The Perks of Being a Walt Disney World Cast Member

Here’s the one everyone wants to know about, what are the benefits of being a Cast Member in Walt Disney World that makes working those tiring long hours all worth it? So here’s the magic that waving that blue ID gets you!

Complimentary Park Admission 

Probably the best benefit of working for the mouse is that you get access to all the Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort parks (subject to block out dates). So on your days off, head to the parks and have a mini holiday.

Pretty much everyday I wasn’t working, I’d have a day in the parks and it was great! Even on the days I was working I’d go to the parks either before or after my shift. So if you’re on the college program, when else are you going to be living with six Disney parks on your doorstep which you have free access to? You might as well spend all your free time having fun with your friends in the parks.

Being a Cast Member also means that you can get friends and family into the parks. There’s a few rules and variations on this one depending on whether you’re a college program or a permanent Cast Member. You can read more about complimentary admission on my separate post on Cast Member tickets.

Discount on Merchandise 

Being a Cast Member means that you can give all the money Disney gives you in wages, back to Disney on Disney merchandise with 20% off!

There are a couple of exclusions, such as you can’t get discount on certain pieces of artwork and some limited edition/special items, for instance I didn’t get discount on a Grand Opening of Shanghai Disneyland pin. So whenever you buy anything, just ask the Cast Member at the till if you can get discount. They’ll then ask to see photo ID and they scan your Blue ID.

You can also get discount at some non-Disney shops located around Disney Springs, so my advice is to just ask wherever you are!

World of Disney store in Disney Springs aka the best shop ever!

There are also two Cast Member shops, these are called Cast Connections and Company D. I’ll do a separate post on each of these to go into more detail but here’s the basics:

Cast Connections:

Cast Members and their family can go into Cast Connections which has loads of old Disney merchandise and retired items from the parks and resorts at heavily discounted prices. If the Cast Member pays, then an extra 20% is taken off from your bill.

Company D:

Company D is an exclusive Cast Member shop which has a location near or in each of the parks. They sell CM exclusive merchandise such as pins, mugs, T-shirts etc. It’s a really cool shop! Here’s a few of the pins I bought from Company D:

In addition to all the exclusive stuff you can buy around Disney, I also managed to pick up a load of free Cast exclusive items for instance special buttons, name tag accessories, a million and one Tell-a-Casts to name a few. Also, every two weeks Disney release a free Cast Member magazine called Eyes and Ears, so I picked up a copy of these every time there was a new release. Basically if you ever see someone backstage giving out free stuff, pick it up!

Food & Beverage Discount 

Cast Members get a load of discount on Food and Beverages usually ranging between 20-40% off. This is excellent, especially if you go at certain times of day when the discount is better. For instance, if you go after 8pm at some restaurants you get the full 40% off. The way to check what restaurants have the best discounts and at what times, just check the HUB or pick up a copy of the giant discounts booklet found in backstage areas.

Unfortunately there are some Disney restaurants that don’t offer any discount, normally because they’re new offerings. I didn’t get any discount at Trattoria for the Bon Voyage character breakfast for this reason, but that doesn’t mean that haven’t introduced discount now.

Another bonus is that you can also get special Cast Member discounts and offers at some off site Orlando area locations. I went to Wendy’s a couple of times where they give Cast Members a free Frosty! So just like with merchandise stores, just ask whenever you buy any food in case you can make a saving.

Discount on Disney Resort Stays

One really cool benefit is that you get discounted resort stays as a Cast Member. I really wish I’d used this perk more than I did because it would have been great to try out some different resorts.

The discount varies depending on availability so the best way to get the best discount is to just keep checking the HUB to see what discount is being offered but here’s what you could get:

Up to 50% off if the Cast Member is staying in the room.

Up to 40% off for friends and family of the Cast Member when the Cast Member is not staying in the room.

So fancy a night in the Grand Floridan? No problem with 50% off.

Discount on Disney Tours  

Another great way to do something a bit different on your program is to take a Disney tour. As a Walt Disney World fan I did a couple of these as they give you cool bits of information and you often get to see things you wouldn’t normally as a guest.

• Wild Africa Trek: 50% off for tours after 11:30am
• Backstage Magic Tour: 35% off
• Disney’s Keys to the Kingdom Tour: 50% off
• Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour: 50% off
• Dolphins in Depth: 50% off
• Epcot Dive Quest: 50% off on certain days of the week
• Epcot Seas Aqua Tour: 50% off
• Behind the Seeds Tour: Free!
• Backstage Safari: 50% off
• Epcot UnDISCOVERed Future World Tour: 50% off

As my family were coming to visit while I was on my program, I was able to get them discount on a couple of tours as well.

I’d thoroughly recommend the Wild Africa Trek and Epcot UnDISCOVERed Future World Tour. Both were fantastic!

Mickey’s Retreat 

Located just across from Chatham Square Housing complex is a place called Mickey’s Retreat which is a recreation area for Cast Member’s and their families.

There’s a couple of swimming pools, table tennis tables, tennis courts and all sorts of activities and equipment to hire. There’s also a beach next to a lake where you can hire watercraft like peddelos.

I had a brief walk around Mickey’s Retreat early on in my program and it was really nice. I didn’t have time to use any of the facilities but it’s worth checking out.

Cast Exclusive Experiences

You may be lucky enough to get special experiences offered to you as a Cast Member. My roommate’s work location had organised a tour of the Haunted Mansion for them and I know just before I started, my area had a tour of Fantasmic in Hollywood Studios. Just after I left as well, my co-workers got to ride Space Mountain with the lights on (not that I’m jealous or anything)!

I would have loved to have done one of these but unfortunately none were running in the short time I was there. But I did get to do some other things, like ride Splash Mountain in my costume!

We also had a couple of Cast appreciation events, so one day we had a ‘Micktail Party’ where our leader made us mocktails and brought in a slushy machine to our break room which we had on our breaks or whenever we came backstage to collect supplies. We also had a little party with food one afternoon as our team had achieved the best score from the survey’s guests fill out! So there’s lot’s of ways that Disney reward its Cast Members.

Lifelong Memories 

But even with all these amazing benefits, just the fact that you’re working in the Happiest Place on Earth and making magic is a perk all on its own. I got to watch the fireworks every night, see the parade everyday, make people smile by giving them stickers and fast passes. It was pretty cool. Being a Cast Member gives you lots of stories to tell as you’re experiencing all sorts of fun and interesting things that happen in the parks each day. You also get to make so many friends from all over the world!

So even though you’re working so many long hours, you get a load of great benefits that make it all worth it!