Do Cast Members Know???

[MrHappy]

I've been curious just how much Cast Members actually "know" about "insider information"/rumors. Does Disney seed info or send memo's to CM in hopes they leak to guests what they want? Or are they actually in legit meetings getting the real scoop (if so, are they required to sign confidentiality agreements)? I've read many times on the boards something along the lines of "....I overheard a cast member tell someone that...." - so I'm curious if Cast Members are a serious and creditable source, if so, how?

 

[Master Yoda]

Front line cast members often do not know as much about what is in the pipeline as your average member that reads these boards.

Disney tells them what they need to know to do their job and that is it.

The cast members that know what is going on are rarely seen in the parks.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If they're wearing a costume, they don't know diddly beans. A couple exceptions would be physical construction that they can actually see backstage and performers who are learning routines for future offerings.

 

[dreamfinder]

As @Master Yoda said, front line CMs usually know less than we do. Occasionally imformation will trickle down from above, but it's usually nothing more than confirmation of what is already pretty much guaranteed to happen by the insiders here. Leaks to gauge public sentiment/kill projects early do indeed happen, but those come from people much higher up in the food chain.

 

[marni1971]

I've found a few CMs are quite clued up because they want to know - like we do here - but generally they won't know that much.

 

[Figgy1]

Bus drivers are in the know

 

[FigmentPigments]

I used to be a custodian at the Magic Kingdom, and we didn't know that much more than the average person. Our big thing is being able to go behind the curtain and see what's going on at the time. Occasionally, we might hear something come down the pipeline, but it's usually about a refurbishment rather than anything really new. Usually by the time we know, somebody has already mentioned it on the internet.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

Front line cast members often do not know as much about what is in the pipeline as your average member that reads these boards.

Disney tells them what they need to know to do their job and that is it.

The cast members that know what is going on are rarely seen in the parks.

This. For the front line cast members, it's not much more than a job. And the higher ups ain't talkin'. That leaves us... And we're nuts.

 

[Jahona]

Bus drivers are in the know

I was going to make this joke as well.

I think it also depends on how long they have been working at the parks as well. I was talking to some "old timers" at One Man's Dream last year and they were pretty well versed in what was going on. It was actually some nice conversations about how much the parks have changed over the decades.

 

[roj2323]

Front line cast members often do not know as much about what is in the pipeline as your average member that reads these boards.

Disney tells them what they need to know to do their job and that is it.

The cast members that know what is going on are rarely seen in the parks.

This is really quite true. Even the Leaders (area managers in charge of cast) are told very little. In most cases they are told about refurbishment schedules and closures a day or so before its announced. A great example of this is the Frozen summer fun event that happened in 2014. The leadership literally found out 24 hours before they started training cast. There was a huge scramble to re arrange shifts and cast locations to make things work and it was still an insane 10 day scramble before the event opened. Keep in mind that the entire event was planned in 14 days total. This again happened with the closure of Back lot tour and the extremely short notice of it's closure. If I remember correctly it was only like 3 days.

 

[Retroman40]

A costumed CM's primary function is to keep their attraction/area running safely and efficiently while providing guests with a good experience. The "front line" cast does that very well. As far as information, an attraction greeter may not even know the exact reason why their own attraction is temporarily shut down or even when it may start operating again (sure they'll find out later if they even care). A previous poster nailed it - anyone who really knows the future isn't wearing a costume and most likely not spending a whole lot of time in at a park/hotel/area.

 

[Polydweller]

Disney is no different than any other company and front line staff and managers are told what they need to know when they need to know. A company doesn't want info that could help competitors leaked so it's kept only to those that need to know. Front line CMs won't know much until close to the company revealing the info.

 

[WhatJaneSays]

While almost every front line CM is given minimal to no information there can be a surprising amount of information that can be learned from them as a whole. Often it’s info they don’t even know that they know, or even things that they are specifically not told when it’s info they would sometimes get.