Calling all CM or former CM's

[christa112]

I just have a few questions for you. (Sorry if someone has posted somewhere else, though I have not seen one lately.) I am curious to see what it is actually like to work there in any areas. I definately am interested in the photographer's opinion, because I work in the photography business.

1. What do/did you do?
2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around?
3. How did customers treat you?
4. What are the benefits to working for WDW?
5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there?
6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good.

Any other info you would like to add would be great.

[TheDisneyGirl02]

1. What do/did you do? I was a character greeter (now called attendent) during both of my college programs in 2002 and 2003.

2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around?
I would say my favorite area was Toontown in the Hall of Fame. I had so much fun there and so many wonderful memories. I also liked working in front of the Castle after Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, but it did tend to get a bit chaotic.

3. How did customers treat you? Some were great, some were horrible. I can't tell you how many times I had people say to me, "THAT lady won't let you see Snow White" or "That lady won't let you see Mickey Mouse". Some people were great though.


4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? I got a 20% discount on merchandise and some food. Also, I could go to WDW whenever I wanted (which was great!)


5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? I miss it, but I'm not sorry I"m not there anymore. I left to come home to my family. If I had stayed, I never would have met my DBF!


6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. - Not so good, especially as a CP.

[MyGoofy26]

1. What do/did you do? I was in merchandise. I worked in the stores and a couple carts. Luckily, I rarely worked the carts, those tended to get boring. I was at the Studios.

2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I worked mainly in one area, but other areas seemingly had trouble staying fully staffed so occasionally they'd schedule us for somewhere else. I didn't really like those areas all that well. I was always happy to come back "home" where I had more fun. It's not so much about the area, it's about the people in that area.

3. How did customers treat you? Almost everyone was fantastic. I can only think of 2 during my whole college program (4-5 months) that were nasty, and the other guests more than made up for them, jumping in to make me laugh when the guest finally left or just letting me know that they thought I was right and the guest was wrong.

4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? Free park admission, discounts, access to property control (think giant WDW yard sale, LOL), very generous overtime policy (many ways beyond a simple over 40 hours to get paid OT)

5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? I always get the bug where I want to go back. I just could never justify the move after college since housing rates skyrocketed.

6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. It's not that great. If I had moved back, I'd have definitely had to have had 2 jobs to just stay afloat. You can work your way up though - Disney likes to hire from within. But if you're talking pay for the front of the line CMs, it's going to be on par with any old fast food, retail, etc. jobs. A little bit over minimum wage. If it's something you're looking at making a career out of, get a "real" job outside the property that pays the bills and work part time for Disney to get your foot in the door and first dibs on jobs that open up. Unless you have a specialized degree where Disney doesn't have a huge supply of regular CMs waiting to move up, it's tough to get into Disney without already being in the company.

[Joanna71985]

I just have a few questions for you. (Sorry if someone has posted somewhere else, though I have not seen one lately.) I am curious to see what it is actually like to work there in any areas. I definately am interested in the photographer's opinion, because I work in the photography business.

1. What do/did you do?
2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around?
3. How did customers treat you?
4. What are the benefits to working for WDW?
5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there?
6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good.

Any other info you would like to add would be great.

1. I am going on my 4th CP in May. So far I have done: Merchandise for Spring 2005 (mostly in Fantasyland, though also did 2 weeks each in Liberty Square and Adventureland), Character Attendant for Fall Advantage 2006, Epcot WS custodial for Summer 2007, and will be doing QSFB this summer. I am still seasonal for character attendant.

2. Oh man. I have so many. I love working the castle shows (so far have worked Cinderellabration, Dream Along with Mickey, and CTS), Adventure Continues at AK, the Hat and Cars at MGM, Holidays Around the World at Epcot (Norway), MNSSHP Dance Party, and MVMCP Frontierland.

3. For the most part, I have had only great guest experiences. I can really only count on 1 hand the really bad ones.

4. The best one has to be getting to go to the parks whenever I feel like it. Also, I love the discounts.

5. Can't say that, as I am still working at Disney.

6. It's not the best. But I don't work at Disney for the money- I work there for the magic and because I love it.

[Salukfan]

1. I did my CP in Spring 2007 and worked Merchandise in the Emporium. I'm going back May 21 to do Custodial on the Summer Alumni Program.

2. I didn't get moved around much; only a single week of deployment in Adventureland. I didn't mind Adventureland, except that I disliked working the Glow carts and I couldn't find a few things that Guests wanted in Pirates Bazaar. D:

3. I can think of only one truly bad experience, with some loony who practically screamed at me that Disney hated non-Americans because we didn't have a toddler outfit in the right size. :confused3

4. My favorite benefit was (obviously, I think!) the free admission. I had never been to the World prior to my CP, so getting to experience it all the time was amazing. I also loved the opportunity to get to know characters. I mean, it's awesome to have Ron Stoppable and Aladdin know you by name. :)

5. That's complicated for me. I was both relieved and miserable to leave the insanity of the Emporium (I'm not great with tremendous crowds, so being in that store after SpectroMagic/Wishes was difficult. I almost had a panic attack my first night). I'm incredibly excited to go back in 80 days and try out this Custodial thing, though.

6. Trust me -- don't go for the money, go for the magic. ;)

[Keels]

1. What do/did you do? I was in entertainment at the Magic Kingdom from 1996-2002.
2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I preferred parades (I generally performed in DMMP, Spectro and the holiday parades).
3. How did customers treat you? Wonderful, of course. How would you treat a parade performer or a character at one of the parks? :love:
4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? Free admission, obviously. Also, I made some absolutely wonderful life-long friends there. Plus, I worked there when I was in high school and just starting out in college ... it was just one of those life experiences you never forget.
5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? Yes and no. Recently, I've been really longing for a chance to strap on a pair of butterfly wings and hustle down the parade route. Or to even just visit (my career has taken me out here to work for a newspaper in Texas). But I'm happy with where I am in life.
6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. Even years ago, it was really important to be cast as a full-time cast member so you could be guaranteed 40-hour work weeks. Not sure if they still do it now, but back then there were three levels of employ - Seasonal, Part-Time and Full-Time. FTers were the only ones guaranteed benefits and 40-hour work weeks. During the slow seasons when we'd only do one Spectro or had fewer character appearances, shifts were hard to come by for S/PTers.

[Joanna71985]

2. I didn't get moved around much; only a single week of deployment in Adventureland. I didn't mind Adventureland, except that I disliked working the Glow carts and I couldn't find a few things that Guests wanted in Pirates Bazaar. D:


Are you kidding? Glow/Squeeze was the best!!

[Salukfan]

Are you kidding? Glow/Squeeze was the best!!

Not kidding. Maybe with more time on it I would have liked it (I did it for three days, total), but I had some rough moments. The first night, I misremembered the price for something and ended up being way short. D: The second night wasn't too bad. The third was a Grad Night and seeing people dancing and grinding in a foam zone right in front of Dumbo made me incredibly annoyed! I kept telling the people I worked the cart with that "Mickey Mouse wouldn't approve of this!" :lmao:

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

The third was a Grad Night and seeing people dancing and grinding in a foam zone right in front of Dumbo made me incredibly annoyed! I kept telling the people I worked the cart with that "Mickey Mouse wouldn't approve of this!" :lmao:

That's hilarious!!!:rotfl2: I've never seen a Grad Night, but I've seen high school theatre cast-parties. Dirty Dancing is an understatement.
:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

[FmrCastMembr]

1. What do/did you do? I worked @ the main entrance at epcot center as a ticket taker. back in '87, the tickets were stamped with the date, they gave out prize tickets at another turnstile for the 15th anniversary of MK and stamped hands for return entry. i worked all these areas on different shifts.

2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I liked working at the exit. guests talked to you more there.

3. How did customers treat you? I don't remember having a bad experience with anyone.

4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? most everyone has mentioned these b4 - free park admission, discount on merchandise and just actually being a CM!

5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? sometimes, but like someone else said, i like where i am in life now.

6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. terrible! it was minimum wage and in '87, was NOT alot! but, i managed to stay afloat. everything else made up for that.

[DisGal520]

How did you all get to work? I'm assuming if you drove in from your town that you had an employee-only parking lot at each park. Were there shuttles for you to get to the employee entrances?

How early before your shift were you required to report?


DisGal
:cool2:

[Joanna71985]

How did you all get to work? I'm assuming if you drove in from your town that you had an employee-only parking lot at each park. Were there shuttles for you to get to the employee entrances?

How early before your shift were you required to report?


DisGal
:cool2:

The CP offers buses for the students. That's what I used.

And you can clock in up to 15 minutes before work.

[Shir Kahn]

Did you find that working there lost any of the magic for you? I think I would love to work at WDW, even if it meant that I'd be taking a fairly large pay decrease. Not sure how fun it would be looking for a place to stay in Orlando as a Canadian though, not to mention work visas and the rest!

[Joanna71985]

Did you find that working there lost any of the magic for you? I think I would love to work at WDW, even if it meant that I'd be taking a fairly large pay decrease. Not sure how fun it would be looking for a place to stay in Orlando as a Canadian though, not to mention work visas and the rest!

Nope. I found that for me, the magic just got stronger. I love my role at WDW.

[Tonya2426]

1. What do/did you do? Resort Merchandise Hostess at the Contemporary
2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I moved around in the shops at the Contemporary a little bit but I never worked at a different resort. I did do overtime as crowd control in the MK for the taping of the Easter parade once and hated it!!! I couldn't stand telling people they had to move here or move there but to not be where they were. And they didn't have the right size pants for me so I had to get the right length but 2 sizes too big so my pants kept falling down even with the belt. AND they were polyester pants to boot!!!!
3. How did customers treat you? I only remember one lady who was snippy because I didn't have all of the prices for all of the plush memorized.
4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? Free admission and discounted tickets for family/friends.
5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? I get nostalgic sometimes and wish I was still there. And sometimes even think I would go back but for the really low pay.
6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. Well, since I worked there in 1990, I don't think I will be breaking any confidences by saying that I got paid a whooping $5.25/hr. This was $1.60 over minimum wage but still really hard to live on. I don't think things have gotten much better. :guilty: Was never sure how people raised families on this? :confused3

[christa112]

1. What do/did you do? Resort Merchandise Hostess at the Contemporary
2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I moved around in the shops at the Contemporary a little bit but I never worked at a different resort. I did do overtime as crowd control in the MK for the taping of the Easter parade once and hated it!!! I couldn't stand telling people they had to move here or move there but to not be where they were. And they didn't have the right size pants for me so I had to get the right length but 2 sizes too big so my pants kept falling down even with the belt. AND they were polyester pants to boot!!!!
3. How did customers treat you? I only remember one lady who was snippy because I didn't have all of the prices for all of the plush memorized.
4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? Free admission and discounted tickets for family/friends.
5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? I get nostalgic sometimes and wish I was still there. And sometimes even think I would go back but for the really low pay.
6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. Well, since I worked there in 1990, I don't think I will be breaking any confidences by saying that I got paid a whooping $5.25/hr. This was $1.60 over minimum wage but still really hard to live on. I don't think things have gotten much better. :guilty: Was never sure how people raised families on this? :confused3

WOW!!! What is minimum wage is Florida??? I live in Ma and it is $8.00 per hour.

[Mickey&Donald]

WOW!!! What is minimum wage is Florida??? I live in Ma and it is $8.00 per hour.

Note that the poster stated she worked at WDW in 1990. I'm sure Florida's current minimum wage rate is higher than $5.25 now.

[Crystal824]

What do/did you do? I did two college programs. Attractions in DAK in fall of 1999 where I worked at Flights of Wonder and a character greeter in summer of 2000 at MK.
2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I liked working at Toon Town and Liberty Tree. I honestly didn't like moving around alot as a character greeter...you didn't get to work with alot of the same people.

3. How did customers treat you? Usually guests were great.

4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? free gifts, free tickets, discount of food and merchandise and the discount went from 20% to 40% for a couple of weeks at Christmas.

5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? Yes and no. I had some fabulous carefree times as a CP there, but I am a professional now and I like that too. I wouldn't have traded anything for the experience.

6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount)- Not good, but I wasn't really there to make money. Even so, if I had wanted to remain there and move up the ranks, the pay would have dissuaded me.

[FmrCastMembr]

i was from NC so i had my own car. i would drive from my apartment complex (owned by disney) over to the back of epcot center to cast parking. about 5-10 min drive. that sat next to cast services where i put my costume on and caught a bus to my break area (kinda behind the pet kennels) and clocked in using my id.

[MyGoofy26]

Did you find that working there lost any of the magic for you?

Not at all. Especially working at the Studios, where "backstage" isn't really all that well guarded so characters stayed in character pretty much since all it'd take it a peek around a half wall for a guest to see the backstage areas, unlike the Utilidors where it's pretty much just CMs and guests on tours. The "friends" of characters seemed to be really great at staying in character, to the point where if I'd pass one backstage they'd still wave hello just as if you were a guest out in the parks. There's something extremely unique about walking to the cafeteria and passing Mickey and Minnie and having them stop to wave hello to you. :rotfl: This was back when they had the meet and greet by the Animation building - the path to their "dressing room" was the same one to the cafeteria.

[christa112]

Note that the poster stated she worked at WDW in 1990. I'm sure Florida's current minimum wage rate is higher than $5.25 now.

Oh yeah, you are right. I forgot it was 2008 already LOL. I took it as 2000, not 1990.

[christa112]

6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount)- Not good, but I wasn't really there to make money. Even so, if I had wanted to remain there and move up the ranks, the pay would have dissuaded me.

It amazes me that a place like Disney would not pay their employees well. I mean to have a reputation like Disney one would think the pay would be pretty decent. I guess I was way off, to assume that.

[Tonya2426]

WOW!!! What is minimum wage is Florida??? I live in Ma and it is $8.00 per hour.

Note that the poster stated she worked at WDW in 1990. I'm sure Florida's current minimum wage rate is higher than $5.25 now.

In 1990, minimum wage was $3.65. (Pretty sure about that but don't bet the entire farm on it, it could have been $3.25ish.) Most retail places at the time paid minimum wage to $4 so WDW paid more.

I was on the newly formed Career Start program which at the time was for new college graduates. (It is now for new high school graduates.) We ended up calling it the Career Stall program and most of the people only lasted the year. I think we were a little more ambitious than WDW had anticipated and wanted to see promotion results a little faster. But it was always something I wanted to do and I have fond memories of my tme there which is more than I can say for some of my other previous jobs. :laughing:

[MyGoofy26]

It amazes me that a place like Disney would not pay their employees well. I mean to have a reputation like Disney one would think the pay would be pretty decent. I guess I was way off, to assume that.

It's not just Disney, it's the entire Central Florida job market. Disney's pay is on par with everyone else, actually maybe *slightly* above, depending on who you're comparing to and what job you're looking at. If you peek around Craigslist or Monster, you'll see a lot of "office" jobs in the area paying about the same as Disney pays their front of the line CMs. In most places, an office job should net you more than your local fast food or mall job.

I planned to move back down after graduation. By the time that rolled around, housing prices were skyrocketing because so many people were flooding into central Florida. With that came a lot of people looking for jobs. Most employers could offer a lot less than in other areas, simply because there are (were) so many people competing for the job that they'd almost always find someone willing to work for the lower pay.

[Shir Kahn]

Do you think it would be possible for 2 adults working at Disney full time to make enough to pay for the basics without having to live in a slum? Are schedules at Disney fixed so that you can have another job on the side?

[MyGoofy26]

Do you think it would be possible for 2 adults working at Disney full time to make enough to pay for the basics without having to live in a slum? Are schedules at Disney fixed so that you can have another job on the side?

Housing costs are dropping in Orlando, if you're looking at buying. Some of the projections over the next couple years, you may be able to afford to buy something nice if you wait it out a little, depending on how much other debt you're carrying, obviously. I was looking at moving back once the housing market bottoms out and recently CNN posted a list of which markets are still dropping and Orlando was at the top of the list. I think they project prices to drop by 1/3rd over the next few years. It's the city with one of the biggest drops over a longer period of time. Some areas will have bottomed out in the very near future, but what has happened in central Florida is just the tip of the iceburg right now.

IIRC, the full-timers did have fixed schedules. Every so often, they'd bid on what shifts they wanted. In my area, I remember people talking about getting the same shifts. So you do have a set schedule (CPs didn't - we filled in all the gaps left by regular CMs) if you could find a job that worked around that.

I don't know how lenient they are on OT now, but they let us pick pretty much as much as we wanted. And the policy was VERY generous.

*anything over 40 hours in a week, time and a half
*anything over 8 hours in a day, time and a half
*anything over 16 hours in a day, double time
*any shift that started less than 8 hours after the last shift ended, time and a half
*anything over 8 hours in a shift that starts less than 8 hours after the last shift ended, double time
* any 6th or 7th day in a week, regardless of total hours worked, time and a half


So it was VERY easy to bump your paycheck with just an extra shift or two. You aren't tied to your area. Whatever you're trained for, you could pick up a shift in other areas. It was VERY popular at the studios to pick up a shift at Fantasmic. It was, I think a 3-4 hour shift and you could easily bump yourself into overtime - either for the night, or if it's on your day off and will push one of your full 8 hour shifts into a 6th or 7th day.

[Shir Kahn]

I could see myself doing a lot of OT because I just don't think it would feel like work to me. Guess being happy at what you do for a living would help!

[Joanna71985]

Ah, OT. I loved getting OT in certain areas (including MS PAC and Fant shifts).

[dvc at last !]

interesting ...

[Keels]

Keep in mind, certain areas pay higher starting pay than others as well. They tend to be more specialized. For instance, entertainment paid almost $8/hour back when minimum wage was $5.25/hour. I know lifeguards pay more than minimum-wage as well -- my brother is a deep-water guard. I guess I should text him and ask how much he gets paid. :)

[RNRcoasterGrl07]

1. What do/did you do? Most Sunset Attractions...Rock'n'Rollercoaster, Fantasmic! High School Musical, Parade, occasionally Tower of Terror

2. Did you have a favorite area to work in if you got moved around? I love working Rock'n'Rollercoaster, but the best shift has working th parade in the middle of it. Its a nice break from long days of Aerosmith

3. How did customers treat you? the guests treat me decently. The majority are just get it get out don't want to interact, but i like talking to the ones who will talk to me back. There are the selct few who are mean and yell if they don't get there way. Its a common misconception that most are rude. I see alot of good nice guests everyday.

4. What are the benefits to working for WDW? At first you think it is the getting into the parks for free and the discounts, but after a while you realize the day to day benefits are making the magic. Call me old fashion (at 19), but i went to work for disney so i could make the magic because that is what it is all about.

5. Are you sorry you are no longer working there? Still workin there!

6. What is the pay like (don't tell me an amount) just wondering if it is decent or not so good. If you work for Disney, its not for the pay. Its not that good.