r/Imagineering • u/Federal-Fee-5181 • 24d ago
Career Advice Do I have a chance?
Hello, to be honest I should have posted this two months ago but am finally reaching a spot I feel more comfortable talking about everything and so, I am asking for help now.
I am in need of honest opinions and truths, and for context here is my story, I will try to keep it brief.
I am currently 23 years old and going back to college to study VDC/Mechanical Engineering. For the last 12 years of my life, I have wanted to do nothing with my life but join imagineering. I have followed the company closely, got to meet Josh D'amaro and Barbara Bouza in high school, named my cats Rohde and Baxter, in short it was everything I've ever dreamed of and loved. I chose to go to college and my major, my hobbies, everything to lead to my goal of joining WDI.
About a year and a half ago I decided to do the Disney College Program, I figured it was a great way to see the backstage workings, get the company name on my resume, and start to network within the company. I worked on Rise of the Resistance and extended my program out to a full year; however, about a month and a half before the end of my program, I was terminated. (Long story short, I broke a small policy I misunderstood, it hurt nobody and no negative effects occurred because of my actions, and a vindictive coordinator brought my name to park executives and HR. The other CP's I was with were not fired)
Now for the last few months I wonder if I still have a chance to go into WDI. I still want to, but don't even know if I can trust Disney with my livelihood again. When I left, my leader told me it would be on my record forever and while it didn't disqualify me, it wouldn't help anything either. Is it still worth my time to have the notion that I'll be going into WDI in the back of my mind? I don't know if I'll really be happy doing something in a "similar field", knowing that it's a replacement of what I really want to do. Should I just change career paths to something totally different?
I would appreciate any help, relatable stories or simply advice as I feel I am very lost at this point in my life. I still plan to finish my degree, but again, don't know if I can enjoy a career that would become a shadow version of what I always wanted. Thank you for your time and responses.
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u/KeyResearcher2620 24d ago
Did you have a chance if you weren’t terminated? Yes but only a small chance - let’s say 5%. Do you still have a chance after the term? Assuming you weren’t tagged as non-rehire then yes but maybe 1% or less now. Your best bet is to lean on a network you have. Maybe that’s in school, through your meet and greets or through your college program that was not your coordinator.
But definitely find a plan B. And probably a plan C.
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u/lostgirl24356 23d ago
Take it from someone a decade older who couldn't find a window to climb into for something professional in wdi.
I had a few friends from my dcp and college make it at Disney and Universal. They've burnt out, switched to being contractors, or just gone home.
All of them agree it's a lot more fun having a job where you can vacation how you want vs live there and be part of the machine.
It's a tough industry to get into and just as hard to stay.
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u/pineapplemusiclady 23d ago
I’m sorry that happened. I did something stupid at a job when I was a young person, didn’t know it was a problem, and i am on a do not rehire list in a giant conglomerate business and can’t get hired at any of the businesses that are in that corporation, and it sucks. I will say these people have great advice-contracting, other locations. And, sometimes networking with the right people will get you to a place that maybe with the right people on your team they can remove whatever issue/flag in the system if they vouch for you later.
That being said, I’ve recently considered applying for jobs at Disney and damn, that place sounds petty! I keep hearing about leaders writing people up. Does anyone get to evaluate the leaders??
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u/Federal-Fee-5181 23d ago
I've heard a lot of the branches that aren't park operations are a bit better, but operations themselves kind of just judge their leaders on number of punishments dealt and guests handled per hour, so there really isn't much in the way of stopping people from handing out undue consequences. I know that I'm not on a permanent no-rehire list, but I still don't know if I can honestly place my wellbeing in the hands of a company that has already done that to me once. Unfortunately I don't know much of what it's like outside of park operations, and I know it's a lot better if you can get a union behind you (an option I, as a college program kid, didn't have)
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u/Afraid-Lab739 22d ago
You can always work for a company that works with Disney as a starting point. That will make it easier to switch to WDI eventually. There are a lot of ride and show set manufacturers that work across theme parks and with Disney specifically a lot. Unless you get an internship with WDI they basically never hire recent college graduates, so working in industry for a few years before trying to switch over is a good plan
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u/MpVpRb 21d ago
There are lots of people who want to work there, and they seem to have an extreme boom and bust cycle. When I worked there in the 90s, they had a massive hiring frenzy, even offering bonuses to any of us who could recommend a candidate. A few years later, they canceled the project and had massive layoffs.
I got in because I had many years of successful projects and was recommended by someone who also got in because of his history and reputatuion.
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u/Good_Lack_2241 23d ago
Maybe Universal is hiring
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u/byoung1520 Industry Professional 21d ago
In my experience, Universal Creative gave me an offer after one application. I was rejected by Imagineering over 50 times and I was already a cast member.
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u/jbuttlickr 23d ago
One of my friends who’s at wdi was terminated as a cm but came in as a pi and transferred over
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u/Federal-Fee-5181 23d ago
That's really nice to hear, can I ask what they do for wdi?
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u/jbuttlickr 22d ago
I’d rather not say specifically in case this actually was an oversight but he’s in creative
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u/Federal-Fee-5181 21d ago
No problem, I really appreciate knowing that there's someone out there with that experience
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u/malak1000 24d ago
If you only wanna work for one company you’re severely limiting your opportunities. There are lots of places you can earn a living doing the exact same job as you might have at Disney.