Category Archives: Cast Member
Magic Moments 101
Have you ever been to Disney and had a surprise action happen to you by a Cast Member? Have you ever dropped an Ice Cream Cone and was without hesitation given a brand new one? If so then you have been the recipient of a Magic Moment. What exactly is a Magic Moment? A Magic Moment is an action by a Cast Member that creates, Disney “magic”. More or less it’s Disney’s way of providing right then and there guest service. But don’t let the phrase “guest service” limit what a true Magic Moment can do. Examples of some Magic Moments are, for me, as a recent Space Mountain CM whenever I had some free time I would go and wait at the unload area and wait and ask some kids if they would like to ride again with absolutely NO WAIT by taking the whole group up the back way to re-ride. Other forms of Magic Moments are, CM’s handing out Mickey and Minnie Stickers to kids. However one of the most famous Magic Moments wold be possibly receiving FastPasses from CM. However the possibilities of Magic Moments are endless a true Disney Cast Member is only limited to their imagination to create a Magic Moment. Before I end this, have you, a guest, every made a Magic Moment for other guests? Have you ever had to leave the park earlier than expected and given away FastPasses to other families? If you have never done your own Magic Moment, go ahead and try it, the feeling you will get afterwards is incredible and it will drive you to do more!
Creating Magic For Cast Members!
Hey everyone! I had a question for all of you. Have you ever made magic at Walt Disney World? Did you know you can? Its true!! Have you ever had an amazing experience with a Cast Member who made you and your party feel so wonderful about being in Disney? They tell you Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary or maybe greet a young little girl as a Princess. They help you with any and all questions that you may have about the parks and resorts. They go out of their way to be sure that you are having the most magical time in the most Magical Place on Earth. If you see or experience a Cast Member doing such a great job you can make some magic for them! How? Its simple, be sure you get their name and if you see some people in that same area wearing business casual clothing and a Disney nametage. These are the go-to people to tell about your magical Cast Member!
What does telling someone about a magical Cast Member do? When you tell someone that a Cast Member is doing a great job they will give that Cast Member a reward that we like to call a Great Service Fanatic, or GSF. What this does is lets everyone know that they are taking pride in their work and staying magical for the guests. This will also go on their record card and has a “gold star” type effect for anything that Cast Member might want to do down the road such as, transfer roles.
Creating magic is what we love to do here at Disney and if it wasn’t for all of you wonderful guests our job would just be a job!
“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”- Walt Disney
My CP Stats!
Hey everyone, well Im here, I am in Walt Disney World!! I am finally home! I am so glad to be here. Let me take some time to catch you all up on the past few days and what I am doing in the Disney College Program!
Well it all started on Monday morning at 4 AM! Nuts, I know. We left Chapel Hill, TN and headed to Orlando, FL. It took us a total of 11 hours to get there which included stopping twice for bathrooms, food and gas. (oh gas in FL is 3.45+, I got gas for 3.19 in TN. THIS SUCKS!) Once we got here we checked into the Marriott and then relaxed for the next day.
The next day, (tuesday) my mom and I went to the parks! I was so happy to take my mom to the parks, especially since she has not been to Epcot in 11 years! The day started out with us getting Maingated by my friend Addison. (a maingate is one of the comp. tickets us cast members get to allow friends and family in for FREE) Then mom and I went to MK and did Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion. Afterwards we then headed to Epcot where we did everything in Future world but Test Track! After Future World we grabbed a quick ite in France then headed to Hollywood Studios to do Great Movie Ride! Once we hung out in Hollywood for a while we headed back to MK for the fireworks and some more Tomorrowland time!
Now we are to Wednesday. Check In. Everything went really well. The only thing that I would have to say that I didnt like was the fact that there where so many kids checking in on that day. There had to be 250+ checking in. Anyways I got my apartment, I got Chatham Square and I must say, I LOVE IT! My roommates rock and everything is all good. Now for the thing you really wanna know, Zach where are you working??? Well I will be in Tomorrowland Attractions!! (Space Mountain, Buzz, Stitch, TTA…) When I know the exact location I will let you know!
Thursday…today was a super chill day. All we had to do today was go to our housing meeting which was super cool and informing…for the third time lol.
Friday or today is Traditions! I become and official CAST MEMBER of the Walt Disney World Resort!! I am so excited!!
Its A Dorm Life After All!
Vista Way
Hey everyone and I’m back with some more Cast Member information. A bunch of people have asked me what the living environment for the Disney College Program. Well I am beyond glad to give you all some insight on the program.
Once you move down to Disney for the program you go through a process called, Check In, obviously named haha. During this process you get to pick your apartment complex you want to live in. You can choose from three places. Patterson Court, the newest, Chatham Square, the nice one with the bus stop to work and finally Vista Way, the oldest but the cheapest.
I have lived in Patterson Court and I have to say it is pretty nice. It is the most expensive out of the three. I paid $96 a week for a 2 bedroom. Disney takes this money right out of your paycheck, so you never have to worry about anything. I have also lived at Vista Way and paid $90 a week. A way cool thing that Disney does that I know no other apartment’s do it is that your weekly rent pays for everything! Your rent pays for your water, electric, sewer, cable and internet. This is truly a great deal and only something Disney could offer to their CP participants. At Disney you have to share your room with a roommate. This is sometimes odd for some people but in all most end up becoming best friends with their roommates. I still talk to my roommates from my Disney College Program!
Disney College Program
Living in and around the Disney environment is tons of fun. As a CP you get to have all sorts of neat opportunities with your housing complexes and the Disney College Program. You can attend grocery bingo, this is lots of fun! At grocery bingo you have the opportunity to win FREE groceries, every CP’s dream, haha! You can also take part in a whole bunch of VoluntEAR opportunities as well. The largest and most popular would be volunteering at Give Kids the World, an organization that works with Make a Wish Foundation to help terminally ill kids to enjoy the Orlando area. Another cool thing that you can do is take trips with kids from the CP to the beach, to plays and even to the Kennedy Space Center. Living on the Disney College Program offers so many other things to do beside just live there, it is truly a great way to get kids they know have never lived in the area to get out there and see a piece of Florida for themselves.
If you would like more information on the Disney College Program, Click here or you can click the Disney College Program logo above.
Cast Member, Perks and Beyond!
If you are applying to be in the college program or just became a Cast Member it is clear that you get a bunch of privileges. Some privileges include, free park access, merchandise discounts and hotel discounts. However there are some privileges that you might not know exist until you start going to the parks regularly.
Let’s face it Magic Kingdom is my favorite park and will always be. Since I would go so often to this park Cast Members would literally recognize me from previous visits. This was so cool. When one of my friends unknowingly got me addicted to Space Mountain that was literally the only ride I would ride with my friends. I have never before willingly rode Space Mountain. I was always rather forced or guilted onto the ride. When I rode it willingly it was so much fun. I would ride the ride every day after work even if the park was only open for two more hours. To me this was the best ride ever. Now to tie this in with the whole perks as a Cast Member theme, well I would ride this ride so much that the Cast Members inside would recognize me and count my trips. The highest I have ever gotten in one day is 19 times in a row. I know I have a problem, but let’s move on. On another day when I attempted to beat my record of 19 times I was given multiple FastPasses as encouragement from a coordinator. This is and will be one of my favorite perk, knowing amazing people who will help you out especially if you’re a Cast Member. So to those of you who are new Cast Members or to those of you who are just applying good luck and enjoy the people around you, they are the best people in the world!
