Walt Disney World Cast Members Honored At Annual Service Celebration
Isn’t it amazing when you meet a Cast Member who has been with the company for decades? It just shows how much they enjoy what they do bringing Walt Disney’s magic to the world. This week the Walt Disney World Resort celebrated and honored thousands of these cast members at their annual Service Celebration at Magic Kingdom Park. This was an exclusive after-hours event that included classic attractions, unique food stations, specialty beverages and featured entertainment. This year’s celebration honored approximately 4,200 Cast Members, Crew Members and Imagineers for their years of service working for the Walt Disney Company across a wide variety of roles and fields of work.
Disney Parks, Experiences and Products has a long-standing tradition of recognizing Cast Members, Crew Members and Imagineers for the talent and hard work, stemming from the earliest days at the animation studio and continuing into the launch of Disneyland and beyond. The Service Celebration dates back to an event that Walt Disney hosted for his theme park staff back in 1965 and has been held every year since. During this year’s Walt Disney World Resort event alone, nearly 200 Cast Members were celebrating impressive milestones of 40 years or more.
“Our resort has provided unforgettable experiences for nearly five decades because of the passion our Cast and Imagineers have for the Disney brand,” said Josh D’Amaro, president Walt Disney World Resort. “They create magic for our guests and it’s incredibly heartwarming to celebrate all that they do for our company by watching them enjoy an exclusive night in Magic Kingdom making all new memories alongside their family and old friends.”
The evening began with honorees and their guests being welcomed as they walked down a red carpet on Main Street U.S.A. leading directly up to Cinderella’s Castle Courtyard and those celebrating 40 years or more receiving a toast in their honor before dining inside the castle at Cinderella’s Royal Table. Throughout the course of the evening, all honorees were given exclusive access to classic attractions such as “it’s a small world,” Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean and more. Additional event offerings included character meet and greets, complimentary service award photos and an event-exclusive firework show, “Celebration in the Sky.”
Milestone anniversaries with the Walt Disney Company are celebrated every five years beginning with the 10th year of service. On the West Coast, Disneyland Resort’s Celebration took place on Nov. 21 at Disney California Adventure Park and the Burbank and Glendale event took place on Oct. 17 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
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