When working at Walt Disney World, Cast Members are often asked some of the strangest and weirdest questions. Some are to be expected, as evidenced in questions asked to Epcot Cast Members, but there are some that aren’t quite so silly and humorous.
Some are just downright absurd and off the wall.
So here are the top 10 most absurd things ever asked of a Disney Cast Member. That particular Cast Member being me, and it was during my time working at Walt Disney World, mostly in the Magic Kingdom and Typhoon Lagoon.
These are in no particular order as they’re all absurd.
1.) “Can you hold this for me and then throw it away?” – At this point, a guest took turkey leg meat out of their mouth and attempted to hand it to me.
2.) “What time is the 3 o’clock parade?” – Seriously, this got asked at least three or four times a week.
3.) “Why does Disney allow them into the parks?” – This was actually asked of me in a whisper through the gritted smile of a woman that was easily in her 80s. The “them” she was referring to were all the guests in the park for Gay Days. Yes, she was wondering why there were so many homosexuals in the park.
4.) “Is my nudity allowed in the wave pool?” – It was one of the few times that I was rendered speechless as a Cast Member at Typhoon Lagoon or any of my time at Disney.
5.) “Can you take me backstage so I can grab some free stuff?” – My wonder was what exactly was the “free stuff” they thought they were going to grab.
6.) “Room 807 at the Contemporary by 11:00 p.m., ok?” – This was asked very simply of me while I was standing guard on the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon one day. A business convention was in town and a 40-something woman as she floated by me for like the fifth time that day. Yes, I had been propositioned.
Pardon me on not recalling the exact room number. That proposition happened 14 years ago.
7.) “How do they keep the dead people in Haunted Mansion?” – You may think this was asked by a child, but no…it was asked by a sane and stable adult, and yes, they were dead serious.
8.) “Is it alright if I go here?” – This guests thought it was perfectly fine to ask me if it was alright for them to urinate in the bush next to me in Frontierland. Not sure why one of the numerous restrooms didn’t suit them, but hey…if ya gotta go, ya gotta go.
9.) “If I buy a popcorn, eat almost all of it, return it and get my money back, and order another one…will that work?” – Not only will it not work because no-one would fall for that, but you just completely detailed your scam plan to me.
10.) “It’s raining far too much. How much does it take for Disney to close the dome?” – This is something I had written about before in “Tales of a Former Cast Member,” but it happened more often than you might think.
One of the most interesting things I have been asked as a CM at DAK was “Is Walt buried there”? as the guests pointed to the Tree of Life. Obviously the answer is “NO”, however, these guests were very persistent that they heard he was…who’s to argue with a guest?
Walt…buried under a tree…that wasn’t even there until 1998. Seems legit. 🙂
To be fair, the time of the 3:00 parade does depend on where you are watching it. I know the parade now doesn’t “start” until 3:30 if you are on main street.
Well, the parade does start at 3:00 p.m., no matter where you are standing. But it may not arrive until 3:15 or 3:30.
A valid question would be “About what time does the 3:00 parade get to this point?”
Sometimes it works in reverse as well. One of the things I love to do while visiting the Magic Kingdom of Walt Disney World is go up to the younger looking cast member, and ask directions to Dreamflight, The Mike Fink Keel Boats, The Mickey Mouse Review, or other attractions that have been closed down. Most of the time I get some good conversations going about extinct attractions. However on my last trip, when asking a certain CM on Main Street directions to the Mike Fink Keel Boats, she just looked at at me and said she never heard of them.
Or on a trip last year. I was staying at All Star Music, and it was the day we got the news Anette Funicello died. When I mentioned to the clerk in the store about it being a sad day for Disney, that Anette died, she looked me right in the eye, and asked WHO???????
Yikes! Any of us with a service background probably have some fun stories… But the nature of WDW anecdotes certainly wins. Those are too funny! 🙂