10 Walkaround Characters You’ll Never See at Disney

05/31/2023 by gfunk101

There’s some characters you expect to see walking around Disneyland. Goofy and Donald are easy to find, and you will likely spot Mickey somewhere at the end of a very long queue. Then there’s the rarer appearances, like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and Jack Skellington. But amid the crowds, or even the annuls of retired characters, there’s a couple of characters you’re not going to find.

CHERNABOG

Otherwise known as the Black God of Slavic mythology, the imposing figure of Chernabog rounds out the classic film Fantasia with a powerful rendition of ‘Night on Bald Mountain’. Chernabog is a massive demonic presence looming over the titular mountain while hordes of minions and spirits swirl around him. There’s no grey area with this character, they are a manifestation of darkness. Not quite the thing you’d want your children to encounter walking down Main Street, USA.

UNCLE REMUS

There’s a number of characters from Song of the South that still exist in the parks in spite of the much maligned film being all but disowned by the company. B’rer Rabbit, B’rer Bear and others will turn up in Frontierland for a hoedown, something that may not continue now that Splash Mountain has shuttered. Uncle Remus, however, will never be featured due to his perceived ties to American slavery, a historical event that left scars on the public consciousness that have never faded. Although Remus was not actually a slave in the movie, the period setting puts this archetype to close to problematic stereotypes.

JESSICA RABBIT

It may be hard to believe this, but Roger Rabbit was a massive star in the late 80s. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was a massive success and Disney was quick to integrate him into the world of Disney parks. Toontown was originally intended to be more based on the Toontown of Roger’s world rather than Mickey and Friends with multiple rides based on the movie. Getting a photo op with Roger was easy. His wife, on the other hand, may be considered a touch on the sexy side to be posing for a family snap. She’s already had a trench coat added to cover her up in the Roger Rabbit Car-Toon Spin ride.

THE HORNED KING

Time for another scary dude with big horns on his head. To be fair, we’re not expecting to see any of the characters from The Black Cauldron turn up for a meet-and-greet. The failure of this ambitious project was a hard pill for Disney to swallow, and with a huge shake-up in corporate management they were quick to bury it. Most of the cast could pass as generic fantasy characters, but the menacing lich-like Horned King shambling around the castle might give the little ones nightmares.

NAZI DONALD

One of the best parts about return visits to the parks is the changing styles for the most popular characters. Anniversary garb, Halloween costumes and themed outfits for different areas are all well and good…but maybe Donald should leave this one at home. If you didn’t already know, Donald appeared in his Nazi uniform as part of the wartime propaganda short Der Fuehrer’s Face. It is a well-liked and significant piece of animation, but you might have trouble explaining this to the crowds when they encounter Donald sporting a Swastika.

THE DOORKNOB

Yes, the Doorknob from Alice in Wonderland. You might think this is a moot point, as this is an object. That means you’ve been lucky enough not to see Tokyo Disneyland’s walkaround Magic Mirror character. They’re both sentient and have a face, so this is a possibility…and we find the mental image of some poor soul in black leggings wearing a preposterous costume version of this character and inviting people to twist their knob.

TIGER LILY

It’s difficult to understand why Song of the South gets buried in a pit and lyrics in The Aristocats get censored but the extended ‘What Makes the Red Man Red’ sequence of Peter Pan remains intact. In recent decades this depiction of Native American culture has faced criticism, made all the worse when Rooney Mara was cast in the role for a non-Disney live action feature. Conversely, back in the earliest days of Disneyland, a display of Native traditions were exhibited at the park with a rotation of different tribes performing their distinct practises. These days, with the perception of Disney stepping of the toys of all many of international cultures, best leave this one alone.

HADES

Why wouldn’t you want to see Hades in the parks?! He’s sassy, he’s got the blue flames for hair, he’s genuinely the best part of Hercules…but we’re not talking about that Hades. We’re talking about Hades as he appeared in The Goddess of Spring, part of the classic Silly Symphonies series that allowed Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks to refine their animated style. In this depiction, Hades is…Satan. It’s Satan, and you can’t have Satan running around the Magic Kingdom.

Better include Satan from Hell’s Bells here as well. He’s more cartoony, having been the basis for the Devil in Cuphead, but the problem is the same.

VICTOR, HUGO AND LAVERNE

Possibly the most poorly received comic relief characters in Disney canon, the three gargoyles who inhabit Notre Dame Cathedral bring with them a few issues that prevent them from becoming walkaround characters. They’re ugly monster looking creatures, they don’t have legs to walk around with and everyone hates them. Everything about them fails in regard. If only Disney had some other gargoyle characters that people like…

JIM CROW

Yep, more racial depictions that have aged terribly. The Flying Elephant ride is a staple of every park worldwide, and ‘When I See an Elephant Fly’ is a classic, but there’s one part of Dumbo that Disney would rather we didn’t focus on. The crows who find Dumbo and Timothy stuck in a tree are a fun bunch of characters that resemble African American stereotypes of the era, with the lead crow being nicknamed ‘Jim Crow’ by production. From references segregation laws to evoking minstrel shows, this is best left an historical tidbit.

ANYONE FROM CHICKEN LITTLE