I know for many people it isn't. I was just sharing some tips how you could land that role and you might find yourself looking at trying to land that job. It may not be your ultimate goal but you might find yourself trying to get it sometime during your career. During my college program 7 out of 8 managers I had were in Guest Relations at one time or another.
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Any Advice On How To Work Your Way Up At WDW/DL
- Thread starter TheBeatles
- Start date
I know for many people it isn't. I was just sharing some tips how you could land that role and you might find yourself looking at trying to land that job. It may not be your ultimate goal but you might find yourself trying to get it sometime during your career. During my college program 7 out of 8 managers I had were in Guest Relations at one time or another.
I missed a couple replies on this page...
Tigg-
Sorry things did not work out, but at least you will have the experience and memories.
Yoyo-
Thanks for the advice. As I stated before, I'm very serious about the company and getting these responses is encouraging.
Tigg-
Sorry things did not work out, but at least you will have the experience and memories.
Yoyo-
Thanks for the advice. As I stated before, I'm very serious about the company and getting these responses is encouraging.
Could you elaborate on the duties of GR?
se8472
Well-Known Member
Everything from birthday buttons to being the ones that restore the magic. This includes
Selling tickets
foreign language assistance
Lost and Found
Dinning
VIP & guided tours
etc....
I did attractions for 2 years before making the move to GR.
I think Ambassador counts much like being in Guest Relations because it is pretty much a PR job as well.
But you are right, you don't have to work in GR to get promotions. But the broader base you have the more appealing you are to the people who make the decisions.:animwink:
ImaYoyo
Active Member
Bingo!
Usable skills are great too! Knowing spanish is helpful, and learning a 2nd language that's fairly common is great (French, Cantonese, Japanese, and Mandarin are the ones I look for where I work).
blackcauldron85
New Member
I'm very glad I found this thread! I've been looking online for a couple of hours now trying to find information on moving up when you work in the parks! [I apologize for the length of this post- if you don't want to read the whole thing, the last part, in bold, has a condensed version!!!]
I was a Merchandise Hostess at WDW in 2004 and I left- I had been sick and wanted a leave of absence, but wasn't really able to, so I quit, which was a sad thing for me, since I moved to Florida to work for Disney. But, I am in good standing with the company. I'm graduating with my Bachelor's degree in Communications in a couple weeks and am very much wanting to get a job for when I graduate.
I know that Disney likes to hire within their own cast member pool. And I know that I want to work for Disney. But, the idea of working at crazy hours for close to minimum wage when I spent four years in college doesn't thrill me. But, if that's the only way to work for Disney, then I guess I'll have to do it.
Do any of you know the specific chain of command for certain roles? The jobline isn't making much sense- yesterday and right now, it only lists three full-time positions, and five part-time positions, whereas my husband called not too long ago, and it listed more. But, assuming that they're hiring for all the roles available, a) what are all the roles that possibly could be available? and b) are some roles better than others in terms of moving up? If I worked as a Merchandise Hostess, what would the next level of moving up be? And how long, on average, would it take to get there?
Luckily, we're financially stable, but we definitely could use money, which I really won't make if I work for $6.90 an hour or so. But, if you work for Disney, you're not expecting to be rich, I guess.
I'm very much an introvert, but I like the idea of asking a manager for the names of three other managers...how would one do that? If there's downtime and you're just talking, mention that you want to move up in the company, and do they have any names they could give you so you could have an informational interview with them?
And, to the interview question of "Tell us about a time you helped a customer/guest" and questions like that- what if you have no answer?!? I've cashiered since I was 15, but I don't have any stand-out situations in my head. I really have no answer. I mean, I think that I watched a customer's kid one time while she ran to get milk or something, but that's nothing too special. Do you always have the same Recruiter at Casting? My Recruiter was/is intimidating (and I haven't seen her in years!)!
I'm thinking that Housekeeping might be something that I'm interested in doing, since I haven't done that yet. But, my degree is in Communicatons, and I figure that I wouldn't get that much guest interaction. But, I really don't want to work in a restaurant- I pretty much refuse to work in a restaurant, just because I've never liked working in restaurants. Ideally, I wouldn't do Merchandise again, just so I can try something new. Attractions could be alright...it seems more boring than Merchandise- at least with Merchandise, you can ring up different orders and go back and get things to stock, and then work the printers if you work at a ride that takes your picture at the end, and monitor the pictures for inappropriate images. What are the different tasks of an Attractions cast member?
Do Casting Recruiters actually care about you as a person? I know that they're super-busy and see so many people a day- I don't think that they care that you want to move up in the company- they just need a body to do the job. I love Disney very much, but part of me is cynical, I guess. I wish there were Disney career counselors that you could go to and ask what the best route would be to take if you want to move up in the company. I don't want to make not much money forever, especially since I have (well, will have in 2 weeks) a college degree. I don't mean to sound snobbish, but I feel that I didn't go to college to be a cashier or pushing buttons to make a ride start. But, at the same time, there may be no other way to get a job with Disney, which stinks, in my mind- I know that DisneyCareers.com exists, and I have applied to a few jobs on there within the past few months, but a lot of jobs require you to have X number of years of experience, which college grads, even with internship experience, just don't have. I wish they had a College Program for recent grads. I applied for 3 Professional Internships in March, and they have until May 16th to contact whoever gets hired, I guess, but with no CP experience, and minimal park experience, I don't have high hopes.
So, I guess my main points/questions are:
I'll have my Bachelor's degree in Communications. (I live in Orlando, by the way.) I want to work for Disney. Since I go to school in Orlando, I didn't do the College Program. (About a year and a half ago, I had asked about college grads being in the program, and they said that if you apply before the deadline before you graduate, you can be eligible, but that time has come and gone and I didn't do anything.)
1. Is my best shot applying for a part-time or a full-time (and which one?) $6.90/hr. role at Casting,
2. pay my dues (and for how long?!?) and try to move up?
3. And what are the best ways to move up, especially if you're pretty introverted?
4. And, are any of the roles that Casting hires you for better as far as moving up?
5. Since I have a degree, I'm a little less worried about this, but let's say I pay my dues and become a Merchandise manager. Where can I go from there? The theme parks are not the division I really want to work for- my minor is film and I have a marketing background (somewhat); the film divisions, Disney Channel, Radio Disney, and Hollywood Records, even Disney Consumer Products, are more along the lines of what I'd love to do eventually. Is it feasible and probable that someone who came up the ranks in the theme parks can transfer into a position in one of those divisions?!?
Any and all comments are welcomed! I appreciate any answers!!!!!!
I was a Merchandise Hostess at WDW in 2004 and I left- I had been sick and wanted a leave of absence, but wasn't really able to, so I quit, which was a sad thing for me, since I moved to Florida to work for Disney. But, I am in good standing with the company. I'm graduating with my Bachelor's degree in Communications in a couple weeks and am very much wanting to get a job for when I graduate.
I know that Disney likes to hire within their own cast member pool. And I know that I want to work for Disney. But, the idea of working at crazy hours for close to minimum wage when I spent four years in college doesn't thrill me. But, if that's the only way to work for Disney, then I guess I'll have to do it.
Do any of you know the specific chain of command for certain roles? The jobline isn't making much sense- yesterday and right now, it only lists three full-time positions, and five part-time positions, whereas my husband called not too long ago, and it listed more. But, assuming that they're hiring for all the roles available, a) what are all the roles that possibly could be available? and b) are some roles better than others in terms of moving up? If I worked as a Merchandise Hostess, what would the next level of moving up be? And how long, on average, would it take to get there?
Luckily, we're financially stable, but we definitely could use money, which I really won't make if I work for $6.90 an hour or so. But, if you work for Disney, you're not expecting to be rich, I guess.
I'm very much an introvert, but I like the idea of asking a manager for the names of three other managers...how would one do that? If there's downtime and you're just talking, mention that you want to move up in the company, and do they have any names they could give you so you could have an informational interview with them?
And, to the interview question of "Tell us about a time you helped a customer/guest" and questions like that- what if you have no answer?!? I've cashiered since I was 15, but I don't have any stand-out situations in my head. I really have no answer. I mean, I think that I watched a customer's kid one time while she ran to get milk or something, but that's nothing too special. Do you always have the same Recruiter at Casting? My Recruiter was/is intimidating (and I haven't seen her in years!)!
I'm thinking that Housekeeping might be something that I'm interested in doing, since I haven't done that yet. But, my degree is in Communicatons, and I figure that I wouldn't get that much guest interaction. But, I really don't want to work in a restaurant- I pretty much refuse to work in a restaurant, just because I've never liked working in restaurants. Ideally, I wouldn't do Merchandise again, just so I can try something new. Attractions could be alright...it seems more boring than Merchandise- at least with Merchandise, you can ring up different orders and go back and get things to stock, and then work the printers if you work at a ride that takes your picture at the end, and monitor the pictures for inappropriate images. What are the different tasks of an Attractions cast member?
Do Casting Recruiters actually care about you as a person? I know that they're super-busy and see so many people a day- I don't think that they care that you want to move up in the company- they just need a body to do the job. I love Disney very much, but part of me is cynical, I guess. I wish there were Disney career counselors that you could go to and ask what the best route would be to take if you want to move up in the company. I don't want to make not much money forever, especially since I have (well, will have in 2 weeks) a college degree. I don't mean to sound snobbish, but I feel that I didn't go to college to be a cashier or pushing buttons to make a ride start. But, at the same time, there may be no other way to get a job with Disney, which stinks, in my mind- I know that DisneyCareers.com exists, and I have applied to a few jobs on there within the past few months, but a lot of jobs require you to have X number of years of experience, which college grads, even with internship experience, just don't have. I wish they had a College Program for recent grads. I applied for 3 Professional Internships in March, and they have until May 16th to contact whoever gets hired, I guess, but with no CP experience, and minimal park experience, I don't have high hopes.
So, I guess my main points/questions are:
I'll have my Bachelor's degree in Communications. (I live in Orlando, by the way.) I want to work for Disney. Since I go to school in Orlando, I didn't do the College Program. (About a year and a half ago, I had asked about college grads being in the program, and they said that if you apply before the deadline before you graduate, you can be eligible, but that time has come and gone and I didn't do anything.)
1. Is my best shot applying for a part-time or a full-time (and which one?) $6.90/hr. role at Casting,
2. pay my dues (and for how long?!?) and try to move up?
3. And what are the best ways to move up, especially if you're pretty introverted?
4. And, are any of the roles that Casting hires you for better as far as moving up?
5. Since I have a degree, I'm a little less worried about this, but let's say I pay my dues and become a Merchandise manager. Where can I go from there? The theme parks are not the division I really want to work for- my minor is film and I have a marketing background (somewhat); the film divisions, Disney Channel, Radio Disney, and Hollywood Records, even Disney Consumer Products, are more along the lines of what I'd love to do eventually. Is it feasible and probable that someone who came up the ranks in the theme parks can transfer into a position in one of those divisions?!?
Any and all comments are welcomed! I appreciate any answers!!!!!!
progroupie
Member
From what I've seen, College Program Professional Internships are one of the quickest ways to move up when it comes to management positions. I've only had a handful of managers that didn't do an internship of some sort. I'm not sure what the requirements are for Professional Internships right now, they've changed quite a big over the last couple of years so I'm not sure if this is even an option for you but it's def something you should look into.
Chape19714
Well-Known Member
the best advise has been said. Network, Network, Network. The more people you know the better. Also, moving around the company and trying different areas is great. Cover your bases. Being on an Opening Cast for an attraction, a trainer, or cordnatior position also help your networking level.