Is burnout really a serious concern for Disneyland employees?

[Foxhound3857]

I'm hearing a lot from regulars saying that the employees there just seem strained and even stressed out while on the clock, and I'm curious what's leading to it if it's true. Is there still a lot of fatigue from the COVID years weighing on the cast members, is it having to deal with the Karens and otherwise unruly park visitors?

Or is it just being an employee at Disneyland is stressful in and of itself?

 

[JerrodDragon89]

I mean it's all of the above and more

Even at Full time you can't pay for your own apartment near the park and food. Some Guests seem to be acting worst then ever, Also unlike other normal jobs you have extra travel time because you don't get paid parking your car very far away from the parks and either have to walk or take a bus back leading to even less free time.

Back in the day Disney Employee's were treated with respect, many got paid enough to make house payments and DIsney seemed like they wanted to move people up if they stayed long enough

 

[mom2rtk]

To me, the biggest factor is one we know nothing about. How far has Disney cut the staffing to maximize profit? Are single employees now doing what they used to have 3 CM's for? We can't see this and can't account for it. And it would have huge impact on employee satisfaction.

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

From the little bits that I know from a CM friend, its a lot of behind the scenes stuff, things like changes to procedures and policies, training, scheduling, cm ratios on teams, pay levels and cuts to cm perks and allowances.

In California there is a high number of long time cm who are in their 50's and 60's. As they have been with the company for so long they have accrued health insurance and other benefits they would not get if they left Disney and got a different job. This leaves them with low job satisfaction as they feel they have no choice but to stay working in a job they don't enjoy any more.

Also the cost of living in Anaheim is high, so the low paid front line park cm have a low quality of life outside of Disney, with many living in multiple occupancy accommodation. House sharing is great fun in your early 20's when its a big adventure and your first time away from home, but its not so much fun when you are 50.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I mean it's all of the above and more

Even at Full time you can't pay for your own apartment near the park and food. Some Guests seem to be acting worst then ever, Also unlike other normal jobs you have extra travel time because you don't get paid parking your car very far away from the parks and either have to walk or take a bus back leading to even less free time.

Back in the day Disney Employee's were treated with respect, many got paid enough to make house payments and DIsney seemed like they wanted to move people up if they stayed long enough

No, I guess you can't make it work on minimum wage if thats what Disneyland pays, but I think the cost of living in California is widely overexaggerated as well. I make gross $42,000 a year with roughly $1,400 checks every 2 weeks ($21.90 an hour, very consistent 40 hours a week), claiming 0 with 7% of my pay going to a 401k, and I can pay all my bills and have a few creature comforts at the end of the day, living on my own.

I honestly didn't think the pay would be that bad for Disneyland employees though. It's not the easiest place to get into and they give you a lot of orientation for how to conduct yourself, interact with guests and other CM's, etc, so I figured their pay must be at least comparable to a warehouse associate, since there's more expected of them.

 

[Lord Manhammer]

Trust me, the stress is present in WDW too, and even though Florida isn't at the exorbitantly high level that CA is, the Orlando area is getting very expensive. Many of my fellow CM's in MK Parking were working obscene amounts of overtime just to be able to get by (think 30+ hours beyond 40). They would look like zombies in the parking lot and would sleep in the break room. It was pathetic. Add in the Florida heat and humidity and worsening behaviour by guests (check out the many fighting videos on YouTube) and yeah, it's pretty darn stressful.

 

[DizMe]

There are so many jobs at DLR that I don't know how to compare things. Some employees make a lot more than others, just like in most professions. I'm sure there are different perks depending on what your job entails. My 23-year-old works at DLR and thinks the perks are great, but what you think is a lot as a single at 23 is very different what you can live on when you've got a family.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

No, I guess you can't make it work on minimum wage if thats what Disneyland pays, but I think the cost of living in California is widely overexaggerated as well. I make gross $42,000 a year with roughly $1,400 checks every 2 weeks ($21.90 an hour, very consistent 40 hours a week), claiming 0 with 7% of my pay going to a 401k, and I can pay all my bills and have a few creature comforts at the end of the day, living on my own.

I honestly didn't think the pay would be that bad for Disneyland employees though. It's not the easiest place to get into and they give you a lot of orientation for how to conduct yourself, interact with guests and other CM's, etc, so I figured their pay must be at least comparable to a warehouse associate, since there's more expected of them.

Sure but somehow Disney used to be able to pay CM a livable wage and they were less stressed.

Along with Disneyland going from a park to a resort but CM didn't ever get high enough pay for the extra travel time and other inconveniences.

I feel for CM's, they work hard as heck to make everyone happy and they have wayyyyy more rules then what normal people have to follow at jobs as well. I have nothing but respect for all the CM's and hope one day they can make what it takes to live in the area

 

[SpaceMan5]

Or is it just being an employee at Disneyland is stressful in and of itself?

I think you can delete Disneyland and plug in just about any company and say the same things about the workers.

Seems just about everyone is overworked and over-stressed. Upper management trying to cut costs, existing staff being asked to do more and more, staffing shortages and yes the entitled Karen's of the world.

Oh, the Karen's and Ken's if you like, of the world. This will be the one and only time this guy gets sideways here on the boards. From what I have seen and heard firsthand from my daughters about the way they have been treated by patients at the eye clinics they have worked for (thankfully, no longer) have been vile, nasty, degrading, threatening even to the point where the police have been called to remove patients because they didn't get their way. And probably the worst are the entitled a$$hats from Costco Corporate in Issaquah, WA that visit the Eye Clinic within Costco. Some of the worst!

Apologies for my rant, even if my daughters are now 24 and 21 and can handle themselves, I will always try to protect and defend them.

Ok, chill. Time to mix up a Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned and think back to the 4 day weekend trip to Cannon Beach, Or we just returned from. Sunny weather, mid 60's, awesome dinner at The Bistro.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I think it’s like working a retail sales job on Black Friday every day…

 

[Foxhound3857]

I think you can delete Disneyland and plug in just about any company and say the same things about the workers.

Seems just about everyone is overworked and over-stressed. Upper management trying to cut costs, existing staff being asked to do more and more, staffing shortages and yes the entitled Karen's of the world.

Oh, the Karen's and Ken's if you like, of the world. This will be the one and only time this guy gets sideways here on the boards. From what I have seen and heard firsthand from my daughters about the way they have been treated by patients at the eye clinics they have worked for (thankfully, no longer) have been vile, nasty, degrading, threatening even to the point where the police have been called to remove patients because they didn't get their way. And probably the worst are the entitled a$$hats from Costco Corporate in Issaquah, WA that visit the Eye Clinic within Costco. Some of the worst!

Apologies for my rant, even if my daughters are now 24 and 21 and can handle themselves, I will always try to protect and defend them.

Ok, chill. Time to mix up a Buffalo Trace Old Fashioned and think back to the 4 day weekend trip to Cannon Beach, Or we just returned from. Sunny weather, mid 60's, awesome dinner at The Bistro.

I work in a Nordstrom warehouse, and you can say that to a degree about the Core departments when Peak season hits and the overtime starts to become a regular thing. Generally overtime only happens during sales, so one week out of the month it's 10 hour shifts, and 6 day is rarely forced in those situations, but when peak hits 6/10 is pretty much the strandard for at least eight weeks.

But it's expected here. People know it gets extremely busy during holiday season and the employees brace themselves for it, and most of them even look forward to all the overtime (we're paid well above minimum wage). It's a little bit of suffering for a lot of returns. The employees here might get burned out for a little while but it's mostly a fleeting thing, and when overtime is voluntary most people request it anyway.

Then again, we don't have to deal with customers, only the product, so that might be a factor too. I've never had to deal with a Karen before so I don't know quite how bad they can be.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I work in a Nordstrom warehouse, and you can say that to a degree about the Core departments when Peak season hits and the overtime starts to become a regular thing. Generally overtime only happens during sales, so one week out of the month it's 10 hour shifts, and 6 day is rarely forced in those situations, but when peak hits 6/10 is pretty much the strandard for at least eight weeks.

But it's expected here. People know it gets extremely busy during holiday season and the employees brace themselves for it, and most of them even look forward to all the overtime (we're paid well above minimum wage). It's a little bit of suffering for a lot of returns. The employees here might get burned out for a little while but it's mostly a fleeting thing, and when overtime is voluntary most people request it anyway.

Then again, we don't have to deal with customers, only the product, so that might be a factor too. I've never had to deal with a Karen before so I don't know quite how bad they can be.

“I booked a theme park view room and am very upset that I can hear noise when trying to go to sleep at 8pm. I have called 8x in the last 20 minutes and no one is doing anything about it! I demand some free Genie+ Lighting Lanes!”

 

[Foxhound3857]

“I booked a theme park view room and am very upset that I can hear noise when trying to go to sleep at 8pm. I have called 8x in the last 20 minutes and no one is doing anything about it! I demand some free Genie+ Lighting Lanes!”

Correction, I had to deal with a Karen one time while I was a volunteer at Lifestream Blood Bank. They were fighting the Mask policy when COVID was still a big thing, said they didn't need to wear one since they were fully vaccinated.

 

[SpaceMan5]

Correction, I had to deal with a Karen one time while I was a volunteer at Lifestream Blood Bank. They were fighting the Mask policy when COVID was still a big thing, said they didn't need to wear one since they were fully vaccinated.

Consider yourself and your Nordstrom crew lucky in not having to deal with the ugly side of retail that I have described previously.

Cheers to you and your positive outlook!

 

[Foxhound3857]

Consider yourself and your Nordstrom crew lucky in not having to deal with the ugly side of retail that I have described previously.

Cheers to you and your positive outlook!

I'm lucky at Nordstrom because the department I work in is rarely, if ever, subjected to overtime. We answer to Corporate in Seattle, not the building itself, so our workflow is not tied to how many orders or how much demand there is by consumers. It means overtime is a rare thing for us even during Peak, and it also means we're far less likely to get flexed even in the slowest months; it's a very consistent 40 a week for the most part.

The only downside to it is that, if we WANT the overtime, it's rare that we get it.

 

[chezcurrie]

No, I guess you can't make it work on minimum wage if thats what Disneyland pays, but I think the cost of living in California is widely overexaggerated as well. I make gross $42,000 a year with roughly $1,400 checks every 2 weeks ($21.90 an hour, very consistent 40 hours a week), claiming 0 with 7% of my pay going to a 401k, and I can pay all my bills and have a few creature comforts at the end of the day, living on my own.

Cost of living in California is *definitely* a factor.

I have friends whose kids still live at home (in their 20s) and work at Disney and they aren’t even getting 40hrs a week. Even if they did based on your numbers if they had to pay rent (just did a search for studio or 1 br apartment in the Anaheim area and rent is anywhere from $1800-$2500+/month) plus utilities and transportation, whatever is deducted from that for health insurance, etc it would leave very little for groceries and other - which are also higher.

When we relocated to the San Diego area from Toronto our 1200 sq ft short term rental was $8500/month... The cost of living is real.

Very glad you are able to live comfortably, do not get me wrong - no hate here at all! But yeah, the cost of living is a definite factor, and then add to that entitled guests and I can see low satisfaction for sure.

 

[SpaceMan5]

When we relocated to the San Diego area from Toronto our 1200 sq ft short term rental was $8500/month... The cost of living is real.

OMG I can definitely see that the COL is a factor.

$8,500, $8,500....I had to read that a few times to make sure I was really seeing $8,500

 

[chezcurrie]

Oh you read that right. Thankfully we had a great relocation assistance/package. Rent in our area starts at $3,200 for a studio/1 BR and the sky is truly the limit.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Oh you read that right. Thankfully we had a great relocation assistance/package. Rent in our area starts at $3,200 for a studio/1 BR and the sky is truly the limit.

How can anyone justify rent cost that high, especially for what's basically a walk-in closet? I live in the High Desert and my rent is $1,200 for a two-bedroom. I can downsize if I want, I just like having a guest bedroom for family.

 

[AstroBlasters]

OMG I can definitely see that the COL is a factor.

$8,500, $8,500....I had to read that a few times to make sure I was really seeing $8,500

Cost of living in California is *definitely* a factor.

I have friends whose kids still live at home (in their 20s) and work at Disney and they aren’t even getting 40hrs a week. Even if they did based on your numbers if they had to pay rent (just did a search for studio or 1 br apartment in the Anaheim area and rent is anywhere from $1800-$2500+/month) plus utilities and transportation, whatever is deducted from that for health insurance, etc it would leave very little for groceries and other - which are also higher.

When we relocated to the San Diego area from Toronto our 1200 sq ft short term rental was $8500/month... The cost of living is real.

Very glad you are able to live comfortably, do not get me wrong - no hate here at all! But yeah, the cost of living is a definite factor, and then add to that entitled guests and I can see low satisfaction for sure.

For clarification, how close to the ocean/harbor is a 1200sq for short term rental?