Happiest Place on Earth?

This past week has been incredibly difficult. I almost walked out of the job one of the days. I honestly didn't care that I would be blowing my chances at having Disney on my resume. I just lost all of my patience. I can't seem to do anything right.

Lately a lot of new people have been training to become leads (the people who get to boss us around) and as a result, all of the rules need to be followed as closely as possible. They are watching us like hawks - especially the rookies.

I have been feeling like I am always being watched - and they only point out what I do wrong. I don't do my stretching in the right place, I use the wrong jokes, my boat is too slow, I don't wear my costume right... And the thing that set me off was when the lead quizzed me about what time the park closes - just to see if I knew the answer. Thank God I did, because if I didn't, I know I would have been ripped up and down for doing THAT incorrectly too.

Working in elementary schools has spoiled me because I'm accustomed to people using constructive criticism and occasionally pointing out when I do something right. That doesn't happen here. Ever. They only let you know when you're doing something wrong.

There are a couple of really great leads that take the time to answer my questions and give me hints that I'm on the right track, but there are twice as many leads who barely take the time to say good morning or make eye contact.

Recently there have been a few guests that take the time to talk to my lead and let them know how much they enjoyed their tour. I have to admit that I eavesdrop on the conversation...I am not aware of this because the leads tell me. If I hadn't overheard the conversation, I wouldn't know that I am doing anything right. I think if I were in a school setting - the principal would let me know about something like that.

[Shout out to Chris, Janis, Dora, and Amy, who all let me know that they actually read my blog!]

I guess I'm just frustrated with the conflict of interest I have been experiencing. Disney makes sure that their cast members are always at their best when interacting with guests. But if Disney were to really get to the root of the issue, they should dig further to make sure that the cast members are being treated with the same amount of attention and concern.

Disney would be the happiest place on earth if I felt like they actually cared about me as a cast member. All they have to do is point out something I'm doing right for once instead of everything I'm doing wrong.