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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