It's Official! I'm Going To Be A Cast Member Again!!!

Happy Friday!! If you've been following along for a while, or just found my blog, you know that I have done two Disney College Programs and have decided to go back to Disney. Well I applied for an open position in Monorails roughly 1.5 months back, but they had already filled that position so my recruiter told me he could put me on the waitlist for basically any hourly role I wanted. With that in mind I chose Lifeguard (because he said that waitlist should move quickly), with secondary roles being Attractions and Merchandise. Well after 1.5 months on the waitlist...I got a part-time offer to be a Lifeguard at Wilderness Lodge!!! I am SO EXCITED to be back with Disney and am thrilled about my location! I'm pretty sure I'll love lifeguarding, so we'll see what happens :)

Side life update: I also was hired part-time by Universal Studios so you can catch me lifeguarding at Wilderness Lodge three days a week, and working in Islands of Adventure at Doctor Doom's Fearfall and Stormforce Accelatron three days a week. I plan on making more detailed posts in the future on what those two different roles actually look like, but I'm still too fresh to make those yet. I just finished day two of on the job training with Universal, and I haven't had anything for Disney, I JUST accepted my offer like a day ago and need to go in for drug testing before I have any classes/Traditions/OJT.

YAY! And a random piece of advice to those on the waitlist with Disney (I plan on also making a post about that later on), know that because of the new-ish Union negotiations, you have to be in your role with Disney a full year (rather than six months like before) before transferring roles/locations, so don't be afraid to be picky with your recruiter when they ask what roles you're interested in. Make sure it's something you could do for a full year without hating, it might be worth an extra month of waiting to make sure you get a role you know you would enjoy and succeed in. ALSO, if you're hired part-time/seasonal, you can put in a transfer immediately for full-time since that's considered a "promotion", you don't need to wait a full year for that one.

Anyway just a few random updates and a chunk of advice, but I'll update later on more details about applying to Universal, as well as being on the Disney waitlist and what my jobs look like! In the meantime...HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND! Stay safe out there!!

Applying for Part/Full-Time Hourly Roles at Disney World!!

So in case you didn't read the end of my Summer Alumni post a few posts back...I got NLIC AKA rejected. Super surprised but maybe it was just clearing the way for something better ;) After I got my rejection, it lit a fire under my butt and I became all the more determined to come back to Disney. THEN my best friend down there had a room open up in her house so I started applying for normal Disney jobs and put in my two weeks with my current job! So crazy how fast that can all happen.

I applied for nine jobs all together, got rejected from most (I'll admit I applied to a lot of jobs that were a bit of a stretch!), am still in consideration for one, and got an offer (kind of?) for another!! The basic application process is similar to the DCP, a basic application where you can link your resume, input job experience, etc. Lots of the Disney listing also have a section where they ask "which of these jobs have you  performed?" and for example one job I applied to was Entertainment Stage Technician and the options were:

• Operate floodlights and spotlights
• Operate specialty lighting and preset lighting 
• Operate video playback
• Operate soundboard
• Troubleshoot lights
• Troubleshoot soundboard
• Troubleshoot video playback equipment
• None of the above

That wasn't the exact wording, but pretty similar. I had operated a lot of that equipment when I interned for our athletics department and worked sporting events, but never had to try fix anything broken so I checked off the first half. I ended up getting rejected from that position, but that gives you an idea of what it looks like!

So the job I actually had an interview was Full/Part-Time Monorails and it was a phone interview similar in setup to the DCP phone interviews. The biggest setup difference was that you can select phone interview or in-person interview at Casting. I chose a phone interview because I haven't moved down yet from Seattle. In the phone interview it felt like I had already been hired, so WAY more chill than the DCP. My recruiter just asked me the basics then asked why I wanted to come back then asked me what role I wanted (he saw I had applied to a lot). So it wasn't even ten minutes (maybe even five!!) into my interview and he was like "so what role do you want? I can put you down for basically any hourly role, but if you want to get hired ASAP then I'd go for QSFB, Merchandise, or Lifeguard". I said I would love to go back to Attractions but he said that waitlist is usually super long so I had him put me down for Lifeguard! So now I have my swim test on June 2nd (it's May 22nd today, same day I interviewed) and if I pass that then I get put on the Lifeguard waitlist, which apparently should go pretty quick! I honestly was a little fuzzy on how that worked, but that's what he told me! So even though I had applied for Monorails, I ended up getting an offer (kind of) for Lifeguard. Interesting.

And that's as far as I've gotten so far! He just said that once they do send me an official job offer I need to take a drug test within 48 hours. So I have no clue what to expect: if I'll get a job right after my swim test, or if I sit for a month of two. Hopefully I get an offer straightaway because I need to be able to pay rent!!

Advice: What to Wear/Bring to Disney World and Universal Studios + My Favorite Disney Snacks

So today I watched one of those "what's in my Disney bag?" videos on YouTube and it inspired me to write my own post on what I bring into the parks! Then my thought process kind of snowballed and now I'm also going to include my advice on clothing, and dressing for a full day in the Florida weather AND my favorite Disney park snacks. My brain in a nutshell.

So I'm going to start off clothes then go into what I actually bring into the parks and throw in snacks along the way. Get ready for way too many photos as per usual!

So my biggest piece of advice is to dress for comfort. Spending a whole day in the parks, ESPECIALLY in the Florida summer, can be exhausting, and you definitely want to be comfortable. For me, I only wear athletic clothing in the parks unless I know it's probably not going to rain, and that's it's going to be cooler, then I'll wear jeans. But especially in the summer when it doesn't just rain but DOWNPOURS DAILY, I highly recommend wearing athletic clothing not only because it's comfortable but because it dries out more quickly than your regular street clothes! And usually keeps you cooler as well. So most of the time I'm in an athletic tank top and leggings or running shorts.

Going off of that, I also have to point out that due to the nature of the Florida rainstorms, ponchos work WAY better than raincoats. And in the summer when it's super hot with high humidity, ponchos allow for air flow that raincoats don't, so even though they look silly, they are much more comfortable. Cheap as well! You can also go for an umbrella, but sometimes that's a pain to carry around with you. With shoes in the rain, I personally stick with my Chaco sandals because they dry out pretty quickly and I can wear them all day without discomfort. If you wear tennis shoes into the park I would bring along an extra pair of sandals or at least an extra pair of socks to change into. If it's going to be a dry day, then tennis shoes work great (you'll be walking A LOT). Some of my friends wear Birkenstocks as well, wear whatever you can last all day in without regret. Basically I advise against cute sandals that look good but have zero support. But you do you.

As for layers, I usually bring something super lightweight unless I know the whole day is going to be on the cooler side (like highs in the 60's), then I'll being a sweatshirt, but normally I bring a long-sleeved shirt or flannel as my layer for the morning or evening when it's a little cooler. Finally, 90% of the time I just bring a fanny pack as I find it more comfortable, and for rides at Universal where you normally have to remove bags, fanny packs can stay with you since they're strapped to you. Once in awhile if I had a SUPER long day planned or packed a lunch or something I might bring a backpack, or if it's a cool day and I'm wearing jeans, I'll just use my pockets and can use the shorter security lines for people without bags.

Okay now I'm including photos of my everyday park wear and you will VERY quickly see a pattern as to what I wear hahaha.

So obviously I know what works for me and stick to it, and while everyone has different preferences, my biggest piece of advice is to recognize that Florida weather is all over the place and not just warm all the time, and to dress for comfort!!

Okay onto what I bring into the parks. As previously mentioned, I'm a fanny pack kind of gal. So most of the time I just bring in (inside the fanny pack), my phone, hand sanitizer, chapstick, money and ID, car key if I drove, apartment/house key if I live there, sunglasses if it's going to be sunny, and sometimes my Kindle (yes it really does fit in that Dakine fanny pack you see in the photos!) if I'm in the parks by myself and if I took the bus. Some of my friends bring water bottles (you can bring food and drink into the park as long as it's not alcohol or glass I believe), but I don't like carrying a water bottle around so when I'm thirty I just stop by any quick-service restaurant or Starbucks and get a free cup of ice water! I also don't usually bring food with me, but buy it inside the park.

Which brings us to food and snacks. I'm pretty cheap so I usually just buy a kids chicken nugget meal which comes with a drink and two sides for less than $10. And no, you don't have to be a child to order that meal.

This is the kids chicken nugget meal from Restaurant-o-saurus in Animal Kingdom, but my favorite kids chicken nugget meal spot is Cosmic Rays in Magic Kingdom! All parks have it somewhere though. Other AWESOME snacks that are ALMOST all under $10 and delicious are posted below! These were some of my go-to's, but I also recommend Club Cool (not pictured) for free soda samples in Epcot!! I also didn't include anything from Epcot's Festivals since those are seasonal, but you can always find some awesome and cheap snacks at those. And of course there are other awesome snacks not featured, Disney is FULL of hidden snack gems.

Peach bubble tea from China in Epcot

Lefse from the bakery in Norway in Epcot

LeFou's Brew in Magic Kingdom (this is pretty sweet so I recommend sharing)

Ghiradelli's Salted Caramel Sundae in Disney Springs (also good for sharing)

Margaritas from Mexico in Epcot (this one was Avocado YUMMMM)

Raspberry Lime Macaroon from France in Epcot

My personal favorite, the Fresh Fruit Nutella Waffle from Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom (ordered without the blueberries)

And finally from Universal Studios, the Butterbeer Soft-Serve Ice Cream!! They also have a delicious Lavender-Early Grey regular ice cream. This one is only at Universal Studios (Gringotts side), NOT Islands of Adventure!

Of course I also have to include the regular Butterbeer drink from Universal, both frozen and iced:

And finally, it's not original WHATSOEVER, buuuuuuuut we did stop at Starbucks a LOT. Note that while you can still earn points at park Starbucks, you can't redeem them in the parks for free drinks! You CAN, however, redeem them at Disney Springs (I'm 90% sure)!!

That sums up my super random and photo-heavy post on what I bring into the parks, what I eat in the parks, and what I like to wear in the parks!! Hopefully you found something in here somewhat helpful or interesting, have fun on your park trip!

My 2019 Summer Alumni Phone Interview and Application (Two Time Alumni)

ALRIGHT ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I had my phone interview today!! So wild to say that. A week ago I applied on a whim, and not even realizing the applications were only open for a day, I just stumbled across the listing and went for it. This year the summer alumni program was open to those of us who are not currently in school or have not graduated recently so yay! Anyway I already wrote about that so let's just jump right into it.

First off, on the application you had the option to put interest (low, moderate, or high) in the following roles:

• Attractions
• Seater
• Watercraft
• Merchandise
• Bell Services
• Lifeguard
• Custodial
• Quick-Service Food & Beverage 

And here's what I put interest in:

High Interest:

• Attractions
• Watercraft

Moderate Interest:

• Bell Services Dispatch/Greeter
• Seater

Low Interest:

• Lifeguard
• Merchandise

No Interest:

• Quick-Service Food & Beverage
• Custodial

Okay I'm going to randomly insert photos of my trips back to Orlando this year just to break up the text hahaha.

The fam outside of Nemo on my first visit back after my program

Okay back to the phone interview. I applied, completed the WBI, and scheduled my phone interview all on February 11, 2019, apparently the day the application came out. I scheduled my phone interview for a week later, February 18, 2019, at 4:45pm and my recruiter called at 4:42pm. Her name was Nina and she started it off the way every other interview starts "hi, how are you? Is now a good time? Are you familiar with the Disney look?" etc. The usual. She then said that this interview would only be about 10 minutes. She talked really fast and really seemed to be rushing to hit that 10 minute mark, so I don't know if she was almost off work and if they HAVE to hit those 10 minute intervals, but she talked REALLY fast haha. She was super nice though and still very engaging, so that's good! 

My one and only Galactic Hero moment

The first question she asked after the basics I mentioned earlier was if I was fully available for the dates of the program which were May 20 - August 9. I answered yes, then she asked if I had a driver's license which I also answered yes to. She then asked me to describe a time I had a roommate conflict and how I dealt with that. So I told her (very honestly) that I had the BEST roommates and on the most recent program seriously had ZERO issues. But on my first program we had a couple little issues with trash and dishes so we sat down, talked it out, and made a chore chart which worked great for us. Then she noticed I had a lot of job experience listed and asked me to tell her about my favorite job I worked. So I replied not to like suck up or anything (but I said it nicer than that haha) but my second program in Attractions was my favorite because I am efficiency driven and loved that aspect of the job, and enjoyed working in a team, the organization behind it, and finally adored my cast.

Fam in front of the castle feat. me with food like always

She followed that question with asking what my least favorite job was. I told her it was tough because I've learned so much in all my jobs, but probably my least favorite (which I didn't even include on my application) was working for a Starbucks in a grocery store because it was a lot of working by myself with little guest interaction because we were never that busy. And she was like "oh yeah, I totally get that", very encouraging about it so I guess that was an ok answer? Haha it was so hard to tell with her because while she was SO nice she also really kept things moving! 

WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE WE'RE NOT GONNA MAKE IT

So after that she asked me to describe a time I dealt with a difficult guest situation so I told her about the time the fire alarm went off at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (where I worked) and we had to dump a queue of hundreds of people while keeping everyone calm, and we ended up dumping that whole building in less than ten minutes. So we all did what we were assigned and worked as a team and got lots of compliments which was nice! And with the angry guests you just have to listen and be understanding. And she was like "yeah some people get so pushy with FastPasses and stuff, but glad it ended well!" or something along those lines. 

I love them so much

So following that she asked what my career goal was and how these roles could help me accomplish that. So I told her I recently had a switch in desired career and the dream is to work for Disney with their zoology/marine biology departments. I said that I noticed there was a bunch of crossover between departments in attractions and would use that for networking to help me with my career if I was accepted. And I feel like for all my answers she was like "oh yeah, oh for sure" stuff like that haha.

Don't mind us, we'll be napping

So anyway after that she told me that we would be accepted on a rolling basis and to keep track of my dashboard. She also emphasized that I would be considered for ALL roles I put interest in. Then she asked if I had any questions for her, which I did. Firstly I asked her for advice on HELPFUL networking (aside from the basic "hi, nice to meet you" stuff) and she told me that my leaders would be the best resource and to get to know them because everyone knows someone and they could hook you up with connections. Then I asked out of curiosity the same question I asked on my last interview which was how do they decide location for people? And she totally knew I was angling for an opportunity to request a location hahaha, I am NOT subtle I guess!! But she said it's mostly random, some based on availability and some on skills. Then she said I could put in a request, so I requested Animal Kingdom or Epcot in the Seas for the sake of networking with people that could help me out in my future career! So she said she noted that down. And that was it! She told me it was so fun chatting with me and wished me luck and we said our goodbyes :)

You KNOW I gotta end with my two favs, Michaelene and Dumbo

That's it! I feel pretty good about my interview but who knows. I'll hear back by April 5th. I also applied for two other Disney jobs, one in corporate, and one as a ranch hand at Fort Wilderness! So we'll see where life takes me :) I kind of feel like the whole applying on a whim that just happened to be the day apps dropped was a sign that I'm meant to go back but we'll see....STAY TUNED FOR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT ;)

UPDATE: Acceptances started going out today (Thursday, March 7, 2019) at 2pm ET, but it was a mini wave and I was not in it. There were also quite a few NLIC's for those who were stuck in the "applied" stage without WBI's. So I guess this year summer acceptances aren't coming out all together!

UPDATE TWO: There was at least one phone interview NLIC the following day (Friday, March 8, 2019), but there hasn't been any more movement since then and it's currently Tuesday afternoon, March 12th. Crossing my fingers they send out the rest of the acceptances this week!!

UPDATE THREE: For the first time in my DCP history, I got an NLIC email :( An NLIC wave went out today, March 28th, and unfortunately, I was in it. Summer alumni is a very competitive program, so I knew there was a chance I wouldn't get accepted, but it still hurts!! I'm not giving up though, I'll keep applying to part and full-time jobs as they become available :)

Random helpful tip: even if you don't have a Twitter (like me), you can look up @christyrecruit on Twitter and see her tweets which are GREAT hints during the application process!! She's a Disney recruiter and will send out hints on when acceptances will go out and stuff like that, and at least for us she's been super accurate. 

2019 Summer Alumni Phone Interview Question Compilation

Hopefully this list will be helpful for those of you looking for a compilation list of possible phone interview questions! I pulled questions from my own interview as well as from others who have posted theirs on the Facebook page! Note that some questions will only pertain to you if you put interest in certain roles. I'm going to bold the questions that most people have gotten on their interviews so you know what the most common questions have been this season!

• Are you familiar with the Disney look?
• Do you have any tattoos that would show outside of shorts and a t-shirt?
• What are your career goals and how would the roles you've shown interest in help you achieve those goals?
• Describe a difficult roommate situation and explain how you dealt with it.
• What's your least favorite job you've worked?
• What's your favorite job you've worked?
• Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult guest. 
• Why do you want to come back to Disney?
• What qualifies you to be a Seater?
• What is your least favorite aspect of a job and why?
• What did you like about Merchandise?
• Are you okay with heights in Attractions?
• What is your favorite place in WDW?
• What are your post-graduation plans?
• Do you have a driver's license?
• Are you an international student on a visa?
• Tell me one challenge and one asset of being a manager at your current job.
• Are you able to perform the roles for which you put interest in?
• What is the hardest part of a job?
• What do you love most about your past role at Disney?
• How would you deal with having a repetitive job?
• If you had a magical recruiting wand and could put yourself at any location, where would it be?
• What are the top three things you loved about your first program?
• What do you hope to get out of another program?
• How would you feel about the challenges of a new role?
• What did you learn from dealing with a difficult guest and how could you have handled it differently?
• What advice would you give to others wanting to do the DCP?

And as always, you end the interview with the ability to ask questions!

SUMMER ALUMNI 2019?!

LONG TIME NO SEE!!!!!! I'm like that cockroach that just won't die ;) So I've officially been back home in Washington state for over a year, and recently decided I want to move back to Florida. So on a whim I decided to start applying to jobs down there, and while searching Disney jobs I found the 2019 Summer Alumni Program! Turns out this year they are opening it to people no longer in college!! For the normal program you have to either be currently enrolled in at least two classes (I think) or have graduated within the past six months. Since I graduated two years ago I figured summer alumni would be the same but GUESS WHAT, I'M ELIGIBLE!!

And GET THIS, so I applied on a whim, not knowing how long the listing would be up for or anything like that, and turns out I JUST SO HAPPENED to apply within the TWO DAYS THE LISTING WAS UP! If that's not a sign, I don't know what is. ;)

So anyway. I just finished my phone interview, so I'll do a detailed post a bit later on that, but I did the initial application which is VERY similar to the regular college program application (you can find blog posts about the initial app earlier on this blog somewhere) on February 11th, 2019. At 12:14pm I got this email:

"Thank you for taking the time to apply to the Disney College Program.

Due to the high volume of applications and limited number of opportunities available, not all applicants will move forward in the interviewing process. You will receive an update regarding the status of your application no later than April 5, 2019."

And at 12:18pm on the same day I got this email:

"Thank you again for your interest in the Disney College Program. Based on the information you provided in your application, you have been selected to participate in an initial interview.*

The next step in the process is a Web-Based Interview. This initial interview will help us learn more about your experiences.

We ask you to complete this interview within three (3) days from receipt of this email."

The WBI this time around was similar to the last two I did, but it was a slightly different setup and felt like there were more questions. But it's basically the same as every other personality test that interviewers put out there! I answered honestly with lots of confidence (using "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree") and made it through!

Immediately following my WBI I received a "congratulations" notice asking me to schedule a phone interview. I scheduled it for 4:45pm PST the following Monday, February 18th, 2019. I just got done with the phone interview and feel decent! Not quite as confident as I felt after my last interview, but it still felt like it went well, and my interviewer, Nina, was super sweet. 

She told me to check my dashboard as that's more accurate than email, and said we would be accepted on a rolling basis! WISH ME LUCK AND SEND ME PIXIE DUST IF YOU WANT THIS BLOG BACK UP IN FULL SWING ;)