A Plethora of DisneyWorld Questions...

Factual Questions
21

Originally posted by sqweels:

Last time I was there (about 2 years ago), no there wasn’t. There is a Wet 'n Wild right there on International Drive, though.

If you go to Universal, be sure to check out their “fast pass” set up. You go get your tickets, and return to the attraction at a set time and get access to a special (shorter!) line. Well worth it for some of the more popular attractions.

If you are good at saying “no”, and don’t mind wasting two hours, you can take advantage of being in Tacky Tourist/Time Share heaven… bf and I subjected ourselves to a timeshare presentation, and got two totally free two-day vip passes to Universal, along with some coupons for freebies at the restaurants at City Walk (if you think you might want to do this, it’s easy enough to find…there are little booths EVERYWHERE with people hawking these presentations).

22

Fantabulous.

And to anticipate the next question, no I don’t mean rasslin’ nude midget alligators. That would be, like, lame.

23

Water Parks:

If you want the fastest and most thrilling water slides, visit Blizzard Beach. It has a great atmosphere to boot.

If you want to stay at the most relaxing, and arguably best themed water park, you can’t go wrong with Typhoon Lagoon.

If you want to go to a dump and get sun burned due to the lack of shade, Wet ‘n’ Wild is a must.

24

Well shitpissfuck, I shall certainly shun said shack. Say that 3 times fast.

25

  1. Yes and no. Ride/show attendants usually know how do to multiple tasks in the same general area, but this isn’t a deliberate thing; sometimes they’ll just be asked to help on something different because some other group is short-staffed.

  2. Most cast members don’t. Characters do. You may even see the same Aladdin at your cast breakfast that you do at Epcot later in the day, and then see him again at the Magic Kingdom the day after. Security work multiple parks too, sometimes.

  3. This is true. However, each park hits its redline perhaps once a year, if at all.

  4. Depends, again. Some are just regular cast members who happen to be good singers and make it through an audition process. Some are actively recruited, sometimes from a long way away. Pay scales vary accordingly.

26

I think I can answer your questions!!

1) Are there plans for a 5th major theme park?

-NO!! Like someone mentioned earlier, there was going to be a ‘thrill ride’ park featuring the villans but due to budgetary reasons (Disney is famous for that, especially with Eisner in the helm), they are focusing on just rides. New rides include ‘Sorin’ over’ in Epcot, Mickey’s Philamagic over at Magic Kingdom, and ‘Expedition Everest’ (I think) over at the Animal Kingdom, that being THE biggest project. They was talk of adding another country over at Epcot but as usual, cheap Disney=no green light for the project.

2) Are “cast members” cross trained to do other tasks? (ie. if the Jungle cruise is slow that day do they work the Tiki Room).

-They sure are!! Some of them at least. They’re called Rescue Rangers in Epcot, and something else on the other parks and they get trained to do merchandising, quick-food service, and all the other goodies to fill in for people who called in sick. They can work ALL over the park multi-tasking and such. Also, if one chooses, they can get training for other tasks for I was a merchandise host but I got my food handling certificate and thus was able to work quickservice jobs (drink and turkey leg stands and stuff…not that I did it but yea)

3) Do cast members work in more than one park?

-You can but only for overtime. See, once you’re trained at a specific task (like merchandising), it’s pretty much the same all around. I once worked at MGM-Disney at Main street for overtime and that was a great experience. Overtime opportunities are printing out everyday but specific skills are needed in order to pick up that shift.

4) I was told that Disney will close parks due to capacity. Specifically I was told that last July 4th they closed the Magic Kingdom at 10am.

-Magic Kingdom is FAMOUS for doing that. I remember 4th of July, most of December (Chirstmas and New Years Eve) was full by mid morning. New Years Eve is the worst thing ever since even Epcot was full capacity by the time it reached mid day…close to 50000 to 60000 if I remember correctly.

5) What do you estimate it costs to build a major attraction?

-A lot of money. Too lazy to list but just go to http://www.wdwmagic.com/ and you can find out :wink:
6) I noticed that, compared to other theme parks, Disney’s maintenance seems top notch. You never see a threadbare costume or grease on a ride. Does Disney spend more on maintenance than other theme parks?

-They used to, but now with the 3rd accident on the Big Thunder mtn. Railroad over at Disneyland, it’s really obvious that they’ve been cutting back in it. Same with WDW where I saw numerous things (backstage of course) that made me think about the safety of guests.

7) Do the cast members in the shows get paid comparable to what an off-broadway type actor would earn? What about the musicians?

-They do get paid more than regular cast members that’s for sure. Even characters get paid more, especially face characters (cinderella, mulan). Some are recruited from the WDW College program and make about 50cents more than regular interns.

If you want to know more about WDW, just ask and you shall recieve!! I have sooooo much stuff to share if you have any other questions!!

Reoch

27

Okay, I have a question.

I see people working in various shops all over WDW, be they candy stores, clothing stores, toys, etc. When you work in a specific store, is there a comradery among the employees there above and beyond that which exists for just employees at the parks? Is there a competition for revenue or business that exists between these establishments?

I ask mainly because I know what it’s like to work in a store and become close and familiar with the people you work with, but I don’t know how that would have worked had our store been part of a larger whole (like the stores in WDW are).

28

Comradery really depends on the location and what kind of work you do. Most employees work at multiple locations around the specified location, like the Emporium at Magic Kingdom itself is like 5 stores in one, or Disney-MGM Studio’s main street, Hollywood Boulevard the whole one side of it is considered one working location with empl…I mean cast members working at each location at a set time given out by managers through a computer system.

Where I worked, I had a great mix of people, and a great set of managers which made the working experience great. It really depended on how close our age was to really hang out outside of work but the older ladies at my location treated me like I was their son…really looked after me. Out of aout 40 people working in my location, I think I only didn’t get along with 3 or 4 or them. They do make you feel welcomed even if you’re new or just picking up overtime at another location.

As for competition for revenue, every location (be it camera shop, strollers, gilft shop, food stands even if it is under the same block or department) all have a goal for revenue printed up based on sales from the previous years and achieving that was our motivation. Sometimes it was hard (especially around Sept. when the parks are deserted almost) but it did make us work harder and comparing revenue and bragging was one of the fun things to do there.

Hope that helps!

Reoch