Retiring to Disney World

[Max Rebo]

OK, so I may have another 30 years or so before I can think about retirement, but they say it's never too early to plan, so here goes ...

I told DW the other day I would love to retire to the Orlando area, and work part-time as a Disney World castmember. But I wonder how feasible it really is. I would need:

— A job indoors/out of the hot sun. I'm not going to spend my golden years baking in the Florida sun.
— No food service.
— Flexibility. I'm not too concerned with paid vacation time, but I would want time off throughout the year to travel with DW, visit DGKs, etc.
— Affordable housing. What's the housing market like in the Orlando/Kissimmee area?
— Free/reduced admission to the parks for me and/or family

Does anyone with familiarity of the system know if the above scenario is plausible? You see quite a few aged castmembers at Disney World, and it always seemed like a pretty good gig.

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

I can't answer your questions but I wanted to let you know that we intend to do the same thing.

My husband actually wants to teach in Daytona Beach where he went to college and I plan on spending my Golden Years working for the Mouse.

I have no clue if it will be a possiblity but one can dream, right?

I still have a good 20 years or so to wait . . . perhaps I'll see you down there!

 

[sbell111]

OK, so I may have another 30 years or so before I can think about retirement, but they say it's never too early to plan, so here goes ...

I told DW the other day I would love to retire to the Orlando area, and work part-time as a Disney World castmember. But I wonder how feasible it really is. I would need:

— A job indoors/out of the hot sun. I'm not going to spend my golden years baking in the Florida sun.
— No food service.
— Flexibility. I'm not too concerned with paid vacation time, but I would want time off throughout the year to travel with DW, visit DGKs, etc.
— Affordable housing. What's the housing market like in the Orlando/Kissimmee area?
— Free/reduced admission to the parks for me and/or family

Does anyone with familiarity of the system know if the above scenario is plausible? You see quite a few aged castmembers at Disney World, and it always seemed like a pretty good gig.

The good news is that you could definitely get one thing on your list. The bad news is that you would likely only get the one thing.

 

[BellaDomani]

My dad said last year that he wants to retire and drive the WDW trams. God help all future tram riders!!!!!!

 

[pepe of ohio]

I've been saying the same thing for years, I'm alittle she of 60, logged 40 trips to the world and have talked to the retired cast members every trip. Most are seasonal, winter in Florida and work for the mouse and summer go back north to escape the heat. My dream. Our daughter worked for Disney, first doing the CP and then graduating college and moving to Florida to continue her career with Disney. what I got out of the whole scenario, Disney pay is low, no matter who you are or what degrees you hold, like everywhere else you have to pay your dues. Her pay was low, alot less then what she could get in Ohio but the benefits and perks are top notched. If she'd have stayed another year, we would have moved, family thing, but she was home sick for all the family but we visited her 4 times that year and 3 times while she was on the CO, can't beat the discounted we got spoiled, really hard to pay rate now.

I've had enough of winter, in Florida you don't have to shovel sunshine and being cooped up all winter waiting for a short summer to come is not how I want to spend my few remaining years. I've checked housing, alot of good deals going on with the economy now. Seasonal employment is fantastic with Disney, making a big change, scary. We figure to keep the house up north and see what we can snag in Kissimmee/St. Cloud area and pop on down. Always a pipe dream but you know, you're only going around once, being 60 it's getting close to the end of productive life and I want some enjoyment out of my remaining years for working. Change coming? Only time will tell, but I know what you feel and what I would like my life to be. With 40 trips to WDW you can see where our enjoyment lies, nothing gets better than a trip to WDW and we don't even need the parks, they are a bonus to the resort. Sorry of the rambling post but someone asked and this is my life.

 

[glitterkittyy]

You can easily avoid food service by just not applying for that job.

I think you'll find the most difficulty with the flexibility to take off whenever you'd like.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

We don't live in the immediate Orlando area, but I can tell you that "affordable" housing and Orlando don't necessarily go together.
We live about an hour away in a smaller town. With the price of gas and the wages you'd make working part time (not sure about pro-rated benefits), you'd better love what you're doing, because you won't make a living working that way.
We love Disney and I thought living this close would be the best of both worlds. We're retired, and enjoy going to the World on a regular basis, but we have neighbors who did the part-time thing for a while (also retired) and they loved it, but it didn't pay considering the driving back and forth.
I'm not sure how much choice you get as low man on the totem pole, but people who have worked there and are retired from the real world say they wouldn't have changed the experience for anything!
If I were you, I'd research it a lot between now and possibly moving to central Florida. We're 90 minutes from Daytona, depending on weather and traffic. Some people who move here from large cities are used to commuting, but trust me, the interstates down here are as crazy as anywhere else. We watch the traffic reports most every morning and it's a zoo.

 

[glitterkittyy]

Some people who move here from large cities are used to commuting, but trust me, the interstates down here are as crazy as anywhere else. We watch the traffic reports most every morning and it's a zoo.

You're right. We moved from Central Ohio where there is a pretty good amount of traffic, but a 20 mile commute on a 65 mph max highway would take you about 30 minutes. A 20 mile commute in Tampa with a 70 mph max takes me about 45 minutes. Traffic is way crazier.

 

[moredisneyplease]

Great dream and I think its only as "do-able" as you want it to be!

Perhaps start saving your money now for a down payment. Watch the market and when its in a serious slump (like my home SoCal is right now) put a down payment on a townhouse or condo in the WDW area and rent it out for the next 30 years! Let someone else make those mortgage payments and move in when you're ready!!

 

[gourmetgirl]

There are lots of jobs indoors. When I was a CM, I worked in Uptown Jewelers on Mainstreet. I believe I was a "Merchandising Hostess"

At the time, we received free admission to MK, EPCOT, free admission to MGM after 4:00 p.m. (it was brand new and very small), and free admission to water parks on certain days. AK didn't exist.

Our families were not free but tickets to the parks and PI were often included in our paychecks.

Flexibility would probably depend on your position and your "Lead" Mine was great. In fact, my Lead was an older retired man. His son was Lavar Burton (Jordy from Star Trek, I believe). He was great and very willing to work with schedules.

 

[glitterkittyy]

I checked the 2008 CM policy. For PT, your family gets 12 visits per year (blackout dates apply). If you decide to go seasonal, your family gets 6 visits (blackout dates apply).

 

[jezebella]

OK, so I may have another 30 years or so before I can think about retirement, but they say it's never too early to plan, so here goes ...

I told DW the other day I would love to retire to the Orlando area, and work part-time as a Disney World castmember. But I wonder how feasible it really is. I would need:

— A job indoors/out of the hot sun. I'm not going to spend my golden years baking in the Florida sun.
— No food service.
— Flexibility. I'm not too concerned with paid vacation time, but I would want time off throughout the year to travel with DW, visit DGKs, etc.
— Affordable housing. What's the housing market like in the Orlando/Kissimmee area?
— Free/reduced admission to the parks for me and/or family

Does anyone with familiarity of the system know if the above scenario is plausible? You see quite a few aged castmembers at Disney World, and it always seemed like a pretty good gig.

Well, my parents planned to do this...I'm sure it's different from everyone but...they retired at 50 and moved to Winter Garden. They are extremely financially sound and purchased a 400K house cash. Mom got a job part time at the Emporium and Dad driving the bus. After about a year, Dad got a managers position at MGM. He loved loved loved working there, but the pay is so bad...even for retirement (or maybe it's just the life they are accustomed to). Dad found a "real" job (ceo position) and came out of retirement....or what forbes is call "a sabbatical". It can be done though. Housing in CFL is affordable, at the moment. You can get a brand new 2/2 townhouse for $159,000.00 5 minutes from the kingdom.

Also, starting out, you're going to most likely earn $7.25 an hour. When you work PT, you have to give at least 2 days of the week you can work and they will work you those two days. That being said, you can request unpaid time off. As long as you work part time, you will get a main gate pass. You will get 12 passes in one calendar year. Each pass is good for you to get in 3 guests for a one day park hopper. As a CM, you can get in whenever you want as long as it's not in a "black out date". BOD's are most holiday and peak hours. Right now, CM's are blocked out of MK until August. Good luck!

 

[JenLynn]

DH and I dream of retiring to central Florida and working for the mouse ... love to see that we'll have lots of crazy DIS friends along with us!

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

Sounds to me like you need to become a "seasonal" cast member. This way you can come and go as you please.

If you're seasonal, you get yourself and 6 Main gates admissions per year.

Your wife could get a reduced rate for an annual pass through Company D.

Housing right now is iffy, but who knows what it will be like in 30 years?

My parents plan on doing this exact thing in 20 years. My brother drives the monorail, so they already have an "in" at Disney.

Good luck!

 

[lorli]

We have at least 15 and possibly 20 years until retirement but I always said, I'm retiring and becoming a bus driver. Even better if they had their own little community and needed a teacher, but I bet there are a lot of retiring teachers who would like that.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

I would LOVE to work for Disney, but I'm not willing to move! I've lived on the same one-mile country road my whole life, and this is where I want to die. My whole family and my husband's family is here, so we both feel the same way. I'm a teacher and can retire in 12 years at the age of 48. So, I'm starting to look at options. I want to know if there are any jobs working for Disney where you're able to work from home--even if it means you're in another state. I know you can work for a company (not Disney) where you can make Disney dining reservations from your home , but I don't know about anything else. Anyone know?

 

[jezebella]

Bus drivers do make more money starting out! Plus the bennies are awesome. I *think* though that to go seasonal, you have to work part time for 6 months first.

 

[kakiegirl]

DH and I hope to retire and work at Disney also. It will be about 15 years for us if DD (9) cooperates and is out of college and on her own by then. We live in South Georgia and our house will be paid for so we hope to work at Disney in the Winter (hopefully find somewhere affordable we can stay in our camper and during the summer be at home. It my never happen but it is a nice dream. If I have to imagine getting older at least I can have Disney to dream of and look forward to.

 

[jezebella]

DH and I hope to retire and work at Disney also. It will be about 15 years for us if DD (9) cooperates and is out of college and on her own by then. We live in South Georgia and our house will be paid for so we hope to work at Disney in the Winter (hopefully find somewhere affordable we can stay in our camper and during the summer be at home. It my never happen but it is a nice dream. If I have to imagine getting older at least I can have Disney to dream of and look forward to.

That won't be a problem. There's at least 2 spots for campers in Winter Garden alone!

 

[delmar411]

I would LOVE to work for Disney, but I'm not willing to move! I've lived on the same one-mile country road my whole life, and this is where I want to die. My whole family and my husband's family is here, so we both feel the same way. I'm a teacher and can retire in 12 years at the age of 48. So, I'm starting to look at options. I want to know if there are any jobs working for Disney where you're able to work from home--even if it means you're in another state. I know you can work for a company (not Disney) where you can make Disney dining reservations from your home , but I don't know about anything else. Anyone know?

I know the lady I booked our ADRS with last year was working at home. I chatted with her for a long time on that phone call. She starts working once her DH gets home and takes over the kiddies and she has a quiet room that she works in. I didn't ask the name of the company though, sorry I can't help with that. But it is possible.