wonderbooty911
New Member
Here are some official (and unofficial) ones I remember when I was a CM.
101: Ride down
102: Ride operating
103: Bathroom break (as in, "Hey I need a 103.")
104: Guest in a wheelchair (or scooter)
105: A hot-looking guest (trends towards hot females than males). Unoffical.
210: A REALLY hot-looking guest (105 times two). Unofficial.
108: Fire
Lost Parent: When a child is lost and separated from their parents (guardians, whatever), Disney says that we have a case of "Lost Parent(s)" since we know where the child is (they're right there!) It's the *parents* who have wandered off somewhere.
Position: the spot where the CM is working, for example Greeter (the CM that stands at the entrance of the attraction), Load (the CM at the part of the ride where guests get in), Unload (if it's a separate area from Load, the CM where the guests get off the ride), and Fastpass Return (the CM outside the ride that checks your Fastpass to make sure you've arrived at the correct time), among others.
CDS: Cast Deployment System - how CMs get their positions. They log to the CDS computer with their Cast ID number and receive their assignment which prints out on a slip of paper much like a receipt machine at a supermarket (example: Joe Schmoe is at Unload 2. Please relieve them for their break - and then the time Joe's break starts and the time it ends).
ER: Early Release - a request to leave early. You log into CDS to make the request, along with the time you wish to leave. Not all ERs are granted; it depends on the guest attendance numbers. Smaller than expected attendance numbers (or slower days) gives you a better chance to get your ER.
Extend: The opposite of ER - you're asking in CDS to stay later than scheduled. Not always given - a busier than expected day (or generally busy days) tend to get your extend granted.
Doubleback: One of the reasons to try and extend if you need the money. If you have less than eight hours between your shifts, your next shift pays you double your normal wage. Example: your Monday shift was 1700 to 2330 (5pm-11:30pm) and your Tuesday shift is 0630-1330 (6:30am-1:30pm). Your Tuesday shift is "doubleback".
Rotation: Oftentimes on CDS, you won't get someone's break or "bump off" (going home for the day/night). You'll get "rotation", which is how Disney keeps someone from working the same position for too long. As an example, I worked at Space Mountain which has three rotations: Greeter rotation, A-side rotation, and B-side rotation. A slip will print with all the positions in order and who is to go where. Example:
Space Mountain Greeter Rotation:
Greeter: Joe Schmoe
Fastpass Distribution: Jane Doe
Fastpass Return: John Smith
Mountain 3: Frank Furter
Merge Point: Mary Sue
Bill Fold, please return to CDS for your new assignment
So the person who got rotation would go to the Greeter position and gives Joe the rotation slip. They would stay at Greeter while Joe goes to Fastpass Distribution giving the slip to Jane. Joe stays at Fastpass Distribution and Jane goes to Fastpass Return, etc. Bill, the last one to get the rotation slip, goes back to CDS, logs in, and gets his new assignment (or break or bump off).
Task: Sometimes when you log into CDS to get your assignment, no one needs a break, no one is going home, and it's too early for a rotation. In that case, you get a "task" (In Tomorrowland we called it a "bucket" - no one really remembers why). It's a fifteen minute period where you're supposed to "make magic". There were a bunch of ways to do that; at other Tomorrowland rides we would have say, autograph books and we'd wander around Tomorrowland looking for a child in a Disney costume and go up to them and be like, "Oh! I didn't know Cinderella was coming to Tomorrowland today! Could I *please* have your autograph?" And then the child would sign the autograph book and be all smiles. At Space Mountain, we would either go outside, pick a family or someone from the end of the line and walk them up right onto the ride or give a "Tower Tour" where we would pick a family, bring them into the Control Tower, show them around, and then put them on the ride. Unoffically, some CMs (I certainly was guilty on more than one occasion) would use the task as a break. On an overstaffed day (or if, like me, you had figured out how CDS gave out breaks) you could continually get tasks (buckets in Tomorrowland) again and again for a super-long break, which we in Tomorrowland called "riding the bucket train". The most I ever got in a row was nine - I got my break, came back and got eight buckets in a row (every fifteen minutes), THEN got my half-hour lunch break, came back and got one bucket before finally getting an actual assignment (That was a good day, friends).
I know, more than you wanted to know. There's more, but it's late and I'm tired.
That was really interesting and cool, thanks for sharing!!!!!
