Disney Hourly Salaries

[ponyboy]

They don't need to use the profit, just increase some wages which will reduce the profit.

The sole purpose of a business is to make money. Wages are determined by the market, not by the employer. So you think it's fair to take the profits that people have invested so that they have money in retirement and then just give it to someone else so that they have more money? That's essentially what you'd be doing to many people if you just "increase wages which will reduce the profit".

Despite what we may think about the magic of Disney, thinking about working there is much different that actually working there. Talking to CM's over the years paints a much different picture of what goes on backstage. Many were moved to part time with some only working a few hours a week. That is one of the reasons that we see older workers in the parks, they were retired and working at Disney is better than not working at all.

Bill

You can thank your government and Obamacare for lots of workers being moved to part time. Congress was warned of the consequences but they took Pelosi's word and voted for it before they read it and now many workers are paying the consequences by being moved to part time. And if you have a job and you're only working a few hours a week then go get another job. America does not have a job shortage, we have a shortage of people that are willing to work. We have people that are unwilling to work a job that they don't like or that they feel is beneath them. We have a country full of people that believe that everything should be handed to them on a silver platter and that somebody else should pay for it. "Make the rich people pay for it", they say. Why not? They've been working hard all of their life to get where they are and make the salaries that they do. It's fair to just take money from them, right? Who cares that they already pay the majority of the taxes? Who cares that the almost bottom 50% of workers pay zero taxes yet get the same government benefits?

People act like they're the poorest people in the world because they can't buy everything that they want. They have a car, cellphone, a roof over their head, electricity, running water, good roads, tv's, computers, video games but somehow they're still "poor" because there's more stuff that they want that they can't afford. America is the only country in the world where the "poor" people are fat. America's poorest 10% live better than the top 10% of most of the rest of the world and that is a fact. It gets old listening to people complain about how bad they have it and that the solution is to take money away from someone else who actually earned it and give it to them so that they can continue to do little of nothing.

 

[DisneyPigFan]

This is why I refuse to work for Disney. I interviewed for a 'professional' position (not an internship, just an entry-level job for someone with a degree) and was told $12 an hour. Are you kidding? I have $800/month in student loan payments I have to start paying soon. For any company to offer a recent Bachelor's grad that low of a pay grade is a joke.

For an entry level job straight out of college? That sounds fine to me and not at all shocking. $12/hour is approx 25K a year. Very doable with a roommate or multiple roommates. It's one thing if they offer considerably less than market rate -- but just being a college graduate does not entitle you to a minimum level of pay.

I started at a major and very well known media company straight out of college (not Disney). I believe my hourly rate was something like $12.12 an hour. Now 6 years and multiple positions later, I'm still with the company and making much more money. Had I balked at the starting salary, I would never have gotten the opportunity to work where I do.

Maybe Disney would have been a great fit for you and you could have moved up into better paying positions within a year or two.

 

[DisneyPigFan]

Some people are so greedy. But I am a very generous person. I think it's obvious that the CEO/CFO/COO/CDO/etc salaries should be dramatically reduced and the money given to these low level employees. These CXO's are so selfish to demand such high salaries. If everyone was generous, like some of us in this country, then the CEO's would voluntarily give their money to the low level people. But we know they won't. That's why we need higher tax rates. Take that money and use it to provide more benefits to the lower-wage hard working people. It feels good to be a generous person. It's too bad like half the country is so selfish.

The pay gap between CEOs and their workers is pretty outrageous and sickening, I agree.
Disney CEO Bob Iger made 45 million in 2015 and 46.5 million in 2014. He gets paid far far more in just 1 month than the vast majority of people on the planet will ever accumulate in their entire lives. Think about that.

And assuming he makes at least 45 million again this year, that's more than 135 million in just three years. Seems outrageously high to me.

And whenever CEOs get fired, they are paid millions more just to leave, a "golden parachute."

 

[DISNEY1975]

I dont know where you live, but the average salary of a cashier / associate in retail as well as a fast food worker is about $9. In MA, the minimum wage just raised to $10 earlier this year. Hopefully nobody is looking to make a career out of these jobs, or their goal it to start entry level and work their way up the ladder, restaurant manager/shift manager, assistant store manager etc... I do not see anything uncompetitive about these wages, and for the thousands that they employ, Im glad they are paying a decent wage The $10/hr goes a lot further in FL than it does in MA.

 

[ponyboy]

The pay gap between CEOs and their workers is pretty outrageous and sickening, I agree.
Disney CEO Bob Iger made 45 million in 2015 and 46.5 million in 2014. He gets paid far far more in just 1 month than the vast majority of people on the planet will ever accumulate in their entire lives. Think about that.

And assuming he makes at least 45 million again this year, that's more than 135 million in just three years. Seems outrageously high to me.

And whenever CEOs get fired, they are paid millions more just to leave, a "golden parachute."

Any one of those lower paid workers have the opportunity to become the CEO themselves and make the big bucks, however the fact is that virtually none of them have the drive or work ethic to attain that position. Iger wasn't born the CEO, he worked his way there, the same as anybody else could.

Instead of people complaining about how much someone else makes, why don't they put in the work and the time it takes to attain a similar position themselves? I doubt Iger every complained about how much a CEO made, I'd bet he just said to himself, "That's what I'm going to do" and he went out there and did it.

This country was built on hard work, not free stuff.

 

[DisneyPigFan]

Any one of those lower paid workers have the opportunity to become the CEO themselves and make the big bucks, however the fact is that virtually none of them have the drive or work ethic to attain that position. Iger wasn't born the CEO, he worked his way there, the same as anybody else could.

Instead of people complaining about how much someone else makes, why don't they put in the work and the time it takes to attain a similar position themselves? I doubt Iger every complained about how much a CEO made, I'd bet he just said to himself, "That's what I'm going to do" and he went out there and did it.

This country was built on hard work, not free stuff.

I didn't say anything about "free stuff." I just noted how unfortunate income inequality is and in particular how outrageous CEO pay is. Like, Bob Iger couldn't live on a "mere" 5 or 10 million a year instead 45-46? That extra money could go towards programs to better the lives of employees, who knows.

No, not everyone can work their way up to CEO. Kind of an absurd thing to suggest, IMO.

The deck IS stacked against the poor, underprivileged, uneducated, and those without connections.
It's not as simple as saying that all poor people need to do is work harder or have more initiative and they'd have better jobs. That's insulting to poor people. Tell someone working 60 hours a week just to put food on the table that they have no work ethic or drive.

I certainly make nowhere near anything anyone would call "big bucks" and I may never -- but I have plenty of drive and work ethic. Guess not enough, huh?

 

[ponyboy]

I didn't say anything about "free stuff." I just noted how unfortunate income inequality is and in particular how outrageous CEO pay is. Like, Bob Iger couldn't live on a "mere" 5 or 10 million a year instead 45-46? That extra money could go towards programs to better the lives of employees, who knows.

So, free stuff.

No, not everyone can work their way up to CEO. Kind of an absurd thing to suggest, IMO.

That's absolutely my point. That's why they demand large salaries, because most people can't do it.

The deck IS stacked against the poor, underprivileged, uneducated, and those without connections.
It's not as simple as saying that all poor people need to do is work harder or have more initiative and they'd have better jobs. That's insulting to poor people. Tell someone working 60 hours a week just to put food on the table that they have no work ethic or drive.

60 hours a week isn't enough to cut it to work your way up to a CEO job.

And anyone in this country has the ability to attain an education if they apply themselves. There are more grants, scholarships and student loans available to anybody who wants them than you can shake a stick at. Just because people don't take advantage of the money available for an education is irrelevant, it's there for the taking.

Working hard isn't the only thing, they have to have the drive to push themselves to attain what they want. Instead they complain that they can't go to school because they have a job or they don't have the money or one of a million other excuses. So what? I put myself through school working a full time job and a part time job to support a wife and a baby. When we got married we didn't have a dime. We didn't own anything. We didn't have any skills or college education. I worked all day and went to classes at night and worked it out where I could take a class in the middle of the day and stay longer at work that night. I was tired all of the time and didn't get to do the things I wanted. I sacrificed to do what I needed to do to get to where I'm at.

The sob stories just don't work on me because I know what can be done if people will put in the effort.

I certainly make nowhere near anything anyone would call "big bucks" and I may never -- but I have plenty of drive and work ethic. Guess not enough, huh?

Not if you think working only 60 hours a week is enough to do it.

Go to any big city and watch the highways in the morning, like early in the morning. A large majority of the cars you'll see will be BMW's, Mercedes, Jaguars, etc. That's what time a lot of the people who make big money are going to work. They aren't working 9-5, they're working 5-9 but most people don't see that because they're still in bed. Most of the really rich people I know work crazy hours and get very little sleep. They work on vacation, they're working when they're at the baseball game, they work all of the time and that's how they became successful.

I haven't had a day off where I didn't do any work in about 2 months. Last year there was a span of 6 months where I worked every single day, 10-12 hours a day or more. I'm working right now between looking off and on here. I plan on taking off tomorrow to spend all day with the family but I'm sure work of some type will slip its way in. If I only worked 60 hours a week I wouldn't even know what to do with all of my time. I'll do 40 hours or more in 3 days sometimes, that leaves 4 days left. I worked 10 hours yesterday then filled in for a friend and played 3 softball games, got home and worked till midnight and was back up at 6:00 this morning to work and I'm not done yet.

Big money doesn't come easy to the vast majority, it takes lots and lots of work.

 

[edk35]

My daughter did the college program in 2012 she barely made enough to live while there. It is ridiculous what they pay. She basically made a bit over min. IT was 7 something an hour. They took out a weekly payment for her apt. that she shared with 3 other girls. We paid her gas for her car and car insurance and we gave her restaurant gift cards or she would have had a rough time.

 

[DisneyPigFan]

Ponyboy, yeah i guess you could think of a government providing services to its citizens and employers providing good benefits or good compensation to its employees as "free stuff." But why would you? Isn't that how things SHOULD work? And it's not free -- we pay for government services with taxes and and you work for benefits your job provides.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

This is why I refuse to work for Disney. I interviewed for a 'professional' position (not an internship, just an entry-level job for someone with a degree) and was told $12 an hour. Are you kidding? I have $800/month in student loan payments I have to start paying soon. For any company to offer a recent Bachelor's grad that low of a pay grade is a joke.

There's a modern term for this...

"America"...the labor paradigm has been trending toward this for going on 50 years

 

[Madteaparty001]

http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/success_hard_work_luck

 

[Alicenwonderment]

My daughter did the college program in 2012 she barely made enough to live while there. It is ridiculous what they pay. She basically made a bit over min. IT was 7 something an hour. They took out a weekly payment for her apt. that she shared with 3 other girls. We paid her gas for her car and car insurance and we gave her restaurant gift cards or she would have had a rough time.

Wow! I get the car insurance but gas for the car? I did the CP program in 97 and advanced internship in 2000. We were not paid much but I never struggled for money. There was also plenty of OT time if you wanted it but I didn't need it. Half way through my first program I decided to buy my first car since I knew if I didn't buy a car I'd be sharing with my 16 year old sister who had just gotten her license. I paid that car off by the end of the summer.(After I got home from CP) I was not given gas money while doing my CP. While I admit that I never went out and partied (I didn't drink either)and have always saved money I didn't find it difficult to live on what Disney paid for the college program. I will admit that the housing situation is just another way to get much more money from their Cps. I lived in a 6 person apartment and it was 66 dollars a week. The four people apartments cost more. There were as always some people that were living from check to check because they were going out every night drinking and calling in for their shifts. Some people just needed know how to save their money and just spent it on stuff.

As for the working your way up this is why I first interviewed for the college program. When I first heard of the college program I heard about the Yes Program and decided that is what I really wanted to do. In order to do that program you first must have completed the college program. When I went down on my college program I knew what my real goal was. After I finished my college program I then become campus rep for my school and later started college alumni program at my college.

My advanced internship (professional internship) was better then my CP experience. We were just treated better then I was on my college program. There were 10 of us chosen to do this internship. At that time the YES program was under The Institute. As an employee of The Institute we could do all their classes for free as long as there was room. I did many of the cooking classes, photography classes for free. We could also use their workout center which was one of the best on property. We even had opportunity to watch different performers (talking Beauty and the Beast cast from Broadway, Cast of Miss Saigon, Celine Dion) practice at the Institute for performances in the area. Unfortunately at the end of my program The Institute was going through "restructuring" and the camp programs and cooking classes were being cut. During this internship there was a lot of stress going on because people were worried about their jobs.
As far as payment it was higher then normal CP and I had regular working hours which was not what happened during my first CP program. In my first program it was not unusual to be walking out at 1 am and never getting 2 days off in a row. During the YES program I was always given Sundays off so I could volunteer and Give Kids the World every Sunday and Thursday. I loved being out of work by 3:30 everyday. (Some of the tours began at 6:30am) One of my tours was 6 hours and we were given lunch vouchers to use for ourselves when we had that tour. The vouchers were good for meal including a drink, lunch type food and dessert. I never used those when I was doing tours so I used them later.

Since we had a professional internship Disney required that we have a vehicle to use on program. All professional interns were not put in housing the Cps were in. Disney used regular apartments out in the community for our housing. We still paid Disney for housing but we lived in regular apartments. I enjoyed that because not living at Vista Way we had less of Disney Housing in our face. Disney didn't car when visitors left our apartment etc. There wasn't security when we checked in our apartment. etc.

Overall I enjoyed both of my Disney experiences. I have made some lifetime friendships from those programs and I am glad I was given the opportunity to work at Disney World.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm a little appalled at the lack of empathy for the American worker in this thread. It's common knowledge that pay has been stagnant for quite a while and buying power has decreased. "Everyone" doesn't have new things and luxuries - that just isn't true.

I'm not saying that these overpaid top executives need to give up anything but they are getting rich on the backs of these workers. That's simply true and always had been. The gap has just widened enormously and people are noticing.

 

[cbsnyber1]

You can thank your government and Obamacare for lots of workers being moved to part time. Congress was warned of the consequences but they took Pelosi's word and voted for it before they read it and now many workers are paying the consequences by being moved to part time.

I can't let this piece of nonsense go past without a response. This is absolutely not true. According to http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/09/news/economy/america-involuntary-part-time-worker-problem/ the part time worker problem began before Obama took office, in George Bush' last year, in 2008. Involuntary part time jobs shot up from 4.8 million to 8 million. Further, part time jobs have declined since 2010, albeit slowly, but they have declined.

I understand your point of view, that there are those gaming the system. But you seem to not understand (or believe) that there are many out there NOT gaming the system who simply cannot get ahead because they do not have the ability to do so. All people are not created equal. Some simply cannot compete in the work force due to low IQ, lack of natural skills, a bad family life/upbringing, lack of funds for advanced training, and an educational system not geared to ensuring work force success at the base level. They try their guts out, but cannot advance beyond minimum wage type jobs. What about providing those people a livable wage? Is that too much to ask? Could you live on $10 an hour, knowing that’s the best you can achieve given your skill set?

I believe we should start people like this at a base level, perhaps that $10 / hour amount and then, after a short period (six months?) and after they have proven themselves capable, dependable, and productive move them into a livable wage, at least $15 / hour. That would be fair to both employer and employee, a win/win for both sides. The employer gains a valuable asset (dependable and productive employee) and the employee gains dignity and respect. This is not a give-away; it is good business.

Ask your billionaire friend – what are his most important assets in his business? I would bet he says his employees; if he doesn't he is not a true leader. Great people build great companies.

 

[edk35]

Wow! I get the car insurance but gas for the car? I did the CP program in 97 and advanced internship in 2000. We were not paid much but I never struggled for money. There was also plenty of OT time if you wanted it but I didn't need it. Half way through my first program I decided to buy my first car since I knew if I didn't buy a car I'd be sharing with my 16 year old sister who had just gotten her license. I paid that car off by the end of the summer.(After I got home from CP) I was not given gas money while doing my CP. While I admit that I never went out and partied (I didn't drink either)and have always saved money I didn't find it difficult to live on what Disney paid for the college program. I will admit that the housing situation is just another way to get much more money from their Cps. I lived in a 6 person apartment and it was 66 dollars a week. The four people apartments cost more. There were as always some people that were living from check to check because they were going out every night drinking and calling in for their shifts. Some people just needed know how to save their money and just spent it on stuff.

As for the working your way up this is why I first interviewed for the college program. When I first heard of the college program I heard about the Yes Program and decided that is what I really wanted to do. In order to do that program you first must have completed the college program. When I went down on my college program I knew what my real goal was. After I finished my college program I then become campus rep for my school and later started college alumni program at my college.

My advanced internship (professional internship) was better then my CP experience. We were just treated better then I was on my college program. There were 10 of us chosen to do this internship. At that time the YES program was under The Institute. As an employee of The Institute we could do all their classes for free as long as there was room. I did many of the cooking classes, photography classes for free. We could also use their workout center which was one of the best on property. We even had opportunity to watch different performers (talking Beauty and the Beast cast from Broadway, Cast of Miss Saigon, Celine Dion) practice at the Institute for performances in the area. Unfortunately at the end of my program The Institute was going through "restructuring" and the camp programs and cooking classes were being cut. During this internship there was a lot of stress going on because people were worried about their jobs.
As far as payment it was higher then normal CP and I had regular working hours which was not what happened during my first CP program. In my first program it was not unusual to be walking out at 1 am and never getting 2 days off in a row. During the YES program I was always given Sundays off so I could volunteer and Give Kids the World every Sunday and Thursday. I loved being out of work by 3:30 everyday. (Some of the tours began at 6:30am) One of my tours was 6 hours and we were given lunch vouchers to use for ourselves when we had that tour. The vouchers were good for meal including a drink, lunch type food and dessert. I never used those when I was doing tours so I used them later.
Since we had a professional internship Disney required that we have a vehicle to use on program. All professional interns were not put in housing the Cps were in. Disney used regular apartments out in the community for our housing. We still paid Disney for housing but we lived in regular apartments. I enjoyed that because not living at Vista Way we had less of Disney Housing in our face. Disney didn't car when visitors left our apartment etc. There wasn't security when we checked in our apartment. etc.

Overall I enjoyed both of my Disney experiences. I have made some lifetime friendships from those programs and I am glad I was given the opportunity to work at Disney World.

She made 7.25 an hour in 2012. My daughter didn't party or drink either if that is what you are implying as to why she didn't have money. I still think the CP kids NEED to make more money. We gave her a gas credit card we paid for. I didn't want her to NOT HAVE MONEY to enjoy herself while she was there for 6 months. She worked at the Emporium....extremely LONG AND LATE HOURS. I think it depends on where you work at Disney too as far as HOW MUCH YOU LIKE YOUR PROGRAM. She got Bronchitis twice and she was already thin and lost about 12 pounds.Her goal the last few weeks was TO NOT GET TERMED. She saw that happen quite a bit. She is glad she did it but she prefers to be a DISNEY GUEST. She didn't want to extend either. She did make a lot of great friends thru the program. She still stays in touch with them and we also see some that still work at Disney when we go back. After her program.....She came back home and finished her degree. Her original goal was to try for a professional internship after she graduated but she nixed that idea. Instead she works for Johns Hopkins now and has a great career. The program looked good/looks good on her resume and people always want to talk to her about her experience.

 

[George4]

I agree they should be paid more but, if you look at how many hours per week of work by Disney employees even a $1/hr raise for each one of them would be a huge amount of money. I'm not sure the exact number of employees Disney has in Orlando but I've heard is well above 50,000 people. 50,000 people x 40 hours per week = 2 million hours. Thus a dollar per hour raise but increased business expenses by $2 million per week!

For a grand total of $104 million per year, or $25 million per quarter. A nearly invisible amount of money compared to their quarterly profits.

That being said, I don't see an issue with the starting salary, more of an issue with how do they compensate as people stay, and potentially are more efficient and better at their jobs. How quickly do they move up the scale, and what is the real potential to move in position status (which moves them to a new salary scale). If, for instance, the listed ranges can be reached within two years, and then a promotion to a new position is reasonable for a hard-working person, then I see no problem with this. If however, you stay in this range for 5-10 years with no advancement, then we have a major problem from an employer/employee perspective. From knowing 5 people that work at Disney, most of their employee's are there for a year or less, most for around 6 months. That may keep the perceived salaries artificially low, since they are always hiring new people, they always start at the bottom.

Its hard to know what is really going on with pay compensation if you aren't also hearing from people that have worked someplace for 2-10 years.

 

[B4DlandOpened]

My parents lived in two of the European countries represented in Epcot WS.

In both of them, I was amazed that there was not a vast difference in housing between hourly-type workers and professional-type workers. Granted, there were older, wood-framed houses along with beautiful, new brick homes, but there was not a stark difference between them.

In one country, the national mind-set was soundly against ostentation and overt displays of wealth.

There was a collective sense of the integrity of all work. I met one of the world's leading leprosy physicians and he was as humble and otherwise as plain as a store clerk.
What they had purposefully evolved was a cultural system that valued all work when done well.
A ditch-digger was as necessary as a pilot, farmer, fisherman, lawyer, etc.

It sounded a bit like socialism, but it was not an attitude that had been forced on them by their government, but rather, they willingly - possibly unknowingly, decided as a country to ascribe value to all walks of life and to ensure, by self-abnegation, that their fellow countrymen would also benefit from whatever profession they chose.

Of course, that was a while ago and the population was about that of some of our states; they were culturally and racially homogeneous; they were also rich in natural resources.

For that to occur here, American managers, business owners, CEOs, board members, citizenry et al, would need to retool their attitudes concerning wealth-hoarding and personal agrandizement.

But it cannot be imposed upon us via governmental laws, fees, taxes, etc.

 

[warrenz1963]

Minimum wage jobs? Yes, there is a nearly unlimited supply of minimum wage jobs.

They may not be jobs people want, but minimum wage jobs are out there. Plenty of them. Construction sites can't find laborers. Fast food can't find workers. Retail can't find workers. Especially in Orlando.

That's because none of them including Disney offer full time hours or benefits. Do you know what it's like to try and put together full time wages from three or four different employers simultaneously? Because that's what it's like in Orlando for service workers.

 

[DanInMN]

Companies generally pay employees the least they can. That amount is based on supply and demand. As long as people line up to work a job, the pay will be low. When it is difficult to fill a job that requires highly trained and skilled people, they pay more to fill the position.

With that said, I feel that companies have responsibilities to shareholders, customers, and employees. Their long term success depends on it. Happy employees do things better than unhappy ones. But nobody in power is likely to ask my opinion!

 

[Accident]

Unfortunately, disney is an emotional place for many and as long as there are teenagers and young adults standing in line to be apart of disney for part of their lives they don't need to be competitive. Unfortunately it also means we are seeing more and more decline. Greener and Greener talent just learning how to work for the first time instead of seasoned career types. We see little problems all over. Not saying it's negative but it's not what it used to be.