Stupid Guest Tricks

All good things come to an end, but that's got nothing to do with this post.

Zazu has, as of 23:30 last night, ended his run as a Cast Member. I have chosen to retire after fifteen years so that I can enjoy my discounts -- and enjoy them I can, as I qualifiy for all cast benefits, loosing only 2 comp tickets per year.

Part of my reason was the evolution of my job. Ten years ago when I began, Lobby Concierge was mostly about helping guests have the best possible time. Today, it's mostly about providing tech support for a software system that's not particularly reliable or effective.

Another reason is those benefits. I'm one of the rare CMs who use them. Dining at 40% off, merch at 35% off, half-price cruises, discounted tickets and hotels for friends ... it all adds up to more than my salary. And since it is always possible that I might screw up badly enough to get termed, retirement becomes a way to protect a lifetime of benefits, which have more cash value to me than the additional salary I might earn from 1-2 shifts a month.

So I'm leaving on good terms -- with my fellow CMs who claim they'll miss my trivia questions; with my leadership who claim they'll miss my reliability and "mad Disney knowledge"; and most importantly with myself. I'm comfortable that I've done all I care to as a CM, and now want that extra time to do other things in my life. (Like next year's five-week cruise!)

At my first retirement I was too young and unready, and signed on with the Mouse part-time after less than a year. It turns out this was a good way to transition from full-time work to retirement, especially as the circumstances kept reducing my time from 4/week, 3/week, 2/week, and recently all the way down to 1/month. I have learned how to structure my time without the imposed strucure of work; I have taken on new (nearly full-time) duties running a non-profit; I think thus that this time I really am ready to retire and make it stick.

Don't think I'll spend less time on SGT. You folks are still among the few that really understand what the past fifteen years have been like, and I still love the tales of the Stupids for having lived among them for so long.

And that's what brought us all together in the first place!

I can honestly say I am very happy for you. Having had the opportunity to meet you and SWMBO, I can also say that it couldn't happen to a nicer and more deserving guy. I envy you being able to retire and enjoy the finer things in life. I still intend on looking you up when I return to that area. Congratulations!

Sounds like the way to go! Congrats on the (partial?) retirement!

So Zazu, can you now tour around with your fellow guests and impart your vast knowledge along the way? Inquiring minds want to know...

Congratulations and best wishes to our favorite hornbill! It's the Mouse's loss, but it sounds like a smart move.

Thank you for your e-mail last night today saying the same. The timing is interesting, isn't it. You end as I restart. But I do think that what you're doing is a good idea. As you said, when guest service is traded for tech support, there are those of of us who no longer fit in, no matter how technically savvy we are.

So congratulations! As a Cast Member, you had an effect on other Cast Members that will be felt for years to come, as whether you were officially a trainer or not, it seems you instilled some of your love for the legacy of Disney into other Cast Members. You've done that here as well, and I am glad that you're not going anywhere. Like so many of us who have come and gone and were here because of our love for what Disney is to their guests, you have left a mark that, while you personally may or may not be remembered for a long time (I learned that after I went seasonal and within a few weeks one of my managers did not recognize me when I picked up a shift), your effect will.

Zazu - Congratulations on your "permanent" retirement. Easy words to say, harder to actually do, but it sounds like you will be staying quite busy with your non-profit group. Hopefully that will keep you out of SWMBO's hair so she doesn't threaten to find you another part-time job to keep you out from underfoot.

I told SWMBO that if we decided more space was needed, it would be her turn to go find a part-time job.

Her reaction was predictable:

I have no difficulty envisioning that. Plus, with what the two of you do with the nonprofit, doesn't that count as a job in and of itself, like, more than full-time?

Big Wallaby wrote:I have no difficulty envisioning that. Plus, with what the two of you do with the nonprofit, doesn't that count as a job in and of itself, like, more than full-time?

Boy howdy it does!

Anybody in O-town want to learn how to catalog books?