2. "Pooper-scooper"
From Disneyland's early days, horse-drawn carriages have been a feature on Main Street, U.S.A (and they remain so at the California park and its clones elsewhere). Pulling guests up and down the street is hard work, and naturally the horses involved need to perform their usual bodily functions.
One of the less enjoyable jobs for a custodian at the park has long been to scoop up the mess left behind by the horses, lest an unlucky guests set foot in it.
1. Scuba diver
Image: HarshLight, Flickr
The last Cast Member role on this list is another unusual one, but also completely essential to the parks' operations. Each resort employs dozens of scuba divers who are responsible for maintaining and fixing attractions and other equipment in their extensive waterways. This, of course, means that the divers have to possess other skills besides scuba diving, including being electricians and machinists.
After the parks close for the day, the divers don their gear and check crucial elements such as tracks, the undersides of vehicles and animatronic characters. Often, they do this in the pitch dark using flashlights or headlights. Temperatures can be freezing, making wielding bolts, wrenches and pneumatic tools underwater even more difficult.
Spare a thought for these hardy souls next time you ride Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage or watch World of Color or Fantasmic!
Share your own bizarre Cast Member roles!
What's the strangest job you're aware of at a Disney theme park? Let us know in the comments below!
We're currently publishing a series of article on Theme Park Tourist in which we talk to Cast Members at Walt Disney World to understand their roles and the part that they play in "creating the magic" for guests.
The interviews will offer an insight into Cast Members' day-to-day roles, the training that they undergo and the aspects of their jobs that they find the most rewarding. We might even uncover a funny story or two. They are a prelude to a new book: Creating the Magic: Life as a Disney Cast Member - if you're interested in being notified when this is released, sign up for our special e-mail newsletter.
Comments
The comments are better than the article !!
I had a friend who used to work at the Fort Wilderness Campfire Sing-along. I don't think it operates this way anymore, but the show is 30-45 min long. All the employees had to be able to be the singer AND/or play Chip or Dale. They worked 10 or 12-hour shifts and had to go around and catch snakes and stuff during the day before showtime.
I've had to sit in the photo edit room at Epcot's Spaceship Earth and delete inappropriate photos. I've seen some really raunchy stuff! They still have that position on the rotation to this day.
I had to clean the pigeon coops twice. Not fun at all.
Disneyland opened in 1955 not 1959...