HOW do they do it???

[lgazz]

Hi. I'm usually on the Budget Boards, and I wasn't quite sure where this question best fits...
DH, DS6 & DS8 and I just returned from an 8-day Spring Break vacation at WDW. We stayed at All Star Sports....First time staying on-property...OK hotel...We know there are much more elaborate resorts, but we really weren't in our room very much...we really enjoyed our time at the parks! We did a character meal at the Beach Club Resort. Now, if we stayed THERE, I wouldn't want to leave!!
Anyway, on to my question...

Our last trip was 2 years ago...off property, but we still spent lots and lots of time in the parks. Trips before that were too long ago to really remember much...To give you an idea, Epcot was brand new on my last trip, and it didn't even exist on DH's last trip!!
We continue to be impressed/amazed at how smoothly things seem to run, how beautiful/well-kept/immaculate the grounds are and how everyone we came in contact with (as well as those who were not in direct contact with guests - like maintenance, etc.) really seemed to take pride in their work and WANT to do a good job!
HOW does Disney do it? I have no idea how many people they employe at the resorts and parks. I can't imagine they pay an unusually high rate. But everyone we came in contact with and witnessed doing a non-interactive job, really seemed genuinely happy to do a good job.

One afternoon we watched a golf cart full of mousekeepers truck through the 90+ degree heat to their parking lot after a long day of tough work. Each one of them was smiling and chatting away. The landscapers plugged away at their jobs in the opressive heat (well, "opressive heat" to a Mid-westerner). I was impressed to see a park worker leave a counter service restaurant and sweep-up a tiny piece of trash off the ground and deposit it into a trash container without breaking stride. He continued on his way to a destination somewhere else in the park. Of course, the CMs we met were all very pleasant. (I would expect that at WDW, though.)

(OK. We did encounter one "less than magical" ice cream vendor at a park, but he really stood out as unusual.)

I just can't believe Disney pays a disproportionately high rate, or a "No Tolerance" policy on "non-magical" behavior does the trick. I also have a tough time believing that it is merely "human nature" to take pride in everything you do (to the nth degree). It seems to me that the tourist industry could always use labor. I can't imagine jobs are too tough to come by. What I wonder is, "How does Disney attract such GOOD help"?

DH and I are just curious. I do not mean to offend anyone in the industry. This is NOT a slam on workers not employed by Disney, nor is it a snooty expression of low expectations. Rather, this post is meant to be genuine appreciation for the people who helped make our vacation magical!

Anyone on the boards work at WDW or know how they do it??

 

[OhMari]

Glad you enjoyed your trip after a long time away from WDW. I guess you could say, they call it the Disney Magic. Some people get it and some don't and I think you and your family saw and felt the Magic

 

[Pollito916]

I think maybe that some of the people that would seek out a job at Disney must love it, and that probably makes it easier to enjoy your job.

 

[swillis]

My sister did a college internship at WDW. She was down there for about 3 months. The pay was awful. She couldn't afford to do it on her own. My parents had to supplement her with money for food, gas, etc.

They did provide her with a place to live (4bdrm apt w/ 7 roomates) and did provide ttransportation to her job (2nd shift at Pleasure island) and a uniform.

She lost 20#, and survived a tornado.

She would do it again in a HEARTBEAT!!!
She loved it! She made friends for life, she met people from other countires every single day. SHe said that being around people who had anticipated their vacation to WDW sooo much was so much fun.

I think that Disney just expects such a high degree of professionalism, and the people that work there are NOT people who take the job because they can't find any other job to pay the bills. You have to IMPRESS to be hired by Disney. Even the college internship interview was one of the toughest my sister has ever been through. You have to look the part, and corform to Disney's standards. They won't hire you otherwise. That's the difference between Disney's "Guest Service" and other companies "Customer Service"

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[DisneyDK]

I know exactly what you mean! Last time DH and I were there we decided once we got the DS and DD through college, we would quit our jobs and work at WDW. He wants to be the train engineer and I would love to be a character. Getting too old to play Cinderella but I think that I would make a pretty good Fairy Godmother!

 

[Disney owl]

Thanks for sharing

I guess working for Disney is for a lot of people a dreamjob