On layoffs, very bad attendance, and Iger's legacy being one of disgrace

[ElvisMickey]

This thread is interesting because it really sheds light on a decision I made over 25 years ago. Like most here, I grew up in awe of Disney World. Our family trips every few years from the 70s through to the early 90s are some of my happiest memories growing up. The last trip we took together as a family was after my freshman year at university. I enjoyed this trip just as much as the others, but being 19, lets just say I was now noticing some of the prettier young female cast members much more than on prior visits. After striking up a conversation with a monorail attendant whose university was in the same state as mine, I learned about the Disney college program. I thought that would be a really fun way to spend the summer with a huge cohort around my same age and make some money for the following school year.

My first inkling that maybe this wouldn't be a great choice was that my university did not participate in the program. When I received the application in the mail, I then realized that I would need to miss a significant amount of school, the salary was really low, and I would lose a significant portion of my salary on lodging, since my home state was Pennsylvania. There was a good chance that I might barely break even. All for a summer job that provided no relevant experience for my desired career. So, the Disney dream died very quickly and definitively for me that day. The application went into the garbage, I didn't miss any school, and I took a decent-paying summer job close to home. 25 years later and I'm doing very well in my desired profession.

I kind of wonder... is that how it starts for most cast members? If I had filled out that application, and attended the Disney seminar at a nearby university, would I have been one of those sitting in a shared Orlando apartment, dreading a phone call from HR that my services were no longer necessary?

A lot of cute Cast Members out there...Only Fans is always an option .

 

[TeriofTerror]

This thread seems long on judgement and short on empathy. If anyone thinks they're offering helpful financial advice, perhaps someone should let them know it's coming across more like smug condescension.
(Unless it's just me; in which case, I apologize.)

 

[flynnibus]

A lot of cute Cast Members out there...Only Fans is always an option .

man.. now you're gonna blow people's minds... CMs using ography to pay their bills... the bubble is crashing!

 

[NelsonRD]

This entire discussion was about people working for Disney stuck in the rut. Typically the low wage, hourly workers. If you are only making like $10-11 an hour... you can go hundreds of places and find walk up jobs making that kind of pay.

The whole point is.. if you are at the bottom as so many claim orlando+disney is for pay and COLA.. then almost anywhere else is an improvement. You don't need to 'align skils and interest' when any entry level job will be a huge improvement over your current situation. Work hospitality? There are hotels everywere... Work retail? Same.

The idea that Orlando is the only place you can find work is bunkus.



This is exactly what people are saying YOU CAN NOT DO at Disney - it's the false dream that so many think 'if they just stick it out' they can make it through the low years. But there is no 'high years' at Disney. You climb to be the hotel AGM and you still get crap pay, living in a expensive place. All while the people do get promoted aren't the best.. and the work culture is toxic. You're preaching right into the false dream every person who has left Disney has called out as 'never going to happen... and it took me too long to realize it'

Or you leave... work your way up in another hotel, live in nicer place, cheaper, and ultimately make more money when you've climbed that ladder.

I'm not preaching a 'grass is greener... move' thing. I'm saying if you live in the worst of the worst... LEAVE.



So you believe if you work in a company that doesn't treat its employees with respect, doesn't pay well, festers horrible manager/subordinate relationships, measures performance in ways that dehumanize people, promotes the boot lickers, and is pretty much respected as a toxic place towards workers... If you just tough it out.. it will get better?

Why insist on wasting your years on an environment that will not pay off - when literally there are thousands of alternatives where you do stand a fighting chance?

Why are people insistent in staying in an abusive relationship? Because they think its the only thing they can do...

Do you really think a parallel move is better? Do you think working at another hotel chain in another town is the solution? Working for Burger King opposed to McDonalds, finding happiness at Arby's? The false dream here is not having hope given your current situation, but that being a transient worker will eventually lead you to the perfect job. No job is perfect, which is why when starting a business, they say do something you love, because even then, it will be a struggle to make you feel like giving up. Sorry, but the real world is filled with bad bosses, and all jobs will have elements that you may not like, not just working for Disney.

This never-ending pursuit of happiness is why clinical depression is skyrocketing in this country. Every job is better, every relationship is better, until is isn't. Your lack of perseverance is exactly what is wrong with people today. Something doesn't make you 'feel' good, quit. Your lack of understanding from anything other than your own optics is appalling.

The point here is clear, going from job to job is not a fundamental strategy to get ahead. Staying at your current job is, look for opportunity, and take action. At some point it may be time to move on, but it shouldn't be a quit first, try again later approach.

If you go the extra mile, the road is often less crowded.

 

[flynnibus]

This thread seems long on judgement and short on empathy. If anyone thinks they're offering helpful financial advice, perhaps someone should let them know it's coming across more like smug condescension.
(Unless it's just me; in which case, I apologize.)

It can be summed up really easy. 'Are you working to change anything?' - If they can't outline what they are doing to change things - then sure, call it smug... because yes, as an adult I expect people to look out for themselves and their future. Not just complain about it.

 

[flynnibus]

Do you really think a parallel move is better? Do you think working at another hotel chain in another town is the solution? Working for Burger King opposed to McDonalds, finding happiness at Arby's? The false dream here is not having hope given your current situation, but that being a transient worker will eventually lead you to the perfect job.

You clearly haven't listened to any of the stories over and over and over from people about their attempts to progress in the Disney Parks & Resort machine. Nor people's woes about CM pay and living situations in Orlando.

Not everywhere is like what Orlando is.

 

[Heppenheimer]

man.. now you're gonna blow people's minds... CMs using ****ography to pay their bills... the bubble is crashing!

OK, now that you've explained that reference, I think my life was better not knowing what it meant.

 

[networkpro]

It can be summed up really easy. 'Are you working to change anything?' - If they can't outline what they are doing to change things - then sure, call it smug... because yes, as an adult I expect people to look out for themselves and their future. Not just complain about it.

But some do vote for a living, is that close enough?

 

[NelsonRD]

You clearly haven't listened to any of the stories over and over and over from people about their attempts to progress in the Disney Parks & Resort machine. Nor people's woes about CM pay and living situations in Orlando.

Not everywhere is like what Orlando is.

For every story of being passed over for a promotion at Disney, there is another story for one who has. This happens in every industry where not everybody gets promoted. I am sorry that it shakes out that way for people, but complaining and quitting isn't healthy.

 

[flynnibus]

For every story of being passed over for a promotion at Disney, there is another story for one who has. This happens in every industry where not everybody gets promoted. I am sorry that it shakes out that way for people, but complaining and quitting isn't healthy.

But being miserable and poor is? Ok... *rolleyes*

hey @mkt , @BigThunderMatt - sorry you were just the ones that make up the lower side of 'average' according to Nelson here... sorry you lost the lotto

Sorry NelsonRD - not all companies are great places to work. Employees need to learn to spot the tells and cut and run. Not just hope if they grind it out... somehow the tigger will change it's stripes.

 

[ElvisMickey]

man.. now you're gonna blow people's minds... CMs using ****ography to pay their bills... the bubble is crashing!

Wouldn’t be the first time ! But usually it’s the dudes living in their mom’s basement PAYING. The Sentinel loves to point that out!

 

[mkt]

Plot twist.

I rent a house for less than what a mortgage + HOA + insurance + property taxes costs in this neighborhood, and I've got a fully grown fruit-bearing avocado tree in the backyard.... and a telescoping fruit basket in my shed. Also got a mango tree, but those aren't really for toast. Those are for snacks and delicious smoothies.

Waiting for these beauties to ripen a bit more so I can pick them.

 

[mkt]

man.. now you're gonna blow people's minds... CMs using ****ography to pay their bills... the bubble is crashing!

I know of a few CM’s who were also adult entertainers off site after work, so it’s not unheard of.

 

[flynnibus]

I know of a few CM’s who were also adult entertainers off site after work, so it’s not unheard of.

Link?

haha... nah.

I gotta image that is insta-term if someone rats you out.

 

[mkt]

But being miserable and poor is? Ok... *rolleyes*

hey @mkt , @BigThunderMatt - sorry you were just the ones that make up the lower side of 'average' according to Nelson here... sorry you lost the lotto

Sorry NelsonRD - not all companies are great places to work. Employees need to learn to spot the tells and cut and run. Not just hope if they grind it out... somehow the tigger will change it's stripes.

I got 3 promotions while I was there, just never to a professional role. So it’s definitely possible.
I’ve also grown faster in my career post-Disney.

 

[Piebald]

This thread is interesting because it really sheds light on a decision I made over 25 years ago. Like most here, I grew up in awe of Disney World. Our family trips every few years from the 70s through to the early 90s are some of my happiest memories growing up. The last trip we took together as a family was after my freshman year at university. I enjoyed this trip just as much as the others, but being 19, lets just say I was now noticing some of the prettier young female cast members much more than on prior visits. After striking up a conversation with a monorail attendant whose university was in the same state as mine, I learned about the Disney college program. I thought that would be a really fun way to spend the summer with a huge cohort around my same age and make some money for the following school year.

My first inkling that maybe this wouldn't be a great choice was that my university did not participate in the program. When I received the application in the mail, I then realized that I would need to miss a significant amount of school, the salary was really low, and I would lose a significant portion of my salary on lodging, since my home state was Pennsylvania. There was a good chance that I might barely break even. All for a summer job that provided no relevant experience for my desired career. So, the Disney dream died very quickly and definitively for me that day. The application went into the garbage, I didn't miss any school, and I took a decent-paying summer job close to home. 25 years later and I'm doing very well in my desired profession.

I kind of wonder... is that how it starts for most cast members? If I had filled out that application, and attended the Disney seminar at a nearby university, would I have been one of those sitting in a shared Orlando apartment, dreading a phone call from HR that my services were no longer necessary?

I worked at Disney while I attended UCF. For me it was fun times (bonus being a straight male who had a car and was local to the area) But I never intended to make a career out of it and left after a year and a half to get a job more related to what I was in school for.

CPs seemed to be of two mindsets. Some were like me, just enjoying a semester or 2 working but really just living in a college dorm essentially and having fun. But for a lot of the kids, this was an opportunity to get out Nowheresville, USA. You didnt really see kids coming from UVA, UT Austin or UW. Certainly not ivy leagues either. It was mostly kids coming from some random smaller schools in really boring parts of the country. So of course, coming to Florida...working at Disney...being in warm weather...etc. was VERY appealing. It was like a dream come true if you were at the South Harmon Institute of Technology and suddenly you could be in sunny Orlando.

The only ones I felt who really didn't like it were the poor saps who ended up in Food and Beverage.

But yes, a lot get sucked in. A lot extend their program and then they realize they dont want to go back to University of Phoenix main campus and just work at Disney.

 

[Beacon Joe]

The Q3 earnings call is tomorrow at 4:30 Eastern. Should be an interesting conference call / bloodbath.

Just looking around when I was there and even considering the limited park & resort operations, their cost center / profit center number have got to be scary.

DIS buying opportunity on tomorrow's drop for my son's account though...

 

[maxairmike]

You clearly haven't listened to any of the stories over and over and over from people about their attempts to progress in the Disney Parks & Resort machine. Nor people's woes about CM pay and living situations in Orlando.

Not everywhere is like what Orlando is.

I'll just say this and step back to reading.

I've somewhat lived the scenario you're trying to push as the way out, and it's far from as simple as you either want to believe or at least are presenting it as, and I only really had to deal with the mental/emotional aspect as I was back to living at home and going to school during that timeframe so my costs were mostly incidental and fun. If I had really been doing it on my own...I would have been dead in the water in more ways than one, and that's in the really low COL area of northeast Indiana when things weren't that bad. You want to know the jobs that passed me over? All those low wage, "low-skill" jobs that are "always available" and people think are a step above just falling into your lap. I had an interview at my local McDs and got passed over, and at that point I had been looking for 3 months and had gotten no replies from the various other local "easy to get" jobs (Wal-mart, fast food, etc.) in addition to the more "real" jobs that I had applied to. That was a real low point and I was emotionally and mentally done after that. It took another month and change, but I finally got a break, almost 5 months in, and got a decent part time job in an office while I was back in classes. Almost 5 months to find a job, including getting passed over for the ones everyone thinks are easy to get (and this is with a decently long, low level customer service work history, not like I was over or under qualified). I wouldn't even think of trying to pull off a move, even with my slightly higher level of skill now, with anything less than about 8 months of full costs in the bank, which even for a mid to large city in the Midwest means about $15,000 including moving costs. If you could manage to line up a job beforehand, sure, you can cut that in half or more, but that's still a heck of a lot to save on a low wage job.

Or maybe I'm just a very unlucky person and everyone else doing this would have a job within days of moving. Either way, I look at those kinds of responses and shake my head, because I went through a much easier version of what you suggest and still wouldn't wish it on anyone, and I otherwise generally like the idea of moving to a new city/area every now and then. It's easy to suggest doing something, actually doing what you suggest...good luck. I definitely don't want to try that again, 100% for real and on my own this time, unless I already have a job lined up/are transferring.

Anyway, felt it might be beneficial to add another anecdote on this subject to go along with the other one. I'm sure you'll be along to tell me how I did the job search wrong, and hey, I probably could have done it better, but my main point should be pretty obvious and clear. Time to slink back into the shadows and let you all have your fun.

 

[Lilofan]

A no strike clause is only valid during the life of the contract. Once the contract expires, they can strike.

Companies are smarter. They offer extensions to the contract so it doesn't expire.

 

[Heppenheimer]

CPs seemed to be of two mindsets. Some were like me, just enjoying a semester or 2 working but really just living in a college dorm essentially and having fun. But for a lot of the kids, this was an opportunity to get out Nowheresville, USA. You didnt really see kids coming from UVA, UT Austin or UW. Certainly not ivy leagues either. It was mostly kids coming from some random smaller schools in really boring parts of the country. So of course, coming to Florida...working at Disney...being in warm weather...etc. was VERY appealing. It was like a dream come true if you were at the South Harmon Institute of Technology and suddenly you could be in sunny Orlando.

That perhaps chimes with why my school didn't participate in the program and why the closest seminar was at a university with... lets just say, lesser national prominence or name recognition.