I've heard... things... about people who survive the Disney training process but are released into the workforce after failing to thrive. I posted another lunatic like this a few months ago who was fired from the Haunted Mansion for being TOO creepy.

I have a pretty close friend who spent a few years in California Adventure, and he told me there was a serious and worrying period of deprogramming he had to force himself to go through when he quit. His main concern was his inability to NOT make eye contact. He feels compelled to make eye contact with everybody he can and if he's in a case where people are avoiding his gaze or there's too many to handle, he gets very paranoid and suspicious. Worse still, he decided to move to Tokyo, so it's a fairly heinous problem for him.

My favorite Disney survivors are the ancillary people in the dependent tourist industries in the area that aren't specifically under Disney's employ. One of my best, best friends was an Anaheim taxi driver for a decade. He's working on his doctorate and feels like it was a mistake, because he was making more money as a Disneyland taxi driver than he'll ever make as a professor, and it affects his self-esteem A LOT.

This person will likely fall into publicity and/or marketing work. She has a solid grasp of superficially criticizing her former employer, while hopefully parlaying her YouTube channel's success into a job where she can more effectively keep real-world problems at bay.

So, there's this little thing called "Muppet Volunteer Day". Anybody who can provide proof that they've volunteered for 60 hours or more within the previous year may come to a Disney park for free, and be feted with Muppet themed events. I am definitely not against this, it seems like a great way to get people interested in volunteering.

Volunteer day would seem slightly more honest if ran by company not linked to child or slave labor practices (sometimes both at the same time).

At least now there's a black Disney princess to offset all of that.

I *suspect* it was part of a deal with the Henson estate or something. There's something really weird about it that I can't quite put my finger on. It seems out of character for Disney, generally.

Okay, you're right, that Muppet day thing sounds awesome. Help out at a soup kitchen, then hang out with Fozzie. I like it.

The problem with the Muppet thing is that you would still have to go to a Disney park.

Lip movements and gestures don't quite sync with the audio.

Which is not to say that "Disney performer" isn't a self-selecting group of weirdos, too. But it is brutal work.