Getting a job at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California is a huge thrill for most anyone.
In fact, with all the job perks and the slogan, “Happiest Place on Earth,” you might find it hard not to love this job.
However, with any working conditions, there are stipulations and consequences that are sometimes too much to stand.
Before you get on board the Disneyland Express and apply for a job at Disney in CA, consider both sides of the coin.
Table of Contents
Pros of Working at Disneyland
1. Free Admission
This has to be the biggest perk for anyone who works at Disneyland in California.
You get free admission for yourself and family or friends who want to come into the theme park.
This includes admission to the park when you, as the employee, are at work, or not.
So you can have friends visit you at work for free while you are working at Disneyland.
This can make your social network more exciting.
2. Fun Costumes
As an employee at Disneyland Resorts in Anaheim, CA, you are required to wear costumery.
This includes dresses or suits but also may involve wearing makeup or a certain hairstyle.
You are responsible for bringing your costumes home and taking care of them.
Essentially, you are a star in Disney when you work for the company.
If you love Bavarian-themed styles, this is the job for you.
3. Latest News on Rides
Everyone loves hearing about Disney’s rides, and when you work at Disneyland, you know about these rides before anyone else.
Be on the alert when your favorite movies are coming to life at the park before the rest of the world when you work for the company.
You get the inside scoop on all the latest happenings and upcoming construction, too.
This can make your life a lot easier when visiting Disneyland when you are not working.
4. Free Parking
Parking is a bugger when you go to Disneyland Resorts.
If you are a visitor to the park, you have to park your vehicle in a large parking garage and get a shuttle inside the actual amusement park.
If you work at the park, your parking area is a lot easier to navigate both in and out of the park.
This can be a huge blessing when you are trying to visit the theme park on your day off since you can avoid the visitor parking deck.
5. Benefits of the Job
As someone who works for Disney, there are ample benefits to working at this company.
Paid leave, vacation time off, and health insurance are some of the job perks workers receive.
Of course, you might have to pay extra for these based on premiums, but at least they are available.
You can save money and improve your health with job benefits at Disneyland.
6. Living in Southern California
When you work for Disneyland Resort in California, you are right there where the sunny SoCal action is–at the happiest place on Earth!
The employees at Disneyland need to be close to their work since the traffic in Los Angeles is so terrible 365 days a year.
That means you also have to live in the southern part of the state, and most likely in LA proper.
As a result, you are living in a highly prestigious region that comes with plenty of other perks, like the beaches.
7. Disney ID Card
Now that you are employed by Disneyland, you finally have that precious Disney ID card that all the other workers sport.
You are officially part of the crew and the gang down there in Anaheim’s park of the century.
See what it feels like to flash your Disney ID pass instead of your driver’s license at the next pub.
It should be exciting, and not everyone can do that, you know!
Cons of Working at Disneyland
1. Seeing All the Mouse Ears
If you are not keen on Rodentia, well then, my friend, Disneyland is not the happiest place to be.
There will be people walking around wearing mouse ears as helmets, and you might, too.
If you do not want to see large furry creatures called Mickey and Minnie Mouse due to a fear of mice, you will struggle to work at Disneyland.
2. Being a Union Worker
When you work at Disneyland Resort, you and 9,499 other workers are part of a union.
As a result, you are going to be part of a collective bargaining agency when it comes to a lot of things about your job.
You might have to strike with the rest of the Mousekeepers in order to get your wages and better benefits.
But it will be worth it, maybe?
For some, being unionized is a breaking point and something worth considering before you apply for a job at Disneyland in California.
3. You May Love Your Job Too Much
To the point where you end up getting cremated and having your ashes spread all over the park.
Or maybe just in the area where they have the Star Wars soldiers marching around.
While this practice is prohibited, as The Wall Street Journal points out, it happens all too often.
This leads to there being a shutdown of the entire park.
But when you work there, you might be so keen on being one of those people that you end up dead, cremated, and spread illegally over the park grounds.
4. You Have to Wear Period Pieces
Those costumes I mentioned already?
Well, they are for sure very much a costume, and you do have to wear this costume to work at Disneyland.
Do not feel like dressing up as a barroom wrench today?
Well, think again, because that is the area of the park where you will be working and wearing that barroom wrench dress.
This can be a struggle if you like to express your independent personality through what you wear.
5. Everyone Will Want Free Tickets
When your friends, family, and neighbors find out you work at Disneyland Resort, you might as well start handing out the Blackout Date Calendar at that very moment.
Everyone will want free tickets, and you will need to know which dates are blacked out and blocked off from these free passes.
In fact, once you start working at Disneyland, you will wonder who pays for a full-price ticket anymore after seeing how many people expect free tickets.
6. You Must Deal With Los Angeles Traffic
Now that you are living and working in LA, the traffic will most likely be the worst thing you face for a while.
The highways and byways are always jammed, and therefore getting to Disneyland Resort for work can be a struggle.
Traffic jams aside, you must do this daily.
It is not going to be a vacation anymore, after about week four when your full-time career at Disney comes at you full force.
7. Everyone is Going to Gawk at You
When you are pumping gas in your Disneyland attire, everyone will stare.
If you go anywhere wearing a pair of mouse ears, they will all know that you work at Disney.
There are rules in place to prevent you from walking around Walmart dressed in your costume from work, but you will still smell like Disneyland when you leave.
As this is the happiest place on earth, as they say, everyone will also expect you to suddenly be a happier camper.
It does not happen like that, so everyone will gawk at you and wonder what is going to happen next.
Suddenly, by working at Disneyland, you become a piece of Disney.
Pros and Cons of Working at Disneyland – Summary Table
| Pros of Working at Disneyland | Cons of Working at Disneyland |
|---|---|
| 1. Free Admission | 1. Seeing All the Mouse Ears |
| 2. Fun Costumes | 2. Being a Union Worker |
| 3. Latest News on Rides | 3. You May Love Your Job Too Much |
| 4. Free Parking | 4. You Have to Wear Period Pieces |
| 5. Benefits of the Job | 5. Everyone Will Want Free Tickets |
| 6. Living in Southern California | 6. You Must Deal With Los Angeles Traffic |
| 7. Disney ID Card | 7. Everyone is Going to Gawk at You |
Should You Work at Disneyland?
Free tickets aside, there are plenty of other perks for working at Disneyland Resort.
The location of Anaheim in Los Angeles in Southern California is enough of a draw to get everyone to submit a resume.
However, once you are working in the park resort, the amusements become a chore and you lose a bit of that vacationing charm.
The magic will still be there thanks to the free tickets and the costumes you get to wear.
In fact, you might find yourself ready for retirement in just a couple of decades, and you will not even feel like you are at work, but in a magical wonderland.
So yes, you should work at Disneyland Resort if you are given the opportunity.
My kids asked me why I don’t work at Disneyland since it is more fun to work there than in an office and I explained to them this and they said it is okay because they will be getting free tickets too since they are my kids. Anyway, thanks for this post!
I am thinking of working at Disneyland, I here’d you can not have different hair color like purple blue extra.. is this true?.