Chandler Kinney Says She Had a ‘Really Positive Experience’ Working with Disney as a Kid and Even Attended a ‘Disney Prom’

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

The Zombies actress, 24, appeared on the Oct. 31 episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Off the Vine podcast and said that she had a “really positive experience” working with Disney Channel as a child – and even attended a “Disney prom.”

On the podcast, the reality TV star asked Kinney about the negative portrayals of working for Disney as a kid. 

“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. 

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.”

Before taking on the role of Willa in Disney’s popular Zombies franchise, which has spanned three movies with a fourth in the works and an animated series, she also made cameo appearances in the television series Girl Meets World and K.C. Undercover. 

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Kinney continued to share that she was homeschooled through a program “so many” children in the public eye attended, specifically referencing stars like Zendaya and Gabby Douglass. 

“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.”

“I grew up in the generation of child actors where it was, like, mind your ‘p’s and q’s’ 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 of Dancing with the Stars, shared a carousel of photos and videos of children dressed up as her character from Zombies for Halloween on Instagram.

“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.”