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
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 ladyÉ 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.”
YeahÉ 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.
