Free Amber Earns Her Ears: My Secret Walt Disney World Cast Member Diary by Amber Sewell Page B

watch him play with Push, the talking trash can in Tomorrowland?
    On our next mutual day off, Paige and I went to Magic Kingdom and followed Push as kids delighted in throwing things in and teenage boys attempted to find where the voice was coming from. After Push was done for the day, Pete took us backstage and directed Paige inside one of the buildings where she actually had a meeting with the man in charge of casting for the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Pete and I sat outside at one of the picnic tables. Shortly, Paige came out thrilled, clutching a script that Disney uses for the actual audition.
    Paige and I hadn’t really counted on any kind of networking while we were down there. Or at least it had never crossed our minds that, while out to meet a podcaster, we would have such luck in furthering our dream careers. I guess that’s the thing with spontaneous decisions — you never really know where you’ll end up.

Chapter 12
Amber Deals with Disney Stress
    “OH, COME ON. I’LL be working for Disney. How hard can that be?”
    This is an oft-repeated refrain from future College Programmers before they start work at Walt Disney World. They even maintain this illusion for their first few weeks. Eventually, though, the experience that comes with being a Cast Member strips away the mirage of ease and happiness. Just because the Cast Members you see walking around are smiling doesn’t mean they’re having a magical day. Keeping their temper under control is part of the job.
    It’s one of the many things you learn during the initial training process. Disney Cast Members must look approachable at all times: no slouching, no hands on hips, no pointing with just one finger. You are taught to be consciously aware of how you look to guests from all angles — at least, that’s what you’re taught. It doesn’t mean everyone pays attention. And smiling: smiling is key. Smiling makes you approachable; if you look like you are having a good time, guests will respond more favorably to you.
    It sounds a little preachy, and trust me, not everyone pays attention to these kinds of rules. You’ll find Cast Members who put little effort into looking approachable. It’s just not something that many people worry about, and something not a lot of managers enforce. I understand this attitude: it’s often hard to tolerate the daily parade of screaming children smushing their French fries into the ground, and angry parents telling you they’ve been waiting for their food for thirty minutes when you have absolutely no hand in what’s going on in the kitchen.
    I really loved my job, however, and the Disney attitude made my work day better. If I could spend ten minutes chatting with a kid about seeing the orcas at Sea World, or asking a guest about their day, it made my day go by faster. Sometimes, however, even I had trouble maintaining a magical attitude, and on those days I just wanted to hide in the kitchen and never come out and deal with guests.
    What some people overlook when they dream about working for Disney is the high standards Disney sets for all of its Cast Members. Being approachable is just one of them. Disney makes no exceptions just because you’re having a bad day or don’t feel like being social. If, by nature, you are not a happy, friendly, easy-going person, then working for Disney may not be the fun-filled experience you expect.
    Paige and I had a habit of waking up a couple of hours before we had to leave for work. She would make us breakfast, I would make my coffee, and we would sit on the couch watching Family Feud before getting in the shower and then heading off to work. On one such morning, I’m not entirely sure how, I got my mental schedule screwed up. I was leaving the apartment at the exact time I was supposed to be clocking in at the Electric Umbrella. Stomach sinking because I loathe being late, I ran to my car and called EU to let them know I wouldn’t be there on time. I don’t even