I worked at WDW, Universal, and SeaWorld. Ask away.

[ChanaC]

Hello! If you ever wandered into the "Disney World Tips" section of the site you'll see that I've been answering Photopass questions. Since that thread is slowing down and since I have experience at all three parks, I thought I would make myself available to anyone who has questions.

About me: I've done two summer internships at SeaWorld Orlando in the education department. I've also worked at Universal Studios in attractions. Although I am seasonal and not currently in the parks, I have worked at Disney for about two years in Photopass, mostly at Animal Kingdom although I have a lot of experience at Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and the MK resorts.

Ask away if you have any questions about the three parks. I've spent a lot of time playing in each park so I can try to answer anything about attractions, shows, restaurants, resorts, characters, or whatever. If you have any specific Photopass questions check out my first thread because it might already be in there.

As they say on Reddit, ask me anything!

Link to PP thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3268517

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

Hello! If you ever wandered into the "Disney World Tips" section of the site you'll see that I've been answering Photopass questions. Since that thread is slowing down and since I have experience at all three parks, I thought I would make myself available to anyone who has questions.

About me: I've done two summer internships at SeaWorld Orlando in the education department. I've also worked at Universal Studios in attractions. Although I am seasonal and not currently in the parks, I have worked at Disney for about two years in Photopass, mostly at Animal Kingdom although I have a lot of experience at Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and the MK resorts.

Ask away if you have any questions about the three parks. I've spent a lot of time playing in each park so I can try to answer anything about attractions, shows, restaurants, resorts, characters, or whatever. If you have any specific Photopass questions check out my first thread because it might already be in there.

As they say on Reddit, ask me anything!

Link to PP thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3268517

What have you noticed about how many people come to the three non-MK parks? Do you really think 10 million people come to each of them a year? Which resort seems to be the most booked up whether it's Deluxe, Moderate or Value?

 

[ChanaC]

What have you noticed about how many people come to the three non-MK parks? Do you really think 10 million people come to each of them a year? Which resort seems to be the most booked up whether it's Deluxe, Moderate or Value?

Hmmm tough questions. Honestly, no idea about the 10 million mark. Maybe? If it makes any difference all the parks seem equally busy.

I think most people I talk to stay at Pop Century if they are doing value since it is one of the cheaper with a lot of rooms (although All-Star has more rooms combined). There also seems to be a lot of people at Caribbean Beach in the moderate category but I think it's also one of the largest.

At Universal (at least before Cabana Beach) it seemed most people stay offsite, but then again there were only three resorts and two of them are pretty expensive.

Also, I love Spaceship Earth too. At least the one before the latest renovation. Not a huge fan of the new touchscreens and I miss all the pretty lights on the way down.

 

[damo]

Is it true that Universal employees are not as friendly as WDW employees?

 

[smraynor]

I have three questions:

What has been the biggest surprise of working at Disney so far?

What's the part of your day you look forward to the most?

What gets you frustrated about working with the public?

 

[ChanaC]

Is it true that Universal employees are not as friendly as WDW employees?

I disagree. It sounds weird, but I think Universal people are more sincere. If you ever spend a lot of time with people who worked at Disney for too long you realize they seem a little... robotic. Like, they say nice things but it seems kind of soulless sometimes. I think it's all in the company training and culture. Disney tells everyone to preserve the Magic and the Celebrations because of Happiness (notice the capitalization). Universal is a little more like Disney's cool uncle. They encourage people to be nice to guests not because of the company Culture but because it's just the right thing to do. But I think if you walk around you will find equally happy and equally grumpy people at both parks.

 

[ChanaC]

I have three questions:

What has been the biggest surprise of working at Disney so far?

I think the bureaucratic-ness of it. I was used to knowing all my supervisors and managers and being able to talk to them whenever I needed to. Disney (especially the PP/entertainment department) is so large there were days, even weeks where I would never see my "homeroom" manager. I first started working at the "resorts" which is the PP named location for the PP who work at the character dining locations in the resorts around MK. There were always managers around, but they might not be your specific managers. When I (finally) transferred to Animal Kingdom it was better since the managers were in the next office over, but now because of construction they are literally on the other side of the park (our base is sort of behind the old Camp Minnie Mickey while the managers now work behind Dinoland).

It's also extremely hard to move up in the company. I am a recent college graduate with a degree in the entertainment field. I consider myself to be very motivated to start a real career. While the managers are good to talk to, moving up usually involves applying online and possibly a blood sacrifice. It's almost impossible. I'm not afraid of hard work but I know other hard workers who literally have not moved up after working for 5+ years.

What's the part of your day you look forward to the most?

Clocking out! Lol. It was kind of nice to work at Epcot around park close because sometimes I would take the long way back to base and watch Illuminations. I also liked working in the view stations, not only because they are air conditioned/heated but it was nice to look at other peoples photos and get inspired.

What gets you frustrated about working with the public?

People can be really rude sometimes. I hated when people wouldn't ask for a photo. They would just stand in one spot looking at me. Is it so hard to say please and thank you? I have a whole post on the last thread I did where I vented after a bad week. It's a little ugly but it's hard to keep smiling when you stand in one spot in the direct sunlight for three hours and only get a total of three "pleases".

 

[alkc71]

I am curious how vacationers generally treat the cast members, yes we all get hot, tired and overwhelmed on vacation but i am sooo excited to be at Disney i have a perma smile on and probably look like an idiot lol. However i have witnessed many "entitled" vacationers sharing their negativity all around them, what have your experiences been, anyone ever go over the top showing their gratitude or their displeasure?

 

[smraynor]

Hey thanks for the answers and I appreciate the honesty.

I am a art/design professor and I've taught some students who work down at WDW and I've heard some similar stories.

http://www.itats.org/3-questions-walt-disney-world-cast-member/

 

[kathy884]

Which of the three theme parks do you think is the better place to work for? And do employees move around a lot between the three?

My nephew came down to do the Disney college program, fell in love with Florida, so wanted to become a Florida resident and then go to school in the state with in state tuition vs. going back to Idaho. He's been working part time at Disney 38 hours a week and just signed up for a 10 week contract with Universal (Halloween Horror nights stuff, etc.). I think he's thinking he might do some part time at Disney at the same time too??

 

[ChanaC]

I am curious how vacationers generally treat the cast members, yes we all get hot, tired and overwhelmed on vacation but i am sooo excited to be at Disney i have a perma smile on and probably look like an idiot lol. However i have witnessed many "entitled" vacationers sharing their negativity all around them, what have your experiences been, anyone ever go over the top showing their gratitude or their displeasure?

Yes and yes. I've seen everything. Oddly, most people seem to be generally neutral as they walk around. No different than walking around your local mall. You will see a crying kid on every corner. I'll tell you at least one story from each side though:

I was in Animal Kingdom when a lady came up to the view station practically hyperventilating because she had lost her photopass card with about 200 pictures on in. She was almost in tears. I asked her to remember one photo they took (I think it was with Mickey somewhere). We scrolled through the photos and found hers. With that one photo I was able to see what card was linked to it and was able to pull up all her photos and add it to another card. She was so relived she almost cried again. She was incredibly grateful and I think I made her day.

I was also in the Animal Kingdom view station at the end of the night when a family came over and asked to view their photo from Everest. The girl who was helping them explained that we can't do that since the PP system and the attractions photo system work independently. The family got really angry since they were told at Everest that they can come to the front of the park and get a digital download (which, once again, is physically impossible). At that point Everest already closed for the night so we couldn't call them. Instead of understanding the miscommunication and moving on, they decided to just yell and get angry because it was "Disney people" who told them about the download and we were "Disney people" and should make it right. We ended up giving them a free print but they still were pissed off, not happy that they at least got something.

 

[ChanaC]

Hey thanks for the answers and I appreciate the honesty.

I am a art/design professor and I've taught some students who work down at WDW and I've heard some similar stories.

http://www.itats.org/3-questions-walt-disney-world-cast-member/

The College Program is even worse. Everyone gets excited since it's an "internship." Yay! And then, they get offered a position to stay with the company! Double yay, it's every intern's dream! But really, most CP's never work in their intended field, make less money then regular CM's, and then get offered another minimum wage job. I personally don't think it's worth the time when law students get a job flipping burgers and then get offered a position, encouraging them to drop out of school and flip burgers for the rest of their lives.

 

[smraynor]

On the photography side of things....Again I work in an Art/Design department and I have faculty members who are experts in photography. I'm always interested in the fact that everyone seems to think they are a photography expert and they don't need to learn anything because they already know it all!

I wonder if you run into people trying to tell you how to take better photos?

 

[ChanaC]

Which of the three theme parks do you think is the better place to work for? And do employees move around a lot between the three?

My nephew came down to do the Disney college program, fell in love with Florida, so wanted to become a Florida resident and then go to school in the state with in state tuition vs. going back to Idaho. He's been working part time at Disney 38 hours a week and just signed up for a 10 week contract with Universal (Halloween Horror nights stuff, etc.). I think he's thinking he might do some part time at Disney at the same time too??

Not a lot of people move between the three, although Halloween Horror Nights is pretty popular. I was happy working for SeaWorld the most. However, it was an internship with a set amount of hours and a group of 60ish people I saw every day, which is very different than "real" SeaWorld work.

Oddly enough, I think the best way to see how a company treats people is through food (because who doesn't love food?)

Both SeaWorld and Universal had employee cafe's run by themselves. They sold their food at cost, which means they didn't make much money on it but it was cheap. For example, at Universal's orientation they gave each person a $4 voucher for the cafe. I was able to get the meal of the day which was meatloaf and two sides plus a slice of apple pie!

The SeaWorld cafe was small but always had a salad bar, a sandwich station, a grill station, and a special or two of the day. It didn't have long hours but then again it is a smaller park with fewer employees and does usually close early.

Universal's cafe was like heaven. It had a salad station, grill, sandwich station, multiple specials a day, a pizza station and lot of grab and go items. It was open nearly all the time and even if the stations were closed there were plenty of grab and go sandwiches, salads, and snacks. It also had some smaller grills around the park so you could grab a quick burger on your break (for $1!)

Disney however uses a third party company. There is a Subway, plus all the above except it was all for the other company's profit. It takes forever to get served, is usually gross and greasy, and can cost between $6-$8 for a full meal, which is an hour of pay for some people. Animal Kingdom's cafe is really far away from many locations so most people can't do it for lunch. It also closes super early. On a normal park hours day, they close the hot food sections around 2:00 and everything else (which is the Subway and a limited grab and go selection) around 4:00. So if you work a 9 hour shift and don't feel like cooking when you get home, you are out of luck. I heard years ago Disney provided their own food and it used to be good, but not anymore. At least Hollywood Studio's cafe is in the middle of the park so it is easy to reach.

 

[Planogirl]

I appreciate you answering all of these questions. This is very interesting.

You mentioned internships at SeaWorld. Do Universal and Disney have similar programs?

 

[ChanaC]

On the photography side of things....Again I work in an Art/Design department and I have faculty members who are experts in photography. I'm always interested in the fact that everyone seems to think they are a photography expert and they don't need to learn anything because they already know it all!

I wonder if you run into people trying to tell you how to take better photos?

Not really but there are people who ask about my equipment a lot. I have always been a photography hobbyist so I'm not and expert in the equipment or all the settings. I've had chats with some other hobbyist but we mostly talk about locations. However, there are times when I look at guest's photos with them and wonder if the photographers were ever properly trained. I've seen photos with the castle looking like a little tower off in the distance the the tree of life looking like a piece of broccoli. We are all trained on how to set up the camera (we are told the settings) and how to make a photo look good but sometimes I think some photographers fell asleep during training. I don't pretend to be an expert but the castle should look like the castle, not a hat!

 

[ChanaC]

I appreciate you answering all of these questions. This is very interesting.

You mentioned internships at SeaWorld. Do Universal and Disney have similar programs?

Yes, all the parks have internships.

The most famous is the Disney College Program, which I don't recommend. See above. While it is technically an internship, I believe an internship should give students real life training in their field of study, while most students do standard entry level, no college needed jobs like working in attractions, restaurants, and sometimes even in housekeeping and custodial. Unless you are working in culinary or hospitality, it isn't worth it. Disney also has "Professional Internships" which, from my understanding, are actually internships. I've applied for a few and never heard back.

Universal has internships but I never met any of the interns so I am not sure what they do.

SeaWorld also has two types of internships. One is similar to the Disney program where you work in the parks which probably is nothing special. There were two I applied and interviews for - one was in entertainment and was for costuming and one was a management internship where you would spend a few weeks as a regular employee and then become and assistant manager, which actually sounded like a great way to get management experience.

My internship with SeaWorld was the Educational Camp Internship. We were all trained for two weeks in animal knowledge and child care and then spent nine weeks as counselors for the summer camp. Like I said, it was a unique situation because instead of really "working" we came in at 8:00 and got set up. At 9:00 the kids came in and we would spend the day walking around the park, seeing shows, feeding animals, doing arts and crafts, etc. Then the kids left at 3:00 and we left at 4:00. It was probably one of the most fun jobs I had. It was great for people going into education since we would all get the opportunity to lecture and teach about animals every day. It was also great for people going into the biology/zoology/animal training field since we got to spend so much time observing the animals and talking to the trainers and care staff.

 

[Deanie1]

OK, I'll ask something I have always wondered about. How did WDW acquire the animals that we see at AK? Did they come from breeding programs at other zoos? Did they bring them over directly from Africa and Asia?

 

[Goofyuk]

a few questions, some of which you might not know the answer to but I thank you anyway.

Roughly what % of visitors to SeaWorld/Universal, where doing a Disney based holiday and doing the other parks on an off-day

When a cm is already a friend of a furry character, say mickey, how much extra training do they need to become friends with other furry characters such as Stitch, Pooh, etc?

When working at SeaWorld or Animal Kingdom did you ever have to deal with anti-zoo protesters or any kind of abuse?

Are all cast members in each company given comparable safety training? (first aid, personal attack, bomb threat, etc)

 

[redheadedmermaid73]

Its interesting for me to read this post as I've also worked at all three theme parks. However, my areas were merchandise (WDW and UOR), and security (SEA).