Interesting Tidbits...

[Goofster18]

I totally agree with JonnyJ18. As a side note tho, even if it sucks and you hate it, unless you are about to die, try it out and keep going, it may just be those first few hills to get over and you will love it, or at least, if you ever want to work for Disney (not just with the Disney name, but like ESPN, etc.) ever even think there is the smallest remotest chance to ever in a million years work for a single minute.......don't leave early and don't screw yourself by being late and doing a bad job. I understand that a few days in a family emergency, or if your school starts earlier they do understand that. And people will be late, it happens. But just be aware. True, though, I'm with JonnyJ18 here!!
Have a Magical Day!!!
Goofster18

 

[reborn120]

ok so I am definitely a Disney-Lover and worship Disney, but I think that it is important to realize that this will be different than taking a vacation. Yes you experience the Disney magic and get in free, but you are working and making the magic for others so they have a great vacation like those Cast Members who gave the experience to you. Disney is a company. Magical, yes, but for money. If I get in, will I probably get a reality check there? yes. will it be hard living on no money and working long hours? yes. will I have problems adjusting and working and with roommates and such? yes. However, this person got put in food service. He asks what is Disney about that? Well, you are at Disney. Disney is not all attractions and rainbows lol. Guests need food, cleaning, luggage people, custodial, etc. That is why there is a role checklist. Your job is to make people's days better and magical. Even in food service, you smile and deliver food promptly, "have a magical day" notice their celebration buttons if they have them, etc. It is Disney, just not the vacation you have, but I bet when on vacation food was important to keep going. Will it be hard, tiring, rough, and edgy at times? yes. Will i want to go home, be homesick, maybe hate Disney every once in a while? yes. but if you network and try your best than it is still a rewarding experience and the worse is you finished a program for your resume and got free entry to the parks. And you know that you don't want to work there. Even though it is cliche, I think that what people say about how you look at going into the program and attempting to network and do your job the best possible is true. I like these negative reports because they keep me grounded in the reality or work and business and making money, back away from just the magic part. Mostly, the negative seems to stem from people being termed by something stupid they did clearly against the rules or not knowing the foolishness they were getting into or just deciding they didn't want to try and left. So it is taken with a grain of salt.
Have a Magical Day!!!
Goofster18
P.S. I don't know if that guy in the video tried out for performer before, but if you ever think of trying out or working again, then keeping the attendance card clean and having the right personality and work ethic is soo important. Is "dream breaker" harsh. absolutely. I do wonder if those were his words and interpretation because I just don't think that Disney Cast Members would use those terms EVER. But saying he has never hated a job more? Yea that will keep you from continuing. I've never done the program and I know that. My advice: Know the rules, the Disney Look, do your best, finish your program and then give it a year to decide if it was worth it. Resist temptation and know what's up before you get there and then you shouldn't have a problem. But Cast Members make the magic first and foremost. Experience magic? yes, but making it for vacationers (who are paying your salary) is first and foremost. So, yea that's my rant lol.

Work first and fun second, like anything else in life. I think a lot of people take this internship thinking it will be all fun a games like being on an extended vacation. I think it will be far from this. It is not so much about what job you get but what you do with it. Networking, a positive attitude, and a good work ethic.

This reminds me of a tip my Trainer gave me when I first hired in, and what I told my Trainees during the time I was a Trainer (though not exactly this way, lol):

"Don't snort the Pixie Dust too much, you'll regret it later."

The Walt Disney Company does what it does for profit, first and foremost. We might make money by making people happy and playing a central role in American and Global pop culture, but we still do it in order to make money.

As long as you remember that, you'll be fine. I've always felt it's important for new CMs, particularly CPs, many of who choose to do their internships with us because of a pre-existing attachment to Disney, to balance the fact that we create happiness and make dreams come true on the one hand, with the fact that it is a job and there are hassles associated with that on the other.

If one keeps that in mind, they will have a much better experience overall.

Just my $.02.

Hahaha, I agree. Don't get too lost in the fantasy of Disney to the point that you forget that this is a job first and foremost.

I can't comment on the living aspect since I am living offsite, but the work aspect does seem fair. I would classify myself in the top tier of Disney Love. Umpteen trips to WDW and I even went back to grad school for the sole purpose of qualifying for the PI/CP program. I'm more interested in my Mouseters Degree from my Disney Leadership class than I am in my Master's in Management.

That said, it is a job in a colossal corporation. Yes, a job where I get to see Pluto and Goofy out my "office window" every day, but still a job. Currently, I have NO leadership for the CP aspect of my program and none of the leaders seem to care. They are not helping with networking and I find the article spot-on in that regard. My leaders are focused on not losing their jobs and they don't have time for anyone else's concerns (or mid-program assessments, or dealing with issues). The CPs in my area are essentially adrift and it's not very fun right now.

What you will read in Creating Magic and what you will learn in the classes may look fantastic on paper or in theory, but may very well not even be remotely close to the practice in your area.

Thank you for sharing this. Times are tough, keeping a job is hard enough let alone trying to advance within. I wish you luck on your endeavors. Don't give up and keep networking! Stay focused.

 

[graygables]

I agree with glendalais. At some point everything should start to level off but it is true, if you were over some (mostly teenagers) who were there for only 4-6 months and doing a job for minimum wage, as opposed to losing a job you have been banking on and holding for the past years, I totally understand that they aren't paying much attention. I have heard several stories, mostly saying that if the CPs try then people, and managers and FT seem to like them and respect them, although I have heard some managers and FT see them as ignorant, stupid, useless, annoying, lower than low, a pack-horse, moving onto their turf, etc. And technically, thinking about what you are there for and what others have gotten termed for, you are technically a Disney pack-horse and the general overview is people focus on the worst, so the view of the CP comes from the bad, usually not always the good. However, from people who have done the program and those cast members, CPs who do their work are generally respected and an integral part of the team.
Have a Magical Day!!!
Goofster18

I do agree with you, I am a valued member, very respected (most CMs tell me they wish they'd hire ME as a manager in our area), and am an integral part of the team. I have just finished designing new processes for our money room, as well as new spreadsheets and detailed training which the managers all are pleased with. I also wrote lyrics for a celebration song to use, which has been printed up on pocket cards and even the uppity ups are going around singing it, but is there a single GSF card in sight? Nope. A "thank you"? Not yet (although I did hear rumor that there is a reward "in the works" for the song...I'll take a J-O-B, please!) I also know that glendalais is correct and this is the storm that the company must go through to trim the unnecessary stuff, but it's hard being in the middle of NEEDING some leadership help and not finding it anywhere b/c they are afraid to look at those Blackberries. I understand the fear, but I also feel like we are being short-changed right now, particularly in my area where our CP Champion was reassigned to a new area just a few days after our CP Cast Services Manager lost his position with no thought to any replacements as yet. They are simply too caught up in their own worries to recognize great service and reward it with a small bit of encouragement.

Also, about the paid part...please remember that this is not a true "internship" in that you are putting your education to practice, so the "paid" aspect of it doesn't really count as a "bonus" to me. Unpaid internships are "paid" in useful, practical, and document-able experience. Here, I get to walk away with Disney on my resume and not a single letter of recommendation (or much in my pocket after living expenses).

 

[GiggleGoddess]

BUMP! (please answer the poll if you have not already!)

 

[glendalais]

where our CP Champion was reassigned to a new area just a few days after our CP Cast Services Manager lost his position with no thought to any replacements as yet.

Just a heads up, as I understand it, WDW will not be replacing any of the laid-off Cast Service Managers/Assistants, nor the Cast Services Department.

WDW, I believe, is now transitioning permanently to the situation we have in place here at the DLR. We've never had Cast Service Managers nor a Cast Service Department. We can visit any branch of the Disney Learning Centre for assistance with The HUB/DDC/Learning & Development; and we talk to our Area Leadership (Area Managers/Guest Service Managers) if we have any questions or concerns about anything else (including Time and Pay, etc.).

It's part of the aim to streamline and make more efficient our organizational structure within Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Basically, WDW CSMs, while nice to have, were deemed to be doing work that had already been shown could easily be done elsewhere.

 

[graygables]

Just a heads up, as I understand it, WDW will not be replacing any of the laid-off Cast Service Managers/Assistants, nor the Cast Services Department.

WDW, I believe, is now transitioning permanently to the situation we have in place here at the DLR. We've never had Cast Service Managers nor a Cast Service Department. We can visit any branch of the Disney Learning Centre for assistance with The HUB/DDC/Learning & Development; and we talk to our Area Leadership (Area Managers/Guest Service Managers) if we have any questions or concerns about anything else (including Time and Pay, etc.).

It's part of the aim to streamline and make more efficient our organizational structure within Walt Disney Parks & Resorts. Basically, WDW CSMs, while nice to have, were deemed to be doing work that had already been shown could easily be done elsewhere.

You are correct. What I was saying was that our GSM assigned to the CPs was moved and they have yet to reassign one of the remaining managers to be the one in charge of the CPs. Several of our CPs also had the moved GSM as a homeroom manager, but those have yet to be reassigned as well. It is time for mid-program performance reviews and we have no one to help us.

 

[jellipop]

Just go to the next post it double posted

 

[jellipop]

I know a lot of people that have done the DCP and positively loved it. Some people go back year after year to work there because of the experience. Obviously, working sucks, hello welcome to the real world lol - BUT I'm going because honestly, I've been depressed here in Philly, my family is highly judgmental of everything I do, I mean I get yelled at for drinking SODA. When I turned 21 I was yelled at for drinking alchol, yet I never drank much before I turned 21 (besides for like 3 times in my life prior to turning 21). My mother even told me if I get fat my boyfriend would dump me. WHO SAYS THAT?!

I trully want to be in disney for the experience of a lifetime and to begin making a life for myself and socializing like a girl who's 22. I feel so shut down in Philadelphia when really I'm a very outgoing person and am one who was named life of a party in Oklahoma when I crashed a party of people I barely knew (I wasnt a community leader in this fanclub but I went anyway basically). When I'm away from home I'm a whole new person that shines and makes people laugh, in Philadelphia i don't have that joy? I hope in Disney i could begin making decisions for myself for once and to have a good time, join clubs, and to hopefully be accepted by people who can get to know the real me and love me for that. I want my positivity to mean something to someone and to make people laugh. I really long to be part of something than to feel like an outcast (I'm already joining the computer club and I would love to join the editing community of the Channel HTM- Housing The Magic). I want to do things that I love. That's honestly all I really want from this experience

 

[JonnyJ18]

I know a lot of people that have done the DCP and positively loved it. Some people go back year after year to work there because of the experience. Obviously, working sucks, hello welcome to the real world lol - BUT I'm going because honestly, I've been depressed here in Philly, my family is highly judgmental of everything I do, I mean I get yelled at for drinking SODA. When I turned 21 I was yelled at for drinking alchol, yet I never drank much before I turned 21 (besides for like 3 times in my life prior to turning 21). My mother even told me if I get fat my boyfriend would dump me. WHO SAYS THAT?!

I trully want to be in disney for the experience of a lifetime and to begin making a life for myself and socializing like a girl who's 22. I feel so shut down in Philadelphia when really I'm a very outgoing person and am one who was named life of a party in Oklahoma when I crashed a party of people I barely knew (I wasnt a community leader in this fanclub but I went anyway basically). When I'm away from home I'm a whole new person that shines and makes people laugh, in Philadelphia i don't have that joy? I hope in Disney i could begin making decisions for myself for once and to have a good time, join clubs, and to hopefully be accepted by people who can get to know the real me and love me for that. I want my positivity to mean something to someone and to make people laugh. I really long to be part of something than to feel like an outcast (I'm already joining the computer club and I would love to join the editing community of the Channel HTM- Housing The Magic). I want to do things that I love. That's honestly all I really want from this experience

Def sounds like you need a change of pace and living away from your family and at disney is perfect. Ive been living away from my parents for about 5 years now and its great. Its also great to go visit but once you hit a certain age you need to be on your own, it gets to cramped in the house(my sister is going through what your describing) Also not to offend anyone but philly is pretty crumby, I recently transfered from Niagara U to Stockton college this year which is outside atlantic city, so alot of people are from south jersey and philly area so we visit there sometimes. Anyway youll def have a good time living at home and getting out of philly.