Fran Disney Jobs

[Penta]

I am curious about the job your easy child has at Disney. How did he find it?

My girl, 19, might not be going back to school in the fall either and may be looking for something out of town. She's still abroad now and having a fantastic time. I'm not sure home will be lively enough for her from now on.

Thanks.

 

[donna723]

Penta, I'm not Fran, but we lived in the Orlando area for a long time and two of my nephews worked at Disney for quite a while. I would strongly urge you (or her) to check it out very thoroughly before she makes any kind of move like that. Disney (as well as the other theme parks in the area) relies very heavily on young people as the majority of their work force. Of course, there's a ton of employees that you don't see when you visit the parks and all different kinds of job classifications, but the majority of them don't pay very well at all.

In addition, the Orlando area is NOT a cheap place to live! It's getting more upscale and more expensvie every day! It would be extremely difficult for a young person to live on their own in Orlando and support themselves on what they would make at an entry level job at Disney. One of my nephews had a very responsible supervisory job at one of the water parks at Disney and had been there several years. He worked all the overtime he could get and still couldn't make ends meet (even with a roommate) and had to take a second job. The other nephew (the brother and roommate of the first one) had a job that paid more than the average there and worked as much overtime as he could possibly work but still couldn't get by, even sharing a house, without a lot of help from his parents.

It would be good for a summer job for a student, or a part time job, or for a young person living at home with their parents, but it would be very difficult to get by on a permanent basis on what they pay, especially starting out. HOWEVER - the Orlando area is growing by leaps and bounds and there are lots of decent jobs to be had.

 

[witzend]

My nephew also did Disney. They have campus type housing that is paid for out of their paychecks. He had 3 roommates and worked like a dog. He made minimum wage, and just looked at it as a good summer experience that he wouldn't like to do again.

 

[Star*]

DF and I have a mutual friend -her nick name is Tink. She is about 5' tall and maybe 98 lbs soaking wet. She's in her 50's now. She was the first Disney Tinkerbell to go sailing across the water in costume. Problem was she was so light weight that she often got stuck mid-cable and they would have to send someone out to pull her back in.

She said even back then - she made lousy money - but she's got some great stories.

 

[Fran]

Hi Penta, I'm not sure about the specifics. easy child is pretty self motivated. He has been involved with Disney websites for years.
I'll check with him and give you some specifics.
It's definitely minimum wage but lots of overtime. The campus type housing is for those in the college program. easy child is as of this week a full time employee so benefits will happen in 3 months. (if nothing goes wrong)
easy child shares a one bedroom apt. with another employee. He gets discounts on meals in the park. He is on his own except for phone and car insurance. (it's bundled with all of ours). He worked 70 hrs last week. Doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs so I guess all his money goes for self support.
He is fluent in Spanish and does ASL which all are assets in the application process.
I know he had some good references.
I'll give you the info after I speak to him. I must tell you that easy child applied at an airline at the airport in NYC. He got the job despite being the youngest and least experienced simply because he worked the summer at wife. Unfortunately, he couldn't fit it in his school schedule but it was a good experience.

I figure there are worse things than to have a 19 yr old working way too many hours.
Oh, he started on the lowest rung on the ladder which is a good place for someone as young as he.

 

[donna723]

Star, my youngest nephew was Goofy! He was also Captain Hook, the guy from Toy Story, and one of the Muppets - he did several of the "tall" characters - he's 6'3". They have to audition for each character because each has their own gestures, walk, etc., and the more they can do, the more hours they can work and the more money they make. Still not a lot though.

He met his wife at Disney - she was Mickey Mouse - or one of them anyway. She's 4'10". Just about all the little characters are really tiny little girls. She was in one stage production where "Mickey" appeared in a big puff of smoke - she was under the stage on a platform, and when the smoke appeared they'd shoot her up through a trap door in the stage - when the smoke cleared "Mickey" would be standing there! She wasn't too fond of being shot through a trap door in the floor, to say the least.

 

[everywoman]

One of my former students was/is a choreographer at Disney. As is his wife. They seem to like the work they do. I haven't seen him in a few years. He started as a dancer and worked his way up. Those with talent seem to do well in that arena.

 

[Penta]

Thanks to all....my girl is a dance major right now. Her dance teachers are pushing her toward NYC to study, but I was just curious about opportunities at Disney and whether she would have a chance there. She's a beautiful young woman and quite good in dance.

She's pretty good at making things happen for herself when she has her mind set on it.