Former Cast Member Exposes “Goofy” Performers’ Secret

It is no secret — at least in the Disney Fanatic community — that Disney character performers have some tough jobs in Disney theme parks worldwide.

Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort character performers or Cast Members have shared plenty of behind-the-scenes stories exemplifying their struggles, and the employees who portray fur characters like Goofy or Mickey Mouse have some particularly difficult tasks!

A former Disney performer and dancer who portrayed face characters like Prince Philip, as well as fur characters like Goofy (the hapless but charming father of the recently-abused character Max Goof), has just spoken up to shed some light on one very-overlooked question: how does Goofy’s costume head work?

“People Don’t Understand the Difficulty”

“People don’t understand the difficulty of this Goofy head,” former Disney employee Bry Crasch-Kolberg (@brycrasch) explained in the video shown below.

The former Goofy actor showed a photo of himself in his Goofy costume, signing a Disney Guest’s autograph, and then showed a photo of Goofy with a diagram revealing the human performer inside the large fur character costume.

“You have to look down as a human to make Goofy look normal because you actually look out of his mouth,” the former Disney character performer explained in the TikTok video.

@brycrasch

Goofy Mechanics #disney #castmember #goofy #disneyworld

♬ original sound – Bry Crasch-Kolberg

Character performers look through Goofy’s mouth via “a mouth screen” that is “hard to see into” but is also “sort of hard to see out of” — and because the Disney actors are looking down, they spend most of their time “looking at people’s shoes” during Character Meet and Greets.

Why Does Goofy Walk This Way?

In addition, the costume’s strange requirements are reportedly the reason why Goofy walks with a very distinctive head swing.

Goofy’s exaggerated walk might seem like it’s just meant to be a mannerism for the comical character, but the gait is actually necessary so that the performers inside the costume “can get glimpses” of their direction.

Disney employees portraying Goofy also “have to learn how to sign his autograph holding it up on your forehead without looking while wearing those gloves,” Bry Crasch-Kolberg pointed out.

Each Disney character has a standard autograph that must be done accurately, making this even more challenging than it already seems!

“It’s Actually Incredibly Difficult”

“Next time you see Goofy doing anything, you should give him some love, because it’s actually incredibly difficult — and also hot,” the former Disney employee declared.

Since Disney is strict about its’ employees’ secrecy and NDAs, Bry Crasch-Kolberg also admitted that he was “so anxious talking about this stuff” even though he left Disney employment at least 10 years ago.

Another Cast Member commented on the video, adding that they felt like they were doing something “illegal” by watching it!

Did you already know that Goofy character performers are actually staring at your feet during your Character Meet and Greets?