Working for the Walt Disney World Resort

[rickybobby]

My theory is their use of college program and international program cast members (and to a lesser degree, retirees). In general, CPs are thrilled to be there, don’t have families/households to provide for so they can live off the wages, are worked to death, and then are done in a few months before they can truly get burnt out. Then are replaced by another group of smiling, eager college students. Retirees don’t have to worry about making ends meet and probably work fewer hours.

I remember when I was a kid, the local Six Flags also had a college program in place, and the quality of employees was much better than it is now, so that does probably factor in.
That said, Disney is having problems getting help, and is having to offer bonuses for many positions.

 

[Btatar]

Im in school for Nursing and working for Disney has always been a dream of mine. I know Disney hires nurses but I was wondering if anyone on here has worked for Disney as a nurse or any idea what its like to be a nurse at Disney?

 

[rickybobby]

I believe the first aid station at the parks employ nurses.

 

[goofy4tink]

I remember when I was a kid, the local Six Flags also had a college program in place, and the quality of employees was much better than it is now, so that does probably factor in.
That said, Disney is having problems getting help, and is having to offer bonuses for many positions.

Actually, Disney isn't having trouble getting help. They are, in fact, offering signing bonuses for housekeeping and bus drivers, but not other positions.
My dd used to work at a Six Flags. Did she love it? No. But, she did find that SFNE had started utilizing some of Disney's policies. And that a lot of Team Members from Six Flags went on to work for Disney, happily.

Disney's college program utilizes a ton of kids. However, it isn't an equitable system. Depending on where the kids are put, they could have as few as 24 hrs or as many as 50+! I know that my dd got about 25 hrs average a week. But, others in the program got many, many more. To the point that some parents were concerned about their kids being overworked! But, Disney makes it seem as if getting into this program is a huge honor, when it's truly luck, to start with. And because Disney can use so many CPs, they don't need to hire nearly as many permanent workers. It used to be that a CP could give away shifts, which p/t CMs happily grabbed. But, Disney changed the policy in '16/'17. Seems too many CPs weren't working enough hours to pay Disney their rent! So, they can no longer do that...which means fewer available hours for p/t CMs.

My dd is now f/t, loves her job. She wants to stay at the company and is willing to see where it all takes her. Can she live in an apt by herself? No, hardly. But, she doesn't want to do that. She loves the girls she is sharing a house with. We are thinking about buying a condo in that area, and have told her that she could live there, and pay the same rent she is paying now. But, she said she doesn't want to live alone! So, while she isn't living an extravagant lifestyle, she is happy. As long as you realize what you're getting into, working for Disney is fine. It's a company, out to make a profit. It's in the business of making magic for it's guests, not for it's employees.

 

[Newsies]

Here was a normal, 10-hour day at my location during my college program (Fantasyland Attractions)


2:15 PM- Clock in
2:30- Pull my first assignment, which will tell me to either a) bump a cast member out of an attraction for a break, putting me in one of my two ride's rotations, or b) start the rotation that moves cast members from position to position every 45 minutes.
2:30-4:30- Spend two hours going from position to position at one of my two attractions, greeting guests, loading the ride, moving strollers, etc.
4:30-4:45- Break, which was just enough time to go to the bathroom and check my phone for 5 minutes
4:45-6:45- Two more hours in rotation at one of my two attractions
6:45-7:15- Lunch break, 30 minutes to sit and eat
7:15-8:00- Back in the rotation
8:00- Pulled from rotation to do fireworks control
8:00-around 10ish? (whenever fireworks would end that night)- Stand at a spot in Fantasyland and make sure nobody goes into the roped off sections
10:00-10:15- My last break
10:15-12:00- Rotation until park close, then do the normal assignments for closing my specific area of whatever attraction I'm in
12:15- Management tells us a little bit how the day went and things to look forward to (park news, ride closures, etc.) for guests the next day
12:30- Clock out, go home


It sounds like a long day, but it was a lot of fun. The coworkers are so amazing and I loved getting to make magic for guests with my two favorite rides. As a CP, I did mostly closing shifts/whatever I was assigned, but if you go PT/FT, you will put in a bid to the types of shifts you'd like to work (Opening, Mid, Closing) and which 2 days of the week you'd like off. The shortest shifts are no less than 6 hours long, but the longest shift I ever had was just shy of 15 hours. 10 is the average for the holiday season.