If you think someone should make more money, feel free to hand them a check instead of insisting it's someone else's responsibility. Any takers?
When I was in college, I was full-time the entire time. I was able to load my schedule on Tuesdays/Thursdays only for 6 semesters. I literally had 5 days off. So yes, I could've worked at Disney at 10 AM on a Wednesday as a full-time college student. There are arrangements and flexibility---I was fortunate to avoid the monotonous 8-5 M-F rat race for most of my working career everyone else seemed content to be trapped in. People think I'm crazy for working days/nights/holidays/weekends. I think they're crazy working 40 years looking forward to only 2 days off a week, and every time they go out it's when everyone else is so it's crowded.
Regardless, Disney has a massive benefit that's not considered here: free and heavily subsidized entertainment. To work at Disney, you may be sacrificing a higher salary/wage (OR---maybe NOT because Disney is your best option)...however, in exchange your entertainment cost is zero. Say you worked at another company and pulled $10k more, but you want to go to Disney. Suddenly, you're paying thousands in tickets/passes for your family. And that's a one-time deal. If you work at Disney, you literally can go to the parks many times a year when you're off.
Disney workers get free entry. That's worth something. Don't forget when you pay to enter Disney, it's with after-tax dollars. So a $100 ticket is worth, what, $150 in gross wages? Disney workers also get deep discounts on food/merchandise/hotels. 50% off hotels, 20% off merchandise...so if you live in Orlando, don't work at Disney, but want to stay a week on property, your $10,000 higher salary elsewhere is wiped out. Because that $10k is taxed, and you're paying full price for everything.
There are plenty of scenarios where people are happier or willing to take a lower wage for the joy and benefits. I'm blessed to be in a position where my spouse doesn't work, and hasn't had to for 8 years. In exchange for a $0 salary, she enjoys being with the kids more and taking them to do things at 2 PM on a weekday where it's not crowded. Eventually the kids move out. If I lived in Orlando, should could easily choose to work at Disney. The salary she received would be just gravy for the family budget, but the savings in entertainment/vacationing would be huge. There are plenty of households where 1) they only need one income or 2) one income gets them 2/3rds of the way there. So yes, the other spouse can work for less than the breadwinner while pulling huge benefits like free/heavily subsidized vacations/entertainment.
