The most significant work experience of my life has been as a Disney Cast Member. I worked full time at Walt Disney World from 1998-2001, and again from 2003 to 2008. I am still employed there, seasonally, and learned more from my years with the company than I learned in all of college and graduate school combined.
Some of the best things about working at Walt Disney World:
* You'll interact with people from all over the world, and learn how not only to talk to people, but to listen to them and really understand their needs.
* The pace is incredible - there is always something new- a new attraction, a new initiative, a new entertainment offering. It is impossible to be bored, and you learn to deal with change a roll with it.
* There is no company culture like Disney. They have traditions and specific nomenclature, and are always true to the company heritage. "Walt would have wanted it this way" is a ubiquitous phrase, but a company that was founded on one man's distinct vision still retains much of Walt's initial values... and also his desire to be the first, biggest and best and whatever task he undertook. That energy pervades the company.
* The people that work there are some of the most amazing you'll ever meet. Whether high school students, retirees, or somewhere in the middle, people work for Disney because they love it. It doesn't mean that everyone is happy all the time, but everyone knows their "role in the show" to coin a phrase. It's the most team-oriented environment that I've been involved in, but also where I felt the most personal professional success.
* Since I started at WDW full time, I have held the following job titles: performer, entertainment trainer, entertainment coordinator, duty coordinator, scheduler, Disney Cruise Line reservation sales assistant, group sales assistant, reservation services supervisor, entertainment manager. And once I became an entertainment manager, I was involved in atmosphere entertainment, holiday events, character dining, Magical Gatherings, entertainment deployment, payroll, labor liaison, and fireworks. I held all of those jobs... while working in two departments over the duration of 8 years... and that is only a teeny tiny part of the operation. I worked very closely with food & beverage, and interacted with park operations, costuming, guest relations, resorts, security, etc. on a daily basis. The place is HUGE- there are thousands of jobs in thousands of places, and it would be impossible to learn everything about every department in one lifetime.
* It's a "learn by doing" environment. Your background, education, experience don't amount to much when compared to how you do your job every day and what you get out of each experience. It's the quickest route to learning personal accountability- the place is so huge that if you don't keep your nose clean and do your job well, you can't advance. If you do keep your nose clean and do your job well, the place is huge enough that the possibilities of where you can go are endless. But no one hands you anything - the Vice President of Magic Kingdom started out as a Haunted Mansion host. I bet he showed up and did his job well, and took lessons home on the hottest and most crowded days. That's respected more than anything else. You have control of your own destiny.
* The place is all about personal empowerment. If a guest is unhappy, the Cast Members (everyone is a Cast Member, no matter what the job) have ways to fix it- they don't have to go ask a supervisor to do something special. You learn quickly how to recover a bad situation, and what sort of accommodations can be made without cost to the company.
* There are very few people from Orlando working there- just about everyone is a transplant from somewhere else, so you make your "family" among your coworkers, and develop a kind of closeness that can't be replicated.
Which leads me to what I didn't love about working there:
* Walt Disney World is open 365 days a year, and almost 24 hours a day. Holidays are the busiest time, so the idea of a family vacation over Christmas or flying to see your parents at Thanksgiving just doesn't exist. Sometimes I had to be at work at 5:30 am, other times I got out after 2 in the morning. 9 to 5 Monday through Friday with Holidays off is simply not a possibility.
* Orlando is not the best city that ever was. If you don't like theme parks, there's not a lot of culture.
* The whole "you have to work your way up the ladder" is not an appealing prospect to many people. And the place is so big, it's easy for great people to get lost in the shuffle. That's frustrating to see.
* Remember how cool it was that I got to do so many jobs over a relatively short time? Well, if you really really really love one of those jobs, you can still get moved. As a manager, you can be told to report to a new department, new area, or entirely new park the following week. It's exciting, but not the most stable place in the world. As I've gotten older, I started to seek stability a bit more.
* Someday, when I have kids, I want them to be so excited about going to Disney World. That's not a possibility when that's where Mom works.
And the biggest reason I left Walt Disney World is related to that final point - I fell in love, and am getting married next May. He looked for jobs in Orlando, but the prospects weren't as hot as they are up here in Boston. I found a job quickly, and made the move. I miss working at Disney every day, and am grateful that they still let me work when I'm in town. Maybe someday I can work for another segment of the company, up here in Boston, where I can be part of the "magic" without being IN it. But for now, I'm grateful for all that I learned, and for the fact that at least for a little while, I really did have the best job in the world.
Some of the best things about working at Walt Disney World:
* You'll interact with people from all over the world, and learn how not only to talk to people, but to listen to them and really understand their needs.
* The pace is incredible - there is always something new- a new attraction, a new initiative, a new entertainment offering. It is impossible to be bored, and you learn to deal with change a roll with it.
* There is no company culture like Disney. They have traditions and specific nomenclature, and are always true to the company heritage. "Walt would have wanted it this way" is a ubiquitous phrase, but a company that was founded on one man's distinct vision still retains much of Walt's initial values... and also his desire to be the first, biggest and best and whatever task he undertook. That energy pervades the company.
* The people that work there are some of the most amazing you'll ever meet. Whether high school students, retirees, or somewhere in the middle, people work for Disney because they love it. It doesn't mean that everyone is happy all the time, but everyone knows their "role in the show" to coin a phrase. It's the most team-oriented environment that I've been involved in, but also where I felt the most personal professional success.
* Since I started at WDW full time, I have held the following job titles: performer, entertainment trainer, entertainment coordinator, duty coordinator, scheduler, Disney Cruise Line reservation sales assistant, group sales assistant, reservation services supervisor, entertainment manager. And once I became an entertainment manager, I was involved in atmosphere entertainment, holiday events, character dining, Magical Gatherings, entertainment deployment, payroll, labor liaison, and fireworks. I held all of those jobs... while working in two departments over the duration of 8 years... and that is only a teeny tiny part of the operation. I worked very closely with food & beverage, and interacted with park operations, costuming, guest relations, resorts, security, etc. on a daily basis. The place is HUGE- there are thousands of jobs in thousands of places, and it would be impossible to learn everything about every department in one lifetime.
* It's a "learn by doing" environment. Your background, education, experience don't amount to much when compared to how you do your job every day and what you get out of each experience. It's the quickest route to learning personal accountability- the place is so huge that if you don't keep your nose clean and do your job well, you can't advance. If you do keep your nose clean and do your job well, the place is huge enough that the possibilities of where you can go are endless. But no one hands you anything - the Vice President of Magic Kingdom started out as a Haunted Mansion host. I bet he showed up and did his job well, and took lessons home on the hottest and most crowded days. That's respected more than anything else. You have control of your own destiny.
* The place is all about personal empowerment. If a guest is unhappy, the Cast Members (everyone is a Cast Member, no matter what the job) have ways to fix it- they don't have to go ask a supervisor to do something special. You learn quickly how to recover a bad situation, and what sort of accommodations can be made without cost to the company.
* There are very few people from Orlando working there- just about everyone is a transplant from somewhere else, so you make your "family" among your coworkers, and develop a kind of closeness that can't be replicated.
Which leads me to what I didn't love about working there:
* Walt Disney World is open 365 days a year, and almost 24 hours a day. Holidays are the busiest time, so the idea of a family vacation over Christmas or flying to see your parents at Thanksgiving just doesn't exist. Sometimes I had to be at work at 5:30 am, other times I got out after 2 in the morning. 9 to 5 Monday through Friday with Holidays off is simply not a possibility.
* Orlando is not the best city that ever was. If you don't like theme parks, there's not a lot of culture.
* The whole "you have to work your way up the ladder" is not an appealing prospect to many people. And the place is so big, it's easy for great people to get lost in the shuffle. That's frustrating to see.
* Remember how cool it was that I got to do so many jobs over a relatively short time? Well, if you really really really love one of those jobs, you can still get moved. As a manager, you can be told to report to a new department, new area, or entirely new park the following week. It's exciting, but not the most stable place in the world. As I've gotten older, I started to seek stability a bit more.
* Someday, when I have kids, I want them to be so excited about going to Disney World. That's not a possibility when that's where Mom works.
And the biggest reason I left Walt Disney World is related to that final point - I fell in love, and am getting married next May. He looked for jobs in Orlando, but the prospects weren't as hot as they are up here in Boston. I found a job quickly, and made the move. I miss working at Disney every day, and am grateful that they still let me work when I'm in town. Maybe someday I can work for another segment of the company, up here in Boston, where I can be part of the "magic" without being IN it. But for now, I'm grateful for all that I learned, and for the fact that at least for a little while, I really did have the best job in the world.
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