Originally Posted By mawnck >>So someone wants to work and save money and make use of public transportation (a cost effective AND environmentally preferable way of life, I might add) and they should be punished for it?<< Aha, but you forget, X. You live in a country where public transportation doesn't suck. Should DL's operations have to suffer because government (We the People) doesn't provide suitable bus routes? After all, it is "public" transportation. You know. Socialist.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "So someone wants to work and save money and make use of public transportation (a cost effective AND environmentally preferable way of life, I might add) and they should be punished for it?" I get where you're coming from, but there's really nothing unusual about that policy.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Get a grip, Westsider - you're spouting your biased opinions as if they're facts. It's sounding more and more like you hate your job. If so, quit.*** I think this is uncalled for. He has a right to his opinions, and I don't think he ever claimed they constituted actual company policy or anything like that. He's just giving us his perception of what's going on (and he's hardly the only person complaining about the situation). As to the parting shots, what right do you have to tell him whether or not he should keep his job? Venting on a website doesn't indicate anything one way or another about how he performs his duties on the job.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Should DL's operations have to suffer because government (We the People) doesn't provide suitable bus routes?*** In Western Massachusetts where there are lots of Universities, the public transportation was insufficient so the colleges all got together and paid for an excellent, free bus service around the towns. If Disney really cared about such things, they could certainly contribute to improving the local transportation system, perhaps even provide additional employee busing on top of it for odd hours, and then DISCOURAGE its employees from driving to work altogether.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>If Disney really cared about such things, they could certainly contribute to improving the local transportation system<< Somewhat true, dat, except that you're talking about a good-sized chunk of Southern California, not just Anaheim. All I'm saying is that there's really not much Disney can unilaterally do to improve the situation. And it's not their fault that California can't get its transportation act together. (Monorails, of course, are another matter entirely.)
Originally Posted By Phantom Would I like Disney to pay cast members more? Yes. But you know what? We choose our employers in this country. It is a mutual decision between the employer and the employee. Slavery it outlawed (certain child support orders notwithstanding). Everybody working for Disney APPLIED to work there. Disney doesn't owe cast members any more compensation or leeway than was agreed to upon employment. Yes, it can be hard for a cast member to afford a vehicle that operates reliably, and hard to afford housing that is close enough to avoid ridiculous traffic delays. And then, when the cast member is late, they are docked (or asked to work later) and will accumulate attendance points (which are negative). The point system, last I checked, was very lenient and you had to call in sick a lot and/or be late a lot before you started to get reprimanded, and it would start with a verbal reprimand, then would go to written, then 3-day suspensions, then 5-day suspensions, and then termination. 12 months after a call-in-sick, those points are off of your total. So, if you came close to the edge, if you didn't call in sick for a while you'd be fine. Anyway, no, the pay isn't great. Don't like it? Leave. Plenty of people have done just that. Most of them did not move on to their dream jobs, but they founds jobs that met their needs. It's called being an adult. If your job is fun, great. But your employer pays you to meet a need they have, not so that you can have fun. Not a lot of jobs offer the kind of benefits that Disney offers to people who barely made it out of high school, if that. And I'll say once again... Yeah, I wish Disney paid cast members more.
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Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "Anyway, no, the pay isn't great. Don't like it? Leave." As evidenced by Disneyland's modern turnover rates, a lot of people do just that.
Originally Posted By danyoung >I think this is uncalled for.< Perhaps. Wouldn't be the first time. >He has a right to his opinions, and I don't think he ever claimed they constituted actual company policy or anything like that.< I think he was doing exactly that. Without looking back on past comments, it's my perception that Mr. Westsider has gone through a drastic change of tone over the past couple of years. He used to be the first one to champion something that Disney did or didn't do. But now he's increasingly on the "Disney doesn't care and people are being abused and my job sucks" bandwagon. >As to the parting shots, what right do you have to tell him whether or not he should keep his job? Venting on a website doesn't indicate anything one way or another about how he performs his duties on the job.< I meant exactly what I said. If the job is getting to be so abhorrent that all he can do is spout the negative, then perhaps it's time for him to look for another job. And Westsider, I really mean no disrespect to you - your opinions and information have always been valuable here. It just seems like you're getting fed up with everything, and it might be better for your own wellbeing if you started looking for a job away from the Mouse.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones "All I'm saying is that there's really not much Disney can unilaterally do to improve the situation. And it's not their fault that California can't get its transportation act together." And there's really not much transit-dependent people can do to unilaterally improve the situation. And it's not their fault California can't get its transportation act together. I guess it means that low-income transit dependent people are going to have a harder time working at Disneyland. Great for business, but it surely does not serve the community well, something Disney supposedly prides itself in. Or is that all a fake image?
Originally Posted By Westsider danyoung, I think you've misread my "tone". I'm still thrilled with my job. It's not perfect, and the biggest issues facing hourly CM's today seem so easy to fix and are contained almost wholly within the Evil Axis of Shuttles/Parking, Cafeterias/Break Rooms, and Costuming. But aside from the Evil Axis that conspires every day to remove a Cast Members will to live, or slowly kills them with a pile of starchy overcooked slop passed off as "food", things are pretty good. I do have to chuckle at the green propaganda the Company and TDA spout at any opportunity now though. The commuting thing is great if you work Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM with holidays off. But if you work in Operations, you really need your own car until you've built up about five years of seniority. How else does a college kid work a 2AM closing shift at the Emporium or Tomorrowland Terrace without their own car or Mom picking them up in the wee hours? That said, Anaheim lies at the middle of a fairly comprehensive public transportation service that I think many people take for granted. It's easy to still think of Southern California as a gridlocked mass of freeways and 'smog' worthy of a Johnny Carson monologue circa 1975, but the reality in 2009 is that there are hundreds of buses arriving in Anaheim on Harbor Blvd every day from throughout OC via the OCTA system, as well as longer distance commuter buses arriving in Anaheim from Long Beach and the Inland Empire. And there are literally dozens of trains per day arriving at Anaheim Depot from the sprawling Metrolink commuter rail network, in addition to the north-south Amtrak Surfliner system. You can catch dozens of commuter trains per day to Anaheim from as far away as north San Diego County to Ventura to Palmdale to San Bernardino. TDA sends over shuttle buses to the station every morning and evening to transport TDA Cast Members to and from their scheduled Metrolink trains. Compared to WDW and the hokey central Florida Lynx bus system of skeleton routes that mostly avoid WDW property, Anaheim is Grand Central Station. But if you're working in Operations, you need a car for at least the first five years of your career.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Compared to WDW and the hokey central Florida Lynx bus system of skeleton routes that mostly avoid WDW property, Anaheim is Grand Central Station.*** But compared to Tokyo Disneyland and the maxed out system of transportation available from near and far, Anaheim is Orlando Lynx. ;p
Originally Posted By Mr X <a href="http://img.artlebedev.ru/kovodstvo/sections/109/tokyo.gif" target="_blank">http://img.artlebedev.ru/kovod...okyo.gif</a> Note, even the Disney Resort Line is included on the lower right hand side.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>I really dont blame the locals for using the place as their social center, but it is hard not to feel a little resentment when you have planned a trip and spent thousands of dollars only to deal with huge crowds of people who are in the place two or three times a week.<< Thanks for summing up my feelings. I still go because my kids are still a little too young to appreciate places like New York or Washington, DC. And the thought of spending a week in a national park sounds downright painful to me (just not my thing) so we still go. My kids love it and I'm glad for that. But it costs a buttload of money and it is frustrating when locals use it like their mall. Of course, I can't blame them and I can't really blame Disney if that's what makes them the most money. They don't owe me anything. But I don't owe them my money, and we'll have to see how this upcoming trip goes before I decide to give them any more.
Originally Posted By SpokkerJones Unfortunately, public transportation is going to get a lot worse in Orange County starting in March 2010. A ton of bus service is being cut due to the state budget crisis and reduced tax revenue. The state basically eliminated the State Transit Assistance Fund. OCTA's CEO said that bus service is basically going back to 1975 levels. <a href="http://www.octa.net/service0310.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.octa.net/service0310.aspx</a>
Originally Posted By Mr X As usual in these situations, it's the poor who will suffer the most and lose what little they have (in the case, the means for getting around). So how much bonus money is Goldman Sachs giving out again? *sigh*
Originally Posted By Mickeysbestfan How is it any different when you save up a buttload of money to go to Hawaii, Mexico, New York or anywhere else? Anywhere you go there is the local element that can make a trip less than perfect. My sister went to New York and had horrible time trying to get to see the show she wanted to. Almost every showing was nearly sold out and the tickets she could get weren't that great. I am going to hawaii next year and have been warned by my friends about which beaches to avoid, because they are just too busy, of course those are the beaches near where we will be. In Mexico the beaches were great, but they were right in front of the resort. Once we left resort property we were bombarded by locals trying to sell us anything and everything. While I wish Disneyland was less crowded when I visit, I just prepare for the crowds and just have fun.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "All I'm saying is that there's really not much Disney can unilaterally do to improve the situation. And it's not their fault that California can't get its transportation act together." Are we talking about the same Disney that lobbied to stop high speed rail from detouring to Universal from Orlando International? Or the Disney that lobbied the French government to build not only a subway line to Disneyland Paris but the TGV too? Or the Disney that got the Hong Kong government to help finance its resort there AND build public transportation to it? Sorry, but as a major California corporation and the biggest employer in Orange County Disney could do a lot to influence the expansion of public transportation to its Anaheim property.
Originally Posted By TP2000 I'm a rail transit advocate, and I would encourage everyone to check out the big rail investments heading to Anaheim over the next decade via the California High Speed Rail system, the ARTIC regional transit center, and the Anaheim Fixed Guideway peoplemover system. (Google all three of those things, if they don't ring a bell) Disney and TDA execs have been very, very supportive of all three of those rail initiatives in recent years, and Disney's public and private support has been invaluable in getting funding on a state and soon-to-be federal level. They could have easily killed and stalled this stuff forever, but their support gave it all a huge boost. But while many folks have been impressed with the support Disney is giving to major rail projects coming to Anaheim and SoCal, I do roll my eyes at the propaganda Disney puts out about their green initiatives. It's just trendy fluff for the most part. I think Global Warming is a huge crock, and am not surprised that a majority of Disneyland CM's drive to work in cars alone. If Disney really wanted to save the planet from a fiery inferno and dead polar bears by 2050, they would bulldoze Disneyland and turn the entire Anaheim property back over to the birds and the snakes and the tumbleweeds. There's your carbon negative footprint, right there. But until Disney bulldozes their Anaheim property, I'm glad to see they've really gotten behind new rail links to the region.
Originally Posted By Yookeroo >Oh, I think he would've. > >But Roy would've talked him out of it. > >;-) I know Roy would be brought up. Too many Disney fans have oversimplified the relationship as Roy=business, Walt=creative. Is there any evidence that Walt would've had problems with a full Disneyland?
