Well, does he?

[Chris OConnor]

When you have your picture taken with Mickey Mouse at Disneyland, does the guy inside the costume smile for the camera?

[Constance963]

I bet he does......

[Chris OConnor]

I'm sure he does too. Who wouldn't? It would seem weird not to smile and pose for the camera.

[Constance963]

Maybe he makes rude faces...

[MadArchitect]

I doubt he does much smiling while he's in there. Reports I've heard make those costumes out to be horribly uncomfortable and incredibly hot. There are limits on how long they're allowed to be out in the park areas, and they're quickly replaced when they disappear into the underground system. From what I've heard, it's one of the least pleasant jobs at the park. And that includes the sewage treatment plant.

[lemme think]

Well, I actually shared an apt with "Pluto" right after graduating from college. Though some twenty years ago I must say it was an interesting group of people that filled those costumes. You would be amazed as to how many were college graduates. The costume you filled was mainly based on height, 5'7" was Pluto, and my roommate always told me at 5'4", I could be Chip or Dale . . .

She loved wearing that costume, and I'm sure she was always smiling for the camera!!

[Constance963]

It would be an interesting job. I think I would have liked a costume when I used to waitress....I could have made faces at the rude customers without them seeing me

[evendeathmaydie]

amen to that, constance!

I've always been a little afraid of those guys in suits. You can't see what they're really like, and they could be doing anything. I once read a mystery series called the Gil Beckman Mysteries, and it's about a former cop who worked as a security guard at an amusement park. It was a really good series...found it at the library...can't remember who wrote it.
Anyway, the bad guy in one of the books (can't even remember which one. It's been a long time since I read these, and now I'm thinking I should read them again) the bad guy was hiding in one of those mascot suits for the amusement park, and the cop, who is the narrator for the story in a modern-noir fashion, mentions that people don't realize the stalkers and sex maniacs who are inside those suits and hug people all day.
That put me off Mickey Mouse and his ilk for life.
(I know that Disney would never hire some awful creep, of course, I just always think twice before getting too close to a guy in a mask.)