Here Is The Real Reason Disney Cast Members Point With Two Fingers

The Walt Disney Company was one of the best job opportunities I ever had. It gave me an opportunity I never thought I'd do again. I had the chance to live and work abroad through them.

I worked in Disney English in 2013 and left there in 2019. It was a training center in six different Chinese cities where we taught children English. I had a class of kids as young as three, and the oldest kids I'd get was ten years old. Favorite Disney movies in China themed the classrooms. I mostly stayed in the Coral Reef from Finding Nemo. Unfortunately, Disney English closed its doors in 2020. But it was the best job I ever had.

Being part of the Disney company, it had a lot of rules to it. We couldn't wear our Disney uniforms outside of work, especially if we walked into a bar. We couldn't cross Disney universes in our classrooms. Ariel couldn't hang out in the Coral Reef, for example. We also couldn't hand-draw any Disney characters and display them in our classrooms. And, of course, you needed to be mindful of what you put on social media. You could get in trouble for posting pictures of your students, even if the parents didn't see them on Facebook.

One of the more bizarre rules from the company was what to do instead of pointing. If a Guest was trying to find something, we couldn't point where to go. We had one of two choices instead. We could either use our open palms to gesture where to go or point with two fingers.

I always wondered why two fingers. I thought back to Mickey cartoons, but I couldn't remember if he was a two-fingered pointer or not. I remembered seeing pictures of the glove, but I wasn't sure where I'd seen them.

And then another cast member told me the story!

About half of the Americans I met while working for Disney English spent time in the Disney college program. It was a paid internship through Disney where college students would work in the parks and live in apartments through the company.

This paid internship through the company is a fantastic opportunity for anyone wanting to keep working through the company. If someone does the College Program then wants to work for the company later, they can get a fast-track to getting hired.

One day, during my break, I overheard one of these former College Programmers telling the two-fingered point's story. It's not what I expected.

Walt Disney was a chain-smoker. He was rarely seen without a cigarette in his hand. When he was alive, smoking and drinking were accepted in the workplace. When he would direct his staff, he'd point with a cigarette between his fingers. And the rest is all history.

Think about it. A company that prides itself on making sure all of its Guests are safe pays homage to its creator with its cigarette gestures. I hope I'm not the only person who sees the humor behind it.

Disney has a fun history behind everything it does

The Walt Disney Company is fascinating. There is a story behind everything it does. It doesn't matter if it's movie history or the story of obscure hand gestures. There is a story behind everything. And that's what Disney is all about; telling a great story.

Teaching through Disney was one of the most fun jobs I ever had. I could learn obscure facts about Disney while playing with kids and teaching them English. I never had a job that's as much fun as my job in Beijing.

And now, I have some fun, obscure Disney trivia for people to enjoy. It's fun watching people's reactions to random Disney facts like the two-fingered points and the original Disney character, Oswald. Now, I can excel on Trivia Night.