Facepainting at Disney?

Hello all,

I've been thinking about this for awhile now, and I would love to find out.
I'm Canadian and would love to work at Disneyland. (Either in Florida or California.)

I found some links online where you can apply at Disney, but there isn't any information on how they hire the facepainters. :-/

Does anyone has some information on this? I would really love to know more about this. And I'm sure some of us would love to know this as well.

In the meantime, I'll keep looking and keep you posted if I find any information.

Thanks!

From what I've heard, and I'm by no means an expert on this, but I believe that Disney hires a company to provide face painting, and the face painters are only paid minimum wage. My cousin just got back from Disney and told me I'm a much better face painter than any she saw there (made me feel good even if she might've been just saying that!).

I just talked to my cousin and she told me the company is called Enjoy Your Face... you might be able to look it up and give them a call to see if they're hiring

Yes, it is Enjoy Your Face, they have a website here

At one time, my daughter wanted to do that also, and she looked into it. I seem to remember her being quite surprised at how low the pay was. (Currently starting at $9 or $8.15, according to the website above).

Yes, the owners and Disney are making a killing off these poor artists... my cousin said she paid $25 each for her kids to be painted, which took all of 15 minutes combines... if they're making $100 an hour and only getting paid $9 an hour... wow... those owners and Disney are getting rich!

I live 3-4 hrs from Disney & looked into it. When I found out what the painters made I was shocked. The work that's being put out is ok(there are a few home videos on youtube of kids getting painted if you want to see what the quality is).

So sad... it's like Walmart... the big execs are making millions, but most workers don't make a living wage.

But, I have to say that a face painter at Busch Gardens, Tampa, got me started in this. She was fantastic! After watching her, I had to learn how to do it.

Dawnie & Hazel, thank you so much for the information!
I am shocked (and somehow not!) that they are paying that little money the artists.
Why do we always have to fight to get a decent wage? *sigh*

Thanks again and I will need to think about this. I will keep on looking in different places where I could work as a facepainter, outside of Quebec. If you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know.

I guess that maybe such a job is one way to get training and experience for someone wanting to start out, but I don't imagine people stay for long at that pay. When I went to Disney, it seemed that all the artists (except the caricaturist) were young people, college age or so.

We went to Canada's Wonderland recently and I watched the face painters there for a while (all college-age girls). Wish I'd asked how much it cost to get it done there. I'll bet they only make minimum wage too - which is $10.25/hour here.

Hi Fanie,
Have you tried Movie Theatres/ Cinemas?
They reg hire me for the kids movies openings. They pay my hourly rate and I work all weekend - they are my best clients. They have hired me for four movie openings.
Thought that may help.

Hazel, exactly! This is how I learned facepainting about... essh... 10 years ago! :p I got my first facepainter job at an amusement park and this is how I learned. But even then, it was a small company that hired us and we had to rent a space and charge for the makeup. Which even then was much more than an hourly rate. It was really worth it.
Last time I heard from this amusement park, they took control of the facepainting and they are paying high school/college student a minimum wage salary. Oh, well...

Genius, no, I didn't try theaters and cinemas yet. This is a great idea as there are a lot of them in my area. Thanks!
Actually, I need to do a lot more reasearch for clients, this year, as I want to work more.

I actually know someone who works face painting at the Animal Kingdom in Disney, Orlando, she really enjoys it. They provide all the supplies and she is a paid employee...the pay is pretty well & while she is going to school she said she wouldn't give it up for the world.

I worked for the company, and yes, the pay is poor (especially when you consider what is coming in) I left for several reasons, but I am incredibly grateful for the experience of working in such a high-volume area, because nothing makes your talent grow like painting a hundred faces a week.

As far as the talent level of the artists, you may have watched an artist right out of training. There are some AMAZING painters there, although many do leave because the pay is low, as well as morale in general.

I always dreamed of being a princess at disneyland... Until I researched it and discovered I'm too tall and not skinny enough! I cried for a day... Haha

Sorry... Off topic...

JBax wrote:So sad... it's like Walmart... the big execs are making millions, but most workers don't make a living wage.

But, I have to say that a face painter at Busch Gardens, Tampa, got me started in this. She was fantastic! After watching her, I had to learn how to do it.

I'm a face painter at Busch! Do you remember the painter? Maybe I know them.


And yes. Everything you guys are thinking is true. The pay sucks, the guests are typically unamused despite being in an amusement park, but its great practice and extra work.

disney only pays min wage. i looked into it a couple times in hopes of doing what i really love in a place i adore with all my heart. but for me the hardest part would have been not being able to do my designs that i took the time to create. however i would have been able to do all the disney designs that i can't do normally...

Well, as we've all seen on Youtube, the face painting at Disney has been fantastic in the past but my last trip to Disneyland I was very disappointed that the design board was very "beginner" and I think I know why. They probably can't keep artists very long at those wages. I used to aspire to the Disney quality face painting but it's suffering lately. I hope that the people that used to do the wonderful stuff have their own thriving businesses.

This is an old thread, but I'll resurrect it. I live 15 min from Disneyland. At quite a few carnivals I've been to, the facepainters, who had INCREDIBLE talent, all said they've done a stint at Disneyland. So, my guess is that people use that as a training ground and then go out on their own. Nothing here puts a stamp of approval on an artist more than saying "I painted at Disneyland." Assumptions are made that only the best are HIRED. I think people aren't realizing that the talent may have actually GROWN there. EIther way, brilliant artists are coming from the Mouse.

It says they offer full timers major medical benefits... perhaps that kinda makes up for it? I know the US doesn't have free health care

I saw few videos on you tube. The artists were amazing and extremely fast.

This is a it old, but I first started out at Enjoy your face as well. When I started (over 8 years ago) the pay even at $9.00 was great. When I left, they had just given me a yearly raise, and 6 months later bumped us to $11 an hour. So I'm sure the starting pay is not that great, but when I was there I was getting raises, and I only worked there less than 2 years.

I left because I had been pregnant, and 2 months after I had given birth I found out I was pregnant again. Disney had strict rules, and I had to stand 8 hours with only 2 15 min breaks. Pregnant, Florida Heat, Cranky Parents, and Morning Sickness, is what made me have to leave and find a desk job.

I met amazing painters, even the painters who started out "just okay" are now excellent painters who I look up to and wish I had been able to stay longer.

I learned alot, made alot of friends, my unicorn, and my full face tigers are done in less than 2 mins. :-) Not bad huh? lol

I think working for disney would be a great way to learn to paint faces--someone pays you to learn, but it would work best if you lived with a rich person who took care of all your bills while doing it!

If I lived close (I live in Colorado) I would do it while my kids were in school (if I got to choose my own hours)---you get all the perks of being a Disney worker while learning a skill (how many people who have been Mickey Mouse get hired with those skills)

My mom is called Grandma Minnie--even though her name is Joye cause we are all Disney freaks!
Fun thread!

I got my face painting start while working for Busch Gardens in Tampa, FL. It was a minimum wage job, but it had its perks as well! I loved the job, but I was much younger and very inexperienced. I would love to go in and do training for the company now.