DCP: Updates

I took a 3 week hiatus from my blog when I got down here. It took me a while to adjust to work and for my body to adjust from all of my chemo treatments. It has been really hard and I definitely have had my ups and downs while being here. I am still happy I came and I have a lot of fun memories already with some amazing people!

I went to Universal for the first time and also have gone to the Disney parks. It is so nice being able to go to the parks anytime I want for free!

I also had my first two days of work by myself without my trainer. I had one day of stocking and another day at registers. Stocking is easy for me I just don’t like it and I still need more practice on the registers. All the days that I work next week, I am on registers so I am hoping that I will be an expert really soon. I typically work Tuesday-Saturday and have Sunday and Monday off. I work about 35hrs a week which isn’t too bad.

I am going to start writing in my blog more now that I am getting used to everything. Here are some of my favorite pictures with my friends:

I have many more pictures which you can find here on my Facebook page. Thank you to everyone who has been following my journey and I will be updating you guys on my blog about 3-4 times a week starting this week! So make sure to keep checking back so you can follow my DCP adventures J

DCP: Character Performer Auditions

So yesterday I went to another character performer audition to extend into entertainment through the summer with Walt Disney World. The audition went fantastic!

I went with three of my friends and we got there at 8:30 and check in started at 9. Even though we got there ½ hour before we were supposed to, there was already 200 people in front of us. Literally. I was number 201. There was about 500 College Program kids who had come to this audition.

The first round of this audition, they took people in groups of 50-80 and we learned a short parade dance. It was two 8 counts. After we learned it, we performed the parade dance in front of two casting directors. We had to do the dance three times while moving across the floor. Once everyone finished we all sat down so we could find out who would be making it onto the next round. Since there were so many people who auditioned, not very many people moved on to the next round. About 10 people moved on from my group, and I was one of them! I was so excited and felt so happy J

If you make it into the second round you are automatically in consideration for a character performer role. There was about 50-60 kids who made it into the second round. We are all considered for the role but not everyone will get it.

Once you make it into the second round the first thing you do is get your picture taken and you get your height measured. Now there are two different heights in Disney World. Your actual height and then your Disney height. Disney will measure you a couple inches higher or lower depending on what character they want you to be friends with. My actual height is 5’1 ¾. My Disney height is 5ft. Which is mouse height and fairies.

After you get all of that done, you learn an animation and a longer and harder dance. Our animation we had to pretend we were washing a mystical creature for 30 seconds and then we had to turn into that mystical creature that’s being washed for 30 seconds. It was hard at first but once I got my animation down I was good. When you do the animation, your body only is telling the story so you cannot talk. Which makes it challenging but as a character performer, you might be friends with a fur character who needs to talk through their body because they simply cannot talk. Once you practice your animation, you learn your dance. The dance combination is a way for the casting director to figure out who they want as a parade performer. It is meant to be tough so they can pick out the strong dancers. As long as you smile through the dance you will be fine. Fake it until you make it. They are mainly looking at animation for this round.

After we learned the dance we performed it in front of a casting director and then we were all done. We find out if we made it sometime between March 19-25. I think I did a really good job and feel like I have a good chance in making it this time!

DCP: Merchandise Tier 5

Your last day of training is called Merchandise Tier 5. For my location this day was all about learning how to use photo memory maker in Everest. When you get off the ride, Expedition Everest, you have the opportunity to get a picture of your ride and that is where us merchandise cast members come in.

I learned all of the things I need to know to assist guests with their pictures. And boy was it a lot of information. I felt overwhelmed by the end of the day.

I am so happy to be done with training and I am looking forward to working all by myself!

DCP: Merchandise Tier 4

Merchandise Tier 4 is where you learn how to stock. Stocking is part of your job description when you are accepted for the role of merchandise. Stocking is my least favorite because it is really hard and boring. However, it does make your day go by faster because you are constantly moving.

Stocking isn’t a difficult task because you are simply replacing merchandise as it runs out. It just isn’t too fun for me because I don’t think you get a lot of guest interaction. If you like working at your own pace and being by yourself you will love it because that is pretty much all it is haha.

DCP: Merchandise Tier 3

Your next day of training is called Merchandise Tier 3. Here you apply all what you have learned in merchantainment and you work the registers at your location.

Although I have two years of retail experience, there is no retail like Disney retail. It is very hard dealing with guests at the parks. There is also so much you need to know and do because of everything Disney offers for their guests.

I mainly worked a cart right outside of a ride called Kali River Rapids. I pretty much sold ponchos, towels, and shirts. It was a tough first day of actually work, but working with such amazing helpful people made the day go by a lot faster.

DCP: Merchantainment

Your next day of training is called Merchantainment. This is a class you take on how to work the registers at Disney. Every single register is the same so this class will help you get the basics on what you need to know.

You will also talk a lot about the four keys in this class and learn how to apply it to work when you are ringing out customers. You get to see actually footage of Disney Employees caught on tape who stole money from the company. It’s all really interesting!

DCP: Merchandise Tier 1

When you get the role of merchandise, your training is broken up into five days. Your first day is called Merchandise Tier 1. For Animal Kingdom, this day is another day to get used to your park.

We started the day of with doing e-learning…or taking online tests. You take A LOT of these while training, they aren’t the best but they certainly aren’t the worst.

After you do a couple tests you go and take an in-depth tour of the part of the park you will be working in. I am working in Asia so went around and visited all of the carts I will be working in. Asia is separated into two parts for Merchandise. Asia Carts and Everest. There are 3 carts in Asia and a store and a cart for Everest. I can work at any of the two parts when I am scheduled for a shift.

After I took a tour of Asia, I went to go visit some of my managers. I have ten managers and so far I have met 6 of them. They are all so nice and make me enjoy working!

This is pretty much all you do on your first day. J

DCP: DAKlimation

DAKlimination is a day where you get acclimated to Disney’s Animal Kingdom (DAK). I loved DAKlimation because I got to learn a lot about the history of this park. We also got to ride an early morning safari on Kilimanjaro. We saw so many gorgeous animals.

After we talked about the history of the park we went back and watched some videos and then we got to eat lunch. After lunch we went and got our costumes. Now Animal Kingdom has a reputation of having some of the best costumes offered. I am not going to lie ours are way better than most. I have to costumes: One for when I stock and another one for when I am at the registers. Both aren’t bad and I will post pictures when I have some!

This day is a really fun day and helps you get excited before you start working. It allows you to get a better feel of Walt’s vision for this park and allows you to spread the message better while talking with guests.

DCP: Traditions

Disney traditions is your first day of work. It’s also the day where you get to start going into the parks for free because you have your blue company ID. Your company ID is pretty much your key to the world. You need it to get into backstage at any Disney location and you also need it so you can work. Without it, you are not considered an employee for the Disney Company so it is very important you don’t lose it.

For traditions you need to dress nice and comfortable because you will be doing some walking around.

The first thing you do at traditions is watch a safety video and go over the 4 keys: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency. These four words will be drilled into your head by the end of your second week! They are the key to how the Walt Disney company runs so smoothly.

You watch a lot of safety videos and also get a few surprises along the way. You will get your nametag and get to experience why being a cast member is so meaningful.

There will be a walking tour and you will get to see so many amazing things! I am not allowed to share much of what goes on at traditions because it is a secret. However every cast member goes through this class and is your initiation into the Walt Disney Company. Traditions can be dry at times but it is honestly what you make of it.