Superstar Cast Members: Monorail Edition

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Friday, November 14, 2008
Jennifer von Hoffman

Last month, I shared some favorite memories of the Cast Members who’ve gone the extra mile to make my Disney vacations special. But there have been so many that I couldn’t possibly fit them all into one article! So here’s another batch, highlighting some happy times I’ve had on the monorail…and there are still plenty of others for perhaps another time.

Collect the Whole Set!  Disney Transportation Trading Cards seem to be one of the better kept secrets at Walt Disney World….a much better kept secret than, say, Disney Vacation Club. A couple years ago, a kind Cast Member gave one to my son, who was very excited but felt a little timid about asking other Cast Members for more. We made a game of it, though, taking the monorail around the resort loop, and checking at each stop to see if any cards were available. One Cast Member at the Polynesian went completely beyond the call of duty, asking my son which cards he was still looking for, and making sure he left with a complete set of Monorails. The few pennies that Disney spent on those cards, and the freedom they gave that Cast Member to distribute them generously, bought hundreds of dollars of Guest loyalty.

Backstage Tour! I have never seen the Electrical Water Pageant. Dunno why…every trip I think I’m gonna catch it, and then every trip it’s just too much bother to get over to the viewing spot when I could be taking yet another spin on Pirates or Haunted Mansion. But thanks to one kind Cast Member, now I know where they keep the floats! My son and I were chatting about the water pageant while riding in the coveted front car of the Monorail between Magic Kingdom and the TTC, and the Monorail Operator was kind enough to slow down the monorail for a few seconds while he pointed out the storage location to us.  I still haven’t seen the darn pageant…but now I feel like I’m in on a fun little secret.

Monorail Pink? Monorail Pink? Yes, once again we were riding in the front car of the Monorail, this time Monorail Gold. We were cruising along from Epcot to the Ticket and Transportation Center, having an animated discussion with the Operator about the importance of the original Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room (and the sad inadequacy of its New Management at the Lake Buena Vista establishment). When we came around a bend, Monorail Pink was in distress on the opposite track! The Operator pulled up so that he could shout to the Operator of Pink, and determined that she had lost all power and had no radio. I was sorry to know that the other Operator was having a rough day, and sorry for the Guests inadvertently delayed….but grateful to the Monorail Gold Operator for explaining to us en route all that had happened behind the scenes.

And hey, I’ll bet plenty of y’all have stories to tell of fabulously magical Cast Members! Why not share them in the comments below, or on the Studios Central Forums? And of course, you can also contact Disney to thank extraordinary Cast Members!