[Pluto2000]

Walt Disney treating his employees bad ?
Some of my friends were talking about it and i thought that wasn't like hime ??

[rshenry]

My husbands friend has worked at WDW for a really long time now as a manager. He appears to really like it.

[WishUponAStar]

I will just say that from anyone I met who worked at WDW, or DL for that matter, the consensus I've made is that's managers and higher-ups seem to always have great things to say and have been generally happy. As much as I love Disney with all my being I have to admit that anyone I've met that was hourly always complained; rotten schedules, low hourly wages, managers NOT understanding, etc...

I had the opportunity to meet a lot of WDW cast members when I was in college in Florida, etc. I've never worked for Disney personally, but I guess everything had to be taken with a grain of salt.

[ddoll]

I think what the OP is asking about is Walt himself historically, not the corporate machine today.

And I have read about how very harsh he was with his employees: not the fatherly image we have of him at all.

[WishUponAStar]

Oh, I am sorry. I TOTALY mis-read that. Yeah, I don't know, I've heard varied stories. Not sure it would be that easy to find any information in print. I am sure most is just rumor, or stories, on the internet. Unfortunately I have heard some unkind stories too but a lot of what I heard could have been "the times" and taken out of context now in 2006.

[ingamba]

I have read that he challenged his employees. He saw their potential even if they themselves couldn't.

There is one story in particular that I vaguely recall reading. He asked Xavier Anastacio to come up with lyrics for the Haunted Mansion attraction. Now X was an animator and had no experience with writing lyrics, or with music at all. But Walt saw that he had it in him, so he put him to the challenge.

Anastacio ended up writing "Grim Grinning Ghosts" from that challenge.

[WishUponAStar]

Originally Posted by ingamba

I have read that he challenged his employees. He saw their potential even if they themselves couldn't.

There is one story in particular that I vaguely recall reading. He asked Xavier Anastacio to come up with lyrics for the Haunted Mansion attraction. Now X was an animator and had no experience with writing lyrics, or with music at all. But Walt saw that he had it in him, so he put him to the challenge.

Anastacio ended up writing "Grim Grinning Ghosts" from that challenge.

Well seeing potential in employees and challenging them certainly isn't "mean," I think that is expected leadership skills for any "boss." I know it was a vague inquiry but I assumed Pluto2000 was referring to some more controversial and nowadays unacceptable practices, but I could be wrong b/c I misread it in the first place. haha.

[dznygrl]

From what I've read, Walt challenged his employees and never accepted anything less than "the best". Sometimes his employees didn't even know their own potential until Walt forced them to discover it.

I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Because on the other hand, he also knew how important his employees were (especially when Disneyland opened and he hired all the people who worked directly with the public) and he was known for being a great motivator. He made his employees proud of their jobs and their work.

I wish the company was still like that today. But they have so many people working for them, there's no such thing as having a single "boss" like Walt. So unfortunately as a CM you're at the mercy of the grapevine and the perception of power-hungry managers. It can be win or lose. It makes for some miserable working conditions sometimes.

[Pluto2000]

Thank you !
Sorry I have not been on lately ! thanks !
Yeah i did origanly mean walt disney himself !