Many comment about how Disney cast members are often so excited about their jobs that some have even compared them to being brainwashed by a cult. What is it about Disney and what they do that drives such loyalty and enthusiasm by their employees?
A behind the scenes look at what a former worker at Disney World, Silver Dollar City, and Busch Gardens Florida experienced in his time working at the parks. From driving large safari trucks around live wild animals while cracking one silly joke after another, to spending 5 years as a #PhotoPass photographer at #WaltDisneyWorld and seeing and experiencing all sorts of things, to being a conductor and #trainrobber on the famous Frisco Silver Dollar Line at #SilverDollarCity. With 10 years of working in the parks, there’s lots of stories to tell. Here is some of them…
Not only did I work in theme parks for 10 years, I’ve visited a whole lot of them as well. Here’s some stories of great visits, not so great visits, favorites, reviews, and much more.
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May I ask, how did you get the silver dollar line sign in the back? Custom made?
Thanks for sharing this, very interesting perspective and informative. Yes, I do think that positive reinforcement and creating a happy work environment should be the goal for every employer. But to be honest I know other former CM's who give very different descriptions of their time there, and my experience has been that most don't stay at WDW for more than a few years. A wife of an acquaintance was an actress who played a few different princesses and she quit after less than 2 years due to what she described as a toxic work environment and horrible management, bad work conditions, felt like she was treated like an interchangeable part, etc. Because of the industry I'm in I work with a lot of former CM's who worked in horticulture as well as Living with the Land, and they also have mixed reviews about their time at WDW. I'd love to hear more about these things, maybe compare and contrast work environments at WDW with BGT and SDC, why most CM's don't last too long at WDW even when they like it there and similar. Belated Merry Christmas and all the best in 2023!
"Overwhelming loads of positive reinforcement" That's a definition of Love Bombing. Wich is a tactic used by cults. No wonder people think Disney is a cult.
I don’t understand why Disney would reprimand you for not working; when sometimes you couldn’t because of your cancer 🤔
I should be clear, the managers and leads that you worked with played a major role, and bad ones could easily overwhelm the positives. There were areas that had very different environments, but things what Disney tried to have happen everywhere.
That's the magic right there. Love the Jiminy Cricket impression. Lol.
Merry Christmas SW. We went to WDW in March. All I have to say is I support the CMs, question management, glad Chapek is gone but Iger is not much, if any, better. To be honest, I would rather have Eisner at this point. We welcomed a new Granddaughter and I am already eager to make memories with her at WDW. If they haven't completely destroyed the magic by then
Early Disney was better for ALL. Not anymore. 🙁
My nephew is working in WDW right now. He is so excited to be working for Disney and he is having the time of his life. My kids and grandkids were just down there and saw him and they said he is really, really happy. I think that working for Disney has been really good for him.
That's the first I ever heard of this "brainwashing". Ha Ha Ha, where do people get silly ideas like this?
I worked at the parks for a bit, and nah, we're not brainwashed, but we are under contract, so we have to abide by specific rules and regulations. Apart of this is how our social media activity cannot come off in a way that makes the company look negative, can't reveal behind the scenes stuff so as to "keep the magic" going. But all in all, it wasn't a bad place to work, and I'm not a big fan of working anywhere. Like the crowds were pretty intense, but easy enough to handle, the benefits were decent for the So Cal parks at least (especially being under union guidelines), got paid a decent wage, free access to the parks, and because I was in the college program, even got cheaper housing during my time there while also attending workshops to get a better idea of the ins and outs of hte parks and how different positions within the parks work. Now, with that said, this was before Chapek, so I can't say how it is now, but at least when I did this under Iger, it was not a bad experience where I'd gladly jump at the opportunity to do it again.
Happy new year
That is so sweet those letters. May i ask what is the story on the cross in the background with the stones on it?
You hit the nail on the head. Something I'd like to add is it seemed like they made it seem like you could please them and had attainable expectations. Positivity needs to be everywhere, especially the jobs that are subpar.