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| Cast Place For and by Disney employees past & present | |
| Shoshana Lewin, editor |
Reader Contributed Story! |
Thursday, August 17, 2000
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Reader Submitted Story |
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As we all know, at times Guest Control should be called Crowd Control. Heck, at times riot gear should be issued out as common equipment along with the usual flashlights.
Fantasmic, the laser, light, and live action show which takes place on the Rivers of America is one such event in which Guest Control is used. There was one such event during the 9:00 showing of Fantasmic in which every, and I do mean every, section was filled up. Yet more guest filled in to see if they could catch a glimpse of the show. Between certain sections are small, roped off, walkways called "Tech Isles". These isles are used by the... you guess it... the technicians and any emergency personnel. Well, I swear on high heaven that our Guests feel they are Louis and Clark. They want to discover new territory. So, as they are walking down the walkways without a seat open to them, they see these tech isles. A Guest Control Cast Member is standing "guard" in front of the isle to monitor it and the surrounding area. So, now that I've set the story up for you, here's what happened. I happened to be that poor unfortunate soul who got the "opportunity" to stand watch over the tech isle. Well I just so happened to get a small family of rude foreigners standing behind the rope. If any of you know the policy for that, you cannot stand behind the rope. If you'd like to watch the show, you must be under the ropes. So I took out my trusty light and walked over to them. I explained to him he and his family (1 wife and 2 kids) could not stop in the walkway, and must slip under the rope (no room left) to watch the show. He nodded, I thanked God for the lack of a confrontation. As I turned back, I saw some more people stopping. I walked over to them and explained the couldn't stop there. When they moved on, I turned back around. "Dammit!" I wanted to mutter. The father and his family had gone under the rope alright, but the rope of the tech isle! I huffed and pocketed the flash light. Then, moving into the isle, I walked over to them and tapped him on his shoulder. He looked up. "Sir, I can't have you guys sitting there." I told him politely. "Why not! You said we could sit anywhere under the ropes, we have listened to you, now leave us." The man replied. I sighed, seeing he was right, and I should have clarified a little more. "Yes, I know sir, and I'm sorry for that. However I.. " Before I could finish my sentence, he put his hand in my face and shook his head and exclaimed in his horrid accent, "If you know, then go away so we can watch the show!" Now, if I could of kicked him in his stupid teeth, I would have. However I smiled, and repeated myself. "Sir, I need you under the ropes, but not in this area, this is for emergency use only." The man looked up and shook his head, then violently grabbing his wife's arm, he stood up, pulling her with him. "Fine, we are going. You told us under the ropes, we did go! You need to be more specific! Now where do you want us to go?" He yelled at me over the cackling of Ursula in the background. I shook my head and replied," Sir, where you go is not my concern, but if you are in this isle or stopped outside the ropes, then it is." I could see him get pissed, I loved it! He walked out, cussing about how he paid "41 &#! dollars." The rest of that night went on without incident, for me that is. Another Cast Member was abused and harassed by a Guest, but I didn't get to know about it till it was over, or I'd of taken the Guest to Security. We in Fantasmic Guest Control are good people, but if you're mean to us, we are mean to you! Tattle-Tale Tim |
| TALK STORY! |
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.
| CMSPEAK |
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.
| GETTING HIRED @ DL |
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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