Recently, Walt Disney World hosted its latest Cast Service Celebration for Cast Members and employees with milestone anniversaries of 10 years or more. During the evening, we had a chance to chat with Rebecca Godsell of the Cast Activities, Events & Recognition team about what goes into these honorary events and what makes them so special.
Benji Breitbart: Hi, Rebecca. Can you tell me a little bit about your role?
Rebecca Godsell: Yes. So my name is Rebecca Godsell. I work with the Cast Activities Recognition and Experience team, and I am one of the program managers for the service celebration that we put on each year to honor all of our milestones for our wonderful cast members here at Walt Disney World.
BB: Now, the service celebration has a long history with the Walt Disney company. Can you talk to me a little bit about the legacy of the service celebration?
RG: It does. So it actually dates back all the way to Walt Disney. He got to host out at the Disneyland Resort for their 10-year anniversary, a special event there with the cast. And so that continued on in many different forms and ways and started here out at Walt Disney World way back in 1971, because of course we did have longtime cast that came out from California to help create Walt Disney World here. And so we've carried on that tradition each year, changed it, different locations, different ways to celebrate. We've got cast celebrating milestones from 10 all the way to 50 years here tonight, which is very exciting.
BB: Can you talk a little bit about what it means to bring the cast members that are guests tonight, and let them have some fun in a place that they make magic for guests each and every day?
RG: Yeah, we're so happy that we can have it here. This is where it started here in Florida. So it's very special that we get to hold it here at this park and hold special memories for so many of our guests and of course our cast members. So, we do close the park early and roll out the red carpet, literally. We have bands, entertainment, food, buffets, characters, all kinds of fun things. And we just want our cast members who work to make magic for our guests feel magical tonight and feel appreciated and just know what a difference they make.
BB: And you were also a cast member, obviously.
RG: Yes.
BB: And so you get to attend service celebrations on your own.
RG: I do.
BB: And can you talk a little bit, what was your first role with the Walt Disney company?
RG: Yeah, so I started way back out at the Disneyland Resort in 1999 at the front desk at the Disneyland Pacific Hotel [now the Pixar Place Hotel]. So that was my first role there. And then here a little over 20 years ago, I started here at Walt Disney World, at the Disney Reservation Center as an agent on the phone. So very thankful for all the different roles I've gotten to have, and I've been a part of this team now for almost 10 years, and just love getting to make the magic for our cast because they do so much for our guests.
BB: To wrap up, what's a favorite memory you have of bringing these cast celebrations to life?
RG: It's hard to pinpoint it. Just watching people, we work hard on it all year long. So watching these honorees that are walking the red carpet right now, I think a high point is definitely the fireworks. We put on a special presentation just for them, and getting to see it, you review the scripts, you get to see the testing, but watching thousands of cast members and our guests enjoy it, it brings tears to eyes every time, and it's just so heartwarming just seeing how much they love it and that they feel appreciated and valued.
BB: Well, thanks so much for all the magic you're bringing to the cast. You can already tell that they're having a blast as I walk in, you can hear them cheering as they walk the red carpet.
RG: Yeah. Well, thank you Benji.