How to Speak Disney (almost) Like a Cast Member
In this post, I am going to share some of the lingo used at Disney and by Disney Cast Members. I'm not going to reveal all of the secrets and codes because, honestly, some of that is there to preserve your experience on your vacation. But I will share the important pieces of the Disney language.
So let's start with a phrase from the title...
"Cast Members"
A Cast Member is an employee of Disney. Every Cast Member has a role, even if it doesn't require knowledge of performing arts. Your role, then, would be what those outside of Disney would refer to as your job.
"Guest"
A guest is basically a customer. Having worked at Disney, I now cringe at using the word "customer". Language is important, and Disney knows this. There is a different mindset when the word "guest" is used. It makes the person your responsibility. It makes you the host. It refers to the concept that is known and honored around the world of guest hospitality. It implies that the guest's presence is the company's pleasure.
I see the use of this word, alone, the single most important factor in Disney being a leader in Customer Service. When Cast Members use this word, it rewires the way they think about guests of the park.
"On-stage/Backstage"
If you are on stage, you are visible to guests. On stage would be inclusive of any area of the park or resort where guests are permitted. When you take a vacation to Walt Disney World, everywhere you go as a guest is on stage.
Backstage refers to the parts of the property that are not visible to guests and where guests are typically not permitted, though I have experienced a few nighttime shows where, to facilitate quick exit of the parks, they opened up backstage corridors. Generally backstage is not themed, the music isn't piped back there, etc. This is where the dumpsters are, and the Cast Member cafeterias, and the Cast Member parking lots, and stock rooms, warehouses, equipment sheds, etc.
What is super surprising about Walt Disney World is that the division between backstage and on stage is sometimes rather nebulous. Walk around the wrong fence, or open that unmarked door and you might be on your way backstage.
So why doesn't anyone go back there? Two reasons - One, the entrances are camouflaged quite well with whatever else is on stage. If you know it's there, it sticks out like a sore thumb, but if you don't, you would never think anything remarkable about it. Two, Cast Members are a vigilant bunch and the minute you step back there, you will hear...
"Can I help you find something?"
When used in the context above, this means "you are not supposed to be here. I will take you now back to guest attractions." Yes, even I have used this phrase.
However, it doesn't always mean that. Sometimes it really means the Cast Member sees you looking at your park map while in the park and wants to help out. Sometimes it means you are looking at the wrong thing, like when I stood at the fence to New Fanstasyland when it was under construction trying to see in.
"Show/Good show/Bad show"
Show is so important to everything Disney does. Show is basically the Disney image. This is the presentation Disney wants guests to see. This is the immersion that puts a guest into the themed area and makes them feel at ease or happy or excited. Show is everywhere, not just in attractions. Show is the Disney Security on Main Street USA who look like kindly old-timey police officers and will gladly pose for a photo. Show is the fact that nearly every Cast Member you encounter will be polite and smile.
Good show is when a Cast Member is doing this correctly. Having a sparkling clean area, a clean uniform, good posture, good hygiene, a smile on your face is all good show.
Bad show is just the opposite. It's when the Cast Member is marring the image. Bad show comes in several degrees. The only degree I ever saw of this was pretty minor bad show, though. Not cleaning up a spill on your ice cream cart is bad show. Not smiling at guests is bad show. Being distracted or looking bored is bad show. Slouching is bad show. Wearing jewelry when not permitted with your costume is bad show.
Surprisingly, managers don't always have to be the ones managing "show". My own manager was rarely ever even on stage. I would only see them backstage. Cast Members are on odd lot in that we tend to be there because we want to be there and we believe in the Walt Disney image, so we will police each other's show. Sometimes a Cast Member will walk by another Cast Member with a pin lanyard who is smiling and waving at guests, and say "good show".
Sometimes a Cast Member will walk by another Cast Member who is looking bored and remind them "bad show". It's done all the time. I never took offense and never had anyone take offense at me either.
"When is the 3 o'clock parade?"
Cast Members will say this to joke about a clueless guest. That said, though, the phrase has lost its power since Disney did the unthinkable for a few months in 2017 and moved the 3 o'clock parade to 2:00!
"Have a magical day!"
Oh boy. This phrase is a dangerous one. There's a CHANCE the phrase can be loaded. So let me break this down for you.
IF you've been pleasantly interacting with the Cast Member and you haven't been difficult or annoying or ruining another guest's time, OR if the phrase is uttered by a relatively new Cast Member, then this phrase likely means exactly that. The Cast Member wants you to have a good day.
If this phrase is uttered in conjunction with a too-wide-to-be-true smile by a seasoned Cast Member, and there is a good chance that you've been a difficult guest to this person or ruined another guest's time, then this phrase means something else entirely. Something Disney would never ever EVER allow a Cast Member to say. I think you catch my meaning.
Here's the fun thing about this: I HAVE HAD THIS PHRASE UTTERED TO ME. And it freaked me out so much I had to continue to engage with the Cast Member to try to figure out if I had done something I needed to apologize for (I hadn't, thank goodness). But that made me consider that if this phrase is being uttered in the second meaning, that's the Cast Member's problem, not yours. It's the only release of frustration they are allowed and it's not your problem. You da guest, baby!
But really, be good to others. Don't be selfish. Don't compromise anyone's safety. Don't butt in line. Don't ruin someone else's good time, and be kind. Do that, and you don't have to worry about this phrase's second meaning.
"What's your 20?"
Cast Members will say this to other Cast Members on a phone or radio. It means "where are you?"
There are actually a ton of radio call signals that Cast Members will use, as well as a few special Disney signals. Disney has code for vomit, calling an ambulance, vicious animals, and needing to use the restroom. I'm not going to share that code with you because there is very good reason that stuff is code.
I have called for an ambulance due to a life-threatening medical emergency that was occurring just feet away from me while guests walked by completely oblivious. I continued to serve ice cream while doing it. Not a single guest was the wiser and we want it that way.
Disney is 110% amazing at managing the guest experience and every single Cast Member is trained to respond quickly an calmly to an emergency. The fact that other guests don't know what's happening protects not only them and their memories of their vacation, but also protects whoever is in trouble or hurt because it keeps the area clear of those who might linger out of concern.
The truth of it is, the phrases Disney has code for are either coded because they are mundane and ruin show (like when a Cast Member needs to let someone know they need to be relieved to use the bathroom) or hearing them might cause discomfort or fear in a guest. The thing is, Disney's got it covered. You don't have to be afraid.
"Lost parents"
At Disney, there are no lost children. Lost children are children in a bad situation, aren't they? Lost children are tragic. Poor little lost children!
Nope, children don't get lost. Parents get lost. And isn't that the truth, too? When a kid is distracted by something cool, it's the parent that keeps walking or wanders off. Then the kid notices that darnit, their parent got lost!
Calling the situation "lost parents" helps kids who got separated from their families calm down so much. Again, I speak from experience.
Disney has this covered too. Cast Members are trained to deal with "lost parent" situations. If they are in a post where they can safely leave it, they will walk the child to Guest Services. If they can't safely leave their post, they will keep the child with them and radio Guest Services their location. This child might very well be entertained with stories and plied with ice cream while they wait. Just speaking from experience again.
I had my own encounter with a "lost parent" situation during my internship. I noticed a kid wandering aimlessly and glumly and called out to him to ask if I could help him find anything (that phrase again, see?). So he told me he was lost and I told him that he knew exactly where HE was and the problem was that his parents were lost and radioed it in. He perked right up as soon as he realized his parents were the ones who were lost, not him. He was reunited with his folks within about 15 minutes.
"Guest Recovery"
No, this is not that soak in Epsom salts you need after a day at EPCOT. Guest recovery is an important tenet of customer service at Disney. It basically means that if something has gone wrong and the customer is not happy, the Cast Member is empowered to recover the situation and is urged to do so immediately. In other words, make it right.
In my role at an ice cream vending cart, the most common guest recovery I experienced was when it was a hot day and someone's ice cream fell right off the stick at the first bite. It can't be helped. What can be helped is me giving them a replacement from the cooler part of the freezer immediately.
It's happened to me as a guest, too. When we did a land and sea stay at Disney when my daughter was young, she had bought a balloon on our first night in the parks. 4 days later, the balloon was still going strong and it was her favorite thing in the world. But balloons are not allowed on the cruise ship or on the bus to the cruise ship. The Cast Member at our hotel lobby kindly broke this news to us, and my daughter started crying, of course. So a trade was brokered. The Cast Member went and got a Cinderella figurine from a shop inside and traded fair and square. Then, let my daughter give the balloon away to an arriving family of her choice herself so she could see the smile on the kid's face.
It can be simpler than all that. One night, we were at Downtown Disney (when it was Downtown Disney) and had just left a Cirque du Soliel show. It was a Saturday night and it was painfully crowded. We were getting super grumpy. My mother waited in a huge line at World of Disney to buy one thing, and by the time she got to the register, she had lost all patience or joy at being there. And that's when the clever Cast Member engaged her in conversation about what she liked best about Disney and what her favorite ride was, etc. It got her all excited again to be there. Guest recovery has probably happened to you also and you may just not have had a word for it.
I'm sure there is other Disney lingo that I haven't mentioned here, but these were just some of my favorites. I hope you've enjoyed this post, and until next time, have a mag-
You know what? Just have a good day.
