WDW's Tinker Bell is a man?

[snopes]

Comment: While at Walt Disney World over the weekend, I watched Tinkerbell
"fly" from the castle at Magic Kingdom. I was told by my mother several
years ago that person who played Tinkerbell had to be less thank 5 feet 2
inches and weigh less than 105 pounds to jump from the castle due to the
fact that the window or door she was to leap from was very small.
After this weekend the Tinkerbell character that jumped was a much larger
individual and we heard people saying that Tinkerbell is actually a male
cast member. A former cast member at Disney said the person that plays
Tinkerbell must be able to carry the weight of the battery pack he/she
must wear that lights Tinkerbell up with LED lights. He didn't know if
Tinkerbell was a man or woman. My family and I are frequent Disney
visitors and wonder if Tinkerbell is actually a man? Tinkerbell was much
larger than she used to be, and looked much thicker than a woman...

[diddy]

By nature of being a faerie (of a fictitious nature), tinkerbell the character can defy any human rules.

The cast member at the parks depends on a lot of factors. If it's a full out costume (like Mickey), it could be either a man or a woman - A fellow female snopester plays Mickey (and I think others as well). If it was a human based character (a la cinderella) not in a full costume, it would obviously be female because the character is "female".

I can tell you that the ability of carrying a LED light is not restricted to ones gender.

It could very easily be a man or a woman in a body suit to accommodate the harnesses. i vote for a female though I have never seen the stunt that they are talking about and their description is pretty vague concerning what they saw.

[AniMajor]

Well, according to here (seventh image down), Tinkerbell got to appear in a parade for the first time in 2007, and here is her picture:



And on YouTube, here's the video. And this is probably the best video of her flight from the Magic Kingdom.

She looks pretty female to me. Although they might've changed Tinkerbell's recently.

[Eddylizard]

Never mind.

[kjbrasda]

O_o how much battery is needed for a few LED lights?

[diddy]

Originally Posted by kjbrasda

O_o how much battery is needed for a few LED lights?

Plus, the fact that Tinkerbell appears to be sitting down, means that "she" doesn't have to carry them anyway. In other situations, my guess is that carrying LED batteries is no different for a man or a woman. In some ways the OP (not snopes!) is believing that women could not possibly carry LED's. It doesn't matter, they hire a performer that can do anything that the part required, carrying LED's or not.

[Amigone201]

This one's actually true. I have pics to prove it.

[purpleiguana]

If Peter Pan can be a girl, why can't Tinkerbell be a boy?

[TripleAAA]

When we were there for our honeymoon 3 years ago, we had a childhood friend of my husbands as a guide (he worked for Disney). He told us Tinkerbell did indeed have to be very petite (though I dont remember the reason). He did say she was played by a girl, who got paid big bucks for one jump a night, because girls that fit the part were hard to come by.

[Joostik]

Originally Posted by purpleiguana

If Peter Pan can be a girl, why can't Tinkerbell be a boy?

And Mickey can be a girl?

[purpleiguana]

Originally Posted by Joostik

And Mickey can be a girl?

Well, the character will always be male, but being as how the person in the costume pretty much just waves and poses for pictures, what's it really matter the gender of the person in the costume?

[Mickey is a gyrl]

Originally Posted by kjbrasda

O_o how much battery is needed for a few LED lights?

Depends on the costume. It's not "a few" LEDs . Anything using LEDs uses a battery that weighs ~2-3lbs, and IME is always strapped around your waist. And it sucks, because you can't plug the parts of the costume in on your own.

Tinkbell is always female, and I know some of the specifics (I weigh too much for the role, but I'm the right height). She looks thicker in the videos because she's hooked up to at least two harnesses (standard harness and a backup/safety harness, should the standard one fail) AND the battery pack, but I assure you, she's actually very petite.

[Debunker]

My 2 cent's worth:

1. The TinkerBell in the parade is not necessarily the same person who does the flying.
2. Who cares who plays the flying TinkerBell? As purpleiguana sez, if Peter pan can be played by a woman...

[kjbrasda]

That was kinda my point. To have enough LED lights to make enough weight in the battery pack that gender stereotypes would require a man to carry them, wouldn't you need enough to light practically the whole park?

[JpnDude]

Originally Posted by AniMajor

Well, according to here (seventh image down), Tinkerbell got to appear in a parade for the first time in 2007, ...(snip, snip)

Tinkerbell first appeared in a parade at Tokyo Disneyland in 1995. And from all accounts, she's always been a caucasian female. :-)

[moonfall]

I know people who play Disney characters, and from what I've heard, Mickey Mouse is more likely to be a woman due to height restrictions (5'4 IIRC).

[Mickey is a gyrl]

Originally Posted by moonfall

I know people who play Disney characters, and from what I've heard, Mickey Mouse is more likely to be a woman due to height restrictions (5'4 IIRC).

4'8"-5'0". The chipmunks are 5'1-5'4.

[Johnny Slick]

Originally Posted by Amigone201

This one's actually true. I have pics to prove it.

You're not getting me to click on that link, prevort!