Hello old friends!
It has been a while since I have updated this blog, but I have not given up on my Disney Dreams! After I realized I would not meet my seasonal requirements I self separated from the company in order to have an unrestricted re-hire status when I applied for Professional Internships and the CP.
I went to Detroit to intern at GM and I had a really great time. Surprisingly Chevrolet has been sending their dealership owners to conferences at Disney to learn about customer service! I really think my experiences working for the company helped me in this internship as I was able to draw from the things I learned at Disney.
I am graduating in May! (Finally!) So what are my plans? Well I want to apply for Professional Internships, My dream job is Guest Relations, and I really feel that I would be fantastic at it! There are several other internships I am interested in as well, so we will see. However they are very competitive so I will also be applying to the CP as something to fall back on. You need to be in school or on a current program to be eligible for PI's so if I don't get one and I do a CP I get another chance!
The thing is I am only interested in Hospitality or Concierge really. They say the more roles you choose the better chance you have. It is sort of risky to only apply for these roles but I think I should have a better chance since I did Hospitality previously, and that is the line of business I am interested in the most. BBB would be cool too. So I don't really know, I'm looking for a position that would strengthen my chances of getting Guest Relations.
Applications for both should go up in mid January, so I am patiently (not) waiting. The only snag is with PI's sometimes they don't let you know until like APRIL!! So that leaves you scrambling at the end. I'm also applying for non-Disney jobs but I haven't heard anything in regards to those. In the mean time I am stalking the Fall 2013 programs Facebook group and trying to get application and interview information from current PI's!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Seasonal woes
So I went Seasonal after my program ended. There are new requirements that you have to complete 150 hours from Oct 1 2011 to Sept. 30th 2012. I went down after Christmas and New Year's and worked 80 hours.
I had put in my availability for my Spring Break in March hoping to get close to 40 hours and then I would pick up some EHH to get some more. But I was only scheduled for 6 hours =(
So is it worth it to still travel the 1600+ miles and try to find other shifts? I'm not sure. The other issue is that I had planned to return over the summer but now I was offered an internship at General Motors in Detriot. It was too much of an amazing opportunity to pass up so I accepted it. Even if I did go down and manage to find at least 30 hours, I would still need another 40 to meet the requirements. I don't see that happening.
So I'm sad to say that my Disney experience may be coming to an end for now. I really wish that I did not have to choose, but to be honest if GM offers me a job after graduation I will take it. And I wouldn't be able to stay seasonal anyway.
As of right now, I am going to try to give that shift away, and see what happens between now and Sept. 30th. If I cannot meet the requirements I will leave the company in an appropriate manner so I can be eligible for another CP or PI after I graduate next May.
I had put in my availability for my Spring Break in March hoping to get close to 40 hours and then I would pick up some EHH to get some more. But I was only scheduled for 6 hours =(
So is it worth it to still travel the 1600+ miles and try to find other shifts? I'm not sure. The other issue is that I had planned to return over the summer but now I was offered an internship at General Motors in Detriot. It was too much of an amazing opportunity to pass up so I accepted it. Even if I did go down and manage to find at least 30 hours, I would still need another 40 to meet the requirements. I don't see that happening.
So I'm sad to say that my Disney experience may be coming to an end for now. I really wish that I did not have to choose, but to be honest if GM offers me a job after graduation I will take it. And I wouldn't be able to stay seasonal anyway.
As of right now, I am going to try to give that shift away, and see what happens between now and Sept. 30th. If I cannot meet the requirements I will leave the company in an appropriate manner so I can be eligible for another CP or PI after I graduate next May.
Friday, August 12, 2011
See Ya Real Soon!
My summer program is officially over. Wednesday was my last night of work (and for many other people as well) Tonight we all went out to Ale House to hang out and have a good time. There are so many people leaving. I am going seasonal, so I know I will be seeing many again but there are a few that I probably will not.
After I got home tonight I read all the pages that everyone had signed in my autograph book, and cried, everyone had said such wonderful things to me, I am glad I had made an impact on them. I was only here for such a short time this summer, yet I feel like I have made friends to last a lifetime.
My one roommate Christine has already left early because of some health issues, So it has just been Katelyn and Kristyn and I. It is so strange to think that 3 months ago I had never met them in person, and had just decided that I would be their 4th roommate. Now I cannot imagine my life without them. They have extended their programs and will be staying until January now. I was offered an extension but I decided I needed to return to school this semester.
I have been moved to Seasonal status, so I will be returning again to work a few weeks this year. I am sad that this chapter of my Disney journey is over, but I know that it has opened the door for me and has really given me a chance to re-evaluate what I want to do with my life. Pursuing a career with the Walt Disney Company is my Dream, and after all this is "Where Dreams Come True"
After I got home tonight I read all the pages that everyone had signed in my autograph book, and cried, everyone had said such wonderful things to me, I am glad I had made an impact on them. I was only here for such a short time this summer, yet I feel like I have made friends to last a lifetime.
My one roommate Christine has already left early because of some health issues, So it has just been Katelyn and Kristyn and I. It is so strange to think that 3 months ago I had never met them in person, and had just decided that I would be their 4th roommate. Now I cannot imagine my life without them. They have extended their programs and will be staying until January now. I was offered an extension but I decided I needed to return to school this semester.
I have been moved to Seasonal status, so I will be returning again to work a few weeks this year. I am sad that this chapter of my Disney journey is over, but I know that it has opened the door for me and has really given me a chance to re-evaluate what I want to do with my life. Pursuing a career with the Walt Disney Company is my Dream, and after all this is "Where Dreams Come True"
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Deployment - Round Two
So I was deployed again last week, and this time I actually enjoyed it. This time I was sent to Hollywood Studios to work at Rock around the Shop (the gift store for Rockin Roller Coaster, Starring Areosmith) and Tower Gifts (the gift store for The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror)
Let's look at the costumes shall we?
This is the one for Rockin Rollercoaster
And this is the one for Tower of Terror
I think I liked working at these locations because they were a lot of fun. Rockin Rollercoaster had Aerosmith playing in the shop, granted the same 5 songs on repeat, but still much better than the music at my location. I even found myself singing along "And I don't wanna miss a thinggg" but hey I wasn't the only one singing! What I enjoyed most about these locations was working at the photo counter where you could purchase your ride photo. It was fun to do those and I saw some really hilarious pictures from Tower of Terror!
The themeing at Tower of Terror is incredible! When you get off the ride the photo area looks like it could be a front desk and then there are several door that say they go to "The Sunset Room" but really it is just our stock room.
Also the breakroom is inside the tower upstairs. It's decorated pretty cool and the walls actually vibrate from the attraction going up and down the elevator shafts.
Probably one of the coolest things was the night my friend and I were assigned to take out the garbage and cardboard. It was a long walk to where the dumpsters were so we were unhappy about it. So we are walking back there and we could see the fireworks from Fantasmic! I wish I could have gotten a Fantasmic shift while I was there (since other deployed people from my location got one) But I was happy working where I was.
I guess deployment really depends on the location you get, because I really enjoyed these two locations and I would love to work there again sometime.
Let's look at the costumes shall we?
This is the one for Rockin Rollercoaster
And this is the one for Tower of Terror
I think I liked working at these locations because they were a lot of fun. Rockin Rollercoaster had Aerosmith playing in the shop, granted the same 5 songs on repeat, but still much better than the music at my location. I even found myself singing along "And I don't wanna miss a thinggg" but hey I wasn't the only one singing! What I enjoyed most about these locations was working at the photo counter where you could purchase your ride photo. It was fun to do those and I saw some really hilarious pictures from Tower of Terror!
The themeing at Tower of Terror is incredible! When you get off the ride the photo area looks like it could be a front desk and then there are several door that say they go to "The Sunset Room" but really it is just our stock room.
Also the breakroom is inside the tower upstairs. It's decorated pretty cool and the walls actually vibrate from the attraction going up and down the elevator shafts.
Probably one of the coolest things was the night my friend and I were assigned to take out the garbage and cardboard. It was a long walk to where the dumpsters were so we were unhappy about it. So we are walking back there and we could see the fireworks from Fantasmic! I wish I could have gotten a Fantasmic shift while I was there (since other deployed people from my location got one) But I was happy working where I was.
I guess deployment really depends on the location you get, because I really enjoyed these two locations and I would love to work there again sometime.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Deployment
Lets talk about being deployed. Being deployed means you are scheduled to work in a location other than your normal location. There are 2 reasons why you could be deployed.
1. The location you are being deployed to is short on people. This most often occurs during special events like Star Wars Weekends, Food and Wine and Flower and Garden.
2. Your location does not have hours to give you because they are over staffed. For College Program we are guaranteed to be scheduled 30 hours minimum, so if your location cannot give you those 30 hours you are deployed somewhere else.
Last week I was deployed to Tren-D a SMALL clothing store at Downtown Disney. I was deployed for the second reason, which is worse in my opinion because that location didn't really need me either.
I did not like being Deployed, one reason was since they didn't need me I kept getting assigned tasks like "Stock and organize shoes" or "Restock register supplies". I did this almost for every shift. Only once during the week did I get to be on register, so I was really bored. Also I didn't know where anything was in the store so I was always confused!
I did get to wear a sort of cute costume though, and here it is
I was very happy to be back at Mouse Gear this week though, and I hope I don't have to be deployed again!
1. The location you are being deployed to is short on people. This most often occurs during special events like Star Wars Weekends, Food and Wine and Flower and Garden.
2. Your location does not have hours to give you because they are over staffed. For College Program we are guaranteed to be scheduled 30 hours minimum, so if your location cannot give you those 30 hours you are deployed somewhere else.
Last week I was deployed to Tren-D a SMALL clothing store at Downtown Disney. I was deployed for the second reason, which is worse in my opinion because that location didn't really need me either.
I did not like being Deployed, one reason was since they didn't need me I kept getting assigned tasks like "Stock and organize shoes" or "Restock register supplies". I did this almost for every shift. Only once during the week did I get to be on register, so I was really bored. Also I didn't know where anything was in the store so I was always confused!
I did get to wear a sort of cute costume though, and here it is
I was very happy to be back at Mouse Gear this week though, and I hope I don't have to be deployed again!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Behind the scenes tour of The Haunted Mansion
From time to time they offer a behind the scenes tour of the Haunted Mansion to Cast Members. Space is very limited as they only take about 10 to 15 people on the tour. I wanted to do the tour on my last program but I never got the chance. Well this time I did. We weren't allowed to take pictures on the tour, so I don't have any to share.
The tour is at 7am while the park is empty of guests, and it was a walking tour of the attraction. We got to walk through the entire ride with the lights on and really look at all the details. There are so many things that you never even notice because of how dark it is and because the cars are moving. But if the ride needs to be evacuated then the lights come on and guests would be able to see everything, so it needs to be complete.
So we walked through and our guide showed us how the effects worked and shared some interesting facts. For example in the room where they have all the staircases only 1 staircase is real on each side, and all the rest are just from a mirror behind it. And they can change the size of the footprints that appear on the staircases, so one day they might be really big and the next really small.
We also got to go into the Ballroom, the scene with all the ghosts is really just one big special effect. If you have been on the ride you know you are looking down into the ballroom from above. Well the audio animatronic figures are actually located in the space below and above the track, and large pieces of glass separate the ballroom and the figures. What you are seeing is the reflection of the figures on the glass. Many of the figures are also in the Pirates of the Carribean ride and if you look closely you will see that the ghost in the rocking chair is the grandma from the Carousel of Progress. It was really cool to go into the actual ballroom and walk around inside.
The graveyard scene was also neat to walk through, we got to pet that little dog (whose name is Bones) and he even has a little dog treat in front of him. Finally the Hitchhiking Ghosts have the names of Gus, Ezra and Phineas. They originally were named The Prisoner, The Hitchhiker and The Traveler, but the CM's here at WDW came up with the other names. Guests would go to Disneyland and tell the CM's there that these where their names. Finally Walt Disney Imagineering came to WDW and asked about the names, and then changed the names offically. Now in all the Disney parks throughout the world they are known by the names that the FL CM's came up with.
Finally we went into one of the two stretching rooms to view that part of the ride. If you stay long enough after everyone leaves the Gargoyles in the room talk to you and giggle to eachother. Then the guide instructed us to lay on the floor and look up at the ceiling, so we did and she reset the room and made the ceiling come down. It was really strange to see the ceiling coming down at you.
It was a really cool tour and I was so glad I got to do it this time. I really learned a lot but there is only so much I can post on here because it is considered a "trade secret" or information that I'm not supposed to share. I'm hoping to take another backstage tour before I leave, but we will have to see.
The tour is at 7am while the park is empty of guests, and it was a walking tour of the attraction. We got to walk through the entire ride with the lights on and really look at all the details. There are so many things that you never even notice because of how dark it is and because the cars are moving. But if the ride needs to be evacuated then the lights come on and guests would be able to see everything, so it needs to be complete.
So we walked through and our guide showed us how the effects worked and shared some interesting facts. For example in the room where they have all the staircases only 1 staircase is real on each side, and all the rest are just from a mirror behind it. And they can change the size of the footprints that appear on the staircases, so one day they might be really big and the next really small.
We also got to go into the Ballroom, the scene with all the ghosts is really just one big special effect. If you have been on the ride you know you are looking down into the ballroom from above. Well the audio animatronic figures are actually located in the space below and above the track, and large pieces of glass separate the ballroom and the figures. What you are seeing is the reflection of the figures on the glass. Many of the figures are also in the Pirates of the Carribean ride and if you look closely you will see that the ghost in the rocking chair is the grandma from the Carousel of Progress. It was really cool to go into the actual ballroom and walk around inside.
The graveyard scene was also neat to walk through, we got to pet that little dog (whose name is Bones) and he even has a little dog treat in front of him. Finally the Hitchhiking Ghosts have the names of Gus, Ezra and Phineas. They originally were named The Prisoner, The Hitchhiker and The Traveler, but the CM's here at WDW came up with the other names. Guests would go to Disneyland and tell the CM's there that these where their names. Finally Walt Disney Imagineering came to WDW and asked about the names, and then changed the names offically. Now in all the Disney parks throughout the world they are known by the names that the FL CM's came up with.
Finally we went into one of the two stretching rooms to view that part of the ride. If you stay long enough after everyone leaves the Gargoyles in the room talk to you and giggle to eachother. Then the guide instructed us to lay on the floor and look up at the ceiling, so we did and she reset the room and made the ceiling come down. It was really strange to see the ceiling coming down at you.
It was a really cool tour and I was so glad I got to do it this time. I really learned a lot but there is only so much I can post on here because it is considered a "trade secret" or information that I'm not supposed to share. I'm hoping to take another backstage tour before I leave, but we will have to see.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Working and more working!
Since I've been finished with training I have been working a crazy amount of hours. Like 11 hour shifts and 6 days a week! One of the leaders told me it is because we are in between College Program groups and people are leaving before new people are coming in. So hopefully once we get some more CP's I won't have to work 53 hour work weeks!
I work almost every night until 12am or 2am on Tuesdays for Extra Magic Hours. Now I know what you are thinking "But doesn't Epcot close at 9?" and yes you would be correct. This is how a typical night goes. At 9pm the fireworks start and they finish by 9:20. As everyone rushes out of the park they stroll right past our store and think "Oh hey, I wanted to buy an Epcot shirt!" or "Aww crap I forgot to buy something for so and so" Which is why we stay open. Guests shop in the store until around 10:30-10:45pm, and we begin to close the registers at that time, so by the time 10:30 rolls around there is only one person on register. Everyone else has a closing assignment.
Closing Assignments vary and of course some are better than others. Jewelry, no thanks, all those earring and necklaces and charms to organize. Souvenirs is another one you don't want to get stuck with because its all key chains, magnets, postcards, basically small things that people don't put back where they belong. Any of the softlines (clothing) isn't too bad. Toys is ok too. Consumables can be a pain in the butt because you have to clean up a lot of stuff. Home Dec is my favorite because the stock room is right through a door in the area, the other stock is backstage or downstairs and sometimes you have to go to multiple places to find what you need. Home Dec is pretty easy, you just refill the displays and organize things.
Closing assignments take until ten of 12 or 2 and then we have a meeting where we talk about our sales for the day, share guest stories and have other announcements. Then it is time to clock out!!
I'm pretty much always on register, which I don't mind, It really makes the shifts go by faster, but I could also be scheduled as floorstock sometime.
Our location is getting new costumes starting June 12th. So tomorrow I have to go to Costuming to get fitted for my new one. I'm sort of annoyed because everyone got to go while they are at work, but since costuming closes at 6pm I have to go before my shift starts.
I work almost every night until 12am or 2am on Tuesdays for Extra Magic Hours. Now I know what you are thinking "But doesn't Epcot close at 9?" and yes you would be correct. This is how a typical night goes. At 9pm the fireworks start and they finish by 9:20. As everyone rushes out of the park they stroll right past our store and think "Oh hey, I wanted to buy an Epcot shirt!" or "Aww crap I forgot to buy something for so and so" Which is why we stay open. Guests shop in the store until around 10:30-10:45pm, and we begin to close the registers at that time, so by the time 10:30 rolls around there is only one person on register. Everyone else has a closing assignment.
Closing Assignments vary and of course some are better than others. Jewelry, no thanks, all those earring and necklaces and charms to organize. Souvenirs is another one you don't want to get stuck with because its all key chains, magnets, postcards, basically small things that people don't put back where they belong. Any of the softlines (clothing) isn't too bad. Toys is ok too. Consumables can be a pain in the butt because you have to clean up a lot of stuff. Home Dec is my favorite because the stock room is right through a door in the area, the other stock is backstage or downstairs and sometimes you have to go to multiple places to find what you need. Home Dec is pretty easy, you just refill the displays and organize things.
Closing assignments take until ten of 12 or 2 and then we have a meeting where we talk about our sales for the day, share guest stories and have other announcements. Then it is time to clock out!!
I'm pretty much always on register, which I don't mind, It really makes the shifts go by faster, but I could also be scheduled as floorstock sometime.
Our location is getting new costumes starting June 12th. So tomorrow I have to go to Costuming to get fitted for my new one. I'm sort of annoyed because everyone got to go while they are at work, but since costuming closes at 6pm I have to go before my shift starts.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)