What was your worst holiday working at Disney?

[Ms. Matterhorn]

The holidays bring back some not-so-fond memories of working at the park.

I have two! Once I had to work a Thanksgiving shift 11-7:30. After work I went to the family dinner at my sister's house. No one thought to save me any food so there was nothing left to eat!

One Christmas I worked 4-12:30. I ate a hot dog in the break area all by myself for my Christmas dinner. I quit shortly after that! :(

[ktulu]

The holidays bring back some not-so-fond memories of working at the park.

I have two! Once I had to work a Thanksgiving shift 11-7:30. After work I went to the family dinner at my sister's house. No one thought to save me any food so there was nothing left to eat!

One Christmas I worked 4-12:30. I ate a hot dog in the break area all by myself for my Christmas dinner. I quit shortly after that! :(

:( Now I want to actually BE IN the park on Christmas, just to bring some joy to the CM's.

[Driver_dylan]

Okay, not to be rude, but that is the life we live. Though it might seem really campy, the old adage is true. "We work while others play." Most people don't get this, but working at a theme park is or for that matter can be very lonely around the holidays. Sorry to hear that your family didn't help matters, but I have found that there are things you can do to get through it. Though I know it's too late for you, but maybe I can help others.

:) Over the nearly fifteen years that I have worked in the theme park industry as a manager and rank and file, I have gone through several christmases, birthdays, and yes, even my sisters wedding. I have learned that many of us, myself included, can feel very lonely around this time of year. This is due to the fact that this is a very popular time of the year for tourists. Couple that with the fact that most parks are low on fully trained seasonal workers, which can put a strain on the full and part time workers who believe that they should have this time off around this time.

Now for the things that you can do.

:) First, try not to let it get you down. I know this is hard, especially if you are new at this;(first year) far from family, friends, or loved ones; or feeling overwhelmed, but the first step is to decide that you will make it through because this is what you want to do.
:) Second, Go all out to immerse yourself in the smaller events that may be in your area. Spend some time by one of the larger than life christmas trees. What ever you need to put yourself in the holiday spirit. If there is a movie that makes you smile, watch it. Anything to put you in a festive mood.
:) Thirdly, seek out workers that have been there before or others who may also seem depressed. Find a group and help each of yourselves through the ruff spots.
:) Finally, and I believe that this is most important, plan for when it's over. Really, do yourself a favor and plan to do something with your family after the season is over.

[DLRFantasmic!Dan]

i think working New Years Eve is worst. It's is hella crowded with wall - to - wall people. People staking their territory for the fireworks at noon!!! It as fun for me though, time flew by fast!!

[CMGUY89]

Couple that with the fact that most parks are low on fully trained seasonal workers, which can put a strain on the full and part time workers who believe that they should have this time off around this time.

While I'm from the other coast I know what you mean there. I am going back to WDW for the holiday season, but not until the 27th. This was my first semester at College so I kinda need this holiday at home. Plus I have to be careful my parents don't get pissed that I leave so quickly. ;)
The only holiday I've worked so far has been 4th of July. It was pretty crazy, I got assigned to crowd control, known in the Land as Swirl, because it basically turns the entire pavilion into a giant toilet bowl. I had to stand at the bottom of the stairs telling people they were down only. I got called lots of names, but I was only doing what I was told! LOL, people just don't understand.
As for fully-trained seasonal CMs, don't get me started!!! I have been begging my managers to give me more training so I can work more attractions to pick up the slack. They keep telling me no, but in the end have to drop carriages at Soarin' which really pisses people off. And where am I? Stuck at the land doing nothing...

[GaTechGal]

Okay, not to be rude, but that is the life we live. Though it might seem really campy, the old adage is true. "We work while others play."

Don't know if it will help much, but remember that there are LOTS of folks that have to work over the holidays. My brother the DR. is on call at least one of the major holiday days over the season from Thanksgiving to Christmas. Now granted, he's making WAY more than the average CM (and me for that matter), but it doesn't make it any easier for him or his kids. So I'd take Dylan's advice and just look at the holiday itself as any other busy day and try and get into the SEASON on some other day.

As a guest, thanks for being there. :D:

[pattimelt]

While I have only been a cm since Feb, I have worked EVERY holiday since I started, and I will continue to do so until I don't work there anymore.

I don't have kids, so the holidays are pretty much just another day for me. I would rather have those who have kids stay home with their families if they would like to do so. I can do dinner another night, like I did this year with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in my house was the WEDNESDAY after Thanksgiving, and we did it up just like it was the holiday, just with no football on tv--LOL!!

And, at least where I work, we make it as special as we can. We normally do some sort of pot-luck so that we can all eat while we work. Our managers give us some leeway to eat between phone calls or while we process mail, etc (as long as we're not in a window waiting on guests!!), and we usually have enough food to last for a couple days!! What gets me is that while I'm not with my "blood" family, I'm with my "work" family--and we are all friends and we are there for one another so that nobody is alone. I have seen the kindness of my fellow cm's just go BEYOND--not just with the guests, but with each other, too.

I could go on and on but I'll stop here.

[SRT_GB]

To be honest, I have very few bad memories of working on holidays. When I first hired in 2000 and when I rehired in 2004, I knew full well that I'd be working on holidays. I think part of what made it easier to deal with was that my mom is a nurse and every year alternated between working on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I agree that the people you work with make it a lot easier to deal with because they're all in the same boat as you are. No matter how many rude SGs there were, the mood was always so lighthearted that we never let it get to us. Even on crowded-as-all-hell New Year's Eve, the atmosphere around Main Street and the Stroller Shop was always lighthearted.

I'm just talking about the actual holidays here. Don't get me started on Black Friday, Candlelight weekend, or the week between Christmas and New Year's. THOSE were bad times.

[Princess Susi]

The holidays bring back some not-so-fond memories of working at the park.

I have two! Once I had to work a Thanksgiving shift 11-7:30. After work I went to the family dinner at my sister's house. No one thought to save me any food so there was nothing left to eat!

One Christmas I worked 4-12:30. I ate a hot dog in the break area all by myself for my Christmas dinner. I quit shortly after that! :(

That is sad...I want to cry now...I hope you will have a big ham and some razzleberry dressing this year! :D:
It is always sad to be alone on a holiday.
And I love what Dylan Driver had to say...
We as guests love to celebrate with CMs at the Parks and I hope that we can bring a smile to the CMs faces when we are there. I know it won't be after the Park closes, but if we can warm your holiday even just a little, then we as guests have done OUR job too!

As a guest, I had a sad Disney Christmas story, I have already told at SGT on another thread, we were at Disneyland last year for Christmas and I was sick 4 days in the DL Hotel with a stomach virus, VERY ill, so ill a doctor came and gave me a shot in the buttock!I am not a CM , but I thought it would be okay to share my Disney Christmas story too.
susi

[BRWombat]

i think working New Years Eve is worst. It's is hella crowded with wall - to - wall people. People staking their territory for the fireworks at noon!!! It as fun for me though, time flew by fast!!

I read this and can't help but think, God bless the CM at WDW-PLAY who got the fireworks cruise ressie for my family this coming Dec. 31!!!!