Getting a job as a princess at the Disney theme parks is no easy feat — hundreds of performers vie for roles at every audition.
For Helen Planchet, a former Disneyland equity performer who played Elena of Avalor, it took seven years of consistently auditioning to land the part.
Planchet said she attended around 60 auditions before getting cast as Princess Elena
Planchet told Insider she started her auditioning journey in 2010 and didn't get cast as Princess Elena of Avalor until 2017.
She estimated that she went to "about 60 auditions" because she attended "at least 10 a year" for the Disney theme parks around the world.
"In 2010 there was no Moana. There was no Elena of Avalor. There was no Mirabel from 'Encanto,'" Planchet said. "Because I'm a person of color, I got passed over for pretty much every audition. They spent a lot of time casting white women."
She added that "Disney doesn't really like to waste time" by giving auditionees feedback.
"Even though I was rejected a bajillion times, I never heard like, 'Oh, you're not good enough for this thing.' I just didn't hear back," she said.
After finally landing a seasonal princess role, Planchet said she didn't audition for the parks again
When she started auditioning for Disney, Planchet was going to open calls for face characters who do general meet and greets.
But after being passed over multiple times, she decided to focus her efforts on auditioning for union equity roles singing in shows at Disneyland.
The show Planchet was eventually cast in, "Princess Elena's Musical Grand Arrival," ran seasonally during the Disney Festival of Holidays for two years.
Despite receiving positive feedback on her performances, she said, she was rarely called to audition for other vocalist roles. And she didn't audition for another job at the parks when her role ended.
