Random Tips and Advice

Super random tips and advice, sorry it's gonna be super chaotic but whatevs

• Go to the parks at night. They're so much emptier without small kids, and you need to watch Wishes whenever you can <3 We literally walked on Space Mountain twice with 15 minutes, and that would've been shorter if not for the long walk!
• Order kids meals when you eat out. You get an entree, sides, and a drink for half the price of an adult meal! It's plenty of food, and they don't even question if it's for a kid or something.
• Never buy a water bottle. Either bring in your own water bottle or ask a quick service place for a cup of water because that's always free.
• Bring food into the parks so you're spending less money, or save that money for one good meal or a couple of snacks.
• Don't be afraid to go to the parks by yourself! It's awesome.
• Try LeFou's Brew and other Disney specialties, they're famous for a reason.
• Epcot Food and Wine Festival. Take advantage of the beautiful food.
• If you're 21, drink around the world! How many times will you have all those unique drinks in one place??
• Try for a balanced diet. Make sure you're buying protein and fruits/veggies aside from the inevitable ramen and mac n cheese.
• Limit yourself your first month. Unless you plan on spending more than you make, the first month is by far the most expensive. You're making the least amount of money, and spending the most. I, for example, spent SO much on groceries (that initial trip is killer), Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP), and my Universal annual pass.
• Buy a ticket to MNSSHP!!! I am SO excited to go. What I hear is that you walk away with an absurd amount of candy, Hallowishes is the coolest thing ever, and the Halloween parade is the best Disney puts on. And you get a September discount, may as well use it!
• Tell your family not to come over Christmas because you can't use like any perks...found that out the hard way! Basically the week of Christmas is blacked out, meaning you can't get anyone but yourself in for free. Go for September-early November.
• Book any hotels early! There's only a limited number of cast discounts per hotel per night/week.
• If you need multiple days off for any reason, put that request in ASAP. As CPs we have the lowest priority for days off.
• Join your work location's Facebook page for shift giveaways. There are so many part timers that need more hours! They will gladly pick up any shifts you don't want. 
• That being said, make sure you're working enough hours to afford your lifestyle.
• DON'T QUIT. It's a job, you are here to work AND play, not just play. The amount of people that self-term is ridiculous.
• Give the DCP and your work location at least a month. It does suck in the beginning, but gets SO much better. One of my coworkers put in a request to self-term after a week or two, but after working longer and getting to know his coworkers, he loved it! One of his biggest regrets...
• The guest is always right. Just grin and bear it.
• Choose your roomies before coming, and choose them for their lifestyles. You don't need to be best friends, you need to live together comfortably. Chances are you'll also become good friends, but don't expect that. After the first week, your schedules will be so crazy that you'll never all be home and awake at the same time.
• Be considerate at night. For your roommates and neighbors sanity, don't blast music at 2am. It sucks. 
• Don't forget to call the family once in awhile! It's hard to find time sometimes but they miss you :)
• Don't drink if you're under 21. This is a huge reason people get termed, and it's so easily avoidable. Just be smart!
• Don't wait forever to do laundry. 
• TAKE PICTURES! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, take advantage of that and document your experience.
• When people know you can get them into Disney for free, they'll mob you. Don't accept bribes (termed.) or give them out to distant family. Save them for good friends and family!
• Even if you bring a car, taking the buses is not a bad idea. You save gas, and the buses are not as bad as everyone says. Post about that to come.
• Cook/bake at least once in awhile. It's so nice to come home and remember you made homemade muffins or a homemade meal!
• Florida is hot and humid, come into the program with the right clothes and attitude.
• Most of the boys are gay, don't come in expecting to meet a husband! Just expect to make some amazing lifelong friends :)
• Do all the rides, but don't forget the shows. They are SO cool. Be sure to watch The Festival of the Lion King at Animal Kingdom!

That's all I got for now. It ended up super long...but oh well! Someday I'm planning on doing a "DCP: Real Talk" kind of thing, as well as one detailing life in QSFB, housekeeping, and custodial. I know this is post #2 within an hour, but whatever. My brain can't shut down!

Week Two

Big news..I've officially EARNED MY EARS! Basically this means you take your training label off of your name tag :) I'm lucky because my location does not require an assessment but usually this also means you passed that. Not a whole lot of interesting things happened this week, but it was a good week. All of my shifts have been about 6 hours, and they consist of bussing, counter, and dish room. So cleaning tables, giving guests their food, and cleaning dishes. The easy stuff :) Also my coworkers are SO BOMB so that's cool. I had Sunday and Thursday off this past week and those days were awesome. Did I already talk about Harry Potter? Well I went to Universal on Sunday with some of my roomies and bought my annual pass. It was like $215 or something with tax and our Florida discount. Go to the front desk of your complex and ask for proof of residency and you get the discount! Yay! We got to do both parks, but Islands of Adventure I think I like more. That one has Marvel and Dr. Seuss, and normal Universal has Simpsons (which I really don't like) and stuff. Our main goal was to hit the Harry Potter stuff so we did the new Gringotts ride (which is super cool) and the castle ride, drank Butterbeer (SO GOOD) and ate ice cream from the new ice cream place (which was also SO GOOD). I prefer cold Butterbeer over frozen because the frozen kind is more milkshakey and makes me feel sick because it's so rich. The ice cream I got was strawberry and peanut butter (think PB&J), and earl grey and lavender which was to die for. To get to and from Universal we took the trolley which you can catch if you take the bus to Publix and walk a bit. It drops you off about a 20 minute walk from the park, but it's only 25 cents for cast members. So it's cheap but it's long and it kind of sucks, so if you have a car I think it's worth the $20 in parking to just drive there.

Thursday I went to Magic Kingdom by myself and it was actually so much fun. I bought my ticket for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, which is discounted at $45 including tax for cast members through September. I got to the actual park around 2pm and took my nice camera with me. I took pictures of whatever caught my eye and got to do some "shopping" aka walk through stores and dream of buying things, and eat. I finally tried LeFou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern which was pretty delicious. It's like frozen apple juice with marshmallow flavor, and topped with a passion fruit foam. Sounds weird but it totally works, Next time I think I'd share because it's pretty rich, but it was really good. Got myself a kids meal for lunch, and staked out a perfect spot for Wishes at like 6pm. I brought a book to help pass the time, but I got to sit in front of Walt's statue right in front of the castle. I saw the electrical parade, Celebrate the Magic, and Wishes. Wishes was delayed almost an hour because of rain, but that also means it was practically empty! I highly recommend going to the parks by yourself once in awhile.

Work this week was pretty consistent. Worked about 12-6 everyday and did the same jobs. 2 days at Backlot, 3 days at SCC. This week is the same but I get Wednesday and Thursday off, and we're open later on Saturday due to the Tower of Terror run thingy. But my class starts Thursday so yay! (Exploring Environmentality and Sustainability) I think I'm going to Universal with my friend Katy on Wednesday, and doing errands and maybe a park in the morning on Thursday. Or Property Control. That's the cast member store that sells cheap merch that is somehow "damaged" (keep in mind this could be a thread missing or something tiny).

So that's my week. I think I'm gonna do a post soon that's super random tips and fun facts and whatever that wouldn't fit in anywhere else. I'm loving it here so far :) Stay tuned for the next post! Have a very magical week :)

Week One

So I've decided to just start doing weekly blog updates, unless so much exciting stuff happens I need multiple. I'm so busy now with work that I really don't have the time anyways! So I think I left off with training day two or whatever. Since then I've had 4 days of on site training/work, and one really long tour of Hollywood Studios that was super awesome.

First was the tour. We got to go into DHS (Disney's Hollywood Studios) about half an hour before it opened so we all felt like VIPs going in when it was completely empty and there were guests waiting outside. We basically toured every foot of the park, and stopped every so often for advice and fun facts and information. It's A LOT of info, and most of it bounced right off my head. We got to go backstage of some attractions and restaurants, so that was super fun. At the end we did online classes that certify us to handle certain things. AKA one that lets us handle alcohol, one that teaches us the dining plan, and stuff like that. Overall our day was just under 4 hours.

The following day was my first day of on site training! Since my location, SCC (Studios Catering Company) is often closed in the off season, I trained at Back Lot Express, which is kind of our sister restaurant. I learned how to use the grill and fryer, and how to close trash and bus tables. A VERY overwhelming day, but our trainer was awesome. We worked 8.5 hours, but got a one hour lunch break.

Day two of on site training was at SCC where we mostly worked the line. This is where you assemble the meal, starting with ticket, tray, plate, main course, and fries or sides. Then we hand it over to the counter people who will get drinks and desserts together. It made the time go by super fast, but it's very fast paced and kind of stressful, especially when you get backed up. We closed condiment bar that night, which means we cleaned up the condiment bar (island with condiments, napkins, straws, etc.), re-stocked it for the next day, and covered it. Again, it was an 8.5 hour day, but we got a one hour lunch break.

Day three was at Back Lot Express again, and we learned how to make all of the sandwiches we sell, assemble salads, close counter, and do counter. Counter is where you get the tray of food, read the receipt, and grab whatever drinks and desserts they ordered. Then you hand the guest their food, and move on to the next tray. If there's no trays to grab, you just get to socialize with the guests which is SO FUN. Talking to all the little princesses <3 AH so cute. Well closing counter is just shutting everything down, cleaning the counters, restocking the fridges where we keep bottled drinks, and locking everything up in the front. It was a very good day. Another 8.5 hour shift with a one hour lunch break.

Today was day four! We were back at SCC, and learned stocking and drinks, then got some more practice on counter and line. The stocker just stocks the line and stuff when they 're running low on anything. So this could be plates, trays, applesauce, you name it. They are also in charge of special order meals. Since we make our sandwiches in the morning, if they ask for no red peppers, we go make a brand new one. Drinks is so much harder than it sounds. You're in charge of filling up all fountain drinks for the counter people. We get a screen that says how many drinks, and what kind. But it gets backed up SO fast. Especially when people order multiple drinks, or order a specialty cup. It makes the time pass pretty quick though, and they were all understanding that I was the new girl and stuff :) Seriously my coworkers are the best. We ended with line and counter, and today was a more independent day, and I believe our last day of training. YAY! It was (surprise, surprise) another 8.5 hour day with that one hour lunch break, Did I mention that we got to try food of our menu every lunch? Yep, that's pretty cool. It's only for trainees, however, so we can answer guests questions on taste and stuff. One bonus of working QSFB.

Well tomorrow is my day off and I'm off to HOGWARTS! YAY! I'm going with the roomies <3 I work Monday-Wednesday, and off Thursday, and work through Saturday. I get my schedule for the following week tomorrow, so we'll see about those shifts and stuff. This week I have all 11:15, 12, or 12:30 shifts, and two at Back Lot Express (BLX), three at SCC. Busy week up ahead! Classes for Disney start soon, I just turned in my application to study abroad next semester, time is flying. Also, went to magic kingdom the other night at like 8pm, and finally got to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! SO CUTE! And of course watch Wishes <3 Talk about a fabulous night. Well that's it for now, I'm off to get a good nights sleep. Have a magical week :)

Day One of On-Site Training

Today was my very first day actually working at Hollywood Studios!! YAY! Note that you get paid everyday you work or train, starting with Traditions. So today we clocked in, got a very extensive tour of the park, and did some classroom work. After the classroom we took an online class, but I took a different class than those in attractions or outdoor foods. Mine was about handling alcohol, who knows what theirs was about. It was all very simple and straightforward, you just have to pay attention when you do these online classes because there's usually a test/assessment at the end! Well after our online class we got to go to...COSTUMING! HOORAY! So Studio Catering Co. isn't open all that often, so I will be trained at both Backlot Express and Studio Catering Co. They both have the same costume, so it's not a big deal. My costume is fairly awful. I'll post a picture later, but it fits SO weird. Mine has a huge white button up short sleeved unisex shirt with black striped sleeves, black high waisted pants, a black belt, a white hat, and a blue or red apron. Not too bad, but let me tell you these costumes are far from flattering. And sizing here is weird, so don't be surprised if your size here is bigger than your usual. My costume is 2-3 sizes bigger than what I usually wear, they run very small. Overall it was about a 6 hour training day, 8am-2pm.

I thought I'd do a mini update on my time off yesterday! I need to upload pictures, but I only have a few right now. Last Friday after Traditions I got to go to Hollywood Studios for the first time since middle school. We went in the afternoon/evening, and it poured the entire time. BUT IT WAS SO FUN! We got to do Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollercoaster (my fav!), the Great Movie Ride, and Toy Story Midway Mania. So much fun. By the way, the Frozen Fun Land they have going is SO cute. We're talking indoor ice rink, snow area for making snow men, winter everywhere. Here's a couple photos of my roommate Mikaela and I from DHS.

So Saturday or Sunday (is it sad I really don't remember?) I got to go to Epcot with my two roommate Mikaela and Allison. We literally walked right onto Soarin', Star Tours, and Maelstrom. That was awesome. Then we ate good Mexican food, and watched Illuminations. Future CP tip: get a kids meal, they're cheaper, still plenty of food, and even if it has an age limit they give it to you anyway. Illuminations was awesome. We got great standing spots because everyone left since it was raining. I believe we were between the UK and...Morocco? Whatever comes before the UK. Anyways it was great.

Monday I went to Animal Kingdom for the first time EVER with my roommate Sarah!! I got to ride Everest which is SO MUCH FUN, and some weird rollercoaster that is very jolty in Dinoland, and the Safari. I love animals, so the Safari was SO my thing <3 Unfortunately Dinosaur was closed :( But we did get to see Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. Both are awesome, go see them. We got lunch at restarauntasaurus, totally butchered that spelling. I tried the mac n' cheese hot dog, far too much fatty food in one meal for me, but I'm sure some love it. We went home for dinner, then went to Magic Kingdom with two of our other roommates, Mikaela and Lindsey. First time in MK for us this program and we pretty much all cried a little. We got to ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain, and the Haunted Mansion. Classics :) Then we watched the end of Celebrate the Magic (I think that's what it's called?) and Wishes <3 Totally cried at Wishes. IT'S JUST SO MAGICAL. And that was it. Absolutely loving it here <3 I now have my "Earning My Ears" ribbon on my name tag so I'm king of official ;) I have training in the classroom tomorrow, at Backlot Express the two days after that, then training at Studio Catering Co., and the day off on Sunday. Action packed couple of days :) So I'll be back soon with more updates! Until next time, make it a magical day <3

This is a Princess pose...

Lindsey, me, Mikaela, Sarah

Training Day One and Two

It varies person to person when they have training. You are now on your "work schedule" so you're officially working for the company, and some people have different schedules! My first two training days were taught in the classroom at Disney University, and were the two days after Traditions. Both are a bit slow, but exciting things happen with each day! I got my work shoes (QSFB gets FREE non slip shoes), and I got access to the HUB. I'm not really allowed to say anything about the HUB. but it's basically your entire Disney life online. So I got my work schedule for the rest of the week, and it's finally starting to hit me that I'm actually working here!

So day one of training was learning the four keys. You will become VERY familiar about SAFETY, COURTESY, SHOW, AND EFFICIENCY, Like very familiar. So that's most of day one, and it was specific to the operations cast (pretty much everyone). Day two was specific to food and beverage roles, so it was like food safety and stuff. Not the most exciting, but definitely stuff you need to know. Both were about four hours long. I have today off (going to Animal Kingdom for the first time!), but my first day of on-site training is tomorrow! And I think I'll be working at both Studio Catering Co, and Backlot Express. From what I can tell from my schedule. I was scheduled about 42 hours this week, and 30 next week. After today, my next days off are Sunday and the following Thursday! We always have our schedules for the next two weeks, and those get updated on the weekends.

So that's about it for now! I booked a hotel room for my family, using my 50% off discount. So that's exciting, even though it was still really expensive. Beach Club Resort near Epcot, seven days, $2,782 WITH the discount. But it looks super nice so that'll be fun :) Well that's it for now! Have a very magical day <3

Traditions!

We had Traditions yesterday, which was really exciting :) I'm not going to reveal too much, but I'll give you the basic rundown. There were two different times, one at 8am (mine), and one at 2:30pm. For Traditions you need to be in business professional attire, and they really will check for the "Disney look". Basically, look nice and cover your tattoos. Traditions for me was about four and a half hours long, but about 85% of that was indoors. So you'll be fine if you wear dress pants, or a cardigan. That A/C can get chilly! I'll be honest, the first half is super boring. Safety and all that, but after that there's a bit of Disney magic which is SO COOL. I'm not going to tell you the little Disney magic that happens, because that kind of ruins some of it. I watched a vlog that spoiled all the Traditions secrets, and it definitely made the experience less exciting. So please don't look up spoilers, it takes away so much of the magic.

Well at the end of Traditions you get your blue cast I.D. and your name  tag! YAY! We don't get our main gates (park tickets) for about 10 days, so the blue I.D. and a driver's license is what we use to get into the parks until then. After Traditions, I went back to my apartment and changed, and then my roommate Mikaela and I went to Hollywood Studios! Seriously so exciting. We got to ride all the big rides, see where I'm working, and watch the Frozen fireworks. Even though it was pouring down rain, it was so much fun. The Frozen pavilion thing here is SO SO SO cute, even if you're not a huge Frozen fan. Okay I think I got it all. Maybe. I'm trying to give y'all a general idea without giving away too much. The whole presentation is in a classroom at Disney University, same place two of your training days will take place. Oh, and while there's not much walking, don't wears heels. That gets old real fast. Make sure you have super comfy flats for all your business professional days (at least four days of dressing like this), and bring at least two outfits with you. By the way, Toms don't count. Yeah I think I covered it all! I had my first day of training today, have day two tomorrow, off Monday, and my first day of on-site training on Tuesday! Yay!

Day Two - Housing Meeting

Just like check-in and casting, you have an assigned housing meeting. Mine was at 1pm, so I had time to sleep in before catching the bus. My advice on this is to either get there 20-25 minutes early, or a couple minutes early. If you get there around 15 minutes early you will be stuck waiting in the hot sun, sweating. If you're there early you get shade, and if you come right around your time, you don't have to wait long to get in. It really doesn't matter how close to the front you are. They try really hard to make housing interesting, but basically it's all rules. Definitely important info, but boring nonetheless. I'll sum up the important stuff in a short list:

• No weapons, fake weapons, pocket knives, or light sabers. Only pepper spray allowed.
• No smoking in the apartments, though on the property and on the porches is allowed. No electronic cigarettes, or drugs of any other sort, including hookah.
• No drinking under the age of 21. Period. No holding someone's wine glass, or tasting anything. You are allowed to be in a non-wellness apartment visiting, and they're allowed to drink while you're there.
• People over 21 are not allowed to drink in an under 21 apartment. 
• If you give your apartment key to someone, you'll face termination.
• No guests in the apartments past 1am, and all guests must sign in.
• No guest CPers allowed in other apartments other than their own past 2am. They also must check in.
• Security is 24/7 and you can call them about anything.
• The only thing allowed on walls aside from the bulletin board already there is command strips.
• Don't hang things from the sprinklers and alarms.
• Inspections can be random or known ahead of time, and there's an extensive list on what's expected.

So that's about it, there's more, but I don't remember all of it. I just know that I have to send my pocket knife home. After the meeting you have 48 hours to get rid of your banned items. Overall the process was about 2 hours, but it all depends on how many questions people have. A lot of people in my group had questions about alcohol and drugs, so that took up about half an hour. also our PowerPoint shutdown so that took more time. Not the most exciting, but what're you gonna do.

On a non-related side note, prepare for grocery and apartment shopping because the first trip sucks and is super expensive. MAKE FRIENDS WITH SOMEONE WITH A CAR. Make that a priority before you brave Walmart with just your arms and a bus. Trust me, you will need much more than that to unload all your new crap. My grocery bill which included stuff like a mattress pad and pillows and other random non food items cost $200 which was pretty uniform across the board. Also be warned if you like healthy food, it's so expensive. Even the frozen fruit was pricey! So that's rough, but at least it's over. I'm sure my next post will be on Traditions. YAY!!!

Day One - Check-In and Casting

I'M HERE!! My countdown started at like 180 days and now I'm actually here. Wow. So this post is allllll about check-in and casting. Everyone is assigned a check-in window, I was assigned 7:30-8:30am and others were 8:30-9:30am. Though the only time they actually check your time is if you show up early, so I would recommend showing up no later than 8:45. The later it gets, the longer the line gets. But before you get in line, you can store your luggage in this garage thing. Most of check-in is waiting in long, hot lines, but most of the exciting stuff happens here! You find out your role, apartment, and all that fun stuff. So the first thing you do in line is get a name tag and DCP book that looks like a planner. Not too exciting. But this book has a lot of relevant information like discounts, your address, a calender, rules, maps, and other helpful hints.

Next step in check-in is finding out your role. This is super exciting. They ask you your role and name, look you up, build the anticipation, and then tell you. I'm officially working....HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!! Studio Catering Co. for me :) So excited. My roommates are working ABC Commissary in Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Studios custodial, Pecos Bills in Magic Kingdom, Epcot custodial, and housekeeping in the Caribbean Beach Resort. :) YAY! So after this you go to "station 2" which is where they take your paperwork you were told to bring (DORMS stuff) and they give you your apartment complex. My roommates and I got a Chatham 6 person, 2 bedroom apartment. So yay cheap rent!

Station 3 is getting your picture taken for your housing I.D. It sucks no matter what so don't try look cute. After you get your I.D. card you get your apartment key. After this you go outside and wait in more lines. For the first outdoor station you get a schedule for when you'll have casting, drug tests, housing meeting, and language test. After you get this schedule you go to a table where you talk about the schedule. I only had to attend casting and housing because QSFB doesn't require a drug test, and I'm not fluent in any other languages. Then you move on to the I9 form table and fill out an I9 all together which is very helpful for people like me that just don't understand government documents. Finally you go to a tent to talk about alumni connections and classes and safety, you get free stuff and then you're on your way!

You can either leave your luggage if you have casting right away, or pick up your luggage and board the bus to Chatham. Or move in if you live at Vista. I had casting at noon and was finished with check-in around 10, so I went to the apartment. This is a special bus so it drops you off at your apartment building instead of the bus stop, which is wonderful. BUT BE WARNED: THERE ARE NO ELEVATORS. So if you're on the top floor, like me, you get to carry your suitcase up a bunch of stairs. I was the first one in the apartment, so I chose my room first. They are both fairly large, but our had a bigger closet and bathroom. I'll do a post on that later, with pictures. The casting bus picked us up at the bus stop just past noon, and we were on Disney World property for the first time! So exciting. The casting center is by Downtown Disney, and it kind of sucks. The waiting room is super cool with little gold statues everywhere, and all the waiting is very Disney which is cute, but the process itself is very boring.

Casting consists of paperwork, fingerprinting, and verifying your I9 form. It took us about an hour and half to get through it all, but at least it's indoors so you get A/C! Everyone is so kind, even though they go through hundreds of CPs, the staff is so encouraging and excited for us. It made me so much more excited to be able to work with these people :) Oh, and you also get the first few days of your work training schedule. And Traditions. I have Traditions on Friday, and have to be to the bus at 6:55am. Then I have training at Disney University on Saturday and Sunday, and on-site training on Tuesday. For all of these events we must be dressed Business-Professional. They hand you a VERY detailed list of cans and cants for people when dressing so. But that's about it. Day one is incredibly long, exciting, exhausting, and at times extremely boring. We had our housing meeting today, going to Universal tomorrow, then Traditions on Friday!! More on all that later :) For now I hope all of y'alls days are as magical as mine have been <3