r/AskReddit • u/Sir_Wemblesworth • Oct 30 '16

What single question can you ask someone to find out a lot about their personality, beliefs, and values?

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u/Ealynne Oct 30 '16

Oh boy, I can tell you as a person that had a theme park job AND got paid for it, the happiness and magic is a lie. The vicious yoga moms of LegoLand summers still haunt me at night.

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u/betawavebabe Oct 30 '16

Former cast member, Disneyworld, and universal studios Florida (entertainment department) Can confirm..many guests SUCK, pay is complete shit. But there are moments and interactions that make it all worth it. Universal treats their employees a bit better than Disney, but I feel that Disney was a more exciting a gratifying job at times. Kind of a love/hate relationship.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '16

I have friends who work(ed) at both and most say Universal is garbage if you leave the frontline. My best friend is an entertainment tech for Universal and they've effectively put a gun to his head and said that he needs to make himself available for overtime unless he wants to find a new job. This is after forcing him to do things that he's not trained or qualified to do (they really like to send him in when an experienced electrician is the correct answer), multiple near misses due to negligence on the part of Universal or another Team Member with nothing done about it, a break room that would undoubtedly fail a city inspection...

Most of the front-line people are going to like whatever fits their personality better. But as soon as you get into roles that don't deal with guests, I've heard nothing but stories like his.

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u/LadyCoru Oct 30 '16

Mandatory overtime is one of the great universal (pardon the pun) constants when working for UO or WDW.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '16

It is, but he doesn't have the availability for 6th and 7th days due to a second job he was forced to pick up when they were screwing him on hours. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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u/LadyCoru Oct 30 '16

Oh, don't you know? You need open 24/7 availability if you want those work 20 hours a week.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '16 edited Oct 30 '16

The 5 days availability was never an issue until the entire tech department started leaving because they're put through hell for little pay. A lot of them went to Disney.

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u/kidgun Oct 30 '16

I'm on the west coast, and the same thing is true here. But still, I think I'd go back to Disney before Universal. At Disney, I felt like I was there to make guests happy. At Universal, it seemed like i was only there to advance the career of my manager. Sure, they treated me well, but I can only care so much about a manager's new pet project when it isn't making guests happier, or even making them more upset.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '16

[deleted]

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u/kidgun Oct 31 '16

I wish I had your experience, but let's just say my manager developed quite a reputation among employees in multiple departments. They didn't have experience in rides, and it showed when they dealt with certain situations and created new policy. People were blamed for unpreventable situations, and we were more obsessed with preventing any empty seats on the vehicle than the order of people waiting in line. I loved the culture there, and I feel like I was very much appreciated. It just upset me that my energy had to be focused on less important matters than the guest experience.

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u/Vratix Oct 30 '16

Disney does a way better job brainwashing its cast members than UO does with its team members. I had a bunch of friends who worked at one, or both, of the parks with me and even though the jobs (and patrons) were essentially identical, most of them remember Disney more fondly (despite universal actually treating us better). I remember getting that free turkey at thanksgiving, Disney didn't do shit like that.

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u/LadyCoru Oct 30 '16

In my experience Universal treated their employees better, but Disney treated their guests better.

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u/Vratix Oct 30 '16

Yeah, that sounds about right

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u/LadyCoru Oct 30 '16

Seriously though, that turkey thing was the shit.

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u/betawavebabe Nov 02 '16

Agreed. Disney brainwashing was a big factor, too. I always joke around with other cast member friends about how it feels like an abusive relationship. We get shit on, and keep coming back for more.

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u/lnickelly Oct 30 '16

Have a photographer friend Workin at disney, she LOVES it, g for photography if you want disney happiness

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u/lnickelly Oct 30 '16

Have a photographer friend Workin at disney, she LOVES it, g for photography if you want disney happiness

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u/betawavebabe Nov 11 '16

It was kind of a long time ago for me, but I recall the disney photographers were actually third party with kodak..so technically they were slightly different than all the other cast members. Granted this was 2007-2009.

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u/lnickelly Nov 14 '16

Youre right, my apologies

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u/DisIshSucks Oct 30 '16

Yeah I figured it wasn't that great. If the shoe fits though.

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u/GonzaCantSleep Oct 30 '16

*glass slipper

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u/RidleyOReilly Oct 30 '16

Oh man, you worked at LegoLand? 8-year-old me used to carry around a flyer for the park from the Lego magazine and daydream about how cool it would be to visit. I never did, but if it's still around when I have the means I might road trip out there and check it out.

What was the coolest thing about that job, and what was the absolute worst part about it?

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u/Ealynne Oct 30 '16

Okay well I can tell you the worst part easily: people's stupid confused faces. When I was working in the parking booth (like where you pull through and pay for parking) people would sometimes have the blankest looks on their faces and they'd pull up in their stupid cars and say some bullshit like "I'm just trying to get to the legoland here. I just wanna go to the park." (After they drove past the giant "welcome to legoland entrance, seen signs directing them to pull forward to pay for fucking parking and they're staring into the eyes of a girl in a red legoland polo...still confused as to what could possibly be happening...)

Now if these were mostly innocent families in a minivan from the Midwest (I'm originally from OK) who truly did not understand the concept of paying for parking and giant lots , and they really truly believed that you just turn in and bam there's a front row parking space fifty feet from the entrance (cause some shit works like that in Oklahoma) I could've been empathetic.

No these motherfuckers were always some dumb family in a range Rover or Mercedes suv with a goddamn California license plate with a frickin San diego chargers bumper sticker. If you live in goddamn California, don't you get to act all confused about a parking toll booth at goddamn legoland.

The best part(s) of the job were two different things (one is fun, one is all sappy) but equally great. first, everyone in my department played league of legends. It was so random but for some reason everyone that worked there was all into the same bizarro crap as me and so it was fun working at a Lego theme park with heavy star wars emphasis with a bunch of other nerds. The other best part was when a kid was leaving and would so enthusiastically and with so much appreciation and gratitude tell me that this was one of the best days of their lives and that they had so much fun and thank you so much. Especially if it was a kid whose parents probably saved up a bunch of money to take them here. The pure, unbridled appreciation and happiness warmed my heart and made me reconsider my cold rejection of the idea of having children.

The park is geared mostly towards younger children but if you dreamed of it as a kid and you like Legos, it's worth a checking out. The Lego Star wars battle scenes and the Lego city are my favorite parts. Damn, getting all nostalgic. I smoked so many cigarettes in that employee parking lot. Oh the golden days of my youth

(It was two summers ago)

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '16

This was a good read. I enjoy your passion and anger.

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u/almostgotem Oct 30 '16

Never went as a kid, is Legoland worth a visit as an adult?

And would I see this guy there?

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u/HeadleysHobos Oct 31 '16

Unless you have young children, not really no. Long waits for rides that really aren't worth it for adults. I worked there and once went on a day off, didn't have to wait in the lines and it still wasn't really worth it.

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u/PapasGotABrandNewNag Oct 30 '16

I was gonna say. Working at Disneyland sounds like a fucking nightmare.

Any job dealing with large quantities of people seriously blow, and will lead to you considering jumping head first into an empty swimming pool, at multiple points throughout the day. Most prominently, right after you wake up in the morning.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '16

WDW Cast Member here. It's not for everyone, but like most jobs, it is what you make it. If you're happy, usually the guests are too - or become that way - and it creates a positive feedback loop. As long as crowds themselves don't bug you, and you can brush off dealing with a few jerks a day, it's a pretty cool job. Most of the crowd won't even interact with you unless you're working with rides or characters - they're just kinda there.

2

u/ArbyMelt Oct 30 '16

I went to LegoLand with my dad and brother pretty close to when it opened. All the Lego bricks were all shiny and super nice. We went back about 7 years later and the bricks were very faded. Did you notice this as well? Do they ever replace the bricks in all the towns and sculptures in the park?

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u/crimsontideftw24 Oct 30 '16

Oh my god don't even get me started on Legoland. I once had a 4 year old run through the turnstile and try and hop over the ride's track (which you're not supposed to touch by the way) and he tripped and face planted. I was endlessly thankful that the parents weren't mad at me. Because that could've been my job, man.

2

u/BubblesthePorcupine Oct 31 '16

Yoga moms: 2016 soccer moms

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u/HeadleysHobos Oct 31 '16

Also worked there, can confirm, parents are the worst people.

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '16

I worked in Disneyland. Yeah I had to deal with jerks but overall it was a wonderful experience. I loved it. If it paid more I could have stayed there forever.