In 2019, D23, the Official Disney Fan Club, held their biennial convention of all things Disney here at the Anaheim Convention Center. This 3-day long convention features theme park and movie news, plenty of photo opportunities, new and exclusive-to-the-convention merchandise, and a chance to connect and meet with fellow Disney fans, producers, creators, directors, animators, celebrities, and more. In 2017, I attended one of the days as a guest and in 2019, I was able to work it! This blog won’t be a guide to everything you should know and what to expect at the convention (hint: it’s A LOT), but rather my experience as a Cast Member during the three days. How was my time working at the convention? Let’s see!

Schedule Drop and Costume Pick-Up

When the schedule for the week of the convention dropped, my heart soared. I expressed interest in working at D23, but there’s no guarantee that you’d be scheduled there. Luckily, my schedule was a lovely mix of different stores, and at reasonable times (read: not closing). A plus was I’d get to be working with friends, too!

I picked up my costume beforehand: a bright red polo shirt that had Disney Dream Store embroidered in the top left corner. This was paired with a pair of black slacks. My costume for the Mickey’s of Glendale store was just a plain black polo and the same black slacks. Kind of boring, but I understand the desire for consistency and a costume that wasn’t distracting.

I also got an information packet, a map, a name badge that would allow me access into the building, and a few other paperwork needed to work these shifts. Oh yeah, it was all coming together.

Day 0: Arriving to Convention

D23 is usually held on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My first scheduled shift was on Thursday, what I assumed would be to help set-up and familiarize myself with the system. There wasn’t a lot to do for most Cast Members working today. Cast Members mainly helped make each store look nice, got to see which items they were selling, and were told how to process certain transactions (more on this unique process later).

I remember walking around, the set-up crew still working hard and fast to get everything show ready for guests to see. Boxes astray, bubble wrap everywhere, beams lay on the ground off on one side and then another side, cellophane covering figures and statues, bright lights facing every direction, delivery trucks sticking in through the back of the exposition hall, all along a large, multi-room convention floor. It was a mess, but an organized mess. And one that was quickly becoming clearer and clearer as to what it was going to look like the following days.

We were able to walk around to see our break area, the bathrooms, and major stores we might be working at.

Cast Member passes to enter the Expo floor

Mickey’s of Glendale — Nightmare Fantasmic! (see what I did there?)

Everyone who purchases tickets to go to the D23 Expo are huge Disney nerds and fanatics, this is nothing new. Those who purchase the VIP Sorcerer Package of the D23 Expo are life-long fans who invest hundreds and thousands of dollars each year into their Disney interests and desires. While regular tickets can cost ~$100-$250, the Sorcerer Package costs more than $2,000 (at least to my knowledge). It was hard finding any resources for the pricing and purchasing of this package, so be on the lookout for the next expo if you want to invest! And be mindful that yes, tickets do sell out within minutes.

My manager for the day let us know that people who purchased the Sorcerer tickets had an exclusive shopping day on Thursday. They had access to the Disney Dream Store, which had limited edition merchandise made just for the expo, and Mickey’s of Glendale (MoG), the exclusive store at the Imagineering campus in Glendale that sold limited edition pins, Imagineering merchandise, clothing, and more. I was schedule to work at MoG on Thursday.

The first half of the day was fine. We were given new shirts to wear as our costumes—a plain black polo and dark trousers— and were able to explore the store and its unique merchandise. We also opened our registers and prepared them for purchases. They assigned me as a cashier and 2-3 people as baggers. I remember thinking that being the bagger seemed much less stressful and I wished I could have been one. Even though I am a cashier at World of Disney, I was soooo nervous about cashiering at the D23 expo, especially to VIP guests. Then, the exterior queue filled with Sorcerer Package VIP’s, who were patiently lined up outside the store for an hour or so, were let inside. An interior queue helped organize this line of people who were ready to pay. All of us cashiers had our first guests come up to us.

My guest had chosen to purchase a few items, and I made polite small talk. I scanned everything and gave him his total. I don’t quite remember how everything went down, just that it all went down at the same time and that it was bad.

Bad, bad, bad.

He swiped his credit card and it didn’t go through. Nobody’s did. The registers’ computer systems were not operational at all.

We just stood there— what else could we do? Cashiers, guests and the people in line were just standing and waiting for the machines to be operational so they could purchase their items and go. The MoG staff workers (who are separate from Disney Parks Cast Members like myself) were all frantically running around, making phone calls, checking emails on their phones, trying to click any and all buttons on the registers, and attempting to placate increasingly disgruntled guests.

I ran through my small talk spiel within minutes. It was awkward. It was hot. Everyone was stuck in this extremely small room with these non-operational registers and their hundreds-of-dollars worth of merchandise. The guests couldn’t (and didn’t want to) leave their items; they would run the risk of everything they wanted selling out. Remember—these guests paid top dollar to be able to shop a day before the Expo and get their hands on Imagineering-exclusive merchandise. You couldn’t get this merchandise unless you were an Imagineer, were friends with one, or had a lot of money you’d be willing to spend on them on eBay.

I do remember one guest was able to leave because she paid with cash. Other than that, everyone waited for hours until the registers started to work. I want to say it took a little over two hours. It was hard to measure at the time. Even after the registers started working, the room was still in utter chaos and confusion. We tried to roll through the purchases quickly to get these patiently waiting guests out of the store as soon as possible.

I got really close to those Cast Members at the registers, especially since there were only eight of us.

After those few hours of awkwardness, confusion, and mayhem, the store got incredibly slow and dull. There was no line by the end of the day. By then, of course, many items had sold out.

I got to meet a fellow member of Rainbow Caverns, the news site I write for during this shift! I was very surprised and definitely not expecting to see anybody I knew, so sorry that I acted super weird and robotic when we met, Evie! Hope we can meet up sometime in the future when it’s safe to! :)

Days 1-3: Work & Play

Unfortunately, since so much time has passed (that’s on me, my bad y’all), I don’t quite remember everything that happened each day. Instead, I’ll share some highlights and memorable moments.

The Disney Dream Store is INTENSE and SCARY. If there wasn’t any Cast Members keeping track of how many people were inside the store and how many other to let in at a time, this store would surely have been a hazard to walk through. MAJOR props to the leads who were working that day! I spent the first half of this shift working near the entrance, either giving out shopping bags to guests (and then collecting them and re-distributing them), or standing at one section near the front and helping any guests who walked to that section.

I am a quieter person, this is not a secret. I’m not very outgoing, especially in new, uncomfortable situations, but it’s who I am and I wouldn’t want to be anyone else. Working at D23, however, proved to be challenging for this part of myself. Our goals were to up-sell and sell out any and all items in this store. This is done by, of course, being super loud, extroverted, and shouting to guests about the new, exclusive, and limited edition merchandise. Okay, haha no problem, I said nervously to the store managers.

Long story short, I just stood, smiled, and had a few conversations with guests. I could tell the managers wanted me to be more outgoing, but… that’s just not me. Especially at an anxiety-inducing, new, high-intensity setting. The conversations I did have with guests were extremely meaningful and heartfelt. I still remember them to this day.

One couple approached me as I stood at my designated area and asked me about the satchel I was holding. I told them how the satchels were limited edition and only available during the convention. I stopped talking, as my description was complete. They paused, clearly waiting politely for me to continue my spiel. Oh, man, a spiel? I didn’t prepare one! It’s okay, though! This interaction felt extremely genuine and friendly that I didn’t feel any nervousness. I had been studying these items all day since, what the heck else am I doing at this store lol, and so I carefully modeled the bag, describing the cute pattern on the inside, the detailing of the shoulder strap, and more. They seemed very thankful and said bye before leaving. I don’t think they purchased the bag, but I love that they gave me the space for me to model it for them. I feel like I made their day and in turn, they made my day.

The satchel I modeled during my shift | (c) D23

The Registers

For a majority of the shift, I worked on the actual sales floor. I didn’t receive any training or guidance for working the registers, but I thought how hard could it be? I work a register at my usual job at Downtown Disney, this shouldn’t be too difficult.

Just kidding, it’s a million times more difficult here!

A lead had asked me to cover for someone’s break and work at the registers. I said okay and followed. We were supposed to rotate roles, anyways. As soon as I arrive to the registers, which comprised of maybe 50+ registers all along a long row of tables, my anxiety shot up tenfold. What is going on here?!?!?!

Boxes thrown everywhere; tape, scissors, and box cutters atop every table; pins assigned at every other table; bubble wrap here, there, and everywhere; gigantic boxes seemingly holding statues, figurines, and paintings at every corner; dozens of jewelry boxes behind each cashier; binders full of SKU numbers and codes; leads running around behind working Cast Members trying to lend a helping hand; and me just thrown into this awful mess.

I went to an open register and rang up a guest’s items. He was a fellow Cast Member, which I am incredibly thankful for because I worked at a snail’s pace due to the chaotic energy emanating directly from this room. Before I could share his total, he explained that he had paintings and jewelry waiting for him. HUH??? We do order pick-up??? People ordered stuff…. in advanced….???

I had to ask my lead what to do. I’m sure this information was something that was taught to each cashier right before opening, but I wasn’t in that group. I quickly looked up the name the jewelry was under in the binder, as I was told to, and grabbed the correct jewelry from the mess behind me. I think they got a Pandora charm. I showed it to the party to confirm if that is what they had and they said yes. Okay, good, got the out of the way. Now onto the painting…

I asked my lead where to find the paintings and they said they were stationed at either side of the store. I used my detective skills to locate my guest’s ginormous painting and hauled it back to my register as quickly as possible. At the same time, I’m dodging other cashiers trying to fulfill their orders, squeezing behind leads who are helping other Cast Members, and trying to move as hastily as I could since the line is practically out the door and growing longer by the second. As I bring back the painting, too large to fit onto the register’s table, I tell the guest, “is it okay if I scan everything and finish the transaction then we can look at it?” I just wanted to finish this transaction as soon as possible. He said no, he wanted to look and make sure it looks okay. That makes sense, why did I suggest otherwise???

I obliged and took the painting to the table behind me. I used the scissors to open the package slowly and carefully. One wrong move and I could drop the painting, chip, or scratch it. I think I even asked my lead to help out because the painting was so big. After removing the box and the bubble wrap, I show my guests the painting. Their fears and anxieties quickly dissipate, and the tension that somehow snuck it’s way into the air seemed to dissolve. They loved it! Their moods instantly lifted and as a result, so did mine. I wrapped the painting back up in its same box and handed it to the guest. We finished the transaction, both parties much happier and satisfied.

As soon as they left, though, I did not call another guest toward my register. I left as sneakily as I could, and went to locate a lead. I shared how incredibly stressful this process was and how I’d rather do another task, if possible. Fortunately, she understood completely and put me at the exit door for 15 minutes, ensuring I direct guests to the proper entrance. After that short time, I resumed my original position of standing near the front, smiling and being an expert in the merchandise in that section. I’ll leave the registers to the pros, just give me back my satchel!

Hey, it’s Jon Favreau!

It’s weird seeing a celebrity sighting because it’s always unexpected. The room is already in chaos and entropy, and now suddenly everyone is yelling and pushing each other to get closer to the front. I was standing by the door, handing out shopping baskets when I look over my shoulder and see Jon Favreau, executive producer of The Mandalorian series on Disney+, casually shopping and taking selfies with fans. I stepped further aside to allow fans a chance to see him better (and so I wouldn’t show up in the background of any pictures). At the D23 expo, celebrity sightings should always be expected, yet I was really surprised to see Favreau in my store. At the 2017 expo, I saw Stan Lee.

Friends, friends, and more friends!

During my shifts, I had a couple of friends come up to see me, which is always appreciated. My friend Lindy visited and took this photo of me! It’s one of my favorites of myself now, so thank you!

I also had my friend Sarah visit and we got a chance to chat and catch up! It’s been too long, friend!

Congrats on your new position at the Walt Disney Studio Lot! You’re amazing!!

End of Shift Mischief

I called it mischief, but I really didn’t do anything mischievous. Unless you count changing clothes in the bathroom so you could attend the Expo as a regular guest mischievous, then yes I was mischievous. We were told that on the final day, we could walk around the expo and experience it’s offerings as guests. This was so incredibly exciting to me because I wanted to see all the cool photo opportunities, booths, items for sale from vendors, merchandise, artwork, and other Expo-exclusive goodies that every other guest was able to visit. I worked long, challenging shifts; I deserve some fun. I decided to wear a dress and my shoulder porg (a magnetic porg stuffie that sits on your shoulder) to express a more subtle Disney look.

I stopped by: the Walt Disney Animation Studios booth and saw the Frozen II promotional pieces; the Pixar booth and their newest projects in the works; the Disney Imagineering booth and saw the new starship cruiser hotel that was just announced at the expo; the Disney Music Emporium and was so close to buying the Tarzan soundtrack on vinyl; the Bésame Cosmetics counter and definitely splurged on some makeup pieces of my favorite Disney princess; explored the Disney+ promotion and Marvel Studios booths, and so much more. I didn’t attend any panels or shows since they had already booked up or had passed. Plus, I was tired after a full 8-hour shift. I didn’t take many photos either, since I wanted to take it all in before everything closed up and my energy ran out. After walking around for short while, I decided to head home.

I didn’t take photos of the collection the day-of, but here’s a photo of the makeup collection I purchased from Bésame (via Bésame Cosmetics on Twitter)! I got a lipstick, the hand held mirror, and a blush compact for my friend.

This experience was so fun and unique that I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I would love to work or attend future Expo’s, but hopefully as a creative within the company. There’s so much curiosity, excitement, creativity, and art engagement in the air, it would be amazing to be a part of the creative and planning process in the future.

Until next time,

xoxo