CAUTION! Very Important! Must Read Now!

Jules,

I accept that you are entitled to a different point of view, and I do not intend to be condascending. You did not have a good experience and there's nothing wrong with you wanting to pass your views on to others. I do not dispute that working at Disney is not for everyone, and I think the presentation before the interview makes this clear.

What you say, however, is not fact, and it is inevitable that there are going to be other people who want to give the opposite view; many members of this site have gone to Disney, had a fantastic experience, and want to share this. I don't think that there is any need to suggest that we are brainwashed; I am an objective person, but I simply had a wonderful experience. I enjoyed my job, I enjoyed the lifestyle and I had no problems with how I was treated. There is nothing irrational or delusional about this.

Whilst you were disappointed, it is not inevitable that everyone will be; lots of people have high hopes and it is nothing like inevitable that their hopes will be dashed upon arrival. Other people want to make sure that potential applicants aren't put off, and people waiting to travel aren't unduly worried about what can be an amazing time. I'm sure no one means to demean you in doing this.

If we're going to quote people:

"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." Walt Disney

Best wishes for whatever you do next,

Andy

 

This is a Forum. The purpose of it is to discuss things. When you write something like this on a Disney forum, you should expect reactions from other users. And the fact that everyone here loves Disney, is not true. I, for one, do not love Disney. I 'love' many of their old movies and cartoons, but I am not, what you and many others (including myself), consider a "Disney Freak". I do not think the other users are either.

I don't think anyone who's worked for Disney as short a timespan as you has a lot to say about liking or disliking working for Disney. Because there is so much to working for Disney, you can't take it all in in a couple of months. I know a lot of people that self-terminated too. And a lot of people that hated working for Disney, myself included. But there's not one day I don't think about how wonderful it really was.

If you had gone about voicing your opinions in a less.... well... provocative, spamming, angry way, more people might've taken you seriously. But "CAUTION! Very Important! Must Read Now!" really cries out for attention as well as belittling.

Yes, there are bad things about Disney, but there are other, more mature ways of expressing your feelings about them.

(Oh, by the way, I hope I never find "reality". For that is sure to drive even the wisest insane.)

 

These two threads on the same topic are very confusing...any chance of them being merged together?

ETA: Thanks, TigerCharlotte!

 

Probably not, but I know at first there was 3 of the same topics, one just happened to get locked due to the duplicates.

 

here is my two cents from someone who completed there year...

i have to admit that at the time i found the actual job in disney very boring and i did go through some crap to do with disney and american labour standards and allowances. Also i was in merchandise and the wage is very poor but having said that if you are careful and spend wisely you will be fine. I think with merchandise the hardest thing is seeing how much more money your friends in food and beverage are making. Having said all that though i now have the beauty of hindsight and i can honestly say i have never had so much fun in a job as i did workin for disney... Yes you are probably heavily exploited as an international cast member but just concentrating on that i think is being pretty narrow minded.

As for the living situation, i had a very un-friendly room mate when i first arrived who didnt make any effort to befriend me at all but guess what i did?? I changed appartments!! It was that simple!! From then on in overall i was very happy with the living situation and it only improved by the time i was leaving with appartment internet access. But you must realise that 90% of people are very happy with their room mates as soon as they get there and stay in the same appt for the year.

As for the parks being boring and disgustingly corporate etc... YOU WENT TO WORK FOR DISNEY!!! WHAT DID YOU EXPECT??? Disney is probably the number one symbol of corporate america. I was not and am still not a disney type person as in i dont own any disney DVD's etc but i am a big fan of the disney theme parks which if you look beyond the corporatism happen to be an amazing example of human imagination and inginuity. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinions but i think your opinions should not be broadcast to applicants, having said that though anyone in the application process at the moment heed these words...

While you see the shiney image of disney throughout the application process the reality of it all is a lot different, thats not to say for the worse though. Yes you will face hardship there probably in the first couple of weeks but the most important piece of advice i can give you is to STICK IT OUT! I considered going home within the first week or so but i didnt and went on to have the most fantastic year of my life and i made the best friends ever who i miss so much every day. The job was far from perfect but the opportunities given to you from the international program are unbelievable from free entry to the parks, extremely cheap disney accomodation and extremely cheap disney cruises. I think its worth the exploitation!!

But the whole thing was lost on the girl who started the thread, who should probably have never applied, she is right in saying that the ICP is not for everyone though as i knew people of my year who went home, but most of them had fiancee's at home etc.

To sum it all up in a nutshell there is a simple equation that equals a successful year in florida and it is:-

the right personality + resolve + the right time in your life = an amazing time in florida!!

 

That Walt Disney quote always makes me tear up.
I'm TOTALLY brainwashed by Disney - but better to be happy and brainwashed then unhappy! lol

I quote my friends dad "Envy the stupid; they don't know there's a problem" in this case, not stupid, but Disney-Brainwashed LOL
*glazes over* i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney, i love disney,

 

Tessa, I know *exactly* what you mean with the quote. I was thinking I might seem slightly more objective if I appeared not to be brainwashed, but your way seems more fun

My other favourite is the dedication:

"To all that come to this happy place: welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America... with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world."

 

oh boy, that dedication in the "Remember...Dreams Come True" fireworks show, me and SnowWhite.87 cry EVERYTIME we listen to ti

I love being a Disney fan!

 

Speaking of the Remember Dreams Come True fireworks show, man that had to have been the best fireworks show I've ever seen. I spent 4 hours on a bench in front of Sleeping Beautys castle just to have the best possible view.

I then had to buy the DL 50th anniversary 2 disc CD set just so I could have the sountrack to the fireworks, which I've now convirted to MP3 and it's on my iPod lol

 

Which CD do you have it on Tessa? The Cast Discount came in very handy when buying the 6-disc boxset!

'Remember When' (50th theme song) is great, too!

 

last summer, a friend of mine went to Disneyland, and he bought me the fantastic box "A Musical History of Disneyland", the 6 cds box set, plus book, plus "the old black disc". I never listened it cos i dont have a disc player here. But, i've converted each cds in Mp3 and its always a pleasure to hear these fantastic tracks. More, "Remember, Dreams come true" fireworks spectacular its soo wonderful.

 

Wow, that is one good friend!

 

I've payed it! It wasnt a present! eheheh! Its different!

 

Ahh...I see. Hehe! Nevertheless, a nice boxset!

 

Yeah, thats true, i really nice box! I hope to share it with friends when i'll be in down to Orlando....

 

I didn't buy the soundtrack :S I downloaded it from the internet....but that's only because I don't have a credit card and I forgot to buy it when I was in DL...I WILL buy the soundtrack as soon as I get to FL! haha

 

Hmmmm.... :

Disney Central by any chance?

 

say what?
Disney Central?
IT IS MY LIFE!!

do you post on there??? EEK! I'm so excited!

 

Hehe...I'm more of a lurker/dl'er on Disney Central...

WDWMagic is more my forums...

Who are you on Disney Central?

Oh and this thread has become much more fun

 

thats awesome!!! stop lurking and join us! haha

I'm Princess Tessa on DC...and I'm there ALL the time honestly! join! haha