A father of four children reportedly complained about his dining experience at a restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort’s Wilderness Lodge, where they claimed a biological man was dressed as the iconic Evil Queen character from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The unnamed father shared the account of his visit with the theme parks and entertainment news website That Park Place, saying “a biological male” was playing the part of an “iconic, female character in full facial appearance and makeup” during a “meet and greet” with the family at the Story Book Dining at Artist Point located inside Disney’s Wilderness Lodge.
The father recounted to the theme park news site that while his family waited for their desserts, they were invited to “meet the Evil Queen.”
“We were really looking forward to [it],” the father said. “Keep in mind, we’ve had other ‘meet and greets’ with other villains and they are truly the best character experiences that we’ve ever had, so we had high hopes for the Evil Queen leading up.”
The father described walking toward the Evil Queen area of the restaurant.
“While my kids and wife were interacting with the character, I was doing some video and took a few pictures from about 10 feet away then handed my iPhone over to the cast member to take some pics for me so I could get in the picture,” he said. “It was kind of loud inside so I couldn’t really hear what the character was saying until I got face to face.”
He added, “Then it hit me that the Evil Queen, without a doubt, had a man’s voice.”
The father claimed to have flagged the waiter at the restaurant after meeting the Evil Queen character.
“I told my waiter that I had a problem with something. He then asked what was the issue and I simply stated I have a problem with Evil Queen being a man dressed in drag. The waiter immediately said he was going to get a manager and he looked panicked,” he said to the travel blog website.
The father described his exchange with the unidentified manager of the Disney restaurant.
“After that my wife then signaled for me to stand up and take a step from the table so that our kids didn’t have to overhear the conversation. I stood up and continued my chat with the manager which lasted about one to two mins maybe (felt like an hour). I stated we are a conservative Christian family, I’m spending $8,000 on this current trip in addition to the tens of thousands I’ve spent together in the past at Walt Disney World and Disney Cruises, and that this is not right,” he reportedly said.
The father detailed that the manager listened to him but allegedly told him, “I can assure you that she is a woman.”
Following the father’s story going viral, a video unsurfaced on YouTube of another dining visit to the same restaurant with the likely same or a similar Disney performer playing the Evil Queen in January.
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The restaurant’s website promotes that families can meet “Snow White, Dopey and Grumpy every evening” and “if you dare, meet The Queen—and even pose for a photo with her!”
On another travel website, Trip Advisor, several parents also complained about their experience with the alleged transgender Evil Queen at the same restaurant.
A person from Kokomo, Indiana, gave a poor review of the restaurant on the travel review website.
“The food was not good but the most truly disappointing part was that the evil queen was a man. Why is this necessary to confuse young children? So sad and disappointing. My young daughter was crushed!” a person wrote about their March visit.
Another Trip Advisor reviewer of the restaurant said they were “startled” by the restaurant experience.
“We had dined at Artist Point before and really enjoyed it. Our recent trip was startling. We were seated late, had zero view but we were really upset that they had a man playing the role of the Wicked Queen. It was obvious from 20 yards away. There were many children there and I would consider that confusing. I am not anti LBGTQ but I support tradition and we don’t need to re-write fairy tales!! So disappointed in Disney!!!” a tourist reviewed about their visit in December 2023.
One social media user responded to the video of the Evil Queen at the restaurant.
“This is literally nothing new lmao they hire based on skill and similar facial features and height to other actors/actresses. Having more defined cheekbones and a sharper jaw is big on hiring villainous roles because it matches the art more as well,” the person said.
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This news of upset parents sharing their experiences at Disney World comes as the company had a yearslong political battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). The battle revolved around the signing of the Parental Rights in Education Act, which critics dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” law over guidance on how sexual orientation and gender identity are discussed in the schools.
At the end of March, Disney and DeSantis reached a settlement agreement on a legal battle over the governance of the theme park’s 25,000-acre resort.
