Are WDW parks really overflowing with trash?

[Wandering Oaken]

One of the thing everyone has to remember Disney may not be able to just hire full time staff as compared to part time staff or offer more money to start.
Every thing is covered by a union negotiated contract. Things like starting pay, yearly pay increases, top out pay till a new contract is negotiated, benefits and a bunch of other things.
If they bump starting pay for one they have to do it for all who are covered by the contract at all levels of seniority. It might not be that easy. They may have to negotiate a new contract.

When the unions got Disney to agree to raise starting pay for their members in their last contract the union may have had to make concessions to Disney.
Some of those concessions may have aloud their to be so many full time to part time cast members and maybe they are at that point.

Part time cast were the last to get a call to come back I would think.
My guess, I would imagine most found other jobs and aren't coming back. So, now the have to find new people. The process takes time, could they move faster I do not know but it is evident they are short staffed.

Collage program has also been a big part of Disney staffing. They may be holding back some hiring because collage program may be coming back soon if not already.

Just some thoughts.

Then why are they offering $1000 hiring bonus for housekeeping?

 

[Nabas]

It is no longer challenging or competitive to get an entry level job that you want at one of these places.

Not that it relates much to today, but a friend’s father was involved in Cast Member hiring back in the 1980s.

When Disney opened Epcot in 1982, they were genuinely concerned about the quality of new Cast Members, feeling they had already hired the best ones for the Magic Kingdom.

Of course, the local population has more than doubled since then, so I’m sure there are a lot more qualified candidates today.

 

[Tigger's ally]

And that’s all fine, but then don’t increase capacity until you can adequately staff your parks.

Then we would just have to listen to a different complaint. I mean these pages would be full of people that would be outraged about not being able to go when they want too now that the country is basically wide open again. Disney would be roasted for not being wide open too. It's all about expectations. Right now I don't expect the same service at any restaurant I go too across the country, even the big ones like St. Elmo's where we ate two weeks ago. Service there was good, but not to the level it was before. We went to WDW in December when it was very limited and lots of people here were saying they would never go when it was like that at the time. Our expectations were met because we didn't set them that high. No fireworks, our favorite restaurant wasn't open, etc... We are going this December again and our expectations will be a little higher but not back to pre covid expectations. We totally understand the worker shortage, we see it everywhere, everyday. It is a huge national problem, not just a Disney problem.

 

[71 Truck]

Then why are they offering $1000 hiring bonus for housekeeping?

Maybe the contract has a clause that allows bonuses for certain positions. I have never seen the contract so I can't say for certain.
Also bonuses are not like weekly pay it is one time so no over time pay based on the bonus.

 

[71 Truck]

Yes, there is only so much cheap qualified labor in one region. Well before the pandemic, Disney/Universal/Seaworld tapped this out to the point where rates across the board needed to.be raised and all of them were still struggling. Again, well before pandemic, every single front line department.

The quality at Disney has also fallen over recent years because they are now scraping the bottom of the barrel when it comes to the labor pool.

It is no longer challenging or competitive to get an entry level job that you want at one of these places. That never used to be the case.

So my question would be do you work for Disney? Do you have other first hand knowledge this to be true that every front line department was struggling before the pandemic?

Are you saying Disney cast members are the bottom of the barrel of the labor pool?

Most of these jobs are entry level, that means Disney trains you so no extensive experience is needed.

The labor pool in central Florida is low right now. Everyone is hiring. People have a choice where they want to work or the kind of job they want to do. Years ago Disney was the place to work because they were the one to work for.
Most jobs back then in central Florida were related to the hospitality industry, now thing have changed.
There are many more jobs to choose from. Disney needs to step up their game to try to attract more people in general, offering more money is not the only answer. This will just make everyone else in the area do the same to try to pull from the same labor pool.

This is a very difficult position to be in. The front line cast members may be looked at as not doing their job.
Middle management needs help but very little is coming.
Upper management may have little or no clue.
No one knows for sure, the only thing that is known by the guest is that garbage cans are over flowing.
This could be a sign of much bigger problems.

 

[2Lunds]

Re: staffing levels, let's not forget too that a LOT of people who worked at WDW were not native Floridians. I'm willing to bet that a large percentage gave up after months and months of furlough, and went back to their home states where they had family to support them, and/or jobs outside the tourism industry were more readily available. The eligible hiring pool in central FL is smaller now than it was pre-pandemic.

 

[Nabas]

Re: staffing levels, let's not forget too that a LOT of people who worked at WDW were not native Floridians. I'm willing to bet that a large percentage gave up after months and months of furlough, and went back to their home states where they had family to support them, and/or jobs outside the tourism industry were more readily available. The eligible hiring pool in central FL is smaller now than it was pre-pandemic.

Months ago when I was going and theme park capacity was limited, trash was not a problem. There simply was less trash.

Now Disney has increased theme park capacity so much that our most recent July trip felt like normal crowd levels.

If Disney cannot keep up with basic services, then Disney should stop increasing theme park capacity until they have the staff.

But that would cost them.

This is 100% Disney’s problem.

 

[Sargeant Tibbs]

One of the thing everyone has to remember Disney may not be able to just hire full time staff as compared to part time staff or offer more money to start.
Every thing is covered by a union negotiated contract. Things like starting pay, yearly pay increases, top out pay till a new contract is negotiated, benefits and a bunch of other things.
If they bump starting pay for one they have to do it for all who are covered by the contract at all levels of seniority. It might not be that easy. They may have to negotiate a new contract.

When the unions got Disney to agree to raise starting pay for their members in their last contract the union may have had to make concessions to Disney.
Some of those concessions may have aloud their to be so many full time to part time cast members and maybe they are at that point.

Part time cast were the last to get a call to come back I would think.
My guess, I would imagine most found other jobs and aren't coming back. So, now the have to find new people. The process takes time, could they move faster I do not know but it is evident they are short staffed.

Collage program has also been a big part of Disney staffing. They may be holding back some hiring because collage program may be coming back soon if not already.

Just some thoughts.

My parents were working there when the raise was negotiated. Disney acquiesced to the union, then as I recall they began cutting hours to push part timers out in order to increase the college program. The major problem with the college program is that by the time the students are fully trained they are out the door and a new batch is rolling in, starting the process of training and less than excellent service all over again. Not to mention the burden it puts on the skeleton crew of part time employees. Nothing against the college kids, but it takes time to become proficient at even a menial job. Instead of offering a decent wage and benefits to the Orlando working community, Disney chose the route of cheap labor at the expense of customer service. Again, I'm not suggesting the college students aren't capable of giving good service, but a constant rollover of new employees makes it difficult to achieve the perfection of service that Disney once had, especially if the goal is to rely almost completely on this cheap source of labor.

None of this is the fault of the union. This is a problem of right-to-work. Weakening the unions was always going to result in the neo-serf society that is emerging today.

The last to be called back were seasonal employees. These cast members are comprised mostly of retirees. They know their jobs well and work because they enjoy working for Disney, so tend to give excellent customer service. My parents began working for Disney part time, then after about 7 years, moved to seasonal. When they were called back there were so many stipulations put onto their return that it just wasn't worth it to them and many others. These are retirees, not people needing to pay bills, so many very competent seasonal employees refused to come back. My mother is a Legacy cast member. That is a very prestigious honor within the Disney company that most CMs will never achieve. Disney chose to cast that level of service aside for profit, again at the expense of the guest.

Disney had already been jerking around their custodial staff for some time pre-covid. It resulted in a lot of animosity, and I doubt many of those CMs wanted to return.

Sorry this is so disjointed. I have a toddler in my face. But to sum it all up, Disney put themselves into this situation pre-covid. The steps they were already taking to reduce staff and rely more heavily on the college program has to have a direct bearing on their inability to hire right now.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I'm paying to be here, I'm not doing the job of someone who gets paid to be here. I was at SeaWorld the last two days and did not see this, let alone twice in two lines. They had enough staff to micromanage mask wearing not long ago but can't empty a trash can?

I don't mean to be snarky to you, but I'm pretty angry that I pay 3x the amount of my SeaWorld AP, get less discounts and see this literal trash in the park.

It's not your job to clean up after others. However, alerting someone to an issue isn't about it being your job or not. I just sorta see it as if it's that big of a deal to me I'll alert someone, if it's really not a big deal to me then I won't, certainly wouldn't take the position of it being my job. Then again that viewpoint reminds me of my mom who won't use self-check out because and I quote "I don't get paid to do that".

The attitude around alerting someone is something I saw a lot in retail, being a 16 year old yelled at by some jerk who acted like I was his wife's servant to wait on her hand and foot in the hosiery department, the "I'm going to get you fired" because I wouldn't accept (per policy) an expire coupon, just the overall viewpoint some people have. I really don't care if you wanted to tell someone but at least make it about not wanting to take time out of your vacation rather than how the comment came out (if you care if others view your comment that way which to be fair you don't have to care one bit).

I agree about being frustrated at Disney just my wording wouldn't be what yours is, although I remember this being a Pete rant several years ago so I think it's an ebb and flow issue at the parks, I think back then the finger was pointed at the College Program.

 

[thingaboutarsenal]

It's not your job to clean up after others. However, alerting someone to an issue isn't about it being your job or not. I just sorta see it as if it's that big of a deal to me I'll alert someone, if it's really not a big deal to me then I won't, certainly wouldn't take the position of it being my job. Then again that viewpoint reminds me of my mom who won't use self-check out because and I quote "I don't get paid to do that".

The attitude around alerting someone is something I saw a lot in retail, being a 16 year old yelled at by some jerk who acted like I was his wife's servant to wait on her hand and foot in the hosiery department, the "I'm going to get you fired" because I wouldn't accept (per policy) an expire coupon, just the overall viewpoint some people have. I really don't care if you wanted to tell someone but at least make it about not wanting to take time out of your vacation rather than how the comment came out (if you care if others view your comment that way which to be fair you don't have to care one bit).

I agree about being frustrated at Disney just my wording wouldn't be what yours is, although I remember this being a Pete rant several years ago so I think it's an ebb and flow issue at the parks, I think back then the finger was pointed at the College Program.

Thanks for the advice but I stand by what I said and how I worded it. My contribution to WDW is to pay their industry highest prices and enjoy my time there with my family. Expecting the parks to be kept to the same industry standard I'm paying for without having to take an active role in that process is not unreasonable. They don't view me as part of the process for guest experience so I don't view myself as part of the maintenance process.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thanks for the advice but I stand by what I said and how I worded it. My contribution to WDW is to pay their industry highest prices and enjoy my time there with my family. Expecting the parks to be kept to the same industry standard I'm paying for without having to take an active role in that process is not unreasonable. They don't view me as part of the process for guest experience so I don't view myself as part of the maintenance process.

I guess that's the difference. I don't see it as me being part of the maintenance process by alerting someone. I treat it the same as a multitude of other things, out of ketchup at the table? alert the waitress/waiter, out of toilet paper in a bathroom stall? alert the staff. Hold the door open for someone, say excuse me let me just squeeze past ya, etc. It's not that I always 100% do these things (except the hold the door open and the squeeze past ya--midwest speak coming out lol) but that my reasoning it's unilaterally "it's not my job".

I think what I was trying to convey was it's not about WDW as a place so much as your attitude about it. I highly doubt you'd view it differently if it was your local Walmart bathroom so I don't think it's the destination (or the amount you pay) so much as how you view the situation in its entirety, unless you're telling me you would say something at Seaworld where you paid 1X the amount for that AP? If so I suppose your stance is different than I read into

 

[sparky68]

Thanks for the advice but I stand by what I said and how I worded it. My contribution to WDW is to pay their industry highest prices and enjoy my time there with my family. Expecting the parks to be kept to the same industry standard I'm paying for without having to take an active role in that process is not unreasonable. They don't view me as part of the process for guest experience so I don't view myself as part of the maintenance process.

 

[sparky68]

I guess that's the difference. I don't see it as me being part of the maintenance process by alerting someone. I treat it the same as a multitude of other things, out of ketchup at the table? alert the waitress/waiter, out of toilet paper in a bathroom stall? alert the staff. Hold the door open for someone, say excuse me let me just squeeze past ya, etc. It's not that I always 100% do these things (except the hold the door open and the squeeze past ya--midwest speak coming out lol) but that my reasoning it's unilaterally "it's not my job".

I think what I was trying to convey was it's not about WDW as a place so much as your attitude about it. I highly doubt you'd view it differently if it was your local Walmart bathroom so I don't think it's the destination (or the amount you pay) so much as how you view the situation in its entirety, unless you're telling me you would say something at Seaworld where you paid 1X the amount for that AP? If so I suppose your stance is different than I read into

Ohh yeah I would and do say something if the bathroom at a store is nasty. I also report spills to the staff, return my shopping cart to the corral, put things I change my mind about back on the correct shelf.
But, I expect a different level of service at a theme park. At the store I'm there to buy my groceries, at a theme park I'm there as a paying guest expecting to be entertained.
Anyone confusing grocery stores and theme parks needs to be seen by a licensed professional

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Ohh yeah I would and do say something if the bathroom at a store is nasty. I also report spills to the staff, return my shopping cart to the corral, put things I change my mind about back on the correct shelf.
But, I expect a different level of service at a theme park. At the store I'm there to buy my groceries, at a theme park I'm there as a paying guest expecting to be entertained.
Anyone confusing grocery stores and theme parks needs to be seen by a licensed professional

To me a dirty overfilling trash can is the same everywhere, so if it bothered me enough I'll say something about it. Different places may have a different level of attention paid to a customer alerting them to that but that's not something I know of each place. I'm disappointed that the theaters in AMC (where I have been a patron since 2004/2005) has slipped in cleanliness so the last time where my seat was sticky with residue (in December I think it was) I promptly walked out and politely alerted someone and they cleaned it. I'd do the same if it was the dollar theater too if I cared enough. Some popcorn on the floor so long as it's not gobs and gobs of it I'm not likely to go say something about though.

I may be an oddity in my viewpoint though I don't think that means I need to be seen by a licensed professional (I would have liked your post if not for the last part, my apologies for that).

 

[2Lunds]

My parents were working there when the raise was negotiated. Disney acquiesced to the union, then as I recall they began cutting hours to push part timers out in order to increase the college program. The major problem with the college program is that by the time the students are fully trained they are out the door and a new batch is rolling in, starting the process of training and less than excellent service all over again. Not to mention the burden it puts on the skeleton crew of part time employees. Nothing against the college kids, but it takes time to become proficient at even a menial job. Instead of offering a decent wage and benefits to the Orlando working community, Disney chose the route of cheap labor at the expense of customer service. Again, I'm not suggesting the college students aren't capable of giving good service, but a constant rollover of new employees makes it difficult to achieve the perfection of service that Disney once had, especially if the goal is to rely almost completely on this cheap source of labor.

None of this is the fault of the union. This is a problem of right-to-work. Weakening the unions was always going to result in the neo-serf society that is emerging today.

The last to be called back were seasonal employees. These cast members are comprised mostly of retirees. They know their jobs well and work because they enjoy working for Disney, so tend to give excellent customer service. My parents began working for Disney part time, then after about 7 years, moved to seasonal. When they were called back there were so many stipulations put onto their return that it just wasn't worth it to them and many others. These are retirees, not people needing to pay bills, so many very competent seasonal employees refused to come back. My mother is a Legacy cast member. That is a very prestigious honor within the Disney company that most CMs will never achieve. Disney chose to cast that level of service aside for profit, again at the expense of the guest.

Disney had already been jerking around their custodial staff for some time pre-covid. It resulted in a lot of animosity, and I doubt many of those CMs wanted to return.

Sorry this is so disjointed. I have a toddler in my face. But to sum it all up, Disney put themselves into this situation pre-covid. The steps they were already taking to reduce staff and rely more heavily on the college program has to have a direct bearing on their inability to hire right now.

This was super insightful. Thanks so much for sharing with us.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

If Disney cannot keep up with basic services, then Disney should stop increasing theme park capacity until they have the staff.

But that would cost them.

This is 100% Disney’s problem.

In their eyes it isn't a problem until it is a problem.

More people in parks + less staff = more profits.

Until they feel that this equation will equals less profits, they will change nothing.

 

[Wandering Oaken]

If this keeps up then this will be the view out of our resort windows in a year.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

If this keeps up then this will be the view out of our resort windows in a year.

View attachment 590954

It fits the mentality of the populous so yeah probably.

 

[71 Truck]

Ohh yeah I would and do say something if the bathroom at a store is nasty. I also report spills to the staff, return my shopping cart to the corral, put things I change my mind about back on the correct shelf.
But, I expect a different level of service at a theme park. At the store I'm there to buy my groceries, at a theme park I'm there as a paying guest expecting to be entertained.
Anyone confusing grocery stores and theme parks needs to be seen by a licensed professional

Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect that, however, that last sentence was uncalled for and could get this thread closed. It could be seen as attacking someones opinion.

 

[SuzErwin]

Don’t know about WDW, and CA is a union state while FL is work for hire which might have a lot to do with it, but Disneyland severely cut the third-shift (after park close) custodial staff and transferred the tasks to day shift. They also moved formerly full time jobs to part time (no benefits, less money, and also removes the ”right to recall” which allowed previous workers to return to their old jobs at the same compensation as before). They’ve offered the new part time jobs to former full time employees, but the employee loses their seniority as well as their benefits. That’s why there was a protest by Disneyland union workers last Saturday.

It’s a mess. Literally.