Is this the new standard and am I the only one who sees it?

[General Mayhem]

I frequent Universal as well and I’m not sure where all these older folks you guys are seeing are working. Perhaps you guys are old enough that it’s hard to distinguish 20 year olds from 30 year olds? The average age is 18-24, like if WDW was only staffed by the College Program. Almost nobody at Universal is a lifer. Almost nobody moves to Orlando because their dream was to work at Universal. The service is worse. Deal with it and stop using praising Universal’s mediocrity because you’re bitter with Disney’s decisions.

Dude again you're making assumptions, I can tell you right now almost every part of the this post is untrue.

 

[Tom Morrow]

Dude again you're making assumptions, I can tell you right now almost every part of the this post is untrue.

And I can tell you that it is in fact true so I guess we’ll have to leave it at this.

Universal PR has a strong presence on this board and that becomes more apparent all the time.

 

[General Mayhem]

This is why I can't hang with Disney only fans, they see everything else as less than Disney no matter what. There are quite a healthy amount of people working at UOR who have been there since the resort opened in 1990. Not everyone and their grandmother dreams of working at Disney anymore given their terrible reputation. There's a massive amount of reasons why a good amount of Cast members leave Disney for Universal. The bad word of mouth Disney has about it's treatment of cast members is not a well kept secret.

 

[Tom Morrow]

This is why I can't hang with Disney only fans, they see everything else as less than Disney no matter what. There are quite a healthy amount of people working at UOR who have been there since the resort opened in 1990. Not everyone and their grandmother dreams of working at Disney anymore given their terrible reputation. There's a massive amount of reasons why a good amount of Cast members leave Disney for Universal. The bad word of mouth Disney has about it's treatment of cast members is not a well kept secret.

Either work at Disney and get treated poorly but have a more professional atmosphere and image from the public’s perception or work at Universal and get treated better but with lower class people and immature teens. Oh, and have no union representation and no chance of overtime and a bunch of other negatives. Perhaps both options are less than ideal.

Also the most common reason for leaving Disney for Universal is getting fired from Disney. Not always for a valid reason, sure. But still.

Feel free to browse my post history in which you’ll see me dish out both criticisms and compliments to both resorts because I’m not aligning with a brand.

 

[rk03221]

A lot of Disney cms went to work for universal part time or left to go there full time when HP opened. Not really the case anymore. Universal treats employees better, all employees get free turkeys during the holidays to take home which is pretty cool. But that’s about it. It really depends on personal preference but universal doesn’t have higher standards nor do they offer OT, benefits or anything. It’s really hard to get full time there. If I were to pick one definitely Disney. My wife was a manager at Disney and although they don’t get paid the best they do offer managers really good benefits.

Florida in general is just really not a good place to live unless you are rich and/or retired

 

[Lilofan]

Florida in general is just really not a good place to live unless you are rich and/or retired

Or relocate to FL from a higher cost of living in the USA, sell your million dollar home, buy a cheaper home in FL, live off the profits, work for extra income and health insurance and no state income tax!

 

[Chi84]

Or relocate to FL from a higher cost of living in the USA, sell your million dollar home, buy a cheaper home in FL, live off the profits, work for extra income and health insurance and no state income tax!

I can follow all that advice except the part about the million dollar home

 

[RobWDW1971]

Florida in general is just really not a good place to live unless you are rich and/or retired

Compared to what state? It has no state income tax and a very low cost of housing/living. I couldn't live there because of the weather, but the financial aspect is why people are net immigrating there.

 

[I am Timmy]

Every year when we go to Uni for the holidays, we get to the line 1st every day for the early hour - its' the same 2 elderly people preparing the park for opening. They are adorable, and always recognize us. I'm always a little worried each year that one or both won't be there, I know it's bound to happen eventually, but over time we've had a chance to talk to them and they love their jobs. The little old people at Leaky Cauldron are also gems and wonderful to see every year - the cute little ladies who seat us with our candlesticks, or Roderick who stands at the exit looking very regal saying goodbye, and how he hopes we have enjoyed our meal. My younger adult son got a bowtruckle and named him Roderick after this man - he told him and asked if he could get a pic with him. He teared up, and said, "this is why I come here to work". He's also from England with a lovely accent, hope he's still there this year. While I am a DW fan through and through, there are magical moments to be had other places, too. Sorry to OP that your time was less than magical.

 

[rk03221]

Compared to what state? It has no state income tax and a very low cost of housing/living. I couldn't live there because of the weather, but the financial aspect is why people are net immigrating there.

Central Florida is not as cheap as it once was, people started figuring that out and have been moving in droves for the last 5-7 years. A lot of rich people from California, New York, the northeast and South America have taken it over and priced a lot of people out. Rent and cost of housing has sky rocketed while wages have remained low.

 

[Lilofan]

Central Florida is not as cheap as it once was, people started figuring that out and have been moving in droves for the last 5-7 years. A lot of rich people from California, New York, the northeast and South America have taken it over and priced a lot of people out. Rent and cost of housing has sky rocketed while wages have remained low.

What the previous reply stated was the financial aspect. To the locals it's not cheap in their eyes. For droves moving and settling down in C.F., compared to what they were paying in rent/morgage/property taxes in their higher cost of living area and compare it to Central Florida it is cheaper. Don't blame the ones moving to Central Florida. It's the Florida owners / landlords that are setting the prices. Similar on immigration.. - There are too many of them coming ( but easier to blame them), but who is allowing them to come?

 

[TP2000]

I think it is a growing lack of work ethic in society in general. What you experienced at WDW on the part of some CM occurs everywhere.

You're wrong. It never happens at Tokyo Disneyland.

 

[RobWDW1971]

Central Florida is not as cheap as it once was, people started figuring that out and have been moving in droves for the last 5-7 years. A lot of rich people from California, New York, the northeast and South America have taken it over and priced a lot of people out. Rent and cost of housing has sky rocketed while wages have remained low.

I didn’t say prices have frozen in time and it isn’t more expensive than it used to be.

I asked to where are you comparing? Cost of living, no state taxes, low unemployment rate, etc. makes Florida currently one of the more inviting financial states.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

I am sorry but I have to finish one of your sentences for you



It's not personal but this is a pet peeve of mine. There is always someone willing to do any job if you are willing to pay them sufficiently to do it. It's not Americans, it's not people coming across the border, it's not martians. if your business is only sustainable by continually finding lower priced labor then it isn't sustainable.

Then you won’t mind paying $1 per strawberry or carrot at the grocery store instead of $2 per pint or bag.

Think back... huge companies over the past century.

Think back...small ones...mom & pops that don’t make it past the first year.

It takes time to grow a business that isn’t CVS or Target. It’s too inane to say, “Well then you shouldn’t have a business if you can’t pay $15 an hour.” That’s a clueless person pulling numbers out of thin air.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Disney has slowly shifted to the: "Do what's inspected..rather than what's expected" mindset. As long as you understand that and temper your expectations....you're good.

 

[Snowbird]

It's unfortunate you had to see this. Whether it's cast who don't care, managers who don't hold their team accountable and fireworks breaking down with no announcement, it's unacceptable. I would say in any company you work for, it's not bad and poor staff, it's bad and poor leaders that's the real meat of the issue who set the tone and hold staff accountable.

I agree but also notice he steadily decline on personal pride and work ethic. Far too many people just show up for a paycheck. I’m guessing it’s harder and harder to find a strong pool of applicants who not only invest in others, but also themselves. Disney seems to be the last frontier for customer service. It saddens me to see and hear the decline in standards at this incredible gem. I hope managers are able to instill value if an employee doesn’t bring it with them to the job already.

 

[Kingtut]

And WDW giving the opportunity for staff to take college courses for free? Would a company that does not care give this to their staff? There was a write up several years ago that average time of staff in WDW is 10 years. Would someone that really hates it, stick around for 10 years?

This benefit may not be intended for front line cast members but only extended to them so that it would not be taxable to the other employees for which it is intended. There is something about "special" benefits for only some employees in the tax code so this may just be a way around that. Education benefits are simply expected at a certain level/types of employees.

 

[tribbleorlfl]

Proof?

Shockingly I’ve also got half a dozen friends who are ex CMs who made a move from Disney to Universal. I know.

Look closer next time then. Universal team members are almost entirely college age, or mid 20's at most. I promise. There are exceptions, but, ignoring the college program, Disney CM's are a much, much wider demographic on average.

You say this as fact, but as someone who frequents UOR this is extremely far from the truth. Also you might need a little reality check so here you go: Almost 1/4-1/3 of the cast members at Disney also work at Universal. So a lot of the team members you are comparing cast members to are the same people.

This is why I can't hang with Disney only fans, they see everything else as less than Disney no matter what. There are quite a healthy amount of people working at UOR who have been there since the resort opened in 1990. Not everyone and their grandmother dreams of working at Disney anymore given their terrible reputation. There's a massive amount of reasons why a good amount of Cast members leave Disney for Universal. The bad word of mouth Disney has about it's treatment of cast members is not a well kept secret.

A lot of Disney cms went to work for universal part time or left to go there full time when HP opened. Not really the case anymore. Universal treats employees better, all employees get free turkeys during the holidays to take home which is pretty cool. But that’s about it. It really depends on personal preference but universal doesn’t have higher standards nor do they offer OT, benefits or anything. It’s really hard to get full time there. If I were to pick one definitely Disney. My wife was a manager at Disney and although they don’t get paid the best they do offer managers really good benefits.

Florida in general is just really not a good place to live unless you are rich and/or retired

As a former UO TM and AP, I have a different perspective on this. UO definitely hired a bunch of former CMs when they opened IOA and WWoHP, and they have a surprising amount of older, long-term and "lifer" employees.

However, I think UO gets the perception that much of its staff is High School and college-aged since these long-term employees get preferential treatment in terms of schedule, position and location assignments. As a result, many of them are in managerial, support and other behind-the-scenes positions, or assigned to low-volume and low-stress locations. They typically get at least partial weekends off and aren't required to work long or late hours during the busiest times.

That means that when the majority of visitors attend (ie weekends and school breaks), you're more likely to see a higher proportion of seasonal and part-time employees in line-level, guest-facing positions. And those seasonal employees are more likely to be high school and college students. My wife is a HS teacher, and despite her school being one of the closest OCPS campuses to Disney, more of her students work at UO and SeaWorld than Disney.

Regarding dual employment, while things certainly could have changed since I worked there, but at that time, it was in the EE handbook you couldn't work at both resorts simultaneously. And it makes sense as to why, especially with part-time and seasonal employees: they're needed when it's busiest and the resorts need full availability to ensure there's adequate labor coverage. Both resorts would likely want to schedule the same employee at the same times, causing a conflict.

We knew there were definitely employees that still had both jobs, it was just official policy at the time to not allow it.

 

[General Mayhem]

As a former UO TM and AP, I have a different perspective on this. UO definitely hired a bunch of former CMs when they opened IOA and WWoHP, and they have a surprising amount of older, long-term and "lifer" employees.

However, I think UO gets the perception that much of its staff is High School and college-aged since these long-term employees get preferential treatment in terms of schedule, position and location assignments. As a result, many of them are in managerial, support and other behind-the-scenes positions, or assigned to low-volume and low-stress locations. They typically get at least partial weekends off and aren't required to work long or late hours during the busiest times.

That means that when the majority of visitors attend (ie weekends and school breaks), you're more likely to see a higher proportion of seasonal and part-time employees in line-level, guest-facing positions. And those seasonal employees are more likely to be high school and college students. My wife is a HS teacher, and despite her school being one of the closest OCPS campuses to Disney, more of her students work at UO and SeaWorld than Disney.

Regarding dual employment, while things certainly could have changed since I worked there, but at that time, it was in the EE handbook you couldn't work at both resorts simultaneously. And it makes sense as to why, especially with part-time and seasonal employees: they're needed when it's busiest and the resorts need full availability to ensure there's adequate labor coverage. Both resorts would likely want to schedule the same employee at the same times, causing a conflict.

We knew there were definitely employees that still had both jobs, it was just official policy at the time to not allow it.

There's no rule against it now, that's for sure because people have to be able to make it when they don't have full time (some of them have full time too).

 

[larryz]

We knew there were definitely employees that still had both jobs, it was just official policy at the time to not allow it.

My response would be "If you don't want me working at the other parks, you'll have to hire me full time."