Jobs at Theme Parks in Orlando

[moviekid21]

I was wanting to know from people that have worked at the different parks in Orlando, which one do you think is the best to have a job at?

Factor in pay, the duties of your position, advancement options, benefits (such as discounts), and the enjoyment of that position.

I'm seriously considering moving out to Orlando, and thinking about getting a job at one of the parks.

[thrillrideseeker]

Universal Orlando!! You really want to work for Universal. Disney is a great place to work! There is a nice family atmosphere, but it can not be working for Universal. Universal pays more, you get more hours, and the benefits are better. With Universal you get into Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens, and Sea World for free! You also get huge discounts at the most random places. Universal also really cares about what is best for their team members! You should really consider a job at Universal Orlando!

~Matthew

[Electerik]

I was wanting to know from people that have worked at the different parks in Orlando, which one do you think is the best to have a job at?

Factor in pay, the duties of your position, advancement options, benefits (such as discounts), and the enjoyment of that position.

I'm seriously considering moving out to Orlando, and thinking about getting a job at one of the parks.

 

I'll handle this one.

 

Consider Discovery Cove. There's no rides, but:

 

Slightly higher paying than SeaWorld.

Free admission to all Busch parks, as well as Universal Orlando.

The jobs are really easy and the park is purposely overstaffed.

It's really easy to get on and off property (say, for lunch).

Uniform consists of a Hawiian shirt, shorts, and sandals.

Lot's of attractive guests walking around in bathing suits all day.

Free case of beer every month.

 

Universal has its points as well. But the more the idea of working for Disney appeals to you, the less you should actually try it. (They haven't been Walt's parks for a long, long time.)

[trustkill22]

^I'd Hit It. Thats sounds like a dream job.

[crazydaveh]

SeaWorld and Discovery Cove employees do get free beer pending they are 21 and if they're Part Time (which 70% are), they have to wait six months to get the beer after they start. If you're Full Time, you get your beer when you start, once again, pending you're 21.

 

SeaWorld, DC, and Universal do pay more than Disney, but it's around $7.50 - $8 an hour. During the summer, you can get OT, but not in the off season. The highest paid people at SeaWorld are the people who work in the beer tasting area known as the "Brew Masters Club." Starting pay there is $10 an hour, but it's Part Time.

[BrownStreak]

Here's my four cents:

1st 2 cents: The best job I had in Orlando as far as enjoying my job was working in the TTC-based Water Craft Dept- driving the fairy (only fairy at Disney that goes both ways!), the Ft. Wilderness boats and the smaller flagged boats (which were the most fun). You had no strict schedule to keep yourself on and at most times it was fairly leisurely and working on those huge lakes was a blast!

 

2nd 2 cents: When I worked at Sea World I got two things that I could not get a Disney- lots of hours and benefits. I think back in 1994-95 Sea World paid about 25 cents less an hour but even as a part timer you could get 30-40 hours even in the off season AND you got benefits. I think the only difference between full and part time there was how much your benefits cost. I worked in the ops department which was odd then because I worked Mission Bermuda Triangle which at the time was the only ride other than the tower- I also worked a bit at the ski stadium which was fun because during the show you dressed in costumes and at one point you had to run into the water to collect the skis.

 

Universal was rarely hiring when I lived down there, though I worked at USH three years later and thought that I was treated very fairly and they had a policy that when you reached a set number of hours you became full time. I worked BTTF- the ride, which was actually a bit boring. Also a bit odd is that positions that would be in regular rotation at other parks were only performed by Team Leaders at USH (i.e. JP's main control booth, the video monitering room on BTTF, etc.)

[moviekid21]

Is it true you get a case of beer? That's awesome.

[CoasterEricHP]

I worked at both Disney and Universal. Honestly the biggest difference between the two places are Unions.

 

I did the Walt Disney College Program as Bell Services and Front Desk at the Grand Floridian. After that I went to Universal and was a trainer at Dueling Dragons. I moved back and went to school here in PA for another year and went back down to FL and worked at Everest, and then I went back to Universal and worked at Sky Trolley and then was a lead at Dragons.

 

Disney has unions and you'll either love them or hate them. I personally hated them. The Bell Service union at the Grand Floridian made the bell men and valets complete greedy babies.. and I mean BABIES. It was the same thing in attractions... it's all seniority based, which means if John Smith has been there 10 years and does squat and you work your ass off everyday, he'll always be considered first before you are. In fact, your first day of work at Disney you go through a class called "traditions". BUT, before you can even learn about Disney you are talked to by a union representative and pressured to join the union and pay dues.

 

When I went back to Disney for the second time I was sitting there with this nastily overweight union rep (who probably expects everything handed to him on a silver platter) and I'm listening to him tell me that its not fair that the hard workers should get paid more or move up faster than the lazy ones, I was really uncomfortable listening to that and realized that Universal is the better company! That's why I only stayed at Everest a month before heading back to Universal.

 

Universal on the other hand is a Union Free workplace. From my experience the company treats you a lot better, you get rewarded for working hard and can move up faster, you don't have to deal with HUGE amounts of red tape, you get paid more, you get just as many perks as Disney (admission to IOA, USF, BGT, and Sea World) and the benefits for full time/part time are just as good if not better than Disney.

 

Don't get me wrong, I had good friends who worked at Disney and loved it. I just don't agree with the Union mindset.

 

Disney is Disney, and you'll sit through Traditions and I'm sure you're instructor will get teary eyed and tell you a story about how they were able to touch someone's life by working there, and that's great! Disney has a great product, but also I feel a lot of it is a huge facade

 

Also, if you're looking at hotels you might want to check out Loew's hotels like the Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, and Royal Pacific. They pay wayyy more than Disney.

 

Let me know if you have any questions!

 

Edit -- As far as positions and advancement at Universal here's how it goes for most attractions:

 

Attendant (lowest)- where you do the loading/unloading button pushing.

 

Controls - Dragons CB booth, JP's video screens and such.

 

Trainer- training attendants and controls people. Also you take new team members out into the parks during orientation and do nice things for guests (like get them on a ride, buy drinks for them, or other cool things.. I loved doing that)

 

Relief Lead- thats what I was at Dragons. You are like a shift manager and deal with team members, supervisors, rotations, budgets, angry guests, and my favorite.. evacs

 

Status Lead- does the same thing as a relief lead but is considered the main lead of that attraction.

 

Supervisor- Each ride at Universal has a supervisor.