Working for the Mouse

In Part 1, you saw tips for a great interview and what it takes to get hired. Today you'll see those tips put into action.

In today's installment, we meet cast member Anthony, who was hired as an Outdoor Vending (ODV) CM at Disneyland.

CM Anthony's Advice

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The day was Friday, March 12, 2004 when I got my job at Disneyland. The springtime weather was warm and sunny, a pleasant contrast from the cloudy cold days that had reigned in Southern California in the prior weeks. I decided out of my own free will that I wanted to go apply for a job at Disneyland and I didn't let anyone know about my plans because I wanted to keep it as a surprise in case I got the job. I even prepared for it: I called up the Jobline phone number to see what positions they were hiring for, I had some nice clothes in my dorm room closet waiting for me, and I had my Social Security card in case they wanted ID.

So, after I finished my morning economics class at Cal Poly, I changed into my nicer-looking clothes. Luckily, both of my room mates had left for home the previous day, so I wouldn't be questioned as to why I was dressing so nice. Then, I discreetly left the dorms and drove on the 57 South to Disneyland, just an easy 30 minute drive from Pomona. I exited on Ball Road and drove into the back entrance of Disneyland called Cast Place. I knew where to go because I went that way one time before out of pure curiosity to see what was back there.

There was a parking structure but that was for the Cast Members. Visitor parking was in a tight lot adjacent to the structure. I was lucky, though, because it wasn't crowded and there were a number of parking spots. The other time when I took a look back there, it was jammed with cars waiting to get a spot.

I got out of my car with my backpack and walked a short distance to the Team Disney Anaheim building, which is where all of the offices are. It's quite an interesting building. It has a curvy shape to it unlike standard office buildings. From the backstage area, it's a loud yellow, but from Interstate 5, it's a dark greenish-blue color and blends in with the shrubbery and trees alongside the road. Just before the entrance is a security gate, and a Disneyland security guard said to me, “Hello, how may I help you?”

I responded by saying, “Hi! Where is the Casting Center?”

He answered, “The Casting Center is in the building to your left with the double-glass doors. Please go to the table over there and that gentleman will check your bag.”

He directed me to another security guard, who helped me put my backpack on the table and took a quick glance inside. All I had were some folders and some of my regular street clothes so he said, “Thank you, sir. The entrance to the Casting Center is straight ahead through those doors.”

Only at Disneyland could security guards be that polite and well-mannered. Anyway, I walked ahead and noticed something incredibly cool that I hadn't seen in almost a decade: PeopleMover cars. Three of them of the blue stripe variety were next to a wall sitting around being used like benches. They looked just the same as the final time I had ridden them. As a kid, the PeopleMover was one of my favorite rides, so I was thrilled to see them again. I only looked at them for a little while though, because my goal of that day was to apply for a job, not to stare at vintage ride vehicles all day.

I went through the doors as the security guard said, and saw a room with tables and cushy seating. Just like the outside part of the building, the inside was also curvy. I went up to the front desk where someone else was being helped. After he was done, I went up and said, “Hi!”

“How may I help you?” the guy at the front desk asked.

“I'd like to apply for a job.” “Okay,” he said, “Fill out one of these applications and return it to me when you're done.”

I took the plump stack of papers and took a seat against the wall. It took me about 20 minutes to fill out the forms. I knew what to put down and was somewhat quicker than the other people there since I had attempted to apply once before. It was standard stuff. They wanted to know your name, your address, your phone number, what you were applying for, previous job experience, special skills you may have, some surveys, liability waivers, and permission to do a credit check on you.

Well, I couldn't put down anything under job experience since I never worked before. I handed in my application and he told me to wait 20 minutes while they process it.

I waited and watched some movies on the television monitors hanging on the walls. First it was Beauty and the Beast, and then it was Finding Nemo. Another man called my name and I went back to the front desk. He seemed in a happier mood than the first guy and asked if all the information on my application was correct. He also wanted to know if it was true that I had applied the previous month.

“Yes,” I said.

“Did you get to interview?” he asked.

“No,” I replied. I explained that the first time I applied, I hadn't put down enough available hours on my application so I was turned away, but that now I was able to open up some time.”

I don't think he really needed my whole story about my first application since he wasn't paying attention to the whole thing, but that was fine with me. He asked me if I would want my paycheck to be mailed to my permanent address or my temporary address if I got hired.

“To my permanent address,” I said. It seemed a little early for them to be asking me how I'd like to be paid, seeing as how I hadn't even gotten the job yet.

“We have an opening for an interview today at 2 p.m.. Would you be interested in that?”

I looked at my watch and saw that it was only 30 minutes away.

“Sure,” I replied.

“OK, please take a seat and when we're ready, we'll call your name.”

So, I took a seat and continued watching Finding Nemo. There were quite a few other people applying for a job, too: Old people, young people and several different ethnicities. Some people who were sitting next to me were talking with a security guard about how fun his job was and some tips on interviewing.

Five minutes after 2 p.m., they called my name along with two females. One was white and college-aged like me, while the other was an older woman with a strong Asian accent. Our interviewer took us into a room with a sign outside that said “Pooh's Corner” and had all three of us go into a tight cubicle. I sat in the middle, in full view of the interviewer.

She welcomed us and talked about what it was like to be a cast member, and how we would be upholding Walt's values. She talked about how we must dress and how we should be groomed and how appearance is everything. It's very strict. Girls can't have highlights in their hair [editors note: your hair can be colored, it just needs to look natural and not streaked], their fingernail polish must match their skin tone [editor's note: French acrylic manicures are permitted], they can only have one ring per hand and one earring per ear. Guys must have hair that doesn't extend beyond the bottom of the earlobe, no facial hair except if it's a neatly trimmed mustache (but who's gonna do that?!), no piercing and that kind of stuff.

Then came the meat of the interview where she asked us all the same questions but randomly picked the order in which we answered. I was able to answer her first question really great: “Why do you want to work for the Disneyland Resort?”

I said that I loved being at Disneyland, that I went often since I had an annual pass, and that I wanted to be a part of the happy fun time of the guests. (When I told my roommates that I got the job later, they said that line was so cheesy. But hey, I got the job!) The college girl had a similar type of answer and the Asian lady well, I don't remember what she said.

The next question was not so easy: “Tell me about a time you had experienced customer dissatisfaction and how you handled it.”

The Asian lady talked about something that happened while she worked in a coffee shop and the college girl talked about infuriated customers when she was one of those annoying telephone callers. I, with no job experience, talked about how in the dorms we had whiteboards next to our rooms and how I had a “word of the day” that while I thought it was cool, offended someone else and how that now I draw pictures instead so that won't offend anyone.

The next question was harder: “Tell me about a time in which you were in a team that wasn't doing well but then you pulled through at the end.”

I forget what the two females said, but I came up with a general story in which I was working in on a school project but my teammates were goofing off, and then I had to keep us together by asking them questions about how their parts were coming along as a way to check if they were doing their work. Not the best answer, but hey, it was the best I could come up with. It had happened before; it's just that I didn't pick any one particular time.

Then the interviewer asked us, “What two job positions would you want to work as and why?”

The college girl's first answer was “Fantasyland attractions” and I forget what the second one was.

I said, “First would be attractions, since I know them really well from going on them so many times. And for the second one, I would choose outdoor vending because I'm good at math and I'm good at money.”

In retrospect, if I had more time to come up with a better answer for attractions, I would have said, “Attractions, because I know them really well and can inform guests of their length, scare factor, and wait time by looking at the line. Plus, I know how to use Fastpass very well.”

The Asian lady's answer was quite craptacular. She said something along the lines of, “Everything that I put down on my application, but mostly third-shift custodial.”

There weren't any solid reasons in her answer and her accent was strong, so the interviewer couldn't completely understand.

The last question was, “What position would you least be willing to work for and why?”

The Asian lady said “Nothing.”

Yeah I'm guessing that's not a fantastic answer.

Using what she wanted in the previous question, I answered, “Third-shift custodial, because I don't work that well past midnight.”

Then the college girl said, “I'd pick the same, third-shift custodial, but only because I'm currently going to school.”

Curse her for her better answer than mine! That should have been what I had said!

“Well, that concludes this part of the group interview. Next, I will be interviewing each of you individually so please take a seat in the hallway and I will call you each back in.”

The interviewer took some time to look at our paperwork and called the Asian lady back in first. I already knew that she wasn't going to get the job.

The interviewer shouldn't have to say, “Relax, no need to be nervous,” or, “Take a deep breath,” but with this lady, it happened more than once during the group interview. They took a while and then the Asian lady left, presumably not hired because she was only carrying a small card and nothing else. I sat next to the college girl who was called in next and took a few minutes, then she came out with a notebook packet. I knew she had gotten the job, but she didn't tell me if she did or she didn't—and she quickly left. How snotty!

Then, I was called in last and to my surprise, there was no individual interview for me. She just asked the same thing that the guy at the front counter had asked about the my previous attempt to apply, then she said, “We do have an opening in outdoor vending, and I am willing to hire you because as you said, there is math involved for every transaction and the carts do not have any cash registers. However, you will be able to check out a calculator if you need to use one. Just take a look at this paper, which describes the job in detail.”

I speedily read it, and it talked about pushing carts around 70 pounds or more, possibly having to move around the parks, and that I might be selling popcorn, churros, hot dogs, or other foods or merchandise. I turned the paper over but she said, “You only need to read that one side. Wow, done already? That was quick! So, what do you think?”

I replied, “I can handle this, no problem!”

“Do you accept?” she asked. I proudly responded, “I accept,” and gave her a firm handshake.

She then filled out some more forms, gave me the same notebook that she had given the college girl, and scheduled my orientation for the following weekend. It was filled with some interesting guides such as, “The Disney Look,” “Walt Disney Company Employee Guidelines,” and “SafeD” among other items.

“Do you have any questions?” she asked. I had only one: “If I want some experience in different areas, will I be allowed to transfer to different departments in the future?”

“You will be allowed to transfer after working at least six months in the company,” she replied. Outdoor vending is great; it was my second choice so I'm really happy with it. But, I'd still like to try out for attractions again in the future.

She then asked, “Do you have time today to fill out some more paperwork?”

“Sure,” I responded. It was Friday afternoon; I had the whole weekend ahead to do homework. Besides, I probably would have wasted that time doing nothing anyway. She directed me to another room, which was bright because one side of it was all windows; no walls. All the workers there congratulated me by first name, which made me feel really special.

“This is the coolest job ever,” I said. “Have you ever worked before or is this your first job?” asked a peppy woman in a denim jacket.

“First job,” I replied. “Wow, now you can tell everyone that your first job was at Disneyland,” she said.

I chuckled because it was true that I would have something new and really cool to brag about. I filled out a huge stack of papers and some of them I wasn't sure how to fill out so there was a lady who helped me out with that. On some things I had to guesstimate, like I forgot when I moved to my current home in Valencia.

I signed, initialed, and dated forms and after awhile, you get bored so you don't read them and just start signing away. An older woman walked by and congratulated me on my new job and the peppy woman said, “Anthony here is very excited because this is his first job and it's here at Disneyland.”

“Which department are you working in?” asked the woman.

“Outdoor vending,” I replied.

“Ah, outdoor vending,” she began her life-story. “I started work at the ticket booths as a teen but if I were to start over, I'd want to work in outdoor vending. You're in the middle of the action inside the parks.”

Then, the peppy woman looked over my paperwork, tore things off for me and stapled other things together. What she was doing seemed random to me and it probably was. “You're the second one today who was born the year I graduated from college in 1985,” she said.

“Oh really?” I said to humor her.

She was a little bit funnier and more relaxed than my interviewer.

“You're very quiet,” she said when I was just sitting there while she was filling things out.

Well, of course I am. What am I supposed to say? I started tapping on the table and then she jokingly said, “Oh, now you're trying to make up for it by tapping on the table.”

So then I stopped. Instead, I looked over the Employee Guidebook to see what it talked about.

“I see you're making good use of your time,” she said, “You know, I don't think I've ever read through that whole guidebook myself.”

She scanned my driver's license and Social Security card, explained what would be required of me for orientation, then took me into the next room to get my photo taken for my Disneyland ID card.

The thing I did last was to fill out a survey on their computer about my interviewing and applying experience. I put good and excellent for everything because everyone there was exceptionally nice to me. They congratulated me one more time, shook my hand, and I left the building walking past the PeopleMover cars in a most joyous mood, ready to tell my parents about my spectacular news.

Next time

Next time in Cast Place, we learn what happens to new hires, as they are introduced to a special Disney orientation program called Traditions.