The Guest Experience

As the 50th anniversary of Disneyland draws closer, it is time to revisit
the world of the cast member. These dedicated men and women make the magic—on
stage and off—to ensure than everyone who visits Walt Disney World
and Disneyland has an unforgettable experience. Today’s column is pretty
Florida–heavy—plus one from Paris—but these stories stretch
from coast to coast.

CM Amy’s Story

I worked at Disneyland as a summer job. The managers used to freak us
out and tell ghost stories after hours while we were setting up for the
next day. If you sit in the last row on Space Mountain, there is a ghost
who taps you on the shoulder at some point in the ride. I’ve been on it
many times, I doubt this story is true.

On Tom Sawyer’s Island, there is a girl with a red sweater who wanders
around the park at night. This one is a pretty popular one among cast
members.

CM Lauren’s Story

I was reading through some of the comments fellow CMs have made in regards
to their experiences at Disney and I would have to say that I know where
a lot of the characters are coming from (in regards to their negativity).
But I must say that still, after years of putting on all that makeup and
dressing up like the princesses I longed to know as a child, I am still
always in awe of my job. Unless I plan on becoming the next Oprah, there
is not much of a chance that I will have the opportunity to touch people’s
lives in this way.

I have seen thousands of faces light up, and children crying tears of
joy. I have helped make wishes for little ones whose time in this world
is near done. I have had the opportunity to bring a joy to people that
is not of my own. Sure I have heard the comments about CMs being too fat,
or their nose not being perfect and the pay not being good, but you really
have to weigh it all out. Each morning I wake up, go to work, and keep
the magic—that same magic I longed for as a child—alive and
well, and there is noone or nothing that would keep me from doing my best.
I have never been one of the manager’s buddies, I’ve never been thanked
for going above and beyond their request of me and it does not matter
if I ever am. I do not do this for anyone else but the children, the families,
the believers.

CMs: there are a lot of beautiful faces out there, but no matter if you
do “Face” or “Fur” you have the responsibility to
look past the grime and see all the beauty you hold in your hands. Enjoy
Disney, and make it the Happiest Place on Earth.

CM Luis’ Story

Hi Shoshana. I am a former WDW cast member. I served as host at Innoventions
for Oracle, the GE Pavilion and Family PC for eight wonderful months in
1997. During that time, I have never met a more delightful and energetic
group of people. We were one in purpose, that is: “We are the Magic.”
Even now, in a recent visit to the Disney Marketplace, my soul became
flooded with nostalgia. I sorely miss my fellow cast members! Perhaps
some are still around: Tony Zmorenski, Scott Strehlow, Winiferd Whitehouse
and many others that even though I don’t remember their names, I will
never forget their faces or their influence on my life. I will always
remember their moral support when my father died in October 1997.

CM Carey’s Story

Shoshana, it’s strange how quickly all my memories of being a CM come
back when I read other CM’s stories. I was in the WDW College Program
at Epcot for the summer of 1999.

After all the initial training days we had during the first week (Traditions,
Discovery Day, Team Day) where we were trained on how to handle issues
that might arise with guests and how doing something relatively small
for one could make their day, I was really looking forward to all the
guest interaction. Then I found out I would be working in a kitchen at
the Liberty Inn and was totally depressed. Working in the kitchen meant
no fun costume, no enjoying the atmosphere of the park, and worst of all:
no guest interaction.

Finally for my last three weeks they put me in front where I would serve
guests their food. One slow evening I was filling a guest’s order and
they messed it up somehow. I told him they would fix it and gave him some
fries to apologize. He was a kind older man with some grandchildren that
he sent to find a place to sit.

When I got the replacement for the order, it was wrong, too, so I apologized
again and told him we would fix it. While we were waiting, I asked him
if I could get him anything else and he asked for a slice of pie and a
cup of coffee. A friend I was working with and I were like, “Sure!
Why not? Have some apple pie!”

So we laughed and talked to him for a while and he told us that he met
Walt Disney once. I don’t know if it was just a tall tale but it was a
cute story. I can’t remember the details but he said he was in the military
in the 1960s and met Walt at some event (maybe like an Armed Forces Day
in Disneyland—does that exist?). Walt told him to come back to the
park soon and he said that would be hard because he was stationed in Florida.
I guess this was before the official announcement of the land acquisition
in Florida but Walt gave him some sort of hint like, “Well, maybe
we’ll see you there.”

When his order was finally filled correctly the man said to me, “Well
from one cast member to another—thank you very much.” It turns
out he was a CM over at Body Wars and told me and my friend the next time
we were in Future World to go to Body Wars and ask for him—his name
was Joe—and we could skip the line. Joe came back a little later
and told my manager how I had helped him. So, a few days later, my friend
and I went to Body Wars, skipped the line and even got a shout–out
during Joe’s preshow speech (make sure seat belts are fastened, etc).

After almost three months spent mostly sweating over a fryer, this moment
is still one of the best and most vivid memories I have during my time
as a CM. I apologize for the length but what can I say? I’m a rambler.

P.S. My favorite question from a guest was when a guy asked me what kind
of beer we had, and then said, “Is there any meat in it?” What?

CM Disney–MGM ABC Commissary CM’s Story

When I was at WDW… I quickly realized that people on vacation forget
to pack their brains. and since there were thousands of guests that we
encountered each day, you can imagine the number of stories there are
to tell about them. Here are a few of those stories:

1) I was stocking the condiment bars when a man whose hands were filled
with napkins, tartar sauce, salt, pepper, soy sauce and straws came running
up to me.

Him (yelling, frantically looking up and down the condiment bar, eyes
darting back and forth): Soy sauce! Where’s the soy sauce?

Me: Umm…sir?… You’re holding soy sauce packets in your hands.

Him: Noooooooo! I want soy sauce! Don’t you have any soy sauce?

Me: (making a face like “what in the world is he talking about?”)

Him: (pausing and looking down at his hands to see what he’s holding)
Oh. Um. Sorry. I seem to already have grabbed some.

2) Guest: Do you know where the bathrooms are?

Me: Yes, they’re inside around the left corner. Just follow the windows
down until you see the hallway.

Guest: You mean I have to go outside?

Me: No, don’t go outside. they’re inside the restaurant, just on the
other side of the hottie sign (points—Disney–point, of course—
to the sign).

Guest: Sooo…I don’t go outside?

(two seconds later)

Guest No. 2: Do you know where the bathrooms are?

Me: Yes, they’re inside. Just follow the wind…erm… just follow
that lady. She’s going to the bathroom, too.

Guest No. 2: Do I have to go outside?

The following story happened to my friend, Alicia, and was written by
Amy.

And the best guest–question story belongs to Alicia, it goes a little
something like this:

Man: “Excuse me ma’am? Is there a pharmacy anywhere in the park?”

Alicia: “Umm, no, but if you go down to the end of the street here,
there’s the Writer’s Stop, and they sell first–aid, aspirin, Band–Aids
and stuff like that”

And the man looks at her, and in complete seriousness says, “Pregnancy
tests?”

So for all of you who were wondering, you cannot purchase a pregnancy
test on Walt Disney World property.

CM NTSC Mickey’s Story

Two more great questions:

1) “Do you know when the rain will end?”

Florida: “These afternoon downpours only last about 20 to 30 minutes.
It should clear up again by the time you exit the ride.”

California: “I heard that it was suppose to clear up by tomorrow
morning.”

2) “Where will the fireworks be?”

“They’re launched from those rooftops over there. If you stand right
around here, you should have a great view.”

There is no such thing as a stupid question. But there are such things
as smart answers!

Katie’s Story (wife of a CM)

I am not a cast member but my husband is. He is currently working for
the Disney store in Disney Village, Disneyland Paris. He started there
in early September, and had a one–month trial period, which he passed
with flying colors.

Where he works, there are many young foreigners and students interning,
or just looking for a period of stay in a foreign country. These students
and young people live together, work together and party together. My husband,
being married and having to support his wife and 10–month–old
baby, was interested in doing his job to the best of his ability and declined
offers to join the cast in late–night parties.

However, the horrible schedule they give their employees left him feeling
deflated and exhausted, and he ended up getting sick. He would often work
three night shifts from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. only to be followed by an early
afternoon shift from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. And then he would have to get up
for a shift at 8 a.m. He asked repeatedly to be given a steady schedule
and the answer was always “no.”

The fatigue took its toll. He was put on “maladie” for one
week. After he had returned to work one week, his manager asked him if
he planned on being sick often. A week later he told my husband that he
doesn’t seem “enthusiastic” enough to be working at Disney (meaning
that he didn’t partake in the partying going on outside of Disney) and
that during his trial period, he should have been fired. He was told that
for each position at Disney, there are at least 50 other candidates that
could replace him in a heartbeat.

Since then, his manager and other cast members who want to get a leg
up on the competition, seem to have made it their goal to make my husband
quit. They constantly harass and criticize him everyday, no matter how
hard he works, and they never give him any praise or approval for the
work he does. It seems to me that those who have been at Disney long enough
have endured similar abuse by their managers, and then when it comes their
turn to become managers, they inflict the same abuse on those below them.

I am unable to understand how such a work environment can really be productive.
The cast members are unhappy, yet forced to be pleasant with those around
them. Everyone has dark circles around their eyes from the crazy schedules.
And their bosses are constantly treating them like dirt. Is the “happiest
place on earth” really the most unhappiest place to work? I had always
loved Disney as a child and have family members who work at Walt Disney
World (WDW), but I was unaware that Disney’s employment policies could
be so unfair, and I received a very disheartening reality check when I
saw how my own husband could be treated.

I’m glad that I found some sort of forum to relate his story.

A Request for Character CMs

Cast Place received this request from Tyler, a writer for Radar magazine.
Anyone wishing to contact him, please e–mail us, and your e–mail
will be forwarded to him.

Hello former or current CMs. I’m a writer in New York City working on
a story for a national magazine that’s kind of like a younger version
of Vanity Fair. Very pop-culture oriented. So, since Disneyland is celebrating
its 50th anniversary, we thought it the perfect time to do a story on
the characters in the parks that, for $6.80 an hour, bear the heavy image
of a multinational, multibillion–dollar, publicly traded company.
Except, I want to write about the humans (frailties and flaws included)
who are underneath the steaming hot suits. I’m looking for all kinds of
stories—from heartwarming to titillating. The steamy stories are
as big a part of the human story as the Disney “magic” those
people work so hard to create. I want to paint the unofficial picture
of Disney character culture. If you can help, I’d love to talk—on
or off the record. And if you need to be anonymous, I can guarantee that,
too. I’m also happy to provide more details about the publication and
story angle.