Disney

“Are you Ariel?” the man asked.

“No,” I answered as I giggled.

I guess it was a somewhat reasonable question since we were standing in a souvenier shop in Walt Disney World.

I was let in free because I knew an employee.  Over the course of the weekend, I got a fascinating education about the behind the scenes workings of Disney. 

Oh, but they don’t refer to their staff as employees.  They are called “cast members,” since they are all part of the Disney production.  Their inner-lingo also includes “protein spill,” which is a polite way of saying that “someone just threw up.”  

They’re all about polite.  You’ll notice that when a cast member points, they will do so with two or three fingers, never just one.  Because that’s considered rude.

Cast members are also expected to dress a certain way.  For men, this includes no facial hair.  For women, it means closed-toe shoes, earrings no bigger than a dime, and absolutely no shorts.  For men and women, there is to be no chewing gum, using cell phones, or frowning.  Sunglasses are discouraged – since they are a block to interpersonal communication.

Walking down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, I learned that there is an entire underground tunnel system where cast members can get from one end of the park to another without being seen by the public.  This underground world also contains their trash system.  When you drop trash in a receptacle at Disney, they are bottomless so that they never have to be emptied.  (Brilliant!)

At the end of the weekend after taking in all the magic, I decided that maybe I should move to Disney and work as a princess. “Oh, they’re hiring,” my cast member friend said.  “They’re opening a new Princess exhibit soon, so they’re definitely hiring.”

Who knows…maybe I’ll move to Disney to be Ariel… since I look like her anyway. 🙂

~ by Serena on May 14, 2010.