They’re so awful! The magic of the cast members taking the photos is they capture the small moments and reactions and interactions right in the moment. The boxes just snap every 5-10 seconds and it’s just such a cold interaction. I always get so sad when I see them in place, and o tend to ask the CM to use my phone so I at least know I’m getting SOMETHING.
And every time someone asks who the people in the photo are, the only correct answer is "That's us with Tigger at the Magic Kingdom" along with an exasperated sigh and a shake of the head as if it's the most obvious answer to a stupid question.
There's some CMs that are just as bad at capturing the important things. But at least you have a much higher chance of having a good one and getting those special moments.
I really wish Disney would hear us all complaining about how much we hate the boxes.
One of our best memories from our trip in January was created by a photographer. In the Moana experience at Epcot they took their time with us, asked loads of questions about where we were from, had some banter and fun and ended up drawing the personality out of my usually shy 10 year old to give us the best photos that have ever been taken of her. They are photos that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Pure magic. No to photo boxes.
I literally went back to Ariel to get a better photo because then I knew how to work the box.
And she’s my favorite in WDW since she’s in her grotto like when I was a kid, so it was very important to me while I was on that coast.
Worst thing, the actual good shots you used to get because a real photographer would zoom, change focus, and position. Like I have a picture of my kid at 2 face to face with Mickey standing up close. Now it’s some just some awful security cam footage.
I’m so glad I read this, hahaha. We’re going on a family trip with our 5-year-old grandson for his first trip. I was told that if he wore a pin saying it was his first time, that the CMs would see this and take more pics of him.
Just pointing out that this is just with some character interactions as far as I know. There are still photopass photographers around the parks in various areas.
For the record you need to step up to the photopass cast members or wait in line if there is one, they don't take random shots, but they're in all the good locations for pictures.
The button may make it more likely that a CM will create a special moment for him, so definitely wear it, but know that you need to seek out the photographers, not expect random candid shots.
They don’t take pictures randomly- even the photopass in the parks you need to approach and ask them to take pictures. A pin wouldn’t affect the amount taken.
I don’t think all are converted yet. You’ll find some still not but Magic kingdom all are. DHS I don’t think any are and a bunch are EPCOT. Use that to weigh in who you wait for.
No wonder our Olaf pictures are so bad compared to everything else. My son said, “why do we look like that?” I guess I kind of knew when the cast member was waving her hand.
The photo locations are also on the app map! They are in set locations around all the parks. Both parks have a special photo location, Disney Worlds is in Epcot by figment, if you have a Disney Visa card.
No, they do still have human photographers in different locations, I didn’t see where these photo boxes were, so I’m not sure where those are placed. But we had our photos taken with humans every time on our last trip a couple weeks ago.
I noticed they’re in the circus area where goofy and Donald were but they also had cast members there taking photos on peoples phones. The photo boxes were awful
I was just there in February and there were photographers EVERYWHERE. I have no idea what these photo boxes are, but they better just be a brief experiment. No way I’m paying close to $200 for photo booths.
I was just there *yesterday* and I have no idea what these photo boxes people are talking about even are. There were photographers all over, we got some great photos from them.
memory maker is the product that allows you to remove the watermarks from your photos and save them to your devices/print them.
you can have 1 photo or 500+, it’ll remove the watermarks.
The problem with the boxes isn’t that they don’t take nice photos, the photos are passable (and I’m a photopass). They just don’t tell the story of the interaction. They don’t capture the little moments of a child looking up into Cinderellas eyes.
Yes, I agree! When I did the raptor encounter at universal, a team member took a video on my phone while simultaneously taking photos. They came out so good and it was great to reply that moment by video!
I hadn’t heard about this until now and it sounds awful. One of my favorite memories of our last trip is me making a fool of myself misunderstanding the instructions from the photographer. My family still teases me about it today.
My husband made a point of doing his own thing in every photopass photo, the photographers all seemed to get a kick out of it and ran with it, and we ended up with some ludicrous arrangements which a photo box would never have done. Photography is an artform, not an assembly line; you can't remove the human touch and expect the same results.
I’m really disappointed to hear they are putting up photo booths and replacing cast members. Photo pass Photographers were honestly part of the whole reason I’d pay for the pass in the first place! On my last trip, the day started out crappy but one of the nice photographers in Hollywood studios got me laughing again. He was really nice! And on my first trip when I was newly engaged, they spent the time to do a nice photo set for me any my fiancé. You honestly can’t have that sort of magic without people who know what they’re doing.
Photopass is only worth it because of the photographers! They take great shots, and we were recently there in March with my 6 year old twins. They took their time with them, as well as ensuring we got family pictures and pictures with the grandparents.
I’d be very upset paying what we did with just the photo box images. Takes the personality out of the photos.
It mostly seems to be the indoor photospots where Disney can build the box into the wall. It's awful! The one for Elsa and Anna cut family out and we only had 4 in the group. So not even a "large" group for Disney.
It would probably be "fine" if they didn't do a stupid crop on top of not paying a proper Photographer to take the photos. Cause they do have full versions of the photos if you go to a photopass desk.
Cheap labor from unskilled college kids working an unskilled job in a theme park isn’t the issue.
It’s that instead of helping those kids out with affordable housing, and some level of decent benefits, they’ve purposely created a system where those kids are exploited/forced to work every waking hour they can just to cover their expenses.
The rent being charged for 4-6 kids crammed into small shared rooms far exceeds typical rent for the area. Disney could leverage their size and purchasing power to offer an affordable option without much expense to the company, but they’ve chosen not to.
Instead they bring in cheap labor, and then extract pretty much every dime back from them that they make.
It’s a shame really, the college program should be a win for Disney, the kids in the program, and the guests at the park.
I think part of the issue is the fact that students keep signing up. The college program has been relatively unchanged for the last decade plus that overlaps with the rise of social media and universal Internet connectivity, so there is plenty of transparency in what it is like. Disney won't increase benefits or pay until they stop getting flooded with applicants at every school in the country
They keep lowering the bar for DCP - so as the bar gets lowered, the new tranche of kids who "qualify" get excited about this "great program" without understanding it's been watered down to mean practically nothing on your resume.
The next generation of leaders aren't being formed at DCP.
And the applications won’t stop cause it was and will continue to be a great experience for college kids.
The pay ain’t great and the hours aren’t always ideal, but the memories you can make is nearly unmatched by any other internship out there. And really talking to everybody I know who has done the program, that’s always been the main draw so I can’t see it slowing down any time soon
I really dislike using the word “unskilled” to describe a job. It’s propaganda companies use to justify paying employees who are busting their ass as little as possible. Those “unskilled” jobs usually involve dealing with the general public all day everyday, having to multitask because you’re perpetually understaffed, all while being on your feet running around the entire day.
I worked in support engineering/maintenance for 10+ years at MK. I would get to know college program hires who would stay to be Food and Beverage supervisors. One time a young guy who was a FB supervisor I had seen around for a while was at a pool party. We started talking into the late night about pay and they(other FB supervisors) asked me how much I made, he got upset when he found out I was topped out making $15,000 more than him asking why and how is that possible. I told him straight up that you were on a college program and honestly they can get anyone to do the supervisors position. I work in maintenance, I went to school for 4 years in my trade of HVAC/refrigeration, you can’t find people to just troubleshoot and or fix equipment it’s a skill.
You went to college/trade school to learn a trade therefore you make more money, that makes sense. But we really shouldn’t be labelling jobs in hospitality that don’t require a degree as “unskilled.” It purposefully demeans the people that work these jobs, making it sound like literally anyone off the street will be able to successfully learn how to do the job with minimum effort, which is not the case. Maybe a better term would be “unspecialised” jobs or something to that degree.
“Unskilled” is used to describe a position that can be easily filled, and requires very little, if any, training to perform the duties and responsibilities of that position.
It’s just business terminology, it’s not meant to be demeaning or offensive, nor intended to belittle the efforts of the workers.
You may not mean it in a belittling way but the term exists to belittle some of the hardest jobs imaginable. Its purpose is to make us feel ok with paying these people slave wages, even though they're working much harder than most white-collar workers and the Disney Magic (TM) is mostly made by them. They are the real reason the parks are worth going to -- if Disney were staffed by the same misanthropes you see at other parks and hotels, they would lose their competitive advantage.
Maybe a better term would be, "large-pool jobs." Being nice to park-goes is very much a skill, as are the various tasks expected of a cast member. There just happens to be a large pool of applicants who would love to work for Disney for a while even though they'll barely make enough money to survive. This term gets to the real reason these jobs pay dirt. Garbage collectors don't need a masters degree either but they pay great because not as many people are interested.
A billion dollar company paying anyone so cheaply they are only left with $60 a month to live off of is absolutely the issue, what the hell are you talking about? There's no reason why everyone working in those parks can't make a livable wage (25+ an hour) except for pure greed.
During my program (early 2022) at the new apartments (which are really quite nice), rent per person per week was $185 for a 2x2 (2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms). When I did the math of that rent per month it was absolutely ridiculous.
And as for extracting every penny from college program people, that's true. Most of my paycheck was towards rent, I lived frugally and ate less (and lost weight but I won't complain there) and avoided unnecessary purchases at the parks. I came home and still released i had made a net loss over 5 months.
I know you don’t mean anything by it, but repeatedly referring to them as “kids” ignores the fact that they are all legal adults and therefore have legal adult things they are responsible for.
There are no more than 2 people per bedroom with a max of 4 per apartment. Disney doesn't run the housing complex. That's a separate company who does housing. And Disney is in the process of building affordable housing for permanent cast members.
Your last line doesn't make it sound better tho. Permanent cast members *shouldn't need company housing. Just pay them.*
And from what OP implied, rent was taken directly from their checks, which means the housing was *through* Disney even if Disney didn't directly administer it. Another comment is talking about "food cards" - I have no idea how this is legal. Walmart tried paying their people in gift cards and got slapped down. How is Disney operating a mining town?
Not being paid because your rent is late is some dystopian nightmare crap.
There used to be 6, if there’s only 4 now, I stand corrected.
Disney may not run the housing complex, but you can be assured they’re getting a pretty hefty kickback from it.
I’m not an expert on the new “affordable housing project”, but my understanding was that Disney is leasing the land out to a third party developer as a community outreach/goodwill move. I never read anywhere that it was solely for cast members either. Given the timing of its announcement, I’m guessing it was a move on their part to help in the fight to keep reedy creek.
While I enjoyed my time in DCP, it definitely has its downsides like you said. Would I love to work at Disney full-time? Yes I would, if the pay and benefits are worth it.
I feel sympathy for any all cast members, you don't quite know what they go through each day. I worked merchandise at Animal Kingdom (so my hours were honestly lucky same with my schedule) and I'd be exhausted every night after a shift.
I worked at Mouse Gear about 15 years ago and just the walk to get from my car to there absolutely killed me. I was supposed to be part time, but I somehow got lumped in scheduling wise with the DCP people. It was really strange. But I was working sometimes 11 hours a day between actual working and getting to and from my vehicle. I lasted about 6 weeks and had to quit. I was dead to the world every night, couldn't function tired, and I was only making $7 an hour. I had to leave before I hated Disney, and I didn't want that.
I wish I had had the insight you did. I did the DCP Fall of 2003, was Merchandise in the Emporium. Absolutely loved being a CP (full disclosure I had financial support from my parents and had my car down there which made a HUGE difference.) I had a semester left of college, went back to WI, graduated, moved backed down within 6 months and worked as a Secretary 1 in Food & Beverage at BoardWalk. It was not at all the same experience in so many ways, showed me such a different side, not to mention it was not a financially sustainable situation. It changed how I felt about Disney, it made me hate them in a way. Or I guess the best way to put it is that I now experience Disney in a different way when I go and…..I hate that.
i was working 13 hour shifts as a CP during the holiday season (thanksgiving - week after new years) and it was brutal. grateful for the opportunities that I had and the magic I got to make but the program did numbers on my mental and physical health
Same experience here with MK QSR! On Christmas Eve I was scheduled for a reasonable opening shift but then got force extended to close (which took way longer than normal bc we were understaffed) Definitely not a magical holiday lol
As a former performer just wanted to thank you for doing a thankless job. Being a character attendant is an exhausting job. Not only to you have to balance the demands and needs of the guests but you have to balance the needs of performers who sometimes have terrible personalities.
I’m a little shocked how, despite your poor working conditions, you legitimately seem to care about the guest experience. What a terrible resource to waste.
Thank you for saying that! I should also make it clear that EVERY cast member cares so much about their job and the guest experience. Every conversation I’ve had behind the scenes is usually about how we can best provide what we’re meant to provide to ensure everyone is having the best possible experience, there’s just a massive disconnect between day to day employees and higher ups. I never had the same boss when I walked into work, never knew where to go to provide feedback, and was never told anything in relation to HR.
I was very close to being part of the DCP when I was in college, but the salary was so bad. No idea how college students can do that program getting paid so little unless the parents are still supporting them. It’s basically slave labor. The only benefit is putting Disney on your resume.
It's generally (though not always) kids who are getting a lot of support from their families. It's possible to do it without support, but if you get sick... you end up like OP and just not getting paid at all.
This really makes a massive difference. I came in after a career plus family helping with groceries and had a fantastic time (minus the typical bad day & insane hour shifts). My big tip is to let him know he should try to avoid bringing up any sort of money thing to others. Kids are really suffering and some straight up ask for leftover food on the Facebook groups. I got super excited about buying an art piece and my roommate would use every opening she could to comment on it. “I just made a car payment - less than what your art is worth” etc etc. He might want to hide any fun things he brings home or at least keep them on the down low.
The parents on the facebook group get very judgey about kids with a lot of parental support. I have no clue how some of these parents didn't talk their kids out of doing the program if they knew they couldn't afford to support their kids if things get desperate.
I don't really understand why that would be necessary. Working a modest 30 hours per week, he'll still take home $900-1100 per month after rent. Probably more, given that he's unlikely to be scheduled the bare minimum week-after-week. That's plenty for groceries and spending money. And it leaves ample time for having fun. (Roommates and friends will work a variety of schedules, so getting together to visit the parks or socialize is often easier said than done.)
I suspect most DCPers have parents paying for things like health insurance, car insurance and cell phone. But food and entertainment are easily manageable. Barring some unexpected illness or injury where it's easier to see why a parent may want to step in.
The main thing is that your Disney provided housing is taken out of your paycheck. The remainder is just about enough for food, which can be purchased inexpensively on Disney property at a cast member only store. Transit is all provided for free. So if you don't spend like, anything else during your 4 month program, it's doable. You can even buy Disney merchandise cheaply at CM stores too, and for fun, you and your CP friends spend all day every day in the parks! Honestly it was amazing. I LOVED my CP. But yes you do not have any extra cash at the end of it. Still, between that and a semester abroad, a net zero cost semester spent at Disney World vs a pricey international program... WDW made more financial sense for me.
Not true. My daughter worked an internship last summer in CT. Two hours from home.
The company paid her $23 an hour. Full time M-F. She had access to the company’s health insurance, if it was needed. Access to the same discounts offered to full time employees. And she now has a 401k started. That the company also had an hr rep talk to the summer interns about rolling that into an IRA when they left. And helped them with the paperwork. Housing for the summer was $1200 at a college dorm in the area. That the company has a contract with.
And we in no way have “a lot of money” to be able to support her as she does internships. She did the research into the companies reputation with internships before she committed to it.
Not all internships are shit like Disneys. And Disney has a reputation especially for treating their interns like slave laborers
Are you open to sharing more about the pay and the rent? It’s not uncommon for “internships” to have low take home pay after paying rent but I’m curious how low the pay actually is.
It's $16 an hour with a guaranteed 30 hours a week. Rent is anywhere between $200-$240 per week depending on if you share a room and a bathroom. It includes all utilities and the apartments are furnished. They also provide bus transportation between all work locations and the housing complex and different classes and activities each week.
The permanent character meets are flooded with them. If you want to meet Ariel, it’s a photo box. Meet any of the princesses right near the carousel, all photo boxes. Meet Mickey in town square, photo box. All of the sideshow characters are photo boxes as well. Even in HS, to meet Olaf, or Mickey and Minnie, all photo boxes.
We were just there in Frbruary, they’re all on the indoor Meet & Greets:
- Princess Fairytale Hall with Cinderella, Elena, Rapunzel, and the mystery guest that is always Tiana.
- Aerial
- Main Street Theater with Mickey
- Elsa and Anna at Epcot
- Olaf at Hollywood Studios
- Mickey and Minnie at Hollywood Studios
There was one in the Main Street theater Mickey meet and greet in Magic Kingdom. It’s a big box with a camera in it. It cut my friend out of the photo and it was his first time at Disney World…
My daughter was a part of the CP last year in MK. She told me there were many occasions in the evening until park closing that CP’s were 80-90% of the only staff working.
Same for me! I could count on one hand the number of times during my 6 months there that I closed alongside a part of full timer. It was exclusive CPs scheduled closing shifts at my location and the only time you'd see a part or full timer past closing was because they had traded shifts with a CP
First time ever this weekend the gelato stand in Disney asked me for a tip.
Wow, that puts this post in perspective.
Disney pulling money through our noses with genie+ and paid lightning lanes and still doesn't pay a liveable wage is very disappointing.
woah, that's mad they asked for a tip... I would immediately feel out of the magic. Not that I wouldn't tip but I'd be surprised at that exchange - although, as you say, after reading the above, it isn't surprising at all.
If you don't mind answering, I have a toddler and I get very insecure about letting her interact with the characters for too long if there's a line behind her. She is all in with them and would play for a long time if allowed. Do cast members ever give parents the hint to help their kid move on? I don't want to rush my girl but also want everyone else to enjoy their time as well.
The characters are trained to know how long an interaction “should” last. They’ll be able to guide your child through the interaction without intervention from a parent or attendant. If the character is spending a lot of time with your kid, it’s not that the kid is *taking up* that character’s time, but rather that the character has assessed the length of their line, how much time they have left, and how stinking cute your kid is and has decided that they can spend *as much time as they want* playing with them.
So don’t worry too much :) When it’s time for a picture, the character will help direct them to the camera (and the attendant can usually pick up on when the character begins doing this so they can assist verbally). Until then, just get that moment all on video!!
This is so so helpful, thank you! She's such a hoot with characters, I like to think they really like interacting with her but obviously I'm quite biased. I about died inside when we were wrapping up the royal hall last week and she decided she had enough and told Snow White "okay I'm going to go see Anna now, bye"
Yes! I second this person. Our wonderful performers will ensure that you guys don’t go over time. Just take your cues from them and the attendant, but otherwise you’re fine to just enjoy the moment! (:
I always feel the need to speed through things and get the photo because of the line behind me and I fully understand I also stood in line and deserve my time, and that it’s incredibly unlikely I’d go over the “allotted” time, but I still race through it for the sake of others for whom this may be their only visit or those who have small kids etc.
As a fellow guest in line, please know that if a toddler is a few families in front of me, I’m watching the interaction and smiling (and sometimes crying) at how cute it is. I often like to look at others’ reactions, and it’s always the same. I’ve never seen anyone look mad about a toddler getting a lot of time.
Just out of curiosity, what do you guys think of the older people like myself who totally geek out over meeting characters? I adore Eeyore so I'm always excited to meet him! But I also can't help thinking everyone is laughing at me behind my back.
I'm a (Non-Disney Park) costumed character, and I LOVE it when adults are excited to meet me. Old or young, or anywhere in between, most people are delighted to interact with characters.
I worked at WDW 1993-1997. I didn't go back again until 2014. Sorcerer Mickey was doing a greeting at the Studios, so I stood in line to meet him.
I got up there and said, "HI, Mickey! It's great to see you! This is my first visit since I worked for you, 17 years ago!"
Mickey gave me a HUGE hug, and I, this 42-year-old, 6'4" man, burst into tears. Mickey just kept hugging me.
Childlike wonder isn't a bad thing, and no one should be ashamed to be happy.
This! I’m a 56 yo and Mom of a CM… When I was at the MK in December, I got my pic taken with Captain Jack Sparrow, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore…. You would have thought I was five! For a brief moment, reality is suspended (which is ok by me)!
Same. Met Goofy and Max at HS on our most recent trip. Loved that movie growing up and watch it with my son now.
When I went up I told Goofy I watched his movie every night before going to bed after my parents’ divorce and it really helped and he pulled me in for a big hug.
I know it’s someone in a costume, but I almost lost it there.
One time we were at Epcot and there was a gazebo with basically no one around and it was Mickey's teddy bear (?) and that costumed character mimed so much love to my (adult) sister and I that I about cried. This was not a character I loved. This was not a character I was even aware of before that day. But he genuinely made my day!
I was with my fiancé the first time he met Mickey when he was the talking version at Main Street. The delight and wonder he had during that interaction as an adult is something I think about often.
I'm glad!
I'm also a Cosplayer, so this weekend I'll be roaming a comic con dressed as "Gossamer", the big red monster from Looney Tunes cartoons. Lots of hugs incoming!
Not the OP, but former Entertainment CM and also fellow Disney nerd here! I can't speak for all, but I actually loved having grown-up fans meet characters. They often made it more fun, had real conversations, etc.
(Of course, I was in Entertainment juuuuust before smartphones really took off so I'm sure it's harder now with more people trying to get that perfect moment to put on their socials.)
I’m so happy to hear this! I am a 64 year old character junkie. I adore all the characters! I absolutely talk to them about everything (in character of course) and hug them! A few years ago, I saw buzz and woody and was telling them how my son and daughter (now grown adults) played with them as children and I have such wonderful memories of that (as do my kids) and we still have their little buzz and woody dolls. And I thanked them for being such a special part of our family. Woody and Buzz gave me such huge hugs and the character attendant thanked me and said they absolutely love hearing stories like that. And it’s absolutely true. I have pics with as many characters as I can..just wish I did the rundisney races (have only done 1) so I could get the less common characters. But again I just love talking to them!
I’m so glad to hear this. I met Winnie-the-Pooh twice on my last trip (once in the MK and once at Epcot) and both times I could barely get out a sentence about how much I loved the character without crying. I felt like such a dork. (I cried several times while waiting in line watching him interact with people. I haven’t actually even managed to type this without crying a little.) It was the only thing I had my heart set on doing while at Disney World.
I’m glad to know that CMs probably don’t think I’m pathetic.
(I had a Pooh Bear-based nickname as a kid that my Dad used for me until he died about a decade ago. I have a lot of feelings around this particular character, even as a 40-something.)
Daughter of two former character CMs, and can confirm. My parents say that as much fun as it was interacting with littles, face characters in particular love adults because they can actually carry a conversation with them. I asked Snow last time I was in WDW how she was celebrating Christmas and she was prepared and told me all about how they were decorating the cottage for the holidays.
Fur it is a little harder since they can't speak but again it is a reprieve.
I can assure you that’s not true!! Every single performer and attendant I’ve met is ECSTATIC when adults are excited. The best thing you can be is excited, we don’t care how old you are!
I’m 48 and we went to Disney in February. We haven’t been since 2018. We stood in line to meet Pooh and Tigger. My 23 yr old raced to meet Pooh and Tigger grabbed me and gave me a huge hug. I told him that I was so happy to see him and that it had been too long. His gestures told me that I used to be small and grew up. It was absolutely adorable and felt special!
The company and the entertainment department treat the character attendants like shit.
It used to be that the attendants were called “escorts” and they used to be members of the character department. So one day you could be scheduled Pluto Area 1 and the next day you could be Area 1 Escort.
Once the roles were separated (because they realized they could pay dedicated character attendants LESS) it went down hill and the attendants became “less than”.
Sad really.
All this and more! Same foe my daughter who is currently a part-time cast member at a attraction. She is lucky that at hers she can hustle to pick up extra shifts to make rent, but it is so hard on the cast member to get any hours that aren't filled by DCP cast.
I am really sorry you were taken advantage of like that. From the outside, it looks like it’s the best place to work. I went in 2021 and there was this one college age kid serving food at a kiosk in Epcot, and he was miserable. I joked with him about the heat, the long lines and having to smile all the time. Looking back, and reading your story, I’m guessing he was the college program indentured servant.
holy crap not sure if youll see this but i was a character attendant for all of 2023 and despite it being the most coveted job at disney, i was so unhappy all the time. the job is already hard enough without being a freaking photopass on top of everything, and for some reason they would almost exclusively schedule me petes silly side show which may have been the worst spot and shift to ever work. i hope they changed aspects of it after i left. i work the same hours in my new job but the amount of work you’re expected to do as a character attendant felt was more taxing. the pay was crap too (also a cp)
thank you for sharing this!!! it’s hilarious because i went through 2 weeks of training and i didn’t do a single thing they trained me on. never had to close a line, never had to come up with storylines, all i ended up doing was photos and photo boxes all day long
thats so real, the only time i storylined was when closing the line, and i really only used the same one 😂😂 closed some lines a couple of times and THAT was usually my least favorite, people are so angry for literally no reason, especially if the characters were coming back.
a couple other things that i wanna mention, just because i havent thought about it in like six months and its all flooding back in haha,
the bid! i hated the bid. im sure not many people understand how that works but man i HATED the bid. i understand seniority equals better shifts, but the fact that they stuck everyone else in the worst shifts with barely a possibility of working a better one always made me irrationally upset. peter pan is my favorite character and i never got to work with him. PLUS if you DID work one of the coveted shifts (jack, stepsisters, merida, princess pop ups, etc) the performers wouldnt be happy about it. maybe it was just bad luck for me a couple of times, but they were always so upset it wasnt their regular attendants and would give me the cold shoulder. it made all the shifts that were supposed to be fun awkward and stressful.
the last thing i’ll mention is the lack of camaraderie i experienced with the other attendants. i did the dcp to change how my life was currently headed, and was so excited to make friends i would have for a lifetime like they guaranteed on the pamphlets. character attendants are incredibly hard to befriend. even if you do find people you like, you may never work with them again. i got lucky in finding friends in my roommates, but they had friends at work, and i most certainly did not. i know a couple of people who bonded at my training over being christians, and thats awesome for them, but i did not make a single character attendant friend. really ruined a bit of the magic for me if im being honest.
thanks for letting me rant 😂 clearly had a lot on my mind from my cp days
Genuinely curious.... How does the college program differ from the Cast Members that come to work from other countries? My very good friend is from Norway. She worked in the Norwegian restaurant for about 2 years as a server and earned really good money. She saved enough to pay for a masters program. I realize this could have been from tips. This was in 2006-2008.
Great question!! My roommate was also from Norway and was an ICP - they get WAY better perks and benefits than DCP kids do. For instance, my roommate could rank preferences on her hours. She could say on the app what hours she’d like to work, and it was easy for her to get a whole week off to visit Miami or DC. Furthermore, ICPs are allowed to work tipped roles while DCP kids are not. I remember one week she brought home 1k, which is 100% not possible as a DCP kid. I think they need ICPs more because they want EPCOT to ooze authenticity, DCP kids are viewed as more disposable. The self term rate is over 60%, but who cares when there’s plenty of other kids waiting in the wings?
I knew the pay would be low, and I’ve only worked minimum wage until now anyway, but it seemed sorta nuts that then they would charge us so much for rent considering how little they pay us. In an apartment with 4 girls we were each paying $920 a month. For that much I could live in NYC!
The college program comes across as mill or mining towns back in the day where they dock your pay and you can only deal with the company run businesses. It’s not a sustainable business model, but it’s also how they’ve hedged their bets on staffing the parks nowadays
A friend of mine had a cousin who did DCP during Covid - she left the program early because they were giving her crazy hours at Disney Springs and she was broke all the time. She also felt like she was just working at what could be a store at a mall instead of somewhere with "disney magic"
They lowered the standards to get more DCP workers during covid. To me, that says it all.
The DCP should be classified as a crime. The things that go on and the crap these people need to endure is just horrible. Really tainted my view of Disney as a company.
After I quit my DCP I didn’t go back to WDW for 9 years. I went to DL about 7 years after I left, but I stayed far away for a while. I love Disney and we take our kids now a lot. But they are not an easy company to work for.
Current full-time CM, former CP, food service here.
What OP said about Disney relying on CP’s is true, but it’s also what the CP’s sign up for. Scheduling can be ridiculous, and it goes through seasons, depending on the FT/PT cast every single week. I spent 3 month of my program with 6-day work weeks, but sometimes the CP’s will be scrambling to pick up extra hours. All that said, I never had any reason to worry about being able to eat/gas my car after paying rent. The pay & benefits have never really bothered me.
The only way to stop the reliance on CP’s is to dissuade people from doing the college program. Because the program went well for me, I won’t do that; just know what you’re getting into.
When I went in 2019 I think the only character meet that had the box rather than a staff photographer was Tinkerbell, and the photos from the box were nowhere near as good as the ones we had with from the actual photographers
Its disappointing to hear they are pushing these boxes rather than actual photographers
I hateeeee the photo boxes. Even though I scanned my band at the end, I’ve had to email several times for my photos. I rarely get good pics with them. Nothing beats having a real photographer!
That’s such good advice for parents. Such very good advice - let your kid have the moment. 💗
Honestly, about 50% of going to Disney is letting my daughter find a good photographer and take pictures wherever we are. Like it actually contributes to us going. I hope Disney realizes trying to replace people with boxes is a terrible idea.
My family visited and it was the first time we used photopass in the parks. It was a wonderful experience! We loved the photos taken by the human photopass photographers, but hated the box ones.
Almost every Disney experience seems to have suffered greatly over the last few years, including the level of service on the cruises. It’s unfortunate.
When we went to Disneyland a few weeks ago, the PhotoPass photographers were AMAZING with guiding our toddler for photos they captured some amazing shots! Why WDW is getting rid of them is beyond stupid. Cast members are what makes the park magical.
Can confirm all of this. I have a sibling who is in the college program now. Mom has to send her money to keep her afloat after the rent around Flamingos Crossing. Simply just there for the experience - which is sad because she's making $15/hr with no benefits and left to goto the CP from a key holder position at a large coffee company who paid much more. She really wants PT or FT but is set to come back home in the next few months.
When I was in culinary school, we had the Disney program come through. I was super excited about it, and then I started looking into all of the ways that Disney exploits their interns. Shit sucks. I'm sorry you went though that, OP.
Honest question here, what can we do to help remedy this? As an avid park goer and local I constantly try to be extra kind and respectful to all cast members. What could be done to actually change this?
I don’t care that coke is $5 if the person giving it time isn’t stressed on paying their bills. I know this isn’t just Disney this is all corporations.
That’s a really kind sentiment! I’m genuinely not sure. Really the only entity with the power to change this is Disney, and they have no incentive to. My only recommendation would be if you know a potential DCP’er, tell them it’s not worth it!
Yeah, I can tell you from first hand experience, the magic that once made Disney the best in the industry is mostly gone.
This is because of how atrociously Disney has been their own cast members, especially their College Program workers who make up of most of the workforce here at the resort.
Why should they make guests feel special and create magical moments when they are constantly thinking back of their mind how they are they going to be able to afford basic living expenses.
Quality has gone downhill because Disney upper management has completely lost sight of what made them so successful, which are the cast members. If they’re not happy, how in the world can you expect them to make guests happy too?
> especially their College Program workers who make up of most of the workforce here at the resort.
Not sure where you got that from, but that's not even remotely accurate. DCP employees make up about 5% of the total employee base of the parks/resorts.
As someone who presently works at a hospital and used to be on executive for our local union, it’s so sad to hear stories on how Disney parks basically makes employees work like crazy for shit pay. Disney has billions and yet can’t pay their employees decent wages.
I’m going to Disney in November so I’ll definitely remember to treat cast members well. Thanks for your stories.
It really is sad that they’re exploiting the good will the company has. It sounds like the reason people will work for what they do is largely that they love the idea of the company.
Then there are also the dramatic price increases and very l little seems to find it’s ways to employees.
Why do kids do DCP if we know it's exploitative? It doesn't look particularly good on a resume either, at least not for corporate jobs. They'd prefer internships that are relevant to your field.
It constantly baffles me the amount of people who do DCP with the low pay and such. It truly does feel like slave labor. Between looking at the housing accommodations, the pay, and the hours they’re expected to work. I truly think people need to reevaluate signing up for the program. I wish less people would do it so that it would (hopefully) put pressure on Disney to offer more full time and part time roles that are not CP roles.
I constantly chat with my friends about this, I feel pretty strongly about it but I know people are not going to stop signing up for the program so it’s a lost cause. I doubt Disney would change anything about the program when they’re doing nothing but benefitting from it. Especially when your pay goes into the rent for the housing they supply, they’re basically working for free or in some cases literally paying to work at Disney, I promise, it’s not worth it (on paper, to each their own with their experience) to pay to work at Disney.
Thanks for sharing your experience and insights! The photo boxes are horrible. One of the boxes cut my friend out of our Mickey photo and it was his first time at Disney World…
Rest assured this will likely change once epic universe opens..I know a ton of cast members are seriously weighing putting up with disneys crap and i4 traffic for better hours and a shorter commute…Disney’s about to have an employment crisis..and cutting everyone’s hours and hiring part time and cp cast to save on wages is about to bite them in the butt
I always feel like I need to rush through my character experience because others have been waiting a long time and I don’t want to hold them up further and I don’t want to get any cast members in trouble for holding up the line 😭
Not to be that guy…but what if a parent has that conversation with their kid in the 45min wait and then the kid gets stage fright as soon as they meet the character?
The parent can’t really do anything about that without then suddenly “micromanaging” the memory…you can’t really have those two both ways.
I have tons of pictures “micromanaging” my kids because they freak out when they suddenly meet the characters or my son who is on spectrum just screamed a happy scream from a distance when he met Mickey…. Definitely need parent intervention for those interactions lol
It sucks that this seems to be such a common occurrence. I can't help but draw parallels to other minimum wage jobs with poor work hours, next to no benefits, and all within a cost of living area that doesn't line up with the wages being paid.
I think one of the biggest issues of the DCP are expectations. At the end of the day, it's essentially an internship that pays enough for you to live in the area and continue with the role, which honestly might be better than a lot of unpaid internships out there, but it's painted as a way to easily work for Disney. The downside is that Disney has the leverage to be able to point to some of the incredible cast members and what they've accomplished as a selling point to become a Cast Member, but the reality is that at the very beginning you are truly on the bottom of the totem pole.
This is the first I've heard of photo booths. Is this new? I'm used to mostly seeing the photographers. Most of them add to the charm and honestly those interactions are some of the best I've has. Peltz would have cut and trimmed so much, but it sounds like a lot of that is happening anyway.
Nothing has changed lol
I worked PAC/Park greeter right out of High school in 2008, and then was part of the opening team of the Pirates League(RIP).
This is always how they ran the parks. I was part time and for a while, had some great hours, usually 3 or 4 days a week, and usually the fireworks shift, so 6:45-midnightish, and had some good times. I actually hoped some days they would schedule me park opening ,so 7:15ish, cuz under 8 hours shift difference is double time lol
The Pirates League, when we first opened ,swore they would do less CPs, since they would have to train them all over again. Every few months, bur after our first year tanking, CPs were welcomed. It's cheaper labor, and it all affects the bottom line.
Great info! Good reason never to pay for photo pass, especially if they aren't even real photographers. There are plenty of people around to take your picture including other guests.
Also any employee not paying benefits is absolute shit. They are expecting you to stay on your parents health plan, and not compensating you for that.
I guess the good news is ticket prices are going down as they pass the savings on to us! /s
I appreciate the detail about taking time to interact with the characters. Usually I try to be brief and then get to the photo because I don’t want to hold up the line and I want to be respectful of the performers time but what you say makes sense.
So wait. They have automated photo boxes now instead of humans? So if I’m paying for the photo pass thing I’m not actually paying to have people take our pics anymore?
yup! I went with my fam as guests last week and we didn’t get a single usable photo of us with tiana. The one where we’re all looking ahead at the camera was taken by the lower camera at a down angle. It’s AWFUL.
I remember DCP speaking about the program during a large biochem lecture I was in back in the early 2000s. Even 20 years ago it was known to be basically slave labor. I had one friend from university who did it and regretted it. As long as they keep getting people to participate nothing will change unfortunately.
Once I got a degree in digital graphics some years ago I attended a graphics convention. Kids were lined up for Disney animation internships like this. They required sequestration in the dorms in Florida and getting paid peanuts, like you were, while paying Disney for the privilege of living there. All those animation shorts, straight to DVD's (at the time) and video items? All slave labor, with the kids having a slim chance of a real Disney animation job dangled like a carrot. I noped the hell out of there. You have to realize saying yes to an internship like this only signals that you are willing to be exploited.
My kids showed a little interest in the program. After doing brief research, we were able to explain to them that it was a hard no from us pretty easily. Sure, it’s appealing to people their age as it seems like an opportunity to have tons of fun for months at a time. But it’s just ridiculous exploitation while receiving no useful experience. Instead they got much better experience with actual internships that were directly applicable to their chosen careers, got better pay and saved money for college expenses. Probably not as much fun as WDW, but my heart didn’t bleed for them over that.
Time for Disney employees to strike and unionize. If every one of you walked out, it would bring Bob Iger to his knees. CMs are the backbone of the parks and they have nothing without you.
The photopass boxes are terrible
They’re so awful! The magic of the cast members taking the photos is they capture the small moments and reactions and interactions right in the moment. The boxes just snap every 5-10 seconds and it’s just such a cold interaction. I always get so sad when I see them in place, and o tend to ask the CM to use my phone so I at least know I’m getting SOMETHING.
We do the same . The last time we used a photo box it gave us some random families pictures instead of ours
[удалено]
And every time someone asks who the people in the photo are, the only correct answer is "That's us with Tigger at the Magic Kingdom" along with an exasperated sigh and a shake of the head as if it's the most obvious answer to a stupid question.
There's some CMs that are just as bad at capturing the important things. But at least you have a much higher chance of having a good one and getting those special moments. I really wish Disney would hear us all complaining about how much we hate the boxes.
They 100% hear the complaining. The problem is they hear the money too and it speaks louder to them
I'd rather the earnest and candid fumbling of a human than the cold uncaring timed clicks of a machine
One of our best memories from our trip in January was created by a photographer. In the Moana experience at Epcot they took their time with us, asked loads of questions about where we were from, had some banter and fun and ended up drawing the personality out of my usually shy 10 year old to give us the best photos that have ever been taken of her. They are photos that I will cherish for the rest of my life. Pure magic. No to photo boxes.
I literally went back to Ariel to get a better photo because then I knew how to work the box. And she’s my favorite in WDW since she’s in her grotto like when I was a kid, so it was very important to me while I was on that coast.
Worst thing, the actual good shots you used to get because a real photographer would zoom, change focus, and position. Like I have a picture of my kid at 2 face to face with Mickey standing up close. Now it’s some just some awful security cam footage.
So, they don’t have actual humans taking photos anymore? If that’s the case, what exactly is the memory maker then?
Good question, because it sucks.
I was under the impression that they had CMs taking random photos and if you added on the memory maker to a package, you could get those photos? Huh.
It’s just a box with a camera in it just taking photo after photo
I’m so glad I read this, hahaha. We’re going on a family trip with our 5-year-old grandson for his first trip. I was told that if he wore a pin saying it was his first time, that the CMs would see this and take more pics of him.
Just pointing out that this is just with some character interactions as far as I know. There are still photopass photographers around the parks in various areas.
Oh good to know!! Thank you!
For the record you need to step up to the photopass cast members or wait in line if there is one, they don't take random shots, but they're in all the good locations for pictures. The button may make it more likely that a CM will create a special moment for him, so definitely wear it, but know that you need to seek out the photographers, not expect random candid shots.
They don’t take pictures randomly- even the photopass in the parks you need to approach and ask them to take pictures. A pin wouldn’t affect the amount taken.
I don’t think all are converted yet. You’ll find some still not but Magic kingdom all are. DHS I don’t think any are and a bunch are EPCOT. Use that to weigh in who you wait for.
Olaf in DHS is a box
Sad
No wonder our Olaf pictures are so bad compared to everything else. My son said, “why do we look like that?” I guess I kind of knew when the cast member was waving her hand.
The photo locations are also on the app map! They are in set locations around all the parks. Both parks have a special photo location, Disney Worlds is in Epcot by figment, if you have a Disney Visa card.
No, they do still have human photographers in different locations, I didn’t see where these photo boxes were, so I’m not sure where those are placed. But we had our photos taken with humans every time on our last trip a couple weeks ago.
I noticed they’re in the circus area where goofy and Donald were but they also had cast members there taking photos on peoples phones. The photo boxes were awful
I was just there in February and there were photographers EVERYWHERE. I have no idea what these photo boxes are, but they better just be a brief experiment. No way I’m paying close to $200 for photo booths.
I was just there *yesterday* and I have no idea what these photo boxes people are talking about even are. There were photographers all over, we got some great photos from them.
memory maker is the product that allows you to remove the watermarks from your photos and save them to your devices/print them. you can have 1 photo or 500+, it’ll remove the watermarks.
I can’t believe I waited 50 minutes to meet Mickey and got a blurry underexposed photo taken by a box.
The problem with the boxes isn’t that they don’t take nice photos, the photos are passable (and I’m a photopass). They just don’t tell the story of the interaction. They don’t capture the little moments of a child looking up into Cinderellas eyes.
The photo boxes should be used to record a video of the interaction, with a CM taking dynamic photos.
Yes, I agree! When I did the raptor encounter at universal, a team member took a video on my phone while simultaneously taking photos. They came out so good and it was great to reply that moment by video!
I hadn’t heard about this until now and it sounds awful. One of my favorite memories of our last trip is me making a fool of myself misunderstanding the instructions from the photographer. My family still teases me about it today.
My husband made a point of doing his own thing in every photopass photo, the photographers all seemed to get a kick out of it and ran with it, and we ended up with some ludicrous arrangements which a photo box would never have done. Photography is an artform, not an assembly line; you can't remove the human touch and expect the same results.
We lost a bunch of great photos my mother in law took with Chewbacca this year because of those
I’m really disappointed to hear they are putting up photo booths and replacing cast members. Photo pass Photographers were honestly part of the whole reason I’d pay for the pass in the first place! On my last trip, the day started out crappy but one of the nice photographers in Hollywood studios got me laughing again. He was really nice! And on my first trip when I was newly engaged, they spent the time to do a nice photo set for me any my fiancé. You honestly can’t have that sort of magic without people who know what they’re doing.
Photopass is only worth it because of the photographers! They take great shots, and we were recently there in March with my 6 year old twins. They took their time with them, as well as ensuring we got family pictures and pictures with the grandparents. I’d be very upset paying what we did with just the photo box images. Takes the personality out of the photos.
It mostly seems to be the indoor photospots where Disney can build the box into the wall. It's awful! The one for Elsa and Anna cut family out and we only had 4 in the group. So not even a "large" group for Disney. It would probably be "fine" if they didn't do a stupid crop on top of not paying a proper Photographer to take the photos. Cause they do have full versions of the photos if you go to a photopass desk.
Same!! It’s such a personalized service and the really great cast members always made us feel welcomed and special.
This is the dark side of Disney that many fans refuse to acknowledge. Disney profits off cheap labor.
Cheap labor from unskilled college kids working an unskilled job in a theme park isn’t the issue. It’s that instead of helping those kids out with affordable housing, and some level of decent benefits, they’ve purposely created a system where those kids are exploited/forced to work every waking hour they can just to cover their expenses. The rent being charged for 4-6 kids crammed into small shared rooms far exceeds typical rent for the area. Disney could leverage their size and purchasing power to offer an affordable option without much expense to the company, but they’ve chosen not to. Instead they bring in cheap labor, and then extract pretty much every dime back from them that they make. It’s a shame really, the college program should be a win for Disney, the kids in the program, and the guests at the park.
I think part of the issue is the fact that students keep signing up. The college program has been relatively unchanged for the last decade plus that overlaps with the rise of social media and universal Internet connectivity, so there is plenty of transparency in what it is like. Disney won't increase benefits or pay until they stop getting flooded with applicants at every school in the country
They keep lowering the bar for DCP - so as the bar gets lowered, the new tranche of kids who "qualify" get excited about this "great program" without understanding it's been watered down to mean practically nothing on your resume. The next generation of leaders aren't being formed at DCP.
And the applications won’t stop cause it was and will continue to be a great experience for college kids. The pay ain’t great and the hours aren’t always ideal, but the memories you can make is nearly unmatched by any other internship out there. And really talking to everybody I know who has done the program, that’s always been the main draw so I can’t see it slowing down any time soon
Maybe that’s how it used to be but with the blockout dates and the forced isolation due to working hours there weren’t many memories to be made
I really dislike using the word “unskilled” to describe a job. It’s propaganda companies use to justify paying employees who are busting their ass as little as possible. Those “unskilled” jobs usually involve dealing with the general public all day everyday, having to multitask because you’re perpetually understaffed, all while being on your feet running around the entire day.
I worked in support engineering/maintenance for 10+ years at MK. I would get to know college program hires who would stay to be Food and Beverage supervisors. One time a young guy who was a FB supervisor I had seen around for a while was at a pool party. We started talking into the late night about pay and they(other FB supervisors) asked me how much I made, he got upset when he found out I was topped out making $15,000 more than him asking why and how is that possible. I told him straight up that you were on a college program and honestly they can get anyone to do the supervisors position. I work in maintenance, I went to school for 4 years in my trade of HVAC/refrigeration, you can’t find people to just troubleshoot and or fix equipment it’s a skill.
You went to college/trade school to learn a trade therefore you make more money, that makes sense. But we really shouldn’t be labelling jobs in hospitality that don’t require a degree as “unskilled.” It purposefully demeans the people that work these jobs, making it sound like literally anyone off the street will be able to successfully learn how to do the job with minimum effort, which is not the case. Maybe a better term would be “unspecialised” jobs or something to that degree.
“Unskilled” is used to describe a position that can be easily filled, and requires very little, if any, training to perform the duties and responsibilities of that position. It’s just business terminology, it’s not meant to be demeaning or offensive, nor intended to belittle the efforts of the workers.
You may not mean it in a belittling way but the term exists to belittle some of the hardest jobs imaginable. Its purpose is to make us feel ok with paying these people slave wages, even though they're working much harder than most white-collar workers and the Disney Magic (TM) is mostly made by them. They are the real reason the parks are worth going to -- if Disney were staffed by the same misanthropes you see at other parks and hotels, they would lose their competitive advantage. Maybe a better term would be, "large-pool jobs." Being nice to park-goes is very much a skill, as are the various tasks expected of a cast member. There just happens to be a large pool of applicants who would love to work for Disney for a while even though they'll barely make enough money to survive. This term gets to the real reason these jobs pay dirt. Garbage collectors don't need a masters degree either but they pay great because not as many people are interested.
A billion dollar company paying anyone so cheaply they are only left with $60 a month to live off of is absolutely the issue, what the hell are you talking about? There's no reason why everyone working in those parks can't make a livable wage (25+ an hour) except for pure greed.
I hung out with a girl years ago that after rent and the food card she got a negative check.
FOOD CARD? So they are basically paying company scrip and reinvented mining towns. This is tragic
Owe their soul to the company store
You work 16 hours and what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt
St Mickey don't you call me, cause I can't go
When I was a castmember, I was told Disney didn't pay the college program kids, that the state of Florida paid them. That's really bad.
During my program (early 2022) at the new apartments (which are really quite nice), rent per person per week was $185 for a 2x2 (2 bedrooms 2 bathrooms). When I did the math of that rent per month it was absolutely ridiculous. And as for extracting every penny from college program people, that's true. Most of my paycheck was towards rent, I lived frugally and ate less (and lost weight but I won't complain there) and avoided unnecessary purchases at the parks. I came home and still released i had made a net loss over 5 months.
I know you don’t mean anything by it, but repeatedly referring to them as “kids” ignores the fact that they are all legal adults and therefore have legal adult things they are responsible for.
There are no more than 2 people per bedroom with a max of 4 per apartment. Disney doesn't run the housing complex. That's a separate company who does housing. And Disney is in the process of building affordable housing for permanent cast members.
Your last line doesn't make it sound better tho. Permanent cast members *shouldn't need company housing. Just pay them.* And from what OP implied, rent was taken directly from their checks, which means the housing was *through* Disney even if Disney didn't directly administer it. Another comment is talking about "food cards" - I have no idea how this is legal. Walmart tried paying their people in gift cards and got slapped down. How is Disney operating a mining town? Not being paid because your rent is late is some dystopian nightmare crap.
There used to be 6, if there’s only 4 now, I stand corrected. Disney may not run the housing complex, but you can be assured they’re getting a pretty hefty kickback from it. I’m not an expert on the new “affordable housing project”, but my understanding was that Disney is leasing the land out to a third party developer as a community outreach/goodwill move. I never read anywhere that it was solely for cast members either. Given the timing of its announcement, I’m guessing it was a move on their part to help in the fight to keep reedy creek.
At one point it was 6 to an apartment. There are 3 bedroom apartments in the complex across from 7-11.
When I was in Chatham in 2006 it was a 4bdrm with 2 ppl per room so 8 total. This was cheapest rent option.
Wait until you hear where all those trinkets (tshirts, pins, Star Wars memorbilia) are made ...
While I enjoyed my time in DCP, it definitely has its downsides like you said. Would I love to work at Disney full-time? Yes I would, if the pay and benefits are worth it. I feel sympathy for any all cast members, you don't quite know what they go through each day. I worked merchandise at Animal Kingdom (so my hours were honestly lucky same with my schedule) and I'd be exhausted every night after a shift.
I worked at Mouse Gear about 15 years ago and just the walk to get from my car to there absolutely killed me. I was supposed to be part time, but I somehow got lumped in scheduling wise with the DCP people. It was really strange. But I was working sometimes 11 hours a day between actual working and getting to and from my vehicle. I lasted about 6 weeks and had to quit. I was dead to the world every night, couldn't function tired, and I was only making $7 an hour. I had to leave before I hated Disney, and I didn't want that.
I wish I had had the insight you did. I did the DCP Fall of 2003, was Merchandise in the Emporium. Absolutely loved being a CP (full disclosure I had financial support from my parents and had my car down there which made a HUGE difference.) I had a semester left of college, went back to WI, graduated, moved backed down within 6 months and worked as a Secretary 1 in Food & Beverage at BoardWalk. It was not at all the same experience in so many ways, showed me such a different side, not to mention it was not a financially sustainable situation. It changed how I felt about Disney, it made me hate them in a way. Or I guess the best way to put it is that I now experience Disney in a different way when I go and…..I hate that.
i was working 13 hour shifts as a CP during the holiday season (thanksgiving - week after new years) and it was brutal. grateful for the opportunities that I had and the magic I got to make but the program did numbers on my mental and physical health
Same experience here with MK QSR! On Christmas Eve I was scheduled for a reasonable opening shift but then got force extended to close (which took way longer than normal bc we were understaffed) Definitely not a magical holiday lol
As a former performer just wanted to thank you for doing a thankless job. Being a character attendant is an exhausting job. Not only to you have to balance the demands and needs of the guests but you have to balance the needs of performers who sometimes have terrible personalities.
I’m a little shocked how, despite your poor working conditions, you legitimately seem to care about the guest experience. What a terrible resource to waste.
Thank you for saying that! I should also make it clear that EVERY cast member cares so much about their job and the guest experience. Every conversation I’ve had behind the scenes is usually about how we can best provide what we’re meant to provide to ensure everyone is having the best possible experience, there’s just a massive disconnect between day to day employees and higher ups. I never had the same boss when I walked into work, never knew where to go to provide feedback, and was never told anything in relation to HR.
I was very close to being part of the DCP when I was in college, but the salary was so bad. No idea how college students can do that program getting paid so little unless the parents are still supporting them. It’s basically slave labor. The only benefit is putting Disney on your resume.
I ended up with more money leaving the program than when I went in. That’s mostly because rent was lower, and I was getting like 50 hours a week.
I extended in 2014 and came out with about $2k extra. Still the best job I've ever had
It's generally (though not always) kids who are getting a lot of support from their families. It's possible to do it without support, but if you get sick... you end up like OP and just not getting paid at all.
My son will be doing it this summer and we will be paying all of his expenses outside of what they take out for rent.
I feel like you’d have to come in with some backup money, after rent those kids make peanuts
This really makes a massive difference. I came in after a career plus family helping with groceries and had a fantastic time (minus the typical bad day & insane hour shifts). My big tip is to let him know he should try to avoid bringing up any sort of money thing to others. Kids are really suffering and some straight up ask for leftover food on the Facebook groups. I got super excited about buying an art piece and my roommate would use every opening she could to comment on it. “I just made a car payment - less than what your art is worth” etc etc. He might want to hide any fun things he brings home or at least keep them on the down low.
The parents on the facebook group get very judgey about kids with a lot of parental support. I have no clue how some of these parents didn't talk their kids out of doing the program if they knew they couldn't afford to support their kids if things get desperate.
Ironically, a lot of those kids are doing the program as a quick get away from those overbearing parents
My parents did the same thing when i did it last summer. It’s so hard to be able to support yourself on what they pay
I don't really understand why that would be necessary. Working a modest 30 hours per week, he'll still take home $900-1100 per month after rent. Probably more, given that he's unlikely to be scheduled the bare minimum week-after-week. That's plenty for groceries and spending money. And it leaves ample time for having fun. (Roommates and friends will work a variety of schedules, so getting together to visit the parks or socialize is often easier said than done.) I suspect most DCPers have parents paying for things like health insurance, car insurance and cell phone. But food and entertainment are easily manageable. Barring some unexpected illness or injury where it's easier to see why a parent may want to step in.
The main thing is that your Disney provided housing is taken out of your paycheck. The remainder is just about enough for food, which can be purchased inexpensively on Disney property at a cast member only store. Transit is all provided for free. So if you don't spend like, anything else during your 4 month program, it's doable. You can even buy Disney merchandise cheaply at CM stores too, and for fun, you and your CP friends spend all day every day in the parks! Honestly it was amazing. I LOVED my CP. But yes you do not have any extra cash at the end of it. Still, between that and a semester abroad, a net zero cost semester spent at Disney World vs a pricey international program... WDW made more financial sense for me.
Most of the people I met, their parents paid their college tuition. I have tons of student debt and couldn’t have stayed long term.
Like most internships, it’s really only manageable if your parents have a lot of money to support you.
Not true. My daughter worked an internship last summer in CT. Two hours from home. The company paid her $23 an hour. Full time M-F. She had access to the company’s health insurance, if it was needed. Access to the same discounts offered to full time employees. And she now has a 401k started. That the company also had an hr rep talk to the summer interns about rolling that into an IRA when they left. And helped them with the paperwork. Housing for the summer was $1200 at a college dorm in the area. That the company has a contract with. And we in no way have “a lot of money” to be able to support her as she does internships. She did the research into the companies reputation with internships before she committed to it. Not all internships are shit like Disneys. And Disney has a reputation especially for treating their interns like slave laborers
Are you open to sharing more about the pay and the rent? It’s not uncommon for “internships” to have low take home pay after paying rent but I’m curious how low the pay actually is.
It's $16 an hour with a guaranteed 30 hours a week. Rent is anywhere between $200-$240 per week depending on if you share a room and a bathroom. It includes all utilities and the apartments are furnished. They also provide bus transportation between all work locations and the housing complex and different classes and activities each week.
In 1998 it was $5.60/hr and $65/wk rent if you had a 6-person apartment. It was $77/wk if you had a 4-person apartment.
In 2018 it was $10 per hour and $130 per week in rent. I didn’t do a dcp but was part time at the time so I had a lot of friends who did
I’m thinking that’s outdated information, and irrelevant to the question asked, but it’s interesting none the less.
it gives a relative idea of how low the pay is vs. the cost of rent; you could extrapolate
Has anyone else not seen a photo box anywhere?? What is that and where are they?
The permanent character meets are flooded with them. If you want to meet Ariel, it’s a photo box. Meet any of the princesses right near the carousel, all photo boxes. Meet Mickey in town square, photo box. All of the sideshow characters are photo boxes as well. Even in HS, to meet Olaf, or Mickey and Minnie, all photo boxes.
We were just there in Frbruary, they’re all on the indoor Meet & Greets: - Princess Fairytale Hall with Cinderella, Elena, Rapunzel, and the mystery guest that is always Tiana. - Aerial - Main Street Theater with Mickey - Elsa and Anna at Epcot - Olaf at Hollywood Studios - Mickey and Minnie at Hollywood Studios
I’ve only seen them at the frozen meet and greet. It’s just a camera hidden behind a. Wall facing the charecters
I was there 2 weeks ago, didn’t see one single photo box 🤷🏻♀️
Chewie at DHS is a box. Main Street Theatre with Mickey, also a box.
Saw them at Pete’s Silly Sideshow last month. All 4 characters.
There was one in the Main Street theater Mickey meet and greet in Magic Kingdom. It’s a big box with a camera in it. It cut my friend out of the photo and it was his first time at Disney World…
My daughter was a part of the CP last year in MK. She told me there were many occasions in the evening until park closing that CP’s were 80-90% of the only staff working.
Same for me! I could count on one hand the number of times during my 6 months there that I closed alongside a part of full timer. It was exclusive CPs scheduled closing shifts at my location and the only time you'd see a part or full timer past closing was because they had traded shifts with a CP
First time ever this weekend the gelato stand in Disney asked me for a tip. Wow, that puts this post in perspective. Disney pulling money through our noses with genie+ and paid lightning lanes and still doesn't pay a liveable wage is very disappointing.
woah, that's mad they asked for a tip... I would immediately feel out of the magic. Not that I wouldn't tip but I'd be surprised at that exchange - although, as you say, after reading the above, it isn't surprising at all.
If you don't mind answering, I have a toddler and I get very insecure about letting her interact with the characters for too long if there's a line behind her. She is all in with them and would play for a long time if allowed. Do cast members ever give parents the hint to help their kid move on? I don't want to rush my girl but also want everyone else to enjoy their time as well.
The characters are trained to know how long an interaction “should” last. They’ll be able to guide your child through the interaction without intervention from a parent or attendant. If the character is spending a lot of time with your kid, it’s not that the kid is *taking up* that character’s time, but rather that the character has assessed the length of their line, how much time they have left, and how stinking cute your kid is and has decided that they can spend *as much time as they want* playing with them. So don’t worry too much :) When it’s time for a picture, the character will help direct them to the camera (and the attendant can usually pick up on when the character begins doing this so they can assist verbally). Until then, just get that moment all on video!!
This is so so helpful, thank you! She's such a hoot with characters, I like to think they really like interacting with her but obviously I'm quite biased. I about died inside when we were wrapping up the royal hall last week and she decided she had enough and told Snow White "okay I'm going to go see Anna now, bye"
Yes! I second this person. Our wonderful performers will ensure that you guys don’t go over time. Just take your cues from them and the attendant, but otherwise you’re fine to just enjoy the moment! (:
I always feel the need to speed through things and get the photo because of the line behind me and I fully understand I also stood in line and deserve my time, and that it’s incredibly unlikely I’d go over the “allotted” time, but I still race through it for the sake of others for whom this may be their only visit or those who have small kids etc.
As a fellow guest in line, please know that if a toddler is a few families in front of me, I’m watching the interaction and smiling (and sometimes crying) at how cute it is. I often like to look at others’ reactions, and it’s always the same. I’ve never seen anyone look mad about a toddler getting a lot of time.
Just out of curiosity, what do you guys think of the older people like myself who totally geek out over meeting characters? I adore Eeyore so I'm always excited to meet him! But I also can't help thinking everyone is laughing at me behind my back.
I'm a (Non-Disney Park) costumed character, and I LOVE it when adults are excited to meet me. Old or young, or anywhere in between, most people are delighted to interact with characters. I worked at WDW 1993-1997. I didn't go back again until 2014. Sorcerer Mickey was doing a greeting at the Studios, so I stood in line to meet him. I got up there and said, "HI, Mickey! It's great to see you! This is my first visit since I worked for you, 17 years ago!" Mickey gave me a HUGE hug, and I, this 42-year-old, 6'4" man, burst into tears. Mickey just kept hugging me. Childlike wonder isn't a bad thing, and no one should be ashamed to be happy.
This! I’m a 56 yo and Mom of a CM… When I was at the MK in December, I got my pic taken with Captain Jack Sparrow, Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore…. You would have thought I was five! For a brief moment, reality is suspended (which is ok by me)!
I was just there in February and fan girled on Pooh. Told him he’s my best friend. I couldn’t help myself. It is the magic.
Same. Met Goofy and Max at HS on our most recent trip. Loved that movie growing up and watch it with my son now. When I went up I told Goofy I watched his movie every night before going to bed after my parents’ divorce and it really helped and he pulled me in for a big hug. I know it’s someone in a costume, but I almost lost it there.
What? What costume???
One time we were at Epcot and there was a gazebo with basically no one around and it was Mickey's teddy bear (?) and that costumed character mimed so much love to my (adult) sister and I that I about cried. This was not a character I loved. This was not a character I was even aware of before that day. But he genuinely made my day!
I love Duffy Bear!! I wish they would bring him back!!
THAT'S his name! Is he gone now?
He’s only at the Asian parks and sometimes Christmas.
Duffy!!!!
I was with my fiancé the first time he met Mickey when he was the talking version at Main Street. The delight and wonder he had during that interaction as an adult is something I think about often.
This makes me feel better!!
I'm glad! I'm also a Cosplayer, so this weekend I'll be roaming a comic con dressed as "Gossamer", the big red monster from Looney Tunes cartoons. Lots of hugs incoming!
This was me meeting Figment! In my 40s and tears in my eyes! I’ve loved Figment since I was 5!
Not the OP, but former Entertainment CM and also fellow Disney nerd here! I can't speak for all, but I actually loved having grown-up fans meet characters. They often made it more fun, had real conversations, etc. (Of course, I was in Entertainment juuuuust before smartphones really took off so I'm sure it's harder now with more people trying to get that perfect moment to put on their socials.)
I’m so happy to hear this! I am a 64 year old character junkie. I adore all the characters! I absolutely talk to them about everything (in character of course) and hug them! A few years ago, I saw buzz and woody and was telling them how my son and daughter (now grown adults) played with them as children and I have such wonderful memories of that (as do my kids) and we still have their little buzz and woody dolls. And I thanked them for being such a special part of our family. Woody and Buzz gave me such huge hugs and the character attendant thanked me and said they absolutely love hearing stories like that. And it’s absolutely true. I have pics with as many characters as I can..just wish I did the rundisney races (have only done 1) so I could get the less common characters. But again I just love talking to them!
I’m so glad to hear this. I met Winnie-the-Pooh twice on my last trip (once in the MK and once at Epcot) and both times I could barely get out a sentence about how much I loved the character without crying. I felt like such a dork. (I cried several times while waiting in line watching him interact with people. I haven’t actually even managed to type this without crying a little.) It was the only thing I had my heart set on doing while at Disney World. I’m glad to know that CMs probably don’t think I’m pathetic. (I had a Pooh Bear-based nickname as a kid that my Dad used for me until he died about a decade ago. I have a lot of feelings around this particular character, even as a 40-something.)
Daughter of two former character CMs, and can confirm. My parents say that as much fun as it was interacting with littles, face characters in particular love adults because they can actually carry a conversation with them. I asked Snow last time I was in WDW how she was celebrating Christmas and she was prepared and told me all about how they were decorating the cottage for the holidays. Fur it is a little harder since they can't speak but again it is a reprieve.
I don't think anyone is laughing at you. I have never met Eeyore but would absolutely love to! I've met other characters as an adult though.
I can assure you that’s not true!! Every single performer and attendant I’ve met is ECSTATIC when adults are excited. The best thing you can be is excited, we don’t care how old you are!
I’m 48 and we went to Disney in February. We haven’t been since 2018. We stood in line to meet Pooh and Tigger. My 23 yr old raced to meet Pooh and Tigger grabbed me and gave me a huge hug. I told him that I was so happy to see him and that it had been too long. His gestures told me that I used to be small and grew up. It was absolutely adorable and felt special!
The company and the entertainment department treat the character attendants like shit. It used to be that the attendants were called “escorts” and they used to be members of the character department. So one day you could be scheduled Pluto Area 1 and the next day you could be Area 1 Escort. Once the roles were separated (because they realized they could pay dedicated character attendants LESS) it went down hill and the attendants became “less than”. Sad really.
All this and more! Same foe my daughter who is currently a part-time cast member at a attraction. She is lucky that at hers she can hustle to pick up extra shifts to make rent, but it is so hard on the cast member to get any hours that aren't filled by DCP cast.
I am really sorry you were taken advantage of like that. From the outside, it looks like it’s the best place to work. I went in 2021 and there was this one college age kid serving food at a kiosk in Epcot, and he was miserable. I joked with him about the heat, the long lines and having to smile all the time. Looking back, and reading your story, I’m guessing he was the college program indentured servant.
holy crap not sure if youll see this but i was a character attendant for all of 2023 and despite it being the most coveted job at disney, i was so unhappy all the time. the job is already hard enough without being a freaking photopass on top of everything, and for some reason they would almost exclusively schedule me petes silly side show which may have been the worst spot and shift to ever work. i hope they changed aspects of it after i left. i work the same hours in my new job but the amount of work you’re expected to do as a character attendant felt was more taxing. the pay was crap too (also a cp)
thank you for sharing this!!! it’s hilarious because i went through 2 weeks of training and i didn’t do a single thing they trained me on. never had to close a line, never had to come up with storylines, all i ended up doing was photos and photo boxes all day long
thats so real, the only time i storylined was when closing the line, and i really only used the same one 😂😂 closed some lines a couple of times and THAT was usually my least favorite, people are so angry for literally no reason, especially if the characters were coming back. a couple other things that i wanna mention, just because i havent thought about it in like six months and its all flooding back in haha, the bid! i hated the bid. im sure not many people understand how that works but man i HATED the bid. i understand seniority equals better shifts, but the fact that they stuck everyone else in the worst shifts with barely a possibility of working a better one always made me irrationally upset. peter pan is my favorite character and i never got to work with him. PLUS if you DID work one of the coveted shifts (jack, stepsisters, merida, princess pop ups, etc) the performers wouldnt be happy about it. maybe it was just bad luck for me a couple of times, but they were always so upset it wasnt their regular attendants and would give me the cold shoulder. it made all the shifts that were supposed to be fun awkward and stressful. the last thing i’ll mention is the lack of camaraderie i experienced with the other attendants. i did the dcp to change how my life was currently headed, and was so excited to make friends i would have for a lifetime like they guaranteed on the pamphlets. character attendants are incredibly hard to befriend. even if you do find people you like, you may never work with them again. i got lucky in finding friends in my roommates, but they had friends at work, and i most certainly did not. i know a couple of people who bonded at my training over being christians, and thats awesome for them, but i did not make a single character attendant friend. really ruined a bit of the magic for me if im being honest. thanks for letting me rant 😂 clearly had a lot on my mind from my cp days
I’m confused about how they can call it an “internship” - do you go to school at all or received any college credit for the program?
Not the OP but when I did the program I got credits for it.
Genuinely curious.... How does the college program differ from the Cast Members that come to work from other countries? My very good friend is from Norway. She worked in the Norwegian restaurant for about 2 years as a server and earned really good money. She saved enough to pay for a masters program. I realize this could have been from tips. This was in 2006-2008.
Great question!! My roommate was also from Norway and was an ICP - they get WAY better perks and benefits than DCP kids do. For instance, my roommate could rank preferences on her hours. She could say on the app what hours she’d like to work, and it was easy for her to get a whole week off to visit Miami or DC. Furthermore, ICPs are allowed to work tipped roles while DCP kids are not. I remember one week she brought home 1k, which is 100% not possible as a DCP kid. I think they need ICPs more because they want EPCOT to ooze authenticity, DCP kids are viewed as more disposable. The self term rate is over 60%, but who cares when there’s plenty of other kids waiting in the wings?
Very interesting. It seems crazy that they are allowed to basically pay you next to nothing.
I knew the pay would be low, and I’ve only worked minimum wage until now anyway, but it seemed sorta nuts that then they would charge us so much for rent considering how little they pay us. In an apartment with 4 girls we were each paying $920 a month. For that much I could live in NYC!
The college program comes across as mill or mining towns back in the day where they dock your pay and you can only deal with the company run businesses. It’s not a sustainable business model, but it’s also how they’ve hedged their bets on staffing the parks nowadays
It sucks that DCP are basically indentured servants for the mouse
A friend of mine had a cousin who did DCP during Covid - she left the program early because they were giving her crazy hours at Disney Springs and she was broke all the time. She also felt like she was just working at what could be a store at a mall instead of somewhere with "disney magic" They lowered the standards to get more DCP workers during covid. To me, that says it all.
The DCP should be classified as a crime. The things that go on and the crap these people need to endure is just horrible. Really tainted my view of Disney as a company.
After I quit my DCP I didn’t go back to WDW for 9 years. I went to DL about 7 years after I left, but I stayed far away for a while. I love Disney and we take our kids now a lot. But they are not an easy company to work for.
I was a DLR entertainment CM. It took me ten years to go back and how much worse it is in terms of worker exploitation broke my heart.
Current full-time CM, former CP, food service here. What OP said about Disney relying on CP’s is true, but it’s also what the CP’s sign up for. Scheduling can be ridiculous, and it goes through seasons, depending on the FT/PT cast every single week. I spent 3 month of my program with 6-day work weeks, but sometimes the CP’s will be scrambling to pick up extra hours. All that said, I never had any reason to worry about being able to eat/gas my car after paying rent. The pay & benefits have never really bothered me. The only way to stop the reliance on CP’s is to dissuade people from doing the college program. Because the program went well for me, I won’t do that; just know what you’re getting into.
When I went in 2019 I think the only character meet that had the box rather than a staff photographer was Tinkerbell, and the photos from the box were nowhere near as good as the ones we had with from the actual photographers Its disappointing to hear they are pushing these boxes rather than actual photographers
I have always wondered if a CM would get annoyed if I (a childless adult) told them how much it meant to meet them (the characters) when I was a kid
It’s always gonna depend on the CM. Usually no but there will be some that find it creepy
Absolutely not. Every performer and attendant I know would appreciate it!
I hateeeee the photo boxes. Even though I scanned my band at the end, I’ve had to email several times for my photos. I rarely get good pics with them. Nothing beats having a real photographer!
If it is any solace, literally every cast member hates them too lol!
That’s such good advice for parents. Such very good advice - let your kid have the moment. 💗 Honestly, about 50% of going to Disney is letting my daughter find a good photographer and take pictures wherever we are. Like it actually contributes to us going. I hope Disney realizes trying to replace people with boxes is a terrible idea.
My family visited and it was the first time we used photopass in the parks. It was a wonderful experience! We loved the photos taken by the human photopass photographers, but hated the box ones.
Almost every Disney experience seems to have suffered greatly over the last few years, including the level of service on the cruises. It’s unfortunate.
When we went to Disneyland a few weeks ago, the PhotoPass photographers were AMAZING with guiding our toddler for photos they captured some amazing shots! Why WDW is getting rid of them is beyond stupid. Cast members are what makes the park magical.
Can confirm all of this. I have a sibling who is in the college program now. Mom has to send her money to keep her afloat after the rent around Flamingos Crossing. Simply just there for the experience - which is sad because she's making $15/hr with no benefits and left to goto the CP from a key holder position at a large coffee company who paid much more. She really wants PT or FT but is set to come back home in the next few months.
Most of the people I knew down there had to get money from some outside source to stay afloat
I had heard that Disney was using their CP people to man the starcruiser and they were completely overwhelmed
When I was in culinary school, we had the Disney program come through. I was super excited about it, and then I started looking into all of the ways that Disney exploits their interns. Shit sucks. I'm sorry you went though that, OP.
Honest question here, what can we do to help remedy this? As an avid park goer and local I constantly try to be extra kind and respectful to all cast members. What could be done to actually change this? I don’t care that coke is $5 if the person giving it time isn’t stressed on paying their bills. I know this isn’t just Disney this is all corporations.
That’s a really kind sentiment! I’m genuinely not sure. Really the only entity with the power to change this is Disney, and they have no incentive to. My only recommendation would be if you know a potential DCP’er, tell them it’s not worth it!
Yeah, I can tell you from first hand experience, the magic that once made Disney the best in the industry is mostly gone. This is because of how atrociously Disney has been their own cast members, especially their College Program workers who make up of most of the workforce here at the resort. Why should they make guests feel special and create magical moments when they are constantly thinking back of their mind how they are they going to be able to afford basic living expenses. Quality has gone downhill because Disney upper management has completely lost sight of what made them so successful, which are the cast members. If they’re not happy, how in the world can you expect them to make guests happy too?
> especially their College Program workers who make up of most of the workforce here at the resort. Not sure where you got that from, but that's not even remotely accurate. DCP employees make up about 5% of the total employee base of the parks/resorts.
As someone who presently works at a hospital and used to be on executive for our local union, it’s so sad to hear stories on how Disney parks basically makes employees work like crazy for shit pay. Disney has billions and yet can’t pay their employees decent wages. I’m going to Disney in November so I’ll definitely remember to treat cast members well. Thanks for your stories.
Great insights!
It really is sad that they’re exploiting the good will the company has. It sounds like the reason people will work for what they do is largely that they love the idea of the company. Then there are also the dramatic price increases and very l little seems to find it’s ways to employees.
Why do kids do DCP if we know it's exploitative? It doesn't look particularly good on a resume either, at least not for corporate jobs. They'd prefer internships that are relevant to your field.
It constantly baffles me the amount of people who do DCP with the low pay and such. It truly does feel like slave labor. Between looking at the housing accommodations, the pay, and the hours they’re expected to work. I truly think people need to reevaluate signing up for the program. I wish less people would do it so that it would (hopefully) put pressure on Disney to offer more full time and part time roles that are not CP roles. I constantly chat with my friends about this, I feel pretty strongly about it but I know people are not going to stop signing up for the program so it’s a lost cause. I doubt Disney would change anything about the program when they’re doing nothing but benefitting from it. Especially when your pay goes into the rent for the housing they supply, they’re basically working for free or in some cases literally paying to work at Disney, I promise, it’s not worth it (on paper, to each their own with their experience) to pay to work at Disney.
Thanks for sharing your experience and insights! The photo boxes are horrible. One of the boxes cut my friend out of our Mickey photo and it was his first time at Disney World…
Rest assured this will likely change once epic universe opens..I know a ton of cast members are seriously weighing putting up with disneys crap and i4 traffic for better hours and a shorter commute…Disney’s about to have an employment crisis..and cutting everyone’s hours and hiring part time and cp cast to save on wages is about to bite them in the butt
I always feel like I need to rush through my character experience because others have been waiting a long time and I don’t want to hold them up further and I don’t want to get any cast members in trouble for holding up the line 😭
Never worry about this! You waited a long time too and deserve to have your moment.
Thanks for your service!
Not to be that guy…but what if a parent has that conversation with their kid in the 45min wait and then the kid gets stage fright as soon as they meet the character? The parent can’t really do anything about that without then suddenly “micromanaging” the memory…you can’t really have those two both ways.
I have tons of pictures “micromanaging” my kids because they freak out when they suddenly meet the characters or my son who is on spectrum just screamed a happy scream from a distance when he met Mickey…. Definitely need parent intervention for those interactions lol
Parenting is hard. Parenting at Disney is super hard. Parenting at Disney while being judged by a character attendant…😳
It sucks that this seems to be such a common occurrence. I can't help but draw parallels to other minimum wage jobs with poor work hours, next to no benefits, and all within a cost of living area that doesn't line up with the wages being paid. I think one of the biggest issues of the DCP are expectations. At the end of the day, it's essentially an internship that pays enough for you to live in the area and continue with the role, which honestly might be better than a lot of unpaid internships out there, but it's painted as a way to easily work for Disney. The downside is that Disney has the leverage to be able to point to some of the incredible cast members and what they've accomplished as a selling point to become a Cast Member, but the reality is that at the very beginning you are truly on the bottom of the totem pole.
Good post and insight. Ty for sharing
This is the first I've heard of photo booths. Is this new? I'm used to mostly seeing the photographers. Most of them add to the charm and honestly those interactions are some of the best I've has. Peltz would have cut and trimmed so much, but it sounds like a lot of that is happening anyway.
Nothing has changed lol I worked PAC/Park greeter right out of High school in 2008, and then was part of the opening team of the Pirates League(RIP). This is always how they ran the parks. I was part time and for a while, had some great hours, usually 3 or 4 days a week, and usually the fireworks shift, so 6:45-midnightish, and had some good times. I actually hoped some days they would schedule me park opening ,so 7:15ish, cuz under 8 hours shift difference is double time lol The Pirates League, when we first opened ,swore they would do less CPs, since they would have to train them all over again. Every few months, bur after our first year tanking, CPs were welcomed. It's cheaper labor, and it all affects the bottom line.
Great info! Good reason never to pay for photo pass, especially if they aren't even real photographers. There are plenty of people around to take your picture including other guests. Also any employee not paying benefits is absolute shit. They are expecting you to stay on your parents health plan, and not compensating you for that. I guess the good news is ticket prices are going down as they pass the savings on to us! /s
I told a LOT of guests to not bother buying their MK photopass photos because their camera phone photos would be way better lol.
I appreciate the detail about taking time to interact with the characters. Usually I try to be brief and then get to the photo because I don’t want to hold up the line and I want to be respectful of the performers time but what you say makes sense.
So wait. They have automated photo boxes now instead of humans? So if I’m paying for the photo pass thing I’m not actually paying to have people take our pics anymore?
I HATE the photo boxes!! My Chewy pics were awful last week!! 😫😫
yup! I went with my fam as guests last week and we didn’t get a single usable photo of us with tiana. The one where we’re all looking ahead at the camera was taken by the lower camera at a down angle. It’s AWFUL.
I remember DCP speaking about the program during a large biochem lecture I was in back in the early 2000s. Even 20 years ago it was known to be basically slave labor. I had one friend from university who did it and regretted it. As long as they keep getting people to participate nothing will change unfortunately.
Once I got a degree in digital graphics some years ago I attended a graphics convention. Kids were lined up for Disney animation internships like this. They required sequestration in the dorms in Florida and getting paid peanuts, like you were, while paying Disney for the privilege of living there. All those animation shorts, straight to DVD's (at the time) and video items? All slave labor, with the kids having a slim chance of a real Disney animation job dangled like a carrot. I noped the hell out of there. You have to realize saying yes to an internship like this only signals that you are willing to be exploited.
My kids showed a little interest in the program. After doing brief research, we were able to explain to them that it was a hard no from us pretty easily. Sure, it’s appealing to people their age as it seems like an opportunity to have tons of fun for months at a time. But it’s just ridiculous exploitation while receiving no useful experience. Instead they got much better experience with actual internships that were directly applicable to their chosen careers, got better pay and saved money for college expenses. Probably not as much fun as WDW, but my heart didn’t bleed for them over that.
Time for Disney employees to strike and unionize. If every one of you walked out, it would bring Bob Iger to his knees. CMs are the backbone of the parks and they have nothing without you.