- CP Q&A - Nicole: Recreation at the Boardwalk Community Hall

In this CP Q&A Nicole discusses her role on the Spring 2007 program, where she worked in recreation at Disney's Boardwalk Inn. 

Q: What made you want to do the Disney College Program?
A: Ever since I was little, it was a dream of mine to work at Walt Disney World. My family always vacationed at WDW and I was a true Disney kid through and through. In 7th grade, I found out about the Disney College Program and spent time online researching as much as I could about it. I always kept it in the back of my mind as I got older. In 2005 my parents bought into the Disney Vacation Club and we started vacationing at the World more often. I just realized how much I really wanted the opportunity to be a cast member and make magic for people. Because my college would not allow me to do the program for credit and would have made me take a leave from school for the semester I chose not to do it. I thought my chance was gone and I wasn't going to be able to go. Luckily, I found out that I could do the program the semester after I graduated which is what I wound up doing!

Q: What was your role? Was it your first choice? If not, what was?
A: I was a recreation hostess and worked at the Boardwalk Community Hall! Recreation was my first choice and I specifically requested to work at a resort community hall and in children's activities. I had previously worked with in a preschool throughout college and knew I would love the opportunity to work with kids again, so that seemed like the perfect role. I was so glad to get exactly what I had requested. 

Q: What was your training like?
A: Training for my role and location was pretty basic compared to a lot of other roles. I had the recreation core classes at Disney University, Ballyhoo (the Boardwalk location orientation), and then 3 days of training at the actual Boardwalk Community Hall. There was one day for each shift: open, breaker, and close. At the community hall, we had a schedule of arts/crafts and I had to learn the prices for everything we offered, as well as the supplies we needed for them. We also did bike rentals, movie rentals, and life jacket rentals, which required learning a spiel and different rates for DVC members/non-members. Because we had cash handling, I needed to learn how to use MATRA and to bank out. For opening, I basically had to prep the hall for the day, including counting out my drawer, checking in any movies that had been returned the night beforehand, setting up the different game consoles that we had, and setting up the tables with paper if the closer did not have time to do it the night before. For breaker, I was basically there in the middle of the day to give the opener and closer their breaks. As closer, you have to count out your register after the opener closes their bank, call to remind everyone checking out the next day that they must return their movies and life jackets or they will be charged for them, and at the end of the night, tell guests when it is closing time and shut down everything for the night. Pretty simple!

Q: What were the best parts of your role?
A: My favorite part of my role was interacting with the guests, especially the kids. I had a blast hanging out with kids while they were doing their crafts, or playing ping-pong/air hockey with them, and asking them about their favorite parts of their trip so far. I had several guests from the UK who vacations at the Boardwalk for 2-4 weeks at a clip and it was fun to spend so much time with them. We also had a lot of DVC families that lived close by and came to visit multiple times while I was on my program. It was always fun to see them and for them to remember me! I had amazing co-workers, who I loved dearly. If it was a slow day at the community hall, we made our own fun, singing along with the Disney movies being shown on our big TV, or reciting the lines to each episode of Hannah Montana since we had seen them so many times. I also liked that my coordinators and managers gave us a lot of freedom and even allowed input from me, since I was only on the college program. Because of that, I was able to help plan the new schedule of activities for the CH, made a scavenger hunt activity for guests at the resort, and helped my coworkers plan holiday parties with special arts and crafts, games, and snacks for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Q: The worst?
A: Though it only happened a couple of times, the worst part was getting yelled at by guests, always for something that I either didn't do or had no control over, such as the pools being closed due to lightning in the area.

Q: Would you recommend this role to a friend?
A: I would absolutely recommend a role at a community hall and children's activities to a friend! I had a blast working at the Boardwalk Community Hall and I seriously miss it like crazy. There are days I would give anything to be able to go back to working there. Because recreation has so many different roles/locations under its umbrella, people applying to the college program should know that they could also be doing something like water slide operations, handing out wrist bands/towels at a resort pool, working at a resort marina, or working in a spa/fitness center. If you're interested in working at a community hall and/or doing children's activities (like the childcare centers or activities/games out by the pool), make sure to specify that with your recruiter!

Q: What advice do you have for new CPs in this role?
A: Working in a community hall and doing children's activities is such a fun role and it really has a lot of opportunity for some great guest interactions. You will get to meet people from all over the country and world and have a chance to talk to them. You may think that you don't have a lot of opportunities for Magical Moments, but we were able to do fun things like free bike rentals, mixing up the pool games/activities for some extra fun and more winners, calling Mickey and the other characters for birthday and anniversary greetings on the phone, and other little things that people really appreciated. Most of the time, people are really relaxed and taking some time away from the parks when visiting your location, so you have a lot of opportunities to chat about how their vacation ha been and share tips on favorite rides, places to eat, and more. Take advantage of that!

Q: What are you up to now?
A: I'm back in NJ and work in my town's school district in a grades 4 and 5 special education classroom. 

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- CP Q&A - Becca: Fairy Godmother in Training at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

This CP Q&A is with Becca, who worked as a Fairy Godmother in Training at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, at both Downtown Disney, and the Magic Kingdom!

A FGiT is a Fairy Godmother in Training at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. This a highly competitive role to get into as a College Programmer because there are limited spots and Disney looks for specific skill sets for this role. It helps to be looked at for this role if there is some form of Hair/Make-Up experience on an applicants resume. Some girls did get this role with no experience of either but had very good children/theatre skills. Don't be discouraged though, if an applicant is passionate about getting into the boutique, it will show! And unfortunately, there are no Fairy Godfathers in Training here. 

Q: What made you want to do the Disney College Program?
A: I heard about the program a bunch of times from a variety of friends but never thought about applying until my mom told me to look more into it. In Fall 2011, I was at a stall in my life where I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do and couldn't waste more money taking classes that wouldn't be useful in the long run. I ended up doing two programs (Spring 2012 and right after graduation in Spring 2014).

Q: What was your role and location? Was it your first choice?
A: For both of my programs, I had the privilege of being a FGiT. It was my first choice and the best choice for me. There are two locations that you can be placed in (Downtown Disney in World of Disney and Magic Kingdom in Cinderella's Castle). I was lucky to be statused at both (DTD my first program and MK for my second) but there is a high possibility of deployment as well if the other location needs it. 

Q: What was the training like?
A.The training is very extensive but so much fun. Most of the girls who become FGiTs have had hair experience, or make up experience so the first two days are spent working with doll heads in a back room with your trainer (one on one training usually) and might be with another trainer and her trainee. Then it's two days working with your trainer on the floor watching her work on real little girls until she thinks you're ready to work on a princess' hairstyle. The last day is Podium training and learning how to check Royal Families into the boutique. 

At the castle, there are 4 different positions that can be pulled from CDS (computer system): 3 podium positions, and Chair positions. If podium is pulled, then you are scheduled to stay there for the whole entire shift and same with Chair. Chair positions is when a FGiT does hair on a princess or prince. 

At Downtown Disney, there are two Podium FGiTs and then the rest are Chairs. A magical experience that DTD or Disney Springs has is a Window Chair. There is a window display in the front of Princess Hall in World of Disney that a Princess can be transformed there instead. Some princess loved this but some were also too shy to want to get transformed up there. 

Q: What were the best things about your role?
A:The best part of being a FGiT is having the chance to make a little girls wish come true. It's a completely magical experience and being able to make so many magical moments happen was really the best. I still remember my most magical princesses and the times I had with them. I once had a princess who had an appointment the first day of her vacation and then was able to get a walk up appointment at the end of her vacation. Princess Sarah got the same exact hairstyle and her mom allowed her to do it again because I apparently made such an impact on the little girl that they wouldn't have any other FGiT do Princess Sarah's hair again.

And being able to create a magical moment off the clock in normal clothes for another Princess was also a highlight of my program and the family's vacation (back when Rapunzel was first released, her dress was very popular and the boutique didn't have any in stock. We lost 4 reservations because of this but a group of FGiTs was able to make the littlest one into a Princess after hours and had a really fun Photoshoot with her as well).

Q: The worst?
A: The worst part of this role would be the long hours (normal would be 12-13 hour shifts and getting about 45 hour work weeks), and the ability to get sick easily (FGiTs literally get right up into little kids faces in this role). There was at least one FGiT who was sick at all times and it's hard to not call out and get reprimands in this role. Another downside of this role is the possibility of Lice (FGiTs call it Pumba). This will be covered extensively in training but essentially If a FGiT sees a princess with lice in the early stages of the transformation, the transformation is then stopped by a leader. It is potential harm to a FGiT and Disney does really care about protecting their employees. After the princess gets sent on her way (she still gets to take everything home and doesn't pay for it), the FGiT has to go to costuming and get a new costume to change into while the station has to be cleaned down. 

Q: Would you recommend this role to a friend?
A: ABSOLUTELY. It really is such a magical role and we think it's almost better than being entertainment (not to brag but it's true). There is a story behind the role just like Characters, but as a FGiT, we got to be ourselves and be remembered as ourselves. 

Q: What advice would you give to new CPs in this role?
A: My biggest advice is to be Magical. You are there to make everything magical for the Royal Families while you are there and you can't have your personal life get in the way (it's hard but you have to do it sometimes). 

Q: What are you up to now?
I am currently working in Recruiting for government programs. I miss Disney a lot and hopefully I will be back very soon

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Q&A from the Spring 2016 Facebook Group

With applications currently out for the Spring 2016 DCP, it's the perfect time to answer some more questions from the next season's Facebook group!

Q: Tips for the WBI? (web based interview)
A: Have a calm, and quiet environment. Because the interview is timed, any distraction could make you miss questions, which might ultimate cause you to fail the WBI. Read each question carefully, answer it, and move on. Again because it is timed, you really don't have time to second guess yourself. Go with your gut feeling, and move on to the next question. I honestly think it's okay to answer the WBI with what you think they want to hear, as there are only certain combinations of responses that will get you through to the phone interview. Just make sure your answers are consistent. The WBI tries to trick you by asking the same questions worded differently to see if you put the same answer. For instance there could be the statements: "I am never late to work," and "I am always on time." You'd want to make sure you answer Strongly Agree for both questions, even though they're about the same thing and one uses "never" and one uses "always." Also stick to using "Strongly Agree" and "Strongly Disagree," and avoid the more middle options unless you're really unsure.

Q: What are some tips for the phone interview?
A: SMILE. I know that sounds absolutely insane because the recruiter can't see you, but they can tell in your voice if you sound excited or not. Even if you feel weird smiling while talking on the phone alone, just do it, because it really will come across in the way your personality sounds over the phone. One way to prepare for the interview would be to review the Four Keys. (Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency.) The Four Keys are the basis of everything Disney does in training their questions, and if they ask you any situation-based questions during the interview you can use them to better evaluate the scenario and answer the question. Also know that you will more than likely be asked why you want to do the college program. Make sure you have a good answer for this question, simply saying "I just really like Disney" isn't going to cut it. In my interview I talked about why I thought working in the parks would be a great personal experience, and how great the Disney name would look on my resume. My last tip is to be honest. Even though you're probably tempted to just say what you think they want to hear, be honest, especially when answering questions about your preference for work environment. During my first phone interview, I was asked (in this order) "Are you comfortable handling large amounts of cash?" followed by "Are you comfortable spieling over a microphone to guests?" At the time, I thought that this combination of questions meant that they were basically asking "Would you be comfortable working in either merchandise or attractions?" As you may know, I ended up being placed in Dinoland merchandise, meaning I was selling merchandise and spieling while running the carnival games. While I don't regret working in Dinoland, it was the last place I wanted to work, and looking back I feel like they were gauging out how this would go during the phone interview when they asked me those questions, and that might be why I was placed there. 

Q: You're the author of "Brittany Earns Her Ears?" I heard you're working on a second book, is that true?
A: I did write "Brittany Earns Her Ears!" It's one of the books in the Earning Your Ears series, which is published by Theme Park Press. The books are basically memoirs of different journeys on the Disney College Program, and I am currently working on a second book! The second book is going to be a continuation of the first, where I'll be writing about my second college program, working at Lights, Motors, Action! and Fantasmic! My fiance also participated in the Spring 2015 program, working in Main Street Custodial, so there will be some information about his role as well. I'm really excited about the second book and can't wait for you all to read it!

Q: Do you have any tips for Florida humidity and my hair?
A: Honestly, no. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but there's nothing you can do, especially if your hair is thick and frizzy anyway. When I first moved to Florida I tried everything, and I found that the only real solution is to wear it completely up in a bun (and still deal with the little side frizzies that happen) or braid it, there's no other way. Even if you find some great product to put in your hair, you'll sweat at work and it will frizz around your face, or it will rain for fifteen minutes and your hair will be ruined for the rest of the day. Buns and headbands became my best friends in Florida, and it's honestly better to just accept your fate that the humidity is not going to be good for you hair. 

Q: Tips for finding roommates?
A: Find them on Facebook, so you know them ahead of time, and you can figure out who is bringing what so you don't show up with six TVs, but also be super picky. Just because someone likes your favorite movies doesn't mean they'll be great to live with. Ask the more important questions like how messy they are, if they like to party, how they are about cleaning the kitchen... And creep their Facebooks. You can learn a lot about people from creeping their Facebook pages. My biggest piece of advice here is don't be afraid to back out of a roommate situation before you fill out the paperwork together. If something in your gut is telling you it's not going to work out well, trust your gut, and apologize and let them know you need to find different roommates. It's much easier to get out of this situation over the internet than to deal with roommates you don't get along with in person.

Q: I know you worked in attractions at a couple of shows, were you disappointed that you weren't at a ride? How was it different?
A: When I first found out I'd be at LMA (Lights, Motors, Action) I was honestly kind of disappointed because I wanted a ride. After I started working however, I realized that working a show can be just as fun if not more fun than working at a ride! At LMA there was more structure to my shift. Every day went first show, break, second show, go home. At a ride, you're part of a regular rotation, you typically have longer shifts, and you don't know when you'll have your breaks. There was also at 15-20 different positions you could be working at at LMA, which gave me much more variety than I would have had working at a ride. We also had a lot of downtime before the show where we could walk around our section of the park and interact with guests, and then we'd be busy during the show load, the show, and exit. I really enjoyed having the same structure to each shift, and still being able to have the variety of which position I was working. (It's also worth pointing out that shows usually take place during the daytime, so if you work at a show instead of a ride you'll probably go to work early and get out early and you won't be there all night with Extra Magic Hours.)

Q: Can you talk about the safety critical aspect of working in attractions?
A: Technically speaking, any role at Walt Disney World is safety critical, though you typically only hear this term used when speaking about roles like transportation or attractions.Understanding the safest way to run attractions is extremely important when working in this role, but it also isn't anything stressful because Disney provides excellent training in this area. At a ride, "safety critical" may refer to making sure all of the guests seat belts are in place and working properly before their vehicle starts to move. It might also mean monitoring certain areas of the attraction where guests are not allowed to go due to safety reasons. Many rides also have a tower position, which is where you would sit and watch the cameras to make sure everyone is behaving properly while on the attraction. Safety in rides can also mean reacting calmly and properly to intrusions. An intrusion is when a guest gets out of the ride vehicle while the ride is moving. Each ride has a different procedure on how to handle this, but it's important to follow the protocol you learned in training to ensure that the guest safely exits the attraction. At a show, safety generally refers to crowd control. Running to catch the start of a show is unsafe, falling on concrete is not fun and no one wants to do that. Certain shows have other more specific safety critical areas. When I worked at LMA, the attraction was considered safety critical simply due to the nature of the show. With pyro, and speeding cars, and motorcycles, it was extremely important to make sure guests did not somehow make their way onstage. We would constantly need to monitor guests exiting the show early, to make sure they were following the rules and staying out of the on stage areas. In addition, we would not let guests enter the show after it had been on for about ten minutes. This was because the cars would be driving on parts of the walkway that leads to the stadium, and rather than taking the chance of having guests show up while we're trying to rope off the area for the cars, we would (for their own safety) just not allow them to enter the attraction. Disney is excellent about training cast members to be comfortable working in safety critical positions, and even though it might seem stressful at first, don't let it get to you if you end up working in attractions! It will quickly become second nature and you'll be a pro in no time! 

Q: Do you regret anything from your programs?
A: For the most part no, but I do kind of regret not going to more of the housing events. I never went to grocery bingo, and I only went to one welcome event. Every time these events took place, I was either at work or in the parks, and now that I'm home I wish I made more of an effort to go. At the time I was so excited to be in the parks all the time, but now I'm realizing I can go to the parks on vacation still, but I can't go to a CP welcome event, so I would advise new CPs to definitely take advantage of those opportunities!

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"Brittany Earns Her Ears" is available on Amazon! Click here  to get your copy today!

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DCP Merchandise Tips

With the Fall 2015 programs either already in progress, or just around the corner, I thought another DCP tips post might be helpful for all the new merchandise CPs! Working merchandise in Walt Disney World is definitely not your typical retail job. Here are some tips to help you make the most of your semester working merchandise at the world's #1 tourist destination:

1. Any DCP job is what you make of it.

At the most basic level, working merchandise in Walt Disney World, is technically working retail. There is so much more to it than that simply because of where you're working, but you still need to put in the effort to make it special. You'll quickly find that there is a huge difference between standing behind a cash register and treating this opportunity like a regular retail job, and adding some extra magic to each shift. Listen to your trainers and leaders, and know that when they give you advice they're doing it to make your experience (as well as the guests') more magical. For instance, you can stand on the other side of the register, this way when it's slow, you can interact with guests who aren't ready to check out yet. This simple task will brighten up the guests' day and make your shift more enjoyable (and go by faster.)

2. Merchantain!

One of the best parts about working in merchandise at Walt Disney World is merchantaining! Merchantaining is when you entertain guests with the merchandise you sell. While this sometimes does result in the sale of the item, that is not the goal here-- the goal here is to have fun! This is probably the only retail-based job that you'll have when you can use the merchandise with guests without the added pressure of having to meet a certain sales quota. 

3. Pick up shifts in different locations.

Another great part about working merchandise is that you are able to pick up shifts in different locations all over the resorts. I sometimes hear that new cast members aren't comfortable working in different locations because they don't know where to go, or are just nervous about working somewhere different. If you end up working merchandise definitely take advantage of the ability to work in other places! It's so much fun to change up where you're working (and to wear different costumes) and if you're worried about getting lost or not knowing what to do the cast members who work in those locations will be happy to help you out.

4. Go above and beyond.

Disney is one of the few places where you can work in the service industry and going above and beyond (in terms of customer service) will really make your work more enjoyable. One easy way to go above and beyond in merchandise is with pin trading-- letting kids trade multiple pins with you, or give away a pin (in a magical moment) to a child whose favorite character you have on a pin even if he or she doesn't have anything to trade. You can also join the party if you work near a dance party or parade, and just follow the four keys basics that you learn in training to the fullest extent to really get the most out of your experience.

- CP Q&A - Cristian: Outdoor Vending in Epcot

For this CP Q&A session, I interviewed one of my best friends, Cristian, who worked in ODV (or outdoor vending) in Epcot during the Spring 2015 program. Cristian came to Walt Disney World this past spring from Hercules, CA, and he is currently attending Diablo Valley College. 

Q: What made you want to do the Disney College Program?
A: I wanted to do the DCP because I love everything and anything Disney. I always have! I've grown up with it in my house since I was born. Also, I ave always wanted to work for the Walt Disney Company because I love it and I wanted to be able to help create the magic. :) It took me three times to get in, and I LOVE IT!

Q: What was your role? Was it your first choice? If not, what was?
A: The role that I got when I got accepted to the college program was Vacation Planning. Due to certain circumstances, I transferred my first month of the program to Quick Service Food and Beverage. Neither were my first choice when applying. My first choice was Entertainment (Character Performer or Character Attendant.)

Q: What was your training like?
A: For Vacation Planning, it was a long process since we had to learn three computer systems and the basis of selling tickets. For Quick Service, it was about five days long. Super easy. Just confusing because everything happened all at once, but luckily I picked up the information quickly. ;)

Q: What were the best things about your role?
A: The best things about my role were 1) the people I worked with. Everyone (mostly tbh) were all so sweet and helpful. We all became like a little family. 2) FREE FOOD every now and then haha! Since we served food, we got food. 3) The hours. I worked at Epcot, where the park hours are always 9-9 (except EMH on Fridays 9-11) but I never worked too early or too late. And I had fun with it! Epcot isn't the most "magical" park but me and my fellow cast members would try to do anything to make guests smile. It was pretty great when we got recognized for going out of our ways to make magic!

Q: The worst?
A: The worst things about my role were 1) I worked outside in the horrible weather conditions. Heat, humidity, rain, sweaty people. Rain gear and sunglasses were my BFFs! 2) We didn't do the CDS bump system. We got scheduled to a cart and stayed there all day. Which would get boring sometimes. 3) TWO WORDS: SNACK PLAN. I hate it I hate it. 

Q: Would you recommend this role to a friend?
A: I would recommend Food and Beverage to someone who wants to work in Culinary or Festivals at Epcot. I would not recommend outdoor foods though.

Q: What advice do you have for new CPs in this role?
A: For someone going into Outdoor Foods, I would recommend always bringing sunglasses, rain gear, and sunscreen! You get all types of weather working out there. For someone going into Food and Beverage, I would say to have fun with the role! Yes, it gets busy, but have fun with it! It can be a lot of fun if you put the effort in it. Ask your leaders and coordinators what ways you can help create magic. We were allowed to do magic moments (such as give away Mickey bars to kids on their birthdays.)

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Brittany Earns Her Ears is on Amazon! Click here to get your copy today!

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- CP Q&A - Natalie: Front Desk/Hospitality at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

This week's CP Q&A takes us to the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, where Natalie spent the Spring 2015 semester working in front desk/hospitality. Natalie is from Mansfield, Texas, and she attends Tarrant County College, where she is majoring in Marketing and Hospitality.

Q: Why did you want to do the Disney College Program?
A: I found out about the dcp the day applications came out for fall 2014 and right then I knew it was something I needed to do because Disney was always something I loved and obsessed over.

Q: What was your role and location? Was it your first choice? If not, what was?
A: I was front desk/hospitality and it was NOT my first choice. My first choice was photo pass, but I'm glad I got the role that I did as I learned a lot and met great people.
Q: What was training like for your role?
A: Training for my role was long. I started like everyone else at Disney University and stayed there for several days of destination cashier in which I became very overwhelmed and I was so sure I was going to hate my role. Then I went to my location (the Grand Floridian) and had a total of 5 more days of training for front desk cashier and 2 days for resort runner, which is another adventure in itself. Now on top of that training I also did 5 more days of training in May for Curbside at my resort as well. So over all I did have a lot of training, maybe around 17 or 18 days total. Luckily I had great trainers who helped me out, even if I was forced to do a check in my very first day on the desk, I think that truly helped me out more than I can explain. 

Q: What were the best things about your role?
A: There were a lot of great things about my role, but getting to really truly make magic everyday was amazing. I also loved talking to people about how and why I ended up at Disney, because 9 times out of 10, the guests loved to hear about the college program and its nice to know they care even a little. 

Q: The worst? A: The worst? Getting yelled at for sure, but I think that's in every role. It's something you have to get used to sadly. I think one of the hardest things is telling a guest something and they don't believe you and demand a manager, only to have them tell them the exact same thing. Most of the times the arguments were about king beds, which we have a very limited amount of at the resorts. 

Q: Would you recommend this role to a friend? A: I definitely would. It wasn't my first choice, but I'm glad it's what I was placed in. I learned so much about the resorts and working at the Grand Floridian was an amazing experience all in itself. Sure some days it was rough, but I wouldn't trade it for anything and I think so many people could enjoy it. 

Q: What advice would you give to new CPs in this role? A: Be prepared at first for a lot of training and for being overwhelmed, but then know that it will be an amazing experience and it's so worth it. It's not easy, but it can be a lot of fun. Just remember to have fun and remember all the magic you really can create for guests.

Why Disney's Animal Kingdom is One of the Best Places to Work

1. The Hours
Though the park's hours are really subject to change once Avatarland is open, but for now Animal Kingdom cast members tend to have the best hours compare to much of the Walt Disney Company's Florida cast. Where most other Disney cast members are all too used to accustomed to working late nights in the theme parks, Animal Kingdom cast typically go into work early and get out early. In fact, a "late" night at Animal Kingdom really only means getting out at 9 or 10 PM. These "late" hours are usually only limited to cast members in certain roles like parking and merchandise. Most cast members in Animal Kingdom however get out of work right when the park closes, which can happen as early as 5:00 PM.

2. The Costumes
Animal Kingdom might have some of the craziest costumes you'v ever seen, but you really do grow to love them in a weird sort of way when you work in this park. I was horrified when I first found out I'd be working in Dinoland because of the costumes, but by the end of my college program I kind of loved it-- though it will definitely be the tackiest thing I will probably ever wear.

3. Attention to Detail
While I will admit that Dinoland is kind of an eye sore, the park as a whole is beautiful, and arguably the most well designed theme park in Florida. The story lines in the different parts of Animal Kingdom are much less obvious than the ones in other parks, which is actually really nice because it really gives the cast members there a lot of opportunities to share their knowledge and enthusiasm with guests. 

4. Greater Appreciation from Cast Members
After working in Animal Kingdom, it's become pretty clear to me that the park is highly underrated. In fact, a lot of guests refer to Animal Kingdom as a "half day park."My thought on this is that the people who view it as a half day park most likely rush from ride to ride, doing little else, thus only spending half a day there. While Animal Kingdom does indeed have less rides than the other parks, it totally makes up for this with other unique experiences and the attention to detail in the way the park is designed. Because cast members working in Animal Kingdom learn so much about their home park in their training, they truly understand the amount of hard work that went into creating the park, and they know how many other non-ride things there are to do in the parks that are just as fun.

For more Animal Kingdom photos, follow @brittanyearnsherears and @aly_in_neverland on Instagram! (Photos 1, and 4 courtesy of @aly_in_neverland.)

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Role Spotlight: Merchandise

Merchandise was the first role I had on the Disney College Program Fall 2014 season, and while this role is essentially retail, there were a lot of things I really liked about it. 

My favorite part about working in merchandise was the ability to pick up shifts almost anywhere on property. I say almost anywhere because there were certain locations where you needed special training to work. For the most part, if you do pick up one of those shifts, the leaders at the new location will just not put you in the area you're not trained in, but for resorts you must be tobacco and alcohol sales trained to pick up shifts there at all. I don't know how this worked in other locations, but in Dinoland it was always kind of annoying to come into work and see lots of merchandise cast members from other locations there. Because these cast members were not trained on games, they would have to be on the register all day, meaning cast members whose home location was Dinoland would likely be on games for most/all of the day.

Speaking of games, merchandise actually includes a couple of different areas that you may not have realized are actually part of merchandise. In addition to the retail aspect of this role, merchandise also includes running the carnival games in Dinoland, food service (like at the Confectionary on Main Street, or resort gift shops with dessert cases), photo sales (at the end of rides), and stroller, wheelchair, ECV, and locker rentals. 

As far as any role on the college program goes, I would say that merchandise was pretty laid back. This does totally depend on your location, but in general merchandise was not a stressful role. (I'd be stressed out on the carnival games, but I'm just talking about merchandise in general.) Merchandise included a lot of time spent merchantaining (entertaining guests with the merchandise) and stock shifts were particularly relaxed in terms of roles on the CP. During a stock shift, you can take your breaks whenever you want and be more independent throughout the day than you can while you're tied to the register. In some cases, like in Animal Kingdom, you also got a more comfortable costume!

For the actual cash handling, register part of merchandise, it was pretty comparable to retail at any other location. Of course there are some things you need to learn that are specific to Disney, like how their POS system operates, and the different ways to use dining plan snacks or certain other discounts, but for the most part it's pretty basic cash handling sorta stuff. The one thing that would occasionally cause issues at the register was discounts. If the merchandise cast member is doing his or her job correctly, the person who uses a discount (Disney Vacation Club, Disney Visa Card, Annual Passholder, Cast Member, etc...) needs to be the person paying for the merchandise. So if you have an annual pass that you show to the cast member, but your friend hands over her credit card, the cast member is supposed to ask that the person who the discount belongs to pays. (And they also need to show a valid photo ID.) Occasionally guests would get really cranky over this policy, but it was just one of those "I didn't make the rules, I only work here" sort of things that you would occasionally have to deal with. The worst ones with regards to this would be cast members whose family or friends try to pay while the cast member discount is being used, which absolutely cannot happen as once the cast ID is scanned a different credit card being used would look really sketchy and everyone involved could get in trouble. The other issue was annual passholders, who assumed this information was stored on their magic band, but really it's not, and they still need to carry the discount card that is mailed to them. 

At Disney, merchandise cast members are not responsible for counting drawers at the end of the night, which was nice, and in some locations they aren't even responsible for taking the cash out of the drawer. The only other kind of weird thing I would say about the Disney POS system, is that I thought it was at times surprisingly slow, and/or touchy. If a child (who doesn't have charging privileges) scanned his or her magic band while a transaction is in process, you most likely would have to start over ringing because you'd get some weird error message. And when the Wi-Fi was being picky the register could get really slow, which I just thought was sorta unexpected for a company like Disney. 

Overall, I would highly recommend applying for merchandise, because even though the basic task of retail isn't all that exciting, having the flexibility to work different locations, pin trade with guests, and merchantain really make it worth it. Merchandise also has some downtime involved, so you can actually get to know your coworkers really well, which is harder to do with other jobs on the program. And depending on your location, you can have a little bit of variety in the kind of shifts you work. In Dinoland I could be on the register, on games, doing photo, or stocking, and other days of the week I could have picked up shifts somewhere else altogether, so the variety and flexibility was definitely nice compared other roles where you're given a location and you aren't able to go anywhere else.

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Want to learn more about doing a CP in Merchandise. Brittany Earns Her Ears in on Amazon now! Click here to get your copy today!

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- CP Q&A - Nora: Parking at Hollywood Studios

This weeks CP Q&A features Nora, a Miami native who worked in parking at Disney's Hollywood Studios during the Spring 2015 program. Nora attends Miami Dade College, where she majors in film. You can see more from Nora on her Instagram (@ninjanorah) and on YouTube (ninjanorahdcp).


Q: What made you want to do the Disney College Program?
A: I’ve always wanted to work for the Walt Disney Company, it was a lifelong dream of mine, so once I learned of the Disney College Program I thought this was the perfect opportunity to work for Disney while still being a student with my school and also get the chance to network and meet people who could help me in the future with my Film career.

Q: Was parking your first choice for a role? If not what was?
A: It was not, but Main Entrance Operations was among one of my top roles listed when I applied to the program, which consists of 3 different locations where you could be placed: Parking, Toll Plaza and Park Greeter. My first choice for a role was Attractions or Park Greeter. Q: What was your training like? 
A: My training lasted a week and it consisted of learning every position in the parking lot, this also includes parking trams. Every day during training I would learn of a new position and what you had to do at each spot. It was stressful at first to remember every position and the tasks of each location, but a month after I officially “Earned My Ears”, I felt fully comfortable on my own in parking.

Q: What were the best parts of your role? 
A: The part I enjoyed the most of my role was spieling on the Parking Trams. This is where I felt I could be most creative and interactive with the guests and where I could really have fun with things and create magical moments for guests leaving or coming to the park.

Q: The worst? 
A: The worst would have to be being outside in the heat, cold, and rainstorms for long periods at a time. Our parking lot is also one of the most confusing lots of all four parks, so a lot of guests that would visit our park would be tremendously lost and wouldn’t be too happy about it and would take it out on us cast members. Q: Would you recommend this role to a friend? 
A: This role can be pretty intense at times, but I still made the best of it and I would recommend this role to others, especially if you enjoy speaking in front of large groups of people and can be patient with guests and help them out.

Q: What advice do you have for new CPs in this role? 
A: The advice I have for CPs just starting in this role is to just take it day by day. At first it may seem difficult or confusing, but I guarantee once you start getting used to each position and start making friends with your coworkers and fellow CPs, things will get 100% easier and enjoyable. The friends you make at work, definitely helps make the job better and funner everyday.

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