To those who are thinking of working at Disneyland

[Pedro]

I don't know how things are at WDW but to those thinking of working at Disneyland, you may want to think twice:
Horrible contracts are being pushed on all the departments. 1100+ in the Foods dept. have quit and we are short even in the Attractions dept. as well. When I asked the moderator during the "Presenteeism" meeting we had what was being done to help those people in Foods, the reply was,"we are having job fairs." Well, having job fairs doesn't solve the problem as to why do many are quitting. More people are quitting than are getting hired: this has never happened before but it sure is now.

[Pedro]

My apologies. Although I feel what I said was true, it wasn't very nice and it wasn't in good taste as to the purpose of this website.
--Pedro. --john 3:17.

[Natural Selection Fan]

The truth is only offensive to those trying to hide it. Didn't bother me at all.


I'd also like to augment:

"Employer of choice" . This has been reduced from a long-term and satisfying
employer to "How many suckers we can line up at a weekly job fair." $7.20 p/h and all the magic your can handle. Enjoy your orientation day. It's all downhill from there. If you don't walk out within six weeks, you often get fired for being late by as little as 1 min. more than five times in 3 mos.

"Guest". In the 50's "Camelot" days, a guest that had a bad experience was made to feel better with a free ride, soda, etc. Well, look out Margaret! It's 2005 and guests figured out how to cheat, manipulate, say or do
ANYTHING to get something free many years ago. Kevin Yee said it well:
"They come in the gates with a sense of entitlement" that serves them
a reward for bad behavior. Keeping a child away from moving machinery
can be turned around into a comp dinner and the CM out the door. Simply
making someone follow directions when they become temporarily illiterate can
be milked into unlimited Fastpasses for the day.

"Cast". Decades ago, being a "Disneylander" was quite the accomplishment.
All but the cream of the crop were turned away before the ink on their
application had dried. To work at the Magic Kingdom then was like being
in a hit movie or cable reality series today. Enter corporate enterprise and
all of it's blundering. Find out who managed to keep Kmart and Wallmart
alive, bring them in and have them dictate policy to to a business that none
of them understand. Don't be surprised when aisles begin to look sloppy,
you can't find anyone to help you and they can't get your order correct.
After all, that's how it works at Target stores. Speaking of Target, as a CM
you ARE a target... for termination that is. If you are at the max. pay scale
for your classification, well you just cost too much. Get ready for a nasty
complaint out of the blue, or perhaps you didn't sweep up a few popcorn
kernels just a certain way at a certain time. Buh Bye. HEY! That just
saved us $13.00 a day, Earl!!! Let's approve raises for ourselves!

"Finance". Everybody loves numbers. Especially when arranged to look
attractive and say what you want them to say to investors and corporate
partners. The DCA mess is just such a result. Get a bunch of survey CM's
to stop guests and ask "How would you like a bigger Disneyland with almost
twice the attractions?" What did they THINK the result would be? Now
that we have the public all riled up and on our side and their opinions on a
downloadable Palm Pilot, let's draw up a plan! Whoops! No money. Well,
Disneyland can handle a few years of no maintenance, ride failures and
closures while we use that money to clone it. Whoops! Still costs too much.
Make it really cheap with a lifespan of five years before it falls apart. We'll
be promoted or transferred by then, Earl. Now let's approve another raise
for eachother.

So there's what you're in for, potential CM's. The whole saga in a nutshell.

If you still decide to do this, be forewared and forearmed with the following:

If you have a union, get to know all the reps and feel free to ask questions.
Do not agree to a meeting with a manager about an incident without a rep.
being present. Know the name address and phone # of the California Labor
Comissioner. Have copies of your clock activity, paystubs and get a copy
of your union booklet as soon as you can, and read it cover to cover.
Document everything that "Doesn't seem right", from what strikes you
as "Favoritism" to odd behavior on the part of managers and leads. They
all screw up at some point. Don't say a word, just smile, swoosh that hair,
wish them a great day... and then document EVERYTHING in a small
journal with dates, times and witnesses.

In a sense, be prepared to go to war, armed with knowledge. It's the only
way to survive in this magical place.

[1team1dream]

I'd like to reiterate the document everything part. I was a victim of abuse for over a year and because I wasn't documenting everything, I had no case, not even lawyers wanted to touch my case(or lack there of) despite strong witness testimonial. The final straw that had me removed from my office position is when another cast member that I worked with falsely accused me of making a sexual comment towards another cast member. The "other" cast member was questioned, said she heard nothing, yet I was never questioned. I had to go to labor relations to have it removed from my permanent file since management never even asked me if I made the comment. Anybody that knows me personally knows that it is not in my nature to say something like I was accused of. :mad:

[Natural Selection Fan]

And, since it is perhaps the best piece of advice one could give to a current or future CM, I will reiterate what Natural Selection Fan posted. Never, ever, ever agree to a meeting with a manager about an incident without a union representative being present. It may sound paranoid at first, but trust me, if you ever fail to do so you will be regretting it for a long time.

Did I mention that I'm the renowned "Sally" from it's a small world? Yeah! That's
it! Blonde, Blue, charming and venomous at the same time. :D:

But seriously, don't clearly identify yourself on an account that Disney, Cedar
Point, SF or others can connect the dots back to you.

[BirdMom]

A word of caution (and perhaps another warning for those who have yet to hire-in), Disney doesn't tend to like CMs who speak out against the company online. If you post something about the company on a message board, blog, etc. that they really don't like they will find and/or make up extremely lame reasons to suspend you or write you up.

Awww comeon', Polar - it's a little bigger than that. You know the company doesn't like anyone that speaks out period I'm one of those people who simply speaks my mind, moreso as I've gotten older - and management HATES that. Rory O'Leary, the old NO/BC area manager, used to refer to me as "trouble" in a joking manner. I wasn't anti-company (at the time). I just have a tendancy to point out the hypocracy of policies versus real life situations, among other things. What ever happened to consistancy? If something wasn't right, if something was unfair to the majority of guests, I'd say so, and it wasn't so much Rory, but the higher ups who hated that sort of thing.

Personally, if you can't just nod your head yes and smile while taking the crap they dish out in/outside of the prospective job duties - do yourself a favor and don't bother. I could take it when I was 24. Not these days... I've got too much of a little problem known as a mind of my own that wouldn't allow me to fit in comfortably in what they wish for in corporate culture...

[Pedro]

I want to thank you all for your support and comments. I can say that I am hurt by the fact that we can sell a hotdog and a bag of chips for 7.75. I am also hurt by the Cast Members that have been assaulted by guests(over 20 that I have talked to personally) and in some cases the assaulter was rewarded. And to have unions encourage a "yes" vote on a contract that will ultimately hurt the Cast Members dearly.
Yet, I don't hate Mr. Ouimet for his part in the contracts. I will continue to pray for him.
--Pedro. --john 3:17.

[VICisGOOFY]

I want to thank you all for your support and comments. I can say that I am hurt by the fact that we can sell a hotdog and a bag of chips for 7.75. I am also hurt by the Cast Members that have been assaulted by guests(over 20 that I have talked to personally) and in some cases the assaulter was rewarded. And to have unions encourage a "yes" vote on a contract that will ultimately hurt the Cast Members dearly.
Yet, I don't hate Mr. Ouimet for his part in the contracts. I will continue to pray for him.
--Pedro. --john 3:17.

I pointed that out in a thread I started a while ago. I have the tendency to think that some guests already have the mindset to complain about something (or everything) and get rewarded free fastpasses or some other deal.

[coldfire409]

And those that decide to work at WDW it's just the same as Disneyland, except for the fact that it's on the other coast. I almost got wrote up for a no call no show when I was on Vacation. Save those vacation slips for at least a year. Be prepaired to make sure you have witnesses every time you are in a guest area, or talking to managers. Your union rep is a good place to start. Florida has no department of labor, but make sure you have a way of contacting OSHA. Managment also has the mind set that the SOG does not apply to them, and that they will keep an attraction open to satisfy a guest eventhough most of the lighting, possible distress system, or any other safey system is shut off. I don't want to represent somebody who gets injured at Disney because this happens, but I will aggressivly fight Disney if I get a client that comes into my office claiming that they got injured at Disney when a location was kept open that should have been closed.

[flippin_mermaid]

I had major problems with the company near the end of my "stay" when I worked at Disneyland...I was one of those cast members they didn't like because I DID fight back for what I felt was right. So I left. I just couldn't take it anymore. I miss it terribly and I miss all my co-workers...I also miss getting in for free! But most of my friends/co-workers have all quit there anyway. I'm just sad I was forced to quit like that...I really enjoyed the park for a while. I quit back in May'04. I worked in stores/merchandise.
I hear there are LOTS of problems with lots of the departments. It's sad really...when so many of us loved what we did and then were forced to fight against it all...just isn't right...just isn't "Disney".