Tales of a Former Cast Member: Which route through Disney World should I take?

Doctor Disney may know a lot about the Disney Parks from going into them all the time, having visited since he was a child, and just learning all he can about them. But, on a few different occasions, Doctor Disney was also a Cast Member at both the Disney Store and also Walt Disney World and having done numerous jobs.

With the amount of time that I spend in the park, a lot of old memories come flooding back while seeing what Cast Members have to deal with, go through, and suffer through every single day. It reminds me of a lot of times from when I worked in the parks, and that gave me the idea for a new series of columns that simply tell of the Tales of a Former Cast Member.

Names will be withheld because I don’t want to embarrass anyone at any time, and that isn’t my intention here either. I’m simply looking to help out some guests that may not understand things yet, to pass on more information, and just share knowledge. The stories that will be told in these columns will be funny, strange, disturbing, and also touching at times.

The first ever story in Tales of a Former Cast Member has to do with the question: “Which route through Disney World should I take?”

The set-up is simple. Head back to the summer of 1999, and there I was working the Main Street popcorn cart at the entrance of Magic Kingdom during my first Walt Disney World College Program.

It wasn’t an overly busy day, and therefore had time to talk to guests a bit more and just enjoy my day. It was at that point, a guest walked up to me with a Magic Kingdom map in hand, and had a question for me.

Guest: “Which route through Disney World should I take?”

Doctor Disney: “Ma’am?”

Guest: “Well…this route here?” {Points to red dotted line for the parade route}

DD: “You are actually in ALL of Walt Disney World, and this is a map to the Magic Kingdom, of which you are in. You can actually go any route you wish. That is merely the parade route for the three o’clock parade and evening parade.”

Guest: “So then…that’s the route we should take?”

DD: “……there is no route you have to or should take. You can go to any land, any restaurant, any attraction, and in any order you wish. I can suggest some tips for catching attractions when there are shorter lines.”

Guest: “Since this route {points to parade route again} is already marked, that seems like the route they suggest we take. That would make sense, wouldn’t it?”

DD: “Ma’am, you do realize that if you take that parade route, you’re going to only see Main Street, part of Liberty Square, and through Frontierland, right?”

Guest: “Disney would not put that route on the map if they didn’t want us to take it. I think that is the way we are going to go.”

DD: “Have a magical day.”

There are many more tales to come, but this is always one that I remember most of all because it just sticks out in my mind every single time I see the parade route on a map.