Working in attractions is considered by many to be the height of the Disney Cast Member experience. While you can work in housekeeping or food and beverage in establishments all over the country, you can only work on a theme park attraction in a handful of places. Disney’s attractions are some of the most innovative and beloved in the world, making its Cast Members special indeed.

Working in attractions gives you the opportunity to perform a job unlike any other. Among the daily button pushing and safety spiels, you’ll also get to do some pretty incredible extras.

Walk the track

Image: Benjamin Wong, Flickr (license)

Every day attractions Cast Members walk the attraction’s ride track at least twice – once in the morning to make sure everything is up to snuff, and once in the evening to check for lost items and any potential signs of trouble. The overall experience of tackling the ride track varies dramatically from one location to another. Climbing the stairs lining the track for Expedition Everest is an obviously strenuous journey, while walking through a Star Tours simulator is so quick it hardly qualifies as a full “walk.”

Regardless of the attraction, this walk can be a pretty awesome experience. It lets you see the whole environment with the lights on. Illumination is essential as you’re checking for malfunctioning animatronics, slick spots on the ride path, and the remnants of fallen sunglasses. Something like the dark frightening jungles of Dinosaur transform completely when you see them with the lights on and the half-formed dinosaurs visible on all sides.

Walking the track brushes some of the pixie dust off the rides and shows them in a clearer and more realistic light. For Cast Members who are interested in the inner workings of these rides that are more engineering than imagination, this is the way to see it.

Man the tower

Image: Matt Baume, Flickr (license)

Every attraction has a tower. This is typically the most coveted position in the rotation. In most attractions, working in the tower offers a rare opportunity to pull up a chair and rest your legs. The majority of attraction towers are also hidden away backstage, so you’re out of the line of sight for awhile.

However, it isn’t the seclusion or isolation alone that can make the tower such an enticing place to be. Working in tower is the closest that an average Cast Member can get to a position of power. Here, you’re in charge of alerting other Cast Members to a down time, relating important messages from one position to another, and generally staying on top of everything that’s happening in the attraction.

Many towers are equipped with powerful tools like cameras throughout the ride that let you watch guests throughout their journeys. You can stop vehicles or make announcements over the speakers for those behaving badly, or enjoy the looks of awe, shock, and surprise as riders get the experience of a lifetime. Acting as a watchful eye over the entire ride is a position to be enjoyed.