Chat with the Chief Magic Official

[Justin M]

The following day was another day packed full of some pretty exciting adventures. The focal point for this trip - being so close to Labor Day - was on opportunities to give back to the Cast Members. Disney does a marvelous job of recognizing their CM's on special service anniversaries (i.e., 10, 15, 20, etc. years with the company), and the Magic Backstage program (essentially The Year of a Million Dreams for Cast Members, just not quite on that scale!) allows supervisors and managers many opportunities to show their appreciation.

I'm sure we can all share a story of a time when a Cast Member said or did something that made our visit even more magical. Any chance to say thank you to these wonderful people is something I certainly don't want to pass up!

After a morning filled with an invigorating and inspiring brainstorming session with some of the very creative minds from Walt Disney World (again, what a treat this was!), it was time to make some magic for the Cast!

 

[Justin M]

My first stop was at the Polynesian Resort for a Cast Appreciation Party. Throughout the day, Cast Members had the chance to stop by the party for food, music, games, and the chance to win a variety of prizes.

(I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting up with T.C. - one of the 2008 Walt Disney World Ambassadors. Each year there are only 2 Ambassadors in WDW, hand-selected after a very thorough application and interview process, who represent the more than 60,000 Cast Members to the medial, community, and the world. They travel extensively and have the opportunity to be a part of educating, motivating, and inspiring the Cast Members during their one-year tenure. T.C., and her teammate Kerri, are two of the most incredible examples of what a Cast Member can be. They are delightful in every way and it was such a joy to spend part of this trip observing them, learning from them, and sharing in their experiences.)

Anyway, here are some pictures from the Cast Appreciation party at the Polynesian. I had a chance to play some Wii bowling (that was new for me!), mingle with cast members from nearly every department at the resort, and hear the personal stories of so many inspirational people. It really was a unexpectedly incredible opportunity!

(T.C., the Sous Chef from O'Hana, and I outside after his turn getting wet! They had a booth set up where a water balloon was suspended over his head and if you hit the target with a ball the balloon would burst and soak whoever was in the seat. What a fun way for folks to 'interact' with their supervisors!)

(Here we'd just created a Magical Moment by giving away some "Magic Backstage". The organizers of the party had arranged for some random prizes to be given away. This one was particularly useful . . . a laundry basket full of supplies and things that the lucky CM now won't have to pay for at the store!)

(And here we are judging a very intense Watermelon eating contest!)

 

[Justin M]

I even had time to play a few games with the Cast Members while I shared my story, and listened to theirs. . . .

(really, who doesn't love a giant game of Connect 4?)


I also had the chance to get on the microphone and give a very brief pep talk. Mostly, I just told the Cast Members what an honor it was to be a part of their team. I tried to express my gratitude - on behalf of all the guests and fans of the Disney Parks - for what they do and encourage them to keep up the amazing work. Yet another humbling experience!

 

[Justin M]

That's all I have time for tonight. I'll try to be back soon with the rest of Thursday's Cast-related adventures.

Friday was full of many more incredible treats including the Michael Phelps parade, some time with the Dream Squad at Disney's Hollywood Studios, and a truly magical experience at Cirque du Soleil in Downtown Disney. (and that doesn't even touch my incredible experiences with the Animal Kingdom Dream Squad on Saturday, so be sure to check back often for the rest of the advenure!)

See you all again soon!

 

[Parkhopper]

Here are just a few photos of the wonderful friends I met and the really neat experiences I had at "Magic Meets 2008"

Hi Justin! I am really enjoying hearing all about your adventures and I am loving the photos you have been sharing. My family was at the Magic Meets and you just cannot imagine my surprise to see a photo of us in your post! (we are the family of 3 in your last photo above!)

Thanks for continuing to post here. We hope to run into you in the parks someday!

Suzi

 

[robinc71]

Justin, You have such and amazing persona. Your enthusiasm come thru your words and actions. I love reading about your adventures. It looks like and amazing ride. We'll be at pop 9/18 leaving 9/18/08. Hope to catch up with you on that trip. Love the updates! Can't wait for more.

 

[Justin M]

Hi Justin! I am really enjoying hearing all about your adventures and I am loving the photos you have been sharing. My family was at the Magic Meets and you just cannot imagine my surprise to see a photo of us in your post! (we are the family of 3 in your last photo above!)

Thanks for continuing to post here. We hope to run into you in the parks someday!

Suzi

Suzi,

Great to hear from you! I really hope you don't mind that I posted a picture with you guys! (If it is a concern, just let me know!) Thanks for finding this thread and following along. It was wonderful meeting you and your family at Magic Meets and I'm glad I can now keep in touch with you here as well.

 

[Justin M]

Justin, You have such and amazing persona. Your enthusiasm come thru your words and actions. I love reading about your adventures. It looks like and amazing ride. We'll be at pop 9/18 leaving 9/18/08. Hope to catch up with you on that trip. Love the updates! Can't wait for more.

Robin,

When is your trip and how long will you be there? I'd love to meet you in person (especially in the parks!) but I likely won't be back down to Walt Disney World until the last weekend.

Thank you so much for checking out my adventures and coming along for the ride. I can't tell you how much appreciate your kind words. Thanks for taking this journey with me!

 

[Parkhopper]

Suzi,

Great to hear from you! I really hope you don't mind that I posted a picture with you guys! (If it is a concern, just let me know!) Thanks for finding this thread and following along. It was wonderful meeting you and your family at Magic Meets and I'm glad I can now keep in touch with you here as well.

Hi Justin, no worries about the picture (we actually thought it was neat that you posted it...none of us knew it was even taken!) I have been popping back to this thread at odd times when I have a few minutes. It looks like you have yourself a nice sized fan club!!

My family just got back from 4 days at WDW...we had to get one last visit to the Adventurer's Club before it closes! We were there every night from Wednesday (landed at 10:00pm and drove straight there) through Saturday. It sure was CROWDED. There are a lot of people who are going to miss that wonderfully entertaining place.

We probably will not get to WDW again until Spring, but we will look for you when we are there!

Suzi

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

I'm currently working out the details for a trip the last weekend of September.

Justin- If you're at the Expedition Everest Challenge on Saturday 9/27, I'll be sure to look for you, and come over and say hello. I love your reports. I'll also be at the food and wine festival on Friday 9/26, but I'm guessing that's going to be pretty packed.

 

[Justin M]

Hi Justin, no worries about the picture (we actually thought it was neat that you posted it...none of us knew it was even taken!) I have been popping back to this thread at odd times when I have a few minutes. It looks like you have yourself a nice sized fan club!!

My family just got back from 4 days at WDW...we had to get one last visit to the Adventurer's Club before it closes! We were there every night from Wednesday (landed at 10:00pm and drove straight there) through Saturday. It sure was CROWDED. There are a lot of people who are going to miss that wonderfully entertaining place.

We probably will not get to WDW again until Spring, but we will look for you when we are there!

Suzi

I'm glad you made it back to the Adventurer's Club. I agree, it will be sorely missed and was a source of such great entertainment. I haven't seen plans for the changes to the area, though, so I'll trust that Disney has some amazing plans in the works.

On my last trip (end of August) I made it over to Adventurer's Club as well . . . it was crowded, but it was still a great time!

 

[Justin M]

Justin- If you're at the Expedition Everest Challenge on Saturday 9/27, I'll be sure to look for you, and come over and say hello. I love your reports. I'll also be at the food and wine festival on Friday 9/26, but I'm guessing that's going to be pretty packed.

Hello! Fortunately, running is not one of the requirements to be CMO! I'm pretty sure I'll be in town that weekend, but I don't think I'll be at the Expedition Everest Challenge. You never know, though, plans are still evolving! Either way, I hope to run into you in one of the parks that trip! Please don't be shy!

 

[Justin M]

I know we are in mid-update here, but I wanted to quickly repost a couple of things from the beginning of this thread. We've had several folks join us as this journey has gone along and I just want to make sure everyone has all the background!

SO . . .

 

[Justin M]

Chat with the Chief Magic Official
Hello! My name is Justin Muchoney and I was recently elected as the first ever Disney Parks CMO (Chief Magic Official).

Back in January Disney partnered with CareerBuilder.com to give one lucky Disney fan the ultimate dream job - a twelve month (part time!) position where the winner would have the opportunity to travel the country as a goodwill ambassador for the parks who helps to create magical memories for guests and serves as one of the faces of "The Year of a Million Dreams".

After a lengthy application, interview, voting, and competition period, I was announced the winner in a ceremony in the Rose Garden in the Magic Kingdom on April 22nd.

I thought that this thread would be a fun way to share my stories and experiences with you all - as well as a great place for you to ask questions and learn more about what it really takes to make the magic happen! I will post here as often as I can and I will make every attempt to respond to your questions.

For now, you can learn more about the CMO contest by visiting www.dreamcmo.com. On that site they still have links to the competition videos from April as well as a couple of photos and a 'thank you' note from me. I will be posting periodic updates there and it will be the most central location for all the details of my journeys. If you have a 'facebook' account, you can also find me on there (Justin Muchoney). I'll keep posting pictures from my trips as I get them to my facebook.

Welcome to this thread!

 

[Justin M]

Thank you SO much for joining this thread! I have only a few simple requests for you all . . . ready?

1) When you are posting on this thread, you must be smiling!

2) Keeping firing questions . . . I'll respond as often as I can (and I'll skillfully dodge the ones that I'm not sure how to answer! )

3) Be sure to bookmark or check in often at www.dreamcmo.com. I'll come in here and let you know when there is an update on the site, but as the year unfolds that will be a fun place to find all sorts of good information (I hope!)

4) If you ever see me in the parks on a visit . . . please say "Hi!" Don't be shy, I love meeting fellow Disney fans!

5) When in doubt, refer to number 1!!!

 

[Justin M]

If you haven't been over to www.dreamCMO.com lately, please check it out. In addition to still having the original competition videos on line, there are trip reports and photos from my journeys. We've started posting the detailed version of my June trip to California, and as soon as that is all up we'll be moving on to the details of my most recent adventure in Walt Disney World. You can also search for Disney jobs through a CareerBuilder.com link at the bottom of the page.

Oh, I almost forgot! There is also a "Contact Justin" button on the main page. If you click there you can drop me a note or ask me questions about my adventures and the Disney Parks. Please stop by and say hello!

 

[robinc71]

Robin,

When is your trip and how long will you be there? I'd love to meet you in person (especially in the parks!) but I likely won't be back down to Walt Disney World until the last weekend.

Thank you so much for checking out my adventures and coming along for the ride. I can't tell you how much appreciate your kind words. Thanks for taking this journey with me!

We Leave thurs am 9/18 bright and early and then will be there til 9/28 late flight back to PGH! I thinks it is safe to say we all love a good ride even if it is from the back seat. We love getting your updates and can hardly wait for your story to continue. I know that we all appreciate how busy you are and yet you always take the time for updates and to repond personally to our comments.

 

[Justin M]

Back to the report from my August trip to Walt Disney World . . .

On Thursday, after the Cast Appreciation Party at the Polynesian, the 2008 WDW Ambassador, T.C., and I headed over to the Transportation and Ticketing Center (TTC) for a very special occasion. A bus driver, (Frank) who had been with the company for quite a long time, was retiring. T.C. was invited to help host the party that his colleagues were throwing for him and I was able to come along and be a part of the festivities.

I can't explain how genuinely touching this experience was. Frank was somone who had obviously made a profound difference in the lives of his fellow Cast Members during his time with Disney and I was reminded once again of how much of a "family" everyone truly is. The stories he shared, the laughter of everyone there, and the tears when he was finished were sincerely moving. It was such a joy to see first-hand how the Disney family of Cast Members cares for each other, lifts each other up, and celebrates with each other.

(We all had the chance to sign a parking cone for Frank as one of his gifts. What a fun idea, given that as a bus driver he's probably seen more of these than he cares to remember!)


Before we cut into the cake, I had a chance to very quickly thank Frank for his years of service and for being a friend and mentor to so many. It's people like Frank that make our visits to the Disney parks so safe, efficient, and truly memorable. Every superb Cast Member, regardless of department, makes a profound difference for the guests, and Frank was certainly a shining example!

 

[Justin M]

We Leave thurs am 9/18 bright and early and then will be there til 9/28 late flight back to PGH! I thinks it is safe to say we all love a good ride even if it is from the back seat. We love getting your updates and can hardly wait for your story to continue. I know that we all appreciate how busy you are and yet you always take the time for updates and to repond personally to our comments.

Thanks again for popping in! I really appreciate your kind words and your understanding. It truly is a joy, though, for me to share this experience with everyone. As of now, it DOES look like I'll be in Walt Disney World for at least a few days during the latter portion of your trip! DO you have any specific plans? You are going to be there during a wonderful time of year and it looks like you have planned for a great length of time to make sure you can take it all in!

 

[Justin M]

Following our time with Frank, T.C. and I headed over to the Magic Kingdome for another cast celebration. This time we met up with the huge team of Cast Members from the Emporium. I'm not going to share the couple of pictures I have with you from there because technically we were backstage at that point, and while I don't see anything to revealing in them, I want to protect the magic! Trust me when I say, though, that this was a wonderful team of CM's who are working hard every day to be even more prepared to serve the needs of our guests. Again, it's a real pleasure to be counted as one of their teammates!

After this whirlwind afternoon observing a truly gracious host and ambassador (and the surprisingly exhausting morning's brainstorming session), I had a chance to quickly stop back at the Boardwalk and freshen up. Dinner tonight, with a member of the brainstorming team, was at The Flying Fish. Absolutely delicious!! After dinner, I met up with a couple of other members of the marketing team to go hear one of our friends play and sing at Jellyrolls. He was fantastically talented (as were all the piano players!) and this was a really fun way to end an incredible first day and half.

At this point, I had no idea what was in store for Friday . . . but who doesn't love a little Disney surprise?!