Theme parks are being flooded with applications from job seekers, as unemployed mortgage agents, sales clerks and construction workers who can’t find work elsewhere seek temporary positions that often pay little more than minimum wage.

A job fair at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia last weekend drew 1,600 people — in the rain. Universal Studios Hollywood took in more than 1,100 job applications on just one day last month. Disneyland in Anaheim and Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park have received so many job applications that they put off plans to hold jobs fairs this year.

In the past, summer jobs at theme parks were often the path for teenagers and college students to get their first paycheck, doing such tasks as playing Goofy, Snow White and other costumed characters at Disneyland or running roller coasters at Magic Mountain. But with the unemployment rate in California at 12.4%, the parks are now getting applications from people with years of work experience.

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