Blog Archives
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
Know Before You Go
So besides counting down the days until you arrive in Orlando, FL, you are also thinking about what to pack. Packing in my opinion was one of the hardest things to do. Whether you are flying or driving, you are limited to what you can bring due to space. Me being a male compared to you possibly being a female reader, I understand that what I brought and all that I thought I needed may vary completely. As you may or may not know, the place is furnished. It includes beds, end tables, dresser, pots, pans, silverware, 2 garbage cans, and all the amenities, such as internet, cable, water, and electric. The things I found to be the most useful for me to bring was a wireless router, my laptop, cleaning supplies (dorky as it seems), clothes (obviously), bedding (twin beds), and some basic kitchen supplies, such as garbage bags, rags, paper towels…ect. Obviously this is not everything and the only stuff you will pack, but in my opinion this stuff was good to have. I hope this blog post helped out some with packing.
Magic Makes Guest do Weird Things.
Hi everyone and welcome to a new weekly Thursday series all about Cast Members. I have recently met Danielle on Twitter. Danielle is a former Cast Member at Disneyland! She is also the author of her site, Tales of a Disneyland Cast Member. Below Danielle is the first in our Cast Member series to share a story from her experiences at Disneyland…
I passed my hospitality test with flying colors. I was then given a red badge that said, “Earning my Ears”. This meant that I was in onstage training for two weeks. Those two weeks seemed to fly by, but so many memories are in those weeks.
My first Onstage guest experience ( first time doing a check-in by myself) . I was at the counter and a guest walked up, I put on that magical smile and said, “Welcome to Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa, my name is Danielle. How can I assist you?”. Boy, little did I know what I was in for. The guest proceeded to tell me she needed a fast passed for all the rides, because she had a heart condition. Kindly, I told her we do not issue passes that like and disabled passes can be obtained at City Hall. However, she said “No, I need this fastpass”. Once again, I apologized and redirected her to City Hall. But, this guest was not satisfied… So, she then flashed me. Yes, you read the correctly… She flashed me and showed me everything. This guest was determined to show me her heart monitor? Then she said, “Can I have a fast pass now?”. Let me just say, I was in utter shock. I turned to my trainer who had left to go backstage and laugh. I kindly again declined, then her daughter stepped up and showed me a piece of the battery from her mother’s open heart surgery, which she kept on a bracelet… I told her that was interesting and finished up their check in. Finally, after they had left, I went backstage and freaked out because I had been flashed for a fastpass…. Oh the things that Disney drives people do. You will be happy to know, that 2 days later she was escorted out of the hotel by Anaheim PD for streaking in the hallways.
For more information on Danielle you can check out her site, Tales of a Disneyland Cast Member and follow her on Twitter @DeeMagicGurl.
A Magical Appearance
As most of you know when you’re in Disney World you are around Cast Members all the time. However do you ever take the time to notice their clothing, or should I say costumes. As a former Cast Member, you do not wear uniforms, you wear costumes. As a Cast Member you are taught that Disney is an everlasting show. This is why the employees are called Cast Members; uniforms called costumes and behind the scenes is referred to as off-stage. When you take a look at their costumes you will notice that they all blend into the area they are working in. For example, if you’re in Epcot and you happen to be in Mission Space you will see that the Cast Members are wearing a futuristic space jumpsuit. This idea to have these costumes not only helps to set the mood for us guests but also helps to make Disney timeless. So now you know why the costumes look the way they do and you now some about keeping the theme but have you ever wondered where the Cast Members get their costumes? Well Cast Members have HUGE warehouses dedicated to nothing but costumes. In these warehouses there is every single costume for that park or that general area. For example, Epcot’s houses all the World Showcase costumes and all of Future World. Then if you go to Pop Century they have all the costumes for Blizzard Beach, Typhoon lagoon, ESPN Wide World of Sports, and the All Star Resorts. This is just a little bit about the costuming for Disney. Next time you see a Cast Member be sure to notice their costume then move about your location and see the theme change.
