Florida woman works as a princess at Disney World for seven years. Then she reveals the real reason she decided to quit: ‘I loved the job’ - The Big Lead

A Florida woman spent seven years bringing Disney princesses to life at Walt Disney World — playing Ariel, Rapunzel, and Mary Poppins from ages 18 to 25. She loved the job. She also says she left it with permanent neck damage, a union grievance, and a final day she still isn’t sure how to feel about. In a viral TikTok that has since sparked a follow-up, the 28-year-old is finally telling her story three years later. “Anyone will tell you — and there are people I used to work with that are on TikTok and they will tell you too — I should have quit way before I actually did,” Katherine Randle (@katherinejrandle) said. The beginning of the end, Katherine explains, was a confluence of three things happening at once: she was disapproved out of Ariel (the character she was originally hired for and played for two years), the Mary Poppins meet-and-greet location was going down for refurbishment, and her body was breaking down from playing Rapunzel. The Rapunzel costume requires performers to wear a long, heavy braid. Over time, she says the weight and positioning of that braid gave Katherine severe arthritis in her neck. She reports that she went to the company’s athletic trainers, health services, workers’ comp, temporary disapprovals, and physical therapy. All of it on the company’s dime, she says. According to Katherine, nothing worked. “The physical therapist that worked for the company said the only way you are going to stop being in pain is if you stop playing Rapunzel,” she said. “Casting knew all of this. I had communicated this to them multiple times.” She couldn’t even complete a single eight-hour Rapunzel shift anymore without having to leave early due to pain, she says. And with Ariel gone and Mary Poppins temporarily unavailable, Rapunzel was the only character left on her schedule. Katherine, who’s now pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in London, England, did not respond to requests for comment. Katherine asked casting directly: please disapprove me in Rapunzel. She claims the response she got back was a list of all the things she should do, including see an athletic trainer, go to health services, or get physical therapy — all things she’d already done, documented, and communicated. The email purportedly also told her that casting does not have the power to disapprove a performer in a character — despite the fact that casting had just disapproved her in Ariel. “I was sitting in the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall break room in EPCOT and I got that email,” she said. “And I realized that it was over.” Katherine’s last day was purportedly supposed to be the shift after the one she describes in her TikTok. About halfway through a Rapunzel shift at Princess Fairytale Hall, she says she was in so much pain she had to ROS — the Disney term for leaving early. A manager she had never met pulled her aside and reportedly told her she should go to health services. She says she explained she’d already done all of it. But, per her recollection, he kept repeating himself. “I asked him: are you telling me that I have to go? And he would not answer yes or no,” she said. “He just kept saying, ‘I think you should go.’ No matter what question I asked, no matter how much I rephrased it — ‘I think you should go.’” She started to cry. He asked if she wanted a hug. She said no. He asked again on her way out. She said no again. “He’s trying to make himself feel better because he’s making me cry and he knows it,” she said. She says she eventually told him she’d go, with no intention of actually going. She went to a fellow cast member, who brought her to a shop steward, Katherine says. The union rep purportedly confirmed that the manager couldn’t force her to go to health services if she wanted to ROS and clock out. She says she clocked out. She was so afraid the same manager would be at her final scheduled shift that she called out, Katherine recounts. That was it, she says — seven years at Disney World ended in a hallway outside Princess Fairytale Hall, in tears, and a union call. “I still cannot quite figure out how I feel about that,” she said. “I really do wish that last day had not been that.” Even though she says it ended in tears and pain, Katherine says she loved working at the most magical place on earth. She’s not bitter about Disney, but she is nostalgic for it. “I loved the job. I will never do another job like it. I’m nostalgic for it all the time. I miss it and I don’t regret doing it at all,” she said. “I just, maybe I shouldn’t have done it as long as I did.” She’s even floated the idea of going back to Disney after graduation — though she acknowledges that her TikToks may have complicated that particular path. “I still sleep with a neck brace on,” she said. “My neck hurts all of the time.” Under Florida law, Disney cast members are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries sustained on the job, including full medical care and ongoing compensation for permanent disability. Katherine confirmed Disney covered her medical treatment while employed, but says what she couldn’t get was removal from the character causing the injury. Other purported Disney performers have described similar experiences publicly — alleging costume-related injuries and difficulty getting management to take safety concerns seriously. Katherine says that in other Disney parks, Rapunzel is treated as a “safety costume” with mandatory rest days between shifts. If her account is accurate, Walt Disney World apparently has no such rule. Disney did not respond to a request for comment. People who said they’re fellow current and former Disney cast members showed up immediately in the comments. “Worked at Disney World as a character for 5 months, left with AWFUL back/neck/shoulder pain… never once felt listened to by any of the higher ups so I feel you absolutely,” wrote xcosplex. Busybeingbri03 said, “Donald’s duck strap did a number on my shoulders and neck also, and getting any higher up who’s never put on the costume before to listen was like talking to a brick wall.” Alyssaklinzing also hinted that Katherine’s story is far from the only one: “Let me tell you about the Elsa shoes.” Megflyy chimed in, “Before you said anything I knew it was the Rapunzel braid. Y’all been fighting that fight since her debut.” When someone asked why the braid is so heavy, Katherine explained that the weight is concentrated at the nape of the neck. When the parks reopened after the pandemic, she said she was doing Rapunzel every day, sometimes over 50 hours a week while they rebuilt staffing. “My body didn’t thank me for it,” she wrote. The workers’ comp question came up quickly. Mamachillemi said, “Workers comp should cover not only your medical bills but lifetime benefits for loss of use and lost income. File a claim / sue!” Lacucusa824 agreed, “Lord the way I would have stopped and called Morgan and Morgan.” Katherine clarified that she could potentially fight to get future neck treatment covered — but that her neck is currently stable enough that she’s not in ongoing physical therapy. Nachomom23 said that one Disney competitor has dealt with similar issues and handled it differently, writing, “Meanwhile, Universal just updated the Minions because of issues like this.” At least some believe they encountered Katherine the princess. “Oh my goodness I think I met you as Ariel? You made my whole trip. My fav princess. So sorry this happened to you,” wrote lydiataylorlopez. #disneyworld #facecharacter #disneyprincess #disneyland #characterperformer