It doesn’t matter if you’ve been to a Disney resort numerous times, or, never at all. Either way, there are some employee secrets Disney world doesn’t want you to know about! We’ve got plenty of behind the scenes information that you’ll be fascinated to read. Some of these secrets are great to have in the back of your mind, particularly if you’re travelling to a Disney resort soon! Take a look and see what you think!
Employees Shall Not Point
You may or may not have noticed that you’ve never seen a Disney cast member pointing. This is due to the fact that in many cultures, pointing is considered rude and can cause offence. Alternatively, cast members will use two fingers or their entire hand to gesture towards something. Employees are also not allowed to say the phrase ‘I don’t know’. If they struggle to answer a question, they will direct you to another member of staff.
Trash Must Be Scooped Up, But No Bending
As you can imagine, with thousands of people in attendance, it’s not hard for a Disney resort to have plenty of trash dropped by visitors. To help combat this issue, Disney workers are told they must pick up any piece of trash that they see when walking around. However, they must not bend over whilst doing this! Instead, they are taught to use a scooping motion. It sounds strange but it becomes second nature to employees.
Heavy Situations
It’s no secret that Disney is loved by many kids. On certain occasions, cast members will interact with terminally ill children, which as you can image can be rather overwhelming. The Disney workers are not allowed to break character and must keep their masks on at all times. Of course, this is a hugely rewarding experience for both the employees and the kids. In fact, a cast member has said that they have witnessed disabled children take their first steps so that they could reach their favorite Disney characters. What an amazing thing to see!
Ashes
You may not have ever thought about this, but Disney is so cherished by some people that their family members bring their ashes to the resorts once they have passed. However, Disney is strongly against this.
Free Disney Dollars When You Complain
Now, we aren’t encouraging getting anyone into trouble or moaning unjustly, however, if you have genuinely been wronged, a complaint could bag you some free Disney dollars. This currency will allow you to buy food and ride fares on the site. It is said that Disney has a large budget to account for these sorts or handouts, for those who are polite and civil, of course. Customer satisfaction is of huge priority to Disney so you’ll often be compensated generously.
If for whatever reason you would prefer something different to Disney dollars, such as a toy, just ask. Though, remember you could always use your dollars to choose your own toys! Bear in mind to approach an employee that is not in character as they will be able to help you much more efficiently. Plus, where would Mickey Mouse store his wallet full of dollars?
Friends And Family Must Be Kept In The Dark
Privacy is high up on Disney’s list of employment conditions. You’re not allowed to tell friends and family which characters you are playing nor are you allowed to photograph yourself and put the images onto social media. However, this is a difficult policy to police when it comes to ‘telling your friends and family’ and you are allowed to say things such as ‘I’m really good friends with Snow White’.
Policies like these may seem a little extreme and unnecessary but it’s all to do with keeping up the appearances of the magical Disney brand. Unfortunately, Mickey Mouse doesn’t seem so enchanting if you know his real identity.
Cast Members Must Never Remove Their Masks
Under no circumstances are cast members allowed to remove their masks, or any part of their costume, in front of customers. This is once again hugely important to maintaining the Disney magic. To show you just how serious this is, a cast member took to Reddit to explain that he once vomited inside his mask rather than break character. Gross!
Another important rule that must be enforced at all times is not to stray from your designated areas. After all, there are doubles of characters dotted around the park and that last thing you’d want is a confusing and awkward encounter between West side Cinderella and East side Cinderella! What would the children think?!
Bad Behavior Means Being Put On A List
If you’re someone who leaves your room in a shocking mess, or have been unfairly rude or mean to a cast member or employee, it could be placed on permanent record. Your MagicBand will warn employees when it is scanned that you are a ‘difficult’ customer. Furthermore, you are likely to find that if you return to a Disney resort, your next room could have a terrible view.
However, the same goes for good behavior! You could bag yourself everything from free dollars to room upgrades, or even complimentary holidays! With Disney, it really does pay to be a nice and considerate person.
Cast Members Have Harder Jobs Than You Think
You may have previously been under the impression that cast members have pretty easy jobs. Well, actually, they have to go through vigorous training, and it’s even worse for those who have strict lines to learn. If you’re going to be working on a ride that requires a monologue to be spoken, you have three days to memorize your lines before being tested. And, those three days are spent cramped in a room with a trainer going over everything numerous times with you.
Let’s not forget about the fact that although the costumes look wonderful, they can be horrendous to wear on a hot day. Even on a normal day, the limited ventilation of the costumes means walking around can be a real struggle. Water breaks are also quite limited, so, you have to be pretty fit with good endurance skills to become a cast member! Despite this, there is strong competition when it comes to landing the job.
Guests Often Disobey Rules
You’re always going to get people who disobey the rules given to them either because they don’t see the harm or because they’re plain annoying. However, it really is important to listen to the employees. For example, when it comes to the Kilomanjaro Safari ride, you really do need to stay in your seat. There is a bridge that goes over some crocodiles. That bridge just happens to be where the crocs are fed from, outside of entertaining hours. Disney employees are told if a guest is to fall into the crocodile pit, they are to get away as quickly as possible. This is so that other guests don’t witness the horror of what is going to occur. Brutal!
Cast members not only have to put up with rule breakers. Some guests take it upon themselves to be abusive or irritating in the hopes that the cast member will break their character and snap. It’s not all bad though, many of the cast members are also subjected to plenty of flattery from guests.
