The Road to Cast Connections.
Eduardo, Jordan, and I had just finished our breakfast at Trail’s End and were planning on heading over to Animal Kingdom next. Having very loose plans for the day, we also decided to go to Cast Connections, a Cast Member shop for discounted Disney merchandise on our way. I had heard that Cast Connections was fairly close to Animal Kingdom, but it was more of an adventure than we could’ve anticipated. **Directions to Cast Connections Included Below in Bold**
I had never been to Cast Connections before. It was on my list of things to do but always seemed out of the way. I was always hearing about how it was difficult to get to and being a notoriously anxious driver, that was off putting for me. The CP Facebook pages were always filled with questions on how to get to Cast Connections, and the trek always seemed like too much. With no real plans ahead though, the group and I decided to go for it.
Knowing it was close to Animal Kingdom, we headed that way. As we got closer to Coronado Springs, Eduardo looked up the address on Google Maps and off we went. My first mistake was that I didn’t pull over and look at the list of directions, otherwise I may have been more clued in to the adventure ahead.
We turned on to Western Way. So far, so good. I had remembered that being part of the instructions. We kept driving. As we went, I told Eduardo that it seemed a little far off the beaten path. Sure enough, we drove under one of the famous Walt Disney World signs that indicates you’re on property. At that point I was certain I had driven under every single one. Eduardo insisted we were on the right path and that we would be there soon. We drove around blank fields, down backroads that had zero cars on it. There wasn’t even enough traffic for the city to bother putting in traffic signals. We never hit a red light, only a few stop signs, and kept on going. I had no idea where we were but the directions kept putting us closer and closer to our destination. All of a sudden, I started to recognize things. Apartments and the road started to look familiar.
“Turn right, then your destination will be on the right.”
There were cars everywhere, trying to turn into a vast parking lot. Off in the distance, a building that looks an awfully lot like the Magic Kingdom costuming building. Then, I see a Transtar bus. Then, Cast Members dressed for shifts in Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and more.
“We’re at the Magic Cast lot??”
It turns out that the OLD Cast Connections address was in Windermere, FL, right near Magic Kingdom costuming. Google Maps still has that address on file, so even when the new Cast Connections address was added, the first one that pops up is for the old one. What was obnoxious about this was that we had just come from Fort Wilderness (near to Magic Kingdom), had driven all the way to Animal Kingdom, and then basically drove right back through some deserted plains.
While the route itself was only around 20 minutes, it felt so much longer because we drove right off property and down a stretch of road that had nothing to it. It was sort of creepy.
We didn’t want to give up yet though. We were determined to get to Cast Connections. With a bit more research, we found the correct address on Recycle Way and headed back towards the newer Cast Connections.
As we drove past Coronado Springs, our route had us turn onto Western Way. It was the exact same way the previous route had started us, so I was worried. Then it had us make a turn on Bear Island Road and in two more seconds, we were there. During our adventure to the wrong Cast Connections, we completely passed our actual destination. We actually drove right past Bear Island Road, oblivious to the fact that the new Cast Connections was hiding back there.
So if you’re curious, to get from CP housing to the new Cast Connections (the second address listed on Google Maps when you type “Cast Connections” directly into the search bar), drive down Osceola Parkway as if you’re going to Animal Kingdom. Then take the exit towards Coronado Springs and Blizzard Beach just before reaching Animal Kingdom (Buena Vista Drive). Drive past Blizzard Beach and take a left on Western Way. If you hit Coronado Springs, you’ve gone too far. Drive down Western Way until you hit Bear Island Road, and make a right. You won’t be allowed to make a left because that is backstage Animal Kingdom. Then make the very first left you can make onto Recycle Way and you’ve made it. The key is to look for the address that has “Recycle Way” in it. If it directs you towards the DAK area, you’re golden. Address is: 2340 Recycle Way, Winter Garden, FL 34787.
When we arrived at Cast Connections, we hoped the trek was worth it. For my friends who hadn’t yet visited the liquidation stores, they were able to get some cheap Disneyland 60th Anniversary merchandise. Most of what was available looked similar to the shops off property at the outlet malls. Back behind it all was Mickey’s Treasures, so we went back to take a peek. We showed our ID’s and headed inside the small room decorated with Disney art work. A basket of ears in a corner caught my eye and I started to flip through them. Some of them had full embroidered names on them, others had a few letters before the embroidery got messed up, and some had broken straps. I found a pair of BB8 ears, ears that my girlfriend was eying the last time she visited, that was perfect except for a broken strap. We always use clips to wear our ears instead of the straps, so it didn’t bother me at all. I double checked the price because it seemed too good to be true... 50 cents. Sold.
Some items seemed far too broken to be repaired, but had somehow ended up on the shelves of Cast Connections anyway. Other items didn’t seem broken at all and yet were still given a huge discount. I found a backpack that had almost nothing wrong with it, but it was marked down from $50 to $10. It was a backpack I had been eying in my own shop for a while, so I couldn’t pass it up.
A few good finds later, we decided to head off to Animal Kingdom. It was the only time I ever visited Cast Connections, despite being so close to my work location. Part of it was knowing I didn’t really need more Disney merchandise but the biggest part of it was that I had so many other things to do in just a few short weeks. I was glad, though, that I got to check off another thing from my bucket list.