07 March, 2016

Look at This Trove Treasures Untold: Cast Connections & Company D

I suppose prior to doing a post about the DCP or PI experience you are all wondering what exactly are the perks of working here anyway. Well I guess it is about time I tell you since it is not like you cannot find this stuff on the internet anyway. Cast Connections For those of you who may have done the program before well it got an upgrade in 2015, and has been moved to a new location. In case anyone from Disneyland is wondering I have posted the address for the new Company D and Team Center location towards the bottom of the post. 



Store Hours:
Sunday-Wednesday | 9:00 am – 6:30 pm
Thursday-Saturday | 9:00 am – 7:30 pm

Address: 2340 Recycle Way Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
Telephone: (407) 824-6369

Who can get into Cast Connections and Property Control?
A current Cast
Member can bring up to 6 guests into Cast Connections and Property Control, but only Cast Member’s can go into the slightly damaged section in the back of the building (Why? I have no idea). They will need to bring a current Blue ID with them into the building to gain access into Property Control and the damaged section.


For those are not sure how to get there, or where the new location even is calm down I got you covered. It is going to be located near Disney’s Animal Kingdom. If you know where Buena Vista Drive is then you know how to get there lol. I will also attach a map that I will state right now that is not 100% accurate, but it will give the general idea on where to locate it. For you CPs that do not have a car simply take the K bus it drops you off there between 10:00 am – 5:00 pm daily.






As for what is Cast Connections well pretty simple it is slightly damaged items, out-of-season including holiday items, discontinued merchandise, and sometimes groceries (think Fort Wilderness not Publix’s). They have plenty of items from Vera Bradley, Dooney and Burke, the Disney pillow characters, t-shirts, autograph books, pens, shades, cosmetics, and etc. Everything is already marked down from 50% - 75% off, and you get an extra 10% Cast Member discount when you check out.


As for what is in Property Control (aka now Mickey’s Treasure’s) it is basically only for you Disney fanatic –no seriously. Alright for those actually wondering they are retired company items such as industrial equipment, furniture (found a Yacht and Beach lamp once), TVs, broken merchandise, unclaimed lost and found items, and etc. (truly once found a statue from Art of Animation). Everything much like Cast Connections is going to be 75% - 90% off the original price, and there are no additional discounts given to Cast Members.



Now onto (at least in my opinion) the more important of the Cast Member locations, and there are 6 locations at Walt Disney World. They sell exclusive Cast Member only merchandise such as pins, apparel, office supplies, lanyards, and etc. Most importantly though this is also where Cast Members can purchase discounted theme park tickets, discounted annual passes, and of course holiday tickets (Mickey’s Not-So-Scary, and Very Merry Christmas).

Who can get inside Company D?
This is 100% Cast Member exclusive unlike Cast Connections as these are typically located backstage, so non-Cast Members are typically not allowed. However, for non-backstage area ones like Team Disney you may bring a guest with you, but they are not allowed to purchase anything. Also as a note unlike Cast Connections there are six sites for Company D located on and off Walt Disney World Property.

Telephone (same for all locations): (407) 824-4254

Team Disney (across the street from Disney Springs West Side): This in my opinion is one of the best options on property, and usually the one that is pretty empty.
Hours of operations:
Monday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday | Closed
Sunday | Closed

Disney University (same place you had Traditions / located near West Clock)
Hours of operations:
Monday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday | 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Friday | 7:30 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Sunday | Closed

Hollywood Studios (located in Take 5)
Hours of operations:

Monday | Closed
Tuesday | Closed
Wednesday | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Thursday | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Friday | 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday | Closed
Sunday | Closed

Orlando DRC (Off-property located near Universal Studios)
Hours of operations:
Monday | 9:00 am – 4:30 am
Tuesday | Closed
Wednesday | Closed
Thursday | Closed
Friday | 7:30 am – 4:30 am
Saturday | Closed
Sunday | Closed

Main Gate Office Complex (located near Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
Hours of operations:
Monday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Tuesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday | Closed
Thursday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday | Closed
Saturday | Closed
Sunday | Closed

Epcot (Located near Epcot Cast Parking –behind near Test Track)
Hours of operations:
Monday | Closed
Tuesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Thursday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday | 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Saturday | Closed
Sunday | Closed

Tampa DRC (Obviously located in Tampa)
 Hours of operations:
Monday | Closed
Tuesday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Wednesday | Closed
Thursday |10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday | Closed
Saturday | Closed
Sunday | Closed


These ticket prices are updated to match the hub as of April 2016

As I stated earlier Company D is where you will find discounted theme park tickets, so below I will leave the prices for the tickets with the discount as a general note though this does include tax for anyone wondering. These are also the prices as of 2016, and are subject to changes.
At Company D you can also find discounted annual passes for both Walt Disney World and on the hub you can purchase Disneyland annual passes (and tickets). 



Also, for anyone wondering as stated earlier they also sell discounted tickets to Mickey's Not-So-Scary and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party. These are hard ticket events and are not included with regular admission, so CMs cannot get in for free. These hard tickets can be purchased at Company D for 30% off of regular price, but to be clear they are for certain dates only. Not-So-Scary is going to have CM discounted days for all of September, and certain days in October -as a note they often add more days if they do not sell out so keep checking. Very Merry Christmas is pretty similar they have discounted days November, and certain days in December which they will add more if certain ones do not sell out (note Very Merry's last day in 2016 is Dec. 22nd). 


I also wanted to update this post due to Company D at Disneyland is officially back open as well. For anyone wondering it is pretty much the same information as Walt Disney World in terms of what they have, and what they sell there. However, unlike Walt Disney World there is only one location at Disneyland so I will leave the new address below for anyone trying to find it. 


Address | 1625 S. Lewis Street Anaheim, CA 92805



*Also for anyone who happens to be working at third party operating participants such as Swan & Dolphin, Four Seasons, majority of the Disney Springs Stores, and etc. Your benefits will depend on the contract Disney has with your operating participant company, so you are not guaranteed the same benefits as a Disney Cast Member would have. Thought I would put that in there since someone was under the impression that they had all the same benefits as they work on property, so I suggest you ask if you want to know. 

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