Rebekah Heaton
Ever wondered what happens behind the scenes at one of the most famous vacation spots on the planet? This list gives insider info about working at Walt Disney World and what it takes to be a Disney employee. An anonymous former employee was interviewed to give us this exclusive and unique information.
All employees at Disney World are referred to as Cast Members. From custodians to ice cream vendors to ride operators.
Character performers are called "friend of [insert character name here]" instead of being referred to as the character. (Ex. Friend of Tinker Bell, Friend of Peter pan, etc.)
Even cast members at Disney World think the food is overpriced. Our source used to sell ice cream and said one scoop “was $4.25, and it was just Dreyer’s. It literally cost more for a scoop of ice cream when you could get the whole carton for less than that at a grocery store.”
Famous stars from all over the world can often be spotted at the Disney Parks. One time, Katy Perry thanked Cinderella for letting her stay in her castle.
Cast members often play pranks on each other by pretending to be the ghosts that supposedly haunt most of the rides in Disney World.
Our source informed us that, “There [is] pretty much a procedure for every possible event. Sick guests on rides, ride evacuations, missing kids, ride closures, character costume mishaps, seriously, everything.” Aside from these extensive protocols, guest services at the Disney Parks are some of the best in the world.
Cast members who want to portray characters at Disney World go through an intense audition process, with several stages, and are expected to meet certain height and weight requirements. Once they’ve made the cut, every performer is assigned a fur character (Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, etc.) and a special few are also given a face character. All character performers are required to learn their character’s unique signature, not to mention their mannerisms and answers to a wide range of obscure questions guests might ask. Character performers for the princesses, Peter Pan and other face characters have to do their own hair and makeup to match their character’s look.
All character performers, specifically the princesses, are given character attendants who sometimes act as bodyguards to defend the performers from guests who get out of hand. Character performers are not allowed to break character even if they are receiving unwanted attention from guests, so the attendants are in charge of removing unruly guests. According to our source, the female character performers are often victims of unsolicited comments and grabbing.
Disney World has only been fully evacuated three times since it opened. Two were due to major hurricanes and the third was 9/11.
There is a system of tunnels (which are technically the ground floor with the park sitting on top as the second floor) which runs through the Magic Kingdom, making it possible for cast members to travel unseen and keep the park up and running. The tunnels are wide enough for two golf carts traveling side by side with room for pedestrians.
According to our source, "[The tunnels] house costume rental shops, storage and supply rooms, offices, locker rooms, break rooms, a full service cafeteria with made-to-order and restaurant options (like Subway, Chipotle) and even a couple of Starbucks locations."
Legend has it that Walt Disney saw a cowboy walking through Tomorrowland and disrupting the futuristic illusion, so he constructed the tunnels to keep the Disney magic alive.
Cast members often have to direct guests at Disney World who seem to have no idea where they are or what’s going on. Common questions our source was asked include:
“Where’s the Minions ride?”
“Where’s Harry Potter World?”
“This isn’t Disney Springs?” (asked by two drunk ladies at the Boardwalk Resort)
“This is a resort?” (same ladies, after being told to go to the bus stop at the front of the resort to get to Disney Springs)
“How do I get to EPCOT?” (asked by a guest in the World Showcase… which is in EPCOT)
“When is the 3 o’clock parade?”
“This isn’t Universal Studios?” (apparently a LOT of people try to get into Hollywood Studios with passes to Universal Studios)
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