Would you work at WDW for ...... FREE?

[NickMaio]

It looks like 10,000 people would ..........

Would You Work for Nothing at Disney? 10,000 Superfans Applied (Published 2020)

Only 14 were selected to be on the Disney Parks Moms Panel (three are dads), and they will spend the next year helping interested parkgoers plan their Disney vacations.

www.nytimes.com

Wow - - - I have heard about the panels, but I did not know they were unpaid.

 

[danyoung56]

Being on the Mom's Panel is a lot different than working for Disney for free!

 

[eliza61nyc]

It looks like 10,000 people would ..........

Would You Work for Nothing at Disney? 10,000 Superfans Applied (Published 2020)

Only 14 were selected to be on the Disney Parks Moms Panel (three are dads), and they will spend the next year helping interested parkgoers plan their Disney vacations.

www.nytimes.com

Wow - - - I have heard about the panels, but I did not know they were unpaid.

yep unpaid. it's funny though, I read a lot of their answers and many I don't necessarily agree with. lol not that means anything.

but in answer to your question. no. I don't work anywhere for free.

 

[NickMaio]

Being on the Mom's Panel is a lot different than working for Disney for free!

You are answering questions on a Disney site to potential and current WDW customers and not getting paid.
These panel members are getting some employee perks but not the money.
They are providing a service for Disney and not getting paid. That's free.

 

[NickMaio]

yep unpaid. it's funny though, I read a lot of their answers and many I don't necessarily agree with. lol not that means anything.

but in answer to your question. no. I don't work anywhere for free.

Yup, me neither.
WDW makes enough money. Why they don't pay these individuals is quite strange.
They are customer service representatives in a forum.

 

[danyoung56]

The way the article was worded, it seemed as if 10,000 people were applying for a real, 40 hour a week job with Disney that paid nothing. The Mom's Panel is an advisory thing, not a real job. Kinda quibbling with semantics here, but it seems to me to be an important difference.

 

[Hank Hill]

Not related to the article, but if I had full family medical, a set schedule to my liking, and free access to the parks with discounts to food and merch, I might actually consider working at WDW for no paycheck. But that isn't really for "free" if I am getting benefits.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I grew up with someone who was on this about 10 years ago....

she no longer goes to WDW and spends the majority of her vacation time on cruise ships now

 

[NickMaio]

The way the article was worded, it seemed as if 10,000 people were applying for a real, 40 hour a week job with Disney that paid nothing. The Mom's Panel is an advisory thing, not a real job. Kinda quibbling with semantics here, but it seems to me to be an important difference.

Not quite - - - - please go to the panel and take a look.
These people are not only taking time out of their days to answer questions but they are also required to read and memorize scripts for various video recordings. A two minute video often can take a full days worth of shooting.

It is not just people at home on their computers on this panel. They do much more and do not get paid for such services.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Yup, me neither.
WDW makes enough money. Why they don't pay these individuals is quite strange.
They are customer service representatives in a forum.

It was mentioned in the article:

"This is why the panelists aren’t paid, according to Ms. O’Regan. There is an “authenticity of getting advice from someone who isn’t being paid to give you advice,” she said. “We want them to be honest when they answer questions.”

 

[NickMaio]

It was mentioned in the article:

"This is why the panelists aren’t paid, according to Ms. O’Regan. There is an “authenticity of getting advice from someone who isn’t being paid to give you advice,” she said. “We want them to be honest when they answer questions.”

Yes it was mentioned - - - but really I don't buy such a lame excuse for not paying people to promote and bring in guests, not to mention film them for promotional videos.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Fifteen questions a week at 20 minutes average per question is five hours a week. That's 260 hours a year. If their 'free' five day stay costs about $2600, then that's $10/hour. More or less.

 

[Goofyernmost]

It was mentioned in the article:

"This is why the panelists aren’t paid, according to Ms. O’Regan. There is an “authenticity of getting advice from someone who isn’t being paid to give you advice,” she said. “We want them to be honest when they answer questions.”

That is also marginalizing the enjoyment that they get from that position. They get to go to events that others are not going to. They have access to places that us common folks cannot tread and all the while doing a hobby with benefits. It wouldn't be worth it if they didn't like or even obsess over all things Disney. Whatever they are asked to say are things that they agree with and just need to know how to word it properly.

It is an obsession but, it could be worse. They could be fall down drunks. If there is any negativity about them it is from a degree of jealousy. Of course, Disney gets massive amounts of basically free promotion at their expense. Even people like Martin is in my mind being used by Disney, although please understand, I am not insulting Martin for this. It is something that he loves to do and I'm sure he gets many perks for what he does probably a lot more then the Bloggers do, but he has connections, sees things that none of us will ever get exposure too, if anyone has reliable inside information it would be him and deservedly so. The hours he puts into his productions must be huge. If they don't give him some sort of "extra" they would be criminal. But, he is a grown man and if he loves what he is doing enough to just do it for nothing, that is his prerogative and really compensation isn't always just made up of cash. His compensation may be something that money cannot buy.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I applied.
Didn't make it past the first round which kinda annoys me because if you look at the Mom's Panel their answers are crappy.
Its laced with outdated or plain wrong information.
It is unpaid but you only have to answer 20 questions per week.
Also you got all expense paid "training" where you go to WDW for a couple days, stay deluxe, get swag, get behind the scenes looks...
Then you also get an all expense paid vacation for 4 at some point during the year.

 

[jloucks]

If your passion is Disney, and you don't need the money, why not?

No different than volunteering any number of other places.

Heck, I'd do some things at WDW for free. I'd be choosy what those things are, but I'd do it.

I'd almost pay them to let me drive the train.

You could not pay me enough to do anything involving being on the phone.

 

[JustAFan]

I imagine a lot of would of people would quickly say yes until they realize the specifics of what they would have to do, how long they would have to do it, and receive no pay for it. Then the list would shrink rapidly. I love going to Disney. Working there while others get to enjoy the parks and I don't is another story.

 

[TotallyBiased]

Depends on the benefits. Generally, I'll never work for free unless it's for family or close friends who need a hand. If benefits are a membership to the Cheese of the Month club, let the pounding of the sand commence. Drastically discounted accommodations and/or tickets? I'm willing to talk.

 

[Nunu]

I already "work" at WDW for free, while on vacation. I sometimes pick stuff like empty bottles and put them in the trash, or if I see something out of place or messed up, I try to fix it myself!

I would gladly pay Disney to take my retired dad and keep him occupied, a couple of hours a day.

 

[MichWolv]

It looks like 10,000 people would ..........

Would You Work for Nothing at Disney? 10,000 Superfans Applied (Published 2020)

Only 14 were selected to be on the Disney Parks Moms Panel (three are dads), and they will spend the next year helping interested parkgoers plan their Disney vacations.

www.nytimes.com

Wow - - - I have heard about the panels, but I did not know they were unpaid.

Bad headline...implies you have to show up "at" Disney. It's just basically helping administer a blog/message board. You get some benefits (free trip to WDW, if I recall from the advert, amongst other things), but otherwise just do for Disney what the admins and regular posters do here.

 

[KellBelle]

I applied.
Didn't make it past the first round which kinda annoys me because if you look at the Mom's Panel their answers are crappy.
Its laced with outdated or plain wrong information.
It is unpaid but you only have to answer 20 questions per week.
Also you got all expense paid "training" where you go to WDW for a couple days, stay deluxe, get swag, get behind the scenes looks...
Then you also get an all expense paid vacation for 4 at some point during the year.

I agree about the bad answers! I read it from time to time and I am very surprised at some of the answers.. they are sometimes just plain wrong, or they dance around the subject and never give a clear answer. I get that some of it is scripted, but I swear I see the same answers given for different questions.