Disney Employee changes

[C.Ann]

Bringing in the ICPs is a definite win-win situation for Disney. They get the kids for minimum wage. They work them extended hours with no benefits. The kids pay the majority of their earnings back to Disney for housing.

Most of them get to spend very little off time in the parks because they are working extended hours and really have no money left for leisure activities. I've talked to many of these kids and my sister trains them. Many of them live on junk because they can't afford anything else. It often turns out not to be the experience they were expecting when they signed up.

This really diminishes my opinion of Disney..

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

She said she was there for a year, and had already been there for 8 months. We asked her if she was anxious to go home and she said very much so. She said they feel underpaid, overworked and it was not quite the experience that they had originally presented to her in her interview. She did say that she met some wonderful people, including her roommates which were also in the college program.

What I thought was interesting is that she said she didn't really have much time to spend in the parks since she was working so much. She said she and her roommates spend what little time they have off sleeping and doing chores such as laundry.

She did say however, that although it wasn't what she thought it would be, she doesn't regret getting the chance to see some of America. (She was from China by the way)

Interesting. My first thought is that she shouldn't be complaining to guests.

My second thought--I have no idea how they present it to international students.

However, I applied and was accepted to the CP at Disney. But I had to turn it down. They told me exactly my wage and only the MINIMUM hours they would guarantee (I think it was 30 or 35 hours). I would need a minimum of 40 to make it. They also said what rent would be. (OY that was high!).

I had an orthodontia payment, a very small car payment--no more than 250 combined. I also had my car insurance and the mild need for a little gas in the car.

I wouldn't have had enough to even eat junk after I calculated everything.

I was very bummed, but I had to turn it down.

I would expect that the international students are disclosed what they will be making.

Plus--I would have risked losing a scholarship as I think I had fall program and I had Florida Academic (now bright futures) scholarship and there was a minimum semester requirement to maintain it. (had to have 12 hours each semester or something--I can't remember).

We did get paid more than minimum, but not much more.

My brother did the CP and the only reason he didn't like his experience was that they had overhired and he got dumped into Downtown Disney valet parking and had to drive a boring old golf cart an awful lot.

We just went yesterday for the afternoon and also went memorial day weekend and just before the 4th of July. I did notice more Chinese cast members. For some reason, I always had it in my head that they were training for Hong Kong Disneyland. Probably not accurate--but they had a bunch of CM's who were working at Disney as that park was being developed and it never left my brain.

 

[GeorgeG]

Bringing in cheap labor that are here on work visas and going back to their country have what to do with Native American's??

They are taking over where we non-native Americans used to be, kinda like we did to the original Native Americans. It was just a thought...

 

[jessily]

What I thought was interesting is that she said she didn't really have much time to spend in the parks since she was working so much. She said she and her roommates spend what little time they have off sleeping and doing chores such as laundry.

I'm not too familiar with the International Program, but I had a similar experience on the College Program. I was there Spring/Summer '05 and was regularly working 10-13 hour days. If I remember correctly, we weren't allowed to work more than 10 days in a row... so we would work 10 days, have one day off, work 10 more days, etc. This was not true for everyone in the program, it largely depended on your work location. I had friends who were barely getting 30 hrs a week.

The apartment we lived in was only about 5 miles from DHS (where I worked), but relying on the provided bus transportation, I'd have to leave about an hour's time to go each way. Add that to a 12 hour work day and it doesn't leave much time for anything else. That one day off every 10 days was spent doing laundry and taking the bus to Walmart to get groceries (this often took about 3 hours round trip).

and we were making about $6.25/hour I did have savings, so I wasn't stuggling to get by, but we definitely weren't eating out in the parks. In fact, I didn't eat at a single table service restaurant the entire time I lived there (this I regret).

That being said, I wouldn't trade in that experience for anything. I was only there for 4 months though... I can't imagine keeping up that kind of schedule for an entire year (which is how long most students on the International Program stay).

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

They are taking over where we non-native Americans used to be, kinda like we did to the original Native Americans. It was just a thought...

They are? They have chased us out of our homes? They have stolen our land? They have reduced our food supply to critically low levels? They have spread disease for which we have no defenses? They have made us move from our homeland to completely different areas of the country, and made us do so on foot through inclement weather? They have chased us down and shot us by the hundreds?

Can't say as I've seen any of those WDW CMs doing anything like that...

 

[disney1990]

Bringing in the ICPs is a definite win-win situation for Disney. They get the kids for minimum wage. They work them extended hours with no benefits. The kids pay the majority of their earnings back to Disney for housing.

Most of them get to spend very little off time in the parks because they are working extended hours and really have no money left for leisure activities. I've talked to many of these kids and my sister trains them. Many of them live on junk because they can't afford anything else. It often turns out not to be the experience they were expecting when they signed up.

I think if you talk to more kids on the college program, you will find a lot of them that enjoyed the experience -- like my daughter. Yes, she worked a lot of hours and didn't get paid a lot. But, she didn't take her car with her to Florida, so there was a BIG expense she didn't have. She grew up so much while at Disney. She learned to balance a budget (and yes, she came home with money). She made lots of friends that she still stays in touch with.

 

[Joanna71985]

I think if you talk to more kids on the college program, you will find a lot of them that enjoyed the experience -- like my daughter. Yes, she worked a lot of hours and didn't get paid a lot. But, she didn't take her car with her to Florida, so there was a BIG expense she didn't have. She grew up so much while at Disney. She learned to balance a budget (and yes, she came home with money). She made lots of friends that she still stays in touch with.

Same for me. I've had amazing experiences on each of my 4 CPs, and I'm going back for a final CP next month. I love working for Disney.

 

[Feralpeg]

I think if you talk to more kids on the college program, you will find a lot of them that enjoyed the experience -- like my daughter. Yes, she worked a lot of hours and didn't get paid a lot. But, she didn't take her car with her to Florida, so there was a BIG expense she didn't have. She grew up so much while at Disney. She learned to balance a budget (and yes, she came home with money). She made lots of friends that she still stays in touch with.

I'm sure there are a lot of CPs that have enjoyed the experience. I was referring more to the ICPs. They are in a different situation than most of the CPs. They are not only a long way from home, they are in a totally different culture. Many of them have language and currency challenges to overcome in addition to what CPs experience. I did not mean to insinuate that the ICPs totally regret being part of the program. Seeing the US and WDW is thrilling for most of them, that doesn't mean it isn't very hard and it is not what most of them that I've talked to have expected.

 

[GeorgeG]

They are? They have chased us out of our homes? They have stolen our land? They have reduced our food supply to critically low levels? They have spread disease for which we have no defenses? They have made us move from our homeland to completely different areas of the country, and made us do so on foot through inclement weather? They have chased us down and shot us by the hundreds?

Can't say as I've seen any of those WDW CMs doing anything like that...

Uh... there was something in there about non-English-speaking people working in jobs that used to be filled with English-speaking cast members. Granted, we're not talking about illegal aliens in this specific instance (at least I don't think so), but that is the case all around this country.

As I said, it was just a thought, one that kinda popped into my head at the time. I had no idea it would upset you so much.

 

[jewjubean]

I do want to put my two cents in because I'm doing one of the Career programs that Disney offers this Fall. When I started researching the program I researched the good and the bad. Now moving onto the Interview. I was told that I would work up to 55 hours a week during peak seasons and no less than 32 during non-peak season. They told me the wage range (7.21-8 something) and we would have rent taken out of our checks (72-84) a week. Now that includes rent, utilities,and transportation back and forth to work. Thats really not a bad deal at all when you think of how much it cost to live nowdays.You also recieve free tickets to the park for family and friends and discounts on hotels/other activiteis How many Paid internships do you get that have these great perks??

To me alot of people go down there expecting to make tons of money and when they dont,complain. Its a chance of a lifetime to work for the Disney company and I for one am going to take my opportunity and run with it. Im not saying everyone is going to have a Magical time, but to add the Disney company to my resume is something I'm proud to do.

Here are some links to the programs I mentioned:

Disney College Program
http://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/index.html'
Disney CareerStart Program
http://disney.go.com/disneycareers/careerstart/wdw/students/index.html
Disney International Programs
http://www.disneyinternationalprograms.com/

 

[Sir Robin Hood]

The biggest benefit from participating in the CP is juice for your resume. Like some of the pp's mentioned...don't expect to make big $$. My department head at the college I attend did the CP back in the 80's. While he barely made ends meet and lived on cheap meals while doing the program, he said just having the Disney name on his resume as an internship helped him land several jobs later on down the line. So in that aspect it is very helpful, especially if a potential employer knows what quality Disney expects from its workers.

 

[mum4jenn]

Uh... there was something in there about non-English-speaking people working in jobs that used to be filled with English-speaking cast members. Granted, we're not talking about illegal aliens in this specific instance (at least I don't think so), but that is the case all around this country.

As I said, it was just a thought, one that kinda popped into my head at the time. I had no idea it would upset you so much.

For what my opinion is worth GeorgeG...I understand what you meant even if no one else did.

 

[Just Jan]

I just got back from two weeks at WDW and made a few observations.
Cast Members are down. It was noticable how few people they have to run rides etc...
More international students than area residents. I couldn't believe that they had International students working at Haunted Mansion that couldn't even speak English well enough to understand them. No one attempting to scare anyone like in the past etc... just go in, go in..... I know Disney can get away with paying them almost nothing in exchange for room and board but they just didn't fit in at MK or MGM. QUOTE]

We were there July 11 - 18. Thought the young lady doing the Country Bear Jamboree had Tons of enthusiasm and was very cute, the only words we understood were "YEE HAW"

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

I could be way off base, as I just came back from a trip to WDW at the beginning of this month, but I didn't see a noticeable change in the CM pool. The student/international CMs have seemingly been around for years, and definitely never encountered one who I couldn't understand giving the spiel at an attraction. I don't mean for this to be a defense of WDW's hiring practices, I just haven't noticed anything different lately.

I do agree that they have been around for years but I HAVE encountered many who could not be understood and SOME were from US. I have encountered some of the most deplorable speakers on American Adventure as well as Hall of Presidents. All I could do was shake my head and then it occured to me, what are they thinking putting someone with such poor grammar and articulation in a postion that makes many of the international visitors think we are uneducated Americans. It makes me cringe.

 

[GeorgeG]

For what my opinion is worth GeorgeG...I understand what you meant even if no one else did.

Thanks, Mum! I apparently and unintentionally hit a nerve with someone.