I will be checking in at Vista Way...
This is absofrigginglutely surreal. There's so much I have to do. I need to make a countdown chain. I need a roommate. I need a packing list. I need to see my advisor and register for courses. I need to actually survive this semester...
But six months... SIX MONTHS. SSSSSSIIIIIIXXXXXX MMMMMMOOOOOONNNNNNTTTTTTHHHHHHSSSSSS!!!!!!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AHHHHHHHHH!. WALT WAS RIGHT. DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE. #corny
All day today, everyone was posting about their acceptances in the Facebook group. And my e-mail inbox was empty. Concentrating in class was impossible. Concentrating on homework was impossible. Concentrating on drinking a cup of coffee was impossible. But no one had been accepted for BBB or character attendant yet, so I was hoping they were doing everything by role.
Then, sitting in the coffee shop in my school's library with my friend, at 4:08 p.m., the light on my Blackberry began to flash. And then the RIGHT e-mail inbox was highlighted on my display. And then I opened my inbox to see an e-mail from wdw.college.recruiting and it said "Congratulations" in the subject line and right there... right in the middle of the coffee shop in the middle of my university's library, I screamed.
My friend grabbed my phone from me and read the e-mail before I did. I logged onto my computer and opened it on a full screen. It was so beautiful. It was all purple and pretty and amazing.
So there it was... on the first day of Fall 2012 acceptances, exactly two weeks from my phone interview date, I was accepted to the Disney College Program.
What's wrong with this picture, though? There's no role here. Disney is doing things differently this year. They're putting a link to your role offer/session offer/pay in the bottom of your e-mail. You have to log in through your new hire portal in order to retrieve all that information.
But in grand Emily fashion, my new hire portal is not functioning. So I'm in! I am! I am! But I don't know when I'm going... or what I'm doing... yet. I spent about a half hour on the phone with recruiting and they told me they were going to fix the issue (it was a glitch in my dashboard... new system, new problems) and resend my acceptance e-mail within 48 hours. I'm going to wait 24, and then I'm going to go crazy.
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 9, 2012, 9:30 AM:
I woke up to my second congratulations e-mail this morning. I HAVE A ROLE! I'll be a CHARACTER ATTENDANT cast member for the FALL 2012 Walt Disney World College Program season! I COULD NOT BE MORE ECSTATIC!
While BBB was my first role choice, as a character attendant, I am now in the entertainment division of the company. More so, I'm making the entertainment happen, meaning I'm in production. I'll be able to put Entertainment Production Intern for the Walt Disney Company on my resume, which will help me exponentially in my career. I'll also get to be in the parks, moving around, having interaction with guests of all types from all over the world and introducing children to their heros. My recruiter knew what she was doing, and if I ever get to meet her, I will thank her forever.
This is going to be the experience of a lifetime. I know I will make lifelong friends. I know I will gain valuable work experience. And I know, without a doubt, that I will discover so much about myself and have the time of my life.
I'll be arriving on August 20, 2012 and departing on January 4, 2013. My family is more excited than I am. My mother already booked the Sunspree across the street from Vista Way and our flights to Orlando (yeah, we're flying) for check-in. I'll be arriving in Orlando on August 18.
I can't believe this is actually happening! I can't believe it's FINALLY MY TURN! And of course, I'll be keeping you all updated every step of the way.
All day today, everyone was posting about their acceptances in the Facebook group. And my e-mail inbox was empty. Concentrating in class was impossible. Concentrating on homework was impossible. Concentrating on drinking a cup of coffee was impossible. But no one had been accepted for BBB or character attendant yet, so I was hoping they were doing everything by role.
Then, sitting in the coffee shop in my school's library with my friend, at 4:08 p.m., the light on my Blackberry began to flash. And then the RIGHT e-mail inbox was highlighted on my display. And then I opened my inbox to see an e-mail from wdw.college.recruiting and it said "Congratulations" in the subject line and right there... right in the middle of the coffee shop in the middle of my university's library, I screamed.
My friend grabbed my phone from me and read the e-mail before I did. I logged onto my computer and opened it on a full screen. It was so beautiful. It was all purple and pretty and amazing.
 |
| Looooook! Isn't it cutteeeeeeeeeeeeeee? |
So there it was... on the first day of Fall 2012 acceptances, exactly two weeks from my phone interview date, I was accepted to the Disney College Program.
What's wrong with this picture, though? There's no role here. Disney is doing things differently this year. They're putting a link to your role offer/session offer/pay in the bottom of your e-mail. You have to log in through your new hire portal in order to retrieve all that information.
But in grand Emily fashion, my new hire portal is not functioning. So I'm in! I am! I am! But I don't know when I'm going... or what I'm doing... yet. I spent about a half hour on the phone with recruiting and they told me they were going to fix the issue (it was a glitch in my dashboard... new system, new problems) and resend my acceptance e-mail within 48 hours. I'm going to wait 24, and then I'm going to go crazy.
UPDATE: FEBRUARY 9, 2012, 9:30 AM:
I woke up to my second congratulations e-mail this morning. I HAVE A ROLE! I'll be a CHARACTER ATTENDANT cast member for the FALL 2012 Walt Disney World College Program season! I COULD NOT BE MORE ECSTATIC!
 |
| It's TRUE! |
While BBB was my first role choice, as a character attendant, I am now in the entertainment division of the company. More so, I'm making the entertainment happen, meaning I'm in production. I'll be able to put Entertainment Production Intern for the Walt Disney Company on my resume, which will help me exponentially in my career. I'll also get to be in the parks, moving around, having interaction with guests of all types from all over the world and introducing children to their heros. My recruiter knew what she was doing, and if I ever get to meet her, I will thank her forever.
This is going to be the experience of a lifetime. I know I will make lifelong friends. I know I will gain valuable work experience. And I know, without a doubt, that I will discover so much about myself and have the time of my life.
I'll be arriving on August 20, 2012 and departing on January 4, 2013. My family is more excited than I am. My mother already booked the Sunspree across the street from Vista Way and our flights to Orlando (yeah, we're flying) for check-in. I'll be arriving in Orlando on August 18.
I can't believe this is actually happening! I can't believe it's FINALLY MY TURN! And of course, I'll be keeping you all updated every step of the way.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
The Great Phone Interview Post
I promised I would post briefly about my phone interview experience, so because I'm a good person who keeps her word, that's exactly what I'm gonna do. Hah.
Anyway, applications dropped on January 23. I completed my application and my WBI that afternoon, and scheduled my phone interview for Wednesday, January 25. I wanted sufficient time to prepare myself. I made a master list of all of the questions I've heard of people being asked, in general about the CP, and about all my top role choices. I answered all the questions and put them into a document on my computer to study incessantly... because I am ridiculous. I'll probably post that list to this blog sooner or later.
Anyway, my interview was scheduled for Wednesday evening at 9p.m. TIP #1: Make sure, when you schedule your interview, that you are available for an hour before it and an hour after. Recruiters may or may not call you early, and they may our may not call you late. It won't be that early or late, but if you're like me, you'll want time to psych yourself up beforehand and unwind/analyze the hell out of everything afterward.
If your recruiter still hasn't called you thirty minutes after your assigned time, call DCP recruiting. There might be a problem. TIP #2: Have both your primary and secondary phones within reach of you. Register with two phone numbers, because things may go wrong with a cell phone at any given time (we all know this... they suck). But if you register with your primary number as your cell phone and your secondary number as your home phone, be prepared to receive the call on your home phone. My primary number was my cell, but my recruiter ended up calling me 10 minutes late, on my home phone. I don't know if there was something wrong with my cell... but it didn't ring and I didn't ask.
I had my laptop in front of me with my study sheet ready to go, just in case. I didn't refer to it during the interview. I also had a mug of tea, a glass of water, and my Captain Mickey plush. They helped. I swear.
My recruiter was peppy and sweet, but very concise and to-the-point. Some people on Facebook mentioned that their recruiters chatted with them and cracked jokes and had an interview that lasted over forty minutes long. My recruiter told me that the interview would last for between 10 and 20 minutes, and it lasted exactly 14:45. TIP #3: Don't freak out if your interview is shorter than what you're expecting. All recruiters are different, and they all have different strategies. If yours isn't particularly chatty, that doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you... it means that they're busy and they want to get off the phone. Or it means that they know enough about you from the information you provided.
My interview was after 9p.m., and it felt like my recruiter just really, really wanted to go home for the night. She started off by asking me why I wanted to work for Disney and do the college program at this point in my life. I told her why, and mentioned something about how Disney played a huge role in my life... and said something about Disney Cruise Line. That really got my recruiter going, as she was a former DCL CM. She went off on a tangent and talked to me about the ships for a while. We discussed the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Fantasy that I'll be on... and she didn't really let me finish my answer.
We discussed my past work experience for a while, and I detailed my work in production for my school's programming board and theatre department, and explained that I wanted to go into entertainment production as a career. I finished off with my childcare experience, as I was really trying for a role with BBB. I discussed how I loved being part of the most magical experiences of a child's life... and how being involved with something they'll remember forever truly makes a difference in their lives and their futures and can completely impact the way they see the world.
She asked me what my top role choices were after that. I told her that my first choice was BBB. A very close second was character attendant, third was attractions, and rounding off the top four was merchandise. She proceeded to ask me if I had any hair and makeup experience, and I told her that I worked in the costume department for my school's theatre program and did a lot of theatrical hair and makeup.
Then she asked me the typical merch situational: what would you do if a phone was ringing, you had a guest in front of you who needed your help, and a co-worker was asking you a question. Then she asked me if I had a driver's license. She asked me if I minded working outside. She asked me if I was receptive to the pay. We talked about the Disney Look and roommates, and that was it. It was done. I had been asked essentially zero situational questions, and I was freaking out. TIP #4: Stop freaking out. If you feel like they haven't asked you enough questions, that might just mean that they got enough information out of the answers you've already given them to place you in a role. Your ability to articulate, your past work experience, your conciseness while answering questions... they all may play a factor in determining what the recruiter thinks of you. The lack of situational questions was a little disconcerting, but I'm just telling myself that she knew what she needed to know about me and how well I'd work in a Disney setting from my past work experience and my love for the company. Based on the situational questions I was asked/my work experience, I'm expecting to be placed in either BBB or merch. I would be shocked if I was given another role, given that character attendant and attractions was not even touched on. But whatever. Che sera, sera.
She wrapped up the interview by saying "We'll see you down here soon!" and I almost jumped out of my chair, when she followed up with "You know, either working for us or on the maiden voyage of the Fantasy." Freudian slip, perhaps? I hope she was covering something up. But she hung up. And it was over, and we were left to wait.
TIP #6: Don't overthink things. Breathe. Smile. THEY CAN TELL. Use your recruiter's name on the phone (not to a point where it's obnoxious, but you know). Relax. Be yourself. Let the conversation flow smoothly. You're just discussing your love of Disney with another person. Be optimistic. Everything will work out.
My "Thank you for Interviewing' e-mail came less than two hours after my interview ended. They said I should hear within two weeks. My recruiter said it would be a 3-5 week wait, but it would probably be more like two. We shall see what transpires...
If you have an interview sometime in the future (oooooooooh, the fuuuuuuuuutureeeeeeeee), best of luck! May all your dreams come true!
Anyway, applications dropped on January 23. I completed my application and my WBI that afternoon, and scheduled my phone interview for Wednesday, January 25. I wanted sufficient time to prepare myself. I made a master list of all of the questions I've heard of people being asked, in general about the CP, and about all my top role choices. I answered all the questions and put them into a document on my computer to study incessantly... because I am ridiculous. I'll probably post that list to this blog sooner or later.
Anyway, my interview was scheduled for Wednesday evening at 9p.m. TIP #1: Make sure, when you schedule your interview, that you are available for an hour before it and an hour after. Recruiters may or may not call you early, and they may our may not call you late. It won't be that early or late, but if you're like me, you'll want time to psych yourself up beforehand and unwind/analyze the hell out of everything afterward.
If your recruiter still hasn't called you thirty minutes after your assigned time, call DCP recruiting. There might be a problem. TIP #2: Have both your primary and secondary phones within reach of you. Register with two phone numbers, because things may go wrong with a cell phone at any given time (we all know this... they suck). But if you register with your primary number as your cell phone and your secondary number as your home phone, be prepared to receive the call on your home phone. My primary number was my cell, but my recruiter ended up calling me 10 minutes late, on my home phone. I don't know if there was something wrong with my cell... but it didn't ring and I didn't ask.
I had my laptop in front of me with my study sheet ready to go, just in case. I didn't refer to it during the interview. I also had a mug of tea, a glass of water, and my Captain Mickey plush. They helped. I swear.
My recruiter was peppy and sweet, but very concise and to-the-point. Some people on Facebook mentioned that their recruiters chatted with them and cracked jokes and had an interview that lasted over forty minutes long. My recruiter told me that the interview would last for between 10 and 20 minutes, and it lasted exactly 14:45. TIP #3: Don't freak out if your interview is shorter than what you're expecting. All recruiters are different, and they all have different strategies. If yours isn't particularly chatty, that doesn't mean he or she doesn't like you... it means that they're busy and they want to get off the phone. Or it means that they know enough about you from the information you provided.
My interview was after 9p.m., and it felt like my recruiter just really, really wanted to go home for the night. She started off by asking me why I wanted to work for Disney and do the college program at this point in my life. I told her why, and mentioned something about how Disney played a huge role in my life... and said something about Disney Cruise Line. That really got my recruiter going, as she was a former DCL CM. She went off on a tangent and talked to me about the ships for a while. We discussed the Maiden Voyage of the Disney Fantasy that I'll be on... and she didn't really let me finish my answer.
We discussed my past work experience for a while, and I detailed my work in production for my school's programming board and theatre department, and explained that I wanted to go into entertainment production as a career. I finished off with my childcare experience, as I was really trying for a role with BBB. I discussed how I loved being part of the most magical experiences of a child's life... and how being involved with something they'll remember forever truly makes a difference in their lives and their futures and can completely impact the way they see the world.
She asked me what my top role choices were after that. I told her that my first choice was BBB. A very close second was character attendant, third was attractions, and rounding off the top four was merchandise. She proceeded to ask me if I had any hair and makeup experience, and I told her that I worked in the costume department for my school's theatre program and did a lot of theatrical hair and makeup.
Then she asked me the typical merch situational: what would you do if a phone was ringing, you had a guest in front of you who needed your help, and a co-worker was asking you a question. Then she asked me if I had a driver's license. She asked me if I minded working outside. She asked me if I was receptive to the pay. We talked about the Disney Look and roommates, and that was it. It was done. I had been asked essentially zero situational questions, and I was freaking out. TIP #4: Stop freaking out. If you feel like they haven't asked you enough questions, that might just mean that they got enough information out of the answers you've already given them to place you in a role. Your ability to articulate, your past work experience, your conciseness while answering questions... they all may play a factor in determining what the recruiter thinks of you. The lack of situational questions was a little disconcerting, but I'm just telling myself that she knew what she needed to know about me and how well I'd work in a Disney setting from my past work experience and my love for the company. Based on the situational questions I was asked/my work experience, I'm expecting to be placed in either BBB or merch. I would be shocked if I was given another role, given that character attendant and attractions was not even touched on. But whatever. Che sera, sera.
She wrapped up the interview by saying "We'll see you down here soon!" and I almost jumped out of my chair, when she followed up with "You know, either working for us or on the maiden voyage of the Fantasy." Freudian slip, perhaps? I hope she was covering something up. But she hung up. And it was over, and we were left to wait.
TIP #6: Don't overthink things. Breathe. Smile. THEY CAN TELL. Use your recruiter's name on the phone (not to a point where it's obnoxious, but you know). Relax. Be yourself. Let the conversation flow smoothly. You're just discussing your love of Disney with another person. Be optimistic. Everything will work out.
My "Thank you for Interviewing' e-mail came less than two hours after my interview ended. They said I should hear within two weeks. My recruiter said it would be a 3-5 week wait, but it would probably be more like two. We shall see what transpires...
If you have an interview sometime in the future (oooooooooh, the fuuuuuuuuutureeeeeeeee), best of luck! May all your dreams come true!
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