What is your favorite Experience as a Cast Member?

[mamabot]

We have heard stories about what it is like to be a CM. Please share your favorite stories with us non-CMs.

[HMMaid2001]

For me, the best experience as a CM is...meeting my friends there is the best reward!! They are my second family..and we do fun stuff together when we aren't at work! But, everyday, is a story... guests being dumb, guests doing crazy things... I think I should write a book!!

[mamabot]

When we first got our APs, we did a little something at the Haunted Mansion that may be considered crazy.

My mom worked with Buddy Baker at USC for a number of years. When he passed away, our entire family was very sad. The first time we went to DL after his passing, we laid red and yellow flowers under the feet of the Buddy statue in the pet cemetary. We did it a couple of other times that year.

[mistryl]

I was just telling someone about this earlier tonight, so I'll just post about it:

One time I was at the break area behind the Bank of Main Street watching The Weakest Link on TV with a train conducter. The guy on the show said he was from Florida, and he was a monorail driver for "a major theme park" and Anne said "Gee... I WONDER WHICH ONE??"

Not really a CM specific moment, but the train guy and I had a good laugh over it.

[MrLiver]

I think my favorite would be smashing the little electric cart into the barricade they put up in DCA to block off the TOT construction at 5am.

haha and no one ever found out!

[HMMaid2001]

One of many interesting experiences I've had in the Mansion is.... Goth Day..they are awesome guests when they come, so at the end of one night, they gathered their bodies, and threw red roses all over the graveyard! I thought that was cool! Love them!

[Disneychica04]

i work in stores in adventureland and frontierland. and we always have the kids running around the place and the parents dont even notice that their child is missing. well i had this one child come up to me and he said that he was lost. so i walked with him and i was talking to him and i asked him "do you know where your mommy is??" and he was like i saw her in the other store. so i walked with him there and we didnt find her. i walked in all my shops in adventureland and then i finally decided to call security. security couldnt send an officer for like 20 min and so they were like can you just take him to lost children. so him and i walked hand in hand and skipping to lost children and when we get there the little boy becomes really happy and stuff because inside were his parents. i guess they knew that they had lost their son and i guess they knew where to go and that was just a great moment for me to see the family all back together.

[HMMaid2001]

Standing at the Greeter position at Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh..and little kids love running towards me, and hugging my legs!

P.S.... I don't know them! LOL

[mamabot]

Standing at the Greeter position at Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh..and little kids love running towards me, and hugging my legs!

P.S.... I don't know them! LOL

This made me giggle. How cute is that!

I would not put that past my kids.

[mistryl]

Standing at the Greeter position at Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh..and little kids love running towards me, and hugging my legs!

That is awfully cute!

[Tinkerbell]

I'm a former Disneyland Cast Member who has been away from the park for several years now, but looking back, I can definitely say the best thing about being a CM was the friends I made there... no, not just for the sign in privileges... but because CM's are some of the sweetest people in the world! I'm still good friends with many of them and always look forward to seeing them whenever I'm back in town. In addition to that, simply being able to help spread the magic and help keep Walt's dream going meant so much to me. I always wanted to give back some of the magic that Disney made me feel. I'll always love the time I spent there!

[HMMaid2001]

Being part of the opening crew for the first HMH..back in october 2001..that was one crazy day!

[snappy]

Was a CM last summer 04 in ODV and had a great time. Best part was meeting fellow CM and seeing the magic off-stage. Eating at IN-Between and walking the park late at night. Just a great experience. Hated having to quit but had to teach intersession for my students. Darn it..

[Disneyphile]

Here's my favorite moment when I was a stores CM back in late fall '99:

I was working during a Happy Hearts evening. (Happy Hearts brings groups of mentally challenged adults to the park.) Anyway, this one Happy Heart came up to my counter, asking if he could purchase one of the Y2K light-up visors ($8) for his last $6. So, I said, "Well, let me see what I can do for you. Wait right here."

I went to the back to ask if I could write the hat off on our guest courtesy logs, and my boss said it was fine. So, seeing as this guy was like a kid, I decided to make his evening a bit more magical. I came out and cut the tags off the hat, and the exchange went like this:

Me: "Guess what! I talked to Mickey....."
Him: "Mickey!! Oh my gosh! You talked to Mickey?!?!"
Me: "Yep. I talked to the Big Cheese himself, he's our boss you know, and told him that you really wanted this hat. And he would like for you to HAVE it. And you can keep your $6."
Him: "Oh my gosh! Mickey said I can have the hat! I can be ready for 2000!"
Me: "Yep! Mickey would like for you to have a great new year."
Him: "I want to see Mickey! Where is Mickey? I have to show him my hat!"
Me: "Well, he's in his dressing room getting ready for Fantasmic. So, if you get to see the show, be sure to turn the lights on your hat and wave to him. He'll be looking out for you."
He excitedly turned to his group leader and said, "Are we seeing Fantasmic? I want to see Mickey and thank him! Mickey gave me this hat!"
The group leader smiled at him and said they would go to the show soon, and turned to thank me for making his evening.

It's a moment I'll never forget, especially how his face lit up over the fact that Mickey gave him a hat.

[PirateMunkee]

Back in 85 I was working in the New Orlean's main Kitchen. I was scrubbing out one of the vats and the elevator comes down from Club 33. Out comes 2 really big dudes and I'm really confused because they don't look like cast members. They stand by the elevator while it goes back up then it opens when it reaches the kitchen and Michael Jackson walks out. Regardless of what his current state is...It was something to see him when he was on top.

[snappy]

Walking backstage for the first time and seeing what I always wondered about. Trying not to look to excited/dorky in front of my fellow cast members.

[xfkirsten]

Oh, so many... one of my favorites was when I was in Merchandise at MK. I was in the Christmas shop in Liberty Square, doing the "Magical Moment." I picked a young girl to help me decorate the store's Christmas tree for the day. When I asked her, her face lit up. She had a blast decorating it with princess ornaments, and insisted that I be in the photo her mom took of her standing next to the tree.

[DLBakerguy]

The best experience I had is when I was rehired as a CM for Davy Crokett Merchatile in Frontierland. On this day, I was sent out to do parade duty for the Madi Gras Parade (1990). All CM's were instructed to get the children to get involved in the dance part at the end. I remember seeing a boy of about 4 that just stood there and cried at the end. I called off a parade CM that was going to him and took him by his hand. I was able to calm him down and found his father in no time since I remembered where these children came from. Just seeing his eyes lit up when he saw his father made it all worth while to do Parade Duty.

[tomx805]

My greatest memories working at Disneyland have to come from the many conversations I had with Annual Passholders...they would always remember to say "hi" to me and share their stories...I love giving smiles and getting them back in return.

[angryrubberduck]

Mine is what inspired me to be a cast member. My brother has downs syndrome and loves most Disney characters. Several years ago we flew out to DL for a christmas vacation and had a blast. At one point, my whole family and I lined up along the main street parade route for the Christmas parade and once the parade started it was amazing. Every character and entertainer that saw my brother came over and danced with him, or hugged him or kissed him...it was AWESOME!

For the first time in his life, my brother was not different, he was special. That was when I decided I wanted to be a cast member, so I could make people feel the same way they made my brother feel that day.

Duck!