Reader Submitted Story
Hiring and Orientation

I had been thinking for some time about working at Disneyland. Being a fan of Disney and such since I was a little girl, had me wanting to work for Disney for a long time. I had wanted to become a Disney Animator for as long as I can remember. My little doodling in school soon turned out to be time spent in art college and ending with grad studies at California Institute of the Arts. I studied Character Animation there for two years, and added a certificate to go along with my BFA in Art from the Corcoran School of Art.

I was ready to become an animator, but Disney at the time wasn't hiring anyone it seems in the early 90's. I came into the field just when Lion King, Hunchback, and Pocahontas were going into production and the Studios were full up with eager new talent, and there were just too few jobs, and too many seasoned, veteran animators filling up the ranks. So I was passed over. Sure it hurt, but I moved onto other things. And spending time down in Arizona under Don Bluth's maniacal thumb was not for me! I wanted to avoid that trap.

So I moved onto other things. I spent two years working at a special effects company in San Bernardino. The boss was this guy who created audio-animatronic figures for parks, hotels, and trade shows. He was inspired by Disney creations, and he even as a kid, built a replica of a Mr. Lincoln figure, but this one was of Uncle Sam, that sat up, stood up and gave a speech. Disney execs were so upset over this, they came out to his home, went through his garage and barraged him with questions as to how he did it. The execs thought he had somehow stolen the working plans for Lincoln. He actually had snuck backstage and under the Lincoln stage to inspect the gears! He has pics to prove it too! I've seen 'em!

Working for him was an experience. Learned a lot about backstage Disney and even met Bob Gurr and some other Imagineers who sometimes came out to help my boss with an engineering problem. I worked on some theme park stuff for Korea "Everland" designing ride characters and such. I also worked in the Plastics department working on projects for Knott's Berry Farm, FAO Schwartz, and some Las Vegas casinos. It was fun, and interesting work but hard. Tore up my lungs in the fiberglass plastics department but I learned a lot about entertainment companies, how they are run, and what the work entails. This background in special effects, entertainment, and animation is what lead me to want to work for Disney.

I since moved in with my then boyfriend (and soon to be husband) and got settled into married life. I hadn't worked for some time after I left GHP so I was curious as to working at Disneyland. I met my husband at the park, and I got married at the Disneyland Hotel, so it was a natural given that I would someday work for the Mouse.

So we talked it over and I got ready. I had made some cast member friends at the park and through them, I got a slight idea of how much the job entailed. So I was ready. I went in early December 2000 and put in my paperwork. I had a CM recommendation so that was a plus on my side. I asked for Attractions and was scheduled for a same day interview.

Now if you go to put in a job application be prepared to sign your name hundreds of times. I couldn't believe all the paperwork. If you think I'm kidding, think again. Disney has tons of legal stuff to take care of, and everything is classified according to your social security number. So memorize that number and be sure to take all you important documentation to the interview just in case you are offered the job. Also don't do what I did and make a mess of things. I got married right? Well, I had to get a new social security card and change my last name. This was never explained to me at the time I was filling things out. This is what Disney uses to put you on file. So I'm on file with my maiden name. You can't believe all the paperwork I had to initial off because of this discrepancy. Ugh! Well, I have tons more paperwork to sign off on but that's another story.

After I finished my application I was hustled right into an interview. I only had to wait about 15 minutes; it was that fast. I and 2 other people, a guy and a girl, were taken into a room with hastily set up walls with 4 cubicles in it. Talk about a crunch here. In the booth behind us, another interview was already in progress. I guess in the old days they had a conference room or someone's office to hold interviews in, nowadays it's like shove 'em in as fast as you can. They are now taking group interviews in three's. At least it was like that the weekend I went in.

{Editor's note: the interview process has always involved three applicants at once, at least in recent memory. The usage of cubicles, however, is new. — Kevin}

We greeted the interviewer and sat down. Listen if you go in to get hired, PLEASE go in dressed nicely, or in your best clothes. NO JEANS! Guys wear chinos, if you don't have jeans. The guy next to me had jeans on , with chains coming out of the pocket. No deal, guys! That's the first thing the interviewer pointed out. Guess they are trained to notice that stuff. I wore a cream silk blouse, (with a Mickey pin for brownie points--hey it doesn't hurt to try! Make it small and tasteful here!) with black slacks, nice shoes. That's it. Don't even have to wear a dress or pantyhose and iron high heels. Also when I sat down I pulled a little trick my dad taught me. He's the president of his own company and he taught me to always in a group interview, sit in the middle chair. That way you are directly in front of the interviewer and in his full line of sight. Or in the chair directly opposite the person. Trust me, it works!

So thus arrayed, we were grilled. The questions were exactly as Kevin Yee put them. "Why do you want to work for Disneyland," and "Describe an incident where, as a member of a team, you had to respond to a situation," and "Describe in a customer dissatisfaction situation how you handled it and what transpired afterwards." All of these are standard questions and most likely will be asked.

These are pretty important questions and you must impress the interviewer. If you don't have job experience, relate the questions to your school, or other functions. Member of a youth group at church? Describe an incident there. Play on a team at school? Explain something there. The important thing is to let the interviewer know that you were faced with a situation that could have gotten out of hand, and you solved the problem positively. You took initiative! You didn't sit back and let someone else handle the problem, you yourself solved it. This is very important and will hang on your getting the job. I explained my Disney background and my fascination with the company, as well as pointing out my animation art background and special effects work. Also if you love Disney but don't have any background like I have, say you like the Disney characters or movies. Also try to mention something Disney by name. Like my favorite character is "Pluto" not "I like the yellow, funny dog." or something like that. Use common sense, and if you sound sincere they will consider you. That is to say, you won't be guaranteed a job just by using these tips, but that you know what's what about the Disney company and sound interested in it's future. 

Also like Kevin says, SMILE! That's the key to the interview too. Act sincere and they should recognize it. Don't go overboard on the Disney stuff, just let them know that you are interested. They will ask if "the magic will be ruined for you?" and stuff. I just let the interviewer know that it would not be a problem for me. I was interested in the theater, and drama, and I know about how life is like putting on a show. My special effects background with entertainment really showed me the nuts and bolts of how the industry works, and this clearly showed. As Disney Cast Members you are called upon to Make the Magic and to have the Disney Show personified. So you must value the magic as they say, and do everything that you can to make the guests feel that they are having a good time. Drama, theater, does the same thing. If you go in like you are auditioning for a show (which you are, people are cast into "roles" at Disney) then you have a leg up on the competition. AND SMILE! ;-)

I can't say much for the two next to me. The interviewer was having a hard time with the girl. She did it all wrong, I'm sorry to say. I felt kinda sorry for her. She was desperate for a job but she could not communicate her need to the interviewer enough to warrant a shot at the job. She had some retail experience but couldn't talk about her experiences. She was quiet and withdrawn and obviously did not want to be there. Her English was bad too, which made listening to her very hard. She mumbled and the interviewer had to try to translate her sentences which made for a very uncomfortable interview atmosphere. Repeating words over and over again was kinda grating on your nerves. Maybe she had heard that someone in her school was saying that Disney was handing out jobs for free. She also did a big No-No which was to ask straight out, "I want a Job!" Don't say that, can't stress it enough. "I need a job," and "I want a job" will really put you down a level. I avoided this sentence that whole time I interviewed. I said it would be nice to work for Disneyland, or Disneyland seems to be a special place to work. I didn't blatantly come out and ask for work, I just made it known in other ways. This is key. Also, please communicate. The interviewers have a tough job to do anyway, and you should make it as easy as possible for them to understand you. And SMILE!!!!

After the interview was over we were ushered out. The girl was the first to go in and leave. My husband, who was waiting for me, said she went out with her friend, pissed off. No job offer there. The guy also left, but in a better mood. I was last, and I just had the intuition that I had made the cut. I tried to handle myself with as much grace and poise as I could. The first thing the guy said was when I came in and sat down, was "You are the best candidate I've seen all day! You got the job. Attractions. Whatever you'd like to start. Also with a plus for Lead potential." I could have gotten any job there at the Resort that I wanted. I was offered Characters, animatronics, attractions decorator, and Attractions. I asked for Attractions as I wanted to work on my social skills and customer service skills more. He asked me if I wanted Attractions like I was going down a level or something, but I said that I wanted more people skills and to work with people for the experiences. He said that was cool and would put in a good word for me. I don't know if everyone gets this line, but he sounded positive enough.

So I got the job and all the extra paperwork that comes along with it. Told my husband it would be yet another hour to get finished and went on down the hall for more processing. Got most of the legal stuff filled out, Costuming, ID, parking, you name it. Wish I could have gotten my ID right away, but they claimed they were having problems. And yes, it will take quite some time to get your ID, don't expect it right away. I'm still waiting for mine. It seems that the Foods new hires got all theirs, while several Attractions folks are still waiting for theirs. And the office has weird hours too.

Along with all this I got my official hire sheet with a packet explaining Orientation dates and times. And then I took leave of the big yellow building and had a celebratory dinner in the Park next door at Plaza Inn. It was too surreal to be in the park just knowing that you are going to work for them in a couple of weeks.

Now I think they do the hiring process and then you get Orientation and Attractions and You the day after. I had it a little bit different. I went in for Orientation and then had to wait a week later for my second orientation at Attractions and You.

The first Orientation has you arriving at 8 am in the cold morning, shivering outside TDA. I got there very early and was one of the first to arrive. By 7:30 am most everybody has shown up. Probably the first and last day when you arrive early for work! ;-) You get into lines from A-Z and show your white hire sheet along with 2 forms of identification. If you don't have your Id, what are doing going to work anyway? No really, be sure you bring all three items or they will have a tough time with you. Make it easy on them and they'll make it easy (somewhat) on you.

Of course with my ID last name mixup there was a close call. They finally found me under my maiden name and I went in to make my hundreds of initial changes. Then I joined the rest of the group in the Auditorium. There were about 100 of us all in different capacities. We were grouped into Fab 5 seats. I had the Minnie group. That way they could keep us in order somewhat.   

Had a great group of CMs teaching us. Mostly they get you in there and perform skits and you watch movies of Disneyland's history, and "how to make the Magic," stuff. The first few videos are great to watch, as they go through the company's history. Of course you have to have the obligatory welcome from good old Michael too. "Wow, guess what?! Michael's here! Yeah, I saw him just outside!" Just smile when you watch it! Then came skits on how to deal with Guests, what to say and do, and how to stay safe with Guest interactions. How not to look bored on the job, and what the proper lingo of the park is. We were asked Disney trivia and winners got 45 years of Magic blow-up seat cushions! I'm not kidding, seat cushions. To me they looked like large blue whoopie cushions, but I digress...

The flicks with Merlin have to be my favorite. "Disney Magic!" Of course after reading Kevin's experiences, well, you know what he told you about orientation "brainwashing." Hook me up for more, will ya? Smiles all around. 

 
Present-day CM manuals — Artwork © Disney

Well, after a while, early for us, it was time for lunch. About 10:30am really. We went outside to be counted and to have a smoke break, then it was off with your group to the "Eat Ticket." I like the interior of the Eat Ticket, there was all this ride and show paraphernalia in there. There's parade signs, and promotional stuff from years past. They even have a large replica model of the Malificent Fantasmic Dragon. Would love to have that in my backyard as a garden ornament! The food was one step down from hospital food in my opinion. Didn't want to wait for the grill as we only had such a short time for lunch, so I opted for the Turkey. Mistake. Oh well, live and learn.

Had a wonderful discussion with some of my fellow Minnie 'CMs" about retailing, and what our jobs would be. Hope my fellow cast members are doing fine in their jobs right now. Good luck to you girls!

Then it was time to head back. Had the crushing blow that we were not going to get an In-Park walking tour, as the Park was filled to the gills with Guests and it would not be wise for a group of new hires to stumble around looking dumb with wall to wall people. So they've canceled that for the holiday season. Maybe they are back to doing it now, or it was canceled in it's entirety due to what's coming up next.

Ah yes, what's coming up next in the Auditorium? Ahhh....safety issues. Ah the wonderful "new" safety issues class. It's around 2 hours of films, and skits about how to stay safe in your working environment. I enjoyed the disabled section, as I want to work with the disabled and I want to learn to serve the disabled public better, but the rest of it was kinda strange and weird. Okay, so we do need to know how to use a fire extinguisher but to learn how to change toner in the copier machine? Okay.....or how to use gloves and safety goggles? Most of this is just plain common sense. I won't even go into the CM Safety Handbook that all the CMs must have by now. I know it's good information, but everyone knows not to run with sharp objects in their hands. Mother told me that you could get hurt that way!!!! Or I would put someone's eye out that way!

It's important and stuff so I stayed away to listen and absorb it all. Some of my fellows didn't do too well with this one and snores could be heard behind me, but that's okay, I forgive them. 

More Disney legalese followed like special press policies, what not to say to the general public, yada yada yada. Then came the cool parts. Stuff about DCA and video of inside the park. Shots of working attractions and backstage Imagineering stuff. Most of the backstage Disneyland and DCS stuff was awesome. I wished I could have slowed the tape down to catch all the little ins and outs of work in the Magic Kingdom. Some of that ride operations stuff was neat! 

More skits and stuff and we were quizzed as to what departments we were going into. Most were DCA Food and Merch hires. Only about 10 of us were going into Disneyland Attractions. The rest were all for ticket takers, parking, merch, and custodial. When I saw the small number of Disneyland Attractions hosts, but wanted to shrink down in my seat, but I stood up anyway when called.

After that it was wish us well and goodbye. Near the end I kinda got the feeling that this was all rush, rush, rush to the finish line. Most of the CMs were like performing from a script, and only when we were on breaks could I see the real person behind the Disney face. They talked honestly and openly about their jobs and seems caring and compassionate to us new hires. The only person who seemed to "talk down" to us was the lady from Human Resources, but the rest of the CMs did a great job with such awesome responsibility attached to it. They were there to show us the "Disney Way" and they did their jobs splendidly. Especially with all the safety stuff, they were real troopers and tried to make a dull, boring common sense stuff fun and humorous. Without the Goofy character in those films, heads would have been nodding right from the get go.  So I had made it through my first day "at work." I had to wait another week for my 2nd Orientation class "Attractions and You." So I'll sign off this email for now with a good luck and happy job hunting!!!! 

— C.