Tuesday, August 13, 2002
by Kevin Yee
A Disneyland jacket
Disney has always had its fans, and fans have always wanted their souvenirs. Disney fans have been so rabid in their affection and desire to own a piece of Disney magic that an entire new word was created: Disneyana. Most other brands are stuck with generic titles, like "Star Trek collectibles" or "X-Files memorabilia," but not Disney.
For years, Disneyana traded between friends and acquaintances, then moved up to conventions and specialty stores. At that point, Disney became aware that some of this merchandise was in fact company property. Specifically, current and former cast members were selling off pieces of uniforms (or in Disney parlance, "costumes"). These were never for sale, so they must have been stolen, and Disney cracked down as best it could. Selling of such items at conventions became muted, under-the-table dealings, and specialty stores came under fire (although at the time of this writing one at the Westminster Mall continues to have name tags for sale).
Name tags for sale
Obtaining costumes has always been relatively easy for the less-than-honest cast members. Until recently, all CMs had lockers in which to store their costumes. Typically costumes were only issued one at a time, and to change into a different type CMs had to turn in the old one. Inevitably, some pieces were dropped or lost on occasion, and the workers at the Costuming windows were usually understanding and didn't make a fuss (perhaps more often they simply never noticed). So what happened to those dropped pieces? They found their way onto the locker room floor, where they were scooped up and stored in people's lockers. Many thought, perhaps, they would one day take them home.
For reasons just like this, Disneyland required biannual "locker clearouts," where everything had to be emptied and taken home. On such nights, entire piles of assorted costume pieces grew in the locker rooms. Unscrupulous CMs now had a bonanza to choose from! But Security at the Harbor House exit point was also usually very tight on such days, so I'm guessing that most of the costume pieces which were smuggled out were taken home on days without locker clearouts.
How, um, stylish!
These days, Cast Members use FastTrack, which is a system designed to avoid the need for lockers. CMs are issued multiple costumes to take home, and they are allowed to wear their costumes to and from work. Instead of lockers, they simply bring in soiled costumes at the start of one shift, and pick up several clean ones at the end (via "Costume Shopping" ÷ a select-your-own type operation rather than the old system of having someone find costumes for you).
Sounds easy; no fuss, right? But the ability of CMs to enter and leave the Park with costume pieces has made it ridiculously easy to steal costume pieces. And these days, perpetrators don't have to deal with the intimidating convention atmosphere to hawk "their" goods, for there is a new kid on the block: the Internet ÷ and specifically, the eBay auction Web site.
Go ahead. Have a look around eBay. You'll find there's even a category for Disney cast member exclusives, meant for merchandise that was purchased rather than stolen, but which nonetheless usually contains an item or two at all times that fits the bill. The following is just one example:
You are bidding on Brand New, (Never Worn + Still on Hangar) Size 24" waist, pair of six-pocket cargo-type Shorts, designed from the costume department at Walt Disney World. They were intended to be worn by both the male and female Cast Members in DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM. The "Disney Animal Kingdom" LOGO is sewn inside, along with the WDW Property Control bar code.
These are 50% cotton and 50% nylon, black in color and have a multi-color design on the front (as shown). Two of the six pockets have zippers. Waistband has button closure. Offered Shorts are Machine Washable and Dryable. They would make a great bathing suit. We also have all waist sizes from 24 to 52 in stock.
One wonders how these people don't get caught. Since costumes are, in essence, stolen property, I'm sure Disney could force eBay to disclose the identity of the seller. Maybe some of the sellers are caught. Yet the auctions continue, and Disneyana ÷ even the stolen variety ÷ continues to find its audience.
I'm not sure that will always be the case, however, for there are two forces at work that seem to dilute the uniqueness of the costumes on a daily basis. First, the slide in appearance guidelines at the Disneyland Resort, which has been a long time in the making, is resulting in some serious dilution of the costume impact.
But first: I'm not talking about CMs who have special needs. I once knew a giant named Brian whose vest size would have been about a 60. This poor guy couldn't find a way to fit into whatever vest size they did give him. He'd try, but it would ride high on him and he would look squeezed almost to the point of pain. Finally, the supervisors decided Brian could just work with his blue-striped Cafˇ Orleans shirt. Since he was usually a busser (in those days Cafˇ Orleans did its own bussing rather than rely on Custodial), this somehow evolved into a new policy that all bussers at Cafˇ Orleans would wear no vests — an end run around the actual policy, and the only time I know of where the location management decided something like that on their own. If you've ever noticed that Cafˇ bussers have a different costume from the rest of the location, now you know why.
Pregnant CMs also fall into my list of exceptions. For years, expecting CMs had no recourse but to find a generic costume that had elastic pants and wear that onstage ÷ in my department, that meant wearing "Pantry Whites" ÷ the outfit worn by certain segments of the kitchen. These days there is an actual pregnancy costume, featuring a comfortable brown overall dress. A big improvement over the old days.
Neither of these examples are what I mean by the degradation of appearance guidelines. What I find problematic is the shockingly common practice of not maintaining costume integrity when workers migrate, often on short notice, over to a different location. We used to get sent back to Costuming for a quick change if this was to happen! Now, perhaps in the spirit of not wasting time ÷ and therefore money ÷ workers are often thrown directly into the transplant location without new costumes.
Cast Members wearing differeingly themed costumes in the same area.
Compounding the problem is the relatively recent FastPass phenomenon. As its own department ÷ at least for now ÷ FastPass requires its workers to wear the costume that matches the attraction. Fine, but aren't there situations that require someone to "jump in" at other locations, such as understaffed days when breaks still need to be given? And how must these poor CMs feel about FastTrack ÷ they have to get a different kind of costume all the time!
The other force at work tending toward the dilution of costumes is a design issue. Increasingly, new or redesigned areas of the parks open with generic costumes that don't feel out of place anywhere in that zone. In part, this move is designed to address the problem of when workers jump between locations. This certainly has its advantages in terms of workforce management, but what effect does it have on the visitor? It's clearly not measurable, but isn't it just possible that part of the magic of Pirates of the Caribbean or Haunted Mansion are the costumes?
Do you recognize what attraction this unique Disneyland costume is from?
When the subtle magic of the costumes is diluted either by heterogeneous mixing or by creating generic and bland alternatives, the net effect may be rather small by itself, but it is part of a cumulative experience of the day. Combine it with high food prices, crowded walkways (courtesy of FastPass, which frees folks from being stranded in lines), and other minor quibbles and you've got the makings of an unhappy Guest. Costumes aren't the most important part of the Guest experience, but they are part of it.
Not being unique is certainly a possible future, and one that Disney seems to be contemplating. When I mention the Haunted Mansion outfit, most of you could probably pictured it, right? Well, try picturing, with the same level of detail, the uniforms worn by workers in the log ride at the nearby Knott's Berry Farm. I bet it's harder to do. Generic isn't as memorable, and neither, frankly, is that park. This is no coincidence. (Note: I don't dislike Knott's ÷ in fact I rather like the place ÷ but it's just not an experience on par with Disney.)
As I write this, a search on eBay reveals no one selling employee uniforms for Knott's Berry Farm.
Disney, beware. As much as the black market in your costumes pains you, its presence at least signifies fascination with your product. Would you rather have total indifference?
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Are you a CM or a former CM? I would love to hear and share your stories! E-mail me! Stories and comments you submit become property of and may be published on this site; we normally don't publish last names of current CMs, but if you wish to remain anonymous altogether or do not want me to share your stories, please let me know when you e-mail me. — Shoshana NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in reader-contributed stories do not reflect those of Cast Place or MousePlanet. CM – Cast member; company lingo for “employee.” Empowerment Evolution – The 1995 attempt by newer park management to introduce modern accountability and market forces into the stodgy Disneyland methodology and power hierarchies. The name was meant to “empower” rank and file employees by removing layers of their management, though now there are more managers than ever. TPO – Theme Park Operations; the division of the Disneyland hierarchy that actually works in the theme park itself. TDA – Team Disney Anaheim; the name of the on-site administration building. Area manager – used to be responsible for an entire land, with all business divisions in the area reporting to him. Area supervisor – the immediate boss for location supervisors who divide up a department of intelligently grouped locations. The area supervisors in turn reported to the area manager. Nowadays all supervisors and area supervisors have been replaced by managers and assistant managers — the same idea, but smaller “business units" than a department; usually just one location in fact. RFT – “A” status; a full-time hourly employee. RPT – “B” status; an hourly employee five days a week but just not quite 40 hours usually. CR – “C” status; an hourly employee who works weekends year-round and five days a week during all school holiday periods (including summer and Christmas break). CT – a part-time hourly employee who works five days a week during all school holiday periods (including summer and Christmas break). No seniority, so shifts worked are usually quite short. Locate the employment center to fill out an application, and they will call you for an interview (dress nicely, just shy of an actual suit). Once there, follow these rules, in this order of importance: 1. Smile and be very friendly. They want outgoing people.
2. Do not let the group interview throw you off balance. They want outgoing people who can “perform” a little bit.
3. Do not worry about job (in)experience. They don't care. They want friendly people, not experienced and/or hardened people.
4. Do your best to convince them you already have a Disney attitude: you want to work with people, you're a team player, and you would consider this a dream job (however, don't overdo it on the crazy-Disney-fan side either). Strike a nice balance.
5. Did I mention the importance of a smile? 
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