Carwardine Parks/2004 Walkaround Character Guide

Pre-Tape

 * FBI Warning

Pre-Training

 * CARWARDINE PARKS OF VIRGINIA INC. and CARWARDINE DEPT. 2 PRODUCTIONS PRESENT - A GUIDE FOR YOUR WALKAROUND CHARACTERS
 * "At Carwardine Parks, the walkaround characters are an important part of our guests' day. The memory of meeting Homer Simpson, or Alvin, or Mario, or Big Bird can survive long after the guests leave the premises. After all, just putting on the costume, walking around, and waving is not enough. Every walkaround character's appearance should be a performance like no other. After all, Carwardine is the name to trust for quality shows & entertainment as well as the place to ride the best amusement rides in the world. Let's look at how involved and effective just saying Hi to a park guest is, using Barney the Dinosaur as our example."
 * "Where is Barney? Sometimes he's so busy inspiring kids to use their imagination that he's never on the premises quick enough. Oh, here he comes now. Let's see how energetic Barney can be! (a depressed Barney waves hi at the camera) Oh, maybe 'ol Barney needs some live guests to respond to. How, look at that nice family. Now let's see Barney be stu-pendous. (a depressed Barney waves hi at the family) Well, there it is. It appears Barney needs some shaping up! Let's give his assistant a little bit of Walk-Er-Cise!"

Training

 * "First off, you check out height requirements for characters:
 * Baby Bop, BJ, Cassie, and Sheegwa are exactly 3-4 feet tall
 * Alvin, Theodore, and Lisa Simpson are exactly 5 feet tall
 * Elmo, Zoe, Rosita, Simon, Bart Simpson, and Eckhart are exactly 6 feet tall
 * Fur Foot, Beauty Stem, Zak & Wheezie, Mario, Luigi, Pikachu, Ernie, Matthias, Cornflower, Sagwa, and Baby Bear are exactly 7 feet tall
 * Dongwa, Bert, Homer Simpson, Darren, Marge Simpson, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Basil Stag Hare are 7-8 feet tall
 * Big Bird, Barney, and Orlando the Axe are 8 feet tall."
 * "Every park has a designated area for mascot characters, entitled "Ambassador Alley". Be sure to keep Ambassador Alley neat and clean, and organized. A costume care kit can be ordered for each character in your park. Use it in every shift working the walkaround positions. Brush the fur of certain characters to keep it plush, and spray the head and shoes with Amway Pursue disinfectant/deodorizer. Clean the face of your walkaround with cleaner, and remove lint from fabrics with the lint roller. By doing this every time you use the costume, the costume will never be dirty. Never perform with any broken parts. It's important to report any broken parts to the park's general manager, so that repairs or replacements can be ordered. It's important the characters always look their very best. Some parts of costumes may be sent in for refurbishment, such as Baby Bear's vest, Mario and Luigi's caps, Barney's mouth movement rod, fat suits, and character heads."
 * "Now, we shall join Cindy Eachern to demonstrate a suit-up, using Matthias for our example character. The first thing you'll need is a sweat band or bandana, and a plain white cotton T-shirt. This is to be worn while in the costume. While not performing, the T-shirt can be left in Ambassador Alley and you can wear a different outfit elsewhere. You should also bring deodorant, cologne or body spray. The costume can get warm and bringing all the extra items can help you perform better in and out of the costume. Bring plenty of fluids such as juices, soda or water as you might get dehydrated while performing in a warm costume without a fan. Some characters, especially the articulated costumes, have limited visibility, so have someone escort your character when possible."

Trivia

 * The narrator of the video is Jeremy Vallejos, the head of Carwardine's Dept. 2 Productions.
 * The park that is used to film is Carwardine Colony most of the time, but a few scenes were shot at Whalom Park.
 * Cindy Eachern appears in the suit-up sequence, demonstrating the suiting up into Matthias' walkaround costume.