Tuesday, January 24, 2012

All applied and interviewed :)

Well, the title pretty much says it all :). Applications dropped Sunday/Monday at midnight. I applied around 12:30 am. I received my invite to take the web interview around noon the next day. I took the web interview and passed. I then got my e-mail to set up a phone interview around 30 minutes later. I set up my phone interview for noon today (Tuesday). My interviewer, Annette, called around 12:05. The interview probably lasted around 20 minutes. I feel like it went pretty well. I chose Character Attendant and Photopass as my top two roles, which I know was kind of risky but I felt like I gave good enough reasons as to why I felt like I would be amazing at those roles, so I'm feeling confident about it :). My recruiter told me that it would probably take about 3 days to hear anything, but my "thank you for the phone interview" e-mail said within two weeks...so I suppose we shall see! 


I applied for pretty much every role except for custodial and recreation, and I am being considered for all roles that I applied for, so I am very anxious to see what I get accepted in. Soo...heres to hoping that I get accepted in one that I actually really want!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

No more "CT Seasonal" for this girl!

Soo I figured out the answer to all of the questions I had about how seasonal would work with CP...it's not going to...at least not for me. I forgot to submit my availability to workforce management for this last quarter...so they sent me a letter basically saying send us your company IDs and whatnot back. It's not really a big deal though, seasonal was WAYYY more trouble than it was worth for me. It would always cost around $1500 to go down and try to work, which I would have to plan out months in advance only to find out a week before time to leave that I wasn't scheduled for any hours anyway. Advice to any CPs who are thinking about going seasonal...DON'T unless you live relatively close to WDW and have someone to stay with while you're down there putting in your hours. I just think that it's hilarious that they sent that letter literally a week before I am applying for another CP. If they had known that I was planning on applying for Fall 2012, they probably wouldn't have wasted the paper and stamp to get the letter to me. 


The only think about this that bothers me at all is that I'm worried now that because of this I won't be accepted for the CP this fall. However, I think that once I explain things to my interviewer it will all be okay...here's to hoping anyway!


So due to this recent event, I thought I'd post a little information on the new CT (Seasonal) work requirements for people who don't already know.


You must work at least 150 hours in a year. You have to submit availability on a quarterly basis. At the end of each quarter, you have a deadline to meet to submit your availability for the next quarter. You MUST submit your availability to them even if you are not available within the next quarter at all, it still has to be submitted that you aren't available (that's where I screwed up). 


These are just the basics...for the full list of CT requirements click here.


Well, I suppose that's it for now. Hopefully things will get more exciting around here once the applications go up!


See ya real soon!
-Bri


Oh, and I made a new vlog today as well...it talks a lot more in detail about why seasonal didn't work out for me. You can watch it here!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

To live in CP housing, or not to live in CP housing...

Okay, I know that this is kind of off topic...but I would just like to start off by saying....


ROLL TIDE!


2011 National Champions! This situation is kind of ironic because last time I applied for a CP was in February 2010, and they had just won the national championship that year as well :).


Anyway...


I was recently informed that another one of my ex Disney roomies will be moving down in May permanently and getting an apartment. She asked me if I might like to opt out of Disney housing and room with her. Put myself, her, Kristyne, and Michael together and you have enough for a 3 bedroom apartment full of people who have already lived together once and made it work beautifully. Everyone says that no CP will ever be as magical as your first because it's different roommates and all...and here I have this opportunity to have my old roomies all over again. In all honesty, it would be cheaper to opt out of Disney housing. First, there would be no $200 housing fee. Second, my Patterson 3 bedroom apartment cost (if I remember correctly) around $95 per week, which is $380 per month per person. Split between 6 people, that one single 3 bedroom apartment cost around $2,280 per month. Granted, this amount includes utilities, water, cable, internet, security, and really nice facilities such as the pool and buses...but in my own apartment I would not be paying for security or buses at least...and I never even used the buses and despised security. I haven't really looked at prices for apartments around Disney yet, but Kristyne and Michael just moved into theirs (located directly behind the MK cast parking lot, I might add) about a week ago, so I will probably find out the costs soon enough. Also, I wouldn't have to worry about those ridiculous inspections done by Disney housing...those things just cause wayyyy more stress than what they're worth. It's like...I can keep my apartment clean for myself without you coming in here and invading my privacy, thanks.


Sounds like a no brainer...right? So why stay in Disney housing? Well first of all, there are the housing events (such as Graduation) which I will not be allowed into if I opt out. Then there is the furniture issue...Disney apartments are fully furnished and I don't have much other than a bed to bring down with me. Plus, it makes my parents feel better knowing how strict security is.


I don't know what I'm going to do, I'm extremely torn so far. I suppose I will ask about it during my phone interview (granted I get one) and see what the interviewer thinks about it all. 


Well, I suppose that's all for now! Feel free to ask any questions that you may have whatsoever. You can comment here or add me on facebook. Also, feel free to check out my vlog...I'm going to probably be a lot more active on there throughout this whole process http://www.youtube.com/user/BippitiBoppitiBri?feature=guide.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

So umm...Fall 2012?

Yep. Turns out I just can't stay away. I'm applying for the Fall 2012 CP. Then, if everything goes as planned...I'm gonna stay down there for a couple of years. I'm going back to college eventually, don't get me wrong. But for right now Disney is what I want to do with my life...and I'd like to go ahead and do it now while I have nothing tying me down. I know it won't be exactly the same...but 4 out of my 6 roommates from my last program live down there now...so it won't be completely different. 


Sooo let's talk roles I guess...
Not completely decided on what I want to do yet...but roughly...
(1) Attractions--kind of...but only if I get to work at Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror
(2) Vacation Planner--I know it's far fetched because not many people get accepted for this position...but I know I'd be good at it. While I was on my last CP i planned TONS of vacations for my friends and family, and they all went amazingly smoothly. Plus I know all about the reservation system since I worked in Full Service Food and Beverage last time, and that's kind of important.
(3) Merchandise--I've never met someone in merch who legit hated their job. They may have hated their hours because the stores generally close later than the parks do, but never their job.




Anddd of course I want to try out for Alice...but that's an extremely far fetched dream. I am actually going to try this time though instead of chickening out like I did last time. Maybe my dream will come true, who knows?!




I don't know when the applications are going to go up...but I'm super excited to apply again. I'm very curious to know how things are going to go this time since I'm already seasonal and all. I wonder if they'll let me keep my perner number that I already have...and my ID that I already have. I wonder if they're going to make me go through Traditions and all of those types of things again or if I'm going to get to skip through all of that this time. Hopefully I'll find out!

Monday, July 11, 2011

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

I TOLD y'all I'd try to blog more!

And you have to admit, this is like twice in one month. That's good for me :P.
So yesterday was my 3 month anniversary of working for Disney. It's hard to believe that I've been here that long, and it's even harder to believe that I only have 40 some odd days left. I feel like there is SO MUCH that I wanted to do, and I never accomplished it. I feel like I wasted so much of my short time here on petty things like sleep and laundry. I feel like I don't have enough time left to really finish my Disney to-do list. I feel like I should have applied for an extension...


So why didn't I?


Well, everyone says that when you come here and do a CP, you either love it or you hate it...that there is no in between. Well, I found this to be untrue. I feel that over all my CP was in between. There are moments when I love it, and there are also moments when I don't want to do it anymore. I guess I ended up letting my mixed feelings get the best of me, and didn't even try to apply for an extension.


However, I will say this. I could see myself getting into this pattern and living this lifestyle for the rest of my life...and being perfectly okay with it. The cast member lifestyle is pretty much the only one that I've ever 100% felt like I fit in to. It's very repetitive, day-in and day-out. Get up, go to work, come home, spend time with roommates, sleep. Repeat the next day. On my off days, get up, go play in a park, come home. But I like that. I like being a cast member. I really could see Disney as my lifetime job. But I don't like being a CP, and I'm scared to try and just jump in and go full time.


So I guess the plan for now looks something like this: I'm going to try to apply for seasonal. I'm going to go home in January as planned. I'm going to go back to school, and I'm going to actually try this time. I'm going to re-apply for the CP after I turn 21. I'm going to actually go to the character auditions...and I'm going to come back. From there, I'm going to decide if this is what I want for my life...and if it is I'm moving here for good and going full time. At this point, the dream job would be Vacation Planner or Guest Relations tour guide. I feel like I'd be good at either one of those two jobs. Annndd, if not...then I will have Disney in my memories and amazing stories to tell my children and then their children.


I guess that's all for now











Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Oh heyyyy long forgotten blog...how are ya?!

Oops. Sorry y'all. The life of a CP is a busy one...and a repetitive one. I really haven't had much to talk about. It's pretty much same thing different day. Get up, go to work, come home. On off days, play in parks. There really isn't much more to it. Butttt, lets see what I can pull out for you guys.


The Halloween parties are completely over now. I went to the Poly and watched the last Hallowishes with my roommate Mandi...and yes...I cried. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and it kind of hit me that it was probably the last time I'd ever see Hallowishes...at least for 10 years or more. It also put into perspective that my CP is already half way over. I think we have something like 9 or 10 weeks left here, and I feel like I've wasted the majority of it. I still have barley tried to hang out with anyone besides my roommates. I have only been to WWoHP once and that was before I even checked in for my CP. I still haven't done a whole bunch of the things that I was planning to do. Sooo, my goal for the rest of my program is to GET ON THAT!


All of the Christmas decorations have been put up finally, and my lord they are gorgeous! That is truly Disney magic at it's finest. The Christmas parties began last night, I believe...and I desperately need to get my ticket to that. We only get discounts for the November parties, so I'll probably be going at the end of this month at some point. Allegedly, we are going to be absolutely miserably dead for the first two weeks of December, and then so busy that we're running around like chickens with our heads cut off for pretty much the rest of our program. I think I'm okay with this, though, as I'd rather be busy then dead.


Working at "Mom's House" is (for the most part) entertaining. The only bad thing is that we only have a total of 78 tables, and on busy nights we can get up to an hour behind reservation times...and then we get yelled at. But, it's not our fault. We can't control when people get up from the tables, and that's pretty much completely what it depends on. I've been yelled at in several different languages now...it's quite interesting. Butttt, on good days...it's nice to see the servers do their little skits. They are completely improv, and I absolutely love watching them work. The idea of "magical moments" in our restaurant is a bit different from the normal idea. At prime time, a magical moment could consist of naughty children having to take the dishes to the kitchen, or of someone having to put their nose in the corner for leaving their elbows on the table. I love watching youtube, and being able to see things that I was there for on the internet. It's really a whole lot of fun.


I guess that's it for now. I'm actually sitting in my costume as I type, about to get ready for work. If anyone actually does still read this...feel free to comment with questions or just to say hi...