Cast Members Q and A

[carlwitac]

1) Any Fears Associated with the job of being a CM?

2) Do you feel lonely sometimes?

3) Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

 

[barfownz]

How would a CM feel lonely?

 

[tinyt396]

1) Any Fears Associated with the job of being a CM?

2) Do you feel lonely sometimes?

3) Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

This is just from my own experience:

1) I didn't have any fears with my job (I was in Merchandise in Toontown). I had the best time of my life, I had amazing managers and great co-workers!

2) It was hard to feel lonely when I was there. If I was home usually at least one of my roommates was there as well. If I did get lonely, or just had time to pass I would go to the parks with friends, it is an awesome perk to be able to go into the parks for free.

3) There were a few days during my program where I was having a personal problem that was affecting my mood. I unfortunately did call out a couple of days but when I did go in and my managers saw I was having a hard time they tried to early release me.

Trust me, when you see people having an amazing and magical time and realize that you are a part of that, there is honestly nothing better than that.

 

[graygables]

1) Any Fears Associated with the job of being a CM?

2) Do you feel lonely sometimes?

3) Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

I think it's fair to say that ANYWHERE you work, these are going to be issues, not just at WDW. Both of my DDs were very nervous when they started, but it was just fear of the unknown. After the first few times at whatever their jobs were, they were fine.

Everyone feels lonely sometimes, even at WDW surrounded by hundreds of thousands of people. Try to make at least a few good friends that you can call on when the lonely kicks in.

I know very few people in any profession who always feel motivated to work! Both of my DDs (who are CMs, btw) have days where they really have to let their work ethic kick in and drag themselves to work. Once there, they usually feel better, but there are times that there's some clock-watching going on, I'm sure!

Incidentally, the same applies for marriage...there are days when "love" flies out the window and the "for better or worse" kicks in and has to sustain you for awhile. Some days you work for the love of the job, others, you are there for the paycheck.

 

[Merriweather86]

1) Any Fears Associated with the job of being a CM?

2) Do you feel lonely sometimes?

3) Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

When I started, I don't think I really had any fears, other than the unknown of if I would be able to really help people have great vacations like CM's have done for me in the past. I don't think that was really a fear though, but more of a bit of motivation for myself, because I wanted to live up to those standards.

Did I feel lonely? Never. I had a great group of friends, and very supportive leaders, both of which became my family during my programs. At the end of the day, I had 5 other roommates who helped keep me grounded. I never had that problem, though I can see how some people might, if they are fairly unsocial, or aren't very self-confident. I haven't seen many people who are sociable and sure of themselves having much of an issue with this.

And, like any job, there are some days that aren't as great as others. You just have to weigh everything out, and hopefully at the end of the day, the positives outweigh the negatives, and they always did for me. It just helps to sort of put things into perspective as often as possible. At the end of the day on those bad days (though very few and far between for me), I just had to remind myself that I was there for a reason, that it was an internship, and it was "paying my dues" in a sense, and I just sort of thought about why I wanted to be there in the first place, and I tried to never lose sight of that. That's what keeps me going, in the good days and the bad

 

[carlwitac]

anyone know what kinds of "attractions" career start participants usually work at?

 

[csaribay]

anyone know what kinds of "attractions" career start participants usually work at?

There are no specific attractions or venues that CareerStart participants are assigned to; their roles come out of the same pool as the College and International College Programs (which cover virtually any attraction you can imagine).

If you have specific requests, contact your recruiter and Disney may be able to take them into consideration when they determine location assignments. No guarantees though, as an attractions role in your preferred location may not be available for your specific arrival date.

 

[carlwitac]

do cast members have fears over possible terrorist attacks, are they told if one were to happen by their mangers or who usually tells them?

 

[jeffwayne12]

A terroist threat is the least of my worries. Just be alert of your surroundings. All managers tell new cast members what to look out for.

 

[csaribay]

do cast members have fears over possible terrorist attacks, are they told if one were to happen by their mangers or who usually tells them?

Not something I would be worried about- can't lead your life under the premise of fear of a terrorist attack. Presumably there's a communications process in place- Cast Members have TVs in the break rooms, and I'm fairly confident that management would pass along any important news. When 9/11 happened, all domestic theme parks closed shortly (or in the case of Disneyland, never opened) after the attacks took place.

You can read more about that particular case here.

 

[Em126]

Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

Whenever I didn't feel particularly motivated to work I would just remind myself that some people save money for years to be able to go to Disney World just once. I get to go every day, so its my job to make sure that every Guest has the best time they could possibly have!

do cast members have fears over possible terrorist attacks, are they told if one were to happen by their mangers or who usually tells them?

Nope! No fear.

 

[Jules76126]

1. I really didnt fear. I was so excited to go do the program that I didnt care what happened. There really is nothing to fear. They have everything laid out so well that you really dont have a chance to worry about anything.

2. I never felt lonely. Heck I was almost never home. My roommate was shocked when she actually saw me for more than 5 minutes. I had the best group of friends that I could possible ask for. We were always hanging out after work, before work, at work lol. The only time i choose to be alone was when I was too tired to go out.

3. We all have days when we dont want to work. Disney is fun but i can be a mentally and emotionally tough job. I mean I walked between 4 to 6 miles a day atleast while at work. I worked 14 hour shifts and i worked 69 hours a week at times. It can all catch up to you.

The thing to remember is this. The Cp is what you make of it. You might not like all your roommates( I had major problems with one of mine). Not all days will be magically. There will be guests that no matter what you do wont be happy. You will probably call in at least once. And just dont stress out about anything too much. Like any work place there will be gossip but dont let it get to you. Instead we use to live by my friends motto "Fun first, work second, sleep last" and I had the best time of my life and I still miss it everyday and I have been home almost a year. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that I am hopefully going back spring 09

 

[catkel3299]

One thing that kept me going through those tough days was repeating in my head "This shift will end." And those mornings when my alarm went off and I just didn't wanna get up to go to work, I told myself "This experience is going to end. Get up and go enjoy what's left of it."

 

[zulemara]

The thing to remember is this. The Cp is what you make of it. You might not like all your roommates( I had major problems with one of mine). Not all days will be magically. There will be guests that no matter what you do wont be happy. You will probably call in at least once. And just dont stress out about anything too much. Like any work place there will be gossip but dont let it get to you. Instead we use to live by my friends motto "Fun first, work second, sleep last" and I had the best time of my life and I still miss it everyday and I have been home almost a year. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that I am hopefully going back spring 09

AMEN!!! You hit the nail on the head right there.


To throw in my .02
1) Well I got put in recreation and when I got to Disney I found out I was in golf. Keep in mind I didn't know a THING about golf and people might pay 90 dollars for a full day at MK...they pay 160 for a 4 hour round of golf, plus club rentals, drinks, food, etc. They expect the best service and knowledgeable cast members. So yeah, I was a little scared, but I wasn't scared of being a CM. I arrived in Aug 04 and I think the entire previous semester I daydreamed in every class of what it would be like to be at WDW every day. I was pumped as could be, and that was after spending the entire summer doing drum corps(that's another story)

2)So I got there aug 24 and by the end of September, I was on a plane home, but that was because of a large oktoberfest celebration in my hometown. I was a little homesick as well, but all I had to do was be home for 2 days and I missed Disney like mad.
I had a unique experience because I was coming out at Disney and found my first bf and that kept me quite occupied, but I loved my roommates my first semester. One of them was given 2 free tickets to MVMCP by a guest(he worked front desk) and he took me because I was depressed about breaking up with the previous bf. Stuff like that will never be forgotten.
As I extended my first program, I started picking up extra hours a lot at 8-trax as a door host. I LOVED that role. I got paid OT to dance all night to music I loved and count people in and out of the club. You can't go wrong there! I also met a lot of new friends there, a couple of whom I still stay in contact with. If you're lonely and not feeling like you fit in, pick up extra hours somewhere else on property. You never know who you might meet!!!

3) Oh boy...let me tell you. I would get up at 8am, work at the golf coruse 8.5 hours, change clothes, go work extra hours at 8-trax till 2am, THEN go out for breakfast, get home, sleep 4 hours, get up and do it all again! I was crazy, but I don't regret a minute of it. I was lucky because at the golf course there were different roles and if I didn't really feel like working, I'd switch for a role the required less guest interaction. I'll never forget the hungover mornings haha.


And what keeps me going with my 3 jobs right now is knowing that in 6 months I graduate and I'm going back! This time it will be a different set of challenges since I will not have my bf of 3 years(almost 3.5 by then) with me, but I know I'll still find friends and still have the time of my life.

 

[tinkerbelluk]

1) Any Fears Associated with the job of being a CM?

2) Do you feel lonely sometimes?

3) Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

1) I was very nervous when i first arrived especially as i had picked up a disability between been offered my ICP program and going out, but disney sorted it out quickly and i ended up being moved with a few weeks of arriving from F&B to attractions to ensure i didn't injure myself even more.

2) At no point did i feel lonely, even though the atlantic ocean split me from my family, i had great housemates and made loads of friend at work as well. i also met my fiance whilst at disney.

3) like all jobs you don't always feel motivated however pay attention to your guests they nearly always cheered me up and made me realise why i was working at disney, and i usually founbd the days i didn't want to go ended up being the best days to work.

 

[Sorahana]

1) Any Fears Associated with the job of being a CM?

2) Do you feel lonely sometimes?

3) Do you always feel motivated to work even in the worst of times?

1) My only fear was having an angry guest come up and yell at me to the point of making me cry or making me feel really bad, one guest did make me feel really bad but they never made me cry.

2) I never felt lonely, work was fun thanks to other CMs =).

3) Believe it or not, yes I did. For some reason, being at Disney made me want to work no matter how I was feeling, it's weird.