IamA former Walt Disney World cast member, AMA!

Where is the nearest bathroom?

I worked in Hollywood Studios, there was usually two bathrooms on every street in the park. If you really want to know they are next to The Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, ] next to Tower of Terror, right when you walk in the park, right in the middle of the park, next to the star tour ride, next to the muppets movie, next to the streets of america, next to the toy story ride and right by the exit of the walt disney bio movie.

I live in Florida, when is the slowest time of year to visit. My daughter is high functioning autistic and hates huge crowds. Thanks!

Definitely in the fall if you go in early october (make sure to get their before halloween) or even mid September, your average wait time will be about 20 minute for everything, or less. Late January - Mid March is also very slow too.

What was the most shocking or unusual thing you learned while working at Disney that the common person probably doesn't know?

Hmmm, There is a lot that comes to mind but one thing I always found pretty interesting is that Magic Kingdom is actually built on a second level. Disney always wanted the underground tunnels for his park because he didn't want the chance of children seeing more than one character walking around. But if you live in Florida, you know if that if you dig anything, its going to become a lake. So instead of digging underground for the tunnels, the built the tunnels on the ground level, and then built all of Magic Kingdom on top of that.

Did you ever go in the underground place in the Magic Kingdom?

Yea a couple of times. On your first day of training they take you down there and then I had a friend who worked in MK so I went down a few more times. It's pretty cool since you can get to one section of the park and back in about 2 minutes, you just got to be careful where you're going because there are trucks and golf carts and tones of people driving around, its pretty much looks like a factory that has fancy offices and a nice cafeteria.

I was a College Program intern in Magic Kingdom and let me tell you this, it is NOT cool having to run all the way down that motherfucking hall if you're 5 minutes late.

Another reason I was glad I didn't have to work in MK.

Did you have a hatred for any employee there?

Oh plenty. Mainly just the other interns who hated the job. I worked with one guy who used to be in the military and he constantly complained that how much the internship sucked and how little he got payed and then I found he was 30 and still doing the college program where everyone else was usually no older than 23. It just made me mad, if you hate this so much why not just go home?

Always wondered how employees get into the parks, do you park in a special section and get shuttled in, or have a special private road to get to an employee parking area?

I have a hard time imagining you go through the main gates, especially how bad traffic can get at times.

It's kinda different for each park. There are no specials roads to take you into the park, with the exception for Magic Kingdom. In MK you still got to go though the car entry way (you just show them your ID and they let you in with free parking) but you don't go to the parking lot, you actually drive behind the park to the Cast Member parking lot which is HUGE. You then take a shuttle from the parking lot that takes you to the underground tunnels of magic kingdom and from there you can get changed or go to your section of the park. For any other park it's a lot more simple. Usually there is employee parking (EPOCT's is in the back of the park, which a shuttle can take you to the front if you want but you can just park and go in though the back door into the costuming building) Hollywood studios is just on the side, just mixed in with regular parking, and you just enter though the costuming building which just off to the side. And I've never actually gone though the Employee Entrance of Animal Kingdom, from what I hear they don't have much of a parking space it's just kinda everyone for yourself.

So if there's heavy traffic, you're just fucked and have to wait? Or are you required to show up X hours early?

Just kinda fucked. With the college program they provided you with housing and buses to the parks, and you could also bring your own car down and drive to the park. You really just gotta use your judgment it's just like any other job. Like during Christmas when there are 40,000 people in just one park and the roads are full of tourist who don't know how to drive, you better leave early. It once took me and hour and a half to get to work, and I only lived 15 minutes away. Disney is pretty chill with you being late though, if you are up to two hours late you only get a 1/2 point on your record card, which is nothing.

How often do you have to clean up someone's puke?

Not as much as you would think, but more than I would like to admit. Cleaning it up outside was so much easier than cleaning it up inside. Outside you just pour this sawdust like thing over it and it absorbs it in like a minute and you just sweep it up, inside you gotta get down on your hands and knees and really get into it. But again it wasn't that much. Cleaning up shit? now that's a different story.

Do tell this "different story" of yours...

You asked for it. I just got in for my shift the I was heading over to my bathroom where I was assigned for the day. My morning shift guy was there and just about to head out. He looks at me and points to the last stall and says "there has been a guy in there for about 30 minutes and I think he made a real big mess" I asked him how he knew that and he said that he called his wife from inside and she came up and talked to him. My co-woker said he would stay and help but he is already 30 minutes over his end time so he had to leave. I waited about another 20 minutes when the guys wife came back with a new pare of pants she bought in the gift shop. She asked me if I could bring it in and give it to him. Now I was really starting to get worried, I mean how bad could this be if the guy had to get new pants?? So eventually the guy left and he apologized before I came in. The guy was about in his 50's and seemed like a normal person. I opened the stall door and there was a giant pile of shit about 5 inches in diameter literary on the floor two feet in front of the toilet. The toilet was perfectly clean, this guy didn't even hit the toilet he just shit all over the floor. There were streak marks over the floor too so I assumed that he like used his pants to kinda mop it up or move it into the giant circle. It took me about an hour to clean up. And then I died.

On another story, someone once drew a smiley face in shit on the wall. But that was just silly.

Did you say "That is one big pile of shit".? DID YOU SAY IT, or did you miss the best opportunity of your life?

I actually wondered how could a human produce such a huge pile of shit, but I simply said. "Life uh... Life finds a way.

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That would have been nice, but it was during a convention for cheerleaders and there was an open bar. So yea...

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now its called "Code V" and "Soild Code V"

I was actually at Disney World in 2012. Did you become friends with any of the mascots/princesses? The reason I ask is because I took a picture with Mulan. She first greeted my gf and I. Then she asked my gf "Oooh. Is this your knight?" Gf giggles, says yes. Mulan says "Where's his sword?" all while looking me up & down and then giving me the Sex Eyes and smirking. Gf knew she was flirting too, but we both laughed it off like "Did Mulan really just hit on me?!?"

Long story short, could I have had Mulan and was/is she a floozy? If it helps to identify said Mulan, as I am sure there are different girls who rotate, this occured between the hours of 11a-12p.

Sorry lol, I knew some characters no face characters and no Mulan. From who I met though most people who play characters especially in the internship fancy themselves as "actors" and think they are better than everyone else.

Which "actress" had the reputation for being the sluttiest Disney princess?

(My money's on Ariel.)

Prolly Belle. I mean she hooked up with a Beast after all.

Did you find Walt's cryogenic container?

Walt was cremated sorry. But regardless, the rumor is that he was frozen and buried under Pirates of the Caribbean in Disney Land. I was in the wrong State.

As a person who goes to Disney alot no questions just want to say thank you. You probably know this, but some little thing you did made a childs lifetime. Its the greatest part of working there, and you get to have that for the rest of your life!

Thank you! little things like that made the hard parts totally worth it!! =)

Do you draw faces on the floor with a wet mop ?

We were trained, but I was horrible at it. All my characters looked like they were in some horrible accident.

Was there any "background music" you heard so much you started hating it ?

Christmas.... The endless Christmas song. From November 1st till January 15th... Sometimes when I close my eyes I can still hear them singing away...

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You know, I still like it. I know a lot of people who really hated Disney after. My girlfriend really disliked the company after we left. It might be because I had some shitty jobs after that and it was nice to look back and see how well Disney treated their employees but I think it's a great company to work for, if you want to work for them. If you're not into being all happy and friendly for 8 hours a day then you might end up hating the job, and your life.

Was there ever a kid who just pissed you off so much you felt like drop-kicking them? If so, what did they do?

You know, I don't know what it was but I never met a rude guest. I know it's crazy because Disney is like the mother of all retail places. But I've lucked out and all the Guest I have met were actually happy and enjoying themselves. Now one of my friends who worked there got slapped by a Guest during a convention while she was asking them not to climb on the fences. The person turned around and said "What are you going to do about it" and slapped her hard across the face to the point where she fell back and he ran. The Security team did like a mass sweep of the park but could not find him after.

What's the best behind the scenes secret you've discovered working there?

The Tree of Life in Animal Kingdom is actually built around a big oil rig.

Was there a moment that you witnessed/happened that made you think wow I'm glad I work here?

During Christmas in Hollywood studios they have the Osborn Festival of Dancing Lights. Which is basically a million Christmas lights strung up over the streets America and synched up to go along to christmas music. It's pretty much the most awesome thing ever. They Kept it going even after Christmas for a few weeks and that was nice because the streets get really slow and just a few people going to see the lights. On one of the last nights the lights were up the streets were almost empty and they were playing a really slow happy Christmas song. I turned around and saw this very old couple probably in their late 80's slow dancing in the middle of the empty street to the music. And with the fake snow falling, god dammit I cried like a little girl.

Are there still no 8:30 times for the Indiana Jones shows?

You know, I don't really remember that one. I wouldn't think so because Hollywood Studios Closes at 9 most nights, I think I remember the last show being at 7:30?

Did you go just for fun while you were there? On an day off or something along those lines.

Yea defiantly when I was new,I went to the parks pretty much every day. I mean unlimited free entry, you gotta use it right? A few months in and you kinda get tired of it. I ended up getting a seasonal pass to Universal as well so I could go to that park as well. But it was a fun thing to do on your day off thats for sure, Birthdays or taking advantages of the awesome discounts for the fancy restaurants.

If you are still around the area and aren't doing anything the 18th-23rd of this month, I'll be at Epcot for a work conference. Drinking around the world sounds like a fun game to me.

Haha sorry no longer live in Florida. But Drinking around the world is a challenge, not a challenge of holding your liqueur, but a challenge of your wallet. Since each drink is about 10 bucks each. But good luck!

Is there a rule about having to keep your shirt on while riding Space Mountain?

there is actually a rule that shirts have to be on at all times during the parks and no bathing suites, unless you are at a water park obviously. I actually spoke to the people who get the photos ready at the end of the rides and they said they get girls flashing the cameras all the time and they just delete the images before they get off the ride.

What time is the 3:00 parade?

3:30 in Animal Kingdom

What was the biggest meltdown that you saw at Disney world?

So I actually wasn't working for this but I was at Magic Kingdom as a guest watching the parade. The parade audience control people (PAC) is a pretty hectic job because you gotta make sure everyone is out of the way before the floats come in. Now I was just there watching the parade when one PAC cast member polity came up to a guest and asked if he could move back a bit more since he was in the road. And the guy just went off! something how he had moved about 5 different times and just wanted his kids to watch the parade. He basically yelled at her to the point of her crying and she ran away back stage. The man didn't care and just kept on watching the parade.

What is your favorite Disney movie?

Classic Disney: Lion King. Disney/Pixar: Wall-e

How did you get the internship?

You just look up Disney College Program online and apply. There are only certain times of the year when you can apply and you have to be in college or no more than a year out of college to actually be qualified. It was my graduating year when I applied so I went down in the Summer after I graduated. It's a pretty great experience, You first gotta apply online (http://cp.disneycareers.com/en/default/) theres the link of you are interested. And then if you pass that application you do a phone interview and then you find out about a week later if you got the job.

So you only did it for a summer?

No I was there from August 2011 -May 2012. Then I went back in December 2012 for a month because I was a seasonal worker.

So its only a yearly thing? You can't do it for just a summer?

there are different options on how long you want to stay, I think the shortest time is like September - December. But I don't think there is just a summer option.

So I've heard some stories from a buddy that did the college program about the housing for interns being like the Olympic Village in terms of people letting off steam and going crazy. Did you find that to be the case?

There are three housing compelx, Chattham square, Patterson, and Vista way. Chattam and Patterson are right next to each other and they are very nice and new. Vista is the first complex and its age shows. And that one is the crazy place. Its the only apartment complex that has a hot tub but no one ever goes in it. Ever.

That's all you need to know.

So, College Program...nine years ago word was the College Program dorms were supposedly full of interns screwing each other's brains out. Any truth to that? Was there a curfew or something?

Source: Worked for the GCSD when they started pushing employees out the door from it.

From what I hear there used to be no curfew with the apartments. You could have guest stay over as long as they were form the other College Program Apartments. No outsider guest but if you were a intern you could stay in any of the housing complex. And then Playboy Magazine published the top 100 places to get laid in America and Vista Way (one of the three disney college apartments) Made the top 10. Shortly after that the housing complex put forward a rule that nobody is allowed to stay over in anybody's apartment. Doesn't matter even if you are on the same complex or not. This wasn't made by Disney but by the people who owned the complex. Disney actually finally took ownership over the 3 complexes the year I left and they took out that rule again. Now as far as I understand you still can't outsider guest after 9 but people can spend the night if they are interns again.

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I had a Fantasmic shift. (Fantasmic is just the night time show at hollywood studios that uses a lot of the characters) And during the day if you have the shift you are up there just prepping for the night, making sure the bathrooms are ready and the trash has plenty of extra bags. But one day I was up there just looking at the stage and I saw some of the actors practicing. Now if you know anything about the show, at the end all the characters come out on a steamboat and wave to everyone. Well the boat was behind the stage but I was to the side so I still saw it, and I saw all the characters in their costumes but with no heads and they were practicing dancing and waving. But there was no music, no sound. So just A Steam Boat Micky version of Mickey mouse, without the Mickey mouses head and some woman where Mickey's head should be with a completely emotionless face doing her dance routine and waving with no sound or music at all. Totally creeped me out.

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1. Disney is a pretty great company to work for and their discipline rules are pretty fair I think. I've put water on my hands plenty of times. And they actually require you to have a water bottle with you since it can be so hot down there . As far as being fired they have a point system, 4 points equals 1 reprimand and 4 reprimands results in a termination. So as long as you don't do anything stupid that was cause you to get fired at any other job its pretty normal I think, you can get in trouble for not always smiling or if you are slouching and things like that, but you wont get fired over that.

2. The tunnels look just like a big factory, you got forklifts and such just driving by, office rooms here and there, nothing really creepy. The amount of attention of detail that goes in for onstage, if 100% reverse for backstage.

3. You gotta be a pretty important person just to get inside that room.

Out of curiosity, what's special about the room in Cinderella's Castle?

Check out the pictures, its beautiful! Its very elegant, diamonds. And you're sleeping in fucking Cinderella's Castle! I'm sure people would pay big bucks for that even if the room was a cardboard box.

Do you think being in the DCP really makes a difference in pursuing a career with Disney?

I think it helps and it lets you know if this is the right place for you. You can totally make it without it but it defiantly helps get your foot in the door and gets you more in touch with the management. If you really want to start a career with Disney and you're in college I would recommend it just be prepared because the internship is kinda like slave labor, you work full time and get shit pay (you know, like any internship) But if you are a hard worker it will totally pay off.

Overall,would you say the experience of working there positive?

For me, yes. I know some people will walk away from this and hate it and not even want to go back to Disney for a vacation. Custodial believe it or not is one of the best jobs you can get as a Disney Intern I think with Hollywood Studios being one of the best parks to work in. Sure, I had to clean up crap every day, but I got to walk around the park, have freedom from my mangers and just talk to people about their vacations give out stickers to the kids and just bring happiness to people. I know I sound like a Disney spokesmen right there but it's a great opportunity to make some memories and to build a career with disney if you want. If you are just doing it to get out of school for 6 months you might end up hating it.

Handling out stickers as janitor?

They give everyone Mickey stickers to hand out. The thing about the Custodial department is, they are the most friendly people you will meet there. During training we actually tell our employees cleanliness comes second, customer service comes first. I once had a 45 minute conversation with one guest just about their visit and I got rewarded for that. What other job can you say that happened?

That completely make sense and brilliant,really.People probably more likely to see janitors than anything else considering its a huge public place filled with trash.

Since you said that cleanliness comes second,im assuming either its not really dirty most of the time or its just because the parks have alot of janitors to compensate that mindset?

Yea I mean the Custodial staff is huge. And the parks do get dirty a lot but the Guest never see it. There are enough to keep the park clean. And the guest help too believe it or not. When Walt Disney was first planning Disney Land the custodial team was the first thing he though off cuz he hated how dirty all the theme parks around him were. He even went as far as going to other parks seeing how far people would walk with trash before they would just throw it on the grown. That is why you can usually find a a trash can about 3 feet away from another trash can. There was a quote from disney that was something like "If people see something that is messy they will add to the mess, if they see something that is clean they will help keep it clean, trash breeds trash"

I'm leaving tomorrow to go to the parks for the first time in 10 years (I was pretty young the first time I went). What kind of cool secrets should I keep in mind to make the trip even more memorable for my family?

Look for the hidden mickeys. They're everywhere and its a fun little game if you have kids to find. They are just little Mickey ears that are hidden although out the park and some of them are really well hidden, might be in the wallpaper, or on a building side or even on the street.

How hot is for the guys who wear the costumes. I can't imagine wearing a full buzz lightyear costume in Florida summer.

Pretty damn hot. My roommate was Buzz Lightyear. However, Characters only come out for 15 minutes at a time, then go back and take a 10 -15 minute break to cool down and someone else comes out to take their place. It's the easiest job in the world.

Is the "magic" gone now that you know the In's and Out's of the parks?

not at all.

Are there any dark secrets of the park that most people don't know about?

Some people know about this, but in Magic Kingdom their is the famous statue of Walt and Mickey holding hands right in front of the statue. If you go to the left of the statue and walk a little bit and look back at it so you are facing the side of Walt's face. You will be unable to see Mickey except for his nose which is coming right out of Walt's crotch. So it just looks like Walt's dick is sticking out.

What are you doing with your life now?

I'm a photographer for a notional company doing school portraits, yearbook, senior, proms, graduations. Nothing to do with disney but the customer service experienced I learned there was probably the most valuable thing I could ever learn.

One thing I noticed from being at Disney around this past New Years Eve is that there are no visibly armed security/police officers present. It would be very easy to do some great harm at Disney World since there aren't metal detectors and I could easily conceal a firearm/bomb/etc. on my person, God forbid something bad happen.

It seems only logical for there to be a force of undercover armed police/security officers. For obvious security reasons, I won't ask you to comment on how to tell who's undercover. Are you, as an employee, able to know who these John Does might be? And just how frequently might I pass one of these people in the park casually?

Unrelated, but I find it interesting that Disney World in Florida was made a permanent no-fly zone by the FAA back in 2009. Source

The Disney Security team is pretty awesome. They inspect every single bag that comes into the park and they know what to look for with signs of concealed weapons. I spoke to a retired Disney security officer and he said they have to go though Florida sate police officer training. I have also heard that they don't have to do that so I don't know how much of that is actually true but I would imagine they get some crazy training. Disney also has their own force of Emergency services called Reedy Creek and they know all the backroads and such and can be in any park in about 2 minutes flat.

I read an article written by a Cast Member that people tell their problems to Mickey and other mascots, like "The wife and I are getting a divorce. We wanted to do something nice for the kids. Thank you for hugging them!"

Has this ever happened to you?

Sadly I don't think people ever come to custodial worker for their life problems. However at the end of the night would all line up to say goodbye and people would take to take pictures with us or get our autographs, that was always fun.

Did your work at Disney have any relation to your major in college? Do engineering students get to work with imagineers?

I was a Cinema Major. So I was very interested in things like Broadcasting and filmmaking. I learned about disney's production team for florida and I even took a tour of the Roy Disney Production building which has like a 50 Terabyte storage system for films and crazy edit labs and things like that. But its like a 5 team member job and the guy said the really don't hire that much unless one person leaves.

What do you hate most about your job? One might think that working at Disneyland / Disneyworld is a dream job, which is why I'm curious about what you hate most about it

The heat mainly. I came down in August so I got the last stretch of the heat but that was pretty horrible and then I stayed until May, and I got to tell you it was unbearable how hot it gets. Besides that, just cleaning up other peoples shit. The perks of the job outweigh that, and it doen't happen that often. but it still sucks when it has to happen

Did you know you were going to be a janitor when you applied/accepted?

Is the purpose of the program to get people a start in potential careers at Disney?

You can pick your top three positions you want when you apply. I believe I put down Merchandise, attractions, and character. When I had the phone interview I said that I used to work at a movie theater and was a janitor there and the woman asked if I would want to put that down just to have a larger field of job options and I said sure. And yea I know plenty of people who were once interns and became Disney mangers and great full time position. I even grew to be one of the few interns that became a trainer so the position has plenty of chances to grow if you want to.

hello, question, my brother wants to get into animation, it's his senior year in high school next school year. he was looking at your college's programs and read to get into it. can you please elaborate on what are the requirements please? he doesnt know how to use some programs but for the most part he is a talented artist and animator thanks#

Well he isn't going to get any animation job with the internship. It's a good foot in the door and while he is there he can try to get in touch with some Disney workers who are in animation. They have job fairs and things like that all the time. As far as the requirements go all you have I think is to be in college with a good GPA(even that I'm not sure if it matters but it probably helps) You have to prove you are in college or a recent grad and besides that they take pretty much anyone. You can take classes while you are down there so they are probably animation classes he could take.

After working there everyday, does Disney World still feel magical, or are u now bored of it ?

I stil love it, havent been there since December of 2012 and all I want to do is go back for a vacatoin.

There are a ton of questions and answers about the shitty aspects of working for Disney parks but what are some of the best/cush jobs you can get at a park? Also did they require regular drug screenings?

Well I might be biases but I really think custodial was one of the best jobs you can have their. You get to walk around all day insited of staying in one spot all day and you get to talk to a lot of different people. It's not great in every park however, most postions in Magic Kingdom suck no matter what you have because it's such a busy park and the park hours are so long. Working in a hotel I hear is pretty awesome, like guest services or front desk. Lifeguard is a great job and the highest paying job. Character performer is the easiest job you could ever ask for and you get paid a lot. When you get hired you gotta go though pretty much ever background test/drug screening possible.

What happens when you say, "Andy's coming!" near someone dressed as Woody or Buzz?

They say all the toys would drop to the floor and act lifeless, but they stopped doing that for saftey reasons, if this is true or not we shall never know?

You've probably been asked this a million times: What is the best time of year to go (date wise) to avoid crowds?

September - Halloween. Mid January - Mid March. Super Empty.

I imagine working at WDW you hear music 24/7. Do you eventually tune it out? Also, what kind of discounts do you get?

Yea after a while you Tune it out, each section of the park plays different music though so with Custodial you are all over the park so at least you get to hear different music every day. Discount, You get a 20% discount on all merchandise and sit down restaurants. and 50% all hotel rooms plus unlimited access to the parks. as a College Program you get 6(?) Main entrance passes which one of them is good to get 3 people into the park for free for the day, those are also a park hopper passes, I say 6(?) because I'm not quite sure if that is the exact amount cuz It has been a while but I believe that is what the interns get, might be 3 though. And during. Christmas you get 40% all merchandise and 60% off all hotel rooms.

Have you met any celebrities?

Sadly, no. I saw Bog Iger Walking by one day during a convention but I didn't get to say Hi. A lot of my friends saw Neil Patrick Harris when he was there.

Has Disney ever caught any of it's cast members taking inappropriate pictures of children?

A family member of mine is in law enforcement and was in charge of a sting operation which uncovered an underground network of cast members who shared pictures with each other. Sick bastards.

Was just curious if you ever experienced seeing someone get caught for something like this.

Not that I know of, but I know there are plenty of police reports of things like that happening.

Were you staying at Vista? If so, how many nationalities did you get to screw?

I stayed at Chatham at first and then I extended and went to Paterson. No vista, I'm STD free.