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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 magicon stage and offto ensure than everyone who visits Walt Disney World and Disneyland has an unforgettable experience. Today's column is pretty Floridaheavyplus one from Parisbut 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 magicthat same magic I longed for as a childalive 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 Disneylanddoes 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 anotherthank 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 himhis name was Joeand 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 shoutout 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 DisneyMGM 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 (pointsDisneypoint, 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 guestquestion 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 firstaid, aspirin, BandAids 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 onemonth 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 10monthold baby, was interested in doing his job to the best of his ability and declined offers to join the cast in latenight 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 email us, and your email 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, multibilliondollar, 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 storiesfrom 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 talkon 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.
Calling all Disneyland alumni!The Disneyland Alumni Club is hosting a reunion this summer to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Disneyland (information about the event is still being finalized). The reunion is open only to current Alumni Club members and their families. For those who want more info about the joining the club, here's what Cast Place received from Yumiko Esail, the club's president and membership chair: The Disneyland Resort Alumni Club was founded in 1983 by Van France. Since then, many former cast members have joined the Club to keep alive their onceinalifetime experience, working at the Disneyland Resort. The Disneyland Resort Alumni Club offers its active members many benefits. Some of these benefits include:
The membership fee for new members is $25 with annual renewal fees of only $15. To join, please mail your payment and include your current mailing address, phone number and email address to:
Anyone whose friends or family members were cast members in the past are encouraged to please let them know of the Club's existence. On behalf of the Disneyland Resort Alumni Club Board of Directors, I hope you will consider joining us and keep the Disneyland Resort dream alive! |
 
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