Paper Slip: How Disneyland Cast Members Communicate

Immersion is the backbone of any Disney Parks experience. While other places don’t care if their costumed employees wear walkie-talkies or break character, Cast Members are a different, dedicated breed.

However, as SFGATE notes, trying to keep guests in a land of fantasy, adventure, or a galaxy far, far away isn’t easy. You can’t have Disney Princesses or Star Wars characters constantly checking their phones to see when it’s time for a break or shift rotation.

The solution to this issue is far easier than you think. All you need is one ancient piece of communication: a slip of paper.

Walt’s employees have used this basic form of correspondence for some time. Sure, it’s not a technique unique to Disney or theme parks specifically, but guests have probably noticed it more often there than anywhere else.

If you’ve been to Disneyland during a busy day, you’ve most likely seen Cast Members passing these tiny bits of paper to one another. Well, maybe more so in the olden days when we didn’t have cell phones to help pass the time in the queue.

What’s most interesting is that I’ve yet to see anyone catch these paper-passing interactions on camera. Considering almost every other bit of Disney magic has been ruined by the invasion of smartphones, you’d think one person would have caught this moment and started some weird conspiracy series about “Dark Disney Secrets.”

You know that at least one site or channel would run with that narrative. I wouldn’t be surprised if clickbait articles start popping up soon. Anyway…

We used something similar at a haunted house attraction where I worked a long time ago. The color card system basically told us when it was time to take a break. Once we were back on the floor, we’d pass the same card to the next person scheduled to be off. Nothing is less scary than seeing a werewolf being told via a cell phone or walkie-talkie that it’s his time to head to McDonald’s.

[Source: SFGATE]