5 Things You Didn't Know About Working in Disneyland Attractions

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I've had many friends, family members, and even guests ask me what it's like to be an attractions cast member in the Disneyland Resort. Disneyland runs their attractions department a little differently from Walt Disney World, so I thought I'd explain what exactly is involved when working in this department at the Disneyland Resort.

1. You Start With One Attraction: Every attractions cast member will have one attraction under their belt when they begin their career in this department. It's important to note that I say "attractions" instead of "rides", because not every attractions cast member works a push button ride. My home attraction is the dark ride Monsters Inc, Mike & Sulley to the Rescue, but I was actually almost placed in the Animation building as my first attraction, which is an area filled with shows and activities for guests. I have friends that work the Hyperion Theater (The Aladdin Musical Spectacular), Disney Junior: Live On Stage, and Muppet Vision. These all are filed under the "attractions" category, along with rides such as Tower of Terror.
2. You Can Cross Train to Other Attractions: After four months of working at your home attraction, you can have the opportunity to learn and work a second attraction. You can't necessarily choose where you would like to work next, but you're more than welcome to submit cross training interest forms to management and talk to your leaders about where you would like to go. For example, I requested either Tower of Terror or Soarin' Over California, and I ended up learning Soarin' (which I absolutely love). Learning a third and possibly fourth attraction comes later, on depending availability.
3. You Also Work Guest Control: After training at your home attraction, you'll have Guest Show Operations training (GSO for short). This is where you learn about how to work "guest control" shifts, such as the parade or a large show such as World of Color or the fireworks. These kinds of shifts will be mixed in with working at your home attraction, and honestly will be a more prevalent feature in the first few months of your career. I have so many wonderful memories and friendships from GSO shifts, especially World of Color. It's a great way to connect and meet with cast members that work other attractions and other sections/lands in the park.
4. You're Asked...Interesting Questions: You have no idea how many times I've had some guests walk up to me and ask some very interesting and well...shocking questions. I was once asked if Soarin' Over California was a water ride. (That one threw me off guard, beings that it's clearly about flying and it's inside a giant warehouse...) I've also stood right in front of Monsters, which is very decorated and themed to the movie with doors and characters all over the place in bright colors, and been asked, "Is there a Monsters Inc. ride in this park?" Just remember that what might seem obvious to you, is a very honest and sincere question to them. Don't respond rudely or with a sarcastic tone, because they really do want to know the answer to these kinds of questions (most of the time).
5. You Will Meet Amazing People: Between working GSO shifts and both of my attractions, I've met some really incredible coworkers and guests in the past year. My coworkers have become my second family since moving down to Southern California; I really couldn't ask for better people to work with all the time. I've met so many adorable princesses, given countless high fives to guests young and old, and witnessed dreams come true for guests from all over the country. Whether it's someone enthusiastically exclaiming their love for Soarin' after riding for the first time, or a tear-jerking proposal during World of Color, there will be those people that remind you just how blessed you are to have your job, and that you're job is literally to help make magic and put a smile on someone's face every day.

Next month marks my one year as an attractions cast member in Disneyland, and I can honestly say I still absolutely love my job. I still really enjoy working both of my attractions, with the occasional GSO shift every once in a while. If you're ever considering applying for attractions, I highly recommend it. 

If you have any more questions that I can answer about attractions, feel free to ask!

Otherwise, have a magical day!