I'm sure all of you have had similar comments aimed at you from various directions since you got home. But what do you think? Are they right? Was it all just fantasy or can the "real world" be just as magical? What do you think? Ona x
Hey Ona! How are you? I thought your topic was quite interesting. Here's my 2 cents. We saw at Disney that whilst they have a fantastic end product, a lot of work goes into making that so. And like any other job, it had its issues at work,with co-workers, understaffing, getting shouted at by "guests", issues with roommates etc. So it isn't a bed of roses. It felt very real to me that year. I enjoyed it immensely and got a lot out of it, but there were tough times too. Anyone who presumes we all treat it like a holiday is mistaken, unfortunately. We did get it easy on some parts, but on others it was hard to deal with. The good thing with Disney is that unlike a lot of jobs in the Real World, you just have to look around you to see where your effort is going. It is kind of a fantasyland, for the guests. For us, it wasn't a year long holiday! It sounds kind of soft, but I'm not that articulate with words. LOL I doubt it makes any sense either! Dan "Dcy"
I think that my year in WDW was completely different than 'the real world' and that just won't ever happen in 'real life'. That quote is accurate. Think about it... when we work, we're actually 'playing' with the guests (at least I did in Canada, working as a greeter on the Promenade and dancing to Off Kilter). We don't have to pay any bills (that's taken care of with the automatic withdrawl from our paycheques).....On our days off, we're louging by the pool, or playing in the parks.... Although yes, I did 'work' for WDW, and received a (slightly pathetic) paycheque, it was, really, just a year off from school and work, and a year to relax. Also working for WDWIP as your first job can be misleading....at WDW, everyone is chipper and happy and so willing to please the guests.....well ain't that setting you up for disappointment. In the real world, most people just work the grind going to work every day, aren't happy and having fun...they're there to get the mortgages paid and to feed the kids. I'm not saying that WDW as a whole company is like that, but the WDWIP program ISN'T in touch with reality at all. That's not a bad thing..in fact, that's one of the things I liked about my year in Florida - that it was a 'year off'. Yes, WE created the 'magic' and 'fantasy' for guests, but as if that took any effort. WDW didn't hire people who didn't already have that in them. It's easy to make a kid smile, or an old lady laugh. It's not hard at all. What's hard is the BS we deal with in 'real life' jobs. If I could have the life I do now here in Canada, but still work for WDW, then I would. And oh yeah, throw in the pools and free park admission too.
Yeah , have to agree with you. Despite it being tough at times, where else do you get paid to "play with the guests" and talk all the time? I used to love playing kick ups with the giant tennis ball, or getting my picture with some of the guests. Dan
Hey in my opinion it was nothing more than a year long holiday, yeh work was sh*t from time to time and sometimes the disney management sucked but just based on how much fun i had on my days off and a lot of the time in work theres no doubt in my mind that it was a 12 month holiday! Its oh so apparent now that i'm home as i miss living in florida so much, theres nothin like the feeling of walking into either one of the theme parks, water parks or resorts. I miss the atmosphere of people enjoying themselves in the disney resort wherever you went, i loved so much exploring all the resorts, especially animal kingdom lodge and fort wilderness. Driving down a rainy high street to work everyday now does not compare to strolling through epcot in the morning sunshine with your friends on ur way to work. I made so many amazing friends and had the absolute time of my life that it has to be considered a holiday and not "real life" On the other hand though it was the circumstances that us cultural representatives were in that made it not real and a holiday, because after all we were all temps and couldnt have stayed there forever. Just look at it like this tho, you wouldnt have worked as a merch host or f & b person for the rest of your life with no chance of promotion so although we all miss it loads in the long term it couldnt have been a career so just enjoy it for what it was. In my opinion the best year of my life, nothing more, nothing less. WHAT A RIDE!! Ona i'm sorry but in my opinion the "real world" can never be as magical as my year working for disney... :'(
I definatly agree. My year was a magical holiday!! Or at least thats the way I remember it now being back home for a couple of months. Being down there I think some take for granted what a great opportunity they had! While down there I went to a park anytime I wanted (well when not working that is) Had time off with multiple visits from friends and family, had time off to travel (went to LA and all around Florida) ate out at amazing restaurants i would say 4 nights a week haha yes I was in foods so I made good money so i was able to do that sorry merchies) I also made AMAZING life long friendships....and i actaully had fun working....well lets be honest not all of the time..but most of the time anyways so yes I had an EPCOT-TASTIC Time! like that word?? oh yeah you love it!! well gotta jet Amanda Canada F&B march04-march05
No need to apologise to us merchies mananda, merch rocked as far as i'm concerned! I ate out like 4-5 times a week too in all different disney resorts, my fave being the california grill and bomas! Also i went to washington, new york, canada and on the disney cruise! So no need to apologise to the merchies we had just as much fun and did as much stuff as the foodies, we got payed just to stroll round stress free and mess about with guests and each other, i have some wicked memories! Plus we didnt develop the "i'm a movie star" walk that some of the foodies did when they got into service!Â
Yeah, despite the huge difference in money, it didn't affect my time there. I loved it in Merch and actually enjoyed the work a lot of the time! Good call about the f&b people. Some of them were just fine, but others seemed to think they were God's gift. I'll never understand why mind. Dan
God I totally agree! It was so stupid, really....like some people in Le Cellier would act like they were all that, and they'd treat Merch/Att people like 3rd class citizens.... Not ALL F&B people of course, but quite a few...
Yeh i agree guys... A few of the foodies thought they were above us. I always remember thinking "hang on a minute, u may be earning a lot of money but dont forget one thing... YOUR A WAITER/WAITRESS AND YOUR SOMEONES B*TCH FOR AN HOUR!! Not the chief executive of Walt Disney!!" It always made me laugh when foodies would diss merch thinkin that they had more fun than us just cos there was more of them and they had lots of money. I remember one foody saying "i was almost in merch oh thank god!" and i just said "well i get payed to basically mess around all day stress free and i dont have to kiss ass in work, but more importantly on my days off i manage to talk about something interesting other than how much in tips i made or how much an idiot the person on podium was for giving me a table of british tourist!" The money in f & b definately did change a lot of people for the worse and made some people outright w*nkers. Having said that tho it was only a few who acted like that and i made some great friends in foods. I didnt like merch at the start but now i'm so glad i was in it cos i saw what the money did to some people. In merch due to the nature of the job u had to make ur own entertainment, and because of that i have so many side splittingly funny memories of messing round with mates in work, and i wouldnt trade these memories for any amount of gratuity or tips... 8)
Well the thing is, at least for me, I didn't leave everyone I know and love for a year, just to be inside a restaurant doing what I can do back home. I didn't give a rat's behind about the money....the experiences I had working in Attractions (I was cross trained in Merch) will always surpass anything F&B folks experienced.... I was out roaming the promenade talking to people...dancing with the band..being able to share stories and facts about Canada.....and hey, I was OUTSIDE...I was getting a tan, and was able to watch the fireworks every night. Funny about the fireworks, I remember one F&B girl was talking, and she had been there about 6 months, and she told me she had yet to see the fireworks.. It begs the question, did you go to Disney for the money , or for the experience?!
I don't think the "real world" can be as magical, that's why I'm going back. I really felt like I was on vacation all year, it was wonderful! I love the magic, the sun and the nice (but at times shallow) people!
I'm so glad to see everyone's responses. I posted this "debate" to see what the genreal consensus was. I wanted to see others' opinions before sharing mine. I first thought about this whilst I was still in FL. I was on the phone to one of my best friends who had just gone home and was (obviously) finding it very difficult to be back but was also very frustrated by comments such as those previously mentioned. So it's been on my mind for a while now. My thoughts: I don't think anyone has disagreed with the fact that the WDWIP is amazing. It really is the most awesome year. If I had a holiday as amazing as that I'm sure it would cost an absolute fortune. I had fun, soaked up the sun, I visited interesting places, met amazing people and did the most random things; all of which would lead anyone to believe that it was infact a holiday. But I don't necessarily agree. On holiday you don't work 70 hours a week. On holiday you don't leave all you know and love thousands of miles behind for 12 months and be scared wittless of what's to come. On holiday it's unlikely you make the best friends you'll ever have. On holiday you don't cram the emotions of a lifetime into one year. However, what is "real life"? Surely it's reative. Yeah you have bills to pay, your friends don't live at most, 5 mins walk away, you can't pop into the MK for 30 mins if your bored one afternoon, and (if you live in Scotland) you can't walk around wearing flip flops all year unless you wanna lose a few toes to frostbite. To be honest, I really don't think life will ever be as exciting as a year in the commons but... I don't see why we can't try to bring some of that magic into the real world. I'm not saying we should all live our own wee Fantasyland but I'm determined to try to hold on to what I learned last year. Otherwise, how depressing does the first sentence in this paragraph become? :-\ Just my 2c. Ona x
Well said guys. I totally agree about the f&b thing. Money is the biggest divider there, and I'm glad I didn't change like that. So what if a foodie made 4 times more than us? I enjoyed my job and arguably did more with my experience and role at WDW. Some of the food people were well grounded, but a lot spent enough time brownnosing and backstabbing, I'm glad I wasn't involved. Ona - How you doing? You said basically what I was trying to say! (Albeit in better words :>) I'm trying to keep everything I learnt in mind too, for all my future endeavours. Dan
Ok I'll respond.... 1. On holiday you don't work 70 hours a week. -- Who the hell worked 70 hours a week??!!!!! I never did! My god! 2. On holiday you don't leave all you know and love thousands of miles behind for 12 months and be scared wittless of what's to come. -- Yes you do. At least I do. When I go on holiday, I hop on a plan and get as far away from everyone and everything I know. And I'm a nervous traveller. I panic and stress out the whole time. 3. On holiday it's unlikely you make the best friends you'll ever have. -- How do you know? I met my friend Chris when we were both vacationing at the same time in the Grand Canyon! 4. On holiday you don't cram the emotions of a lifetime into one year. -- Maybe not, but I just got back from Cuba on Saturday and I bawled because I didn't want to leave. I also got really wrapped up in the whole govenment and poverty there, and I got so heartsick for the people... I went through every emotion possible on this vacation. 5. Your friends don't live at most, 5 mins walk away -- Ok, although this point is working in my overall favour and point of view, I just wanted to share with y'all that I live in downtown Ottawa. My two best friends are within 5 blocks of me, my husband's friends are within 7 blocks of us, and we are surrounded within 10 blocks of nearly a dozen other friends (I love downtown!! LOL!) 6. you can't pop into the MK for 30 mins if your bored one afternoon -- I go shopping instead.... ooh, the rush I feel when I buy a new purse or a new pair of shoes!!! Man, Mission: Space can't top that feeling!!! 7. I don't see why we can't try to bring some of that magic into the real world -- To all of you who have yet to complete your contracts, PLEASE take these words of advice. Your friends and family may tolerate you constantly talking about WDW, but your coworkers/colleauges won't. I was still wrapped up in the magic when I returned, and really tried to bring that into the workplace. I thought my bubbly-ness and eagerness to please would maybe rub off on people. Wrong. Ooooh so wrong. It annoys people and pisses them off. You're more likely to make enemies trying to bring that magic into the real work, than you are to make people happy. And this isn't just coming from me. Many of my former WDW fellow cast members have experienced the same thing. People don't want to hear "Well at Disney we would NEVER...." or "At Disney, we ALWAYS....." Well you know what? It works on both sides. That magic was so easy to create because the GUESTS wanted it just as much as we wanted to give it. They were eager and anxious for that "magical experience". Back in 'the real world' regular customers just want an ordinary smile and a quick transaction. "Creating magic", in their eyes, either wastes their time or creeps them out. In any event, you can't create the same magic you did at WDW as you would ringing through someone's groceries back home. THAT just isn't a realistic view. 8. I'm determined to try to hold on to what I learned last year -- For sure! I still try to and that was many years ago. But don't get your hopes up (and I'm saying this to everyone). You can only try to keep creating the magic for so long, until you realize there just isn't any more magic around you. That pixie dust wears off mighty fast. ..... - In the end, I stand by my view. Working at WDW for me was simply a vacation with pay (shitty pay at that, but I digress). Anyone who thinks that they can continue on the same way when their contract is over is sadly mistaken. That's not reality. It takes more than just the cast members to create magic...it's the guests, the surroundings, the experiences..... NOTHING after WDW will ever match up. Not that it's all necessarily negative and bad...it's not. It's just not...Disney.
Im sorry to disagree, but I dont think that by saying bring the magic to th real life she ment talk about disney all time. What I understood was that you should, or (better said) you must bring that "magic", that willness to serve, that expiriences, you got on your year on Disney to your real life. Of course ppl is gonna treat you, some times lik Sh... but not because of that you have to be all grumpy, and say: Ohh Disney was another world (which in great part is) and now my life is disgusting. I'm A little sleepy so maybe the frases I made dont make any sense to you, but with I little luck i made my point.
I understood exactly what she was saying....and perhaps I was misunderstood. I am not referring to talking 'about Disney' all the time (although yes that's annoying). What I mean is exactly what you said - "that willingness to serve". I still am a great employee...I have excellent customer service skills, and will go that extra mile to serve people. BUT the truth is, we alumni have to tone it down a bit, or else it's overkill. You just can't give the same caliber of service outside of Disney without coworkers disliking you, or customers thinking you are weird.
My thoughts... Disney is a bubble. I watch news at home and sometimes read the newspapers. I felt like I had spent a whole year on another planet...never knowing too much about what was going on in the outside world. When people ask or asked about my year, I tell them it was the best time of my life and that I basically worked to support my year long vacation!!!!! That's what it was. I work less hours here at home and have a crappy retail job and not many more responsibilities than I did in Orlando, but I could never call this a vacation!!!!! I met the best guy ever down there and I lucked out and he was in UK F&B and made oodles of money which I benefited from, but I still would have had a great time regardless. I wish I could live the life again. I'm not a fan of the real world! Shan
If I acted all "Disneyfied" in the office where I work now, people would just look at me funny, and they'd probably beat me up or something! Sadly, a lot of people get riled by even the strangest and smallest of things these days and whether it's fair or not, they'll probably resent the fact you got to have a fantastic experience and won't want to hear about it. In my experience anyway. But I do agree that you should take a lot of the experience and knowledge you pick up at WDW into your new career. Disney are the best in Customer Service and it's only a good thing if you can show the willingness and that extra bit of quality when dealing with the public. It makes me feel good doing a good job, I enjoy doing that extra thing for customers and I'd much rather feel happy than be annoyed. As for the "Disney is a bubble" theory, I couldn't agree more. It really is another world down here in Florida, and not only is it so different, it is really quite isolated from the cruelties of the real world.. And the responsibilities I had; I was in the Voluntears program frequently, I was also the Magical Moments Rep amongst other things, gave me a new challenge in life. Not to mention meeting so many great people from Canada, Mexico, Norway, Germany and Italy, to name a few countries. I accept it's done and dusted now, but a big part of me would probably still go and do the program again, if only to make more of it than I did last time. Shan - You were in Canada Merch at the same time as I was in UK merch? I'm sure you were! Dan
