Amber Earns Her Ears: My Secret Walt Disney World Cast Member Diary by Amber Sewell Page A
Authors: Amber Sewell
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times you’ll have to learn a whole new set of directions and procedures. You’ll pull up your schedule, and find that instead of your regular work location, you’ve got to report at some place you’ve never heard of.
Working at Electric Umbrella, I watched most of the CPs get deployed before it happened to me. They came back with mixed reviews; some people loved where they had been sent (usually because it had been a little slower-paced), and some loathed it. I was looking forward to my deployment with a tad bit of trepidation.
Toward the end of May, I had reluctantly agreed to fly back home to Tennessee to walk at my high school graduation. I didn’t want to do it, but my mother insisted, and missing two days of work wasn’t a terribly big deal. I tried to request the days off through the Hub, the Cast Member website where you can view your schedule, paystub, other jobs that are open, article databases, and myriad other resources, but my time-off requests were denied. I ended up going to one of my leaders, and after explaining why I needed the days off, he assured me that it wouldn’t be a problem.
It just so happened that these days off were during the week of my deployment. I double-checked to make sure that everything was fine.
The girl I had seen on the bus wearing the Sunset Ranch costume showed me where to find my own costume in the Cast Member building. I picked out a lovely blue and white blouse and matching skirt, a subtle apron plastered with sunflowers, and, as they were out of straw bonnets, a white handkerchief that I had to tie around my head. I took my newly acquired costume to the changing room, where I struggled for a couple of minutes as to which way the bottoms actually went. They looked like a skirt, but were really shorts…still, despite all the logic I put into donning my bottoms correctly, when I stuck my iPod and cell phone in the pockets, it was to find that I had still managed to put them on backwards.
It was a sign.
I always feel uncomfortable walking across stage in costume. One of the things emphasized in Traditions is Walt’s belief in the show: people dressed in Western costumes for Frontierland, for example, should under no circumstances be seen walking through the pastel colors of Fantasyland or tropical Adventureland. Magic Kingdom is the main place where that rule is most noticeable when broken, and fittingly, it’s also the only park where you can easily get from one land to another — via the Utilidor — without ever stepping foot onstage. I knew how to find Sunset Ranch, but I wasn’t sure how to get there backstage (and it didn’t help that backstage at Hollywood Studios consists of a bunch of bland buildings). I managed to find one little shortcut, but still ended up crossing much of the stage, my Gryffindor bag slung across my shoulders.
Fortunately, I had made sure to show up with plenty of extra time. I asked around and someone pointed out the trailer where I’d find the Cast Deployment System (CDS), and another building where I’d find a fridge and a spot to stow my bag. When it came time to clock in through the CDS, I did so, and was put out on bussing.
Bussing is not my favorite task. Probably my least favorite, actually. In the heat, with the lovely smell of the grease and trash located just off-stage permeating the air, and the oily smell of turkey legs wafting over from the stand…wonderful experience. Throughout the day, I was sometimes sent to get trays ready for pizza or to scoop ice cream, but mostly, I wandered around wiping down tables and pushing the trash cart.
When another Cast Member finally told me it was time for my break, I was elated. I went inside to grab my stuff and asked where I could find the cafeteria. Luckily, it wasn’t far, and I made my way there, already missing my old job at Electric Umbrella.
I headed over to the microwaves to warm up the batch of pasta I had brought with me. What I hadn’t brought was a fork. I
Working at Electric Umbrella, I watched most of the CPs get deployed before it happened to me. They came back with mixed reviews; some people loved where they had been sent (usually because it had been a little slower-paced), and some loathed it. I was looking forward to my deployment with a tad bit of trepidation.
Toward the end of May, I had reluctantly agreed to fly back home to Tennessee to walk at my high school graduation. I didn’t want to do it, but my mother insisted, and missing two days of work wasn’t a terribly big deal. I tried to request the days off through the Hub, the Cast Member website where you can view your schedule, paystub, other jobs that are open, article databases, and myriad other resources, but my time-off requests were denied. I ended up going to one of my leaders, and after explaining why I needed the days off, he assured me that it wouldn’t be a problem.
It just so happened that these days off were during the week of my deployment. I double-checked to make sure that everything was fine.
The girl I had seen on the bus wearing the Sunset Ranch costume showed me where to find my own costume in the Cast Member building. I picked out a lovely blue and white blouse and matching skirt, a subtle apron plastered with sunflowers, and, as they were out of straw bonnets, a white handkerchief that I had to tie around my head. I took my newly acquired costume to the changing room, where I struggled for a couple of minutes as to which way the bottoms actually went. They looked like a skirt, but were really shorts…still, despite all the logic I put into donning my bottoms correctly, when I stuck my iPod and cell phone in the pockets, it was to find that I had still managed to put them on backwards.
It was a sign.
I always feel uncomfortable walking across stage in costume. One of the things emphasized in Traditions is Walt’s belief in the show: people dressed in Western costumes for Frontierland, for example, should under no circumstances be seen walking through the pastel colors of Fantasyland or tropical Adventureland. Magic Kingdom is the main place where that rule is most noticeable when broken, and fittingly, it’s also the only park where you can easily get from one land to another — via the Utilidor — without ever stepping foot onstage. I knew how to find Sunset Ranch, but I wasn’t sure how to get there backstage (and it didn’t help that backstage at Hollywood Studios consists of a bunch of bland buildings). I managed to find one little shortcut, but still ended up crossing much of the stage, my Gryffindor bag slung across my shoulders.
Fortunately, I had made sure to show up with plenty of extra time. I asked around and someone pointed out the trailer where I’d find the Cast Deployment System (CDS), and another building where I’d find a fridge and a spot to stow my bag. When it came time to clock in through the CDS, I did so, and was put out on bussing.
Bussing is not my favorite task. Probably my least favorite, actually. In the heat, with the lovely smell of the grease and trash located just off-stage permeating the air, and the oily smell of turkey legs wafting over from the stand…wonderful experience. Throughout the day, I was sometimes sent to get trays ready for pizza or to scoop ice cream, but mostly, I wandered around wiping down tables and pushing the trash cart.
When another Cast Member finally told me it was time for my break, I was elated. I went inside to grab my stuff and asked where I could find the cafeteria. Luckily, it wasn’t far, and I made my way there, already missing my old job at Electric Umbrella.
I headed over to the microwaves to warm up the batch of pasta I had brought with me. What I hadn’t brought was a fork. I
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