Trending blog post: "What it's really like working at Walt Disney World"

[BJones82]

... Wow this thread has derailed... lol

 

[Phonedave]

It's reasons like this that Yelp should ceast to exist!

You mean reviews such as "everything was super fresh and tasty" or "this place sucks" don't help you?

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Great points. I guess I'm that weird 1 in 10 lol. I post a review every time I've had a great experience...I actually tend not to post negative reviews at all....I write to the company privately first. Only if they don't respond, will I then share that lack of concern via a review. It's so ridiculously easy to give good feedback these days - I book a restaurant ressie through OpenTable and they email me an eval form the day after. Same with Orbitz and internet deal sites like Groupon/Living Social. It literally takes me a couple of minutes. I always fill them out because I rely so heavily on reviews myself when deciding where to go, I feel like I owe it to the folks who took time to review the place before me to pay that forward by submitting good reviews to encourage others to visit.

But I don't remember getting an emailed survey from WDW after each trip. Perhaps I did and can't remember. I used to see CMs doing surveys all the time when guests first enter the park. I think it would be great if they did some exit interviews instead - there's always a CM or two stationed by the exits. Maybe ask a few people leaving to mention any standout CMs, service pluses or any concerns they experienced.

I'm sort of the opposite. I rarely post any sort of public reviews (aside from this forum). I will send feedback directly to a company, but usually not a public review.

-dave

 

[Phonedave]

Buffalo's an easy target if you've never been there (or were there during the transition from steel/manufacturing).

That being said, Buffalo is definitely on the way back up. Also, there are few places that I can think of that have such a diverse collection of things to see and do than Buffalo does. I've been gone for decades, but Buffalo will always be my home.

And without it, we could never have the following sentence

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo"

is a grammatical sentence in American English, used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs. It has been discussed in literature since 1972 when the sentence was used by William J. Rapaport, an associate professor at the University at Buffalo.[1]


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo

-dave

 

[Disney_Geek]

You weren't making enough to get to your place of work? Fill out a resume and an application and put it in somewhere else. It doesn't take two years for you to get a call back. And you sure as heck don't stay at a place where you're making "no money" just because of your friends. Not unless your an irresponsible child...

Yeah, it's hard. That's why they pay us above minimum wage. It's not all princesses and lollipops. It IS that for the guests. We are payed to be there, and they are the ones paying for it.

To me he sounds like every single cast and team member I've ever met who has been fired with no rehire status, or demoted to a non-safety position (ex. Shows from Rides) because of something stupid they did, who thinks that their company is soooo mean to them. Boo friggin hoo. Absolutely can't stand people like him. They always drag the group down. And trust me, we've had quite a few. Key word is "had."

 

[Philharmagically]

Yeah, it's hard. That's why they pay us above minimum wage. It's not all princesses and lollipops.

And that's one of the broader socioeconomic issues in America. The set minimum wage is not high enough to equate to an income that will result in even the most basic living standards. Haven't you heard of the reports of Disney workers living below the poverty line? Workers getting fired because they don't have enough money (from working at Disney) to pay for petrol to get to work? And all this from being "above minimum wage". I guess I'm just lucky being in Australia where the minimum wage is well above what even a Disney employee would be payed. And as such, have been brought up in a society with fair workplace agreements, where workers have rights and can complain without fear of being fired, unlike those who work at Disney.

 

[Disney_Geek]

And that's one of the broader socioeconomic issues in America. The set minimum wage is not high enough to equate to an income that will result in even the most basic living standards. Haven't you heard of the reports of Disney workers living below the poverty line? Workers getting fired because they don't have enough money (from working at Disney) to pay for petrol to get to work? And all this from being "above minimum wage". I guess I'm just lucky being in Australia where the minimum wage is well above what even a Disney employee would be payed. And as such, have been brought up in a society with fair workplace agreements, where workers have rights and can complain without fear of being fired, unlike those who work at Disney.

Oh definitely agree on that point. I think the standard minimum should be raised across the board.

In the moment, however, it is not that perfect world here in the US, and Disney and the other parks are paying above the required Florida minimum that you get working in fast food or other jobs.

 

[dadddio]

And that's one of the broader socioeconomic issues in America. The set minimum wage is not high enough to equate to an income that will result in even the most basic living standards. Haven't you heard of the reports of Disney workers living below the poverty line? Workers getting fired because they don't have enough money (from working at Disney) to pay for petrol to get to work? And all this from being "above minimum wage". I guess I'm just lucky being in Australia where the minimum wage is well above what even a Disney employee would be payed. And as such, have been brought up in a society with fair workplace agreements, where workers have rights and can complain without fear of being fired, unlike those who work at Disney.

It's not as if the salary was kept hidden and he only noticed it after he had worked in the position for a couple years.

 

[BJones82]

It's not as if the salary was kept hidden and he only noticed it after he had worked in the position for a couple years.

So I think you guys are focusing in on what I felt was a small part of the over all article, I completely agree with there being major problems with the minimum wage in this country and as I posted previously in this thread I think this article seems like more of a rant with some sad truths than an eye opening blog post... but I didn't feel his #1 complaint was that he was under paid... Maybe I just misread it though...

EDIT grammatical errors

 

[Tom Morrow]

Probably pretty late to the party here, but as someone who works in the theme park industry doing rides, I can firmly say that he needs to put on his big girl panties and grow the heck up.

Sorry that you were bored at your job. See that last word? It's a job. You're not there to have fun. You're there to work. If you have fun, it's a bonus.

You weren't making enough to get to your place of work? Fill out a resume and an application and put it in somewhere else. It doesn't take two years for you to get a call back. And you sure as heck don't stay at a place where you're making "no money" just because of your friends. Not unless your an irresponsible child... Come to think of it, that's how this entitled prat comes off as.

Yeah, it's hard. That's why they pay us above minimum wage. It's not all princesses and lollipops. It IS that for the guests. We are payed to be there, and they are the ones paying for it.

To me he sounds like every single cast and team member I've ever met who has been fired with no rehire status, or demoted to a non-safety position (ex. Shows from Rides) because of something stupid they did, who thinks that their company is soooo mean to them. Boo friggin hoo. Absolutely can't stand people like him. They always drag the group down. And trust me, we've had quite a few. Key word is "had."

Working for a vacation destination is no vacation in itself. If you have to be told that or learn that the hard way, maybe you shouldn't be trusted to work there as it seems like someone needs to hold your hand when you potty too.

Might want to lay off the pixie dust. Even if the post is whiny, there's no reason to brush off inexcusable behavior and treatment from management like, again, rewarding guests that attacked or threatened CM's for doing what management asked them to do, and then turning around and scolding that cast member.

Also, I know "model" CM's that would completely agree with the blog entry. Stop assuming that having criticisms and complaints about the operation = "bad employee". Stop trying to protect the brand from criticism, it's not your job to do so.

 

[stevehousse]

You mean reviews such as "everything was super fresh and tasty" or "this place sucks" don't help you?

-dave

I meant in terms of negativity. Most places on yelp have such negative reviews, which actually is a whole other story in itself. Go on any other reviewing website and uo won't find as bad as reviews as yelp gives everyone.

 

[JordanKing]

Did not read this whole thread. That being said, the blog post is pretty accurate unfortunately.

 

[Disney_Geek]

Might want to lay off the pixie dust. Even if the post is whiny, there's no reason to brush off inexcusable behavior and treatment from management like, again, rewarding guests that attacked or threatened CM's for doing what management asked them to do, and then turning around and scolding that cast member.

Also, I know "model" CM's that would completely agree with the blog entry. Stop assuming that having criticisms and complaints about the operation = "bad employee". Stop trying to protect the brand from criticism, it's not your job to do so.

Wow, the pixie duster name sure has changed since I joined. Not a pixie duster, Boo, just a hard working realist with a zero tolerance policy for whiny prats who complain their job is unfair. Say whatever you want about me, though, no skin off my nose.

Did I say aaanything about the management to make my point clear? No. Please don't put words in my mouth, kthx. All I said was I didn't agree with this blogger, and think he's an entitled child.

 

[natatomic]

Probably pretty late to the party here, but as someone who works in the theme park industry doing rides, I can firmly say that he needs to put on his big girl panties and grow the heck up.

Sorry that you were bored at your job. See that last word? It's a job. You're not there to have fun. You're there to work. If you have fun, it's a bonus.

Yeah, it's hard. That's why they pay us above minimum wage. It's not all princesses and lollipops. It IS that for the guests. We are payed to be there, and they are the ones paying for it.

To me he sounds like every single cast and team member I've ever met who has been fired with no rehire status, or demoted to a non-safety position (ex. Shows from Rides) because of something stupid they did, who thinks that their company is soooo mean to them. Boo friggin hoo. Absolutely can't stand people like him. They always drag the group down. And trust me, we've had quite a few. Key word is "had."

Working for a vacation destination is no vacation in itself. If you have to be told that or learn that the hard way, maybe you shouldn't be trusted to work there as it seems like someone needs to hold your hand when you potty too.

First of all, working at Disney - at least most roles - ARE supposed to be fun. I don't know why you have this image in your head that spreading pixie dust, making dreams come true, and being happy are supposed to be hard, back-breaking, miserable work, but um, I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be FUN 99% of the time and difficult that 1% of the time you get a horrible guest.

Second of all, for every amazing CM that I've seen promoted, I've seen 5 horrible ones promoted along side them, as well as 5 amazing CMs beaten down and overlooked for various reasons. Believe me, there are wonderful, fantastic CMs who come into this company with a wide-eyed enthusiasm to be great and make magic - but over time, they can only take so much disrespect from guests and superiors before they become more and more disenchanted with what they thought the company was all about. How often are CMs told, "Okay...here are the rules. Please enforce them," only for some sorry-excuse-of-a-human guest to come along and argue about that rule, then swear, threaten, and/or assault the CM who is then yelled at by management for enforcing the very rule they were told to enforce. Seeing horrible people get rewarded for treating a person so appallingly (and to experience it on a daily basis) will eventually wear on even the best of people. Yes, the job is hard for that reason. But that does NOT mean that it should be. No one should be treated so poorly and then punished to boot.

And believe me, I know the crappy CMs and team members you are talking about. I will agree with you that there are plenty of those. And I can't stand them either. Maybe this blogger is that kind of terrible CM. I don't know anything about him beyond that blog post, and I don't want to assume. But even if he was a horrible CM, there are still more than a few good CMs who share many (most?) his sentiments.

 

[FettFan]

This blog post is currently trending around Facebook, especially among my Cast Member friends. It was posted in Spirit's current thread, but it will soon get buried deep, and I feel that it deserves its own thread.

http://fyeahjonathanlewis.tumblr.co...-was-really-like-working-at-walt-disney-world
(Warning: contains some foul language)

For many, this is business as usual and will be no surprise. For others, it might be an eye opener.

Thoughts? Discuss.

More like (Warning: Contains some foul writing.)

Between the typos and the grammatical errors, I cannot take anything this guy says seriously. His points may all be valid, but his post is so horribly written that it comes off as a literary whine, and reading it is akin to reading the diary of a 16 year old girl who caught her boyfriend kissing someone else.

Walt used to say that “quality will out.” Yeah, you totally missed a verb there, sport.

 

[BJones82]

More like (Warning: Contains some foul writing.)

Between the typos and the grammatical errors, I cannot take anything this guy says seriously. His points may all be valid, but his post is so horribly written that it comes off as a literary whine, and reading it is akin to reading the diary of a 16 year old girl who caught her boyfriend kissing someone else.

Walt used to say that “quality will out.” Yeah, you totally missed a verb there, sport.

I love this video And I also agree with you I had a hard time taking it seriously because of the way the blog post was written. If you want your written opinion to be taken seriously on the internet you need to proof read and take your emotions out of the equation.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Yeah, I tried to read that. TRIED.

Next!

 

[draybook]

Sorry that you were bored at your job. See that last word? It's a job. You're not there to have fun. You're there to work. If you have fun, it's a bonus.

You obviously haven't seen the workplaces at Google......man, that's a pure dream job!

 

[Tom Morrow]

There's a small handful of typos and errors in it. Stop acting like it's unreadable.

 

[FettFan]

There's a small handful of typos and errors in it. Stop acting like it's unreadable.

For all intents and purposes, it is unreadable. Perhaps if he were to proofread his writing ability, he would understand why the Walt Disney Company was unwilling to pay him more than nine dollars an hour.