This Is What It Means If You See a Disney Cast Member in a Plaid Vest

If you’ve spent a day at a Disney park or you’re planning a Disney vacation, you’re already familiar with the exceptional service Disney offers. Thousands of team members—or, “cast members,” as Disney calls them—work together each day to ensure parkgoers enjoy maximum memory-making moments. And some of those cast members carry out their duties while wearing a distinctive red and blue Disney plaid vest with gold buttons.

So, what’s with the attention-grabbing attire? “Disney wants everyone to be able to identify a ‘plaid’ [the fitting nickname for a plaid vest-wearing cast member] from a distance,” says Elyssa Antonelle, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner and the founder of Mickey Travels, an agency specializing in Disney vacations. To stand out like that, plaids sure must be important!

Ahead, Antonelle and our other Disney aficionado and the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, Christopher Lucas, explain exactly what it means if you see a cast member wearing a plaid vest, and what superpowers Plaids possess. We’ll also share expert tips on budget-friendly ways to enhance your Disney park experience.

What do Disney plaids do?

A Disney plaid is a cast member who wears a plaid vest that readily identifies them as a highly knowledgeable, top-tier Disney expert guide leading VIP tours. “Plaids are a combination of a customer service expert, chauffeur, and trivia master all in one,” says Antonelle.

When you purchase a VIP tour, a plaid Disney cast member is part of the package. Their services are intended to sprinkle even more magic on your Disney experience and alleviate potential challenges. According to Antonelle, this may include meeting you at your hotel, driving you to the park, showing you parts of the Disney campus that tourists typically don’t see, helping you get into the Lightning Lanes, babysitting your children, sharing historical tidbits and storytelling throughout the day.

In other words, “A Disney plaid is like your fairy godmother during a Disney vacation,” Antonelle says. “Plaids can seemingly wave their magic wands and make your dreams come true. They’ll escort you around the Disney campus, making sure you’re treated like Cinderella until the proverbial clock strikes midnight on your visit.”

Why are Disney Plaids considered the pinnacle of Disney service?

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Disney plaid guides exemplify Disney service; they are highly trained and knowledgeable, deliver high-touch guest services and have access to secret areas—ensuring a stress-free and joy-filled experience for their VIP visitors.

“The plaid is among the most prestigious jobs at a Disney theme park. In a way, it’s akin to being a concierge at any five-star luxury hotel,” Antonelle says. “Plaids encounter regular guests as well as celebrities, dignitaries and even royalty. That’s the threshold.”

So Disney doesn’t hand over the keys to the castle to just anyone. Christopher Lucas, author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, says that plaid training is rigorous. It generally involves starting in a guest services role at the front counter of Disney’s Town Hall, for example, answering customer questions and undergoing evaluations on performance and Disney knowledge to move up the ranks. “Being a plaid is a destination job,” Antonelle says. When a cast member finally reaches the plaid level, they tend to stay in the role for many years.

Plaid VIP guides have special powers that Antonelle says may include booking a reservation at a seemingly sold-out restaurant, guaranteeing a meet-and-greet with a VIP’s favorite character, and even taking guests through hidden doors that lead to the front of a line. In short, Antonelle says, “a plaid can make you feel like you own Disney.”

What’s the difference between Plaids and other cast members?

The major differences between plaids and other cast members are their uniform (plaids are the only ones who wear the red and blue plaid vest) and the level of training, responsibility and access involved in a plaid’s role as a VIP guide. Plaids may interact with high-profile guests and offer special services, such as picking VIP guests up at their hotel and leading them through parts of the property that are off-limits to regular guests. So, these ambassadors must be cast members Disney trusts to give big spenders their money’s worth. Are you the type to get starstruck, scream, faint, or beg for a photo if you come face-to-face with your favorite celebrity? If so, this is not the job for you. No crazy fan antics allowed for these VIP guides, says Lucas. Plaids must be able to deliver top-tier service while also treating celebs, pro athletes, and royalty like, well, actual humans.

How to book a Disney VIP tour (and what it costs)

You can book a Disney VIP tour via phone or email (each Disney park that offers VIP tours has a designated phone line and email address for booking), or through an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner. Given the high price tag (the starting price for VIP tours is a cool $3,000 to $6,000, depending on the park and the time of year), Antonelle recommends skipping email and speaking directly with a cast member or a vacation planner by phone so you don’t miss out on key details. Travel agents who specialize in Disney vacation planning have firsthand experience, understand the intricacies of Disney and VIP tours and can walk you through it all to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

Insider tips for Disney guests without plaid access

If you’re not rolling in dough, is an extra dash of Disney magic completely out of reach? Not quite. Here are some insider tips to get a little taste of the VIP life—on a budget:

• Team up. Yes, the cost of a VIP tour is steep! But you don’t have to go it alone. “A tour hosts up to ten guests, and the price is the same for ten guests as for one,” Antonelle says. “So, large groups and those on a family vacation may find VIP Tours more affordable by splitting the cost.”

• Book a Disney resort. Guests who stay at an official Disney resort receive Early Theme Park Entry, the opportunity to enter a Disney theme park half an hour before it officially opens. The early bird gets the worm, or rather, a ride. “You can typically ride one or two of the most popular attractions before everyone else has even reached the entrance,” Antonelle says. Guests staying at Walt Disney World’s Deluxe Tier resorts can also stay in the park for two extra hours—after it’s closed to regular guests—twice per week with the Extended Evening Hours privilege.

• Skip the lines. The Lightning Lane Premier Pass kicked off quite a debate amongst Disney fans (Blog Mickey said it’s so bad, it might be good—people complaining about it may lead to fewer people purchasing it… which could mean more availability for those who do). But Antonelle says the pass is a more affordable, mini-version of a VIP Tour. “While you don’t have a Plaid to chauffeur you around, you can utilize Lightning Lane [for one-time entry to skip the lines and save time] at every applicable attraction.”

FAQS

What does a Disney plaid do?

A Disney plaid leads VIP tours tailored to the guests’ preferences and can offer additional insight and services, such as babysitting children of VIP guests, helping VIPs skip the line, sharing historical knowledge about Disney and the parks, and booking meal reservations in seemingly sold-out restaurants.

“Your plaid will reveal the hidden parts of Disney. A VIP tour shines an entirely new light on the Disney theme park experience,” Antonelle says. “For example, a plaid can take guests through a hidden door at the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction and have them standing at the front of the line in a matter of minutes. They can also take you into the Tower of Terror from a hidden gate and drive you through otherwise inaccessible areas of the Disney campus. Once you’re done at the park, you’ll admire the infrastructure of Disney, which is a thriving metropolitan area in and of itself.”

How much does hiring a Disney plaid cost?

The cost to hire a Disney World plaid is around $3,000 to $6,000 to start (not including your entrance ticket). The VIP tour can be booked for a minimum of seven hours and a maximum of ten, and the cost varies depending on the park and the time of year.

How do you become a Disney plaid?

To become a Disney plaid, you need to apply through the Disney Careers website and be hired for a cast member position in guest services, then work hard to rise through the ranks by proving your exceptional customer service skills and in-depth Disney knowledge. Disney has high standards for their plaid VIP guides and selection is competitive, so at minimum, you’ll need to understand and exemplify the brand mission, retain historical and interesting facts about Disney, communicate effectively, and demonstrate stellar customer service and organizational skills. Given that guests come from around the world, multilingual skills can also make you a competitive candidate. And don’t forget, if you become a plaid, you’ll spend time with high-profile people and possibly some of your favorite celebs, so you’ll need to keep your adoration in check.

Can you interact with Disney plaids in the parks?

Out of respect for their VIP guests’ experience, it’s best not to interact with a Disney plaid or disrupt their tour—unless you genuinely need assistance and are unable to find another cast member. “If someone does ask [a plaid] a question, it’s their responsibility to answer it,” Lucas clarifies. “They have to attend to the [VIP] people that are paying them, but they’re [representing] Disney front and center, so they’re required to help the public in any way they can.”

If you’re just plain curious about plaids (we get it, it’s a fascinating role!), you can also politely observe from a distance and play a little plaid-spotting game like Antonelle and her kids do when they visit a Disney park. “We try to figure out whether the plaids are hosting anyone recognizable,” she says. Antonelle has booked numerous celebrities and athletes on VIP tours (no, she can’t tell us who—it’s confidential!) and spotted others at the parks, so she knows firsthand that plaids can be seen with high-profile people. “We’ve seen Dick Van Dyke on a VIP Tour at Disneyland, Harrison Ford in Hollywood Studios, Michael Jordan in Magic Kingdom, John Stamos in EPCOT and Tim Tebow, amongst others, in Animal Kingdom!”

What’s the difference between plaid vests and other cast member uniforms?

Disney plaid vests are worn only by the highly trained and knowledgeable guides who lead VIP tours; other cast member uniforms are specific to their role—some wear character costumes and others wear button-down tops and tailored bottoms, for example. All must adhere to the “Disney look” that’s intended to be “clean, polished and approachable.” Cast members also wear name tags. Those wearing a blue name tag have earned the Walt Disney Legacy Award, given to employees whose work has contributed significantly to Disney’s goal of “dream, create, and inspire.”

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Sources:

• Elyssa Antonelle, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, Disney expert, and the founder of Mickey Travels.
• Christopher Lucas, a Disney expert and the author of Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney.
• Walt Disney World: “Disney Private VIP Tours”
• The Disney Blog
• Blog Mickey: “Lightning Lane Multi Pass: So Bad It’s A Good Thing?”
• Disneyland: “Disneyland Resort VIP Tours”
• Disney Careers
• Disney Careers: “The Disney Look”
• Disney Parks Blog: “5 Things You Need to Know About the Blue Legacy Name Tag”
• Universal Orlando Resort: “VIP Experience”