Last updated 02Jan12 – Fun in 2011 – 21 work days in 2011.
20Aug11 – There has been a change in the Casual Temporary
(CT) Cast Member employment policy. Please note my week 35 - 20Aug11 entry below.
Disney has openings for CT cast members. When I just checked, the seasonal
openings were in park operations; which is where I work, but when I first
applied there were no seasonal openings in park operations, but I requested it
anyway. So it is still worth filling out an application – you never know what
jobs will be available next week. Check out - http://wdw.disneycareers.com – and
read my comments at the end of this page.
I started working at Disney in
2008 and worked 14 days – see how it all started - Dave in Disney 2008.
I worked another 15 days in
2009 - Dave in Disney 2009.
During 2010 I worked a total
of 24 days - Dave in Disney 2010
I work at Walt Disney World
(D) for the fun of it. It is really great fun helping people who are having
fun, have fun. I have received many 50% and 40% discounts on rooms, many
discounts of 50% on merchandise, many 20% discounts on meals; have received
special considerations at reservation time, provided friends and family free
admission to WDW, and a million fun times. I even received a 15% discount of a
2 hour Segway tour of
I am only trained to work in
Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK) in Dinoland at Theater
In The Wild (TITW) which features “Finding Nemo – the
Musical” and at the Boneyard. “Finding Nemo – the Musical” is a delightful stage show featuring
actors and puppets portraying the story of Nemo. I
always enjoy the show. The Boneyard features a
playground area with 10 slides for kids and a dig site where kids can dig for
dinosaur bones. Since I only want to work a minimum number days, working and
being trained in only 1 area is fine. I have to work 5 days a year to remain a
cast member. Also if I do not work at least every 6 months, I have to be
retrained (and retested) – something I want to avoid.
Week 01 – 26Dec10 – 1 work
day so far in 11 – Fri, Dec 31, 10
I was scheduled to work today
in the Boneyard. My current availability for 2011 is
Saturdays only. The Boneyard, as well as the rest of
D was very busy today. I worked all of the positions in the Boneyard
but my favorite positions are Entrance/Exit, Dig Site, and Cementasorus
where I can interact with the guests.
Observation: WDW was so busy, the sign at the entrance said the
Week 02 – 02Jan11 – 2 work
days so far in 11 – Sat, Jan 08, 11
The Boneyard
was busy today and the staffing was short. I do not know if cast members were
not scheduled, cast members called in sick, or perhaps the college program of
seasonal cast members was slow in starting. I had the opportunity to work the
parade today. It is fun to great the guests and answer they questions waiting
for the parade. The hardest part of working in the Boneyard
is covering the bones in the digsite at the end of
that day. That is real work.
Observation: My best assignment today was to identify a give a
family VIP treatment for 20 minutes. I’m not sure how I can do that in a
playground to provide “VIP treatment” so I just choose a family to talk to and
try to give them suggestions and answer all their questions. This time I met a
family from
Week 03 – 09Jan11 – I was
scheduled to work Sat, Jan 15, 11 but I posted my work day on the board in the
break room and Meredith took it for me.
Week 04 – 16Jan11 – My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week and am
not scheduled to work. Any request for a day off on a day you have scheduled
availability must be submitted at least 3 weeks before the availability week. I
always try to request days off for the second following month at the end of
each month. My days off for January were requested in late November. I have
been told I do not even need a scheduled availability, I can just pick up
shifts from the available shift list – but have found very few available shifts
in my area lately and do not want to take a change. If I do not work every 6
months I am required to go through training and testing again.
Week 05 – 23Jan11 – My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week and am
not scheduled to work.
When I logged on today I
found out I was working during week 06 – Saturday 05Feb11 in the Boneyard.
I also went back and found a
poem Edmo wrote in tribute to my working at D. He was
referring to my first picture in my Dave
in Disney 2008 story.
Picture of Dinoland Dave.
“Of all the
creatures
To be feared
There is none so
scary
An image seared
Of graybeards from
retirement creep
To work at Disney
And man the street
I beg you judge
the outfit (bleep!)
Will make you smile
or make you weep.”
Thanks Don.
I also learned I had some
negative marks on my record card. I never found my record card before because
none of the links worked so I thought it was blank. When I called TS about it,
they told me not to use the links which failed (typical TS). It seems in 09 I
clocked in late, failed to clock out, missed a day and in 10 failed to clock
out. I was warned by other cast members to keep a copy of my clock punches and
did not learn until this year that no schedule is final until 5 days before any
work or non work day. I plan to check the schedule at least twice a week, save
a copy of my clock punches and ask a supervisor why I was never informed of my
poor performance.
Week 06 – 30Jan11 – 3 work
days so far in 11 – Sat, Feb 05, 11
This was another very busy
day in the Boneyard. I was pulled out of the Boneyard to do parade support today. A good time to talk to
the guests and answer any questions they may have. Today’s guests seem to
contain a lot of visitors from
Observation: At the fork in the road where the right goes into
the DAK parking lot and the left goes to the DAK Lodge (and cast member
parking) I have seen a deputy sheriff stand with his radar checking traffic
speeds. Due to delays in shopping (my wife was with me) and a clerk at the cast
connections store who could not figure out how to use the computer to check me
out, I was going too fast when I came to the fork in the road. The deputy
sheriff was kind and left me with just a warning. I went as fast as I could to
get to work, was still late and ended up with another negative mark on my
record card for being late.
Week 07 – 06Feb11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week am not
scheduled to work.
Week 08 – 13Feb11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week.
Week 09 – 20Feb11 – 4 work
days so far in 11 – Sat, Feb 25, 11
Today I worked in TITW at
various positions. Much of the time I was outside helping guest by providing
directions. The 2pm show was so full, we turned away many guests waiting in
line. Just after the show was scheduled to start, I was directed to take over
the greeter #1 position which is inside the theater at door 2 – one of the main
entrances. Upon entering I found all the lights on and was told the computer
went down and they were rebooting the computer to get the show started. Finally
the show started about 15 minutes late – which resulted in a delay in filling
the theater for the 3:15 show.
Observation: I spent some time talking with a couple from
Week 10 – 27Feb11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week and am
not scheduled to work.
Week 11 – 06Mar11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week and am
not scheduled to work.
Week 12 – 13Mar11 – 5 work
days so far in 11 – Sat, Mar 19, 11
Today was a Boneyard day. I was scheduled to start work at 2:45pm so
drove up from home in the morning. The staff in the Bondyard
was at minimum levels and one of the managers even participated in handling one
of the positions for a time during the parade. It was spring break in many
school districts (and
Observation: I met Canadians from
Week 13 – 20Mar11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week.
Week 14 – 27Mar11 – My availability
is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week
Week 15 – 03Apr11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week.
Week 16 – 10Apr11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week
Week 17 – 17Apr11 – My
availability is Saturday and I was not scheduled this week.
Week 18 – 24Apr11 – My
availability is Saturday and I was not scheduled this week.
Week 19 – 01May11 - My
availability is Saturday and I requested I not be scheduled this week
Week 20 – 08May11 – 6 work
days so far in 11 - Sat, May 14, 11
I had requested I not be scheduled this week
but when I found an opening to TITW in the extra hours hotline I immediately
signed up for it. I had last worked in TITW in February and did not want to go
6 months without working in TITW because retraining and retesting would then be
required. I worked as Greeter 1, House left, Midlevel right, Greeter 2 and
several Stroller parking positions. About 2pm the heavy rains came. The next
two shows were filled to capacity as guests came to avoid the rain.
Observation: I had a brief discussion with a couple who lived in
Week 21 – 15May11 – 7 work
days so far in 11 - Sat, May 21, 11
I was scheduled to work in
TITW today. When I arrived I noticed some changes. Seems DAK operations was
reorganized and we had a morning briefing from a manager – my first. I worked
various positions, including head usher, greeter 1, house right, and parked a
lot of strollers. A lot of training of new TITW staff was being done.
Observation: I found that I was ill prepared to work the head
usher position. Next time I need to spend more time studying the duties
including house loading procedures and staff queues. The Friday evening I
arrived in
Week 22 – 22May11 – 8 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, May 22, 11
Today I was not available,
but due to an error on the part of scheduling, I was scheduled to work in the Boneyard. Since I was going to be working the day before, I
decided not to protest. I did ask way, the answer was “Me bad.” I was also
surprised that I was scheduled to work 11 hours. Thus I did end up working
every position in the Boneyard and ended up working
the entrance at the end of the day. The nice thing of working the entrance at
the end of the day is that you do not have to work to cover up the bones at the
dig site when the Boneyard closed. Covering the bones
is real work.
Observation: It was a very hot day. I had asked for an early
release and it did not happen. I did learn that D pays daily overtime for any
time worked over 8 hours in a day. I did meet and talk with a lady from TN for
some time. Not sure if I was able to recruit her as a D cast member but she
indicated it sounded like a thing to do – when she retired in 6 years. I
suggested she start now and just do it a week a year.
Week 23 – 29May11 – I changed
my availability to Sunday since I was getting conflicts with my other job.
Week 24 – 05Jun11 – My
availability is Sunday and I requested I not be scheduled this week.
Week 25 – 12Jun11 – My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 26 – 19Jun11 – My
availability is Sunday and I requested I not be scheduled this week. I try to
check almost every day to see if there any available positions I can work.
During this week, not one available position for which I was trained was available.
Week 27 – 26Jun11 - My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 28 – 03Jul11 - My
availability is Sunday and I requested I not be scheduled this week.
Week 29 – 10Jul11 - My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 30 – 17Jul11 - My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 31 – 23Jul11 - My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 32 – 31Jul11 - My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 33 – 07Aug11 - My
availability is Sunday however they scheduled me for 13Aug11 - Saturday. I
pointed out to them that I would really like to work but I am not available on
13Aug11 and that my availability is Sundays. They indicated there was some
miscommunication and they fixed it. This is the third time this year I’ve had a
problem like this.
Week 34 – 14Aug11 - My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 35 – 21Aug11 – I requested
I not be scheduled for this week. I received a letter from WDW telling me that
all CT Cast Members now had to work at least 150 hours per year. The evaluation
would be done on a quarterly basis reviewing the last 4 quarters with the first
review being Oct12. Basically this requires all CT Cast Members to work at
least 37.5 hours or at least 5 days a quarter (some days are only 6 hours
long). I wrote scheduling asking if they were going to do anything to help.
Scheduling said no. I sent a letter to WDW Workforce Management asking for help
so I can continue to help make the Magic. We shall see what they say.
Week 36 – 28Aug11 – My
availability is Sunday and I was not scheduled. I keep checking for available
shifts but there have been none for the last 2 months.
Week 37 – 04Sep11 – I was not
scheduled this week and I have changed my availability to both Sat and Sun
starting in 2 weeks.
Week 38 – 11Sep11 – 9 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Sep 11, 11
I worked in the Boneyard today. Since I had not worked for 4 months, I
needed some training updates before I could get an assignment. All in all it
was a rather uneventful day. I worked all the positions and the guest level was
light today. My work day ended just before the Boneyard
closed so I did not help cover the dinosaur bones so the kids could dig the up
the next day.
Observation: At times when working the Boneyard
the staff had 12 positions. Today the most was 5 and at times only 4. D seems
to be cutting back on staffing which is probably one of the reasons I have not
been scheduled. I spent some time talking to a guest from
Week 39 – 18Sep11 – I had
requested I not work on 18Sep (and last week 17Sep) so I could attend my high
school reunion in
Week 40 – 25Sep11 – 10 work
days so far in 11 - Sat, Oct 1, 11 – 8.5 hrs so far
this quarter
I was not scheduled to work
this week, but when I found out I was working next Sunday (02Oct), I
volunteered an available shift for Saturday – might as well work the whole
weekend. Turns out it was an 11:30 to 8:30 shift. After spending 5 hours in the
Boneyard we closed. We spent an hour having pizza and
then took a walk through the Dinosaur ride. We walked through the path the ride
trucks take with the lights on. We were able to see the special effects and it
was very interesting. Then we reopened the Boneyard
for an insurance company convention. 1000+ dined and played in Dinoland (Dinosaur ride, Boneyard,
and DinoRama) until 8PM and then the party went on to
Observation: The staffing level is low and even the part time
cast members are not getting shifts. There have been many changes to TITW
(where I last worked in May) including organizational level changes so I doubt
I will be retrained since D does not need the staff.
Week 41 – 02Oct11 – 12 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Oct 2, and Sat Oct 8 – 21.5
hrs so far this quarter
02 Oct - I was scheduled and
worked in the Boneyard today. The day started at
about 65 degrees and was nice all day. I spent a lot of time in the dig site
where guests can dig for dinosaur bones. Even spent some time helping them did.
I was lucky, I left before it closed and did not have to cover the bones up
Observation: I ended up
having to take a training course on safety. Disney spends many hours training
every cast member in safety procedures to protect the guest and cast
members.
08 Oct -So it rained all
day. The only part of the Boneyard which was open was the dig site.
Observation: Again today,
regardless of the weather, large groups of young ladies from
Week 42 – 09Oct11 – 14 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Oct 9, and Sat Oct 15 – 37.5
hrs so far this quarter
When I saw I was also working
next week, I immediately put in an available change to say I was available only
Sundays and also requested I not work some Sundays in November. Any schedule
change has to be done 3 weeks in advance. I only have to work 38.5 hours per quarter
under the new rules. It is sort of feast or famine with work scheduling. I
could not even find a shift to volunteer for from late May through early Sep
and now will have be working 4 weekends straight in Oct.
09 Oct – So it rained most of
the day. For part of the afternoon we were able to open the slides. I was
working mid level roamer when the rains came back, could not find the covers
for some of the sides for some time, and thus some slides got a little wet.
When we opened up again, I took the slides to soak up some of the water – the
slides are much, much faster when wet. I was scheduled and worked in the Boneyard today. The day started at about 65 degrees and
Observation: I spent some
time talking with a lady who was here with her family from
15 Oct – There was No rain
today. The day started about 65 degrees and I ended up working most of the 5
staffed positions. I though it was amazingly busy for a day in October.
Observation: While in the
dig site I spent some time talking with the Sparrows – a large family group
visiting for a week from PA. The grandfather had just retired from Ameriprise – but did not give me any investment ideas. I
suggested they think of us in FL in Feb.
Week 43 – 16Oct11 – 16 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Oct 16, and Sat Oct 22 –
52.75 hrs so far this quarter.
16 Oct – Another busy day in
the Boneyard. It opened an hour early for those
staying in WDW resorts. Again it was the number of guests was very high. While
working of the lines to use the rope ladders, I told a child he had to wait at
the end of the line since all the other quests arrived before he had. His
response was “You’re kidding me.” He then left not wanting to wait for about 2
minutes.
Observation: I talked with
an extended family visiting from
22 Oct – The day started off
rather slow, became real busy, and then the rain came. After the rain we dried
out the slides and reopened everything. One of the ways to dry a slide is to
use it – I got a little wet.
Observation: One of the
features of the Boneyard is a door which only repeats
a tape saying something like “Keep this door closed, we are trying to work in
here” and only opens about 1” when kids try to open it. One kid, after trying
repeatedly to open it, asked me to open it for him. I told him it did not open.
He told me I was not “cooperating” and he was going to stand there until I
opened it. I told him I would see him again in two weeks since that would be
the next time I worked.
Week 44 – 23Oct11 – 17 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Oct 23 – 60.75 hrs so far
this quarter. After working 40+
hours this quarter (I only need 40hrs per quarter to stay employed), I changed
my availability to just Sunday.
23Oct –
The Boneyard was rather uneventful today. I am
convinced that on nice weekend days tons of locals come to the park in the
afternoon. I have never seen the dig site so full of kids. It is fun to help
the kids find the bones to uncover. There is a picture and drawing of the dig
site which shows where the bones are so you can help the kids find them
Observation: I had a nice
discussion of the places to visit in EPCOT, MK, and DHS with a family from
Week 45 – 30Oct11 – 18 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Oct 30 – 68.75 hrs so far
this quarter. Availability
limited to Sundays.
30Oct – The Boneyard opened early today for “extra magic hours” which
gives guests staying at D hotels the opportunity to visit DAK an hour before
all the other guests. My start time for today was 07:30 since I was part of the
opening crew for the Boneyard. We have the
responsibility for drying off every trash can, railing, bench, and picnic table
in the area. We also do a general review of the grounds for any trash or items
which need repair.
Observation: Talked with a
couple from NJ today. Seems the schools there have a week off for teachers to
attend conferences about this time every year. I met another couple from PA and
may have been successful in recruiting then to become D employees. I arrived
early enough today to walk into DAK when it was still dark. It sure looks
different and when the birds start to wake up, it gets noisy.
Week 46 – 06Nov11 – 19 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Nov 6 – 77.00 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays.
06Nov – Today started with
the temperature below 60 degrees. Luckily our costume allows for two extra
layers of clothes in addition to a coat with a lining if required. Today
several guests were interested in finding “hidden Mickeys”
in the Boneyard. I think I have spotted 4 but am not
sure they are all “official”. If you have not searched for “hidden Mickeys” you are missing a lot of fun at D. Here is a hint,
if you visit the dig site in the Boneyard, look for a
fan with the two hard hats on it. Now you just need to find the other three.
Observation: One of the
assignments I enjoy the most is to find a VIP family. Generally I just walk up
to a family – the kids are probably running all over the place with the parents
just relaxing – and discuss D and the various parks. Today the couple I talked
with were from
Week 47 – 13Nov11 – 20 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Nov 13 – 87.00 hrs so far
this quarter. Availability
limited to Sundays.
13Nov – Today began with 2
hours of training. The location of the training on my work schedule was a little
vague so I spent 15 minutes in the wrong training location before I found out
where it was held. One other cast member suggested I always show up at my work
location and let supervision tell me where the training is. The training
covered the Disney history of Dinoland. The imaginers
put a lot of work into planning Dinoland.
Observation: My work day
was to end at 18:30 and about 10 minutes before the end, another cast member
shows up with a slip indicating my shift has ended. That did not happen today,
so I remained at the entrance to the Boneyard and a
guest came by and says he has been waiting to meet me. Seems he has follows
this web site and is a big fan. His wife indicated he loved everything Disney.
They were in a hurry to leave so we talked for a few minutes and he left. Then
a cast member showed up with my end of shift slip, I retrieved my food,
backpack, and clocked out. I went by the cast member who gave me the end of
shift slip, thanking him, headed out to the employee exit, stopping to check the
bulletin board, exited, and then joined the guests leaving. I noticed in front
of me the guest who I had just met in the Boneyard –
Rocky from
Rocky and I in the
most fun place on earth.
Week 48 – 20Nov11 – 87.00 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays and I
requested I not work this week.
Week 49 – 27Nov11 – 21 work
days so far in 11 - Sun, Nov 17 – 95.50 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays.
27Nov – It was another
beautiful day at D today. The temperature was perfect and the crowd was
relatively heavy. I worked all the Boneyard positions
today except for the Digsite.
Observation: Today was a
unique opportunity, tax wise. I was vacationing in a tent at
Week 50 – 04Dec11 – 95.50 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays and I
requested I not work this week
Week 51 – 11Dec11 – 95.50 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays and I
was not scheduled to work this week.
Week 52 – 18Dec11 – 95.50 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays and I
was not scheduled to work this week. However about 7AM on 18Dec I received a
phone call asking me to call a number if I was available to work. I’ve been
told that if you call to accept a shift, you must be there in 2 hours. Since I
live about 3 hours away, that would not be a smart thing to do.
Week 53 – 15Dec11 – 95.50 hrs so far this quarter. Availability limited to Sundays and I
requested I not work this week
It seems at D there are 3
types of cast members, full time, part time, and seasonal (also called casual
temporary (CT)). In Aug11, I received a letter telling me that all CT cast
members had to work at least 150 hours per 4 calendar quarter with the 4 quarter
evaluations starting in Oct12. CT cast members get no benefits, only discounts
and only work when needed based on their stated availability or when they sign
up for an unfilled available position. One thing to remember, when you are out
of town working, all your expenses are tax deductible and you can take the per
diem rate of $56/day for food in Orlando.
If
you decide something like this would be fun for you, go to http://wdw.disneycareers.com and apply
for a seasonal position. You can also call the Walt Disney World Job line at
1-407-828-1000. As you go through the
application, please remember that Dave Flynn DAK 448044 is the cast member who
recruited you. Also, as you can read in my 2008 story, things change; seasonal
does not mean a season, 6 to 8 weeks is not always 6 to 8 weeks, full
availability does not mean 5 days, the hiring procedure this week is not the
same as last week, the jobs available this week are not the same as last week,
my hiring experience will not be the same as yours, etc. My job category is
Operations (was Attractions) and it took me months from the time I first went
to casting until a position opened up (Dave
in Disney 2008). I accepted the position before I knew what it was; again
read about my application process in my 2008 story. Also remember, Dave Flynn
DAK 448044 recruited you.