All About Being A Disney Lifeguard!

A LONG overdue post. But we're currently quarantined due to COVID-19 so I have no excuse! I am currently working part-time at Universal Studios and part-time at Wilderness Lodge as a Lifeguard so here's my update on what being a Disney Lifeguard looks like!

Firstly, when I was hired I was immediately put in the "pool" for Lifeguard (not literal) and they signed me up for a swim test. Pending a pass for my swim test I would be pulled from the "pool" whenever they had need. I had my interview in early May, my swim test in late May (fairly certain, might have been early June though), and was hired in July. I believe my Traditions date was July 27th (ish), so it took me roughly two months to get pulled.

So the swim test. The swim test basically is meant to show Disney that you will be safe in the pool. For shallow water guards you have to swim two laps either breaststroke or freestyle, retrieve a 10-pound brick from five feet of water, pass a basic hearing test, and pass a vision test with at least 20/25 (you can use contacts/glasses). For deep water the requirements are the same but you have to swim eight laps, retrieve the 10-pound brick from eight feet of water, and tread water without using hands for two minutes. You can try for deep water and if you don't make it all the way but passed the requirements for shallow water, you still pass, you just pass shallow instead of deep. So most people try for deep and if it's too hard, just take shallow. You just have to bring swimsuit, towel, ID, and corrective lenses if needed. Goggles optional.

Shallow water is the majority of Disney resorts, couldn't tell you what the technicality is that divides shallow and deep water but basically deep water will likely require you to tread water and shallow water you should be able to touch the bottom. Deep water guards work at the two water parks (think wave pool!), and I believe Disney's Yacht and Beach Club. Most guards are shallow water. Also deep water guards make more hourly than shallow water.

For my test I showed up to Mickey's Retreat by Chatham Square (DCP housing) at 8:30am and did my test with roughly five others. I HIGHLY recommend bringing goggles for the swim test, you might look funny but they will make it much easier. One girl just tried for shallow and passed, and the rest of us tried for deep then all dropped out and passed shallow. The whole thing didn't even last an hour, and let me tell you, that swim test looks so much easier on paper!! Swimming laps is exhausting haha.

So actual guarding. Every resort is a little bit different, but most have the same basic duties. Before starting work at your actual location you go through three full days of intense training at Mickey's Retreat through Ellis. Ellis is a third party that trains lifeguards and teach you different water saves, CPR, scanning, and how to handle various scenarios including choking. We spent half the day in the pool and the other half of the day doing CPR. You learn CPR on a baby/child/adult and you learn how to handle a choking baby/child/adult. For pool stuff they teach you how to scan the pool to maximize your efficiency in catching things, you learn different types of saves based on where the "guest in distress" is (bottom of the pool, facing towards you, facing away, unconscious, etc.), and you learn how to use the backboard for both rapid extrications and spinal injuries. So VERY in depth!! Once they teach you the basics you go through scenarios where three of you are "guards on duty" and scanning the pool and everyone else is in the pool with the instructor where the instructor will give you a task (run up to one with a choking babydoll, go unconscious, go active AKA you need a save but you're still conscious, etc.). It's a LOT to take in, but it's pretty fun for the most part!! My class had roughly 15 people but classes can range in size from less than 10 to a solid 30. The class portion is held in a very air-conditioned classroom so I would recommend bringing a sweatshirt/sweats for that chunk of class. Also be aware you will spend a lot of time on your knees doing CPR so bring long pants or knee pads if you don't want sad rug-burned knees.

On the third day is your test! The first part of the day is refreshers, then the second half is the test. The test includes a written exam, a CPR test, another swim test (although we might have done the swim test day one, I forget), and a scenario as a group. For CPR you start with an adult, then a child, then finish with a baby. If you fail any part of it you get one more chance to go back, but you have to start from the beginning. So if you get all the way to the baby and do something wrong you have to start again from the adult. This was probably the most stressful for most people, and where most people mess up! The group scenario was in the pool and they threw different stuff at you guys and you had to show them that you could handle it. So my group had a couple of minor things and ended with an "unconscious" person that we had to backboard out and perform CPR on. All of us passed but one group had to go twice (you get two chances), and a few people had to redo CPR. After you pass ELLIS (which is always three days over a weekend I believe!), you have orientation and on the job training at your location.

I'm at Wilderness Lodge which is a great location, it's a smaller pool and the resort is a little off the beaten path so we don't receive as much outside traffic like the monorail line. Each resort is different, but ours has three guards on duty at all times at the pool plus one guard working the kid zone, and each guard is responsible for a different zone in the pool. So you scan your zone and if you see something, you respond appropriately. It's mostly rule enforcing and jumping for VATs. VATs are training tools used by management to ensure you're paying attention and scanning correctly, they are usually in the form of weighted silhouettes that can be dropped on the pool floor to simulate a guest on the bottom of the pool, and occasionally they (or a member of recreation) will be an active guest in distress so the guard on duty has to jump in and "save" them. Management is required to do this regularly to hit their monthly quotas, and Ellis will come in twice a year to audit and will do the same thing but on a larger scale. So Ellis audits will start with a basic VAT and after you retrieve the VAT they will be like "okay now I'm going unconscious, what are you going to do?" and it turns into a large scene with multiple guards and a multi-step scenario. We have a waterslide in the pool and also have a children's splash zone which is one of those outdoor water playgrounds with little waterslides and water coming out everywhere. When you're stationed at the splash zone you mostly rule enforce and keep an eye on the hot tub.

We have a set rotation so you'll start at one zone in the pool and every 25-40 minutes you rotate to the next spot depending on whether the guard on break is on a 15 or a 30. So from the top of the rotation you'll be working roughly two hours then you'll get a break. Good news is our costumes are comfy, bad news is you'll get EXTREMELY hot and sweaty haha. The costume includes a quick drying white shirt (short-sleeve and long-sleeve option), red shorts or pants, a hat (white floppy hat, white baseball cap, or red lifeguard baseball cap, sunglasses (must be Disney look, basically black or neutral), and either black sandals/crocs or white socks/tennis shoes. There's also a nice quality raincoat and a red fleece for cold days. Disney provides the shirt/coats/pants/hat/white shoes or black crocs, and my location gave us free sunglasses that say Wilderness Lodge. I bought my own black chaco sandals. If you have a tattoo you have to cover it, I have an ankle tattoo and use makeup to cover it. I use the SegMiniSmart Tattoo Concealer (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q3BSDC8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and while the color isn't a great match, it's waterproof and works great for staying power. Theres a lighter shade and a deeper shade you just combine the two to create a color that works for you. If you have a sleeve tattoo you can either use compression sleeves, the long-sleeve option (honestly not as hot as you'd think, it wicks pretty well), or makeup. Whatever works.

Finally, you have to fulfill In Service Training (IST) hours every month so you'll be scheduled for an hour of IST every week where you go over CPR, water saves, basic first aid, etc. As a part-timer I don't really get scheduled guard shifts but I am guaranteed my IST hours and since I'm part-time they can't schedule me just one hour so every week I am scheduled IST from 8:45am-12:45 or 7:45am-11:45 depending on the time of year. The first hour is IST and if I choose to stay they have busy work for me such as cleaning, or I can take an ER (early release) and go home early. I do this a lot since I pick up hours at my other job, but that's almost three hours of pay I give up when I do that. I've worked at WL since early September and have only been scheduled MAYBE ten shifts if that gives you an idea of how little part-timers are scheduled. It's pretty easy to go from part to full time here though. Also side note you have to be in your role a full 12 months before you can transfer, unless you're moving from part to full time since that's considered a "promotion".

Anyway that sums it up for the most part!! Lifeguarding is great because you have such a small team and get to know your leadership really well. If you're a CP it's nice because your hours will be very normal and consistent. Either a 10 hour shift in the winter or a 7 hour (ish) shift in the morning or evening in the summer. And you will get some GNARLY tan lines hahaha. Personally lifeguarding is not for me, but even though I barely work my leaders know me pretty well which is awesome, other lines of business are so large it's tough for the leadership team to get to know their cast. If you've just been hired as a lifeguard or are thinking about putting interest in it, I think it depends on the type of person you are. I personally am way too social to work as a guard, it's a very independent role and the guest interaction is limited to rule enforcing and small side conversation, but many guards find a way to interact with guests! You can also cross train (depending on your area) in Children's Activities, Marina, or Pool Attendant. I know this has been long-winded (like always), but apparently I had a lot to say. Hopefully you found this helpful! Happy guarding!