ABC News Spotlight on Magic Kingdom Custodial Cast Members Who Keep the Magic Alive for Guests. Only in Disney’s Magic Kingdom will you find special Cast Members dressed in white with a dustpan and a broom doing the dirty work of picking up after guests, and beautifying the Park, all while sharing smiles or handing out stickers. These Cast Members would be the custodial staff, and ABC News has just done a special on one of the Cast Members, Joel Hernandez Rodriguez, who is keeping the magic alive with water art. You can watch the video below.
Updated: Of course 45 minutes after we wrote this Disney Parks just released an amazing Instagram video of Joel doing a new Water Art of the Hatbox Ghost. Check it out:
If you look closely at the brooms they are carrying you may spot one that has a rubber band tied around the bristles. Without being creepy, follow them (Or just go and ask them if they will be doing any water art soon). These are specially trained Cast Members who have gone through a few-hour course on water art. After some behind-the-scenes practice, they go into the Parks and draw Disney Characters on the ground with water.
Characters we have personally seen can range from Mickey and his pals in the Fab 5, which can be spotted most mornings in Fantasyland in front of the exit of Mickey’s Philharmagic, to a Tron Lightcycle in Tomorrowland. We have lately witnessed Custodial Cast Members creating Loius from Princess and the Frog near Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. We have also seen special characters make appearances like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.
Related: Disney World After Hours Returns for 2025 at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios
The amazing thing about seeing these water drawings is they only last for so long. On a hot day in Florida during the summer, they may only last 5 minutes. Other days they may last upwards of 20 minutes or more, but they never last long. These drawings and the artistic Cast Members behind the drawings are what make visiting Disney World and the Magic Kingdom so special. We have witnessed these being done mostly in the Magic Kingdom and only 1 time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. At Epcot and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the custodial Cast Members will make designs on the ground out of sticks, leaves, and flowers.
From ABC News: Meet the Walt Disney World custodian who brings magic to guests with their water art – In addition to keeping the parks clean and tidy, Walt Disney World custodian Joel Hernandez Rodriguez spreads joy by drawing Disney characters on the pavement with his unique water artwork
Custodial Cast Members are focused on creating magic for our Guests during their Walt Disney World® Resort stay by ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness & Guest Service. Custodial Cast Members provide exceptional Guest Service by answering questions while maintaining responsibilities to include sweeping, cleaning tables, emptying trashcans, cleaning restrooms, and using chemical supplies.
