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View Full Version : Castmember Thoughts on working the Attractions



Arnold Simba
08-23-2008, 08:03 PM
Just wondering what Castmembers thoughts were/are of working on Attractions. I've always wanted to know the inside stories of working on specific attractions.

I remember a couple in their 50's had a website where they posted their experiences. It was an interesting read. The gentleman wrote about working various rides in Fantasyland, how he trained for the attractions, his walk-throughs, behind-the-scenes info, etc.

Anyone have any experiences they would like to share?

CaptainJessicaSparrow
08-24-2008, 01:40 AM
I can't and won't share a lot of my backstage stories of the Jungle.

But I love it! It was a hard decision to decide to leave but I know I always have a boat here for me, if I wanted to pick up a shift (or three).

The Jungle is a lot of fun and you really interact with your Guests. Plus, you can get away with a lot of stuff that if it was said at other places in the park, it wouldn't be as acceptable as it is on the Jungle. Like, I can tell the guests that we're leaving the dock whether they are sitting or not, and once I start moving, they'll sit or fall out, of which I will point and laugh.....or tell them that if they cross the crates in the center of the boat that I will throw them to the warring natives along with the heads of the others who crossed the crates (the skulls in the boat before the natives).

I will say it'll be hard not being sarcastic with my Guests in Entertainment like I've been with them at Jungle. Some serious readjustments will need to take place. But since it's my passion, I won't mess it up.

kakn7294
08-24-2008, 12:01 PM
I can't and won't share a lot of my backstage stories of the Jungle.

But I love it! It was a hard decision to decide to leave but I know I always have a boat here for me, if I wanted to pick up a shift (or three).

The Jungle is a lot of fun and you really interact with your Guests. Plus, you can get away with a lot of stuff that if it was said at other places in the park, it wouldn't be as acceptable as it is on the Jungle. Like, I can tell the guests that we're leaving the dock whether they are sitting or not, and once I start moving, they'll sit or fall out, of which I will point and laugh.....or tell them that if they cross the crates in the center of the boat that I will throw them to the warring natives along with the heads of the others who crossed the crates (the skulls in the boat before the natives).

I will say it'll be hard not being sarcastic with my Guests in Entertainment like I've been with them at Jungle. Some serious readjustments will need to take place. But since it's my passion, I won't mess it up.Ha Ha Ha! I know some of your secrets!!

I have trouble not being sarcastic as well - I love to be a smartypants!! You'll do fine though. Keep us informed as to what you are doing!

WDWdriver
08-24-2008, 01:50 PM
Most of the time I really enjoy working in Attractions. We are the ones operating the rides that our guests have come to experience, and it's fun to see their anticipation and reactions. But there are challenges, too. We have to enforce the safety rules and deal with all sorts of guest complaints. FastPass can be a problem, especially when guests don't understand why the FP tickets run out early in the day. It's not at all unusual to suddenly have an angry guest in your face.

Working at Expedition Everest is not as fun as you might think. The ride loading area is not very large, so it is always crowded and incredibly noisy. We typically dispatch a fully loaded train every 55 seconds. On a busy day we will put 20,000 people on the ride. That takes a lot of concentration, hard work and coordination.

Every CM is trained to work every position, so the training is extensive. On the first day of training you must walk with your trainer up the "B" lift, through the fortress and on up to the top. You are on a narrow catwalk next to the track, and about 160 feet above the concrete below. If you can't do this, then you can't work there. If the ride goes down trains will stop on the lift and we have to go get the guests out and walk them down the lift or down inside the mountain.

The plus side of working at EE is what I call the "cool stuff", like being inside the mountain and seeing the incredible way it was constructed. Or standing beneath the yeti and watching him move. Or sitting in the "tower" and monitoring all the cameras and ride systems. Or best of all, pressing the green button at the Rear Dispatch position which sounds the whistle, sends up a jet of steam and launches the train.

My favorite attraction to work so far is Kali River Rapids. The pace is a little slower there, and there are fewer problems with guest misbehavior.

There are lots of backstage stories and funny stuff, but as Captain Jessica said we can't really talk about that. Got to preserve the magic, ya know. But here's one little thing I think I can share. Do you know what happens when the park closes and the last guests have ridden? That's when we treat ourselves to a ride. The last ride of the day is just for the CMs.

MinnieMommie
08-24-2008, 03:39 PM
Thank you Cap Jessica and Ron. Even though you are restricted as to what you can share these are great stories nonetheless. Jungle, EE and Kali are among my favorites so it is good to hear what you have to say. Best of luck to yo Jessica!! :mickey:

MississippiDisneyFreak
08-24-2008, 03:44 PM
Where is Jessica going?

magicofdisney
08-24-2008, 03:46 PM
Do you know what happens when the park closes and the last guests have ridden? That's when we treat ourselves to a ride. The last ride of the day is just for the CMs.
:thumbsup:That is super cool! :mickey:

disneygeek84
08-24-2008, 04:27 PM
Got to preserve the magic, ya know. But here's one little thing I think I can share. Do you know what happens when the park closes and the last guests have ridden? That's when we treat ourselves to a ride. The last ride of the day is just for the CMs.

One time when we were there, we were the last guests to ride BTM that night and we had 2 CM's come running in through the exit and ask if they could ride one last time. It was only my family (6 people) and these 2 CM's on the train. It was so much fun.

CaptainJessicaSparrow
08-24-2008, 09:09 PM
Jessica is going to Character Attendant.

Our ride has 10 boats, sent out every 58 seconds. A fully-loaded boat has room for 39 people.

We Skippers tend to love our job. It really is a lot of fun.

MississippiDisneyFreak
08-25-2008, 09:32 AM
Jessica is going to Character Attendant.

Our ride has 10 boats, sent out every 58 seconds. A fully-loaded boat has room for 39 people.

We Skippers tend to love our job. It really is a lot of fun.

Cool:confused:

Imagineer1981
08-25-2008, 11:17 AM
Space Mountain was a blast to work at, but also very challenging. Unlike the newer rides like EE and RnR, its old and has quirks. Also to reset the ride during a break down (called a ride cascade) you have to go out and manually reset every brake on the track, kind of a pain! But overall attractions is a great experience, working the front greeter position is awesome because you get alot of interaction with guests that you don't get when working load and unload. Oh and working FP is TERRIBLE....so many people get confused on how to use it, and the machines break or get stuck, just a headache.

joanna71985
08-25-2008, 01:31 PM
Jessica is going to Character Attendant.


When do you start training?

azcavalier
08-25-2008, 02:26 PM
When do you start training?

And would Character Attendant be the person who takes the characters out to the meet 'n' greets? Can you tell us which park (or part of which park even) that you'll be at?

Arnold Simba
08-25-2008, 02:44 PM
Most of the time I really enjoy working in Attractions. We are the ones operating the rides that our guests have come to experience, and it's fun to see their anticipation and reactions. But there are challenges, too. We have to enforce the safety rules and deal with all sorts of guest complaints. FastPass can be a problem, especially when guests don't understand why the FP tickets run out early in the day. It's not at all unusual to suddenly have an angry guest in your face.

Working at Expedition Everest is not as fun as you might think. The ride loading area is not very large, so it is always crowded and incredibly noisy. We typically dispatch a fully loaded train every 55 seconds. On a busy day we will put 20,000 people on the ride. That takes a lot of concentration, hard work and coordination.

Every CM is trained to work every position, so the training is extensive. On the first day of training you must walk with your trainer up the "B" lift, through the fortress and on up to the top. You are on a narrow catwalk next to the track, and about 160 feet above the concrete below. If you can't do this, then you can't work there. If the ride goes down trains will stop on the lift and we have to go get the guests out and walk them down the lift or down inside the mountain.

The plus side of working at EE is what I call the "cool stuff", like being inside the mountain and seeing the incredible way it was constructed. Or standing beneath the yeti and watching him move. Or sitting in the "tower" and monitoring all the cameras and ride systems. Or best of all, pressing the green button at the Rear Dispatch position which sounds the whistle, sends up a jet of steam and launches the train.

My favorite attraction to work so far is Kali River Rapids. The pace is a little slower there, and there are fewer problems with guest misbehavior.

There are lots of backstage stories and funny stuff, but as Captain Jessica said we can't really talk about that. Got to preserve the magic, ya know. But here's one little thing I think I can share. Do you know what happens when the park closes and the last guests have ridden? That's when we treat ourselves to a ride. The last ride of the day is just for the CMs.

Thank you very much for your post. And I'm cool with keeping backstage secrets and stuff like that. I know where you're coming from. I once worked a job for a major stock market business, and the craziness that went on behind the scenes happened before political correctness kicked in. Nowdays those same antics would cause all you-know-what to break loose. lol
What you wrote I enjoyed very much. It gave an honest peek to what things are like.
Side note: When I visit the Disney parks, I enjoy chatting with the castmembers about their jobs. I try to catch them when it looks like they have a moment or two to chat. Without fail, every castmember I've chatted with has been funny, informative, and very friendly.

murphy1
08-25-2008, 02:59 PM
I've heard before about walk-throughs y'all have to do at ride closing, there is no way I could do that at night at Snow White or Haunted Mansion. I got stuck on Snow White for a few minutes in the scene with the gators and it kind of freaked me out. I am not a big fan of that ride, it's creepy.

TheRustyScupper
08-25-2008, 03:41 PM
And would Character Attendant be the person who takes the characters out to the meet 'n' greets?

1) No.
2) It's the person that says "Sorry to you, the next person in line, no more autographs".

:dizzy:

joanna71985
08-25-2008, 06:00 PM
And would Character Attendant be the person who takes the characters out to the meet 'n' greets? Can you tell us which park (or part of which park even) that you'll be at?

Yes. The character attendant escorts the character out to their spot, and assists the character.

Unfortunately I currently am back at school. But I hope to come down for a few days in Jan, and will be moving down in May.

CaptainJessicaSparrow
08-25-2008, 11:43 PM
Rusty is somewhat right.

We're responsible for getting Mickey out on time, back on time, his safety, entertaining the guests waiting to see him, taking pictures, etc.

And I start training on August 31st. Because of availability, it will only be weekends at first, then after training, it will open up.

I don't know what parks I will be at because it's global - we can be anywhere.

laward32
08-26-2008, 10:49 AM
Jessica,
How come you are leaving JC so soon. I thought you just got moved there? I was hoping to see you on my next trip. Keep us updated on where you might be.

CaptainJessicaSparrow
08-26-2008, 01:16 PM
I know! I did just join the Skips over at JC.

And I love it there, I really do! It's so much fun and I love what I can get away with because we are called "witty and experienced Skippers." So my wit...is definitely out there.

But my passion for this company really lies in Entertainment. I was in theater for 4 years in high school, and I had originally wanted to be a director. I've done some stage work, mostly backstage stuff, and I love costuming. But as a career, there is little money in theater unless you can get onto Broadway and I prefer not starving for a break, and trust me, it's harder with techies to get jobs.

So I love Disney and I figured I can work for them, the largest Entertainment company in the world. When I got the call to be a Character Attendant, I accepted it because I didn't want the opportunity to pass me by. My goal is to work up through management, into executive levels, and eventually, take over the company for a serious face-lift.

So...yeah. That's why I left JC....although JC is a lot like Entertainment anyways. We perform there, with a script, several times a day. Usually upwards of 10-15 shows a day (each ride is a show). More than a lot of the actual performers in Entertainment. And I don't get that nice equity pay and I have to do manual labor like loading and unloading boats in the rain, in the thunder, sweating all day in the sun. We have to stand outside, regardless of weather and if it so much as sprinkles, they get to go inside in the nice covered, AC and watch movies. Yeah, Entertainment has it so easy...I never want to hear them complain. EVER.

joanna71985
08-26-2008, 01:21 PM
Rusty is somewhat right.

We're responsible for getting Mickey out on time, back on time, his safety, entertaining the guests waiting to see him, taking pictures, etc.

And I start training on August 31st. Because of availability, it will only be weekends at first, then after training, it will open up.

I don't know what parks I will be at because it's global - we can be anywhere.

Oh, ok. That's cool.

sophie peach
08-28-2008, 08:28 AM
awww i was really looking forward to seeing you!!