Known the world over for its impressive guest service, Walt Disney World has perfected both the art and the science of Cast Member training. The company takes a top-down approach that starts with the big picture and then gradually drills down to the specific tasks that an individual Cast Member will perform. This helps new employees understand the company as a whole and where they fit in, helps to ensure excellence across the organization, and even facilitates later transfers and promotions.
Let’s take a look at the steps that are taken to help bed in a new Cast Member, using a “spieling” attraction role as an example (such as as Kilimanjaro Safaris driver…a role that I held myself!).
1. Traditions
No matter who you are, where you come from, what role you have, or even how much prior Disney experience you have, you are required to go through Traditions anytime you are rehired. Traditions covers a lot of ground, reviewing Disney’s illustrious history and giving new Cast Members a thorough understanding of the company today. Although it might sound dry, Traditions is a lot of fun. There are small-group activities, glitzy presentations, and even trivia games for prizes.
In the 1990s, Traditions was a three-day affair that included walking tours of the parks and a great deal of team-building. It has been streamlined into a single eight-hour day, with many of the previous activities moved to Park Orientation day. I’ve heard that Disney College Program Cast Members go through a shortened four-hour program.
At the end of Traditions, Cast Members receive their name tags and employee ID cards. This is an exciting time, because it means finally getting to visit the parks for free! A lot of people immediately make plans to spend the evening in a park with their new friends. But first, new Cast Members need to stop by Wardrobe to receive their costumes.
The first visit to Wardrobe is frenetic, nerve-wracking and often overwhelming. Each park has its own facility, and each facility is simply massive. Racks and racks of costumes of every description hang on moving conveyor belts, and Cast Members from every department rush through to avoid being late to work. This is the time for the new Cast Member to get a locker assignment and instructions on checking costumes in and out, as well as a fitting for the new costume. It is also time to make some decisions. Many costumes have options, such as shorts versus pants or an optional hat. You can change your mind later, but whatever you choose initially is what you will end up wearing for your first day of training, so it’s important to select the items that make you feel most comfortable. Then it’s off to the maze-like locker room to locate your locker and, if you like, to put your costumes away.
Disney offers something called Cast Zooming, which allows Cast Members to check out five costumes at a time and take them home to wash. I never saw the point of that, though, so I always took advantage of the option to trade in a dirty costume for a clean one each day. With Cast Zooming, though, the locker rooms are often emptier than they used to be.
2. Park Orientation
The second day of work is typically park orientation. Each of the four theme parks calls it something different, such as DAKlimation at Animal Kingdom or Discovery Day at Epcot. Regardless, this is the day for new Cast Members to walk around their particular park and get to know it in an in-depth way. This usually involves some combination of riding attractions, finding key spots backstage, learning some of the history behind the park, and maybe even a scavenger hunt or trivia game. At this stage, the training group consists only of new hires or rehires at that particular park, but Cast Members are not yet separated by job.
Although this is a fun day, it is important to pay attention. Cast Members are expected to be familiar enough with the entire park to answer basic guest questions, such as where a particular ride is located. For more complicated guest inquiries, Cast Members need to know who to contact to find that information. It is never acceptable to simply answer a guest’s question with, “I don’t know,” or even worse, “That’s not my job.” It is always the Cast Member’s responsibility to solve a guest’s problem or put that person in contact with someone who can.
3. Attraction orientation and non-spiel positions
After park orientation, Cast Members split into individual job categories for the rest of their training. Exactly what happens next depends on the Cast Member’s role. For example, Merchandise employees go through a class called Merchantainment, which teaches them to blend selling with entertaining the guest. For spiel attractions, this is the time to head over to the actual attraction and meet the trainers.
Spiel attraction training is typically four to seven days long, though this can vary by attraction, the number of trainees and the individual trainee’s progression. Trainees usually spend the entire period with one or two trainers, although this can change based on staffing needs. The first day generally involves going over the training schedule and walking through the different positions.
Spieling Cast Members usually receive a copy of the spiel on the first day so that they can begin memorizing it at home. Actual training, though, usually begins with the non-spieling positions (known as Land positions at Kilimanjaro Safaris). These include such spots as Greeter—the person out front with a radio, Grouper—the person who asks how many in your party and assigns you to a row, and Load/Unload. Each position has different priorities and different things to memorize, such as radio codes or how many people fit in a row, so it is important to pay close attention and maybe take notes.
The trainer will verbally explain how to work the position, then perform the job for a few minutes, and then let the trainees try. There are plenty of opportunities to ask questions and get help, and it usually doesn’t take long until the position feels like second nature.
4. Vehicle operations
Most spieling attractions also involve operating a ride vehicle, which might be mostly automated or might be fully under the Cast Member’s control. For example, the trucks at Kilimanjaro Safaris are actually real trucks driven by the Cast Members on a narrow, winding pathway. Although governors keep them at a safe, low speed, there are numerous spots along the route that can give new Safari guides trouble. So a good portion of training time is devoted to driving an empty truck around and around and around, gaining familiarity with the path and confidence in driving such a large vehicle.
As the Cast Member becomes more comfortable with regular operations, the trainer begins to introduce emergency procedures. Cast Members learn what to do in case of everything from simple rain to severe weather to emergency ride evacuations. Pretty much every contingency you could possibly think of is covered during operations training.
Cast Members also have to learn how to start up the vehicles in the morning and bring them online, as well as how to take them offline and shut them down at night. For example, Kilimanjaro Safaris trucks are parked at night in a massive lot down the perimeter road from the attraction. Morning Cast Members must perform an extensive safety check on all parts of the truck, drive it down the perimeter road to the attraction, and then enter the ride path. Closing shift Cast Members must exit the ride path, drive back to the parking lot, fill up the natural gas tank, park the truck and perform a short list of shutdown tasks.
5. Spiel focus
Because the narrated spiels are long and complicated, Cast Members are expected to do as much memorization as possible at home. However, they also get a lot of time during training to practice. At first, spiel rehearsal is done away from the ride vehicles, perhaps in the break room or a quiet backstage corner. Once new Cast Members are comfortable with the vehicle, however, it is time to start spieling and driving at the same time. At this point, the ride vehicle is still empty of guests, and training focuses mostly on learning exactly when to deliver each line.
Besides the main script, Cast Members also have to memorize a great deal of additional material. Rides can and do break down at the most inconvenient times, so Cast Members need to have “stall material,” or interesting things to talk about, ready at a moment’s notice.
6. Putting it all together
The most challenging part for many Cast Members is putting together everything they have learned. A rotation is a series of positions that Cast Members move through during the day. Near the end of training, new Cast Members get to try out virtually every rotation (except for those that require advanced training, such as the control tower, which Cast Members tackle a few weeks or months later). At this point, the trainer is there only to observe and to step in to assist with any particularly challenging problems. Depending on the individual attraction’s policies and procedures, Cast Members generally begin spieling for full loads of guests under the watchful eye of the trainer.
7. Assessment
Assessment is the last stage in becoming a fully trained Cast Member. All departments have assessments, but the specifics vary by job. At spieling attractions, Cast Members are often assessed in two phases—non-spieling positions first. This allows them to work independently in many positions while finishing spiel training.
Whenever it happens, assessment basically follows the same pattern. Part one is a written test, which covers a variety of information about the attraction, the immediate area and the park as a whole. For example, you might have to name all of the positions at the attraction, identify the closest restrooms and restaurants, and give detailed directions to Guest Relations.
Part two is hands-on, and involves actually working each of the non-spieling positions for a few minutes without asking the trainer or another Cast Member for help. This is often nerve-wracking, especially if unusual situations arise, but part of the point is for the trainer to judge how well you think on your feet.
Part three is the truly terrifying portion for many new Cast Members, because it is the dreaded spiel assessment. You must operate the ride vehicle while spieling for a full complement of guests, with one or two trainers on board. The catch is that you are assessed by trainers with whom you have never worked. So if your trainer let you get away with developing any bad habits, the assessment trainers will catch them! Most people do pass on the first try, though they often get feedback on things to improve.
After assessment, it is time to remove the Earning My Ears ribbon from your nametag and get to work. The first few shifts after assessment are often scary, but other Cast Members are always willing to help out.
