How Cast Members Treat Other Cast Members

There are obviously a ton of perks to being a Walt Disney World Cast Member: free park admission, 20% off of all Disney merchandise, restaurant discounts, 50% off of activities, resort discounts, and way, way more. However, another perk of being a Cast Member is the way that Cast Members treat one another. 

Whenever I am at work and another Cast Member passes by me, they will always smile and wave, or say hello. It doesn't matter who they are, what department they come from, or how high up in the company they are. Even the Vice President of Animal Kingdom, Josh, will walk by and say hello to all of us!

Besides just being extremely friendly to one another, you feel like you are a part of a small family. Even though there are 65,000+ Cast Members, it doesn't feel that way. If you go somewhere and tell someone you are a Cast Member, they will automatically ask you about where you work, what you do, and how you like it. We all share this special bond of working for The Mouse, and it brings us close, even if we don't know personally know each other. 

The people at Nemo are especially great at treating one another fairly and nicely. I've heard a lot of stories form CP's about how the full-timers don't like the college kids because we "take their hours" and all of this stuff, but I never feel any hostility from my Nemo coworkers. We all truly care about one another and want to see the others do well, not just in work, but in life. When I had bad sunburn from my trip to the beach, I had at least 3 or 4 coworkers ask me about it for multiple days, give me tips as to how to treat it, and tell me to let them know if it was really bothering me. It's times like these that make me glad to be a WDW Cast Member at Finding Nemo The Musical. 

I love being a Cast Member, not only for all of the amazing perks, but for the way that I am treated and the way that all Disney Cast Members truly care for one another. 

Easter on the DCP

What are the holidays like on the Disney College Program? Well, to be honest, not that much fun. I would have much rather been home for Easter and spent the time with my family, but since I was here, in the happiest place on Earth, I decided to make the most of my time and try to enjoy the holiday.

Easter morning started out early with my roommate Megan and I getting up to attend 7:30 mass at Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine. The church is literally right around the street from our apartment complex, and it was nice to go to church and see all the people gathering together. However, the early wakeup call did not make me too happy!

I hid Easter eggs around our apartment for my roommates to find, so when Megan and I came home, our other roommate, Danielle was awake, so they had an Easter egg hunt while I watched and gave hints! Danielle also made an Easter basket for all of the roommates to split, so we got to open that up and eat some of the treats inside!

I worked from 11:45 to 7:15 on Easter. I actually picked up a longer and later shift that day, because I did not want to be sitting in my apartment bored and sad that I wasn't at dinner with my family. Work was fine, but it didn't really feel like Easter, it just felt like a regular day at Animal Kingdom. My coordinators and coworkers were nice enough to make us little Easter bags with candy, which was a special treat!

After work, all of my roommates were home, so we decided to make fun plans with some of our upstairs neighbors and try to make Easter as much fun as possible! We decided to head over to the Boardwalk and rent the surrey bike and ride it around the Boardwalk! It was so much fun, but we joked that with six people on it and having to go up hills, we were more paying to exercise than anything else. Still, we had a blast and it was a great experience. After having worked up a sweat, it was time to go get some ice cream from Beaches & Cream. We ended up sitting outside and talking about all of our jobs and sharing stories: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

While it wasn't a traditional Easter by any means, it was definitely a unique one and surely one that I will remember. I'm glad I got to spend Easter with such great friends and that my coworkers at Finding Nemo tried their best to make Easter as special as possible. Nemo is truly one big family!

Oh, and for those of you interested in knowing if Disney does any Easter decorations, they had an Easter egg display in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. All of the eggs are completely edible and weigh between 12 and 16 pounds. Check out some of my favorites below!

The whole display

Cinderella & Prince Charming

Queen Elsa

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider

Ariel

Lady & The Tramp

Why I Love My Job

It's 7:35 PM, I'm the only one left at the theater during my closing shift and I am bored out of my mind. I'm standing outside, hoping that I can grab the attention of some Guests with my pins or with my smile, but they continue to race past me in an attempt to make it on Everest or Dinosaur one last time before the park closes. But then, my night takes a turn for the better...

An international Guest: "I just have to tell you, this show was spectacular. We were amazed at how life-like the actors made the fish look. We loved it"

A Mom: "That show was amazing. I spent the last ten minutes crying. I loved it so much."

A young couple: "We loved your show. Thank you so much, it was beyond amazing."

I'm now standing in Upper Right, loading the 3:00 show, which without a doubt is always the busiest show of the day. A family comes in with a wheelchair and asks if they can sit in the very front. I begin to walk them down to the front of the theater, explain where we are going, how to leave if they need to, and chit chat about their day. I get them down to the front of the theater, tell them to enjoy the show, and I begin to walk away...

Little Girl (as I'm walking away): "Thank you so much! You were such a big help to my mom and my family!"

I'm at the stroller position for the 1:00 show, trying to direct people where to park their strollers while also helping people get into the Fastpass+ line. People are zooming past me and asking me questions right and left, and I'm beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed. Suddenly...

A Little Girl (walking past): "Hi, I love your makeup!"

Now, I'm standing outside at a show break, while everyone else is inside either on break or trying to get ready for the next show. A family comes up to me and starts asking me questions about the show. Then...

Mom: "Oh, another Megan!"
Me (looking at the teenage girl): "Are you Megan too? Spelled this way?"
Teenage girl: "Yes! It's the only way to spell Megan!"

I'm working a parade shift, and spieling to Guests that they no longer will be able to walk down the current pathway, but showing them an alternate path they can go down to reach their destination. A family of six is sitting on a bench next to me, listening and watching me give directions to dozens of Guests. The mom looks up at me and smiles...

Mom: "Megan, you deserve an award for saying the same thing over and over again and having a great attitude about it"

The same family walks back past me after the parade is over...

Mom: "Thank you again, Megan, you were wonderful."

Finally, I'm standing in front of door 4 as the 5:00 show empties. I'm smiling and waving to Guests as they leave the theater. A man walks toward me...

Dad: "Clemson? My daughter goes there!"
Me: "Really? I'm a current sophomore there!"
Dad: "That is so cool, what a small world"
Me: "Exactly. Hey, go tigers!"
Dad: "Go tigers!"

See that's the thing about my job. It's not exactly the most glamorous, or lucrative job out there, but I get to have the most amazing interactions every single day. All of these conversations are real conversations that I've had in just the past five days! In five days, I've had that many memorable conversations with Guests, which truly makes both their day and mine. I get to be a part of a company that prides itself on making dreams come true. And when it comes down to it, what job could be better than that?

The First Long Shift...

Today was the first 10 hour shift that I worked during my whole College Program thus far. Honestly, I was so nervous because I'm usually tired after my 6 and 8 hour shifts, so I didn't know how I would manage 10 hours, but after surviving it, I can truly say that it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting! Sure, it was a long day, but because we had so many shows (7) and the park was a lot busier than it has been (President's Day Weekend), the day went by pretty quickly and I was busy most of the time.

My shift was also split up by a training session. I worked four hours at Nemo, then had a Safety in Motion course, and then worked four more hours at Nemo. Safety in Motion was a class that just informs new Cast Members about how to safely move, lift, and carry things so that you don't injure or harm yourself while working. It was a little boring, but it was a nice break in the middle of my day, and some of the information I can use while working!

All in all, I survived my first long shift! I was able to have a lot of guest interaction, work at a lot of different positions, and make a lot of money (always a plus!).

A Day in the Life

I figured I would write a "Day in the Life" post so that I can give some of my readers an idea of what my typical work day is like!

I typically work 5 days a week, and I've been getting around 35 hours per week. I know that in the busy season (summer, spring break, etc.) I will be getting way more hours, but for now I'm pretty happy with the hours I've been getting. I usually have to be at work between 10 and 11. Animal Kingdom opens at 9 almost every day, but our first show at Finding Nemo, The Musical isn't until 11, so that's why I don't have too many early days. When I get to work, I park in the cast parking lot (thanks again, Mom & Dad, for the car!) and then walk through the front entrance of the park and backstage. You have to scan your company ID to get into the backstage area. From there, I walk to the Dinoland gate, and I come back onstage near the Dinosaur ride. I then have a long walk from there to the Theater in the Wild, which is where the Nemo show is. I usually answer guests' questions on my way to the theater, since it's a decent walk. All in all, it takes me about 20 minutes to walk from my car in the parking lot to the theater.

The outside of the theater

When I get into the theater, I clock in using the computer. We have a really cool system that allows you to clock in, and it also gives you an assignment. I went over what the positions in and around the theater were in a previous post, so I won't get into it again, but there's a lot of different positions. Then, I go and start to work! We have a rotation that comes around almost every hour, which makes it so that you aren't in one place for too long. Also, we get breaks depending on how long we are working. Two fifteen minute breaks and one thirty minute break for an 8 hour shift, one fifteen and one thirty for a 7 hour shift, and two fifteens for a 6 hour shift. During my break times, I try to eat, use the bathroom, and sit down for a little while before I have to get back to work.

In the middle of the day, I may have a parade shift. Our parade at Animal Kingdom is Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. Part of our responsibility as theater ops cast members is to man part of the parade route. Most of the CP's and ICP's (international college program) in my area pick up the parade shifts. We each get a task, and our job is to interact with guests along the parade route before the parade starts, and then control the audience during the parade. For example, today I was Ropes 1, meaning that I walked behind the parade and carried a rope and everyone who wanted to follow the parade walks behind the rope. I like that job the best because I get to feel like I'm a part of the parade! Other jobs involve pulling ropes to control the audience and watching the audience to make sure they don't cross the tape lines on the ground.

The parade sign

After parade, I go back to Nemo and work for the final show or shows. The other good thing about working parade is that you get to miss the 3:00 show, which is typically our craziest and busiest show! Depending on when the park closes, my shift can end anywhere between 5 and 8. My shift isn't exactly the same every day, but because Animal Kingdom has such specific hours, I generally work only during the day, never late nights, which is awesome for me!

Some of the cast of the show

My drive to and from work usually takes about 20 minutes, so when I get back to my apartment I grab some dinner and then usually relax and hang out with my roommates. Occasionally, we will even hit the parks or Downtown Disney after work!

Some downsides of the job are that it's a ton of walking and being on your feet for the majority of the day, guests can get unhappy if they just miss the show and have to wait until the next one, and the lag-time between shows can get super boring when we just have to stand outside and answer questions. However, the job has way more upsides than downsides! I get a ton of guest interaction every day, whether it's waving to little kids, telling people "Happy birthday!", or pointing our guests down to the "bubble zone" in the theater. I also really like loading shows because it's always exciting and makes time go by quickly. Because there are only 5 or 6 shows per day, my day goes by much more quickly than it would if I were simply loading a ride all the time. Finally, most of my coworkers are awesome, and I can already tell that it's going to be hard to say goodbye at the end of my program!

If you have any specific questions about my job or my typical day, let me know! I would love to answer any questions and I love talking about my role as a cast member for Walt Disney World! I hope you all have the most magical of days, and don't forget to come visit me at Nemo! (: