So, you might be wondering why I would say that this was performed today, on November 7th, almost 2 months before Christmas. Well, that's because Disneyland recorded its Disneyland Christmas Parade today. I know all this well because I was pulled away from Nemo to work as guest control for the parade! I got to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy perform in the morning, and then I worked doing crowd control for the parade. I could have seen Selina Gomez and Nick Cannon perform too, but I was on break when they were doing their acts... not a really huge deal to me, but still.
And I can already hear the people talking now... "Josh, why are you rambling about what you did today? I'm a prospective Disney College Program Cast Member looking for real information about whether or not I should join the program, and you said on Wednesday that you were going to talk about the pros and cons of working for Disney! What happened?" Well, the two situations kinda tie into each other...eh, I'll just go ahead and get started. So, here are some Pros and Cons list of working for Disney (and hopefully this won't get me fired). Let me make a couple of clarifications about my list before I get started:
- This is a College Program-based list.
It's possible that a lot of the judgments I've made about the program are based on what it's like to be a College Program member. For instance, Disney assigns its shifts based on seniority, but College Program members are given an artificial 3 years of seniority to guarantee that we're able to pay our rent for our housing. If you're considering signing on to Disney as a standard Cast Member, you should probably keep in mind that you won't be getting many hours when first start. Expect anywhere from 10-14 hours a week those first few months...AKA expect getting a second job so that you can afford living in the area. - I've only been working here for just under 4 months.
A lot about a person's perspective can change with time. Just sayin'. - I've been working Attractions. Your experience in the park can really vary based on your role in the park. The things available to me are completely different than the things available to someone working Foods or Photopass. Because of that, there might be some differences in my experience and those of other people working in the park.
Alright, here we go: the quick rundown of the pros and cons:
-
PROS:
- It provides you with tons of opportunities you can't get anywhere else.
I walked into work today and had the opportunity to watch Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Selina Gomez, and Nick Cannon perform. Celebrities come through the park all the time. Disneyland has a huge reputation, and you can really meet some interesting people that you wouldn't get the chance to meet working at your local grocery store. Even aside from big name celebrities, there are all sorts of other cool people that bring their families to the park. Last week I met someone who does camera work for It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia and I almost got a little starstruck. - They take a lot of money from you for College Program, but there are some solid guarantees.
They charge us a lot per week for rent, right around 140 dollars a week, but in exchange we have our rent, utilities, and cable fully accounted for every week. THat's a pretty big deal, considering how expensive housing and whatnot can be out here in Orange County. Let's also keep in mind that not having to have arguments with roommates about not paying their parts of the bill can be a pretty significant bonus. - You meet some pretty awesome people.
Disney can afford to be really selective about its hiring because so many people want to work for the company. As a result, you end up meeting a lot of people who are pretty enthusiastic about their jobs and the company they work for. That's always a plus.
- CONS:
- Disney owns your life.
I worked at 7 AM this morning, and that was after working until 7:15 PM the night before. You never know how your schedule is going to be from day to day, and to put in any scheduling requests for visitors or anything like that, you have to know what you want to do at least 3 weeks in advance. Disney has a good absence program, but you don't want to have to use those absences if it's not completely necessary...besides, every time you call in you lose money, and... - When you start off working for Disney, you're BROKE. The job doesn't pay that much, subjectively speaking. I'm making more than minimum wage out here right now, but I still have weeks were I'm fighting to make ends meet. And that's with the inflated College Program seniority. I have no idea how I could live on 10-15 hours a week out here without getting a second job...that might be an option for you, though.
- You're never REALLY off-stage.
Sure, your shift might end, but there are so many people in Anaheim associated with Disney that you never really know whether or not you need to have your "professional pants on," as my roommate Ron would say. If you value your privacy and space, this might not work so well for you.
Those are just some of the brief bullet points about working here, but they're the significant ones. If I had to make one over-arching recommendation: Go for it. Sure, you're taking a risk, and things can get to be difficult out here (especially with drama and finances), but I've definitely found it to be worth it anyway. I really enjoy the people I work with and the roommates I have, and I know I'd never have been able to spend this much time in California (particularly in Disneyland) without working for the company. I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep working for Disney in a different department than Attractions, maybe at Disney Interactive Media Group working on video games...but only time will tell! In the meantime, I'm going to bed!
-Josh
No comments:
Post a Comment