I’m a former Disneyland cast member. I was Alice in Wonderland.  Ask Me Anything.

Q: “Do the young kids really believe you are the character? Any good cute kid stories?”

A: —its a beautiful thought but one that makes me cry if i think about it too much. there are a few children i met over the years that have that effect. there was a boy too i met who was 7 and was autistic. so i just sat with him and sang him a song from alice in wonderland since his mom told me it was his favorite movie and he watched it 20 times a day (most autistic children latch onto a movie like that) well when i was done singing the song he yelled “ALICE” and hugged me. then his mom started screaming and crying and i had to ask her what was wrong and it was at that point she had told me he had never said a word in his life and that was his first. i had to leave shortly after because of how powerful it was. i probably cried backstage for about 20 min. ive worked with autistic children in my past and i just knew that one word meant SO much to that mother, to hear her sons voice. like i said there are SO many stories like this. its one of the reasons i may go back, i know i changed some lives.