Used2BePluto
New Member
Is Post Disney Job as Rewarding for my Soul?
Hi Ryan,
I did not want to copy your entire post, so I am using the first few lines. "Used2BePluto, I'm curious about something. If you no longer work for the mouse, I've got a curiosity. Is your current career as good for your soul as the mouse was?"
My reply:
Ryan, what I very rarely talk about is the bullstench that you have to put up with while working at Disney, especially in the character dept. Yes, I enjoyed my time working for the mouse, and yes, I tried a few times to make the leap to full time perm status while I was in college, but it always seemed out of my reach, and mostly because I was my own person and did not follow SOP to the letter. I poured my heart in to the "ill child" specials because I saw way too many JERKS yack about how they pretty much stood there for this spoiled kid who has parents willing to shell out 75 bucks for the meeting (give kids the world, et al were just starting around this time). I FELT HORRIBLE when I would hear this language. After talking to my roommate at the time (aka mostly Minnie) and her boyfriend (aka our regular lead) to go for the specials, so I did.
I guess what I am saying is that I made Disney work for me, and to my satisfaction. I put up with the bible quoting leads and supervisors, the "are you gay" hazing from other non-character dept employees, the kicks to the groin, eating close to 10 (yes TEN) pounds of pasta per week and still loosing weight, having to remember which character you are doing as you sign yet another autograph book, but then realize that you just put the wrong name in the kids book and ripping the page out then realizing that one the other side was Mickey or Minnie's autograph, realizing (usually in a non-VIP character, think Twiddle Dee or T. Dumm, or eeyore, etc, that you are sweating for less then 7 bucks an hour, BEING AFRAID THAT YOUR HEAD WILL FALL OFF, dealing with people who wanted nothing more to to figure out how to remove your head, and Ryan, I could go on, but won't. I continued to put up with this because I knew after a while, I would get to represent Pluto (and almost every "ill/sick/terminal child" special I did was as Pluto) as simply a dog, a dog that most likely this child would never get to play with in real life due to their condition. There were very few of these types of meet & greets that someone did not have a tear.
As for my career, is it as good for my soul as my life in a costume at Disney? I would say yes. Sure, having the costume on did help a lot (especially when I was a crying fool, but never once did the child or adult say, gee Pluto, are you OK?) in breaking down my shyness, my almost predestined life as a photographer was pretty much laid out for me since the age of 14 or so but in some ways I had to figure out which way to go with it. Of late (I am now 41), I have been doing more social outreach to kids, introducing them to photography, and my business (sports photography (mostly high school sports and triathlons)) brings me in direct contact with people that are still thinking about their future and are open to ideas on which way to go in life.
My time at Disney is just one portion of my life, just a couple (ok, maybe just one) chapter of the book that is my life, and I have been blessed to have a whole book at this stage in life, but I think that deep down inside, the real reason I decided to start doing the "ill/sick/terminal/etc specials" were because I felt bad for the people that were requesting them and how they were being treated behind their backs. I ultimately left Disney when it was no longer fun being a character. Money was never the issue for me, though being one step up from the bottom of the salary ladder at WDW (janitor was at the time the lowest paid employee) did not really help when you were sweating your behind off in the hot days of summer. Do I miss being with Pluto sometimes, yep. What do I do? Play with my son and daughter and try to instill in them the idea that life is more then chasing a paycheck and paying a mortgage. Life is to be enjoyed, and if you are not enjoying your life (usually because of a job) be honest with yourself and do what you want to do. (STEPPING UP TO MY SOAP BOX FOR A MOMENT), yes, the concept of simply moving is one that on paper seems so easy, but you know what, which is healthier for you, so unhappy in your current condition or pulling up your bootstraps, and doing something about it. Owing your own business is not a bed of roses, but you control your destiny a whole lot better then working for someone. This country really is wide open for a person to come to/be born with an empty wallet and over time make something for themselves. The option is your, do you want to do something with your life or complain about how unfair life is and that you are the bottom of the barrel. Figure out what you are best at doing and make a living doing it. Wanna wait tables, great, in NYC their are some waiters and waitresses that have known me since I was a little kid, they know me by name, and this is based on me only going to NYC maybe twice or three times a year, but I know they will be at the places I go. Sure, there are some people that feel since they have a few extra zeros on their paychecks that they are better then you, but you know what, from the CEOs, VPs, etc, I grew up with their kids as friends, and stayed over night in their homes, they are just as screwed up as you and me, and no matter how many commas they had acquired, they still complained about mortgages, high price of gas, budgets, etc.
(stepping off my soap box, and too tired to proof read, sorry)
Ryan,
I truly hope that you found my answer in there somewhere. Sorry for the length of my response.
Mark, aka used2bpluto
Hi Ryan,
I did not want to copy your entire post, so I am using the first few lines. "Used2BePluto, I'm curious about something. If you no longer work for the mouse, I've got a curiosity. Is your current career as good for your soul as the mouse was?"
My reply:
Ryan, what I very rarely talk about is the bullstench that you have to put up with while working at Disney, especially in the character dept. Yes, I enjoyed my time working for the mouse, and yes, I tried a few times to make the leap to full time perm status while I was in college, but it always seemed out of my reach, and mostly because I was my own person and did not follow SOP to the letter. I poured my heart in to the "ill child" specials because I saw way too many JERKS yack about how they pretty much stood there for this spoiled kid who has parents willing to shell out 75 bucks for the meeting (give kids the world, et al were just starting around this time). I FELT HORRIBLE when I would hear this language. After talking to my roommate at the time (aka mostly Minnie) and her boyfriend (aka our regular lead) to go for the specials, so I did.
I guess what I am saying is that I made Disney work for me, and to my satisfaction. I put up with the bible quoting leads and supervisors, the "are you gay" hazing from other non-character dept employees, the kicks to the groin, eating close to 10 (yes TEN) pounds of pasta per week and still loosing weight, having to remember which character you are doing as you sign yet another autograph book, but then realize that you just put the wrong name in the kids book and ripping the page out then realizing that one the other side was Mickey or Minnie's autograph, realizing (usually in a non-VIP character, think Twiddle Dee or T. Dumm, or eeyore, etc, that you are sweating for less then 7 bucks an hour, BEING AFRAID THAT YOUR HEAD WILL FALL OFF, dealing with people who wanted nothing more to to figure out how to remove your head, and Ryan, I could go on, but won't. I continued to put up with this because I knew after a while, I would get to represent Pluto (and almost every "ill/sick/terminal child" special I did was as Pluto) as simply a dog, a dog that most likely this child would never get to play with in real life due to their condition. There were very few of these types of meet & greets that someone did not have a tear.
As for my career, is it as good for my soul as my life in a costume at Disney? I would say yes. Sure, having the costume on did help a lot (especially when I was a crying fool, but never once did the child or adult say, gee Pluto, are you OK?) in breaking down my shyness, my almost predestined life as a photographer was pretty much laid out for me since the age of 14 or so but in some ways I had to figure out which way to go with it. Of late (I am now 41), I have been doing more social outreach to kids, introducing them to photography, and my business (sports photography (mostly high school sports and triathlons)) brings me in direct contact with people that are still thinking about their future and are open to ideas on which way to go in life.
My time at Disney is just one portion of my life, just a couple (ok, maybe just one) chapter of the book that is my life, and I have been blessed to have a whole book at this stage in life, but I think that deep down inside, the real reason I decided to start doing the "ill/sick/terminal/etc specials" were because I felt bad for the people that were requesting them and how they were being treated behind their backs. I ultimately left Disney when it was no longer fun being a character. Money was never the issue for me, though being one step up from the bottom of the salary ladder at WDW (janitor was at the time the lowest paid employee) did not really help when you were sweating your behind off in the hot days of summer. Do I miss being with Pluto sometimes, yep. What do I do? Play with my son and daughter and try to instill in them the idea that life is more then chasing a paycheck and paying a mortgage. Life is to be enjoyed, and if you are not enjoying your life (usually because of a job) be honest with yourself and do what you want to do. (STEPPING UP TO MY SOAP BOX FOR A MOMENT), yes, the concept of simply moving is one that on paper seems so easy, but you know what, which is healthier for you, so unhappy in your current condition or pulling up your bootstraps, and doing something about it. Owing your own business is not a bed of roses, but you control your destiny a whole lot better then working for someone. This country really is wide open for a person to come to/be born with an empty wallet and over time make something for themselves. The option is your, do you want to do something with your life or complain about how unfair life is and that you are the bottom of the barrel. Figure out what you are best at doing and make a living doing it. Wanna wait tables, great, in NYC their are some waiters and waitresses that have known me since I was a little kid, they know me by name, and this is based on me only going to NYC maybe twice or three times a year, but I know they will be at the places I go. Sure, there are some people that feel since they have a few extra zeros on their paychecks that they are better then you, but you know what, from the CEOs, VPs, etc, I grew up with their kids as friends, and stayed over night in their homes, they are just as screwed up as you and me, and no matter how many commas they had acquired, they still complained about mortgages, high price of gas, budgets, etc.
(stepping off my soap box, and too tired to proof read, sorry)
Ryan,
I truly hope that you found my answer in there somewhere. Sorry for the length of my response.
Mark, aka used2bpluto
That was beautiful. It really really was.
