Is burnout really a serious concern for Disneyland employees?

[StormyCA]

I've been going to DL since '55. My 'earliest memories' of DL date back to the early '60. At that time DL 'frontline' was staffed almost exclusively by college students, especially in the summer and school holidays. You rarely saw an older adult working 'up front', other than supervisors and above. Disney didn't offer a 'living wage' for frontline back then because those CMs at that time were locals who either still lived with Mom & Dad or they had a working spouse on a good wage and what that CM earned wasn't truly needed. It was 'pin money'. I don't know when the worm turned to people applying for jobs who needed work to support themselves or their household on what Disney paid. IMHO Disney never caught up with those changing times, at least not for the front line CMs. Disney still pays as if everyone was a college student or had a 'second income' coming into the house. I get that COL in OC/LAC/SDC are ridiculous and Disney isn't going to pay the starting wage of $35.00+ per hour needed to barely scrape by. That would be a HUGE part of budget. But they could still do better than they are.

My younger son would like to live in the SD area. Even with a 'licensed qualification' (not a doctor, lawyer, etc) he can't afford to apply for jobs because entry level pay isn't enough to live on. My older son makes 'very good money' and is able to WFH. His employer would like him to move to So Cal, but he (and they) realize they'd have to at least double his pay and even then he wouldn't be able to buy a home within a reasonable commute of LA (proper) that would be comparable to the home they own where they live now.

I have no idea what the solution is to the 'unaffordability' of the wider area of So Cal. All I know is if you live there now and are in an affordable situation, for God's sake, do NOT move away. Because you'll won't be able to afford to move back.

 

[DizMe]

I have no idea what the solution is to the 'unaffordability' of the wider area of So Cal. All I know is if you live there now and are in an affordable situation, for God's sake, do NOT move away. Because you'll won't be able to afford to move back.

I think this applies to most of California! We have friends that moved to the South for a better job opportunity. After a few years and good job experience, they moved back to the Sacramento area. All they could afford was a very small home in an area that wasn't that great. They stuck it out for a year and moved back to a different state in the south.

 

[AndrewC]

As I said earlier, I think it depends on the department you're in and what your job is. My daughter works as a plush character (mainly Pluto). The pay isn't huge (I think it's $17/hr?), but the plush characters work 1/2 hour on and then get 1/2 hour off all shift. CMs have their own (free) Starbucks backstage. There's a gym, and physical therapist, and other things that are gratis for the cast. They have a cafe with what she says is great food at a very small cost. They get health benefits, they get up to 40% off the on site hotels for themselves and friends/family, a number of free passes to the park for others and they can get in free any time. They get a great discount on merch and a lot of other perks that are pretty nice.

While all of that is very cool, it doesn't necessarily help pay the bills. It IS a pretty sweet place to work for someone like my daughter. She absolutely loves it, though it is physically tiring (the head alone weighs a ton and requires a brace thing because it's so heavy and sticks out so far). It can also get pretty hot, which is why they work half hour on, half hour off.

Does your daughter need another friend? Up to 40% off hotels… *glares at $675/night rate*

I’ll be very curious to see if there has been a noticeable decline in customer service or attitudes this time around. I’m hoping not though :-/

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Isn’t it that way everywhere? i have thought that people don’t respect others anymore.

In a way......yes but for Disneyland employee's its even worst.

Look at the Maintenance in the park, it's basically people who are very passionate about Disneyland because they pay wayyyyyy less then most normal businesses who are hiring people at that skill level

So it;'s not just the people taking tickets and doing guest relations that are under paid but many of the people working at the park

 

[Foxhound3857]

In a way......yes but for Disneyland employee's its even worst.

Look at the Maintenance in the park, it's basically people who are very passionate about Disneyland because they pay wayyyyyy less then most normal businesses who are hiring people at that skill level

So it;'s not just the people taking tickets and doing guest relations that are under paid but many of the people working at the park

Not to mention having to follow an obscene amount of rules while on and off shift, and getting reprimanded harshly for laxing on one.