Training

So I have finally completed all of my training. Here's what I'm all trained on:

Field:
 -Pusher: point cars into a space
 -Puller: pull cars up to the line
 -Point: send cars down a row and change rows as necessary
 -Chip Point: send over sized outside and handicap inside
 -O Zone: send handicap, over sized, exit, drop off, and motorcycles to the right and everyone else to the left
 -Extended O Zone: send tagged cars to BCML and Chip Cast parking
 -Ramp: send lanes of traffic to different levels
In: Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, Toy Story Parking Lot, Simba Parking Lot, Pumbaa Parking Lot, and any other parking lot we may need to use.

Transportation Concierge:
 @ Toy Story
   -Loader: get people on the bus & help with various questions
   -Unloader: get people off the bus & help with finding cars
 @ Esplanade
   -Grouper: send people to a bus line
   -Stager: send people to a line to go into the bus line
   -End of Line: make sure only people headed to the Toy Story parking lot are getting in line
   -Podium: offer assistance to anyone who needs it
   -Shuttle Area: only let certain buses in and assist everyone else
   -Pick Up/Drop Off: make sure people don't park in this area and keep moving
   -Harbor Entry: make sure only toy story buses come in

Trams:
 @ Green Room Guest Control
   -Front Car: work the ramp as necessary and help guests with strollers, check tram, and clear it to depart
   -Rear Car: help guests with strollers, check tram, and clear it to depart
   -Special Assistance Greeter: make sure those who need the ramp can use it and those who don't need it use other cars
   -Crosswalk: cut foot traffic when vehicles/trams approach, cut vehicle traffic when necessary, operate bollards when necessary
 @ Parkside Guest Control
   -Ramp: work the ramp as necessary
   -Front Car: help guests with strollers, check tram, and clear it to depart
   -Rear Car: help guests with strollers, check tram, and clear it to depart
   -Splitter 1: send guests to the second loading zone
   -Splitter 2: send guests to the third loading zone
 @ Rear Tram
   -Spiel as necessary to guests on tram, check tram when no guest control are present, be the eyes and ears for your driver

Tolls- Pay on Entrance:
 - responsible for taking money, pressing the right buttons in the computer, balancing at the end of your shift, welcoming guests to or back to the resort, etc.
Locations: Mickey and Friends, Toy Story, Pumbaa, Simba, Gardenwalk

Tolls- Pay on Exit:
 -responsible for taking money, pressing the right buttons, calling the valet when needed, balancing at the end of your shift, helping guests with directions, etc.
Locations: Downtown Disney, Valet Booth, Simba

Tons of training, tons of working, all done now and just working like crazy! See ya soon!

I'll start at the beginning

I arrived in Cali on the 21st of August, moved in on the 22nd, went to Traditions on the 24th, "Welcome to Park Operations" on the 25th and started on the job training soon after. Guest Interaction Training was the first day, followed by a few days of on the job training where we learned to push and pull cars, safe havens in case of earthquakes, the "point" position, "o-zone" position, how to park chip cast parking when we're really busy, the "ramp" position, how to talk on the radios, how to work the crosswalk, and a ton of other stuff. I passed both my knowledge assessment and my pa (forgot what it stands for) and was a certified RT&P cast member =).

I had a few shifts at Mickey and Friends Parking Structure which were all fun. I was also sent to Downtown Disney two days for Guest Control where I wrote the time on tickets and gave them to guests. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, I promise... I got to meet a bunch of new cast members from that location and I also had a TON of guest interaction and were able to have fun with a few cars!

The next day I started Transportation Concierge training. We learned how to load buses, unload buses, answer guests question, help fold up strollers, and a few other things... we're pretty much just there to answer questions and make everyone's trip a little easier! I have my second day of TC training tomorrow where I will learn Esplanade. SO EXCITED! And next week I will be trained on the back of the trams =).

Until next time....

XOXO,
Steph

Off to Disneyland!

Hi! My name is Stephanie Hawley and I am from Atlantic Highlands, NJ. Yes…. You heard right, I am from the Jersey Shore but I promise you, in real life, it is nothing like what you see on TV. For the past 4 years, I attended High Point University in North Carolina where I received a B.A. in Human Relations with a minor in Management. In the future I would love to be a wedding and event planner and hope that my experiences with The Disney Company will help me achieve my goals.

 Two years ago I participated in the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World (you can read past entries to hear about those experiences) and worked at Pecos Bill’s Tall Tale Inn & Café in the Magic Kingdom and had the time of my life. I enjoyed every minute of it… the good and the bad, the outrageous and the admirable… guest interactions, making the magic, making new friends, the networking, playing in the parks, and everything else that you think of when you dream of Disney. When I completed the program, I applied to become a Campus Representative at my university and was accepted as the first and only Campus Rep at HPU. I held down the fort pretty well and even had about 10 students participate in the program over the year and a half I was a campus rep, a pretty big feat considering that my school doesn’t offer credits for the program and most people on my tiny campus had never heard about the program before!

I am so excited to begin the next chapter of My Disney Story at Disneyland in California as a Resort Transportation and Parking Disney College Program cast member for the Fall of 2012. I have never been to Disneyland before and can't wait to see where and how it all started. Disneyland is just full of so much company history. I'm hoping to network a ton while I'm out there as well and apply for a few professional internships after this college program is over to continue my employment with The Disney Company. I can't wait to see what my future has in store for me!

Only 19 days left until I am in the air headed to California!

Now It's time to say good-bye

Soooooooo 3 months have passed since I last posted. It was full of work, fun stuff, the holidays, a visit from the parents, and so much more. I thought I would be able to post more often but I was just so busy, as usual! haha So I leave in 2 days. I can't believe it's already time to leave, although I feel like I've been here forever. I feel like I didn't really get close to many people so it will be easy to leave in those regards, although I will miss the people who I did get close with.

I will be glad to not have to deal with the stupid questions (Where's the bathroom? while standing underneath the restroom sign; Where are the veggies? after getting a veggie burger; Do you sell burgers here? after looking at our menu where two of the 7 items are burgers; Can I have a Grilled chicken wrap? And getting mad that it is served cold when our menu says 'chilled', NOT 'grilled'; What time is the 3pm parade?)  and mean guests anymore but those are the experiences that taught me the most. I have learned so much while I was down here and am so glad I was able to participate in this experience.

I would love to come back down and work or maybe get a professional internship to get more experience and possibly continue with the Disney corporation. The DCP is what you make it; either you'll have the best time of your life, or you'll completely hate it. I definitely had an amazing time and wouldn't have traded it for the world, even on those days that just weren't working out. I'll be sad to leave, but I'm ready for it. I'm ready to move on, go back to school and find out what the rest of my life has in store for me!

What do you actually do in Disney?

This is a question I keep getting A LOT so I decided to answer it for y'all. My role is Quick Service Food & Beverage and I work at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Cafe in the Magic Kingdom. At Pecos, there are a ton of different positions I'm trained in including:

1. Magical Moments- walking around the dining room and celebrating celebrations with guests
2. Greeter- welcoming everyone to Pecos and thanking them for joining us
3. Filler- filling food orders
4. Drinks- filling drink orders
5. Counter Stocker- making sure the counter has everything they need
6. Close Counter- cleaning everythinggggg foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
7. Topping Bar- making sure all of our toppings are available to our guests
8. Topping Bar Runner- making sure the topping bar people have everything they need
9. Topping Bar Close- cleaning the topping bar
10. Condiments and Trays- making sure all of the condiments are stocked
11. Trays- picking up all of the dirty trays
12. Condiment Bar Close- wrapping everything up and cleaning
13. Dining Room Busser- cleaning tables as guests leave
14. Dining Room- Floors- sweeping
16. Trash- emptying trash
17. Dining Room Concierge- talking to guests
18. Dining Room Close- cleaning the dining room
19. Pre Close- bagging all of the trash cans after wiping them down

And just recently I was trained on cash so now I can:

20. Cash- taking orders
21. Cash Close- cleaning

21 different positions? haha yeah it's kind of crazy but very manageable. we have 5 different dining rooms so if you're bussing, you are only in charge of one dining room, trays, the whole restaurant, trash has 3 sections, each with about 6-9 trash cans, topping bar is one side, filler is for one register, etc... it's all very manageable. I like cash so far the best, we'll see how often i'm on it! magical moments is fun too because you get to announce a guests' celebration and get the whole dining room to help celebrate. I hate trash but a lot of people like it because you don't have to deal with guests... haha, i just don't like it though! i'll write more later, need to go to sleep!

3 1/2 week mark

So I've been here for 3 1/2 weeks so far. I like it here. I love the guest interaction. I started talking to a guest in one of our dining rooms the other day and found out that he was a Human Resource Director at a company (he never told me which company). We were talking about Disney and how successful they are with employee relations. We were also chatting about reasons why cast members stay with the company for so long. I told him that I believe cast members stay for so long not because of the jobs we do, because honestly, they're not the best jobs in the world, but rather for what we do while we are here.

I began to tell him about my 11hour work day where I was on trash for 8 of those hours. Taking out trash is not fun at all but it is what you make of it. I was in the lobby checking on the trash cans when I heard a family talking about not being able to eat and watch the parade at our restaurant. I chimed in and was like "Of course you can watch the parade and eat here, as a matter of fact, there is a whole section of our outside dining room that few guests know about and it is totally empty right now. after you order your food, let me know and i will take you right to it!" Now this doesn't seem like a big gesture but it meant the world to this family. It was one of their daughters birthday and she was crying because she was tired and just wanted food. They were so happy that we were willing to help them and make them feel like the only guests in the park. It was all of their first visits to Disney world and this tiny gesture made them feel appreciated. The next day they came back to Pecos and the first person they saw was me (i was on greeter; at the front door saying 'howdy' to everyone) and they were thrilled to see me yet again, and took my advice for a second day and sat in the same seats to see the parade again. This one tiny gesture meant the world to them.

The same day I was also able to help so many guests find the characters or princesses they wanted to see. I have also been able to use my limited knowledge of spanish to communicate with guests looking for assistance.

The same day I was talking to the gentleman I also received a basics audit meaning a manager observed me at work to make sure I was following the four basics. My manager said I passed with flying colors! I also received a great service fanatic card!!! (Meaning I did something that the manager felt the need to recognize me for; I was going out of my way to greet guests as they walked through our doors instead of standing in the back of the dining room and blending in with the background., like most cast members do.)

Great Service Fanatic cards are a perfect example of how managers keep their cast members motivated. We also have a word (or quote) of the week that if a manager hears a cast member saying, they will also receive a great service fanatic card. This week was "Happy trails, hope to see y'all soon!"

More observations to come soon!

Dropping like flies......

So I live in a 3 bedroom with 5 other roommates. Well so far 2 have left... one left after 4 days of being here and the other left this past Sunday, which was a week and a half. They just had different expectations of what the DCP would be like. A few people have also been terminated as well, like the girl who was running through our complex the other night screaming at the top of her lungs because she was overdosing on heroine. Another new girl at my job also left and my roommates sister's boyfriend is leaving too & my roomie said that if he left, she would probably leave too. It's crazy!

I'm glad I came down here with very low expectations. I came expecting to take out trash for 12 hours straight, which is what I did yesterday at work but only for 8 hours. I'm glad I came expecting 70 hour work weeks and i'm glad I came expecting to be 'abused' (like doing the dirty work and working reallyyyyyy long hours) because it's making the program exceed my expectations right about now. I have no plans on leaving and am going to stick it out, no matter how hard things may get. I'm def not scared and am looking forward to making the best of my time here. I'm also going to take full advantage of all of my perks while I'm down here, getting into the parks free, getting deeply discounted rates for my parents, and getting discounts on a ton of other things too! I'm not leaving!!!!