Regardless of the fact that in almost every picture of Walt Disney, apart from childhood and adolescent photographs, he is seen wearing a mustache, Disney banned his theme park employees from growing facial hair (or long hair for that matter). This rule remained in place long after Uncle Walt passed away before Christmas of 1966 and was incorporated into the Florida Disney World park when it opened in 1971. In fact, for many years, the ban extended to guests as well.
Walt’s ideal “Disney Look” was “a fresh, clean and approachable look, ensuring that every guest feels comfortable with the entire cast. The focus is meant to be on the overall show, not the individual.” When Disneyland opened in July 1955, emphasis was on getting the actual physical construction done on time, not on personal appearance. Other than common sense cleanliness, appearance took a back seat. In those early days, it was not uncommon to see people working at Disneyland with mustaches and beards, especially the Wild West performers in Frontierland. Legend has it that Walt spotted some of the Jungle Cruise skippers looking particularly shaggy, he decided to establish a formal written dress and appearance code in 1959, which included the new stipulation of no mustaches or beards except for those employees who had been previously grandfathered in wearing them.
Back then, it was a pretty safe bet. In the 1950s, only “beatniks” wore goatees and lumberjacks wore beards. That would change in the 1960s when the Hippy culture came into vogue. But Walt Disney, a legendary conservative who once wore a Barry Goldwater for President pin to a White House meeting with Lyndon B. Johnson, feared that average citizens, especially women and children, might be intimidated by men with facial hair. These guidelines were vigorously enforced for theme park employees (cast members), but other employees like animators and Imagineers, who rarely interacted with guests, were exempted from the Disney code.
As the “happiest place on earth,” Disneyland embraced the mid-’50s ideals of what was good and wholesome. It was all smiles and innocence — and very short hair for men. Walt Disney wanted to make sure that his employees didn’t look like carnival workers. The facial hair restriction remained in effect for years, and wasn’t really challenged until the British Invasion and the mop-topped Beatles sparked a change in American hair styles. Still, through the 1960s, long-haired, unshaven male visitors to Disneyland were stopped at the park gates by cast members who politely informed the shaggy visitors that they did not meet the standards of Disneyland’s dress code and therefore were not allowed to enter the park. The ban was not solely restricted to questions of grooming, or for that matter, only to men. At one point women wearing halter tops and mini skirts were also prohibited from entering the park. The code was unwritten and apparently went unchallenged, which is hard to imagine happening nowadays.
Perhaps the most famous case of refused admittance involved Roger McGuinn of The Byrds in 1964, one of the biggest American rock groups of the era, McGuinn was turned away for his long hair. Since no records exist (or were ever kept) as to just who was turned away from the House of the Mouse during the turbulent Sixties, we will never know what famous names never made it inside. Luckily, by the time the 70s rolled around, Disneyland realized many of their grooming requirements were as outdated as the beatniks they were designed to restrict. Both parks relaxed their rules for patrons, allowing all sorts of hair styles to come into the parks. However, beards, mustaches and long hair restrictions remained in place for employees.
In 1970, the Walt Disney World Casting Center’s hiring standards were so stringent that, for every 30 people who applied for a job, only one was hired. Worse, to further assure that squeaky-clean “Disney Look” appearance, there were only three sizes made for most costumes. If you wanted to work for Disney, you had to be able to fit into one of those pre-made costumes. For male employees, the official “Disney Look” rules for 1971 stated that a “neat natural haircut and a clean shave are essential. The hair is to be neatly groomed so that it does not extend beyond or cover any part of your ears. Hair must not stick out over your shirt collar. Hairstyles termed “natural” or “afro” are acceptable provided they are neatly packed and shaped. Any extreme hair styling . . . such as that of shaving the head or eyebrows . . . is not permitted any more than is hair which extends beyond your ears or sticks out over your collar. Sideburns should be neatly trimmed and may be permitted to extend to the bottom of the earlobe, following their natural contour. Flares or muttonchops are not permitted. Moustaches and beards are not permitted.” In other words, straight hair better be combed and afros better be crispy.
In February of 2012, facing a labor shortage, Disney relented, easing their 57 year clean-shaven policy by permitting men to wear well-tended mustaches, beards and goatees as long as they were grown no longer than 1/4 inch. The rule further stipulated that beards and mustaches must be fully grown AWAY from the workplace. Men had to wait until they were on vacation or away from work to grow their beards and mustaches. Be sure, no starter stubble in the Magic Kingdom for Disney cast members. Finally, Dopey was no longer the only one of the seven dwarfs conforming to Disney’s strict standards of appearance. On Halloween of 2019, Disney literally extended their rules by allowing men to grow their beards, mustaches, and goatees up to one inch in length. And now, stubble during the growing-out process was acceptable.
In a memo released in March of 2000, Disney noted that “as it evolves, the appearance guidelines must be re-evaluated with awareness to industry standards. But, as with mustaches, all facial hair must create an overall neat, polished, and professional look and must be fully grown in, neatly groomed, and well-maintained at no longer than an inch in length.” However, according to the Disney handbook, “Intentional body modification or alteration for the purpose of achieving a visible, physical effect that disfigures, deforms or similarly detracts from a professional image is prohibited. Examples include, but are not limited to: visible tattoos, brands, body piercing (other than traditional ear piercing for females), tongue piercing or splitting, tooth filing, earlobe expansion and disfiguring skin implants. Tattoos must be discreetly and completely covered at all times. Jewelry, spacers, retainers or plugs are not permitted in any body piercing while working….Shaving of the head or any portion of the head or eyebrows is not permitted.”
There have been other ejections of “famous” people from Disneyland as well. Future president Barack Obama was kicked out as a student at Occidental College for smoking cigarettes in a gondola on the Skyway attraction. Bruce Springsteen and his E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt were thrown out in 1983 for refusing to remove their bandanas (Disney security was worried the rockers would be taken for gang members). In his bio, Springsteen recalled shouting, “We’re out of here! We’re going to Knott’s Berry Farm!” But they couldn’t get into Knott’s either — for the same reason. During the same period, Knott’s Berry Farm mirrored Disney’s no facial hair policy. I knew this first hand. My wife and I have had a 40-year friend named Chuck who has worn a beard since the day we met him. He once ruefully told us that he visited Knott’s with a pretty girl in the early 1970s. He was trying to impress her by taking her to the Wild West theme park. He recalled that the ticket taker told him, “You can’t come in but your girlfriend can.” So much for that first date.
Next week — Part 2 of Walt Disney-Mustache Forbidden.
Al Hunter is the author of several books. His newest books are “The Petersen House, The Oldroyd Museum and The House Where Lincoln Died,” “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View,” “Irvington Haunts. The Tour Guide,” and “The Mystery of the H.H. Holmes Collection.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
