You may have noticed that if you ask a cast member at a Disney park for directions, they will always point you toward your requested location with two fingers, instead of just one. You may also have noticed that, when they are gesticulating or dancing, the characters in the parades do exactly the same thing. And you may have wondered, “What gives?”
Well, like so much at the park, the two-finger point is deliberate. In fact, it even has a name in the industry: the “Disney point.”
A widely circulated myth holds that this practice is retained in homage to Walt Disney himself. In his later years, Walt Disney was a chain-smoker who rarely visited Disneyland without a cigarette in his hand. Because he didn’t want to put the cigarette down, the legend goes, he would point out the landmarks with two fingers. By echoing his actions, todays cast members are following his lead.
But that’s not true. The real reason the cast members always use two fingers is that in some cultures — particularly in Asian cultures, where pointing tends to be associated with blame — it is considered extremely rude to point with your index finger. And nobody needs that at Disney.
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