|
Interview
with Gregory Angel, a Character Greeter
How long have you worked at WDW?
Eight Months.
Where in WDW do you work?
From January - May of 2004 I worked at Innoventions at EPCOT as
part of the Disney College Program. In May I transferred seasonally
to Disney Entertainment as a Character Greeter. (I'm the castmember
in the yellow and white shirts that escort the characters.)
What does your job involve?
While I worked at Innoventions, my job included giving tours of
the Ultimate Home Theater Experience and assiting with crowd control
at EPCOT's nightly show "Illuminations."
As a character greeter my main function was to assist the characters
in every aspect. From making sure Mickey made it to his set locations
on time to helping guests be best prepared for their visit with
the Disney characters.
What do you like most about working at WDW?
THE PEOPLE! The people I work with were some of the best people
you could ever meet in your entire life. Overall working at Walt
Disney World is an experience you can not ever recieve anywhere!
There is not one place in the world to feel the highs and lows you
get from Disney World.
Do you have any inside secrets or hints you can share?
TALK TO CASTMEMBERS! If you ever have a problem at WDW don't hesitate
to ask a CM for assistance..but REMEMBER TO BE NICE AND POLITE!
Being mean and rude to a CM will not get you anywhere.
It's also nice to know that when it comes to knowing the best places
to watch shows and best things to do quickly who better to ask than
the experts.
Many times as a character greeter to those familes who I would chat
with for a moment, I've given them big tips, then when seen later
proved to be very helpful for them.
It's also very important to listen to castmembers. Even though you
may hear the same instructions reduntantly it's important that you
pay attention to what a castmember has to say.
Do you have any tips for guests when meeting with characters?
ABSOLUTELY! As I said earlier characters are on very strict time
schedules. We try our best to see as many guests as possible --
but with one Mickey Mouse and 4 parks, dozens of resorts etc. it
can be very hard.
Here are a few tips for all guests that are essential when meeting
with characters -- and if every guests helps each other out and
does this then that makes it a much greater chance for folks to
see characters.
1. Keep your families together from the moment you get in line.
To keep it fair for everyone WDW Character Greeters can't allow
familes to save spots in several different lines and cut, etc.
2. No matter the length of the line...
-Have the autograph book OPEN and ready to go.
-Your pen ready to go...
-Your camera ON & Ready!
3. HAVE FUN! The experience you have with the characters and during
your visit all together is all about you! We try our best to make
sure everyone is having a great time -- but those who have a great
time do it because of themselves.
Do you have a particular magical moment from Walt Disney
World?
There are dozens of Magical Moments that I can recall.
One in particular...I was working at Magic Kingdom with Captain
Hook and Mr. Smee. A little girl named Jessica, about 8 years old,
came in search of Tinkerbell. Tink, being the most request character
for meet and greets unfortunately does not do meet and greets. A
bit stubborn that fairy is, but that is how things go. (keep in
mind the tip I gave that
is always helps having friendly conversations with castmembers...)
After chatting with Jessica for several minutes and hearing of her
obsession with Tinkerbell I told
her that Peter Pan and Wendy should be flying in from Neverland
shortly and she could meet them. That was fine and all but we kept
talking about Tinkerbell -- Long short I suggest to Jessica that
if she really wanted to see Tinkerbell ..she could watch her fly
during Wishes. She accepted the answer but I didn't feel satisfied
because Jessica watched Wishes once from the Contemp. Resort, and
couldn't watch it again. So I took her autograph book and went backstage
to find call up Tink. Luckily Tink wasn't too far and was able to
sign the book for Jessica. I returned on stage and returned the
book back to Jessica telling her Tinkerbell just signed the book
for her -- but she could only have it if she promised to watch Wishes
and if her dad would allow her too. Agreeing to watch, but could
only do so
from the Fort Wildneress Lodge I had Jessica write a quick note
to Tinkerbell that I later gave Tinkerbell.
A typical Disney experience that is transformed from one small meet
and greet to 5 minutes that will last forever.
|
