Hello everyone!
Although it feels like I JUST STARTED my Guest Relations PI, it is already time to apply for the next season of internships! Applications have gone out for Professional Internships, Animal Programs, and Mangement Internships, and very soon for Spring/Spring Advantage College Programs. I have several posts that can help you with applying, interviewing, and then waiting to hear back!
Please check out my "Informational Posts" on the Right hand side of the blog for information about the process!
I myself am planning on applying for Management Internships in Lodging and Theme Park Operations. I have not decided if I will apply for others yet. Although I have been through this process before I still am nervous and anxious about the outcome. Good luck to everyone who applies!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Writing a Disney Resume
Now I am no expert, but with the next round of PI and MI applications quickly approaching I thought I would share some insight on preparing your resume. Having a solid resume is really the first step in getting an offer!
The most important thing to remember is that Disney uses a computer to weed out potential candidates. So you could get eliminated before a real person ever looks at your resume! To avoid this you should tailor your resume to each individual position you apply for. If you are applying for Alumni Only make sure it has relevant information to the jobs you are selecting. You will have the chance to upload a different resume for each position. Make sure your experience is relevant (This is something I particularly struggle with, because I spent most of my time in college doing everything I possibly could and feel that all those experiences have given me skills and knowledge)
The best way to do this is to look at the job description and qualifications. If it says "Proficient in Adobe Photoshop", make sure you use that same language instead of "Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite". Try to outline all the qualifications and make sure they are included in your resume.
Also if you have former Disney experience make sure you are using proper names of roles, locations and attractions. So use Attractions Host/Hostess instead of "Ride Operator" and use Disney Words like "Guest Service" instead of "Customer Service."
It is always best for you to have multiple people look over your resume. If you are currently on a College Program, I know they offer resume classes, and you can always ask your leaders to help you out as well. If you are at school visit your career services center or ask professors for input.
The most important thing to remember is that Disney uses a computer to weed out potential candidates. So you could get eliminated before a real person ever looks at your resume! To avoid this you should tailor your resume to each individual position you apply for. If you are applying for Alumni Only make sure it has relevant information to the jobs you are selecting. You will have the chance to upload a different resume for each position. Make sure your experience is relevant (This is something I particularly struggle with, because I spent most of my time in college doing everything I possibly could and feel that all those experiences have given me skills and knowledge)
The best way to do this is to look at the job description and qualifications. If it says "Proficient in Adobe Photoshop", make sure you use that same language instead of "Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite". Try to outline all the qualifications and make sure they are included in your resume.
Also if you have former Disney experience make sure you are using proper names of roles, locations and attractions. So use Attractions Host/Hostess instead of "Ride Operator" and use Disney Words like "Guest Service" instead of "Customer Service."
It is always best for you to have multiple people look over your resume. If you are currently on a College Program, I know they offer resume classes, and you can always ask your leaders to help you out as well. If you are at school visit your career services center or ask professors for input.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Product Knowledge!
Animal Kingdom has some great tours available for guests to book. Recently I got to go on one of the best tours for FREE. The Wild Africa Trek. Guest Relations at Animal Kingdom were invited to take the tour in order to have a better understanding of the experience and communicate this when booking the tour for guests.
The tour is 3 hours, and offers a unique look at the Safari, includes a small meal and a private safari ride. The cost is $189 per person, but until October if you book a tour that starts after 11am you get $50 off per person. A cast discount is available as well. I know this seems like a lot of money but everyone should try it at least once.
The first step of the tour is signing a waiver, putting your personal belongings in a locker and getting your safety harness on. You are given a cool water bottle and a name tag as well. Once everyone is situated its time to begin.
The tour starts in the Pangani Forest trail. You don't spend much time there as this area can be viewed for free. You take a secret entrance near the hippo pool and the real fun begins. First there is an area where they will hook up your harness and you can walk right out the the edge of the embankment and view the hippos. Of course your tour guides are there to educate you about these animals and their habitat. Next you get to walk across the plank bridge above the Hippos and then above the Crocodiles!
Now what I found to be interesting is that all the crocodiles here are male, and all 27 of them came together from another zoo. Because they have been together for so long the guide explained that they would not add any additional crocs to the group, because it could interfere with their hierarchy. Again you get to walk right out to the ledge and get a closer look.
After the crocodiles it was time to take off the harness. It didn't feel that heavy when I was wearing it but I could really tell the difference when I took it off! Next we boarded our private safari truck. As you can see from the picture this truck is not like the ones from the ride at all. The truck is smaller and because of this they are allowed to pull over and stop so we can take longer looks at the animals. After driving around for a while we were taken to a private platform in the savannah.
During the normal tour, this is when you would have your food. We didn't get to have the food but while were were there they did have a book with pictures of the offerings. They have breakfast items for the earlier tours and then lunch items for the later ones. The views from this platform were amazing! You could see out over the whole grassland area, the elephants and their was an area to view the lions!
So while the tour is expensive, it definitely is a cool experience if you have the time and money to do it!
The tour is 3 hours, and offers a unique look at the Safari, includes a small meal and a private safari ride. The cost is $189 per person, but until October if you book a tour that starts after 11am you get $50 off per person. A cast discount is available as well. I know this seems like a lot of money but everyone should try it at least once.
Now what I found to be interesting is that all the crocodiles here are male, and all 27 of them came together from another zoo. Because they have been together for so long the guide explained that they would not add any additional crocs to the group, because it could interfere with their hierarchy. Again you get to walk right out to the ledge and get a closer look.
After the crocodiles it was time to take off the harness. It didn't feel that heavy when I was wearing it but I could really tell the difference when I took it off! Next we boarded our private safari truck. As you can see from the picture this truck is not like the ones from the ride at all. The truck is smaller and because of this they are allowed to pull over and stop so we can take longer looks at the animals. After driving around for a while we were taken to a private platform in the savannah.
During the normal tour, this is when you would have your food. We didn't get to have the food but while were were there they did have a book with pictures of the offerings. They have breakfast items for the earlier tours and then lunch items for the later ones. The views from this platform were amazing! You could see out over the whole grassland area, the elephants and their was an area to view the lions!
So while the tour is expensive, it definitely is a cool experience if you have the time and money to do it!
Saturday, August 3, 2013
My Magic+ Guest Testing!
Hello everyone! Sorry I have been MIA lately, I have a few posts to share once I get some free time about some awesome opportunities I have had since I've last updated. But for right now I'll give an update about what I've been doing at work.
So as I've mentioned before the role of Guest Relations is really changing. One of the big changes involves the new MyMagic+ and the Magicbands. So in the near future guests will be able to do almost everything with a wristband known as a Magicband. This will function as their room key, park ticket, charging to their credit card and most importantly FastPasses. Guests will be able to book Fastpasses 60 days in advance of their stay. You can make changes by using an App on your smartphone or tablet, at your hotel front desk, Guest Relations or at kiosks throughout the park.
So in addition to working in the Lobby we now have what is called "Regional Guest Relations" At DAK they are located at the Fastpass attractions and by the tip board. We have two iPads, one is for guests to use to change their itinerary on their own, the other is for us to use if we need to do something for the guest. Right now we are doing at test with guests staying at certain resorts.
The first two days have been challenging to say the least. Mainly because many of us do not have much experience using the program and dealing with issues. You have to sort of learn as you go along. Second is there still are not many guests needing assistance (Which is good I suppose) so I seem to be standing around doing nothing related to Magicbands. In fact that is one of my only complaints. I sort of feel like while standing at the attraction I am doing everything but working with the Magicbands. There are lots of questions to be answered, directions to be given and descriptions of the attractions. I don't mind answering questions but it is difficult to stand around for hours and not really have a purpose.
So far the guests I have encountered have not had any serious problems and they were understanding if I was unsure of how to do something because just like them I am learning too. I also feel bad for my coordinators because it was very difficult for them to try to work with a rotation so we could spend sometime inside and not have to be outside all day. I think it will take a little bit to get all the kinks worked out, but will settle down soon.
So as I've mentioned before the role of Guest Relations is really changing. One of the big changes involves the new MyMagic+ and the Magicbands. So in the near future guests will be able to do almost everything with a wristband known as a Magicband. This will function as their room key, park ticket, charging to their credit card and most importantly FastPasses. Guests will be able to book Fastpasses 60 days in advance of their stay. You can make changes by using an App on your smartphone or tablet, at your hotel front desk, Guest Relations or at kiosks throughout the park.
So in addition to working in the Lobby we now have what is called "Regional Guest Relations" At DAK they are located at the Fastpass attractions and by the tip board. We have two iPads, one is for guests to use to change their itinerary on their own, the other is for us to use if we need to do something for the guest. Right now we are doing at test with guests staying at certain resorts.
The first two days have been challenging to say the least. Mainly because many of us do not have much experience using the program and dealing with issues. You have to sort of learn as you go along. Second is there still are not many guests needing assistance (Which is good I suppose) so I seem to be standing around doing nothing related to Magicbands. In fact that is one of my only complaints. I sort of feel like while standing at the attraction I am doing everything but working with the Magicbands. There are lots of questions to be answered, directions to be given and descriptions of the attractions. I don't mind answering questions but it is difficult to stand around for hours and not really have a purpose.
So far the guests I have encountered have not had any serious problems and they were understanding if I was unsure of how to do something because just like them I am learning too. I also feel bad for my coordinators because it was very difficult for them to try to work with a rotation so we could spend sometime inside and not have to be outside all day. I think it will take a little bit to get all the kinks worked out, but will settle down soon.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Four Keys Cards
Disney is unlike any other company I have worked for before, I don't know if you have noticed but the people who work here truly love their job. Morale is very high at Disney and I think it is because Disney has several ways to recognize their Cast Members who are excellent.
One of these ways is a Four Keys Card. This is about the size of an index card and you can receive one for a variety of reasons and from a variety of people. Most people will receive them from their leaders or coordinators but they can also be given to you by fellow Cast Members or even by Guest Relations for getting a guest compliment. The cards have written on them what you did that demonstrated one or more of the 4 Keys service basics (Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency) So if you have a fantastic CM that really went out of their way to help you or make your day a little better, stop by Guest Relations and let us know! All you need to remember is the name and the location where they were working. CMs love to receive these cards, and we get to keep a copy, its nice to look at them from time to time or when you've had a rough day to remember that you can make a difference. Additionally they get added to our record card which potentially could help us move up in the company.
Here is the card I got yesterday!
So you are probably wondering what I did to get this? Well this came from one of my Leaders. I had a guest who came and said she had lost a small black bag containing her ID, wallet, some cash and medication. It was near park closing but we still did not have the item. Sometimes lost and found doesn't come back to us at Guest Relations until after the park is closed and then those items are sent to our central lost and found location. We explain this to the guest and give them the lost and found card with the number on it to call the next day. The guest looked more concerned as I spoke and asked if she could wait around for a while and see if it turned up or if she could leave her information. We don't take guest info and we don't call guests telling them we have their item. I started to realize that the guest probably really needed the medication that was inside this bag and could not wait until tomorrow to retrieve it.
I went back to talk to the help desk and my leader. I explained that this woman was very concerned about this medication in the bag, and that she did not think she could wait to retrieve the bag tomorrow. She was staying at one of our resorts so I asked if it came in if we could bring it to her. This is not something we normally do because we simply do not have the man power to do so, also there is always the small chance that it is not the guest's item. My leader said this would be okay to do, and provided me with some other solutions for the guest such as getting her the phone numbers of local CVS or Walgreens to get it refilled. We also sent out an email to all areas describing the bag and where she thought she lost it. I explained to the guest that there might be a possibility that we could either return it to her at her resort or call her and she could return to the park to get it. She was very thankful and left me her name and phone number. Sure enough about 20 mins later the bag shows up with everything inside it. I called the guest and she was still inside the park so she came right over! The guest was very relieved and thanked me for helping her.
The next day I got the card from the leader who had been assisting me. It was not expected, which is the best part about these cards. I thought that interaction was simply me doing my job and what I could to help this guest so it was a nice surprise to get the card and be told that I had done a great job.
One of these ways is a Four Keys Card. This is about the size of an index card and you can receive one for a variety of reasons and from a variety of people. Most people will receive them from their leaders or coordinators but they can also be given to you by fellow Cast Members or even by Guest Relations for getting a guest compliment. The cards have written on them what you did that demonstrated one or more of the 4 Keys service basics (Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency) So if you have a fantastic CM that really went out of their way to help you or make your day a little better, stop by Guest Relations and let us know! All you need to remember is the name and the location where they were working. CMs love to receive these cards, and we get to keep a copy, its nice to look at them from time to time or when you've had a rough day to remember that you can make a difference. Additionally they get added to our record card which potentially could help us move up in the company.
Here is the card I got yesterday!
I went back to talk to the help desk and my leader. I explained that this woman was very concerned about this medication in the bag, and that she did not think she could wait to retrieve the bag tomorrow. She was staying at one of our resorts so I asked if it came in if we could bring it to her. This is not something we normally do because we simply do not have the man power to do so, also there is always the small chance that it is not the guest's item. My leader said this would be okay to do, and provided me with some other solutions for the guest such as getting her the phone numbers of local CVS or Walgreens to get it refilled. We also sent out an email to all areas describing the bag and where she thought she lost it. I explained to the guest that there might be a possibility that we could either return it to her at her resort or call her and she could return to the park to get it. She was very thankful and left me her name and phone number. Sure enough about 20 mins later the bag shows up with everything inside it. I called the guest and she was still inside the park so she came right over! The guest was very relieved and thanked me for helping her.
The next day I got the card from the leader who had been assisting me. It was not expected, which is the best part about these cards. I thought that interaction was simply me doing my job and what I could to help this guest so it was a nice surprise to get the card and be told that I had done a great job.
Monday, July 15, 2013
No Rainchecks!
I've been starting to feel more comfortable in my Guest Relations role, and I don't feel the need to ask people for help with everything. My first few days without my trainer I was a little nervous but all the other Guest Relations CMs were more than happy to answer my questions or show me how to do something I had forgotten. There is still a lot of things to learn and everyday I encounter something that we didn't go over in training.
A few days ago was a real test of my knowledge and skills! I was working a closing shift, 3 to 9pm and it starts raining at 3pm. Typical for FL, but this was not your ordinary rain shower. This was practically a MONSOON! It was heavy downpour and thunder and lightning. Because the majority of our attractions are outdoor many had to close. Our Safari actually began to flood in some places so we needed to close that attraction too. And as if that wasn't enough, Everest was not only closed but actually had guests stuck on the ride in the pouring rain and thunder and lighting. Sounds like a great day to be at Guest Relations huh?
Many people wanted refunds for their tickets or rain checks and unfortunately that is not something Disney does, as it rains every single day in FL. We advised many guests who had Park Hoppers to visit another park as their attractions were indoors and up and running. Other guests who did not we offered to set them up with fastpasses for tomorrow to try to make up some of their lost time.
The rain did not let up until around 6:30 pm and the park was closing at 7pm. Most of the guests were understanding of the no refunds but some were very angry. I was able to help a few guests out who had only entered the park at 3pm but one man wanted a refund even though he had been in the park since 9am! He declined the fastpasses I offered him and walked away angry. I felt bad that the options I gave him were not suficent to solve his issue.
The shift went by so fast because we were so busy! We constantly had a line out the door and people were also lingering around inside the lobby to avoid the rain. Once all the guests had gone I felt pretty good about the day and while I felt a little overwhelmed I also felt that I had been well prepared!
A few days ago was a real test of my knowledge and skills! I was working a closing shift, 3 to 9pm and it starts raining at 3pm. Typical for FL, but this was not your ordinary rain shower. This was practically a MONSOON! It was heavy downpour and thunder and lightning. Because the majority of our attractions are outdoor many had to close. Our Safari actually began to flood in some places so we needed to close that attraction too. And as if that wasn't enough, Everest was not only closed but actually had guests stuck on the ride in the pouring rain and thunder and lighting. Sounds like a great day to be at Guest Relations huh?
Many people wanted refunds for their tickets or rain checks and unfortunately that is not something Disney does, as it rains every single day in FL. We advised many guests who had Park Hoppers to visit another park as their attractions were indoors and up and running. Other guests who did not we offered to set them up with fastpasses for tomorrow to try to make up some of their lost time.
The rain did not let up until around 6:30 pm and the park was closing at 7pm. Most of the guests were understanding of the no refunds but some were very angry. I was able to help a few guests out who had only entered the park at 3pm but one man wanted a refund even though he had been in the park since 9am! He declined the fastpasses I offered him and walked away angry. I felt bad that the options I gave him were not suficent to solve his issue.
The shift went by so fast because we were so busy! We constantly had a line out the door and people were also lingering around inside the lobby to avoid the rain. Once all the guests had gone I felt pretty good about the day and while I felt a little overwhelmed I also felt that I had been well prepared!
Monday, July 8, 2013
Assesment Day and First Day on my own!
On Sunday I had my Assessment! Even though I had gotten one less day of training than everyone else, the manager and the trainer felt that I was ready to take it anyway. This time my trainer was Lynda and she went over a lot of the assessment questions before we took it. There was a written part that was mostly multiple choice or true and false, then there was a section where Lynda would watch me interact with guests and see how I handled certain situations. I only got 4 questions wrong on the assessment which was very good! After that we actually got to spend a little bit of time in the Window location, we did mostly ticketing transactions there and it wasn't too bad. Later on they will actually train me for that location.
I have been wearing our "Summer" option for my costume. This costume is not as fancy looking as the one with the vest, but so much more comfortable. Firstly, girls don't need to wear pantyhose, and second the shirt is untucked. A lot of women in Guest Relations don't really like the costume but I think it is okay. The skirt is actually a navy blue skort.
Today was my first day alone without a trainer. I was a little nervous but as the day went on I felt more confident. I did have to ask my fellow CMs for help or just to check to make sure I was doing the right thing, but they were more than happy to help. I also finally got to talk with one of our other PIs, Mehlanie as we were working the same shift. Later on in the shift our manager brought us our D-Pins! These are the gold pins that Guest Relations cast members wear on their costumes and is a long standing tradition at the Walt Disney Company.
So now it is official! I am a Guest Relations Hostess at Disney's Animal Kingdom!
I have been wearing our "Summer" option for my costume. This costume is not as fancy looking as the one with the vest, but so much more comfortable. Firstly, girls don't need to wear pantyhose, and second the shirt is untucked. A lot of women in Guest Relations don't really like the costume but I think it is okay. The skirt is actually a navy blue skort.
Today was my first day alone without a trainer. I was a little nervous but as the day went on I felt more confident. I did have to ask my fellow CMs for help or just to check to make sure I was doing the right thing, but they were more than happy to help. I also finally got to talk with one of our other PIs, Mehlanie as we were working the same shift. Later on in the shift our manager brought us our D-Pins! These are the gold pins that Guest Relations cast members wear on their costumes and is a long standing tradition at the Walt Disney Company.
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