Walt knew he was creating something unique when he was designing Disneyland. Everything about his new park would be groundbreaking – including the nomenclature used within the five realms he was crafting. Disneyland would not be called an amusement park, but rather a theme park. Disneyland would not have rides, it would have attractions.
Walt thought of Disneyland as a giant celebration that he was personally hosting. The people attending this celebration would be considered guests. And the individuals who worked at Disneyland would be the hosts and hostesses that would welcome and entertain these guests.
Since Disneyland was designed as a movie set, he would not be hiring employees, but casting actors into roles. Thus they became cast members as well as hosts and hostesses.
Although this subtlety would be lost on much of his audience, Walt knew it was the details that would make his park stand out among the rest.
This “movie set” nomenclature was continued with the words onstage and backstage. Onstage would be the areas of Disneyland where guests would interact with cast members and be entertained by the show. Backstage would be the areas restricted to cast members only. However, backstage areas needed to be clearly marked so guests wouldn’t accidently wander where they didn’t belong. Since Disneyland did not have employees, an “Employees Only” sign would never do. Instead, the “Cast Members Only” and the “Host and Hostess Only” signs were created.
As Disneyland, and now the other Disney parks, became more elaborate and detail oriented, the Imagineers decided to start designating backstage areas with signs better themed to the area. For example, you might see a “Critters Only” sign somewhere on Splash Mountain. Yet, the Imagineers knew they had to come up with terms that the guests could not apply to themselves. For example, you cannot have a sign in Fantasyland that says “Prince and Princess Only.” Today, there are too many guest/princesses wandering around the park.
In the past, when I’ve selected a topic related to theming, like my bench, lamppost, and pavement blogs, I’ve discussed the merits of each photo. However, I really don’t have a lot to say about the unique “Cast Member Only” signs I’ll be presenting today. For the most part, they speak for themselves and anything I would add would be superfluous. So instead, I’ve decided to turn this blog into a quiz and make you guess where each sign is located.
All of the signs were found in one of the four Walt Disney World parks. As always with my quizzes, no winners will be announced and no prizes awarded. This is just for your own amusement. So cut yourself some slack when grading yourself tomorrow. If you were able to narrow the sign down to a “land” or “section of the park,” that’s good enough.
Check back Wednesday for the answers:
(Check back tomorrow for a special blog.)
Enjoy!
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Your quizzes like this would be fun to just print and save for trips to the Disney parks. It would be fun to wait and find the answers when you’re actually there. I think I might just not look at the answers tomorrow and do that with this quiz. Thanks!
Hi Jack! This was soooooo much fun! I can’t wait to see how I did tomorrow! Thanks again for making me smile!
What a fun blog Jack. Thank you.
I think I know quite a few and guessed a few more but x has me totally stumped.
hey jack
i always love your quizes because they are both entertaining as well as challenging. I felt that some signs were easier than others. When it comes to the details in Disney World, you certainly know how to point them out in creative ways. can’t wait to see how well i did and as always keep up the great work.
I LOVE when you create these kinds of quizzes for us! 🙂 not only are they tons of fun, they showcase Disney going the “extra mile” once again to create awesome theming throughout their parks!
What a creative way to generate interest in yet another of the Disney details.
Nice job, Jack!
This is a great way to start the week. I think I did pretty good. I guess we will see on Wednesday.