Originally Posted By FiveBearRugs Just curious...are the employees at Sephora, McDonald's (WDW) and Wetzel's and AMC and House of Blues considered to be employees of their respective company, or actual Disney CMs? Would they get the same benefits and discounts as a park CM would? Or would they just be considered 'tenants' of a shopping mall?
Originally Posted By alexbook I can only speak to DLR, but I'm guessing WDW is similar. Most of the people who work in the shops and restaurants in DTD are employees of the tenant companies and not Disney (though there may be exceptions). These companies are known in Disney-speak as Operating Participants; their employees are Operating Participant Employees. They are *not* "Cast Members." If you're interested in working for a store or restaurant in DTD, apply to the store, not to Disney's Casting Center. OPEs get whatever benefits their employers give their employees, plus a few perqs from Disney, but not the full-on CM package. For example, I can get into the parks for free, but I can't sign my friends and family in. Also, I'm a member of CM credit union ("Partners Federal Credit Union: Banking with Character"), but I can't join the CM sports leagues.
Originally Posted By believe That would make sense. DTD is essentially a mall. Just like if you worked at Macy's at a Westfield Mall. You are a Macy's employee, not a Westfield employee.
Originally Posted By alexbook >>DTD is essentially a mall. Just like if you worked at Macy's at a Westfield Mall.<< Well, it's a little different. I doubt that, say, a Sephora employee in a Westfield mall has to go through "Westfield orientation," or worry about meeting Westfield's standards for grooming or customer service. (Not to knock Westfield or anything. I'm sure it's a fine company.)
Originally Posted By SleepingBeauty82 My friend works at the Fossil store in DTD. Even though they park in the CM lot and they enjoy perks like free park admission, they are still considered employees of Fossil.
Originally Posted By Darkbeer SOME employees are Disney CM's, the easist way to tell is the name tag. A basic oval name tag with JUST a name does NOT work for Disney. But a tag with the Disney logo, such as those who work at World of Disney and Marceline's do work for the company. And yes, non-Disney employees that work at Downtown Disney get many of the CM benefits including free admission on most days. (They do have blockout days).
Originally Posted By MouseGearmerchant90 There are alot of employees that work in DTD that are considered CM's. They get the most of the same benefits. As Darkbeer said, they as well get into the parks for free but they Do have blackout dates. If they are CM's they generally have an ID card that says they are a participant.
