The Walt Disney Company is a job market on its own, hiring for every possible skill. At least 65,700 jobs are supported by the Disneyland Resort alone, including about 20,000 direct Disney employees and 3,800 third-party employees (independent contractors or their employees.) When you scale a single project to that size there seems to be no possible way to keep track of every employee and build a comparison between their performances on the job. However, as you’d expect, they’ve found a way to do just that. All Disney parks have their own “employee of the month” system known as “cast member of the month.” Different departments or locations give recognition to a specific cast member for going above and beyond for the parks guest. Andrew, a cast member at the Disneyland Resort and recent cast member of the month at the World of Color attraction, told me why he felt he earned the “honorable” title:
“It’s definitely in the energy. I like to get people stoked for the show and I like to really interact with them before it starts. I always like to make sure that there’s something to help out with or anyone I can assist in anyway.”
There is no reward system for cast member of the month. However simply earning the title is reward enough to get cast members excited! A cast member position at Disneyland has been said to be one of the most rewarding jobs. It’s not only about working at the happiest place on earth, but being apart of what makes it so magical. The cast member of the month spotlight is just one of many ways Disney shows their employees the appreciation they deserve. It’s also a great way to keep them motivated! While being a cast member is a fun job, it’s also very demanding and the cast members that keep the magic alive work very hard everyday! In the end, we can all agree, every Disney park employee can be considered cast member of the month.
