Employee discount

[Kurby]

i'm not sure exactly where to put this so i'm putting it here since i spend so much time here.

We were at a Disney store here last night (picking up a couple of movies )
and i was talking with one of the girls at the cash desk.

she was telling me that she used to work on the Wonder and the Magic (started out on the wonder for a year then the magic for 2 years) before moving up here and starting a family.

she took the job at the disney store because she said that employees got a great discount on cruises

does anyone know what kind of discount they get? might be worth working part time to get great deals on cruises.

 

[mommasita]

I am not sure on that. I thought that once Children's place bought them out, they no longer received this discount? I may be wrong though..

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Technically they are not Disney employees at The Disney Store.

 

[Toddymae]

A part-time job working for "Disney" does have employee discounts. Just to be able to get the grandkids into the parks without paying an arm and a leg would be a great benefit.

 

[BethanyF]

she took the job at the disney store because she said that employees got a great discount on cruises

does anyone know what kind of discount they get? might be worth working part time to get great deals on cruises.

we no longer get any discounts on the cruise or at WDW. When we were owned by Disney we did get discounts, but since Childrens Place took over in 2004 the discounts are long gone.

 

[Kurby]

Disney sold the Disney stores????

isn't there some law against that?

 

[ma_t_gus]

I met someone who work for ESPN in NYC which is owned by ABC ( I think ), which is partnered with Disney, my head hurts. Anyhoo, we were at a training class together last year, I think he told me he gets 50% off DCL. I asked him to adopt my myself and my family but no go. Can someone who is affiliated with Disney/ABC confirm?

 

[weathernlu]

Disney doesn't own the Disney stores anymore? What??????

That makes no sense whatsoever!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Disney doesn't own the Disney stores anymore? What??????

That makes no sense whatsoever!

Yup, they sold them a few years ago to The Children's Place. They were no longer the money-makers that they once were so Disney sold them off.

 

[swandiverpatt]

While we get very good cruise discounts, it's on an "availability" schedule -- you never know when rooms will open up or what type of rooms are available. For people working at WDW it's easy to do (no flight arrangements, etc.), but for people working elsewhere with cast member discounts it might not be such a good deal.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

Yup, they sold them a few years ago to The Children's Place. They were no longer the money-makers that they once were so Disney sold them off.

You can definately tell that Disney no longer owns the stores. The magic seems to be gone. I remember the day when Disney music would drive you in the door. The store seemed to be more alive, if that makes sense. The selections seem to have dwindled down too. I still like to go in just to have a small link to Disney, but I'm definately bummed about the way they've went down. You know what else I miss? I really miss the Disney catalog, not that 4 page little book they send out. I know I'm online all the time but looking at the Disney site is not the same as sitting down and curling up to look at the catalog. I ordered a whole lot more when Disney sent out the catalog.

 

[CraftyMouse]

You can definately tell that Disney no longer owns the stores. The magic seems to be gone. I remember the day when Disney music would drive you in the door. The store seemed to be more alive, if that makes sense. The selections seem to have dwindled down too. I still like to go in just to have a small link to Disney, but I'm definately bummed about the way they've went down. You know what else I miss? I really miss the Disney catalog, not that 4 page little book they send out. I know I'm online all the time but looking at the Disney site is not the same as sitting down and curling up to look at the catalog. I ordered a whole lot more when Disney sent out the catalog.

Right before I stopped working for TDS, Disney brought in the former President of "The Gap" (I think it was the Gap...maybe it was Nike) as the head of the TDS division. He attempted to run TDS like he had run his former company. The problem was that Disney is not like any other company. So many people came in just to watch the video for a few minutes or browse. Now that was discouraged.

Before the changes I loved working there. After...not so much. I used to love talking with guests about their just taken or upcoming trips, Disney memories, the latest movies, etc. The merchandise sold itself and we were never instructed to push the merchandise. After he came we were told that we couldn't discuss WDW with guests. Instead we had to direct them to the latest Birnbaum guide, conveniently for sale in the store. We also had to choose what they called an "E-Ticket Item" (high priced item) each day and try to sell it on our shift. Push, push, push, sell, sell, sell. That was the beginning of the end. Working there was no longer fun. It was like working anywhere else. The whole program was called Project Go. All it did was get many long-time CMs, including me, to quit and GO out the door.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

Right before I stopped working for TDS, Disney brought in the former President of "The Gap" (I think it was the Gap...maybe it was Nike) as the head of the TDS division. He attempted to run TDS like he had run his former company. The problem was that Disney is not like any other company. So many people came in just to watch the video for a few minutes or browse. Now that was discouraged.

Before the changes I loved working there. After...not so much. I used to love talking with guests about their just taken or upcoming trips, Disney memories, the latest movies, etc. The merchandise sold itself and we were never instructed to push the merchandise. After he came we were told that we couldn't discuss WDW with guests. Instead we had to direct them to the latest Birnbaum guide, conveniently for sale in the store. We also had to choose what they called an "E-Ticket Item" (high priced item) each day and try to sell it on our shift. Push, push, push, sell, sell, sell. That was the beginning of the end. Working there was no longer fun. It was like working anywhere else. The whole program was called Project Go. All it did was get many long-time CMs, including me, to quit and GO out the door.

Yes! That is exactly what I'm talking about! The magic left.........

 

[mmouse37]

I worked for TDS for 17 years....actually I am still working for the Disney Store but under Hoops Retail...the current owners.......yes, when the stores were owned by Disney we would get great discounts on cruises, etc. but we were also never allowed to discuss any of our CM discounts in a public forum like this....it was grounds for termination. Even though we are no longer owned by Disney I guess it was all that Disney ingraining that I still don't feel comfortable discussing discounts on a board like this.

And....the Disney Stores are up for sale again now......who knows who will buy them this time....I wish Disney would buy them back....

 

[CraftyMouse]

Even though we are no longer owned by Disney I guess it was all that Disney ingraining that I still don't feel comfortable discussing discounts on a board like this.

Completely understandable. Just a quick question...without going into any specifics can you tell me if you still get any WDW or DCL discounts, or are they totally gone?

 

[mattmommy]

My dh worked for TDS for 6 years p/t. He loved it. It was so much more about guest service than actually selling and he had great managers who knew that guest service actually generates more revenue than the "don't you want to buy this?" attitude. First they took out the cels, then the WDCC, then all guest service attitudes. I remember looking forward to the few sales they did have. Now I know it'll be on sale in 2 days anyway. But I have a ds7 and there's nothing there for him but t-shirts. It turned into the princess and pooh store with a sale everyday.

DH left when all the magic started leaving. And yes, he used to get phenominal benefits and basically spent what he earned and more because they had things people actually wanted.

 

[grumpymakesmehappy]

I wish Disney would buy the stores back too MJ. It really is a shame what has happened to TDS since Disney sold them. You could tell the people who worked at TDS really and truly did love all things Disney. It used to be a joy shopping there not a letdown.

 

[Kurby]

wow - that's so sad.

i know at least in the one that we go to in Toronto - it doesn't seem to be like that.

they didn't have a great selection of christmas stuff last year but this year they had better tree stuff and i did buy a couple and they don't seem to have a huge selection of adult wear but again i did buy a tinkerbell pj set and i've been hinting pretty hard to my dh that i want the long red robe with mickey on the back.

the service is always great though - never been pushed into anything and in fact my daughter (2 years old) runs around looking at everything before plopping herself on the floor to watch the videos. the staff always talk to us about when we're planning on going back to WDW and the owner himself talked to me the other night about his daughter and my daughter and how much he thought they acted the same - their bed schedule and other non disney related topics.

no one telling us the new $85 tree skirt would be perfect in our house or how about 2 or 3 $50 princess dolls for christmas gifts.

i would be totally turned off if they did that and prob wouldn't go back.

 

[CraftyMouse]

wow - that's so sad.

i know at least in the one that we go to in Toronto - it doesn't seem to be like that.

I'm sure it's not like that now in general. This was at the very end of Disney's ownership of TDS. Now they are under different ownership so I'm sure Project Go is long gone. Unfortunately now variety in the merchandise is lacking and, like another poster said, it has become the Pooh & Princess Store. TDS was so great in its heyday. It is so different now.