The Price of the Crown: A Disney Princess Leaves After Neck Pain

Katherine Randle spent seven years at Walt Disney World portraying Ariel, Rapunzel, and Mary Poppins from ages 18 to 25, but heavy Rapunzel braids caused chronic neck pain and arthritis. Despite medical care and union involvement, she says casting wouldn’t disapprove her in Rapunzel, and her final shift ended in tears after a manager urged her to seek health services. Now pursuing an MFA in London, she still wears a neck brace and cherishes the job, even as she questions whether she should have left sooner. Florida law provides workers’ compensation for on-the-job injuries, but removal from a role wasn’t granted, and other performers describe similar safety concerns; Disney did not comment.