Online Shopping: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It!

Disney announced yesterday that they would begin to sell some of their park merchandise online at DisneyStore.com. The selection is small: only one t-shirt style, Mickey ear hats, and a few other categories. But I'm sure this is just the beginning.

I think this is a pretty neat idea. The last time we went to WDW, I really wanted to buy the park soundtrack. But by the time our last day rolled around, I still hadn't picked it up, and no one wanted to spend our last few hours in a shop while we could be getting in one last ride. I toyed with buying it off Ebay, but there was a very small selection, and even used copies were almost full park price. So I never did buy it. If this option had been around back then, I probably would have sprung for the CD and bought it off the website. Now of course, I'm glad that I didn't, because I can get a 20% off discount when I buy the CD in a few months (woo hoo for cast discounts!) And that will be one of the first things I buy when I go into the park--after my first pair of Mickey Mouse ears. (Can you believe I've been to WDW 4 times and never had a pair? I don't deserve the label "Disney fan".)

The park CDs aren't actually offered on the website right now: like I said, it's a very limited selection. But just give them time...

As a (future) Merchandise CM, I also get to look at it from the perspective of my job...but I have absolutely no idea how it will affect it. I don't think it's going to really be that big of a deal. They've had a phone line where you could order park merchandise for years, so its not really that different. I just wanted to point out how cool it is that Disney news is now news that indirectly affects me. :)

Now or Never?

Pixie dust ain't cheap, kids. And with the recession, cutbacks, and the recent reorganization of the Disney Parks' corporate structure (yeah. I'm a nerd.), in a way it really looks as if I've picked a bad time to do my CP. According to the Orlando Sentinal, about 450 jobs have recently been cut from WDW. Most were behind-the-scenes salaried jobs rather than by-the-hour Cast Members; but still, it doesn't seem like a good time to be one of about 7,000 new employees coming in.

Of course, these 7,000 CPs/ICPs were figured in when Disney did their cutbacks. We're exactly the kind of workforce they want--no benefits, no union, and we're all there because we really want to work for Disney. So, even though nothing can be ruled out right now, I think my CP is pretty safe. Future programs...well, I guess we'll just have to see.

Needless to say, I'm glad I'm getting to do the CP this semester because you just never know what may happen with a company like Disney in economic times like these. I don't mean to sound like I'm saying Disney might not make it. Park attendance has actually been good lately, even if special deals like free dining and "buy 4 nights, get 3 free" are responsbile for getting people in the doors. Even though 1st quarter reports showed overall losses for the company and theme park attendance was down 5%, attendance in February was actually up over last year, as are advance bookings through June. Diney's not going anywhere anytime soon. But if job cutbacks continue to be necessary, the CP may not make it, or at least may be scaled back. If forced to choose between temporary college "interns" and unionized senior Cast Members, Disney won't really have much choice. In fact, this past February, the following appeared on Screamscape.com:

According to a Screamscape source Walt Disney World has begin some trimming of their labor force, starting with the Disney College Program / Career Start Program. Disney has begin to contact a good number of individuals who were scheduled to start working at WDW on February 11th and informed them that their offer of employment is being withdrawn due to current staffing needs. The upside is that they are offering them new contracts to come down and work on either May 20th or August 26th instead.

This shows exactly how flexibile those "contracts" Disney has with their CPs are. If necessary, the program could be drastically cut back. So, even though it may not seem like the best time to do the CP, it's better to do it now than risk never getting to do it. Hopefully the program will be around for many, many more years. And also hopefully, I won't be getting an email from Disney like the one described above.

No Escaping Disney...Even for Astrophysicists

After months of thinking, planning, and driving everyone I know crazy talking about the WDWCP, the presentation and interview are finally just around the corner. I received an email this morning from Disney, reminding me about the presentations coming to campus, and there were brochures laying on the counter at Domino's when I got my lunch today in the student union. Disney's everywhere!

So here's the deal: Next Wednesday and Thursday, a recruiter will be doing their presentation on campus (I plan to attend the Wednesday session). At the presentation, I will sign up for an interview time, which usually takes place a couple of days after the presentation and is, unfortunately, conducted over the phone. So I'll probably try to schedule my interview for Friday, after my classes. Then, if all goes according to plan, I should be getting that acceptance letter just a couple of short weeks later!

Then the waiting game will really begin. :)

To keep you, my imaginary, loyal readers occupied while you're biting your nails with anticipation for my next entry, here's a funny news story. See, this is why I love Disney--even astrophysicists and their crazy planet classification systems aren't immune to the company's affect on our culture.

Astrophysicist: Love of Pluto the dog led to fury over planet’s demotion

Quote from the article: In his new book, “The Pluto Files,” [Neil deGrasse] Tyson asserts that Americans’ love for Walt Disney’s Pluto the dog caused the public outrage that greeted the planet’s demotion in classification to a dwarf planet.

Another quote (And the best part of the article): In response to the outcry at the planet’s demotion, the Disney company issued a press release:

Although we think it’s DOPEY that Pluto has been downgraded to a dwarf planet, which has made some people GRUMPY and others just SLEEPY, we are not BASHFUL in saying we would be HAPPY if Disney’s Pluto would join us as the 8th dwarf. We think it’s just what the DOC ordered and it’s nothing to SNEEZE at.

You gotta love Disney. :)