“I worked as a custodian at Epcot in 2007 and we had to use code words over our radios for certain types of cleanups (so that we wouldn’t gross out any guests who might overhear). For example, if someone threw up in the park, we called that a ‘protein spill.”
Clarechambers2020
“They pump bread-flavored air out of hollow rocks on the food-adjacent roads to encourage eating. It’s not the baking that smells that good.”
Crad139
“My brother dressed up as Tigger, Goofy, etc. in the early ’90s. He said it was as hot as you could imagine, and people even threw up in the costumes. He had an accident while dressed up as Little John in a parade. There was a new float driver who swerved too close to him while crossing over a bridge. The float knocked him down and ran over his feet. His costume and work boots inside the costume saved his feet, but he still needed extensive physical therapy, which Disney paid for. On top of all of that, he had been chosen to play Prince Charming in Tokyo, but he couldn’t go due to his accident. He doesn’t hold any ill will toward Disney, but cast members, especially characters, are definitely prone to injuries.”
Anniemh
“I was working in the kitchen at the restaurant inside of Cinderella’s castle when a family of four came in for dinner. About halfway through the dinner, the husband politely stood up and tapped his glass for attention. He announced that his wife of 15 years had been cheating on him for over a year. The entire place stood still in shock. He motioned for his kids, paid the waitress, and left the wife crying at the table.”
Azov237
“I’ve never been as well-trained for a job as I was at Walt Disney World. On day one, we all went to Disney University for general orientation. Day two was another day at Disney University that was just on how to be a custodian (my position there). Day three was all about Epcot itself, which included fun facts, a tour, and getting on rides. After that, I shadowed for about two weeks before being allowed to work on my own during a shift.”
Clarechambers2020
“Disney University — where we had our work orientation — was in a very discrete location in Orlando. They don’t want tourists accidentally stumbling upon it, so it’s intentionally difficult to find and it looks like a warehouse from the outside.”
Clarechambers2020
“Overnight cast member here. Please, PLEASE, leave your cremated loved ones at home. Stop dumping them in the Haunted Mansion. They just get vacuumed up and disposed of.”
Overnight_cm_girl
“I was a Disney employee for a summer. I was sitting with a group of guys by where Mickey and Minnie got dressed. When they came out, the guys started catcalling Minnie. The guy that played Mickey said, in a perfect Mickey voice, ‘If you look at my girlfriend again, I’m gonna pop ya!'”
The_Barnanator
“I worked at Disneyland years ago as a character, and it wasn’t just any old randos slapping on a costume. We had auditions with callbacks. First audition, we had to learn a choreographed dance routine, and then had to do a bunch of improv as multiple characters. If we got called back, we had to do the same dance routine in costume…I had to dance with a massive, 3-foot-tall Sneezy head on that I could barely see out of. We had a binder of all the characters, with their bios and characteristics and we were expected to embody them in all of our actions.”
Tmunar
“It was a blast to work as a character. So many fun coworkers because everyone (except me) wanted to be an actor or performer. Because I was the right height to play some of the most popular characters (Mickey, Minnie, Pinocchio, Winnie the Pooh), I got treated like a rock star by the guests. It was so fun to make a kid’s day during meet and greets. The pay sucked though.”
Tmunar
“At closing, you would ‘cycle guests out.’ That meant you’d close the entrance to the attraction, then continue running the ride until all the guests were out. The cast members would usually ride the attraction at the end, but we did stupid stuff.”
Clandahlina
“I worked at Disney World, and one day when I was walking through the Magic Kingdom tunnels, I came across a costume room with a bunch of characters’ heads on sticks. Nothing is weirder than seeing Mickey’s head on a stick!”
chessaf
“I worked there in the early 2000s as a college program employee. This basically equates to working long hours, with little pay, while living in Disney-owned apartment complexes. I was a 21-year-old man, living in a three-bedroom apartment with five other guys. It doesn’t take much to figure out what happens when you put a bunch of 18–24-year-olds together with little supervision. I have been to plenty of college campuses and the like. But nothing I’ve seen compares to the amount of ‘sex, drugs, and rock and roll’ that went on there.”
King_of_the_rats
“I worked at a few restaurants in Walt Disney World. Once, when I was walking through one of the parks with a friend, I was approached by some random guy who asked for directions to a steakhouse. He had a reservation at the one I worked at, and he was actually Fat Joe’s manager. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in the private dining room of the restaurant with Fat Joe himself and a few other celebs. My coworkers were completely bamboozled as to why I was there, and quite frankly, so was I!”
Mackenziereid
“I did a college program at Animal Kingdom in 2012. Backstage, we have bikes! The backstage area of Animal Kingdom is super big, and it isn’t connected with Utilidoors like Magic Kingdom. If I needed to go from Dinoland to Discovery Island, I would have to take a golf cart all the way around the park. Depending on where I was going specifically, I might have parked the golf cart and rode a bike to complete my errand. It was a nice break from dealing with guests!”
Clrogers49
“I was a safari driver at the Kilimanjaro attraction in Animal Kingdom. We had this elephant named Willy, who was an exhibitionist. I was driving a safari one day, spewing out facts about elephants, when I heard a tiny voice from the back of the truck yell, ‘MOOOOM! HE HAS FIVE LEGS!!!’ I turned, and sure enough, there was Willy, standing with his 5-foot-long dick just swaying in the Florida breeze. I had to turn my mic off, I was laughing so hard.”
DorothyGaleEsq
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