Job at Disneyland/Magic Kingdom: Dream or Nightmare?

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snowbot
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Job at Disneyland/Magic Kingdom: Dream or Nightmare?

Post by snowbot »

This is kind of a silly topic for a thread, but what the heck.
So my wife and I are considering moving to Orlando next year, and yesterday the idea of one of us working at Disney World came up. I said that it would be a bit of a dream job, because you can be a part of presenting this magical experience to people. She feels that it would be a nightmare, because 1) you would go crazy hearing the happy music all the time, and 2) working there would cause the magic to go away, because it's your job. What do you guys think?
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Post by disneywb »

Living near Orlando, I think it would be a cool job, because I know that one of the perks is free admission...every day you work, at least! But seriously, they do give free admission to certain family members and it would be cool to see the underground tunnels and stuff.
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Post by MickeyMousePal »

I'll say it's cool to work at Disney World you could go in for free and also family members can go in for free also. You also get discounts on Disney items in the Disney Store.
It's the happiest place on earth who doesn't want to work their?
I say go for it man!!!!
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Post by pinkrenata »

Working for Disney is really something you need to do because you realy want to, not for the money. I worked at the Disney Store for a while and was only getting paid about $5.25/hour. As far as I've heard, the wages at the parks aren't much better. Still something worth doing though, I'd say!
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Post by Mr. Toad »

As far as I have heard working for Disney is somewhat less than a joy. Neither the pay or conditions are good. I think you would really have to love it to do it(which a lot of people do).
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Post by AwallaceUNC »

Well as one who is employed by Disney (BVHE, actually, though I'll be on the WDW payroll next year), I can say that they do treat their employees well. I get paid a good amount and feel like they recognize that it's more magical, so to speak, than your average humdrum job. Of course, that may not apply to WDW. I've spoken to many people who work/have worked there and I've gotten an even split of reactions. I believe starting pay at WDW is somewhere around $6.25/hour with some pretty good perks- free admission to the 4 main parks, discounts on everything else, and occasional free admission or really good discounts for friends and family throughout the year (and ways to earn these).

As for sort of diluting the joy of the place, I've been worried about that myself. It seems like it would have to, but everyone I've talked to has said that's not a problem, and that your first day away from it, you already miss it. If you love Disney, particularly the parks, you would be doing a job you love.

Still, I suppose the answer is very much dependent on who you are asking.

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My Magic Kingdom Castmember experience

Post by JaneMccoy »

I thought I would offer my two cents on this topic...

I just left Orlando after working in Magic Kingdom for 8 months. I was what they called a CP - or college program intern/employee. My experience was great, but I saw that a lot of it deals with your attitude. CPs were only paid $6/hr but everyone else starts at $6.25, unless you've worked in theme parks before, it goes up a whopping 30 cents. So if you are in dire need of money, Disney may not be the best place to work at.

I worked in Attractions in Fantasyland - the busiest and most popular land of the busiest and most popular park, Magic Kingdom.

There are many misconceptions about working at Magic Kingdom (note, these are for MK, the other parks do not get as much influx, so they will be less hectic). I'll quickly go through the most common myths.

1. It's an easy job - not true. If you want to work at Disney, you have to be ready to work hard. Sure standing around as a "greeter" at a ride may seem easy, but don't forget about all the people who come up to you with questons and complaints. Other jobs, like Food and Beverage and Custodial are even more difficult - because of all the heavy lifting you have to do.

2. The magic is ruined - not true, again. Even though I learned about how the magic is created and knew all the "backstage secrets," everytime I visited MK or any park on an off day, I would still be in awe. Pinocchio is still Pinocchio, Mickey is Mickey. Even though I knew the "real" reason why Prince Charming had a huge ESPN cable in the sky, it still took my breath away when I watch Tinkerbelle fly. Plus, its an extra perk to be working and be able to create even the simplest magic for little kids. For example, in Fantasyland we always carry pixie dust, and just sprinkling it on the kids' heads, makes them ecstatic.

3. The music will make you go crazy - this is a little true. The first week I worked in Fantasyland, I had dreams about the rides or I'd hear the music in my sleep. It was a little weird at first, but as you work, you learn to tune out the music. After all, there are a lot of other things to be concerned about. And when the music does stop when Wishes is gonna go on, you notice it 5 minutes later and are like, "wow, i forgot there was music in the background."

4. You need a certain personality to enjoy/have fun - TRUE. No matter who you are, you will have bad days. But the people who actually enjoy working or the people who have the least amount of bad days are the ones who enjoy talking to people, and are hard working. Being a people person is a mjor plus. You have to be extremely patient when dealing with guests, and you have to know how to respond to them, even if they're cursing you off, you have to remain calm and polite.

It is not a fun job if you don't approach the guests yourself. Most guests are so tired from their day (even if its only 11AM) that they don't talk, so they get cranky and bored a lot quicker than they should. If you initiate a conversation or comment on something random, it often makes them instantly happy. I find that commenting about someone's t shirt works well. You can create a lot of jokes, especially if they have it coming and they wear a shirt that says, "I didn't do it." everyday I always saw at least one guest wear that shirt. Simply asking, "How as your day in MK been?" or "Is this your first time in WDW?" are great conversation starters.

The castmembers who always ranted about the heat or the annoyance of the guests' complaints were the ones that always left in a bad mood. You have to remember to take everything in perspective and always remember that even though guests can be annoying, your job is to make sure that their day in MK was awesome, or else they'd never come back.

5. Attractions is a monotonous job. Again it depends on your attitude and how much of a people person you are. Sure, pushing buttons can get monotonous, but that's one tiny portion of what you do. In all the Disney jobs, you have to learn to multi task and be efficient in what you do. For example, in attractions, not only do you have to push buttons and watch the cars and guests, you have to pay attention to your fellow castmembers, and for some reason, guests always like to talk to the castmember working behind the big panel.

Those are a few of many misconceptions about working at Disney. Working at WDW is an experience in itself. For me, there are a ton more pros than cons to work in Disney. Disney is a world of its own, the people you work with are characters themselves. In your fellow castmembers, you'll find all the stereotypes and all the extremely unique personalities. These people are not the 9-5ers who pick up some espresso in the morning and only talk about politics and stocks. Your fellow castmembers often have the craziest stories to tell and these are the people who have been through all the craziness that comes with working in a popular theme park.

If you really want to work in Disney, your heart needs to be in it. You have to be willing to work hard and have an incredibly open mind about people. Patience is another biggie. By the end of the day, though, when Wishes appears in the sky, you realize that you helped every guests' magical day be magical, and that's what counts. It is so rewarding when a little kid or even a parent comes up to you and thanks you for something you did, even if it is just telling them that Princess Aurora wil be signing autographs in Main St at 2pm.

I loved working in Fantasyland and Toontown. I felt like I was lucky for them to choose me to work in that area. Although you get a lot of cranky guests, Fantasyland is always wher it's at. 8)

Hope all that helped. :)

smiles,
Jane Mccoy

ps. if anyone has any other questions about being a WDW castmember or about the WDW college program, feel free to message me. :)
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Post by AwallaceUNC »

Great post, Jane! Glad to see you at the forum- hope you'll stick around! I'll be a CP as well. I don't have any questions now, but I will likely want to be in contact with you in the future! :)

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Post by Disney Guru »

Hey thats a great job idea. But I will be automatically put in the family business but if I didn't alreaddy have a job waiting for me this would be a deffinate +. It wouldn't make a good job for the rest of your life, but as a Summer Job or something it would be lotsa lotsa fun.
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Post by Escapay »

Jane, that ain't two cents, that's a dollar!

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Post by JaneMccoy »

Escapay wrote:Jane, that ain't two cents, that's a dollar!

Escapay
:lol: LOL

just trying to help out and give info about working in MK. :)

here's a teeny bit more general info:
the "starting" jobs, like the non management ones are:

Attractions Host: operating rides, loading guests on and off of rides, etc...the one who tells you to "MOVE ALL THE WAY DOWN!" (Such a simple concept, yet nobody listens)

Merchandise: People who work in the gift shops, specialty stores, and outdoor pin/hat/autograph book/etc. stands

Quick Service Food and Beverage: People who work in the indoor fast food places: like Cosmic Rays in TL, Columbia Harbour House in LS (best chicken tenders in all of WDW!!), etc.

Outdoor Food and Beverage: Ice cream/popcorn/churro/drink/etc stands around the park.

Custodial: the people in white who sweep up anything and everything that is messy in WDW (the plus to this job is that you can work almost anywhere in the park, you're not confined to a specific area all the time and you can get a lot of one on one time with guests when your shift only requires you to sweep that day.)

There's also: Transportation, Lifeguard, Recreation, and Hotel Service...they deal mainly with theme park parking lots, water parks, downtown disney, and hotels.

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Post by Celtic »

I think it definitely takes a certain type of person to work at Disney and if you're an ultimate Disney fanatic then Disney is the place for you. I've been to both Eurodisney in Paris and Disney in Orlando and although Orlando is way further to travel I would rather go back there than ever set foot on French soil again. In Orlando everyone who works for Disney tries their absolute best to make it the best trip you've ever had and they accomplish this no problem. The people who work in Disney in Orlando are 110% Disney and have the happy, cheery, 'anything we can do to help' attiitude that is so lacking in Paris.

A typical example of what I mean is the last night we were in Magic Kingdom in Orlando my step-daughter wanted a Tinkerbelle doll, we got caught up watching the parade and when we got to the shop it was closed. The Security Guard on duty in the area saw my daughter looking through the window very disheartened that she hadn't gotten her doll. He came over and asked what she was looking at and when she said she wanted a Tinkerbelle doll but was going home tomorrow he said to her 'tell you what, lets see what we can do'. He then opened up the shop (the staff were restocking) and asked one of the assistants to ring up a Tinkerbelle doll for her! They couldn't have been more helpful and I could have hugged that security guard for doing such a wonderful thing for us. She was so thrilled!
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Post by snowbot »

I really appreciate everyone's thoughts! Thanks for the thorough insight, Jane! Everything you said is what I suspected to be true, so it's good to hear first hand confirmation. I will probably be in touch with some more questions.
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Post by toonaspie »

I visit SaveDisney.com alot and all the bad stuff they say happening to castmembers (whether you believe it or not) can really suck the fun out of a potentional dream

besides what if I'm wearing a costume and some stupid kids wanna throw rocks at me?
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Post by Escapay »

They do worse than throw rocks, toonaspie.

In Mouse Tales, there are loads of...tales, about the abuse the characters go through. Off the top of my head:

1. One teenager stuck a stiletto in the back of a Winnie the Pooh, so everytime he bent down, he'd be stabbed.

2. A particularly rowdy couple of boys were beating up one of the pigs, so the Big Bad Wolf took them and stuffed them upside down in the trash can (okay, I guess it goes both ways)

3. Back in the days when they'd walk around for 40 minutes then go back inside, any/every character would ALWAYS avoid a group of girl scouts or boy scouts, because it would just be a MOB.

4. Kids continually like to kick the characters in the shins, or punch them in the nose, not thinking it'd hurt. One character decided to wear shinguards to work everyday.

5. Sometimes guests would...feel up the characters to see if it's a male or female. Once, a couple girls felt up a girl dressed as Brer Fox (I think), and felt the girl's hairbrush, and they remarked "Omagosh, it's a guy and he's excited!". And a poor Robin Hood got felt up by a girl, who proclaimed "It's a girl!"

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Post by ichabod »

I couldn't work at Disneyland, i'd be too distracted i'd just wanna go on all the rides all day long!

And i don't think it's just the characters that get a hard time, my brother in law tripped up a stilt walker at Epcot!

Oh the Shame :headshake:
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Post by Paka »

I certainly wouldn't want to be around when those notorious Brazilian tour groups came up to play. :headshake: JHM had an article about them a while ago... click here to read it. :P
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Post by Maerj »

I read about those tour groups at the wdwmagic.com message boards. They sound terrible, they say they go around in groups of 100 people or more, then they want to be kept together on all the rides (yeah right!) They also say that when they walk through the parks, they lock arms and mow down anyone in their way. Lastly, I read that they run around the hotels at 3 am screaming and banging on people's doors. It's a shame.
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Post by Wonderlicious »

Honestly, I wouldn't want to work in a Disney theme park! It would probably put me off Disney for life...
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