Samantha Neill wanted a princess experience for her daughters on their first trip to Walt Disney World in January. But when reservations opened for makeovers at the popular salon inside the Magic Kingdom’s centerpiece castle, there were no slots available.
Neill’s mom found an alternative: “Fairy Godmothers” from a company called As You Wish Magical Experiences who would travel to the family’s on-site hotel to transform tiny theme-park guests into mini members of royalty.
“They did their hair and makeup and they showed them how to twirl like a princess,” Neill said.
It’s an experience that can’t be replicated now. The company, along with other stylists, photographers, bakers, chefs and decorators, have received official notice from Disney that their services are not allowed on the company’s properties. Letters warning about calling law enforcement went out to vendors earlier this year, sending shock waves through a group of small businesses that largely cropped up during the pandemic when the entertainment giant furloughed workers and reduced its own services.
“I’m so glad we got to do it before, so that we got the experience,” said Neill, a pre-K teacher from Georgia whose own “bucket-list item” for the trip was staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. “It was really special.”
Disney World property rules prohibit unauthorized commercial activities, the sale of goods and services without prior written approval and photography for unapproved commercial purposes. But business owners, many of whom previously worked for the company, say they delivered cupcakes, styled hair, took photos and cooked meals without pushback for years before the crackdown in January and February.
“We’ve seen an increase in unauthorized third‑party vendors at our resort hotels, and these activities can raise safety and operational concerns and impact the Guest experience, which is why they are not permitted under our long‑standing property rules,” Disney said in a statement.
Magic at every turn
A trip to the self-described “Most Magical Place on Earth” can come with the pressure to make every moment perfect, especially when families pay thousands of dollars for their trip. Visitors pay a premium to skip lines, book high-demand restaurants two months in advance and even take classes to maximize their vacation. Sometimes that quest to add an extra vacation sheen extends to the hotel stay.
The demand for third-party services increased after the parks reopened following a pandemic closure that saw tens of thousands of employees furloughed. Thousands more were laid off in early fall, even after the Florida parks reopened.
In the Orlando area, an online marketplace called Ear for Each Other emerged to showcase the side hustles of furloughed workers. They offered makeovers, baked goods, charcuterie boards, room decorating services, transportation, art and more. People who loved Disney found ways to support the workers and jazz up their trips.
“Many artisans, bakers and crafters found a place in the local community while others found great success supporting the vacationers and travel agents that visit the Orlando area,” the group, which recently changed its name to Concierge 1901, said in a statement.
The Facebook group includes more than 100 vendors and nearly 300,000 members, and it estimated that about 30 will “need to significantly adapt their business” catering to tourists after the recent crackdowns. On its page, Concierge 1901 specifies that services are not available on Walt Disney World property.
Warning letters
The recent action follows a move Disney took in 2023 when it issued trespass orders to people who worked as third-party tour guides in the parks, escorting guests and helping them navigate complicated line-skipping systems.
This year, the word came via phone calls and letters to vendors from Disney World security warning that their products and services are not permitted on resort property.
“For the safety of our Guests and Cast Members, the Walt Disney World Resort Property Rules do not allow unauthorized commercial activities, and we must ask that you immediately discontinue providing these services at the Walt Disney World Resort,” multiple letters reviewed by The Washington Post say.
The letters also ask vendors to remove ads about services at Disney World, including on websites and social media. Businesses are warned that they’re not allowed to use Disney characters, designs or trademarks to advertise their services.
There’s also a warning: If the business owner or anyone acting on their behalf tries to enter the complex to provide services, their “presence may be deemed an unlawful trespass and we may take further action,” including notifying law enforcement, the letters say.
Those letters refer to unauthorized vendors, but the company contracts with thousands of businesses in Florida and across the country.
Citing an economic impact study, the company said it works with 2,500 Florida-based small businesses that are contracted to supply products and services to the resort. Those include a “featured provider” that can drop off strollers, scooters and wheelchairs at hotels and a Tampa-based coffee roaster that is now the parks’ “official specialty coffee” and has kiosks throughout the Disney property.
A private chef pivot
Caleb Wiley, a chef who owns Cali King Cuisine & Catering, is putting more emphasis on his food trucks Caliyaki Hibachi and Frymees Loaded Fries these days. He had been working as a private chef making meals at Disney resort lodging with kitchens, offering Hawaii-inspired or hibachi menus. About 80 percent of his business came from Disney guests, he said; he had worked at several of the resort’s hotel and theme park restaurants before being furloughed in 2020.
“The Disney clients — they definitely kept my lights on,” he said.
Wiley said he got into a comfortable routine greeting Disney employees as he went to meet clients at hotels.
“I just thought they didn’t really care or they didn’t take us too seriously,” he said. So he was surprised when he got a call from someone who said they were with Disney security earlier this year telling him he could no longer come onto the property to work. A letter followed.
He had to find ways to accommodate clients on the books or refund them. He’s picked up extra work doing lawn care while focusing on his food trucks and customers at non-Disney lodging.
He said he doesn’t have bad blood with Disney, but he wished clients could hire him through the company with a way to share revenue.
“They could’ve put me down easier than they did,” he said.
Photo sessions relocated
Natalie Szolomayer is trying to figure out how to salvage a photography business that did 90 percent of its work at Disney hotels. She said one client flew to the area specifically to get her daughter’s senior photos taken at one of the resort properties, where design inspirations can include animation, Polynesian culture and the Caribbean.
Szolomayer and her husband were furloughed from their Disney jobs in 2020; she worked seasonally and did not return to the parks. As a mom of four who home-schools her older kids, she has enjoyed the flexibility and extra income the job made possible.
Inside the parks, the Disney company offers its own 20-minute photo sessions for $99, with photo downloads priced separately. But she said her understanding over the years had been that photos at hotels were permitted; sometimes managers would walk by and help distract crying kids during sessions.
When cease-and-desist letters started coming, they initially seemed limited to people who provided in-room services, she said. Then she started getting text messages from other photographers in the group who had gotten calls from Disney.
“It was very disappointing and it was very heartbreaking, but at the same time I know it was well within their rights,” Szolomayer said. “I can’t be mad at them for doing what they’re allowed to do.”
She said she understands that Disney might be concerned about liability, but she would love to get approval to work at the site. In the meantime, she’s trying to drum up business elsewhere, including sessions at Universal Orlando Resort.
‘A new chapter’ for pastry chef
Ashlee Santmyers started decorating cakes to keep creative when she was furloughed from her job as a pastry cook at Disney World. She eventually launched a cottage bakery, Storybook Delights, “with a hope and a prayer.”
She sold and delivered customizable breakfast boxes, cookies, cupcakes and cakes. Disney resorts were her “main bread and butter,” she said.
When she got the cease-and-desist letter, she had nearly 200 orders on the books, she said. She took out a small business loan to fulfill refunds. She’s trying to meet up with more customers off-site. And she’s updating her menu to be more shippable.
Still, in this slower season, she’s getting three to five orders a week, compared with the same number per day previously.
“It’s not the end of Storybook, but it is a new chapter,” she said. “And I’m not ready to give up.”
Crying mothers
Sheila Campion, owner of As You Wish Magical Experiences, had already left her role at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique when covid caused the parks to close. But she said families she had worked with tracked her down and asked if she could provide the same service after the theme parks reopened with the boutiques still closed.
“I have never ever had a heart to turn a princess down,” she said. Word spread and the requests for princess or pirate makeovers mounted. She brought on furloughed workers from the parks, at one point employing more than a dozen.
Even once the official boutique opened, she said some people preferred to have a makeup and hair stylist come to them. Many simply couldn’t snag a slot.
“Eyes are really big, as if you’re Santa Claus,” she said.
After her registered letter arrived in mid-February, Campion called families with imminent reservations to break the news.
“The worst part of it was for the little ones that had no options,” she said. “They knew they couldn’t get into the boutique. I’ve had mothers crying when I called them.”
Campion is still working with clients at non-Disney hotels or Airbnbs and is looking for more options for people who can travel off-site. But, she said, more than 50 percent of her business came from guests staying on Disney property.
“I understand it’s not the end of the world,” she said. “I just have such empathy for the little ones. … They truly believe, and then you’ve got to break their little hearts.”
Autumn Wojnarek, a travel agent from Pennsylvania, has used multiple vendors for herself and her clients. Szolomayer took photos of her family last summer during a vacation at Disney’s Fort Wilderness campground.
“It was nice to be on property but yet still get the outside photo done that is not Disney-related,” she said.
She has hired third-party businesses for services such as gift baskets and room decor for clients.
“As travel agents, we pride ourselves on going that extra mile,” she said. But earlier this year, she heard from a vendor that they would not be able to fulfill an order to a resort and would need to provide a refund.
“I was scrambling,” she said. She follows several businesses on social media and kept seeing more confirm that they had also gotten letters banning their services. “Oh, my goodness,” she remembers thinking. “They’re going after everyone now.”
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