FROM: Amber Earns Her Ears Published Mondays

Amber Deals with Disney Stress

Sure, it's the happiest place on earth - but not necessarily when you're working there. Disney expects its CareerStart (and College Program) Cast Members not only to work hard but to look the part. Amber learns the Mouse can be a real taskmaster...

- Amber Sewell, April 18 2011

"Oh, come on. I'll be working for Disney. How hard can that be?"

This is an oft-repeated refrain heard from future College Programmers (or CareerStart members) before they actually start work at Disney World. They can even manage to maintain this illusion for their first few weeks. Eventually, though, the insight allowed to you as a Cast Member begins to strip away that mirage of ease and happiness. Just because the Cast Members are smiling doesn't mean they're having a great day. Keeping their temper is part of their job. They aren't slouching against counters and stalls not because they've got great posture but because they aren't allowed to do that.

It's one of the many things you learn when you undergo the initial training process. Disney Cast Members need to look approachable at all times. This means no slouching, no hand on hip, no pointing with just one finger. You are taught to be consciously aware of how you look to Guests from all angles; if a Guest is approaching you from behind and you have your arms crossed, that conveys a message of hostility rather than welcome. And smiling: smiling is the key. Smiling makes you approachable; if you look like you are having a good time, Guests are going to be more willing to respond favorably to you.

My sarcastic tone may be carrying over a little much, because I don't see any fault with this idea. It's a great thing that Disney has analyzed even their Cast Members' posture from the Guests' point of view. That shows again the Disney level of detail. But it should also be a hint for future Cast Members who think that working at Disney will be a breeze.

The Model Who Didn't Make It

One of the girls I worked with was going to be a model. I had absolutely no problem with that at all - she had been doing very well, from what I'd heard. But all of the real work she had to do in quick service was absolutely too much for her to handle. She had expected to come down and spend her days coloring with the children (which I did on several occasions, and enjoyed immensely), not lifting heavy boxes of fries and changing the sticky, five gallon soda boxes. Within a couple of months, she had quit. It wasn't that she couldn't do the work; it was that it wasn't what she had expected.

This happens more frequently than I thought. It's not the number one reason people don't last, but I believe that some people look at things like the cleanliness of the parks and don't give a second thought to the work that goes into keeping them so clean.

Even if you come down knowing this is a real job, the workload and everything associated with maintaining the Disney name can be a tad overwhelming. While on your program, it is likely that you will have bad days, bad weeks. In our little apartment of four, there were days that one of us would trounce in, throw down our bag, and sag, defeated, into a chair. There would be an outpouring of sympathy and willingness to listen about that one hateful Guest or the co-worker who made life difficult. And we all had our little cheer-ups.

When Stress Builds, Try to Chill

Which leads me to my point: stress.

There is a lot of stress that comes with this program. For a lot of people, it's their first time living away from their families, on their own, in a place they may or may not be familiar with. That in and of itself is stressful.

Having to buy your own groceries, manage your laundry to make sure you have enough clean socks, pay for gas, coordinate your schedule around bus departure times, and much more - it's a lot to deal with.

Even roommates could cause friction. Whether by lack of communication, or something little that tips you over the edge of a bad week, the apartment can sometimes become fraught with tension. Which is why I think it is a marvelous idea to come up with some stress relievers while you are on your program. Make sure to bring some of your favorite CDs with you. Watch a favorite movie. Play a video game (Lego Harry Potter was very popular in our apartment), or spend a day off just lounging around in pajamas, drinking coffee and watching TV.

We all developed our own ways of dealing with stress. I discovered the Basin store in Downtown Disney, and bath bombs became my friend. After a long day of work, when my muscles ached from lifting and scooping, it was wonderful to fill the tub, put on some Michael Buble, and read.

Leah, one of my roommates, also enjoyed the delights of a relaxing bath, as her job involved lots of lifting (she worked at Sum of all Thrills at Innoventions; those machines were heavy), although her music of choice was Jason Mraz.

Leah and I also had the idea to just dress up and go out. If things were stressful, and staying in the apartment was chafing at us, we would get dressed up, pick a park, and see what nice restaurant we could wheedle a table for two from. We didn't even have to do much while we were in the park; sitting down and having dinner, catching up on what was going on with each other, was enough of a detox that when we came home, music blaring and the sticky night air blowing in from the windows, we were perfectly content.

Several nights I went out by myself, just to watch a fireworks show or because I was craving some kind of sweet that would help me de-stress. Going out with friends, roommates: there are any number of options to help you relax.

And it's important to take advantage of them. Time on these programs is limited; why would you want to waste it in a bad mood? As soon as the program was over, I remember looking back on some of those wasted days and wondering: "Well, why didn't I just save and then splurge a little at the resorts for a massage?" or even "Why didn't I just go to the gym and make myself too tired to worry anymore?"

Everyone relaxes in a different way. I would suggest finding out what works for you, what smooths out the wrinkle in your forehead and eases the tension in your shoulders, and allows you to simply appreciate the fact that, psh, others are studying for an astronomy final or a Spanish oral exam. As preachy as it sounds, it's something that I wish someone had told me before I went down, and something I'm definitely aware of for my upcoming stint in the College Program.

More: AMBER EARNS HER EARS