I Was a Disney World Cast Member, and I’m Letting You in on a Character SECRET

Disney4me · September 12, 2023

The DFB team is made up of a LOT of Disney World experts (and even some former Disney Cast Members!), so it’s safe to say we know a lot about how Disney World operates. Ever wonder why Disney makes some of those seemingly random decisions? (Like, what were they thinking when they started putting spikes in the World Showcase lagoon?!) Well, there’s probably an answer to your question.

2023-wdw-mk-cinderellas-castle-stock-700

Cinderella Castle

Ever wonder why Disney brings out seemingly RANDOM characters in EPCOT? We love Captain Hook and Smee as much as the next person, but they don’t quite seem to fit the whole “World Showcase” vibe, do they? Well, there’s a reason those characters are in EPCOT, so let’s talk about it!

We see it all. the. time. A surprising number of Disney guests probably don’t recognize a good portion of the characters in Disney World. In fact, poor Pluto has been called everything from “Goofy” to “Scooby Doo” (yes, really.). Hey, unless you’ve seen a Disney movie in the past few years, it’s not easy to keep track of all those characters!

2023-wdw-epcot-world-showcase-american-a

Sorry, Pluto!

Speaking of the characters, you may encounter what’s called a “Character Palooza” in EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios (or a Disney hotel, if you’re lucky!). These Character Palooza events happen at random and normally don’t last long, so it’s all about being at the right place at the right time. In EPCOT, Character Palooza normally happens over by the gate at the American Adventure pavilion. You may see a variety of Disney characters — sometimes as many as eight all at once!

Hey, Mr. Smee!

So, why does Disney bring these obscure characters to EPCOT every once in a while? Well, ever noticed that every Disney character has a Cast Member wearing a blue polo standing nearby? Those Cast Members are Character Attendants, and before they “graduate” to working one-on-one with the Disney characters, they need a little training.

2023-wdw-epcot-character-palooza-stitch-

Ever wonder who this guy is?

Character Paloozas are a place for Character Attendants to put their training to the test in a smaller-scale environment. Since these random pop-up events are not advertised, they normally don’t attract large crowds.

Yep, we met Wendell at EPCOT, NOT Magic Kingdom!

Plus, by using less recognizable characters, it’s a little easier to handle the crowds that stop by for a photo. Imagine if they brought out a popular character like Figment — that would be like throwing those poor newbie Character Attendants right into the deep end of the pool without a flotation device. It would be CHAOS!

You never know who you might meet!

If you’re not a Disney expert, you might not recognize some of these “rare” characters, but there’s a reason they still visit the parks every once in a while!

2023-wdw-Disneys-Hollywood-Studios-sunse

A Character Palooza event in action!

Oh, and if you happen to find a Character Palooza event happening during your visit, make sure to show those Cast Members some extra kindness. They’re learning! (And trust us, it’s not an easy job!)

In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.