Kylie worked as an attractions hostess at Space Mountain during the spring 2015 program, but I actually met her while working merchandise in Dinoland in the fall 2014 program. When the fall semester attended, we both moved on to the world of attractions, her at Space Mountain, and myself at Lights, Motors, Action. We're both from Massachusetts-- I'm from Saugus and she's from Marshfield, and oddly enough both of our colleges are within a fifteen minute drive from each other in New Hampshire. I attended St. Anselm College, and Kylie attends Southern New Hampshire University. (For the purposes of this post, my answers are only based on merchandise in Dinoland.)
Q: What made you want to do the Disney College Program?
Kylie: I wanted to do it ever since my first trip to Disney at age ten. That was the first time I heard about it.
Brittany: I think I was about twelve or thirteen when I found out about it. I was actually trying to figure out which high school I wanted to go to and I stumbled across the Disney Career Start website. (Career Start was essentially the same thing as the college program, it just took place the year after graduation high school rather than in college. It was discontinued in 2010.) I loved Disney, and it seemed like the perfect thing to do before going to college. Ironically enough, I ended up doing the program after graduation college, not high school.
Q: What was your role and location? Was it your first choice? If not, what was?
Kylie: MK Attractions- Space Mountain. It was my third choice for my extension but I was excited to get out of Dinoland. I wanted Frontierland attractions, but I ended up loving Space Mountain!
Brittany: Merchandise was my second choice for a role, attractions was my first. Ideally I would have wanted to have been at Tower of Terror or the Haunted Mansion, but pretty much everyone wants one of those locations, so I didn't have my hopes up too high. In terms of merchandise, I assumed I would get merchandise if I was accepted, since I had been accepted before for merchandise (I needed to decline the offer due to school.) In my interview I requested Animal Kingdom, without even thinking that Dinoland (primarily the games) would have been part of merchandise. Dinoland was my least favorite part of Walt Disney World, and definitely not my first choice for a location!
Q: What was your training like?
Kylie: Our training was five days long and it was a lot to take in. We had an introductory day, a day where we open, a day where we close, a day to review, and an assessment day. It was very safety focused and there was a lot of reading involved because we had to read the attraction's operating guide.
Brittany: It was part typical merchandise training, a class where you learn to use the register, and part games training. We weren't really trained in stocking, and since I found the register training very easy, it at least felt like most of my training in Dinoland focused on the games. We had to memorize the spiels, learn how to run the games, and all of the safety issues that could arise there.
Q: What were the best things about your role?
Kylie: I loved the fast paced nature of attractions and the ability to make magical moments by offering Fastpasses or re-rides.
Brittany: Being able to pick up shifts in different locations! Dinoland was not my favorite place to work, so it was nice that in merchandise you can pick up shifts pretty much anywhere. In Dinoland specifically, my favorite thing to do was to make magical moments on the games by letting kids play again, or making it a tie if two siblings played against each other.
Q: The worst?
Kylie: A lot of people did not understand or had problems with the new Fastpass system, and this could make guests really upset.
Brittany: Being stuck on games for your entire shift was really tiring. You're really supposed to be rotated out more, but if a lot of cast members who weren't from our area picked up shifts, they needed to be on the register since they were not games trained, and that meant I'd be on games all day. Even though the actual merchandise portion of the work isn't bad at all, it was difficult for me to enjoy working in Chester and Hester's Dino-Rama simply because, as a guest, it was always my least favorite part of the entire resort. I'd made the best of it obviously, but the road-side carnival atmosphere was just never my favorite place.
Q: Would you recommend this role to a friend?
Kylie: Absolutely! Attractions is an amazing role to be in and it's tons of fun!
Brittany: I would recommend merchandise to a friend, but I would also point out that I think it's a good second or third choice. It's pretty easy and laid back, and if you have the flexibility to work in different places, but if you really have your heart set on a different role I would do that and make merchandise a backup choice.
Q: What advice would you have for new CPs in this role?
Kylie: It seems scary when you're in training but you get the hang of it really fast! Don't be afraid to ask questions or get help if you're confused in training, since you'll be in charge of operating the ride!
Brittany: Don't be discouraged if you dislike your location. You can always pick up shifts in other areas. Even though it seems like merchandise is a role that is rather slow paced compared to some others, take advantage of this extra time to make magical moments for guests or get to know your coworkers.
Kylie: I'm finishing up my degree so I can go back to Disney!
Brittany: I'm currently working at Harvard University in the security department at the art museums, and I plan on going back to school there in January. I've also been keeping busy with this blog, and the other websites I write for (like DisneyDining.com, DisneyQuestions.com, MickeyTips.com, DisneyFanatic.com, and ActualFactualMagic.com.) At the moment, I'm finishing up my next book for the Earning Your Ears series by Theme Park Press, which will be about my experiences working attractions at Lights, Motors, Action, and will (hopefully) be available on Amazon before the holidays!
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Want to hear more about what it was like for Kylie and I to work in Dinoland merchandise? Get your copy of "Brittany Earns Her Ears" today! It's available on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle, Click here to order yours today!
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Great read, I'm starting attraction with the DCP in February:0
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