When we talk about the Magic of Disney, we talk about the atmosphere, the imagineering, the nostalgia, the entertainment, the food. The list goes on. But none of this would be possible without the Cast Members. Disney Cast Members bring the Magic, always. Even through all the changes we have seen in 2020 and will see in 2021, Cast Members continue to Make Magic like no one else can. As a tribute to them, we wanted to honor their efforts by sharing some Disney Cast Member Magic stories of our own.
The MousekeCocktail
Of course, Disney Cast Member Magic extends to the MousekeCocktail experience.
One of our favorite Cast Member encounters on our trip in October happened at Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar. On our way in we noticed a, shall we say, affectionate corner of the room. When we asked our server about it, she gave us some insight into the notoriety of that table as one that frequently sparks romance. Cast Members even gave it a name, the ___ Station. You fill in the blank. It rhymes.
Jock Lindsey’s has some of the most fun drinks in Disney World. Our favorites include the Safari Sangria (South African Red Wine with Van Der Rum Tangerine Liqueur), Cool-headed Monkey (Starr African Rum, Van Der Hum Tangerine Liqueur, Lime Juice, Watermelon and Pineapple Juice) and Mayors Reserve (Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Blackberry Brandy, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup).
The Newsreel
We MousekeMoms anxiously await the opening of the Ratatouille ride in Epcot’s France Pavilion. Bushes replaced walls last week, and now, part of the area is open. You can walk under the marquis and pose for a PhotoPass photographer. No opening announcement has been made yet, but we sincerely hope Lori can get to ride before she leaves WDW in a couple of weeks.
Donald has absconded from his rightful place at the end of the Gran Fiesta Tour Featuring the Three Caballeros, initially replaced by sombrero atop a houseplant. Now the sombrero is missing too. We hoped a clever PR stunt was afoot, but it turns out everyone’s favorite duck just malfunctioned and needs repairing. Hopefully, Panchito and Jose will find him again soon….and the imagineers will seize the opportunity to somehow work it into the ride story.
The Daily Roundup
Back to the Magical Cast Member Stories:
MousekeMom Jennifer
I was with three of my four kids (teens) in the Magic Kingdom while my husband was back at the resort with the fourth kid who was sick. We were just passing by Pirates and I saw that it had a thirty minute wait. My kids whined and didn’t want to wait “that long”. The cast member by the ride came over and I heard me telling the kids that I had done EVERYTHING they wanted for the whole trip and this was the one thing I wanted to do because it is my favorite ride. The cast member said, “sounds like a great mom!” He then handed me (and only me) a FastPass+ for the ride and told my kids where they could wait for me to finish! They were so mad as I high fived the CM and did a little dance through the FP queue. A few minutes later my kids came running to catch up to me. They had to promise the CM they would be nice to be the rest of the trip and he gave them passes to join me in line. When we got off the ride, he was still standing by the ride entrance greeting guests so I went to thank him. He complimented me on my nice family and gave us passes for the next day so we could come back with my husband and kid #4. Pure CM magic.
We love this story because it shows the Cast Member’s sense of humor, too. The kids learned a great lesson about being appreciative and nice to mom, but the cast member didn’t actually punish them. He gave them just enough time to stew and be shocked before he sent them on the ride with some extra Magic. It’s a perfect example of how Cast Members do something Magical and then go one step farther.
Though Cast Members provide extra Magic all the time, we think it only works if it’s unexpected. In our experience, if you try to get a Cast Member to throw some extra Magic your way, it’s probably not going to happen. They know what they’re doing, and they seem to recognize when they are being manipulated.
That said, if you have a legitimate issue, definitely bring it to a Cast Member’s attention….nicely. Disney Cast Members always strive to right a wrong, even if that wrong wasn’t on them.
Which brings us to…
MousekeMom Juliana
We stayed at Yacht Club a few years ago. I got a great deal on our room, in part because they were undergoing refurbishment. When I booked, I knew there was a chance of construction noise during the day. No big deal. I didn’t plan to be in the room during the day anyway.
What I didn’t know was that my daughter would get sick. She came down with strep throat and ended up sleeping in the room for an entire day. We had connecting rooms with my in-laws, and my mother-in-law kindly stayed with my little sickie while the rest of us spent time at the pool. When we returned to the room late afternoon, my mother-in-law mentioned that jackhammering on the floor above all day left her a tremendous headache.
We went to the front desk and explained that we had a sick child and while we knew there was a chance of noise, we asked if maybe we could be moved to a higher floor since we would likely need to be in the room all day again. Minutes later, there was a knock on our door from the hotel manager. She brought my daughter soup and ice cream and explained that Spring Break crowds made it impossible for both rooms to be moved that night. She instructed us to pack up our bags, in hopes they would move us in the morning. But, not surprisingly, they couldn’t.
Luckily after a day of antibiotics, Little Miss was all but cured. As instructed again, we left our bags packed and went to the parks the next day hoping to return to a new room. It didn’t happen.
The cast members bent over backwards to make it right, though. Here’s the list:
They offered to send us on a firework cruise. We had to decline as we had dinner reservations at ‘Ohana. Instead they sent us to the Poly in a Minnie Van so we wouldn’t have to take the bus.
So nice, but that’s not all.
After the second night, they moved us….to an upgraded room, newly refurbished, water view. Gorgeous. There’s more.
They apologized that we had to miss a park day and offered to extend our reservation by a night….for which they did not charge us.
More still.
They gave us tickets for the extra day and 3 any-time FastPasses, even though we had planned just to sit by the pool.
I’m not done.
While we were sitting by the pool, we decided to use the park tickets to walk to Epcot in the evening for dinner. I miraculously found a dinner reservation at Tutto Italia on the My Disney Experience app, but when I tried to book it, the app froze. So, I went to the front desk just to see if the Cast Member could help. He tried but couldn’t, figuring another guest must have snagged the reservation at the same time I tried. No big deal.
No sooner than I returned to my lounge chair, did my husband’s phone ring. The hotel manager called to let us know he made us a reservation at Tutto Italia for dinner. My husband asked, “How did you even know we were looking?” He answered, “It’s just the Magic of Disney, sir.” I say it’s just Disney Cast Member Magic.
Lori had a similar experience with Disney Cast Member Magic as they made her problem right.
MousekeMom Lori
My issue was a Disney IT problem. There was a mess-up with my Dining Plan Credits showing up incorrectly in Disney’s system. So I had to pay out of pocket at the restaurant and get reimbursed the cash and charged the appropriate dining credits when I returned to the resort hotel. The problem was supposed to be fixed after I talked to them that night, but the same thing happened the next morning.
When I went back to the desk after a long park day, I had to wait 25 minutes just to ask someone at the desk to fix it (again). I just wanted to get back to my room, so I asked for a confirmation phone call once it was taken care of, but the call never came.
The next day, I was back at the front desk where the Cast Member finally had the problem fixed with IT on the phone as I stood there. The Cast Member refunded the cash payments I had to make AND didn’t charge the dining credits I should have been charged. So, as any mom of boys would, I used the 2 freebie dining credits to have breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table…before park opening!!! Coincidence? Or more Disney Cast Member Magic?
Cast Members are great at fixing problems we tell them about, but they are also really keen observers. They notice when things are amiss and swoop in to comfort and help guests.
MousekeFan Shelley
I was at Magic Kingdom with my whole family, 12 of us. We were by Winnie the Pooh all chatting and released that my nephew wasn’t there. We looked around and got very nervous. A Cast member immediately saw our concern and came over and asked what was wrong. We told them we couldn’t find my nephew and she very calmly said ‘not a problem, let’s radio around.’ They found him 10 minutes later and everything was great! They also gave us some great fast passes to use for the kids as they were a bit shaken. We now write our phone number on the kids arms, but it is nice to know that Disney had it taken care of too!
Disney Cast Members not only took care of it, they made sure none of the kids felt the trauma. Part of Disney Cast Member Magic is making sure that no one leaves with a tainted memory from their trip. And they don’t just do it for kids…
MousekeFan Holly
My husband passed out from a 3D motion ride. The cast members never left our side. They brought him a Disney fan and cute mickey plush. We missed our dining, so they rescheduled it for us and got us some free FastPasses to help us try to enjoy the rest of the day.They even called to check on him throughout the day. Awful yet amazing memory.
Lori knows something about fainting spells at Disney too….
MousekeMom Lori
My son passed out at Mickey’s BBQ from a fever we didn’t know he had. He seemed totally fine and was running around, but then he said he didn’t feel good. As soon as we sat down his face went white and he fainted and fell off the bench. When I felt him he was on fire. Cast Members called a taxi for my husband to bring him to urgent care. My older son and I stayed behind. Cast Members checked on us all through dinner and asked for updates as I received them from my husband. After dinner, they held a private meet-and-greet with characters just for us and gave us special gifts to bring back to my son who got sick. So my older son still had a Magical memory, and my son who missed the experience got some cool memories too. They also comped all our dining credits for that night. They even comped our next day of tickets since we couldn’t go to the parks and gave us FastPasses to use the following day instead. Plus, they moved the dining reservations that we had to miss. They were amazing!
Disney Cast Member Magic doesn’t only happen when things go wrong. Cast Members do Magical things even when things are going just fine.
MousekeMom Juliana
My daughter lost a tooth at breakfast. When she wasn’t looking, the Cast Member snuck me one of those light-up straw clips that you get with kids’ drinks. It was a Tinkerbell. She quietly told me to put it under her pillow that night and then told my daughter that when you lose a tooth at Disney World, Tinkerbell is the tooth fairy. Well, my Teresa, aka Stinkerbell, loved that and was so happy to receive the little Tink in exchange for her tooth.
MousekeTip
Disney Cast Member Magic separates Disney from all the others. So, be friendly to your Cast Members! They are there to assist in any way they can to ensure everyone has a Magical Vacation. They are also a joy to talk to. Have a question, can’t find something, or simply want to learn a bit more? Strike up a conversation with a Cast Member. They make every Magical interaction look effortless. They are truly Magic Makers.
For more details, a few more stories, and a lot of laughs be sure to listen to MousekeMoms: A Disney Podcast Season 2, Episode 3. You know you want to.