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.
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.
LOL
