Giving Thanks to Disney Cast Members
On Thanksgiving and every day, we’re grateful for the hard work of Cast Members in Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Paris, Tokyo, and all of the other Parks & Resorts destinations and experiences around the globe. You are the magic.
Walt Disney once said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” Of the myriad Walt quotes out there–both real and fake–this is the most poignant. It’s the most significant to this day, and should be the guiding principle of the company.
Every time I see the Casting Agency door on Main Street at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney’s sentiment gives me pause. It reminds me of the devoted people who breathe life into the parks. Yeah, TRON Lightcycle Run and Cosmic Rewind and the PeopleMover are all-time iconic rides. But they’re just that: rides. Every amusement park has rides. It’s the Cast Members who put the Magic into the Kingdom.
It’s important to be appreciative of this every day, but on days like today, it’s nice to be extra thankful. While we are at home enjoying a relaxed holiday with family, there are thousands of Cast Members spending the holiday away from their families so others can have an unforgettable holiday week in the park.
Sure, part of the reason it’ll be unforgettable is the crazy crowds and chaos, as Thanksgiving is one of the busiest weeks of the year. But that’s not the fault of Cast Members, their presence and positive attitude makes weeks like this more bearable. Trust me, our Disney Jollywood Nights Review would’ve had a lot more “ugly” were it not for the amazing Cast Members at the event. They were its saving grace.
In the wise-words of dearly-departed former CEO Bob Chapek, Cast Members are the “secret sauce” and the key to a great guest experience at Walt Disney World. He said that around 99% of the positive guest feedback he received when running Parks & Resorts was about Cast Members.
Towards the end of his tenure, Chapek said that he was “reminded” about the sentiment of Cast Members and the importance of them feeling valued and as if they could relate to the company. “You have to make sure the Cast is at the center of everything you do,” Chapek reflected.
We don’t say this very often: Bob Chapek was right.
I guarantee any of you who have visited Walt Disney World, Disneyland, or any other Disney theme park can think back to a moment when a Cast Member put a smile on your face. Whether it be someone in Guest Relations fixing a frustrating problem or the custodial artist painting Donald Duck with a mop, every Disney Cast Member has the capacity to make the guest experience special.
For me, this is embodied by two things: the regular and consistent hard work that the Cast Members put into the regular aspects of their jobs, and those small moments when they do something that leaves a lasting impact upon a guest. Of these two things, the former is what I feel is the bulk of what makes Disney Cast Members so amazing–and also where they are most under-appreciated.
Many Disney fans, us included, have dreamed about the fun elements, thinking of being Cast Members someday. It’s often a post-retirement scenario in which we fantasize about being able to captain a Friendship boat, enjoying beautiful Florida scenery while feeding off of the laughter and delight of guests enjoying first visits to Walt Disney World.
The dream is a romanticized fiction, much like so many dreams in which we all indulge. While being a Cast Member can no doubt be satisfying and rewarding, it can also be thankless. For every glamorized on stage role like the monorail pilot, there are countless Cast Members in less prolific positions from custodial to parking to food & beverage who play just as integral of roles.
I’m especially thankfully for these unsung Cast Members, because I know I couldn’t do what they do. I’ve seen irate guests berate Cast Members for attractions being down, long lines, overwhelming crowds, and other inconveniences wholly outside the realm of any individual Cast Member’s control.
Ignorance and entitlement are a dangerous combination, and we’ve witnessed Cast Members bear the brunt of the adult meltdowns at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. These meltdowns happen for any number of reasons, but the underlying reasons mostly relate back to the sense of entitlement at the core of the Disney Parks Pet Peeves post, or the stresses and pressures that many adults feel when going on a Disney vacation.
With rare exception, in my experience, these meltdowns are not the fault of the Cast Member who catches the ire of the guest, but are caused by the guest themselves or decisions made by Disney management that are out of the hands of the front-of-the-line Cast Member. Surprisingly and much to their credit, these meltdowns are met with patience, helpfulness, and restraint (…and maybe sometimes a coded “have a magical day”).
It is thus no small miracle that Cast Members are able to deal with belligerent guests while essentially becoming a punching bag. Not only that, but once the unpleasant interaction is over, the Cast Member is expected to resume their role as if nothing happened, putting on a smile and going out of their way to be pleasant to other guests. They quickly set aside those emotions so it doesn’t negatively affect the experiences of other guests.
Let the incredible fortitude and positive attitude that requires sink in for a moment. I’d like to think I’m a pretty level-headed person, but based on some of the guest horror stories I’ve heard from my Cast Member friends, I doubt I would last a week as a Cast Member. I simply don’t have the incredible level of restraint to ‘smile and bear it’ that it takes to handle some of these situations. How many of you do? Can you honestly say that a negative interaction with a coworker hasn’t soured the rest of your workday before?
While their fortitude is impressive, it’s the role of the Cast Member as “magic maker” that’s commonly lauded. That’s probably what brings the sense of satisfaction and joy that keeps them going through those unpleasant encounters. I’m sure this role is no easy task, either, as you never know what will trigger a special moment for each individual guest.
For some people, it’s a Cast Member telling them “happy birthday” or “have a magical day”, for others, it’s being given a sticker or a surprise snack on their honeymoon. The list of potential examples goes on and on. Most of these things are not major in the grand scheme of things, and could just as easily be ‘throwaway moments’, but end up being things that stick with guests for years after the trip.
One of my fondest memories from our engagement trip to Walt Disney World was being congratulated by the Cast Members at Crystal Palace and being presented with a certificate signed by Pooh and friends. We still have this certificate and whenever I look at it, it brings a smile to my face.
We also remember the magical moments during our honeymoon. Not to date ourselves, but both of these trips were well over a decade ago, and there are still specific interactions with Cast Members that we vividly recall. I couldn’t tell you everywhere we ate, which parks we visited on each day, or any number of other things about our Disneymoon–but I still remember many of those Cast Members.
As the details fade from memory, the indelible impression made by Cast Members remains to this day. And always will.
If you’ve ever wondered why this blog is unabashedly pro-Cast Member, that’s why. When readers leave comments bemoaning the supposed decline in quality of Cast Members, we routinely respond with why that might be their perception and why it’s unfair or inaccurate.
Above all else, that it’s been a rough few years for Cast Members and that a little empathy for that goes a long way. It’s worth reiterating this for those who haven’t heard it, as it provides key context. A few years ago, Cast Members were under immense stress, having the difficult task of playing adult babysitters and rule enforcers when health safety protocol was in place. Irrespective of how you feel about that, there’s no denying that the burden was placed on frontline Cast Members.
At the same time, Cast Members saw thousands of their colleagues lost during furloughs and mass layoffs. There was a sense of unease and uncertainty as they didn’t know whether their jobs would be safe. On top of all that, they also bore the brunt of ever-increasing guest complaints about reduced entertainment, Genie+, and other policy changes.
It should go without saying, but we’ll nevertheless point out the obvious: frontline Cast Members made exactly zero of these decisions. Nevertheless, they were the ones who faced the frustration and confusion of guests who were angry about the bad decisions made by employees at a way higher pay grade who work in offices and seldom visit the parks.
Guests being rude to Cast Members only exacerbates problems and degrades the guest experience for those who visit later, as Cast Member burn-out worsens and they become less capable of making magic. It’s a vicious cycle of lower employee satisfaction and lower guest satisfaction.
Thankfully, this has improved in the last year and is now trending in the other direction. The Bob Swap helped, as did the new agreement between Cast Member unions and Walt Disney World. But it’ll take years for all of the damage to be undone. We’ve already noticed improved morale this year, and hope that only continues to improve in 2024.
Anyway, this was meant to be a simply “thank you to Cast Members” post and not a mini-rant. Point being, not every guest treats Cast Members the way they deserve, even though Cast Members are the heart and soul of Disney–the people who breathe life into the parks, making them truly special places.
We can’t point to a single moment or trip that made us lifelong Disney fans. That would be reductionist, as it was undoubtedly a confluence of circumstances. Included among those events were a series of little interactions with Cast Members that left a lasting impression long after our trips were over. Based on what so many of you have said, we know we’re not alone–the outsized impact of Cast Members is probably why many of you are on this blog.
We just wanted to take a moment away from our Thanksgiving festivities to say thank you to Cast Members away from their families, working today–and everyday–and making the magic. The parks wouldn’t be what they are without your hard work and dedication. We try to say thanks by going to Guest Services to leave an official “Cast Compliment” whenever possible (and highly recommend everyone reading this do the same!), but it’ll never be enough to repay all you’ve done for us.
Here’s to you, Cast Members! You carry the torch of Disney’s legendary guest service are Walt’s most enduring legacy. We just wanted to reflect upon and pay tribute to all of you who make (or have made) the Disney magic. We always appreciate everything you do. So, thank you. Merci beaucoup. Arigatō!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you thankful for Cast Members at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and beyond? Have any magical memories made by CMs? Agree that they’re the heart and soul of the Disney magic, and the true stewards of Walt Disney’s legacy? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and appreciated by other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Tom, you write a lot of great articles. I don’t always agree with everything you say, but I always enjoy them.
This, without a doubt, is the best thing you’ve ever written. I was a cast member many years ago, and still count quite a few CM’s among my friends. (We are Orlando locals.)
Every amazing memory, as you said, involves PEOPLE—whether they did something special, or were just nice or kind—those are what made the memories.
Thank you so much for acknowledging the often thankless, difficult work they do to make our visits magical.
As the mom of a DCP member who missed her son at Thanksgiving, I thank you for this. I also have one question: is it better to go to guest services than to use the cast compliment function in the app?
I can’t say definitively now that the in-app feature gives the option for a name and town, but I still prefer going to Guest Relations whenever possible. Maybe that’s just me being old school, but I feel like this type of thing carries more weight when done in-person.
Of course, vacation time is finite and it’s better to do it in-app than not at all. We do both ways, as there are times when going to City Hall is inconvenient or we’ve forgotten to do so while in the parks.
Thank you, Tom. Such kind words!
Former cast member
1972 Walt Disney World
So many positive stories I could share. I’m gonna go on a limb and share a recent, moderately personal one.
I live on the East Coast now but grew up in Las Vegas – Disneyland trips were semi-often and DLR will be a place forever linked in my mind with my parents.
In Feb, we took a trip to DLR with my kids and my parents. Last night of the trip and, much to my daughter’s dismay, we still hadn’t been on Winnie the Pooh. We head over to that corner of the park to finally give it a ride. We make it to the entrance and my mom is anxious, disoriented. Getting into the queue as a family is proving to be difficult. This goes on for a few minutes and the CM stationed at the entrance jumps in. “Anything I can do to help?” I ditch the rest of the family to have a private chat with him. “I am so sorry. My mom has Alzheimer’s and I just think we pushed her too hard today.” A beat. “Would it help her at all if you all got to skip the line?”
I know that on this ride, at this time of day, the odds of there being any kind of crowd in line is basically non-existent. Still, I take him up on it – there was not an ounce of condescension in the interaction with him. It was clear he just really, REALLY, wanted to find a way to help us end our night on a high.
He hands us passes, I thank him profusely, and as we walk toward the exit to board a vehicle, we all spin it in a way that convinces my mom it was royal VIP treatment. The night does, indeed, end on a high. I could not have been more grateful in that moment for someone who took our family’s situation seriously and who did whatever he could come up with in the moment to help.
My mother’s health has declined considerably since then. Had I realized then that that would be the last ride we’d ride together, I probably would have hugged the Cast Member. Fastpasses for a ride that didn’t need them may seem silly on the outside but the token of sincere care mattered more than *anything* anyone could have done for us that night.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful story. I have a similar one. A decade ago my husband and I were at WDW on our honeymoon. We had LATE night reservations at Be Our Guest, but the one thing we hadn’t yet done was the peter pan ride. We rolled up and were dismayed to find a long line that we didn’t have time to wait in. My husband was disappointed, since he had looking forward to this one all day and hoped that by 9:15pm the line would have been shorter. We stood out front waffling about whether to risk our dinner reservation, when a custodian cast member came up and asked if we needed help. We explained the situation and she said “come with me”. She walked over, whispered something to the attraction attendant, and we were ushered to the front of the line. We felt so special and magical, and the delight on my husband’s face as he whispered to me “they can do that??” was a wonderful thing. 10 years later, we now live in Orlando, and my husband is a Cast Member. Peter Pan is still one of his favorite Magic Kingdom rides, and we will never forget the cast member who made his first experience of the ride a magical one.
Yes! Totally agree with all your points! Cast members are fantastic in a challenging and often thankless job.
Although I have had experiences with a couple of unsavory cast members (maybe they were at the end of their rope), for the most part, my experience with employees has been positive. Whenever I go to a counter service restaurant these days, I have to ask them for a special favor. A few years ago, I permanently injured my right arm, and even before then, I had a hard time carrying food trays from the counter to my table without half of my beverage spilling on the floor as I walked. It’s especially true nowadays as they no longer put lids on the cups. So now I ask if a cast member can carry my tray to a table for me, and they always seem happy to oblige, some going even more out of their way to make sure I have a good table and that the table is clean. I always make sure to get their names and rave them up to Guest Relations. Should I forget to stop at Guest Relations while at the park, then I use the WDW website’s “contact us” form to praise them.
Also, cast members play a large part in why I have yet to boycott Disney even though I grow increasingly disgruntled with the politics of the bigwigs. I figure the cast members are just regular people trying to make a living whose views don’t necessarily reflect those of the executives. And I don’t want to see their job security be any more threatened than it already is, so, yes, I’ll make the sacrifice and continue to have fun at Disney for their sake, heh.
I’m here now for a Thanksgiving vacation. I have thanked cast members today for working on the holiday, especially in the restaurants for our meals. I have worked in the service industry and I have worked holidays, to include Thanksgiving last year. I know it’s their job to be here, but expressing gratitude to them means a lot to them, and hopefully it’s teaching my daughter some valuable lessons.
As good a customer service as I’ve had anywhere was 2 years ago when we had to leave on morning 2 of a planned 4 day trip because of my wife having a kidney stone. They not only took care of our resort refunds without any fuse but made the remaining days on our tickets good for 3 more years in less than 10 minutes.
Aloha,
Why was my post deleted?
Hi Guy,
I see two comments from you! 🙂
Aloha,
Great post and so very true.
Last year my son took a hiatus from college and participated as a WDW/MK cast member (CM) participating in the Disney College Program. Unfortunately, it became the worst experience of his life because of the daily beat downs from entitled patrons. He mostly worked at the MK entrance gates and parade/fireworks crowd control. He consistently followed WDW policy only to become a human punching bag. According to my son, 90% of the time it was from angry mothers with the husband later apologizing. Never from any children.
I was totally unaware of the tremendous verbal abuse the CMs have to take until my son’s experience. Since then, I go out of my way to express my deep appreciation for everything the CMs do to make our experiences magical.
Agree with everything you’ve said. And I want to add a special shout-out to the cruise cast members – such kind and engaging individuals, providing amazing service!
Happy Thanksgiving to all! 🙂
well said as always. happy thanksgiving, bricker family! enjoy the lions hopefully stomping the packers today!
Beautifully said. As a former cast member (one of those retired snowbird teachers), I encountered many unhappy guests and many grateful and happy guests. But, my fondest memories of my 7 years at Disney World are of my fellow cast members. They were and are some of the kindest folks I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing. We shared our daily gripes, supported each other, laughed at the weird, silly, and absurd events, and remained committed to Walt Disney’s vision. Once “on stage,” we were there to make memories…for other people.
Thank you for acknowledging the joy Cat Members create.
Great post. Our top magical memory made by a Cast Member occurred at Whispering Canyon. We were eating dinner there, and then surprising the kids with tickets to MVMCP. I asked our waitress if she would mind just bringing the tickets out with the drinks to surprise the kids. They ended up boxing the tickets in an impossible to open to go box with balloons, decorations, the whole nine. It was so far above what any reasonable person would expect. My kids still talk about her. We leave for our first Disney cruise next Thursday. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Cast on the ships, and excited to experience it.