Ever been in one costume, forgotten who you were and started signing the wrong autograph? (Eeyore instead of Tigger) Does anyone?
Ever been in one costume, forgotten who you were and started signing the wrong autograph? (Eeyore instead of Tigger) Does anyone?
There were a handful of times that I would start signing the wrong autograph by accident. It’s not that you forget you you’re portraying – the costumes themselves are so different that there’s really no ambiguity. It was usually just a momentary brain fart resulting in the wrong letter. Instead of “E”, I would write a “T”, or vice versa.
My strategy for dealing with this: since there was no way for me to turn the page myself, I would just “accidentally” drop the book on the ground. 9 times out of 10 the kid would pick it up, flip to a clean page, and I’d be good to go.
Hey, thanks for starting this thread. I lived in Orlando for a few years, had a Disney pass, and would probably go to the parks every other weekend. It got to the point that if I went to the park in a polo, people would occasionally come up to me and ask for directions, mistaking me for a cast member 
Around that time, started Drinking Around the World on weekends, met a bunch of people, dated a girl from the China Pavilion a while, and due to my Japanese studies ending up hanging out with the Japan Pavilion peeps quite a bit. While their parties were pretty standard, I heard many sordid tales. The College and International Programs also really did attract some of the finest women I’ve seen. Ah, those were fun times.
Now that I’ve forced you to hear my reminiscing ;), a few questions. I’ve heard on great authority that it is grounds for termination to reveal the fact that you are a character to any non-Disney employee. Yet, at karaoke one time, I heard this beautiful singer singing Disney songs amazingly well. We ended up doing ‘A Whole New World’ together, which she nailed. After I asked where she studied voice. She said she was Belle. We chit-chatted for a while, and she complimented me by saying I was better than some Gastons she’s worked with (patently untrue, but nice of her to say). I figured this might be so much drunken tall-tales, but sure enough I went to Hollywood Studios a few weeks later and there she was.
I also met a Japanese girl who played Mickey. Did you know in Japan there is only one Mickey active at any one point in time?
Well, my question is, did you ever tell people you were Tigger, etc?
**Did you know in Japan there is only one Mickey active at any one point in time? **
I did not know that, though it’s not particularly surprising. Everything I’ve heard about Tokyo Disney suggests that they do things very differently from WDW. Guests aren’t even allowed to touch the characters there. Wtf?! No hugs? Very weird.
Well, my question is, did you ever tell people you were Tigger, etc?
We were indeed trained to avoid explicitly mentioning our role. Instead, the code phrase that we were instructed to use was “I’m friends with Tigger.” I always used this phrase, not because it was the rule, but because I really liked it. It’s cheeky and it provides the perfect level of secrecy: Cast members all know what it means, adults usually get the hint, but children have literally no idea what’s going on. Another alternative was to just say “I’m in entertainment.” and leave it at that. I honestly don’t remember if it is grounds for termination to reveal that one is a character, but that’s such a hard thing to enforce that it really wouldn’t matter. What are they going to do, tap into your cell phone?
There were a some rules that could be broken or circumnavigated as long as you acted like you knew what you were doing. There are so many employees at WDW that nobody knows everybody, so nobody has any idea what you should or should not be doing at any particular moment. The clearest example that I can think of is entering the park: technically, cast members who are off the clock must enter the parks through the main entrance just like everyone else. We were not supposed to go through the backstage entrances unless we were working. It didn’t make a difference financially since cast members can get in for free either way. I quickly learned that as long as I walked with a purpose and kept my ID handy, no one would ever stop me if I walked through the backstage entrances in civilian attire.
I don’t think that’s true. Mrs. Homie and I struck up a conversation with a Cast Member one visit and he told us in pretty exacting detail about his job; which characters he played, even what shifts he was working that day! He told us to look out for him in the afternoon Hollywood Studios parade (I forget what it was called at the time); he’d be driving Mickey and Minnie’s convertible. Sure enough, when Mickey & Minnie came by he noticed us in the crowd and gave us a nod and a smile.
As a Cast Member, did you get an employee discount on food, merchandise, hotel stays, spa treatments, golf games, etc.? Is there a particular food spot that is popular with off-duty CM’s and/or is known for exceptionally good food? Were you even on duty when any VIPs (like celebrity guests) were in the park?
Ah, that’s completely different from my last trip, which admittedly was during the Reagan administration. My guidebook says they changed from random to tightly scheduled encounters changed a few years ago.
I had a picture, circa mid-'80s, of my then-girlfriend posing with Goofy, whom we’d just happened to meet while strolling up Main Street. This was indeed how it used to be done.
I used to date a girl that was absolutely bonkers about all things Disney. Every year she and her family would vacation at Disney World and take all the backstage tours. I remember there was a very specialized role, that of the Tinkerbell that zipped down a line a couple of times a day. How did that work? How many people were trained for that, and how much did they get paid?
I can imagine. We were there in summer 2006 and got pics of the kids with Piglet right before he went off duty - as his handler said, “one more minute, and he’ll be roast pork!”.
Getting back to something said in the OP, what’s an audition for a character like?
If it’s ok with Cryptic, I would be willing to answer any questions you all might have about the Character Attendant side of things. I worked as one for about three years, from 2006 to 2009, and in very nearly every character location in WDW Resort.
“I didn’t say she was crazy, I said she was…”
I have always heard that at Disneyland, it’s one family that has always done it over the years- grandma, mom, and daughter. I’m only speaking of the Tinkerbell that ziplines from the Matterhorn to the castle after the fireworks, though.
Ha!
It wasn’t Goofy, but you’re not too far off.
Go for it! I actually have a question for you: Is everything I’ve written so far accurate to the best of your knowledge?
As a Cast Member, did you get an employee discount on food, merchandise, hotel stays, spa treatments, golf games, etc.?
There was indeed a cast discount on pretty much everything, though I seem to remember it only being in effect at certain times of the year. In any case, it was not a substantial discount.
** Is there a particular food spot that is popular with off-duty CM’s and/or is known for exceptionally good food?**
There was a nearby Buffalo Wild Wings that had karaoke nights on Wednesdays. It was always packed with college program employees. Other than that, I don’t really know. I ate a lot of Ramen.
**Were you ever on duty when any VIPs (like celebrity guests) were in the park? **
I was, but I don’t remember who they were, nor did I ever actually meet any of them. Sorry, no fun stories 
I remember there was a very specialized role, that of the Tinkerbell that zipped down a line a couple of times a day. How did that work? How many people were trained for that, and how much did they get paid?
I have literally no idea. The full-timers all know each other and form one big incestuous family, but there are only so many people one can meet in the span of five months. The mechanics of a theatrical zipline are not particularly complicated, though. I’m sure that there are specs online about how to rig that kind of stuff.
What’s an audition for a character like?
The first thing that I remember about the audition process was how geographically remote it was. I live in Connecticut near New York City and go to school in Boston, so I was expecting to audition in one of those two places, or perhaps Hartford. I was astounded to learn that the closest audition was in Rochester. I think they do this intentionally to try to thin out the competition.
As for the audition itself, there are two components: movement and animation. For the movement portion, they teach you about a minute of fairly simple choreography. The audition ladies made a point of emphasizing that they were not particularly interested in technique, but instead on how exciting and “big” we made our performances. For the animation portion, we were given two scenarios to pantomime: meeting your favorite character at the park (I squeezed an imaginary Gaston’s biceps), and ordering/eating an oversized piece of food (I devoured a giant imaginary hamburger). After running through everything a few times with everyone, we were split up into groups of six for the actual audition performance. Music starts, we run through the dance choreography, then do the first pantomime, then the dance again, then the second pantomime, and that was it. The whole process took a few hours. As can be expected of dance auditions, it was dominated by women: of the ~150 humans who showed up, ~10 were male.
That makes no sense at all. I don’t doubt that there is a three generation Tinkerbell family out there but that routine is done every day of the year. There have to be more of them.
Did the fully grown adults who act like seven year olds when encountering your character creep you out a bit? I’ve only been to WDW once and I saw dozens of adult women who acted way more child-like than both of my little girls put together. It definitely creeped me out.
[Minor Hijack]
Many years ago I appeared as a Bugs Bunny or Sylvester at public functions for Warner Bros. We followed the basic protocols described above with handlers and breaks, no talking, etc.
I found that many folks like to rub Sylvester’s belly. Sylvester’s belly is a little lower than where my belly is. WEEEE!
I always had visions of showing up at Disneyland in the Bugs Bunny suit and trying to buy a ticket and get into the park, just to see the reactions…
[/carry on]
Yep, I’ve found everything to be accurate, except for a couple minor details. In answering the question about whether attendants work with one chararacter you said they are assigned to one park. While it is an option to “bid” an area for a several month period, as full time characters can do as well, part-timers could be placed anywhere any given day. This was actually more desirable to me because it allowed me to be familiar with all of the areas. One day I could be at the Backyard BBQ at Fort Wilderness, and the next I could be at the Crystal Palace. This also turned me into a walking character schedule. After a couple years I literally knew every character location and probably 90% of the set schedules.
The only other thing is that many locations do only have one attendant. Restaurants and places like Pooh’s Playground have several, so I’m am sure that is mostly what you saw. Being by myself in a place like Morocco at Epcot was really a challenge. Try telling someone that while Aladdin and Jasmine are there now, by the time their kids get up there it will only be the Genie, and they will be gone for the day after that, all while trying to give the characters time signals and keep an eye on unruly guests trying to cut in line or go around the back or grab Jasmine’s butt. Super rough. Sometimes they would send help for a few minutes at the end of the day, but usually not.
[QUOTE=Cryptic C62]
However, there are also some roles that require specialized training, which results in a higher pay grade. For example, there are some special performances with a Mickey costume that can shoot fireworks out of his hands. This requires that the performer be pyro certified. The more specialized and dangerous the skill, the more it gets paid.
[/QUOTE]
“Are the powers of Mickey’s incredible imagination strong enough and bright enough to withstand the evil forces that invade Mickey’s dream? You are about to find out. For we now invite you to join Mickey, and experience Fantasmic!… a journey beyond your wildest imagination.”
At Disneyland, Tinkerbell no longer ziplines, she flies back and forth.
Is there a CM hangout on property? The late, lamented Advterurer’s Club? Downtown Disney? Hotel bar?