Raye L.

Raye, performing onboard Disney's Fantasy ship

At this time last year, Raye L. was getting ready to board Disney's Fantasy Cruise ship, where she would live for seven months, working as an actress and playing a range of roles that would require her to sing, dance, fly, and fall in love.

It was her dream job, and one of her first professional acting gigs.

Now a newly minted equity actress embarking on the national tour of Seussical: The Musical, Raye (disclosure:a friend of mine from college at Penn State University) dished to Business Insider about what it was like to live and work on a Disney cruise — from training at a circus school in Toronto to living in a tiny, windowless cabin behind the ship's theater. Her answers have been edited for clarity.

Business Insider: How did you get to perform on a Disney Cruise ship?

Raye L.: I was at an audition for a totally different show and I made friends with another girl there. She said she had an audition afterward for a Disney Cruise and asked if I wanted to come along.

I went in for The Dream (the name of a Disney Cruise ship) and sang twice that day. I got a callback for the next day. They gave me my sides, which are these little snippets of music. The director for the ship I ended up on was there helping The Dream cast and he said, “I can’t help thinking how you’d be perfect for these roles on The Fantasy (another Disney Cruise ship).” They gave me a couple of new scenes to read from two different shows for The Fantasy. Then they wanted to teach me a brand new dance. This woman at the audition made it up on the spot and taught it to me. They asked to film me dancing for some casting people who weren’t in the room. I was there for about three hours and I ended up getting cast.

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Raye L.

Actors had to learn to perform on a moving ship

BI: What characters did you play?

RL: I technically can’t reveal my characters. Disney is very particular about character integrity. Like when we weren’t doing a show, we were greeting people with Mickey and taking pictures with them. We couldn’t say things like “Mickey’s been out here too long, so he’s got to go now.” We had to learn a whole new vocabulary, and say things like “Mickey has a date with Minnie now, but he’ll be back again tomorrow.”

Even on social media, if you post a picture in character, you have to say, “Please direct all comments to the character.”

BI: What happened after you got cast?

RL: I found out I got the roles in October 2012. The process of hiring for Disney takes a really long time. There are major background checks and I had to get a full medical exam to make sure I was fit to work at sea.

The contract was for nine months. I was in Toronto to learn the shows for two months, from November to February. Toronto is the headquarters for Disney Cruise Line. Then I was on the ship for seven months, from the beginning of February to the beginning of September. We did the east and west Caribbean on alternating weeks. So one week, it would be St. Maarten, St. Thomas and Castaway Cay, and then the next week it would be Grand Cayman, Cozumel in Mexico, Jamaica, and Castaway Cay. You always ended on Castaway Cay because it was Disney’s thing.

After Toronto, we spent three days in Orlando for “Traditions,” which is Disney-specific training. We went to this thing called Disney University. Everyone hired by Disney in any way has to take this class, even if you work for the Disney Store. It basically teaches you the history of the company and Walt Disney himself. We talked about company standards and how to represent the company as an employee. Disney is one of the most beloved franchises in the entire world, so I thought it was such a cool experience to become a part of that. At the end of the course, Mickey comes in and presents you with your nametag and you’re officially a Disney employee.

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