chesirelyposts - Tumblr blog

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Rapunzel by ChesirelyDraws

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Disney Side Characters by ChesirelyDraws

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When you wish upon a star....

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Luigi and the Poltergust 3000 by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Daisy Duck by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Mario and F.L.U.D.D by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Tips From a Cast Member to a Guest 4.5

So in my last update there's been a lot of comments saying I'm telling people to buy 'fake' Disney Pins and sell them. I'm now writing this to clear some things up. So here are some Questions and answers covering some of these topics.

Q:Are Walmart/Walgreen Disney Pins fake or Scrappers? A: Fun fact these pins are not actually fake. They are made by a company that Disney gave permission to. It's the same company that makes the Disney clothing and accessories you find in stores like Hot Topic. So if the Walmart ones are fake then all that Disney clothing you've bought from Hot Topic or even the Parks is fake right?

Q: What is a Scrapper? A: A Scrapper is a pin that is illegally made by someone getting a hold of an old Pin Template or the company in China making too many pins (whether it be accident or not) and selling them. If you want some more information on telling the difference between a scrapper and a real pin then here's a site I've found that gives a quick and easy way to learn how to tell: http://disneypintrade.com/thread-1442.html

Q:So who makes Walmart Pins? A: The Company that makes the pins is called 'Jerry Leigh Entertainment Apparel'. This company makes clothing, accessories, and pins for many big name brands. Actually some clothing sold in the parks is made by this company. Here's the company's official site if you want to learn more about them and what company's they work with: http://www.jerryleigh.com/index.php/about-us/

Q:The Pins don't have the Disney Park Trading logo or a Disney Store Logo so they shouldn't be traded.  A: According to the Official Pin Trading Etiquette Pamphlet that you can find on the Official Disney Website says 'Only operating participant pins that show a Disney, Disneyland Resort, or Walt Disney World Resort affiliation will be accepted for trading'. On the back of these pins it copyrights to Disney and even on the back of the card it's attached to it copyright Disney and even shows the official Disney website. So technically this would mean you can trade them. A Cast Member does have the right to refuse one of these pins if they think it's fake but in truth it's not. If you want to see the official Pamphlet here's the link: http://disney.go.com/eventservices/howtopintrade.pdf

Q:So this means a Cast Member HAS to take these pins? A: Like I said, no they don't have to. If they feel it's fake they have the right to say no, but truthfully the only people that do look are people who's jobs involve pins and pin trading. I know at my location we only occasionally pin trade and when we do they just hand you a lanyard and say 'Go trade with some guests'. Some of the managers don't even check when they trade. We'll catch the obvious fake pins like something is obviously off or discolored but for the little stuff we might not catch because we are not trained to look for these things. Plus most of the time we don't have time to check every single pin that someone wants to trade with us. 

Q:Can I find these Walmart Pins in the parks? A: I'm not all knowing when it comes to what pins are in the parks but I've never seen the Walmart pins being sold in the parks. If you want to see a list of one's they've made then go to this link: http://gallery.pinpics.com/cgi-bin/group.cgi?group=3749 This site is also great when it comes to seeing what pins have been made for the Disney parks. On the page I've linked it does say these pins run at about 6.99. I said cheaper on my site because at the time that I bought these they were around the price that I mentioned. They could have easily been on sale when I bought them and I just didn't notice or remember.

Q:Well buying one of these cheap Walmart pins and trading it for an expensive or 'Hidden Mickey' pin is cheating out other people... isn't it? A: Truthfully not really. It's the same if you buy a 5 dollar pin and trade it for a Hidden Mickey. Plus a lot of actual pin traders I've met and talk to only collect pins that they like. There's really only a few out of the masses that care about price or rarity or if they're from the parks or not. Plus those people that care won't trade for these pins then. Think of it this way. These pins can't be bought in the parks and they are legal pins in the eyes of Disney, so doesn't that make them rare in their own right? Also a lot of pin traders tell people to buy cheap pins in bulk on ebay to trade for these rare or 'Hidden Mickey' pins. They do warn about watching out for scrappers but you really don't know if that ebay pin is a scrapper or not until you buy it and you actually have it in your possession. 

Q:As a Cast Member you shouldn't be telling people about this because it's bad and rips off the company... right? A: Fun fact I didn't come up with this trick. I found out about this trick from other cast members in the parks. Also this doesn't rip off the company considering they are still making money off of it. Regardless of if i put this post up, someone else would have and people (including the Disney Company) know about this going on. 

Here are some other facts that I forgot to mention that go along with Pin trading:

-Cast members for the most part cannot refuse to pin trade with you unless you're being aggressive, they are busy (after all they are there to work not just pin trade), or if the pin is a fake (like Pooh bear is orange or they notice that the pin is a scrapper). 

-If you want to trade them a pin they already have they are allowed to ask if you want to trade a different one but overall can't refuse in the end. It's fine if they have duplicate pins on their lanyard, it's just better if they don't so then they can have more variety to show people.

-You can only trade 2 times with a cast member per day. If you trade twice with a cast member and then they switch their position with someone; then you can trade with that cast member twice regardless if it's the same lanyard or not. 

If you want some more information on Pin trading you can always look at the link I have above for the pamphlets as well as these sites:

-http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Disney_Pin_Trading -http://disneyparksmerchandise.com/blog/ -http://gallery.pinpics.com/

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Simba by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Donald Duck by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Tips From a Cast Member to a Guest Part 4

So when looking through some old stuff from Disney, I found my lanyard and pins from the brief time I was pin trading. By brief I mean like 1 week. This then inspired me to give you guys some tips on Pin trading in the Disney parks!

Now pin trading can be fun but also pretty expensive. Normally you would think that a pin is like 2-3 dollars but sadly no. They go from about 5-10ish dollars depending on which ones you go for. Luckily you can go to any Walgreens or Walmart in the surrounding around and find some pins there. Well at least in Orlando you can. These pins look just like ones you can get in the parks and are a dollar or two cheaper. Now yes I know that you'll probably want to have park pins if you're going to be into the whole pin collecting/ trading thing; but some of these Walmart ones are good to have as well. I call these ones Swap Pins (also known as Swappers). These are pins you get for cheap and trade for more rare or expensive ones. 

For Example:

Here is what we call a Hidden Mickey Pin. It gets it's name from the little mickey symbol found on it (aka the mickey symbol at the very top). Now these Pins use to be called Cast Member Pins because you can only get these off of Cast Member lanyards. They're said to be rare because they can only be found on a cast member. This is where the Swappers come in. When an on duty Cast Member is wearing a Pin Lanyard they must trade with anyone who wants to. They cannot refuse to trade you any pin. So you simply find a Hidden Mickey Pin and trade your Swapper for it. You now have a rare pin for the price of a cheap one. You can also do this for any regular pin, it doesn't have to be for just the Hidden Mickey ones. Also don't worry because you can find at least 1 Hidden Mickey Pin on every cast member lanyard. Only time you might not is if that Cast member has been trading all day. 

Sorry this is such a short one, I just had to quickly whip one out before I leave next week. From the 14th-22nd of July I'll be on vacation in California for Comic Con and I'll get to visit Disneyland for one day. I'll make sure to post photos for both and maybe Disneyland will inspire me for more of these tips. If you have any questions or ideas for Tips From a Cast Member just send me a message. Or if you want any info on anything Disney, life,or Comic Con; leave me a message as well!

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James P Sullivan by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Marie by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Goofy by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Mickey Mouse by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Guess who has a Deviantart page now :) I only have one drawing up but feel free to go check it out! 

Minnie Mouse by ~ChesirelyDraws

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Tips From a Cast Member to a Guest part 3

Hey guy’s sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted. I’ve just had a bit of writer’s block on what to write next. It’s hard to think of what people would want to know from a Cast Member so if you’re reading this then shoot me a message on a topic and I’ll cover it. It could even be about planning a vacation or behind the scenes.  Anyways this one is about Meeting Characters! I never met a character until I worked for Disney. I had been to Walt Disney World twice before but I thought I was always too old to met them. Fun fact you are NEVER too old to meet a character! Also you don’t necessarily have to be with someone else to meet them. Most characters I met I did when I was alone at the parks.  Now you cannot meet every character at every park year round. For instance you can only meet Hercules and Meg in Disneyland, not Disney World. Also you cannot meet Villains year round. At Walt Disney World the only time you can really meet them are when they make ‘Surprise’ visits at Epcot or during the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. That whole process will take up another post entirely.  A great way to keep track of what characters will be where, at what time, is to get the Disney Mobile Magic app for your phone. It works on Android and Apple phones and is owned by Disney. It tells you the schedules of all scheduled characters (at Disney World and Disneyland) as well as lets you set reminders for them. I would advise setting a reminder because the lines fill up very quickly. For me I would get to a Character spot 20-30 minutes early and the line would already be almost full.  I will warn you that most Character Spots are outdoors except for certain areas like The Theater on Main Street where you can meet Mickey and Minnie, or some Princesses. The indoor Character spots are marked on maps while the outdoor ones are not always. If you’re ever wondering where a Character meets in the park you are at you can ask any cast member and they can point you to it; or at least get you to the correct portion of the park and a cast member from there can pin point it for you. For example a Cast Member who works in Frontierland will be able to pin point any character there; but can most likely not pin point one in Tomorrowland.  Also pre-plan your character meeting experience. Each Guest gets about 60-90 seconds to meet with a character. Every once in a while they will spend an extra minute or two with someone (usually a child) but they have to make sure they get to everyone in the line equally. SO if you want something signed then have a pen or marker and paper (or clothing) for them to sign ahead of time. The Character attendants (also known as The Blueberries to some of us) will not always have a pen and paper for you. All around the parks there are autograph books that come with pens that you can buy or just pens and markers by themselves you can buy.  Another hint is that if you have your own camera then have it out and on when it’s almost your turn. The more time you fiddle with turning it on then the more time it takes away from your experience. One of the photo pass people will take photos of you with their camera but they are always willing to take some for you with yours. If they can’t then the character attendant will. They understand that you don’t want to pay 14 dollars to post one of their photos on your Facebook (it’s a real thing).  Pretty much here are some bullet points of what you should do. Research ahead of what characters will be in what areas. -This is a great site that gives you more info on characters ( http://www.charactercentral.net/ ) Pre-plan your experience -Do you want a photo, autograph or both? Get to the meet and greet early -Set a reminder to get there about 30 minutes early Be prepared -Have a pen/ marker and paper with you Have your camera ready when it’s almost your turn -Don’t waste the short amount of time you have fiddling with your camera You are never too old to meet a Character Also just have fun with it! -Doesn’t matter if you’re with friends, family or by yourself! If you have any questions for me on this topic or any other then send me a message! Also if you have a topic you want me to talk about then just hit me up!

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Tips from a Cast Member to a Guest Part 2

This post will be about Eating in the Disney Parks. Amazingly, from what I've seen, not a lot of blogs cover eating in the Parks. They'll cover places you can eat but not tips on how to save money when it comes to eating. 

Firstly don't eat a large lunch. That with the heat, atmosphere, and all around craziness of any Disney parks will wear you out before the day is even done. What I mean by large lunch is pretty much any regular sized lunch in the parks. The only exception to this tip would be if you're someone with a larger appetite or you didn't eat breakfast. What I suggest you do is eat a normal breakfast and then order a kids meal for lunch. Yes if you get a kids burger it will be smaller; but the point of this is to eat just enough to get you to dinner, it's healthier for you, and it saves you money. Don't be fooled by the 'its for Kids 9 and under'. They will still give you a kids meal if you order one because they don't know if you have a child with you at a table or not. All kids meals come with the following:

An entree (a burger, chicken nuggets, Uncrustable PB&J, and/or Turkey sandwich depending on where you go)

2 sides (usually from a choice of grapes, carrots, apple slices, fries and/or a chocolate chip cookie)

1 small drink (Water bottle, milk, OJ, Apple Juice, and/ or Soda)

Amazingly a meal like this will last most people way into dinner time. Speaking of dinner I would suggest not going to any Table Service restaurant because those need reservations like a month or 2 ahead of time. Only eat at a Table Service if you're able to get a reservation and it's a night you don't plan on watching the fireworks and/ or night time parade (depending on which park you're at). If you're wondering, the reason you need a reservation at most Table Service Restaurants is because they have characters that walk around that you can take a photo with. I will warn you, those get pricey. 

Also another tip that not a lot of people think about is to bring your own packed lunch. Yes Disney does not have a picnic table for you to eat at but there's plenty of seating all around the parks. Don't worry about utensils (security will confiscate them) because you can get some from any Quick service place. And don't plan to bring a cooler with your jars of Peanut butter and jelly because security wont let those in either. If you just pack an already made lunch into a bag or small cooler then you can bring that in. Most hotels (and all Disney Resorts) have some sort of mini fridge in the rooms. You can even buy some groceries like bread, Peanut Butter, and Jelly from some Disney Resorts (Not usually the Value Resorts). So pack a lunch and bring it in if you only want to spend money on one meal a day. Even buy some subway and bring that in if you want. Just remember that what ever you bring in you get to carry with you all day, don't rely on there being lockers. 

I know I mentioned things like Disney Dinning Plan, and Disney Resorts in here. I will make posts about those later, explaining them, but if you have any questions now about those things or anything else; don't be afraid to ask!

If you want an idea of what the food will look like go check out Disney-Eats. It's a blog that posts mainly Walt Disney World food but there are a couple of Disneyland ones as well.

Disney-eats: http://disney-eats.tumblr.com/