It never fails. I’d say about every nine months or so I’ll start thinking about all the different aspects of running the Walt Disney World Resort and it always comes down to the most important success factor?the cast member factor.
Oh I’ve spent the last 31 years of my life visiting the Walt Disney Resort and I’ve seen quite a change in the variety of cast member functions.
Along that time I’ve thought long and hard about those cast member jobs that certainly don’t appeal to me and have a certain level of difficulty.
So today I’m discussing the 10 toughest cast member jobs and why they have been selected as such.
So here goes.
#10 Theater Attraction Cast Members
I know this may not sound like a difficult job but let’s say you are a cast member working in an attraction like Mickey’s Philharmagic, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, or Muppetvision 3-D.
All day long you are moving guests in and out of the theater but more importantly, you are essential in their education of theme park protocol.
The cast members for these attractions are faced with the daunting task of making sure the guests, altogether now, “Do not stop in the middle of the row but go all the way to the end to make room for those behind you.”
Very few CMs can perform this feat of strength. It’s mostly because we guests can be stubborn and inconsiderate of others.
I have been in shows where guests have had to climb over people to get to a seat—and the show had already started.
So the first salute goes to these CMS.
#9 Extra Magic Hour Evening Cast Members
OK, you’re thinking, “What’s the problem here?”
Ahh, this thought stems from a moment I recall about ten years back when e-Ride night was offered at Magic Kingdom. I remember leading my children up the deserted Big Thunder Mountain Railroad queue while the cast member below was accosted by guests wanting to know why we were allowed to enter and they weren’t.
Put yourself in the position of the CM who has to explain to some frustrated guests that the park is now operating under Extra Magic Hours, and only those with wrist bands can access the attractions. And oh by the way, you must be a resort guest to acquire one of those wrist bands.
Walt Disney World theme park guests are not always the most educated consumers, so many times the CMs find themselves having to explain something like the EMH hour program to frustrated guests.
Not fun.
#8 Character Meal Characters
It sounds like an easy gig, but let’s take a closer look.
First, if you are a costumed character then you are in a pretty warm suit and hopefully the temperature in the restaurant is just right for you. Hopefully your character handler CM is keeping an eye on time so you get your break.
If you are roaming around a character meal restaurant, you have to be very aware of your surroundings. There are always going to be servers and in the case of buffets, guests carrying around dishes filled with food, so you almost have to have eyes in the back of your head to watch out for accidents—but we all know sightlines are limited when in a costume.
You also have to be a great judge as to how much time to spend with each guest, each child, and each table. That comes with time and experience.
Playing a character in a character meal restaurant may be one of the more skilled CM jobs than at first thought.
#7 Character Handler/Height Control CM (tie)
Hey, I’m allowed ties and I’ll get to the reason for this tie in a minute.
The character handler CM is responsible for making sure things go smoothly with any character that is interacting with guests. The handler is the character’s best friend, whor knows when it’s time for the character to take a break and also protects the character from encountering any problems.
It’s not an easy job because there is always a time when you have to say, “OK folks, Goofy needs to take a rest but he’ll be back in 15 minutes.”
Almost every time you say that, you will disappoint a child or a parent. It’s part of the job and this is where sensitivity comes into play, and it helps to know how to act with angry parents.
The height control CM is responsible for checking children to make sure they are tall enough to ride Soarin’, Splash Mountain, or any attraction that has a height requirement.
There are always going to be times when a child is just a hair or two below the minimum and these CMs have to make an executive decision. They have to always keep in mind that safety is a factor here and they will from time to time be turning a child away and dealing with an angry parent.
This is why these two jobs ended up in a tie. They both deal with being able to interact with disappointed or angry parents based on their decision. It takes a special person to be one of these CMs.
#6 Parking Lot Attendant
This is definitely one of those thankless jobs. We as guests should be eternally grateful for what these CMs do.
Imagine you are going out to do some shopping and you go to Wal-Mart. Where to park, where to park—and you obviously look for the closest available spot. The parking lot CMs take that worry away from you and direct you to the closest available spot. What a deal.
And they treat everyone the same. On my last trip I saw one driver park close to the tram instead of going down the end of the row. He was trying to explain to the CM that he had a baby in the car and needed to be close.
Nope—cannot do. Please go to the end of the row.
You have to be very alert and aware of what’s going on, work as a team with your other CMs and at times pretty much be a traffic cop.
And imagine doing this in the summer heat. Yes, it’s a tough job.
#5 Voyage of the Little Mermaid Performers
The Voyage of the Little Mermaid attraction in the Disney-MGM Studios park is a very popular attraction.
The enjoyment that the guests receive from this attraction is partially due to the performance of the cast members on stage who perform one of the early numbers in the show. Those cast members perform in the dark and thus are putting themselves at risk for all types of injury.
I think their performance and dexterity on the stage in the dark with those props is very much underappreciated.
The job is more dangerous than it looks, and sometimes a guest with a flash camera really takes a risk by taking a flash picture and blinding the performers.
So the next time you go to this attraction, remember the level of difficulty being handled up there on the stage and give those CMs a rousing applause because they deserve it.
#4 Guest Relations CMs
Now we are getting into the more interesting CM jobs: the person who stands behind the Guest Relations counter.
I don’t have any hard data to go by but I would guess that a good portion of the guest visits to Guest Relations may involve a complaint or a problem, and that means that the CM behind the counter will play a part in the guest’s vacation experience.
Thus the CM behind the counter should be well experienced and well-informed about all types of potential guest inquiries and complaints and be able to handle them ASAP.
More importantly, the Guest Relations CM must be adept in handling angry guests who feel their perfect WDW vacation has been ruined by one thing or another.
These CMs are the first line of defense, the first face of WDW that the guest sees and talks with regarding an issue. It’s a big responsibility, and these CMS must be adept at all times at handling all situation.
Yes, they have had to deal with me. And for the most part I’ve been impressed with the handling of situation.
#3 Dung/Barf Cleaner CMs
Okay, what else would you call the CMs who have this job?
I’m sure you have watched one of the many parades in WDW and whenever you see a portion of the parade that involves a horse, well, someone has to do the, erh, clean-up work right?
It’s a very important job. Just think if that job weren’t done.
…So let’s raise our hands and salute that CM for a job well done.
Remember when Star Tours and Body Wars first made the WDW scene? Guests weren’t used to those simulator-type attractions and occasionally, there was a “protein spill.” And more recently, I guess there have also been some for Mission:Space.
Someone has to clean it—and clean it fast.
There are CMs who are extremely good at removing such spills fast and efficiently so that the attraction can get back to normal operation as quickly as possible.
I don’t know if enough can be said about the work that these CMs do, so I’ll just say “Thank you.”
#2 Tarzan/Jane (tie)
With the departure of Tarzan Rocks! I could have easily forgotten about the roles of Tarzan and Jane for this attraction, but I cannot.
Anyone who has seen this show can attest that the CMs who played Tarzan and Jane performed some of the more dangerous stunts with in the entire resort.
They had to be in excellent shape, had to be aware of their surroundings, and more importantly, had to have safety first as their motto during the show.
Safety was a factor for not only them but the other performers around them.
They performed aerial stunts that could very easily lead to serious injury and with maybe only one or two incidents, performed their roles very well.
There is a lot of rehearsing and time put into doing those stunts for the enjoyment of the guests with no or little room for error.
#1 Lifeguards & Water Sprite Patrol
The final tie is between the water park lifeguards and those CMS who patrol the waterways around Magic Kingdom to ensure that those guests using water sprites and other watercraft live to see another day.
I remember taking to one of the lifeguards who worked Typhoon Lagoon’s big wave pool and he said that he felt it was the absolute toughest job on the resort.
One of the reasons he felt it was so tough was that there was so much stress because when the big wave hits all the lifeguards strain to watch the guests in the water and it’s difficult sometimes to determine whether guests are having fun or are in distress. Good point.
The CMs who patrol the waterways to protect those using any watercraft also have a tough job. They want the guests to have a good time but they also want to be sure that no safety issues come into play.
In both cases these two CM jobs deal with potential lifesaving duties, and their top-notch efficiency has made for an almost flawless history of water safety.
For this they get the #1 ranking.
Appreciate the Unappreciated
Most of these jobs are unappreciated by most guests. If you stop and think about the importance of each of these jobs and how much each goes towards making each guest’s vacation experience so enjoyable, you’d realize just how important they are.
So the next time you get a chance, by all means, give them a big “Thank you!”
I always do because frankly, they do a job that I don’t think I would want to do.
Next Time
Now that I’ve completely discouraged you from wanting to become a CM it’s only right that next time we look at the most seemingly enjoyable CM jobs and why they appear so enjoyable.
Class dismissed.
