DWTS' Chandler Kinney Says She Had a 'Positive Experience' Working with Disney as a Kid — and Even Went to a 'Disney Prom'

Mar. 15, 2025

Chandler Kinney in 2015 and in 2024.Photo:Vincent Sandoval/WireImage; Amanda Edwards/Getty

Vincent Sandoval/WireImage; Amanda Edwards/Getty

Chandler Kinney is getting candid about being a Disney child actor.

TheZombiesactress, 24, appeared on the Oct. 31 episode ofKaitlyn Bristowe’sOff the Vinepodcast and said that she had a “really positive experience” working with Disney Channel as a child – and even attended a “Disney prom.”

“There’s documentaries out there and so many things just about being a child actor in the Disney World and everything. What was your experience with that?” Bristowe asked.

Chandler Kinney attends Variety’s 2024 Power of Women.JC Olivera/Getty

JC Olivera/Getty

In response, the actress recognized that she is part of “the generation of Disney kid” that came after many of the experiences that have come to light over the past few years. She continued to speak of her own experience, saying, “I will just speak on the Disney side of things. I think they have worked really hard to create and foster such a tight knit community.”

Kinney said that the network seems “very aware” that being a child actor requires missing out on experiences that are “foundational to your upbringing.”

She added, “They do a really good job of trying to substitute those experiences. So there’s like a Disney prom, for instance. They’ll do events and create that community within their little family.”

(L-R) Ariel Martin, Chandler Kinney and Pearce Joza in ‘Zombies 3’ in 2022.Disney+ /Courtesy Everett

Disney+ /Courtesy Everett

Before taking on the role of Willa in Disney’s popularZombiesfranchise, which has spanned three movieswith a fourth in the worksplus an animated series, she also made cameo appearances in the television seriesGirl Meets WorldandK.C. Undercover.

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“It was really interesting being in that environment. But they knew what we needed as young kids kind of juggling a full-time job that an adult holds,” she added.

Overall, she told Bristowe that she had “a really positive experience, but I think it was because of everyone that came before.”

Earlier in the interview, Kinney opened up about adjusting to being in the public eye at a young age and said it required “a little bit of a mental shift.”

Chandler Kinney attends the premiere of ‘The Star’ on Nov. 12, 2017.Barry King/Getty

Barry King/Getty

“I grew up in the generation of child actors where it was, like, ‘Mind your ps and qs and be eloquent and put together [and] polished,’ " she explained. “There’s almost, like, this curation, which I don’t think that was the best thing. But at the time, that’s how you advanced in the industry.”

Comparing her experience with the next generation of child actors, she said she loves that “now we’re in this new era of the unhinged, not media trained celebrity.”

“It’s actually, like, representative of real people,” she said. “You get to see humans being humans.”

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On Sunday, Nov. 3, Kinney, who is currently competing in season 33 ofDancing with the Stars, shared a carousel of photos and videos of children dressed up as her character fromZombiesfor Halloween onInstagram.

“the magic of being a part of a franchise that has such empowering characters for young people is never lost on me, but i’m always reminded right around Halloween time just how special it really is,” she captioned the post. “nothing warms my heart more than getting to see all of the fierce, confident little Willas out trick-or-treating, or playing with her doll, or dancing to her music.”

Kinney added, “Willa is a character that stands in her power, unafraid to lead the way, and unapologetic about being herself…and it’s such a gratifying feeling to see kids embody those traits as they step into her shoes…and of course, a reminder of why we do what we do.”

source: people.com