They are not allowed to work for the competition 

Image: Universal

Guests tend to think that the competition between Disney and the other Orlando theme parks is much more intense than it actually is. When one begins training to work for Disney, one of the points a trainer will mention within the first couple of days is that working for Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, etc... is perfectly acceptable. During my orientation class when I worked at Walt Disney World, our trainer mentioned that the company completely understands if cast members want to have a second job, or work at a different park seasonally, and there is no rule forbidding cast members to do so.  

Though you may not think about the Disney cast members you see while visiting the parks working a second job at Universal, it does indeed make sense when you think about it. Just the same way you might have two part time jobs at your hometown to keep steady full time hours, many part time cast members in the Orlando area will do the same. And there are plenty of perks for working for multiple theme parks, including free admission to both, discounts for yourself along with friends and family, access to cast exclusive events, and more.  

Only custodial cast members complete custodial tasks 

Image: Brittany DiCologero 

Another myth I have seen floating around the internet is incorrectly labeling certain cast members as some form of custodial, when this is in fact not their technical job title. While all cast members must perform some custodial tasks, a cast member whose role is custodial will be wearing all white. The reason for wearing an all white costume, is so that custodial cast members can freely walk around any area of the parks without their costumes clashing with the theming of any specific land. 

Without being a custodial cast member however, every cast member is required to help keep the park clean. "The Disney Scoop," for instance, is the term which describes a cast member scooping up trash and throwing it away in a quick, fluid movement, that does not detract from the job he or she is trying to do. 

Walt Disney once said, "Give the public everything you can give them, keep the place as clean as you can keep it, and keep it friendly." In completing Walt's dream for his theme parks, cast members know how important it is to keep everything clean regardless of their job title. As you walk through Walt Disney World, you will probably see plenty of non-custodial cast members doing their part to keep things clean. Aside from the occasional Disney Scoop, cast members working at shows are responsible for cleaning the stands after each performance, and cast members working at most quick service restaurants are responsible for bussing their own tables and emptying the trash.  

Image: Disney

Where other companies might make more of a distinction as to who exactly should be keeping everything clean, Disney makes it clear that every cast member is a custodial cast member. Training every cast member to understand that everyone works in custodial in one way or another is successful in instilling a sense of pride in employees that other companies often fail to do as seamlessly as Disney. 

If you know a Disney cast member, you can probably have free admission

Image: Aly Schmidt

Disney cast members are entitled to some awesome benefits in exchange for working for the company, however in most cases these benefits only extend to the cast members themselves and their immediate families. One of the most frustrating things that cast members deal with all too often is receiving requests from people they hardly know asking if there is a way to get them into the parks for free, a privilege that is usually saved for immediate family and close friends.  

Even though I only worked for the company for nine months during my Disney College Program, I found myself in this exact situation a couple of times, which was quite uncomfortable to deal with. Perhaps the worst instance of this that I dealt with personally was when I received a message on Facebook from someone who was not in my friends list, asking how I've been, how I liked working for Disney, and also how my guest passes worked. I was at a loss for who this person was, so I did the only logical thing one would do and asked. As it turns out, the mystery person was a girl I had gone to high school with... for the first two years of school before she transferred and moved away, and who I was never close to anyway, and probably had not seen or spoken to in years. 

I politely explained that I did not have any guest passes, and the conversation ended there. Had I been less politely, and said what was actually on my mind, I would have told her that I found it extremely rude to track down someone she hardly knew in an attempt to get into the parks for free. I worked hard during my college program, and my passes were definitely reserved for my parents and close friends came to visit—not the person from high school who I could not even remember. I typically give people the benefit of the doubt, and assume that they do not realize cast members are only given a small number of guest passes each year, and they simply do not realize how valuable the passes are. However this conversation is very uncomfortable for cast members to deal with, and not something I would ever think to do now that I have worked for the company.