Three years ago I was living in Georgia but I really wanted to be in Florida working at Walt Disney World. I heard about people who didn’t live near Disney working there seasonally. This would really be great for me since I homeschooled my daughter, and my wife was a teacher. I had the whole summer off and every school vacation we could live in Florida while I worked. We weren’t sure where we would stay but my concern was just getting the job. I was sure everything would work itself out later.
I had a lot of photography experience so I went online to search the Disney Jobs website. The job website is filled with jobs I didn’t want, but one day the seasonal Photopass job appeared. I filled out the application and then continued onto the first interview process which is a “online interview.” It’s really a personality survey to find out who you are, and if you fit the job you are applying. At the end of the online interview, it said I qualified for an interview. The next step was to choose my date and time for the real interview.
Two weeks later my family drove down to Disney and I was very nervous about my interview. We drove to the casting building across from Disney Springs. My wife and daughter walked to Disney Springs and I walked into the casting building. The large doors to the casting building are intimidating and when you get inside you are more intimidated. The first thing you do is walk up a long ramp with Disney artwork on the wall on the way to check in for the interview.
I was there way too early but was entertained by a movie they had on. It was not too long before they called my name. I made eye contact with the interviewer and smiled as much as I could. Disney has a reputation of hiring people with a comforting smile. I even had questions ready for the interviewer. She really liked my interest in the company and my stories as a long time Disney fan. She said I could have the Photopass job and named off a couple other jobs she could offer me. I was blown away at the offer of more than one job. I said something right.
The interviewer told me the Photopass job was difficult because of the heat. She said even though I was seasonal, I could receive up to 40 hours or more. This was fine with me. I accepted the job and went through the rest of the hiring process. There’s nothing exciting to tell about paper work and background checks. The next exciting part would be Traditions in two weeks.
We went back to Georgia to prepare for our move to the Disney area. I spent hours on the internet looking for a place for us to live. The women who interviewed me said their were discounts for Disney Cast Members at local apartments and extended stay hotels. I called several places that would not tell me a rate over the phone, and I’d have to present my Cast Member ID. So, my short term plan was to stay in a hotel for a week and figure out everything when we got to Florida.
Traditions is orientation to the Walt Disney Company. It is held at Disney University, which is behind the Magic Kingdom. It is led by current cast members and takes most of the day. It’s everything you expect from Disney and more. There are some amazing people who work there. I won’t go into detail not to ruin it for future cast members. There is more training and orientation but nothing exciting or memorable.
I had my Disney ID now so we drove around to places that offered a cast member discount. The first place looked a little scary. It was an old hotel about five miles off Disney property. From the outside it looked old, dirty, and not a safe place to live. All the extended stay hotels offered us a 5% discount. Their cheapest room was $1100. This wouldn’t work. There were cheaper places that would have worked but they wanted a 5 month lease minimum. We’d be better off staying at the cheap hotel and eating out every meal. This was our short term plan.
My first day of training for my job was at a place most would consider off Disney property and about a five minute drive from Animal Kingdom. I was one of the oldest at Photopass training for two days of training. The average age was 25, and I was 46. Wow, their brains absorb information faster than mine. I needed to take good notes if I was going to keep up. The trainers were great and really prepped us for everything we might experience.
When I got my schedule for training week it said 12 hours. This was understandable. The schedule for the next week was 15 hours. Let’s not forget I’m paying $250 a week for my hotel room. My goal was just to break even and continue working seasonally for years. Working at Disney was a longtime dream and I was willing do do things to make it work that I wouldn’t for any other job.
When I got my next two weeks schedule, it added up to about 20 hours a week. Working at Disney was beginning to cost me. I was paying to work there. I was told I could pick up shifts I was qualified for. I was so relieved but there were no open shifts. Photopass has even more training. I was shooting families in front of the Tree of Life and around Animal Kingdom. I was not scheduled to learn how to shoot at night for another month and to shoot character was even after that.
What could I do? We were almost out of money and something needed to be done. I would have to quit and go home to Georgia. It wasn’t something I wanted to do but I had no choice. It wasn’t Disney’s fault and was partially mine. Maybe I rushed into accepting the job without a real plan?
Two years later we moved to Florida. The Disney job board listed me as rehire able. I applied for part time custodial just to get my foot in the door. Part time was perfect because I was homeschooling my daughter. I went for the interview and she offered me multiple jobs. Then she said something I wasn’t expecting. You are rehire able but you never gave two weeks notice. I explained what happened and said I couldn’t afford to live there anymore. She said I could they would accept two years of verifiable job experience at my current job. My job for the last 10 years was homeschooling my daughter. They said it didn’t count. I don’t blame them but wish it could have been different.
I don’t regret my short time at Disney and really wish I could work there again. We now live about an hour away and are annual passholders. Most Saturdays we are there and a lot during school breaks.
Glenn Briggs is a Columnist for the Boardwalk Times.
