Being a Disney World Cast Member is one of the best jobs ever, but it also comes with great responsibility and handling difficult situations.
It’s safe to say that you learn a LOT about the parks in general, and even more about your specific locations. You truly do become a pro when it comes to Disney World! You also have to keep a few secrets about the parks as well as park operations. While spilling some of these secrets could make Disney World a lot less magical (so we won’t spill them), spilling other secrets could make it a much better place, as visitors could gain a bit of understanding. Let’s talk about it!
Here are 6 park secrets that former Disney World Cast Members want you to know. We have several on the AE team, so know that these are the realio dealio!
Asking for a Magical Moment won’t end well
Throughout the day, Cast Members sometimes find themselves in the business of making someone’s day EXTRA magical. Sometimes, these Cast Members literally get tasked on the computer to create a Magical Moment for park visitors as an assignment.
This varies based on location, but as a former Haunted Mansion Cast Member, a Magical Moment usually meant picking a family, taking them through a special hallway that’s usually for Cast Members only, and then sometimes even putting them in a private stretch room — meaning that there are only a couple folks in there.
Other Magical Moments aren’t assigned, and take place when Cast Members use discretion. Common scenarios include a family with a child living with a disability, Make-A-Wish families, or even a super great interaction with a family.
In other situations, Cast Members reserve the right to issue “no strings” vouchers if someone drops an ice cream, loses a brand-new pair of ears on a ride, or if they step in a puddle and end up with a pair of soggy fur-lined Crocs that they just bought at the Emporium. The no strings voucher allows the person to exchange the slip of paper for a totally new item for FREE.
What NEVER awards a Magical Moment is asking for one or “sucking up” to a Cast Member. It’s super obvious when this is the case, and it will probably just end in the Cast Member being annoyed.
We know when you’re late or early for your Lightning Lane.
When you scan in for a Lightning Lane or Genie+, we see your name, whether or not you actually have a booked Lightning Lane, what time your Lightning Lane was booked for, and we can also see if you have an eligible DAS Pass.
If you’re too early, it will give us the ability to turn you away or to override the system and let you through. For efficiency reasons that your little vacation noggin probably doesn’t consider in the moment, Mickey does NOT like when we override the system.
If you TALK to us and explain why you are super duper early or super duper late, we’ll be much more likely to wave you through. If you do this when the Lighting Lane queue is super backed up, though, you’ll more than likely be turned away.
If you cause a ruckus, the whole park has already heard about it.
We have pals. We have computers. We have walkie talkies. If you promote a horrible interaction with a Cast Member at Space Mountain in Tomorrowland, you best believe we already know about it over at the Haunted Mansion.
In some cases, we already know your name, what you’re wearing, and in many cases, we have security already on the scene if you have a Lightning Lane with us next and we’re worried you’re gonna be rude to us, too.
Be nice to Cast Members and this will never, ever happen to you!
Yes, many rides DO have cameras.
Not all rides have cameras, but many of them do. However, they aren’t the type of cameras that are only checked after the fact if a bad situation happens. These cameras are monitored constantly as the ride operates, by Cast Members who are working what is referred to as a “Tower Position.”
We see when you stand up on Frozen Ever After. We see when you touch the sand in Living With the Land. We see when you pick up your baby and dip their feet into the Pirates of the Caribbean water.
All of those things are against the rules, and in certain situations, a Cast Member will speak to you on an intercom and tell you to stop, which is super embarrassing.
Know that you are safe here.
All Cast Members in every position in every park have had training on handling a wide variety of emergencies. Disney is also fully-equipped and ready to help you, regardless of the scenario.
The Cast Members each know where the closest AED is, all Cast Members know what to say to 911 to get the paramedics there as quickly as possible, there are A, B, and C backup plans for violence and disasters within the parks, and over all — safety is the TOP priority of the Disney Parks.
Every single choice that is made and every single action that Cast Members take, no matter how mundane, is with YOUR safety in mind. Even when a Cast Member is seemingly being a jerk to you and frantically yelling at you to take off your backpack, it is to keep you SAFE.
Your trip advice that you got from a TikTok trend is ruining experiences for others.
Social media is an awesome, amazing thing. Until it’s not. This issue started when people began filming their Magical Moments and then posting them on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook. When those posts go viral, and that person used language that implies that anyone can do these things, people who see that video take it upon themselves to make the magic happen all on their own.
As an example, someone filmed a Magical Moment at the Haunted Mansion and recorded themselves taking the back entrance and signing a “Book of Condolences,” which we used to allow special visitors to sign when we gave them a Magical Moment.
Well, folks started walking back there without permission, looking around, and signing the book all on their own. We had to take away that book, and now NOBODY gets that special experience.
Do you see how social media can ruin experiences for everyone? It’s okay to film situations like that, but make sure to ask a Cast Member whether or not you can post it or keep it private.
And there you have it! Knowing these things can seriously help Disney World continue to be the Most Magical Place On Earth, not only to visit, but to work there, too! We’ll continue to keep you updated with more advice and updates, so make sure to follow along for more.
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In the summer of 2006 my wife and I, with our four young children (8, 5, 3 and 1 year old), were at Disney MGM Studios walking towards Star Tours.
A C.M. came along and asked us if our oldest would like to be a Padawan trainee on stage at what was a new experience then.
We said yes and were told when to return and had access, with other Padawans’ parents, close to the stage to watch our son and the others go through Padawan training.
When it was done, our son received a Padawan Trainee Certificate and a Star Wars action figure for being selected as a Padawan trainee.
It was a most unexpected “Magical Moment” for our family that we all remember fondly to this day!