Seasonal Guest Service Manager- Entertainment

[Vital-Information]

Hello Friends,

I'm looking for any kind of information regarding the seasonal entertainment manager role. I'm interviewing soon and any tips or pointers would be greatly appreciated. I'd also like to know how being seasonal works for management employees. Is it different than hourly seasonal? My recruiter said they operated on a "contract" basis, which I assume means a set amount of time on and off each year but she didn't explain specifics. How does that affect pay?

Though I'm not a current CM, I was a cast member (merchandise, research, and attractions) back in my high school and college days and have a very good understanding of the company culture and what they're "looking for" in terms of overall fit. I'm not sure what to expect in terms of role specific questions.

This is at WDW, by the way. Thanks!

 

[mkt]

I thought that seasonal roles were limited strictly to entry-level positions, and that temp management positions were only pulled from existing active CMs.

 

[berlioz70]

Seasonal Leadership is used differently in different Lines of Business. My area uses them in 'backfill' shifts. Since many locations are run by just one manager, on his/her off day they schedule CT (seasonal) leaders to cover the area/role. We have CTs with varying availability. 1 lives in south Florida only works maybe 1 day a month. 1 is a stay at home mom and works each Sunday. 1 runs a private contracting company on the side, so her availability changes based on what other work she has at the moment. And our 4th is using the CT role as a gateway into a TA/FT. Some weeks she gets a lot of shifts (based on other Leader vacation) and some weeks she only gets 1 day. Because her schedule can vary so much, it has been stressful for her to pay bills, she's currently exploring other employment opportunities within Disney.

Of those, 3 were new hires to the company, that walked in as CT Managers; and 1 was a FT Manager who stepped down due to life changes (the stay at home mom). I have seen a lot of CTs come and go through my department. If you're okay with it as a side job and only working a day or two a week, then it's a great gig. If you're hoping for a more permanent role, then I do not recommend going the CT Leader route.

As for how it's different from CR - CRs are paid the same salary each week and are expected to balance out their hours throughout the year based on their role (24 hour v 29 hour). CRs are also eligible for health benefits and typically have some sort of regular schedule or regular working days. Most CRs are given an ongoing responsibility for an area/project/etc.

CTs - are paid as salary non-exempt, meaning you have to log your hours, and shift in/out times are scheduled (not always 8 hours). Your schedule can be very different from week to week, and you will probably be asked to know all different areas of the business you're covering so you can step in at any time to cover vacation. That's the struggle many CTs face, one day they're covering a parade, the next day their covering a show. It's impossible to keep up with everything throughout the park, so they often have to be good at filing e-mails in case they need to reference back. They do not typically get an ongoing responsibility because they move around so much.