OFF BEAT: Dress code gets hairy at Disney theme parks

Don’t let the beards on the Seven Dwarfs fool you. Until this week, facial hair on employees at Disney theme parks was a no-no.

A spokeswoman for the Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that workers at the company’s two major American theme parks will be allowed to grow facial hair, starting next month, the Associated Press reported.

Beards, mustaches and all other configurations of face fuzz had been banned for theme park workers since Disneyland opened in California in the 1950s. In 2000, the company relaxed the policy somewhat to allow mustaches, provided they were fully grown—workers still could not begin growing a mustache while working, according to the AP.

Disney’s revised employee appearance policy also permits casual dress on Fridays for employees who do not interact with visitors, the AP reported.