My Review of Housing

Now that I'm not living there anymore, I don't mind sharing that I lived in apt 24101 inside Chatham with three other young ladies.  I thought our apartment was nice enough (especially when I compared and contrasted with apartments in Vista Way and Patterson). When it comes to money, the more roommates, the less you pay a week. However, in general it seemed that prices to live in housing (from more expensive to less expensive) were: Patterson>Chatham>Vista Way. And if I were to rate the quality of the housing, it would be: Vista Way<Chatham<Patterson. Although in my opinion, the quality gap between Vista Way and Chatham is much bigger than the quality gap between Chatham and Patterson.

As far as roommates go, we all got along and only made each other's programs better. I definitely suggest getting to know your roommates before you start your program if you can.  

If you want to know more about housing information and what is included and will be provided for you, then go to my other blog post titled "Housing and Roommates." I posted it on December 9, 2012, so having now DONE the program myself I went back to that post - reread it - and beyond only a few unimportant details, the information is still accurate (to the date of this post anyway). 

I also only took the bus to work a couple times, so I drove my car the rest of the time. I personally loved having my own car to drive everywhere because it saved so much time compared to taking the buses anywhere. Anyway, here are pictures I took on the day I moved out. Please let me know if I can answer anymore questions regarding what it was like living in Chatham!

The Point System (2013)

While working for the Disney Parks, it is important to know this system. It will mean the difference between being sent home/fired and being able to extend your program or work for the company again in the future. This matrix applies only to the DCP Spring/Spring Advantage 2013. You should do your own matrix research for the point system during your training in case it has changed since then. Here is how it worked:

 Attendance Matrix Discipline 

If your average work shift goes well, this is what you will do...
"Clock in" up to 15 min before your shift starts or by the exact time your shift starts. 
Then "get your assignment" right when your shift starts. 
"Clock out" up to two minutes before your shift ends OR up to 15 min after your shift ended.

If you do anything other than that, there is discipline for it. Here it is:  

• Failure to clock in on time or up to 15 min after your shift starts = 0.5 points
• Failure to clock in from 15 min to 2 hours after your shift started = 1 point
• Failure to clock in or out for the same shift/not showing up for work = 1 point
• 3 points in 30 days = 1 reprimand
• 6 points in 90 days = 1 reprimand
• 9 points in 180 days = 1 reprimand
• 12 points in any 365 days = 1 reprimand

• 3 attendance reprimands prior to termination (termination on issuing of 4th attendance reprimand)
• 3 consecutive no call in/no show absences = termination
• Each absence will be notated as a separate point on the Cast Member's record card.
• Excessive attendance notations may be subject to discipline, not excluding termination outside of the attendance matrix.

Clock-Out  Matrix Discipline 

• Failure to clock out 15 minutes after your shift ended = 0.5 point
• Failure to clock out 6 times = 3 points = 1 reprimand
• This matrix is it's own matrix and does not affect your attendance matrix.
• This shouldn't be an issue you deal with, but in case it ever does happen, you know what discipline there is for it.

 Performance Matrix Discipline 

• These points are for things like not wearing your assigned costume, not wearing your costume correctly, not having your name tag, not staying in character, not being courteous or respectful to guests, etc. 
• 1st violation = reprimand #1
• 2nd violation = reprimand #2
• 3rd violation = termination (upon issuance of the 3rd reprimand)

 Judgment/Safety Matrix Discipline 

• These points are for things like not being safe in your own environment, not keeping other cast members safe in your environment, not keeping guests safe in your environment, not telling a guest when he or she is not being safe, doing anything that could be considered unsafe, not reporting something that could potentially be and unsafe condition, etc. 
• 1st violation = reprimand #1
• 2nd violation = reprimand #2
• 3rd violation = termination (upon issuance of the 3rd reprimand)

Traditions, Discovery Days, and Training, Oh my!

My first couple of weeks here have been kinda crazy! I've been so busy and have had to do and attend so much here to even begin to feel settled. To make things easier for everyone, I decided to make one post about your first two weeks and what events you can expect that you're going to need to attend and whatnot! Let's start with Day 1 and go forward from there...

 Arrival/Check-In  - Day 1 (Jan.7th)
*For detailed info about these first two days, please click on the tab on the top of the page titled, " Check-In & Housing Meeting."

 Housing Meeting  - Day 2 (Jan.8th)
*For detailed info about these first two days, please click on the tab on the top of the page titled, "Check-In & Housing Meeting."

 Traditions  - Day 4 (Jan.10th)
You will go to Disney University, which is backstage and very close to the Magic Kingdom. You will be put in a classroom and get safety lectures and business lectures and go over all kinds of information that was previously covered in your new hire documents. *SPOILER ALERT* Then you will go on a quick tour of the Utilidors of the Magic Kingdom and walk down Main Street, all while talking about the four key basics. The Four Key Basics are Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency. They are the four golden standards of Disney pretty much. Then you will go back to Disney University and finish up your class. *SPOILER ALERT* Mickey Mouse visited us in class to deliver our cast member name tags-so that was awesome! Once class is over, you're free to go and can finally take advantage of all your discounts and free entry into the parks!

 Discovery Day  - Day 6 (Jan.12th)
This will be different for everyone since everyone works in different locations, but for me, it meant taking a bus to Cast Services backstage of Epcot. There we went into a classroom setting, and we were told about the fundamental history behind Epcot. Then we took a walking tour of Future World and had our own personal boat tour of the World Showcase. Then we went back to the classroom and talked about diversity and keeping that in mind as we prepared to work (in my opinion) the most culturally diverse theme park  in Walt Disney World. Then I was finally told what I would be working - Living with the Land and Circle of Life in The Land pavilion in Future World West. 
*For more about how I feel about that and what I do everyday, view my post titled "Where Am I Working? (DCP Spring 2013)"

 Training  - Days 7-13 (Jan.13-19th)
During training I was taken through all the positions and taught how to do them all. I also had to spent a lot of time in front of a computer doing virtual safety tutorials/quizzes and also a long time reading out of the OG (Operating Guide) for Living with the Land and Circle of Life. I was also taught how to navigate the Hub, which is where I can look at my schedule and request days off and pick up extra shifts, etc. Once all my training was done, I had my assessment and was watched as I performed each role. Once I had done all that and passed, we met with a manager for Future World West and talked about the point system for safety, attendance, and show. I'll try to make a separate post for the point system soon. After that meeting, I officially earned my ears!
*I didn't get anything special for earning my ears, but I got to take the red tag off my name tag! :) 

         

Where Am I Working? (DCP Spring 2013)

Sorry, everyone! I've been so busy and haven't had a chance to just sit down and work on my blog since I first got here! In this post I'm going to tell you where in Epcot's Future World West Attractions I'm actually working everyday. Here is goes.....

Living with the Land 

and

Circle of Life

in The Land Pavilion

The Land Pavilion includes:

Soarin' 

Living with the Land

Circle of Life

The Garden Grill

Sunshine Seasons

However, I only work Attractions, so I only work with Living with the Land and Circle of Life. But even knowing that, I was surprised by how much we actually do for the pavilion itself. 

Here is the list of some of the positions I'm rotated through on a daily basis:

Stroller Parking

Outside Marquee Greeter

Lobby Greeter

Dispatch

Merge

Stand-by Greeter

Unload

Wheelchair Assist

For the sake of keeping certain information classified, I won't got into detail about each of these positions or about the ones I'm not mentioning on purpose, but it shows all the different responsibilities I have been trained for in The Land.

Now here comes the question everyone has been asking me....

Do I like working here?

To be honest, I was disappointed when I first found out which attractions I would be working. I had no special emotional attachments to either attraction, and couldn't see working them being all that fun. But I had made a promise to myself long before I even arrived here that I would make the best out of whatever I had to do here, for better or for worse. 

Now that I have been working for a couples of weeks there, I can say with confidence that I enjoy working in The Land. Sure, it's not the most popular pair of attractions in "the World," but that's ok because after being trained in these attractions, I can see how crazy working the popular attractions could be. Now I'm very grateful for working here in The Land. Plus, working these attractions couldn't "ruin" them for me because I didn't have any attachments to them to begin with. It's funny....I probably have more an attachment to them now than when I first got here. Anyway, this isn't where I want to work for Disney on a permeant basis by any means, but I think I'm going to really enjoy it for the Spring 2013 program. Right now I'm just taking it all in and figuring out where else I'd like to work in the future. 

I'll try to continue keeping my blog updated! Have a magical day! 

Day 1+2: Check-In & Housing Meeting

Day 1 - Check-In

My roommates and I got in line for arrival at 5:30am, and there were about 50 people in line ahead of us, but that wasn't a concern. At about 7:00 they let us start in the gates and we stood there for about half hour. After that we dropped off any luggage at the room they held it in and then we lined up outside the welcome building at Vista. As the line moves forward and you get to the starting point, here is what happens in chronological order:

• You were asked your name and to verify some information about yourself
• You picked up your own personal DCP Guidebook for 2013
• You found out your work location

So, yes, finally I can tell the world where I'm working during this program:

"Attractions - Epcot - Future World West"

For those who don't know the parks well, this part of Epcot includes the following attractions: Soarin’ | The Seas with Nemo & Friends | Living Seas | Turtle Talk with Crush | Living with the Land | Circle of Life | Journey into the Imagination with Figment | Captain EO (which recently replaced Honey I Shrunk the Audience) 

• You sign 2 yellow sheets; one is the confidentiality agreement, and the other is the community codes agreement
• You sign 2 blue sheets; one is a payroll housing deduction authorization form, and the other is a notification and agreement regarding alcohol prohibited assignment sheet
• You tell someone how many are in your group, and you go to someone else to actually get assigned to a room and get a room key

My 7 roommates and I didn't get to live in a 4-bedroom because no more were available in any of the complexes, but we did get to split into two 2-bedroom apartments very close to one another in the same building and on the same floor. It was kinda hard news at first, but we are doing great with what we got right now! So, originally, all 8 of us (in the picture below) wanted to live together, but now we split into 2 groups of 4. 

Left to Right on Top: Kaitlyn, Lindsey, Jennifer, Me, Abby, Melanie 

Left to Right on Bottom: Lydia, Hannah

So, right now I live with Lydia, Kaitlyn, and Abby, and Lydia is my roommate.

• You get your Housing ID picture taken and the actual ID
• You talk to someone about educational opportunities during the program
• You get your car decal by having your registration, driver's licensee, and proof of insurance (I got a free licensee plate frame to put on my car too)
• You get assigned a time to go to Casting
• You talk to someone about what you will do at Casting and what the Disney Look is and can ask questions too
• You wait for your bus to go to Casting (depending on what time it comes)

*BRING A SNACK AND WATER BECAUSE THE SNACK THEY PROVIDE IS NOT FILLING AND YOU WILL BE DYING BY THE END IF YOU DON’T!*

• Make sure you have a driver's licensee, passport, birth certificate, and/or a social security card (or anything else associated with the I-9 forms)
• Go to Casting

At casting you will either be in the Mickey Sticker Group or the regular group. You do the same thing, the Mickey group just does it backwards in order to make sure they get things done faster.

Everyone that was helping me was really nice, actually talked to me about stuff and they were all wonderful! You verify information you put into your application over and over.  Then you move on to getting your fingerprints done for the background check. Then they scan your ID here so make sure you have it. We waited in a little room and was told about the need to change your address on the HUB within 48 hours of Traditions in order to get your Main Entrance Passes (MEPS) and then you cross the hall and wait. 

You go inside and they give you your training sheet and your traditions information and then send you down the hall to the I-9 station. You will wait at a little room and then while the person at the computer does your I-9 the other person will talk to you about your location and your first day of training. (Be wary if you take out your phone as more than one of us was yelled at for not talking to our fellow new CPs.) The next desk took your ID and talked to you a little and then you gave your purple paper to them (If you were Mickey Sticker Group) and then you were told where to go to catch the bus and you are done.

After that you wait for the bus which will take you back to Vista and then you can grab your bags and head to your complex! You will have your housing meeting the next day and if you are a Monday check in you will have your Traditions on Thursday and if you check in on Tuesday it will be Friday. This entire process wasn't done until about 1:30-2pm, so really prepare yourselves for a VERY LONG DAY.

 Day 2 - Housing Meeting

Our housing meeting was at the Commons Clubhouse at 11am on Tuesday (1/8). We didn't need to wear anything formal, but you should look presentable. There's not much to say here because pretty much everything you hear in the meeting will also be in your DCP Guidebook. You will hear about community codes, leaving and entering complexes, ways to get around using your car or the buses, who to contact in case certain situations occur, and more of than kind of stuff that would take FOREVER to retype here in this post. But I will tell you this; if you go to your apartment and things are missing or are broken or are not working, tell the front desk and they will help you out and send maintenance to come fix it or will even give you items you need replaced right on the spot. Oh, and one more thing, this housing meeting is mandatory, so don't be late or decide not to go. They take attendance and will make you go to another one if you don't show up. That's pretty much it! Hope all this was helpful and have a magical day!

The Last Night at Home

This is my last night at home in Charlotte, NC. At 3pm on Jan 5th, I will be starting my drive to Walt Disney World! It's no wonder I can't sleep at all and feeling SO MANY EMOTIONS! Thanks to all my loved ones for your support, and I can't wait to take tons of photos and videos and post them here to share with everyone! Have a magical day! 

Countdown (2013)

This is my video putting together all my photos of my countdown and me! It made me cry to watch the whole thing together because I know, with the aid of God and all my friends and family at every step of the way, how hard I've had to work and dream to get where I am right now. I'm almost there! :D

Rough Draft Bucket List (2012)

• Go to both of the water parks and ride everything in them
• Go and visit every resort hotel on property
• Find the paintbrush on Tom Sawyer Island (?)
• Find ALL the hidden mickeys…maybe…
• Have a dole whip
• Do the “Disney Challenge”
• Visit everything in Downtown Disney
• Rides ALL rides in the 4 theme parks
• Eat at every country in Epcot
• Get a hat with my name on it
• Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
• Go to Universal Studios
• The Kitchen Sink - Disney’s Beach Club Resort dessert 
• Ride a trolley on Main Street (?)
• Get my hair cut on Main Street
• Somehow go into the Utilidors
• Go bowling at Splitsville in Downtown Disney
•  Have lunch with an Imagineer

I know once I get down there, I'm going to add a ton of things to this list. But for now, this is my Bucket List. I can't wait to get down there and experience everything! Have a magical day!