Ever thought about packing up and moving to work at Disneyworld?

[mybgirl]

They don't pay well at all and I think working for WDW full time would ruin some of the magic. Now a 15 hr a week retirement job---that might be the ticket.

I DREAM ABOUT DOING THR SAME THING ,you never know


sweet dream's of DISNEY every night


GOD BLESS MARY

 

[DISNEY4FUN]

How are the Disney wages if you work behind the scenes?

Someone mentioned IT jobs. I have also checked the Disney careers website for financial positions. I have an accounting degree. I assume that these types of jobs would pay more competitively with the rest of the country. Is that true? Working in an office would allow you to work for Disney without getting sick of the resort.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

i think of it ALL THE TIME! lol. unfortunatly Disney doesn't pay much over minimum wage and it would be difficult for my fiance and i to make decent money while trying to afford a house and everything else. plus you'd have to work on holidays.....and i had to do that for the last 5 years and i'm glad that i don't have to do it anymore.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have an accounting degree. I assume that these types of jobs would pay more competitively with the rest of the country. Is that true?

Not really. Florida in general has relatively low pay rates, and Disney in particular lowballs because they have good benefits, fun perks, and the Gee Whiz factor of putting "Disney" on your resume. If by "the rest of the country" you mean a major city or just about anywhere on the east or west coast, you will find that the pay in Orlando is at least 20% below what you think it should be, and possibly a lot less.

If you've looked at their professional postings, you've probably seen that most of Disney's finance-related positions are located in S. California. Almost all of their corporate ops are managed out of California, with add'l offices in NYC and Chicago. The only professional specialties with much presence in Florida seem to be hospitality mgmt. and HR. They use a fair number of outside contractors; I've done off-site work for them in the past. We visited for 2 days of meetings, then did the rest of our work from our own offices in the midwest, on a project lasting nearly 2 years (this was an IT project.)

 

[doombuggy]

Especially in Metrowest, a very nice neighborhood in Orlando. (My parents really wanted their baby living in a decent neighborhood after a friend was murdered in Orlando two years before!)

Sorry, I live here and disagree with this comment. Parts of Metrowest are good and parts are not. It's very hit & miss. Right now, at an apt. complex a couple of miles from the one I am in now (and one that I looked at living in before it went condo) a girl went missing two weeks ago. I think the news has finally started been seen on the national news.

I moved here to get away from the cold & snow in Phila. I have been here since 7/04 and I still have trouble with the heat. I work at full time job on the east side of town in a suburb and part time at Disney on the weekends. Yes, that means I work 7 days a week, unless I get a day off from my FT job (or like today, I had no hours at Disney). The cost of living is supposedly less here, but as someone else mentioned, things are just as expensive if not more so than where I am from. Because it is a tourist area. My biggest disapointment is the housing situation. I thought, as a single person, I could never afford to buy a home back home, but felt it was definately in my reach here. NOT!!!!! Sure, I could buy a decent 3/2 with a garage if I have at least $250k. I can't afford that. Many apts are going condo (mine included) so I will have to either find another place to live or go home in November when my lease is up.

Don't get me wrong. I love working at Disney. Yes, the pay is a bit less, but there are other perks that make up for it (and that is probably why the pay is less). Unfortunately, my work experience at Bloomingdale's (from 1987-1991) doesn't effect my pay (I should be paid more for my retail experience). If I could work f/t at Disney doing what I do f/t (401k & pensions) I would. I probably would not be paid as much as I am now, but I could cut back on my work hours (ie not work 7 days a week) and buy a manufactured home near some of my friends in a nicer part of the area. The other issue is the hurricanes - we had 3 within 6 weeks the first couple of months I was here. Insurance for your home is tough to get and has a high deductable - at least 2%.

If you are thinking of moving, do your homework and have the ability to spend money on a decent home. I know this sounds like a downer, but I wouldn't want anyone else to feel the entense disappointment I felt. I should be old enough to know better - at least that is what I would have told my friends at my high school reunion last fall (if I had gone - 20th).

PS: I put contracts on 8 homes & 2 lots of land. One of the lots was wetlands and the other lot was misrepresented, so I could not build a house more than 15' wide! The last house I bid on was accepted, but the home apprasied at 10k less than asking & she would not drop her price. I couldn't come up with that so I let it go. She eventually sold it for her price a couple of months later.

 

[DisneyGeek2000]

...Mainly a behind the scenes type job in their IT Dept (databases) .... and its in the most vibrant city in the world, NYC 1 block from Times Square).

Be prepared to take a huge pay cut!!!

 

[bytheblood]

Yeah, but it would be a huge paycut and with cost of living compared to here....not worth it.

 

[Sylvester McBean]

I get to retire at 62 and the pension kicks in. WDW or Universal, I intend to spend some of my retirement time working in the parks.

 

[Marthasor]

I, too, dream of working at Disney and have dreamed about it since I was a little girl. My husband and I are talking about it. We couldn't do it for another 8 years or so and I think the seasonal job appeals to me most. We'll see! For now, we'll visit about once a year and now that Iger has taken over, Disney has bought Pixar and Steve Jobs is on board, we bought some stock! I think this company is, once again, gonna go places!!!!

 

[Feralpeg]

I did it. I moved from the midwest. I now live ten minutes from WDW property. I don't work there, but I run my own business which involves Disney. I can't think of anything better.

 

[jazstar87]

my parent want me to do the disney college thing because they know how much i love disney!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

DH actually brings up moving to FL more often than I do, which is funny because I lived in FL before I came to TX!

I lived in Jacksonville for 5 years, then in the St. Petersburg area for 4 years. I have really good friends who live just outside of Tampa. Haven't really kept in touch with anybody else. I left in 1989.

If we do go to FL I don't think we would live in Orlando, so I don't think we would work for Disney. But the airfare to get there is KICKING OUR BUTTS, so living within a reasonable driving distance sounds really good! DH could easily find a job there - he works for a national company. I don't know that I would be so lucky. I am a professional nanny, and there aren't very many strong markets left for career nannies. I suppose if I could somehow swing a deal to do private babysitting at the Disney resorts I could make good money, but I don't think I would enjoy that long term. I might not even enjoy it short term! I think it is one of those things we will toss around now and then, but I don't think we will do it.

 

[momto2girls]

I adore WDW. Truly adore it. But there is NO way that I could move to Orlando. I lived in Florida for 13 years and was miserable (except when I was at Disney ).

 

[lizanne]

I've always wanted a job on Main Street where I could hear the music and see the parades.

Suggested to my husband that we think about retiring there (when the time comes) but he said he couldn't handle the heat and humidity. After thinking about it, I had to agree.

 

[Snow Shoe]

I have a friend that retired from his college position and now works for Disney part time. He winters in Orlando with his wife who also works for Disney part time. During the summers they travel to northern Canada/Alsaka and visit family there. He loves working for them. He works in climate control-his college teaching expertise. Every now and then he e-mails me to just let me know he's back at Disney.

 

[nhpooh]

We are talking of moving to Florida when my DD(17) graduates high school next year. We wouldn't be moving to Orlando but not too far. Maybe to Deltona, which is about half way between Orlando and Daytona. Our best friends moved down 7/04. They love it, they also don't work for WDW but love to visit. We all can't stand this cold up here and would rather be warm all the time.

Yes we know about the hurricanes, we were there for Frances. Hey we are going to have a noreaster tomorrow. Heavy snow, strong winds, trees down and very cold. I would rather be sitting on my lanai with a cup of coffee . Not in my living room looking at snow. Give me the sun Thank you!

 

[CherCrazy]

In about 15 years, look for me selling the frozen 's in Disney. By then, Disney should be paying at least $6.00 per hour.

 

[halld6479]

a couple years ago while down there I talked hubby into checking on jobs at disney he was in his mid 40's he is a computer tec. where he works and he is also electricain working with computer scopes and lazers so he knows his stuff. we got home and he got a call for an interview, after he talked on the phone with them he turned and said well I have to go back down on my own expense and they pay alot less then we make now, are you willing to leave the family here and give up alot of the things we do now just so you can say you work for disney cause I not. so he never went, my parents do now live down in the area and say the cost of living is high and wages low. and the traffic is terrible

 

[Markstudy]

a couple years ago while down there I talked hubby into checking on jobs at disney. We got home and he got a call for an interview, after he talked on the phone with them he turned and said well I have to go back down on my own expense and they pay alot less then we make now, just so you can say you work for disney cause I not.

Just like my Dad's story....with the Golf Pro job

So what have we learned?

When you are a famous, glamorous Corporation in the business of Fun & Fantasy, located in a great warm climate....you will have a excess amount of people that want to work for you.

So following the basic Supply/Demand equation of economics... you can offer lower wages and still fill all your openings.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

" So I feel so guilty about saying this, but I've already decided that if anything happens to him and I'm widowed, I'm on the next plane to WDW"


WOW! So I'm not the ONLY one with these secretly guilty thoughts!!!
I'll be in the seat next to yours!

~Rose~