggling. My girlfriend looks at me and I quickly ditch my pack into my pocket.

I figured she was just wrapping up until one of the little girls says something like "GI JOE IS HERE TOO".

What followed were the most surreal 45 minutes of my life. I went from being myself 18E communications sergeant, to the most all american soldier boy in a split second... Oh man my girlfriends face.... sigh.

AW STOP that's adorable!! :') how did you like it? haha

It was a very strange 45 minutes. The parents all laughed and thought it was cute, I was half mortified as I played with them all and answered questions as "GIJOEY" as I could.

When I gave the Fairy Princess (my girlfriend) a hug I whispered in her ear that she needed to get me the hell out of there. She laughed and eventually we got to go. She thought it was cute, I was scared shitless. I think one of the parents made a comment to their daughter along the lines of "Just like you play honey, GI JOE and the Princess are in love." Awkward moments.

LOL, are you still together? You guys should have a fairy and a g.i joe as wedding cake toppers if you ever get married; it would be an inside joke of corny love OH MY GOD sorry my sappy female side is showing through so I'll stop now.

What is the sweetest story you have; like kids who were truly impressed by you being there? Btw, I think this is a pretty awesome thing you do for kids!

Aw, thank you! It really is a rewarding job, especially for one I can do part-time while in college! The sweetest times in my job are definitely when I'm greeted with (what i call) a run-jump-and-hug... the ones that treat me like a well-known friend (which is more often than not), instead a scary stranger :)

I've had little kids just stare at me in awe and say: "thank you so much for coming!" I had a little girl hug me and whisper in my ear, "i love you so much!" A little girl brought her shy sister to come meet me and had me hug both of them at once, which caused the older sister to exclaim, "now you're our sister too!"

this little girl was obsessed with my wings: https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t1/1501784_10151813618365740_656372936_n.jpg

this was one of my first parties, this girl ran to me the moment she saw me: https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1/1395878_10151705237460740_294298953_n.jpg

ahh, all very gratifying for certain :) especially visiting hospitals, when you can truly just give a sick baby a bit of magic, at least for a moment :) a weak smile or laugh is so precious when it's coming from a hospital bed.

That is awesome; one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time. I hope you continue to bring smiles to children! Thanks for sharing!

aw, thank you! :) i hope so too!

When I play Santa, this is my favorite thing!!

aw! :') there's a documentary on netflix about becoming santa, it's really adorable! that's a great job right there

That's awesome that you do that. I remember having the same reaction seeing WInnie the Pooh at Disneyworld at that age. As far as I was concerned, he was my best friend in the whole world.

That's extremely adorable, just so you know

The first picture is a beautiful photo.

And aww, aren't kids sometimes the sweetest? Your job sounds like it has some really rewarding highlights.

kids really are like magical dispensaries of love, my job is extremely rewarding due to them! :)

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Google! Gigsalad is a good website for checking reviews about princess companies :)

Which is your favorite princess? Plus has anyone ever hit on you while in costume lol?

my favorite princesses are the newer ones, that aren't so bland. i've found that the older the princess, the more a "shell" she is so to speak... i.e: snow white, aurora, cinderella... not a lot of personality going on there, if you catch my drift! with those you mainly just sing and smile sweetly, gaa

rapunzel, merida, and tink correlate best to my personality (energy and extroversion-level are dead-on), so they're definitely my favorite! i've been elsa from frozen lately and she's way too mature for my taste! ana's more for me :)

i'm a bit of an eternal kid, which is why it REALLY creeps me out when, yes, dads do hit on me...especially when i'm in "princess mode." i've had dads offer me wine (during the party...yes...), put their hands on the small of my back, ask me my age, ask me "what else i do" (IN FRONT OF THEIR CHILDREN), and more... that's why i actually stopped being seashell bra ariel, too many creepy dads (and i don't have boobs, so i can only imagine what our well-endowed ariel has to put up with, eesh). really old grandpas that want to take a picture with me i tolerate, though! they're mainly adorable and less skeezy, heh

Hahaha. Dad asking you what else do you do is just creepy (ew).

right?! what was he hoping for? ugh

You should have said something like "Well, I do many this like eating, walking, sleeping and also telling your wife". (Make sure you get paid first lol)

LOL i'm definitely going to keep that! or just stare pointedly at his wife while inching away... oh! i just remembered one dad asking me if i "was in theater" while i was holding the birthday girl... i just stared blankly and laughed

Don't you think many of these questions aren't creepy and you might be projecting "creep" onto them? I know for me, as a dude, it would make me VERY uncomfortable having to try to talk to you like you're an ACTUAL fucking princess for hours... I would rather think of you as a real human, so I might ask what else you did or if you're in theatre (ya know, because you sing and act... Not a stretch). I'm sure some are creeps but those aren't creepy questions.

no you're right :) i have come across some nice and respectful guys that really don't know how to deal with me, which is actually quite endearing... i only deem them as creepy usually when they combine something i.e: touching me repeatedly, offering me wine after i politely decline, interrupting children who are talking to me, etc... also, when i'm holding kids, asking me questions that don't correlate to my character make my job harder, so i get a bit grumpy :) but good perspective to keep in mind for next time!

When you play rapunzel, do you play her with the short brown hair or the long blonde hair?

long blonde hair... i usually just say it grew back :) (i am the princess of BS)

Hahah!! Good one :-) I guess you have to be quick on your toes when working with kids!

definitely! as long as you say it with confidence, they'll usually believe you!

How do you even get started in this business? Do you work independently or for a company?

Also, you're very beautiful! :D

I know some individuals work independently, but marketing/gas/costume upkeep/etc... is more of a hassle than it's worth (unless you're dealing with a very low-competition small-town market). I work for a small company that I actually stumbled across on craigslist (i was initially convinced the ad was actually some sort of rape/organ-theft ploy but I sent in my resume anyway, natural selection defied again, lol!)

I auditioned with a few songs and I met the owner in person, and it went from there! Also, thank you for the compliment :o i feel very average sans the ballgowns, though, haha!

Do you do bachelor parties?

it would probably be very lucrative, but no :/ most of us aren't willing to sacrifice our nights potentially being fondled and vomited on by weepy almost-married men, haha! it sounds like a comedy tina fey would write though and have amy poehler and kristen wiig star in

songs? do you have to sing at the parties?

Yes! although it does depend on the package they purchase. i usually learn one or two songs per princess so I can just churn it out upon demand, lol :) if we have a prince accompanying i might do a duet with him (if i'm cinderella)

Have you ever gone to a party and the kid was like," your not the real Cinderella." Or something like that?

oh god, yes! but not as often as i though it would happen, actually... probably because i have real blue eyes, pitifully pale skin, and a high-pitched voice (kids are extremely visual) which they connect to the majority of disney female characters (disney fails at being diverse)

but when i do get that, usually it's from an older brother or sister who's in the "i know santa isn't real and i'm going to tell everybodYYY" phase, haha! usually i go, "i'm not the real me?" and start pinching myself, "who am I?" and look frantic...the children all laugh and rush to reassure me/shun the nonbeliever... ;) i usually don't have to do much work when it comes to that! SHUN THE NONBELIEVER, CHILDREN

You could start a cult D:

too late, disney did that already :(

Haha sick candy mountain reference!

one day i'll get my kidney stolen and then i'll have an even SICKER REFERENCE MANN (also, pun, sicker, kill me)

Just think about that before you answer the next organ theft craigslist ad lol.

P.S. albino unicorn would be an awesome rapper name for you. You're welcome.

gotta get my street cred! i'll tattoo "albino unicorn" above the kidney extraction scar. hardcore, man

A lot of the kids I work with get upset about Ariel having legs, and I have to remind them that my father gave me legs at the end of the story. Otherwise they're usually all too eager to buy into it, and the older ones aren't too hard to convince.

when i'm ariel there's always at least one kid that wants to know about what happened to my mother! cue awkward changes of subject

I do know that her name was Queen Athena. I'm assuming she died due to complications from giving birth to seven daughters within six years, but yeah that's not something to bring up at parties much.

Edit: Apparently not! She died saving her eldest daughter. http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Queen_Athena

eh, might bring the mood down a bit, hahaha

Most interesting story?

Lots of stories, i'll give you a few from most recent!

1. Last minute party (got a 30 minute heads up) drove to party venue, found assistant in parking lot, ended up turning into cinderella in front of a basketball court (the cars were too small to put on the petticoat inside of them), the facial expression of the players was priceless, lol

2. Missing tights for my alice in wonderland costume, 5 minutes until party, dashed into a cvs (in the middle of a really bad part of town)... security suddenly appears in front of the aisle i'm frantically searching tights for, and demands to know "why are you here?" Turns out people had shopliftws from that CVS a few weeks earlier and used friends dressed in costumes to distract the employees, lol... needless to say when my coworker/friend walked in a few moments later dressed as the Mad Hatter to see what was taking me so long their suspicion failed to ebb, lol

3. One of my petticoats snapped while I was dancing as Cinderella (at a library of all places), so i ended up sitting in the middle of the floor while Belle had the children dance around me until i could dash into a random open door in search of a safety pin.. A librarian stapled my petticoat waistband, but then wouldn't let me return to the party until i sung her a line from the Roger and Hammerstein musical, hahaha

Most boss librarian ever right there...

right? she was really prepared for anything and ready to barter it for a song

thanks for the reply!

no problem! :)

Have you ever auditioned for Disneyland/world? With your look and coloring (and experience) you'd be a shoo-in.

I'm actually considering a university quite near there! I'm definitely going to look into it, although I'm worried about getting sunburned, lol.. D: I think character performers have shifts that extend for quite a while, so I'll have to come prepared (idk how to prepare, lets be honest, i'll probably melt)

Tinkerbelle only performs at night, IIRC. (Also, they might hire you to work as an animation model at the studios.) You have that sweet-gorgeous natural look they're always on the watch for. Good luck!

(And if you're thinking of UCI, good choice.)

Thank you! I'm still debating between UCI and UCF :) UCI of course is my first choice!

Actor here, lots of friends have done the Disneyworld gig, most of them are doing at least half a dozen shows a day along with parades and appearances on 'main street' areas for photos and hugs. Most of the shows are all indoors, but then still do the two parades and street appearances. I think allahansen is right about Tinkerbell being exclusively a night feature though, something about her costume being a bit racy for daytime.

At Disneyland, Tinkerbell and the rest of the fairies have there own dedicated area that closes in the evening. I've been forced to stand in that line several times thanks to having a young daughter.

The area is shaded and isn't in direct sunlight for the performers.

That's awesome! I'm periwinkle's skin tone, so that might work really well :o

tinkerbell sounds like so much fun to do! although i'm wary of working in disney if everybody there is too obsessed with it, do you know what i mean? i know some people my age that nearly worship at the altar of walt and it's kind of disconcerting

Do you watch Modern Family? In one episode, Cam makes the party princess break character then tells her that you should never break character! How important is this, and has it happened to you?

LOL I remember that! And he's right, you never break character! it's equivalent to ripping your wig off your head and waving it around like a lasso. you ARE whoever you arrive as, and you stay as such. your tip and the dreams of children depend on it (no pressure) ;) on terms of breaking character, i've said quips and remarks during story time and while answering questions that aren't completely "princess-like," usually to make the adults listening laugh... but never something that would really mar the facade! i do insert a bit of my personality into whatever princess i'm portraying though, i can't help it (without a little piece of me DYING)

Which season/episode is that? I also work as a party princess, and I'm curious to watch!

i think season 2!

Have you ever slipped up in front of a kid and was like "this shit is getting on my nerves" or something like that? I Imagine a few jaws hitting the floor

I've come close! i've referred to one of my coworkers by her real name, but luckily her name is Jeanie, so I BSed some line about Aladdin (which made no sense because she was being Belle and I was being Cinderella, but eh)

I've twisted my ankle and said "oh god" about to finish that with a well rounded DAMN IT but fixed it in time to garble out a "oh godDAness" and have everybody look at me expectantly (i think they thought i was about to burst into impromptu song)

luckily, i'm not a big expletive user in real life, so i don't have to repress too many phrases, lol

I am imagining you bursting into a room full of kids, yelling "WHAT'S UP, BITCHES!"

more like "BOW DOWN, BITCHES! CINDERELLA'S IN THE--I MEAN, YOUR, HOUSSEEEE"

"WOOOO! I DIDN'T CHOOSE THE HUG LIFE, THE HUG LIFE CHOSE ME!"

BIBBIDY BOPPIDY BOW DOWWWWNNNN AGAINNNN

Have your significant others/dates ever requested anything… interesting… that would involve employing your professional equipment and/or skills? If so, did you grant their wishes?

Oh my god yeah i told them a story so late (almost 10 o clock)! then i painted flowers all over their face with FACE PAINT and then i sang them a disney song ;) it really made for a wild night

lol, the guys i know are a bit wary of my profession, i think they feel like if they come in contact with it straight on they'll lose testosterone on contact, ha

Kinky!

you know it babe

Also a party princess, closest to this I've gotten is testing out new products on a very patient boyfriend. Definitely not the most erotic thing I've ever done, and I felt a little bad when the Aurora tattoo didn't come off as promised. :/

hahaha! downsides of being a boyfriend to a royal

Do you ever find yourself going into princess-mode accidentally in social situations outside of work?

Oh god, yes! I was actually presenting a report to my class, and I just went on auto-mode... I thought it went fine, but when I sat down, one of my friends was like "why did you do that?" I didn't know what he was talking about, and he said "Just now! When you went up there you sashayed and waved to everybody before you began, and then you giggled and waved again when you finished your report!"

note to self, never run for president

Lmao! I would definitely vote for you. Sashays and giggle quality are the only thing I look at before voting (Ron Paul 2016!)

he'd totally win ultimate grand supreme!

How did you do on the report? Did other people in the class react to your...unconventional mannerisms?

Most of them are used to me being a bit crazy, so they tolerated it; the majority of them are high when they come into class, so who knows how many were actually lucid enough to evaluate how i was behaving, lol

I used to work as a costumed mascot for parties. I would dress up as Spongebob, Elmo, Cookie Monster all that stuff for parties. I got fired one day when the Spongebob costume I was wearing had really tight fitting tights; they ripped down the middle and my junk was showing, no joke.

My question to you, what's the most embarrassing thing to happen to you while working?

LOL, that's simultaneously hilarious/awful

Most embarrassing thing? When I was first Elsa, the wig was...not up to par... So when I was telling the story (with everybody, parents, children paying extremely close attention), a little girl began to scream "is that a wig?! is that a wig?!! are you fake!?" LOL i ended up having her sit on my lap and help me tell the story... i'd probably be good in PR

How long do you see yourself doing this for? You mentioned that you're in college, what are you studying and what is your ideal job?

Also, for some reason your Cinderella reminds me of Bernadette from TBBT . Don't know why :/

Probably until fall, when I transfer (i just received my AA, so I'm waiting a few more months to accumulate funds for my upcoming tuition and to help my mom with divorce proceedings)... Eh, not the best situation (but I'm attempting to salvage whatever I can for my positivity tank.. My major's a bit up in the air at the moment; I'm an ENFP so I'm a bit all over the place when it comes to interests (and i'm horrible at committing). I write, model for the odd event, sing, illustrate, photograph, do graphic design for this small publishing company i found on craigslist, make videos, act, bake, etc...

My ideal job would be an elementary school teacher (a la' miss frizzle) with the salary of a college professor (one can dream).. Or i'd love to voice cartoons, be on a children's show, be a children's book writer, etc... I would part-time make youtube parody videos and be a princess/photographer on weekends. Every year I would give each student of mine a children's book I made about the adventures our class had. Then I would get married and move probably to greece where I would have a giant hat, garden, and get fat on pasta... yeah, that's about it; TOTALLY ATTAINABLE (sobs)

i also want to be a nanny/au pair for a bit and direct a documentary! again, TOTALLY ATTAINABLE

Who's do you think is the easiest princess to be? The hardest? You mentioned singing in another response, are you expected to sing if the princess does in the movie(s)? Last book you read for fun?

easiest princess definitely is Cinderella... she lacks a lot of distinctive characteristics so I can insert a lot of my own personality into her without being suspect of breaking character ;) the hardest has to be Elsa (although she's a queen, not a princess, meh) she's a bit reserved, which comes across as mean to younger children, so i usually boost her a bit when I'm playing her...

i'm expected to sing a lot of the time, but I only do a full on song number if i'm paid to do so, heh :) i usually sing a bit while reading the story just because it makes the kids so happy and it seems to really cement their belief in my authenticity :D

the last book i read for fun was a re-read of ramona ausubel's "no one is here except all of us" :) highly recommend, she's a beautiful author and it's a beautiful story.

You got the hair for Elsa. But can you nail "Let it go"?

I can and do on a weekly basis! :) nothing's cuter than hearing 20 little girls sing let it go from the bottom of their hearts with you!

Hey there, fellow party princess here! Would you be comfortable sharing what city you work in? What do you find is the most frustrating part of your job? Ever encounter a crowd that's just not into you? What's your favorite game to play at parties?

i'll message you! :) most frustrating part is definitely when a parent asks for a princess when they honestly haven't gauged if their child will care at all.. arriving at a party to find a completely disinterested/frightened birthday girl/boy is really confusing to me, like, "why did you do this to your kid?" usually those are the type of parents who put on giant celebrations that consist more of adults than children, which is always odd, ha

my favorite game to play is usually freeze dance, especially as elsa ;) otherwise i usually make up my own games when i run out of dance songs; which usually end up being the favorite (like exploring, princess lessons, ask a princess, princess says, etc.. ) :)

i've encountered crowds that aren't really my target age demographic (i.e: older) so i usually just try to tailor my manner of speaking to something the majority of the people there don't feel degraded by LOL... i usually crack jokes (class clown syndrome) and it breaks the mood :) and i continue on with facepaint, storytime, etc

Cool, thanks for sharing! Honestly the most frustrating thing for me is dealing with the company I work for, since the boss seems to like to cut corners. The only good costumes I have are the ones I make!

I like to play "Poison Apple," which is basically just hot potato with an apple toy. Instead of getting out, the person who catches it falls under the sleeping spell for a turn!

I gotta say, I'm seriously jealous of how light your eyebrows are. I have to use a lot of powder and wear wigs with long bangs when I play Cinderella!

luckily, my bosses' mom is an extremely talented seamstress, so she makes our costumes by hand and tailored to our measurements (so amazing, right!?), but the wigs are another story, sigh (i've resigned myself to either dealing with them or buying new ones out of pocket, eh)

I like the poison apple idea! I might steal it on the rare occasions i'm snow white! :)

yeah, this job actually made me grateful for my eyebrows, ha! a lot of my coworkers have the same problem! they either end up dying them lighter or covering them with a bit of concealer :o

Steal away! I barely knew how to see before I started princessing, and now my boss has me making Anna and Merida costumes in addition to what I'm making for myself. I'm still learning, but I'm picking up pretty quickly. I've been avoiding having to dye my eyebrows so far, but once I make the new Cinderella dress I may have to for a while to be competitive in getting bookings. :(

good luck on anna! her costume's a doozy! i say dye the eyebrows! you can just pencil them in for every day! actually that sounds a bit awful, ahh

Have you ever been at a party were you wanted to leave early?

yes! i had a party where i was Ariel (pink dress ariel, not shell boob ariel), and the girl loved me so much that her parents wanted to extend my hours from the initial 1 hour to a 3 hours.... oh my... GOD never again! by the end, the party was nearly over and the little girl had convinced herself I was going to live with her forever... she then proceeded to almost knock her fish out of the fishbowl she had on her dresser (why was i in this girl's bedroom? who knows) Also--better question--why does a 3 year old have a fish in her room? hmm

What is the most brattiest client you have had to deal with, and how did you deal with them?

Bratty is an interesting adjective, but one i don't use that often when describing the kids i do work for... they aren't intentionally malicious, more so overstimulated by parents that sometimes shower them in needless things (exorbitant parties, endless gifts, etc..) that they have no idea where or how to display gratitude or direct their attention for an appropriate period of time...

there was a little girl whose sister was adamantly against our presence, and made it (loudly) known... we ended up pretending to be hurt which resulted in the little girl and her friends shunning the sister, oops! it wasn't intentional, but it did the trick and the rest of the party went fine, ha :)

Thank you for doing this AMA! You answered exactly the way I felt when I worked in the party industry in high school :)

no problem! it's difficult for me to usually blame children for behavior that their parents are blatantly doing nothing about, eh :) there's a lot of sweetness in most spoiled children, it just takes some coaxing!

You sound like you could make an amazing mother!

i'd probably be too soft on them ;) i might need to be a nanny for a bit first, but thank you for thinking that! i hope to be one day! :)

Procreate with a drill sergeant, you'll have the best of both worlds!

oh god, or a sitcom

I would watch the shit out of this programme. Please, OP.

Even if you have to resort to reality television, make this come true.

I actually would as well, come to think of it... have you ever seen wife swap? the scenarios they make come pretty close to the above, sometimes

Maybe you can practice by showing up as Mary Poppins! Not a princess, I know, but still a Disney gal I'd invite to MY party.

Mary Poppins is actually kind of crazy which is something I love about her! you know you're badass when your main source of transportation is a flying umbrella

Does Disney give you or your company grief? I would think that using their likeness might cause some issues. My 5 year old daughter is in love with the Frozen princesses, so I can only imagine the reactions you get. She saw them at DW last month and was the highlight of the trip.

They haven't so far! hopefully not... i think my boss doesn't refer to us by name, people just request characters and she sends characters that just so happen to perfectly resemble them ;) The frozen characters are a nice addition to the disney princess line, although I wish they were a bit more unique appearance wise (although I shouldn't complain).. does your daughter find elsa intimidating by any chance? i have a bit of a problem when i play her because her personality is so 'regal,' heh :)

How few male actors do you work with, and do they generally resemble the characters they're representing? It seems like finding women that resemble princesses that also have skills in singing and acting would be easier to find than hulking, athletic, square-jawed men with chests 8 times larger than their waists... that also have singing and theatre background. Thanks for the AMA!

No problem! I work with around 2 or 3, but not very often :) They all have very good voices and are surprisingly tall (not extremely buff, but lean). My company is near a college that actually specializes in musical theater, so my boss was definitely in luck when it came for casting male roles :)

I read that as "muscle theater" after all that talk of lean, hulking men. I kind of like the image. :)

they could all flex their muscles in rhythm! it would be hypnotizing

This is so lovely :) My daughter recently had a "Princess Teaparty" in the UK where Sleeping Beauty hosted a party for about 8 little girls. They spent an hour in bliss. They couldn't take their eyes off her and 2 months on she is STILL talking about it. We got some lovely photos and memories that I can't wait to bring out when she is older.

Aw, that's so sweet! She'll probably always remember it! :') I'm sure Aurora was happy to be there!

This isn't as much of a question as it's a hypothetical scenario:

So a (grown) man calls you and asks if you can come do a party in one of your princess outfits. All the bureaucratic stuff is worked out and you have a date reserved. You show up for the party and he's the only one there. He has no kids; he's the only one at the party.

How would you react to this bizarre scenario?

LOL, we have gotten request for bachelor parties, I believe (but nobody's been willing to risk it, ha) Well, I work with an assistant, so I probably wouldn't feel too scared... I usually facepaint, sing, read a story, and do dance games? So, I mean, I guess I would probably do that as long as he paid upfront and people knew where we were (his address, etc..)

hahahah now I'm picturing face-painting flowers onto a man in an empty room filled with birthday decorations, oh my god

I read that and laughed. Hard.

me too! it made me picture this: http://static.fjcdn.com/comments/you%2Bforgot%2Bthe%2Bbest%2Bprincess%2B_152778753b328d3fa64659d9240801f3.jpg hahaha

Oh, that's great!

Does your company ever do superheroes like Elastigirl or Violet from the Incredibles?

No! We do Jessie from Toy Story sometimes, but we don't get requests for those characters, really :( That would be awesome! I'd totally play violet!

Which princesses are the most requested? And is this something you could see yourself doing long term?

Right now, the frozen characters are definitely the prominent stars... Also Sofia the First is one I do quite often :) But the classics remain pretty consistent in popularity (cinderella, belle, aurora, jasmine, etc...) Long-term as in for more than a year or two more? Probably not, at least for revenue. I wouldn't mind dressing up to visit children's wards of hospitals like I've been lucky enough to do a few times already :)

But, I'm sure there'll be a time where I look too old for the role, and I'd like to hope I've moved on to other new and exciting occupations by then! :) i'll be more than ready to step aside for a new girl to claim her rightful title, fully adorned with a (plastic) tiara, lol :)

TIL professional party princess NOT euphemism for hooker

that would be a great way to refer to yourself if i was a prostitute, though... i'd get it emblazoned on a giant tiara or something...

Do kids ever get scared of you? And how do you go about reassuring them if so?

The little ones do, sometimes! I never try to force anything! usually i get on their level, smile warmly and interact with the parent to show that i'm safe... then i'll walk off and play with kids who aren't frightened! sometimes i'll look up and see the previously scared kid is slowly inching towards joining the others :) easy as that

Thanks for replying! I would've been the previously scared one, back in the day!

aw! don't worry, i never hold it against them :)

Where is the worst place you have been?

A backyard in the ghetto; the fence dividing their yard from the neighbors was just a flimsy metal thing and the pitbull on the neighbors side continously barked and slammed his body against the gate throughout the party, oh my god how did I forget this until now

It's a fun line of work! I used to work for a company that did this. I was almost always Spider-Man, but because the mask was "frightening" for kids, I was forever a maskless Spider-man.

We have the same problem! although the kids seem to be most intimidated by our batman (he's really tall), spiderman alas is a mute, so he just uses positive hand motions during parties, lol! it's hilarious

Really awesome responses and images! Can we hear an example (through vocaroo or something) of something you say to kids?

Like a song? or just in general? i'll try to get my assistant recording me as rapunzel today!

As a mother of a 2 1/2 year old girl who is starting to become obsessed with princesses, I think what you do is lovely. I'm guessing one of the best parts of your job is getting the sweet hugs from children.

Oh, thank you so much! and the sweet hugs are the biggest incentive for continuing on each weekend :) i literally get paid to have love given to me! children are the best

I just wanted to say this is a great AMA. Lots of questions answered, with a great attitude. Thanks for doing this!

Hey, no problem! I'm glad you like it! :) Thanks!

How long does it take to do that hair or is it a wig?? (cinderella)

it's a wig! :) it's very comfy, because i have a pixie cut, so it's like a hat

Best experience?

Worst experience?

Best experience? Hmm.. probably getting to attend a giant halloween gala as a demented mummy (with a lot of my coworkers dressed as zombies, purge characters, etc..) and scare snobby teens out of their skin, haha (and leave the nice ones alone)...then getting to party at the end (in costume, which was basically unraveling at that point) and getting a great tip!

Worst experience: nothing extremely horrible popped into mind at the moment (perhaps i've repressed something, lol) but probably when we couldn't find a certain house (due to a miswritten address) and missing part of the party (i hate letting excited children down) :(

I'm just gonna pretend your job is taking lots of drugs and screaming "LET THE BEAT DROP" into a microphone on cue while wearing glitter on all your exposed flesh. Because that would be an awesome party princess. This is cool too though.

If I had access to this costume, I'd have a shifty side business making rich dudes drink my pee as a very special dominatrix. Have you ever considered this? I suppose I probably need therapy. Sorry. But really. Answer?

That's more of my monday through thursday gig ;) party princesses come in all shapes and levels of sobriety!

i don't know about the drinking urine part, but i will neither confirm or deny that various members of my job have taken shots and made plans to create a night-time bachelorette princess party business; hypothetical business plans made while intoxicated are the best

How do you get dropped off to the houses? Do you have to park down the road and wander up? Would sort of take away some of the magic if Cinderella was getting out of a 91 Mitsi Lancer.

I have a 'royal assistant' that drives me to the event! it depends on the party; sometimes the parent will want me to make a surprise entrance or i 'll just on the door! we usually try to park far enough away that no child seems me extracting my ballgown from a normal vehicle, lol

Do you work often enough and get paid well enough that this is your livelihood? Like, does this pay all the bills? That would be pretty awesome.

Ah, I wish, but no :) It's a good side job though! Especially for $50 to $100 a gig, it adds up quickly for a weekend of work versus minimum wage elsewhere!

Would you be willing to roleplay as a princess for your significant other? I apologise if you're uncomfortable answering the question.

haha, i'm not uncomfortable with the question! to be honest, a lot of the princesses lack a lot of personality to roleplay, but i find performance fun, so i wouldn't be against it unless it got weird (i.e: little girl voice)

Wow! Awesome job.

i agree! :)

How does the licensing work for this type of gig? I'm sure your company is probably paying Disney something, right?

You could totally start a public domain princess company and then avoid paying Disney anymore of your hard earned cash.

I'm a bit in the dark about this one; I'm uncertain whether my boss does pay licensing or if she currently flies under the radar via naming loopholes... We do have a few company-specialty princesses that she made up herself, but they aren't as popular, alas :/

I would totally start a company that was of the original Grimm fairytale characters and completely freak out the children (kid tip: german fairytales will give you nightmares)

Do you often work with other princesses at parties? And if so have there ever been two cinderallas at a party?

Like from another company? no, never! that would be really awkward :o i'd probably end up telling the children she was my long lost twin, or something to that affect

unless the kids are twins that are different genders where the girl wanted a princess party and the boy wanted a gladiator party so the parents decided to merge the two...

two princesses enter, one princess leaves

that would be insane, and awesome. professional wrestling should have a princess-themed female episode

Let's be honest, here. How much of an influence on your chosen career path was playing Pretty Pretty Princess as a child?

LOL i have no idea what that is; my childhood mainly consisted of running around a trailer park with a lovingly mutilated barbie in one hand and a book in the other. homeschooling! yeah!

If I had your job I'd go around the party and separate the children. whisper in their ears about how I'm gonna come back later and steal their pet and shit on their bed.

there's a thought