Week 2 – Diving Deeper into the Jungle

Day 7: Sunday June 19th

Today was my second paid day of work, and my second day of classroom training at Disney University. The day split into two classes, welcome to operations and welcome to merchentainment. Essentially it was just a day of sitting in classrooms talking about the four keys again. Although we did get to do some exercising with Andy as he taught us about our red and green zones. After all, safeD begins with me. After class, my roommates and I headed back to the apartment to change clothes, so that we could spend the evening in the Magic Kingdom.

Day 8: Monday June 20th

It’s DAKlimation Day!! I finally got to have my first day of work at Animal Kingdom. Today was more of classroom learning followed by an onstage and backstage tour of DAK. We learned about the history and the future of DAK, and the stories told throughout Animal Kingdom. During, our tour we got to ride Kilimanjaro Safari, and it was one the best safaris I have ever been on. There were so many animals out, and they were super close to the safari vehicle. There was one point where I could have touched a giraffe if they would have let me. At the end of the day we headed over to Animal Kingdom costuming to get our costumes, and of course Dinoland has 3 costumes so it took me extra long to get all 3 of my costumes to fit appropriately.

Day 9: Tuesday  June 21st

Today was the first day I got to wear my lovely Chester and Hester costume to work. It was my tier 1 training day and it was a pretty easy day. The day started with some online training videos, and concluded with an onstage and backstage tour of Dinoland. I got to meet some of our coworkers and leaders, and see the place I would be working for the next 7 months.

Day 10: Wednesday June 22nd

This was the final day of classroom training, and the first time I would touch a Disney register. The merchentainment class was about 5 hours long, and we learned all about the POS system, counting the Disney way, and what kind of currency to accept. We also learned about loss prevention and counterfeit money. After class, my one roommate and I went to Cast Connections the discount store exclusively for cast members. It was the longest bus ride of my life as it took us almost an hour to get there, but only like 15-20 minutes to get home. Then we met up with my other roommates at DAK to experience nighttime at Animal Kingdom for the first time. We saw the last showing for the Lion King that day, and got to sit in the lion section. I was very excited about this because I had never sat in that section before. Then, we rode Everest multiple times, and in my opinion Expedition Everest is a million times better in the dark. We also did the nighttime safari, saw Jungle Book, and watched the Tree of Life awaken. The nighttime safari is okay. The animals are kind of hard to see, and the spotlights are super bright. The Jungle Book Alive with Magic we saw was not good. We went to the 10:30 PM showing and we ended up leaving early. Half of the dancers were missing, and the show itself does not compare to other Disney nighttime spectaculars.However, the Tree of Life Awakens is amazing. I don’t know how Disney gets those animals on the tree to look like they’re moving, but it is so cool.

Day 11: Thursday June 23rd

Thursday was one of my 2 days off this week, so I slept in a little bit. In the afternoon we headed over to Epcot since it was the only park I had not been too yet. We waited forever in line for Test Track only to be evacuated from the line due to the ride malfunctioning. They did give us fastpasses though. We then headed over to the World Showcase for a bit before coming back to ride test track. After the ride, we headed over to Hollywood Studios to grab dinner and watch the Star Wars fireworks, and they are AMAZEBALLS. I don’t even really like Star Wars and I love everything about this nighttime spectacular.

Day 12: Friday June 24th

Today was my final day off for the week, and we went to the outlet mall to check out Character Warehouse, the Disney outlet store, and do some retail therapy. They had the Dumbo coffee mug so of course I had to buy it. I even found a tote at Vera Bradley in the pattern I love.

Day 13: Saturday June 25th

This was my tier 3 training day, and my first day of training that actually took place in Dinoland. There were three of us with our trainer so all we took turns using the register. We spent the day working at all four carts in Dinoland and in Chester’s and Hester’s. It was a pretty easy day for the most part.

Week 1 – Once Upon a Time

Day 1: Monday June 13th

Today was the big day! I was finally going to begin my journey as a DCPer. My check-in time at vista was not until 1:30, and they would not let me check-in a minute early. Trust me, I tried. When it finally came time to actually check-in, it was over in a matter of minutes. I received my program guide, my apartment key, and my housing ID. An hour after check-in it was time for casting. Casting is where I found out where I will be spending much of my time for the next seven months. Then after you get your work location, you fill out your tax papers and get fingerprinted. The last section of casting is all about Disney look. After casting, my dad and I went to millers ale house followed by shopping for home goods and groceries. The rest of night was spent getting to know my roommates and unpacking.

Day 2: Tuesday June 14th

We had our housing meeting over at the Commons, where they explain all the rules and ins and outs of living in DCP housing. My roommate Megan and I went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge because that’s where Megan is going to be working for her program. While we were there we stopped in to Mara, the quick service restaurant in Jambo House, and  of course ate Zebra Domes.  We then went to Walmart to get a few more groceries and home goods. My dad dropped Megan and I back off at Vista. We went back to unpacking, and ended our night with a super late night final run to Walmart. 

 

Day 3: Wednesday June 15th 

Since we still did not have access parks some of my roommates and I went to check out the  Polynesian, my favorite Disney resort. We walked around and explored the lobby and the beach.  Of course I had to get a Dole Whip while we were there, and then we sat on the beach and watched Wishes.

 

Day 4: Thursday June 16th

Today my roommates and I went to see Disney’s Boardwalk Resort and the surrounding resorts. We went to have a sweet treat at the recently opened Ample Hills Creamery. I enjoyed the flavor Sally Sells Seashells, which is the exclusive flavor made for Disney’s Boardwalk. Sally Sells Seashells is described by Ample Hills as a “fresh and fluffy orange marshmallow ice cream with housemade salty chocolate seashells”. After our sweet treat we took a trip over to the Contemporary in order to watch Wishes from their balcony.

 

Day 5: Friday June 17th 

Today is the day! It is Traditions day! After today I can begin calling myself a cast member. Traditions is essentially an introduction to being a cast member. You get to learn about the four keys and hear stories of magical moments from other cast members. You get to head over to the Magic Kingdom and watch the four keys in action. Since this is Florida, it poured while my class was at Magic Kingdom and we all ended up looking like drowned rats. After we got back to the classroom at Disney University the boss man, Mickey Mouse dropped by and delivered everyone’s name tags. This is the day I also got my coveted blue ID which meant it was time to play in the parks. After a trip back to Vista Way and a quick change of clothes, I was back at the Magic Kingdom to watch the new castle stage show, Mickey’s Friendship Faire.
After the stage show, we headed over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios to meet up with some other friends. Since we were at Studios of course we capped off the night with Fantasmic.

 

Day 6: Saturday June 18th

Some of my roommates started their training today and others of us did not. Those of us that did not have training packed up and headed out to enjoy a day full of magic at the most magical place on Earth, the Magic Kingdom. We walked in just as the Festival of Fantasy parade was coming down Main Street. At night, I finally got to watch Wishes from Main Street for the first time as DCPer.

 

 

 

 

Have a Magical Day ♥,
Cinderella Skywalker

Find Me Where The Wild Things Are

If you haven’t heard by now, I have been hanging out over in Dinoland at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I had never heard the story behind Dinoland USA until I actually started working there. The story is that some Paleontologists discovered dinosaur bones near Chester and Hester’s gas station. So the elderly couple decided to capitalize on this historical opportunity. They built Chester and Hester’s Dino-Rama in their gas station  parking lot, and they turned their gas station into a store. Of course they needed cheap labor to work over in Dino-Rama, thus they hired their family members. So over in Dinoland we are all cousins.

Therefore, “Howdy cousins” and “Have a wild day” are now two sayings that have become part of my common vernacular. Dinoland is full of wonderful people, and it has been a lot of fun working there. I get to work over in the merchandise store at the Institute where guests travel back in time as they experience the Dinosaur attraction. I also work over in the 5 carnival style games in the middle of Dino-Rama, at Chester’s and Hester’s merchandise store, and the 5 merchandise carts spread throughout Dinoland. Sometimes I even stand on a bridge and greet guests. Dinoland is full of energy, and most of the time while I am working it feels more like playing.
Have a Magical Day ♥,
Cinderella Skywalker

It’s the Night Before Check-In…

This is our second night in Orlando and tomorrow is the day that I can finally start my DCP. I check in at 1:30 tomorrow, and I will be living in Vista Way. Hopefully, I get to live in one of the renovated apartments, and hopefully, I get to live with wonderful roommates.

About an hour after check-in, I have to go to casting where I will finally find out where I will be working for the next seven months. Since I have had months to dream about my work location, I have decided the best place to work would be on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, and the worst place would be the tiny old film store at the TTC. You could work there and watch everyone who walks by you go to the Magic Kingdom while you get to stay at the TTC. Sounds terrible, right?

Someone on Facebook gave me some vague insider information about my location about two weeks ago. They told me my location is not a bad location and I will have good hours. See what I mean by vague? A good location could be a busy location so time goes by quickly, or it could be a slow location so the work is easy. Also, good hours could mean a lot of hours, so again a hot location, or it could mean something that is not open to late giving me time to play in the parks after work. With this new secret insider information, I guessed my location was World of Disney at Disney Springs. It is not a bad location, but it’s not great because it’s not in a park. Also, it would be good hours because it has long operating hours. My dad guessed working at one of the water parks, and in my opinion this is a better guess.  Again not a great location because it is not in one of the main four parks, and good hours because they typically are not open past seven or eight giving me time to play in the parks in after work. The truth will be revealed in a little more than 12 hours.

Now it is time to dream of all the possibilities.

Have a Magical Day ♥,
Cinderella Skywalker

My DCP Application Process

My application process started on March 10th, when I submitted the initial online application. This was my third time applying for the program. I applied both my Freshmen and Sophomore years of college as well. The third time is always the charm. Within 24 hours of applying, I was offered a Web-Based Interview.

I had never gotten past the Web-Based Interview before but was bound and determined to make it to the Phone Interview this time. I googled some tips on how to get past the WBI, and this is what I found…

Tips for Web-Based Interview

• If you are going to agree or disagree then always go strongly
  • Try not to put neutral on more than a few questions
• Disney is going to ask you the same questions more than one way
• If you are not a people person, then you are now
• You like a clean work space
• You are always on time
• You are the hardest worker they’re ever going to see
• You love teamwork and group projects

Try as best as you can to answer like a Disney employee, and you should do fine. After they email you and tell you that you have been selected for a WBI, you will have 3 days to complete the WBI. I was offered a WBI on March 11th and completed it on March 13th. Again, within 24 hours of submission, I was offered a Telephone Interview. Once more, you only have 3 days to schedule and complete your Phone Interview.

There is a lot of information out there for the DCP Phone Interviews. I found multiple pages with tons of possible questions that you could be asked. Honestly, I feel like I prepared more for the WBI than the Phone Interview. Two of the suggestions that I used were to complete the interview in front of a mirror and to come up with a couple of questions to ask the interviewer even if you don’t think you have any. If you complete the interview in front of a mirror supposedly it is supposed to help you smile more and, it certainly made me feel more comfortable on the phone. Asking questions to your interviewer shows him/her that you are interested and want to know more. Another note in regards to the phone interview is that everything is scheduled in Florida time. So if you live in a different timezone, like I do, keep that in mind. I completed my interview the night of March 16th.

The interviewer I had was really nice, and our conversation lasted about 15 to 20 minutes. She did not ask me any questions about the position that I was ultimately selected for. I was asked basic questions about why I wanted to work for Disney, about my previous work experience, about living with roommates, and if I was comfortable with the Florida weather and living so far away from home. I was also asked questions specifically for the Transportation and Attraction positions. I did not think the interview was bad at all. I felt really comfortable talking to my interviewer, and answered all of her questions honestly and easily. At the end of our conversation, she told me decisions would be made by April 15th, and then the waiting game began.

I got my acceptance/congratulatory email from Disney  on April 7th. I had been accepted for Fall Advantage 2016, which would run from Mid May/Early June through the end of the calendar year, and I was given a Merchandise Position. After you are accepted you have 7 days to accept the offer, pay your fee, and pick your program dates. I easily and quickly accepted the offer, but when I went to pay my fee, I could not get a temporary password for DORMS. I had to email tech support for help, and since I emailed them on a Thursday night, my problem was not resolved until Monday morning because the offices are closed over the weekend. This is a common problem from what I hear, so if it happens to you try not to panic. They will resolve the issue within two business days, and email you when its ready. Once that issue was resolved, I was able to pay the $354.5o nonrefundable fee and select my program dates. When I went to select my dates there was only one option left for me to choose from, so my program dates became June 13, 2016 through January 5, 2017.   

As of right now I have 57 days until check-in day, and I get more and more excited everyday. 

Thanks for reading my first blog post! If you have any questions or comments about the application process please do not hesitate to ask. I feel like my application process was rather easy and short compared to others.

Never give up trying and keep thinking magical thoughts!

Have a Magical Day ♥,
Cinderella Skywalker