An Ex-Disney Cast Member Spilled The Tea On Magic Kingdom & Staffers' Secret Code For Talking
A former Disney College Program cast member for Walt Disney World spilled the tea about what really goes on behind the scenes at the amusement park. He said his statute of limitations is up, his NDA is up, and nothing is holding him back.
A creator, Tom Cruz, uploaded a TikTok video on May 21, saying that he worked for the theme park back in 2009, and nearly 14 years later, he can talk about his experience. The video received 2.8 million views and 225.1K likes as people were on the edges of their seats to find out what the students were up to.
From secret codes to magical moments, and even trash talk, so many things go unnoticed by visitors that only the staff members know about...but now, they're being revealed.
@tcruznc Replying to @Lizardo94 I got at least 2 more videos full of facts. Lmk if yall want more. #fyp #college #lol
"Hot girls" got special treatment.
The Disney World cast was encouraged to keep the magic alive at the park, called "magical moments." For example, if a kid lost or dropped their food, or something unfortunate happened, staff were encouraged to do what they could to remedy the situation — like replace their dropped ice cream cone for free.
"Did I ever see a child get a magical moment? No. Did I see cast members give hot girls free ice cream, turkey legs and move them to the front of the line and create magical moments for them every single day? Yes."
Trash at Magical Kingdom is unheard of.
The trash cans at Magical Kingdom have a secret chute that goes down to Disney's trash compactor system called the Utilidor.
Cruz says you'll never see a janitor walking around the park with trash because that would "ruin the magic" of the park.
Here's what he says EPCOT really stands for...
EPCOT is supposed to stand for Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow but Cruz jokes that it has an alternate meaning.
Since Disney staff get paid weekly, Cruz says, "Everybody knows that EPCOT stands for Employees Paycheck Comes On Thursday."
You break the rules and you're fired.
Cruz said that if you call in sick and use your employee ID card to get into Magic Kingdom for free on your off day, the company will figure out your secret plan to skip work and you'll be escorted off the premises and fired immediately "before you ever make it to Space Mountain."
So, if you call in, make sure you're not attending company grounds for a fun day off.
Your appearance was important.
"All cast members need to adhere to a wholesome look," he said.
That means, no mirrored sunglasses, as that would be "intimidating to guests," and if you have tattoos, you had to cover them up.
The look is as detailed as having no significant facial hair. If you have facial hair, like a beard and mustache, you have to shave it.
A hiss and a secret code is prime communication.
The former staff member said to listen for a Disney hiss. The hiss is the only sound that could be louder than the crowd. It's typically one employee trying to get the attention of another, like a greeter and a ride attendant.
"We're probably going to give them a code, like 4-0-5, the attraction is now down, stop placing new riders, 5-0-5, there might be a missing kid and we need to be looking out for them, 6-0-5 there's a hot ass girl in line and to be on the lookout..."
Nobody throws up at Disney World.
If someone were to throw up at Disney World, it would be coined as a "protein spill."
Every cast member has protein powder to sprinkle on top of throw up, which dries it up so that the janitor can quickly clean it and it doesn't seem as though throw up is on the ground.
Continuity is key.
If you work at one part of the park and you were in uniform, you cannot go to another part of the park that doesn't match the uniform. You would be fired for that.
Cruz worked at Space Mountain in Tomorrowland and said that if he were to walk to Frontierland to get some food, he would be terminated for wearing his gray uniform in a different "land."
Child Protective Services, Police and Disney Management seemed to be on speed dial.
Cruz said he called CPS, the cops and his management team at least once a month when he worked at Space Mountain. He said he would frequently see children left in strollers unattended while the parents went to wait in long ride lines.
"Well, by the time they get off that ride, the police greet them, it's very stressful, it's always a loud scene and no one leaves happy and it's not very magical. Please do not leave your kids unattended at Disney World."
