What it's REALLY like working at World of Disney // my dcp experience

Well this has been a long time coming :P
I hope this answers all the questions you've been asking (literally since August) about my experiences working at WOD as part of my disney college program. I want to stress again that this was my PERSONAL experience and does not apply to everyone who worked there/will work there. Your program is what you make of it.
I genuinely LOVED both my programs and working for the Walt Disney Company. This just wasn’t the location for me.
To any current or past WOD cast members: please watch the whole video before calling me out. Thank you.
BLOG: emilyswanderland.wix.com/blog
INSTAGRAM: @emilyswanderland
TWITTER: @emswanderland

[@traceytalbut6616]

Obviously being your mum I was aware of all the ‘issues’ with WOD especially as we were out in Orlando both summers you worked for Disney. Your 1st program in 2017 was amazing and with all the hours you would never had time to pick up shifts elsewhere. However you always said that if you were lucky enough to go back in 2018 that you wanted to be more adventurous and try new locations. Had your home location been a park it may have been different but you felt confident to swap shifts to give yourself a different experience rather than just staying in one place the whole time and then directly comparing the programs. It was unfair of the WOD staff to treat you the way you did for swapping shifts. It’s not as if you left them short staffed or called out. You wanted to get the best out of the program and having the confidence to work in so many places should be commended rather than criticized. I’m proud that you were professional in ‘spilling the tea’ and overall your 2nd program was amazing but in a different way to your first one!

[@kerrimcvinney6081]

That's a good mama bear 🐹

[@bomitalia3588]

Blessed with a good mom

[@dacealksne]

Could you show her how to take care of eyebrows? I don't think she knows.

[@chalronbjork4766]

@@dacealksne what a stupid thing to say. She's gone out of her way, editing and uploading to share with people who may be thinking of doing this program, and you comment something so pathetic. Troll elsewhere. Perhaps your mother needs to teach you some manners.

[@LibraryAngel]

You are an amazing supportive Mama!

[@anapauricalde]

I currently work at WOD and if there's one thing I can say, it's that it's changed a LOT from what you experienced!! The leaders are all awesome, and they no longer care about selling that much (which has translated in more sales, duh). Now, we get grape sodas for literally just talking to guests about anything! I love woking here, I'm sorry you had such a bad experience :(

[@emilyswanderland]

That’s so great!! I’m happy they’ve made those changes and that you’re having a good experience ☺️

[@PartOfBrookesWorld]

the TEA WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR

[@sarah11121]

I loved the way you expressed your opinion on a not great experience in the most positive and unbiased way as possible! Sorry it wasn’t a nice work environment, the part about no goodbye actually made my heart drop a little, that’s so sad 😞 love your videos! 💕

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you I tried to make it as balanced as possible!! 💖

[@JessicaKeilani]

I'm glad you finally made this video and I really appreciate that you mention many times that this was YOUR experience, not everyones. I was at WOD at the same time as you and absolutely loved it BUT we're different people with different experiences. I usually go to bed really late and sleep in late when I'm at home so I loved the late shifts and would've hated morning ones. Not gonna lie I was always disappointed to "enjoy my shift" but I found as long as I was talking to guests all the time I was never bothered by leaders, and I never pushed selling anything either. Some leaders were definitely focused exclusively on profit but I found a lot of them were interested in just talking to CPs. At the beginning of my program it was mostly "tell me a guest story" or "are you with a guest" but as I spent more time there it was more "what did you do last night" or "how's your program going" which I think took a lot of the pressure off and made me more comfortable. I also never heard any rumours or negative comments about you, so I would say it was probably just those couple girls that were doing it!

[@emilyswanderland]

Ahhh thank you so much for this, it’s reassured me a ton aha! I was so worried people from WOD were all gonna come for me with hate but it’s good to know it wasn’t everyone talking 😅 I’m glad you enjoyed your program!

[@theconfusion]

I've never clicked on a video so fast! LOL Edit: After watching, I completely understand why WOD didn't work out well for you. You aren't the type of person to say things like those rumors claimed. I always enjoy shopping or even just walking through WOD. Now that this tea has been spilled, can't wait for your vlogs!!

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you so much! More vlogs coming soon ☺️

[@jonasrule101]

As for the send off, I’m shook you were unwelcomed! When I was there we LOVED internationals! Clearly a lot has changed! When I picked up at other locations the leaders actually encouraged us to get the full CP experience! They always encouraged us cause then we can tell those cast members to not tell guests that everything was at WOD!

[@Kas-tle]

“Enjoy your shift” seems like the most corporate way of putting a positive-sounding spin on an ethically questionable thing lol. But seriously I’m sorry that so many Americans were so unwelcoming to you. Your story about not even getting a goodbye after all the American CPs getting a huge send off the week before makes me feel really bad. I’m sorry :(

[@emilyswanderland]

I met SO many lovely Americans!! These were for sure the exception 💕

[@keiththompson1265]

You do such a great job of staying positive. I love that you were able to create what could sound like a negative and gripe-y video and not have it sound like a whine-fest. That will take you a long way in this world! Stay "you"!

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you so much, that means a lot!!

[@hannahinparis]

I had a very similar experience working for the Disney Store :) Overall enjoyed the job and everything but did have a similar position to "Enjoy your shift", where we essentially had to guest serve, sometimes for hours at a time. It was usually pretty nice interactions with guests, greeting them when they came into the store and what not. But I would sometimes be cornered by a manager to remind me that I had to do better to push sales and promotions and what not. It was made very clear in the interview stage that it was going to be a very sales focused job, but it does take away from the magic of Disney a little bit. Also we got tracked on the sales of reusable bags and gift boxes and we were told the percentage of sales we were able to up sell. There was a massive competition mentality to it as the best and worst sales person of the day were displayed on a whiteboard backstage. I think you made a very good point in the fact that as Merchandise Cast Members, particularly in the big generic stores outside of the parks such as WOD, have to do a commission based job without commission or a bonus, because it is a massive physical stress on top of actually doing your job to "close" as many sales as you can. You don't actually get any kind of bonus for convincing people to buy stuff and its incredibly hard and frustrating to try and sell to people who are clearly just in there for a browse. I think there is definitely a place for a cast member to interact with guests around the store, but in a more natural way, where you don't feel pressured by arbitrary sales targets. Very interesting video! I felt like i could really relate haha

[@emilyswanderland]

Ah that sucks it’s translates into Disney store as well! We had the same thing with upselling and targets for reusable bags etc. We got team prizes if we met the targets but it was quite pressurised. I can’t imagine having best and worst displayed backstage though that’s horrible!! 😬 And yeah if we are gonna work a commission kind of job please pay us a commission 😂 Thanks for sharing! 💕

[@LibraryAngel]

This would be hard. As a guest I’ve been to many Disney Stores hope to make it to Disney World and Disneyland one day. But as a guest at the store - the merch is NOT the same seems to cater more to kids - which is fine - but adults want shirts too! (I work at schools where every so often we have Disney Days! I have head bands and such but clothing is hard to find) - and when Disney says we don’t stock anything except holiday PJ’s - it makes it stores browse only - doesn’t matter anyway because all the Disney Stores shut down - the one that’s left in my area is attached to a X Mills Mall - so you have sea life aquarium, Rainforest Cafe, Lego Land, Chili’s Too, Disney Store, and then nothing else you know fun to explore for a few hours maybe but the place is weird.

[@LibraryAngel]

Cast members are truly the glue of the place! Thank you for being friendly and awesome!

[@SopphhhOx]

This is such a well spoken video Emily! The way you talk about WOD despite how much you didn't like the location shows how classy you were about the whole thing. Amazing that you took control of swapping your shifts and made the best of your time. Many people wouldn't even attempt to do that! Creds to you girl!!

[@emilyswanderland]

Ah thank you so much Sophie!! I try to be!! Means a lot ☺️💕

[@UtoBiaVlog]

I worked at WOD during my ICP and I LOVED it! I did not have this enjoy your shift thing... Me and my friends did not find hard to get along with the others cms there, even the americans or the leaders and coordinators! I still receive mail, like ACTUAL mail from some cast members I met there, talk to a lot of them still and yeah, I just had the best experience, I am really grateful. Anytime I picked up a shift at another location, I missed WOD so much! Of course not everyone is great, mas the majority of people were... We cried on the last day, even the leaders, I miss there so much... But I was scared when I found out that I had been placed there because the reputation is not good haha

[@Kirbykfed89]

Now that you've spilt the tea....you will have to find something else to talk about on your channel! Lol But seriously, I hope someone from Disney sees this and takes it as a learning experience for them. You did very well at keeping your comment neutral/professional. You didnt trash talk WOD, you simply explained your experience there. ❤❤

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you, I wanted to keep it balanced aha!

[@yazinwanderland9312]

Sorry to hear about how unwelcome the other staff made you feel, it seems like it was so cliquey while you were and that doesn’t work for many people!! It’s completely understandable why it didn’t work out for you but you articulated this whole video so well! The tea has officially been spilt now at least and at the end of the day your experience is always going to be what you make it and you made your CP work for you by exploring elsewhere! Enjoy your shift seems like such a challenge! I would really struggle with it too and the forced nature of conversations in relation to driving profits doesn’t seem magical! The last day experience is so disappointing to hear about, I’m glad you at least had each other but it’s rather unfair! It is definitely as interesting and important to hear these stories as well as the all jolly positive ones because this is reality but you still manage to keep it positive & identified why it was the way it was! However, the picker role sounds like it would be my dream, I love methodical ordered like ‘treasure hunting’ for things to be taken to their place... how sad... 🙈🤣 Hopefully there will be something methodical like that in QSFB haha! ❤️✨ Jeez, that was such a long comment, sorry!

[@emilyswanderland]

Ah Yaz thank you for this mini essay 😉😘 just like with merch every qsfb location is so different but I hope you have an amazing experience!! 💖

[@yazinwanderland9312]

Hehe, sorry for the mini essay, got just a little carried away! You’re completely right & I can’t wait for my experience ✨

[@siennagrace4472]

I had the same experience in my program. I’m Italian born and raised in Italy. So I was placed at Italy Pavilion at Epcot and I hated it. The rest of the CPs and regular staff I worked with were so rude and had the balls to talk about me behind me back. I’m just like hey stupids you do know I speak English.

[@sabrinamiller3671]

That makes me so sad you had such a bad experience. You seem like such a lovely person. 😢

[@Trickstress_]

Hey! I was WOD of Spring 2017 and I'm so sorry you had such a bad time! :( It sounds like they changed things like there wasn't an 'enjoy your shift" but was more of a greeter. It was a lot more lax as well so I'm disappointed that they shifted that. Sounds like they changed not only the inside of the building with the renovation. :( again, so sorry you had such a bad time.

[@bS7580-i9q]

Now I’m glad I didn’t get Merchandise this summer for my first CEP (I got Attractions). On another note your videos have been an awesome tool to help with all the uncertainty that comes with this program, so thank you!

[@emilyswanderland]

Oh amazing have the best time! You’re welcome and thanks for watching ☺️💕

[@marvelboi3416]

I wore the older WOD costume when they wasn't making renovation.... It was this burgundy green yellow shirt with khaki pants. I worked at WOD in 2013 and on the positive side I love some of the cool leaders who cares about the Cps and not at that location anymore....Plus my coworkers who I became very close with who I still talk to til this day... But I'm glad that I didn't spend all my time working at the store because I didn't really have to trade my shift with anybody.....The leads always deploy me to work the Food and Wine Festival and the Flowers and Gardens and D-Street even Star Wars weekend event which I truly enjoyed!!!!

[@moviereelness7527]

omg i worked at WOD once and i got that "enjoy your shift" crap. it was torture. Leaders make you feel like you have to hunt for guests as if theyre prey. Sometimes you just cant force merchandise down a persons throat. it actually turns people off to be THAT pushy. Happened at mousegear as well.

[@emilyswanderland]

Eek yeah it’s not ideal 😅 I’m surprised about mouse gear though!!

[@moviereelness7527]

@@emilyswanderland yeaa! it was with one specfic leader or two. One´s name is like a big purple dinosaur i dont know if u remember him! lol

[@aprilgriggs8822]

I'm sorry your didn't get a proper send off! I am hoping to apply Fall 2021 and a main thing I am looking forward to is connecting with awesome people from all over the world! It is unfortunate to hear that they didn't acknowledge the international workers as they did for fellow Americans :(

[@hannahtalbut8596]

Really professionally handled! Good video em. Xxx

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you Hannah! ☺️

[@brittanylancaster9329]

I hated that part of working merchandise at Disney. When I worked there it was called up selling and we were all responsible for up selling. I'm good with people but I'm not a sales person because I hate when people do that to me!

[@emilyswanderland]

I had the same issue - I hate being sold to so it felt very unnatural to do it myself 😅

[@tonyahillman7130]

Don't let mean girls get to you. You are precious. I think they were jealous of you. We love you Emily.

[@emilyswanderland]

I won't aha 💕☺️

[@sirjamesbowiesinatralennywhite]

I really enjoyed this Emily. I learned a lot about what it is like to work there at Disney

[@emilyswanderland]

Thanks for watching!

[@mark6858]

Things have changed a lot in sales and pushing staff to sell is not one of them. It never worked in my job. And when some one comes up to you when you are looking around is a turn off. But just saying hello and talking is different. If someone does that and is not pushing something then I am more inclined to buy something. Sounds like Disney needs to pull in their team leaders and give them intensive training on what not to do and the right way to do it. (I have 45 years experience) Love your work fantastic as always. Thanks heaps. 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀🧀🥓🍕🍔🍟🌭🍣🥘🥣

[@emilyswanderland]

Yeah they did say always initiate a conversation first but the point of it was to sell. Thanks for watching!!

[@mark6858]

@@emilyswanderland That was interesting. Just clicked to read your reply, heard a big bang, then no power. We are out for 8 hours they say. You sure do have a powerful youTube channel there. 🤣🤣🤣 (36 deg cell here)

[@emilyswanderland]

Eeesh I'm sorry!!

[@atropos0754]

You’re good at sharing your story. I feel as if I’m there. Great video👍😀

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you!

[@kellysullivan1999]

I will say I hate hate hate stores who approach me while I’m shopping and push me to buy things. I will leave immediately because it makes me feel uncomfortable. This makes me sad because I love Disney and I love looking at all the Disney merch in the world of Disney. I wish they’d realize that consumers know what they are doing and it makes them uncomfortable and they will most likely leave without buying anything

[@XheyJJx]

Kelly Sullivan totally agree. Not just in Disney but every shop. I always think that people will ask for advice/help if they require it.

[@emmastenhouse2072]

This makes so much sense! I hated it when I went into World of Disney because so many cast member kept approaching me which I hate! I literally walked around with my head down avoiding eye contact and the one time I did talk to a cast member for a while it was about food so sorry to her if I got her in trouble 😕😂

[@emilyswanderland]

Aha I did the same when I went on days off but the funny thing was nobody ever said anything to me 😂

[@PianoLover1397]

Your room looks just like mine haha! Full of disney things and photos of taylor swift 👍

[@emilyswanderland]

Ahaha yes my 2 favourite things 😏🙌

[@danajamison8622]

The no goodbye thing seems really rude. I'm sorry you had a negative experience. Those girls should have minded their own business about your shifts. As long you didn't leave them in a bind of being understaffed. Also I totally understand the not wanting to push sales. For me, if someone pushes and I'm not already going to get, they lose any chance of a sale with me. Thanks for sharing!

[@emilyswanderland]

Yeah that’s what I didn’t understand, I traded my shifts I didn’t just not show up 😅 and same I find it intimidating!!

[@PrinceofMacedonVlogs]

"World of Death" sounds amazing - I'd go there more often if they renamed it that

[@addieelizabethhazen3869]

Literally half the positions in my store are just guest engagement. It's so difficult to keep talking for 3-4 hours at a time and I can't trade my shifts for other locations. With practice it gets much easier especially doing it every shift. I'm not sure if it's just my store or Disney in general now but the emphasis is on making a meaningful connection with the guests not necessarily to make a sale

[@emilyswanderland]

Yeah I get engaging with guests but not always to sell them something! Recommendations should be worth just as much if it makes their day better! Which store/area are you at?

[@addieelizabethhazen3869]

Emily’s Wanderland I’m in Disney springs at a newer store called Disney style

[@emilyswanderland]

Ooh I know the one! You wear jeans there too right?!

[@addieelizabethhazen3869]

@@emilyswanderland Yes the same ones from WOD!

[@jobroluvr500]

I can definitely relate with the goodbye scenario! On my last day at a particular store in Epcot after a 13 hour shift (you know the one!) they said hardly anything to me, didn't get a certificate or anything or a thank you. I know we were only there 2 months but it would have been nice to have been wished a proper goodbye at least when the American CPs had a speech and certificate x

[@siennagrace4472]

Sarah Legg I had such a bad experience with my location I didn’t care they didn’t do anything. I was like good bye. I was on the international program as well. I didn’t expect anything after the way I was treated.

[@emilyswanderland]

Oh Sarah I'm so sorry to hear that!! I wouldn't have expected that of your location at all :(

[@jonasrule101]

WOD squad Jan-May 2018! When I was there they just pushed us to talk to people lol! Who were your leaders? I’m curious how much has changed

[@CinderShelby]

I’ve never worked at Disney but I HAVE worked at the Disney STORE at our local mall and it sounds like world of Disney is very similar to what I experienced there. Management was awful and i hated it lol. To be fair at the time it was owned by children’s place and not Disney so who knows if it’s changed but I doubt it.

[@michellesmith5490]

My sleep schedule has always been the same as yours. I'm 54 now and still the same way. In high school friends wanting to go out at 10 and I'm crawling into bed.

[@emilyswanderland]

Ahaha I’ve had to accept it at 22 that it won’t change 😂

[@jcolorguard123]

I’m 25 & I’m the same way lolol

[@chalronbjork4766]

I have the same T-shirt you're wearing. I got mine from UNIQLO at Disney Springs last October. Cost me $9.99. Bargain 😀

[@thoughtengine]

18:00 sounds like every job I ever had.

[@rachelgardner6456]

Her sleep schedule is like mine!! Last night I went to bed at 3 and woke up at 7!!

[@MsCherylB183]

So sad that you had a bad experience with WOD! Sounds like Disney need to have a huge shift round of their permanent staff and bring up the click. xx

[@bellaro3420]

I feel like they should let you touch the stuff because it might make guest more interested, I know where I work we are encouraged to play with the products to make guests interested.

[@emilyswanderland]

Yep every other location lets you but WOD 😂

[@bellaro3420]

@@emilyswanderland Thank goodness because I got merch for my dcp in the fall and I was like sis what

[@haannahaviv]

I'm sorry your experience wasn't the greatest! Was the tracker of profit in all merchandise stores or just WOD? I worked at Vans and we had a similar thing on a computer and our managers were also really on us about it, we just had to talk to customers and push shoes

[@emilyswanderland]

I only felt the emphasis at one other store I worked at! Most just focus more on guest experience fortunately (guests pay enough to get in 😂)

[@oliviaann5535]

It’s one do the most famous stores in the world I guess for Disney fans anyway

[@dictionaryqueen]

Great video, thanks for sharing!

[@emilyswanderland]

Thank you so much!

[@Framework_Gaming]

World of Disney sounds like a typical retail working experience. Not really the magic you expect from a Disney location. I did retail for years so i get your pain

[@christinelominac4298]

I'm so sorry the some of the Americans weren't that nice. Cattiness is ridiculous. There are a lot of good Americans, but it does seem these days people are getting ruder and ruder. I am so glad Disney has an international program we all could learn so much from each other. I am American and I would welcome internationals with open arms. I am glad that overall your experiences were great!

[@emilyswanderland]

It was only a few of them. Definitely the minority 😌

[@oliviaann5535]

In general being a worker at Disney they seem to treat staff really badly .

[@mackenzievattimo9205]

Wow! I will never go there again!

[@ellenthivierge8004]

I am sorry you didn't have a great time working for Disney. I have a few friends that worked for Disney and everyone had likes and dislikes for working for them. They have told me that there is a lot of bad mouthing about other workers. If workers want to go farther faster in their jobs they will be the worst co workers behind the managements backs. I sure hope you have a wonderful life and find enjoyment in what you do for work.

[@emilyswanderland]

I loved working for the company but just not in that store aha 😅 thank you so much!!

[@ilovemusicals256]

Disney corner is already Gone. It went away about two weeks away

[@emilyswanderland]

Ah no way! Sad to see it go but I'm sure it'll be replaced soon enough

[@ilovemusicals256]

Ya it became a kingdom hearts shop as a promo for the new game but that one is already closed so not sure what’s next for it.

[@spacecow149]

how are the theme parks in the UK?

[@emilyswanderland]

They’re not immersive like Disney’s but they’re not based on stories so they’re more about the rides

[@bomitalia3588]

Once again I'm sorry you had to deal with that. That is the kind of stuff that makes people around the world think Americans are ignorant. That's not right and just uncalled for

[@moviereelness7527]

the mexican castmembers didnt get a goodbye either at mouse gear. we were all really dissapointed as well. they literally gave zero fucks about us even though we were some of the hardest workers.

[@emilyswanderland]

That’s so sad I’m sorry 😔

[@Kamy_369]

I wish I can work at Disney

[@darrsea95]

Can really relate to feeling let down by the pressure that a sale should come from every interaction - at the Disney Store in the UK, they would have secret shoppers every month and if you were the cast member that interacted with them and you didn't talk them into buying something they weren't intending to, they would name and shame you in their report, which was always on display for all cast members to see Also, it was always a competition to see who could up-sell the most, you literally have a sheet behind your till where you record every up-sell you make and the results get posted for every cast member to see, and the lowest scores would even be highlighted to draw attention to those cast members I also remember being told countless times that when we were collecting emails to send promotional info to, we had to make it sound as though we NEEDED their email, rather than that they had a choice - I was spoken to numerous times because I made it sound "optional"... As well as bags for the things they buy, we weren't allowed to offer them the regular plastic 10p bags unless they specifically asked for them, we had to offer the £1-£3 shopper bags instead I always understood that it's a business and they want to make high profits, but they pretty much didn't care at all about the quality of the interactions you had unless you increase the sale

[@emilyswanderland]

That sounds so intense! Not what I would have expected at all from the UK stores! We had to do a lot of upselling at WOD too with the reusable bags and keep tallies of what we sold but luckily no personal competition - just a team-based one across the whole store to reach a target. I’m sorry you had those experiences and I hope it hasn’t ruined Disney for you!!

[@Belushi87]

it sucks that your experience wasn’t a good one. having shifts that you don’t enjoy working are annoying especially when they want you to push sales on customers. a lot of the time people are looking to get some ideas or just to check out it for when they come back.

[@emilyswanderland]

I loved my experience and whole program except for some of these WOD shifts aha, the merchandise role was still such a cool one to have :)

[@noellaenchanted139]

Yasssss

[@BeBooBoopBeepBeep]

I'm Irish and to me to tend to sound Australian.

[@emilyswanderland]

I get that a lot 😂

[@DanielleLovesYouh]

*starts boiling water for tea*

[@bpore]

shout out to the Canadians!!! :)