Interview a CP: Carmela (Concierge & Attractions)

Carmela in the Grand Floridian!

I had the pleasure of interviewing Carmela and learning about her experience in two different roles during her college program! It's always interesting to hear a person's opinion and compare their experience within the different roles. Let's see what she had to say!

What role did you have during the DCP, and where did you work?

I was a Concierge/Front Desk at the Grand Floridian for the first half of my program! Then I extended and was attractions at Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom!

What was a typical day like at work?

For Concierge I would make sure to answer every guest's questions. I mostly got questions about My Disney Experience and magic bands since they still confuse people since they are fairly new. I dealt with magic bands all the time and I learned to love the new system! I also got to sell park tickets, book dining reservations as well as recommending places to eat/shop! That was my favorite part! I loved sharing my knowledge of Disney World to all of my guests that I encountered. One day, I spent an hour planning this family's vacation because they have never been to Disney World before! I loved my my job! It can get repetitive but I never got bored. I had live music playing during my shifts all of the time. I loved listening to the band! They played all of my favorites: Disney tunes, Dixieland music and jazz. When I wasn't in the lobby, I was at lounge. Lounge is mostly in Deluxe Resorts. I would serve the food on the buffet tables and make sure everything is restocked and clean. Not a lot of people liked lounge, but I enjoyed it. Sometimes managers would let you "test" the food for "product knowledge." As CP's, you would almost always get at least 2-3 lounge shifts a week. 

At Dinosaur I could be placed at various locations. Tower, which is the eyes and ears of the entire attractions, AKA the most stressful thing ever! I also was placed at Greeter (my favorite), Fastpass, Grouper and most important belt check! I liked attractions but it was REALLY stressful! I loved Concierge so much more.

Is this the role you originally wanted? If not, are you happy you got it?

Concierge was my first choice and I cried when I was accepted into it. Not going to lie, when I found out I got accepted to extend into attractions I was very upset. I felt that it was a demotion and a major step down. But, I did enjoy working at Dinosaur! I met great people and it was nice to have had the opportunity to work in a resort and a park!

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about your job?

I loved everything about Concierge! I would have to say that the one part I didn't like was standing in one spot for 8+ hours. Concierge is more flexible than Front Desk and I don't think that it is repetitive like people say. I enjoyed every moment of concierge!

At Dinosaur, I did not like Tower. I was very overwhelmed and one mistake could cost you your job.

Carmela and her coworkers on Dinosaur!

(Not even kidding). Since I transferred from Hospitality, I was not used to saying "No." That was hard for me. It was upsetting to turn away people if the child was too small to ride. I felt that attractions isn't for me because it is very safety oriented and very uptight. You have to be alert at all times and even if you sneeze or blink something could go wrong in an instant. Also, every time I went to work, I was always afraid to do something wrong and get a reprimand. If you are a nervous person, like myself, attractions is not for you. I did enjoy my time at Dinosaur though, it was a great experience!

Any specific magical moment you want to share?

I had so many wonderful moments with guests!

At Concierge, like I said before, I helped a family plan their vacation for over an hour and they were so grateful! They would come visit me throughout their stay every day and would tell me about their day! They would always ask me if I would be working tomorrow, and when I said "Yes" they were so excited. They were so adorable and it made my week that they were so appreciative of what I did for them!  At Dinosaur, I had a task called "Make a Magical Moment" along with another coworker. I had a Dinosaur vest, a construction hat and scientist goggles. I stood at greeter and waited for a little boy and ask if he would like to be an "Honorary Technician" then I would get the family through Fastpass and get them a free photo from the ride! I found a little boy and he was so excited! His parents told me that the son wanted to ride Dinosaur again but they didn't think that they could because the line was so long! They were so grateful that we got them through fastpass! I'm glad that I picked the right family! 

Lastly, I was training for Concierge, and a little girl kept looking at my name tag. The father finally said that his daughter had the same name as me! It was awesome because I never met a Carmela that was younger than me! The little girl asked if I can take a picture with her so she could put it in her scrapbook! I was so honored to be in her scrapbook!

At Beaches 'n' Cream to conquer the Kitchen Sink!

Is there something you wish you would have known before doing your program?

Not really! I had no regrets! I came in with a very opened mind!

What advice would you give to those who want to participate in your role?

For Concierge, make sure to product knowledge! Go to as many restaurants as you can, including quick service! Explore the parks! If you do not have the time to do so, research ahead of time. Before I went to Florida, I studied the whole Walt Disney World Resort map. I also studied the surrounding area. It is really helpful to know your way around because a lot of people will ask about Churches, malls, etc. For attractions, be prepared to be very alert! Don't be nervous! I was really nervous and I had to keep telling myself not to be! 

What advice would you give to people who are interested in doing the DCP?

Enjoy every moment of it! The DCP is really a once in a lifetime opportunity! Don't take it for granted! It was the greatest experience of my life! Make sure to take advantage of your free park admission and your 40% Holiday merchandise discount. I did not meet a single person who did not like their college program. Make the best of it! :)

If you're a current or past college program cast member and would like to share your experience, email your name and role to thedisneyden@yahoo.com to participate!

I hope everyone has a magical day!

All About Quick Service Food and Beverage (Vlog)

Many cast members are placed in QSFB for the Disney College Program, and a lot of people ask me questions about what it's like. In this video I explain to you the basic jobs/positions you can have, the different options to be placed, and what training is like. If you have any more questions feel free to ask!

You can see the rest of my DCP videos here!

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Interview a CP: Jade (Grand Floridian Café)

Jade in her Grand Floridian costume!

One role that often goes overlooked is Full Service Food and Beverage. Jade was kind enough to share her experience when she worked with this role at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa!

What role did you have during the DCP, and where did you work?

I was Full Service Food and Beverage and I worked at the Grand Floridian Café.

What was a typical day like at work?

Depending on whether I was scheduled a morning shift or a night shift, I would go in either at 5:30 am, 6:00 am or 7:00 am or I would go in at 2:00 pm or 4:30 pm. In the mornings you could get scheduled a few different shifts. The 5:30 shift would turn over all the coffee cups and make sure the dining room and hostess podium were ready. The 6:00 shift was expo, which meant you would be in the kitchen for the breakfast and lunch shifts. You would set your plates you would need for the day and you would check and expedite food. The 7:00 shift was a regular seater shift and you would come in and spend your day seating the guests. The evening shifts were easier but depending you could get scheduled an assigner shift or a GT shift. In the mornings you could get an assigner shift as well so long as you were trained. The days were never particularly difficult but it was a lot of guest interaction which could influence how your shift would go.

Is this the role you originally wanted? If not, are you happy you got it?

I originally put down FSFB, Photopass and Merchandise. I was leaning more towards Full Service so when I got it I was pleased. I had been a hostess previously so I had an idea of how it was going to be from a general standpoint.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about your job?

I loved the guest interaction and I loved being able to have the experience of being in a resort. I wasn’t a fan of the costumes (every time I had to put on my polyester jacket, my soul died a little bit) or some of my fellow cast members, but not everyone you meet is gonna be a ray of sunshine, even if they work for Disney World. 

Any specific magical moment you want to share?

We had a couple of signed princess pictures one of our managers dropped by the podium so we

Jade and Peter Pan!

decided to choose two families and have them be our special guests of the day. We found two little girls who didn’t know each other but were seated at two tables right beside the other. They talked non stop throughout the meal. We took the two pictures and two roses and a glow cube for the brother sitting at one of the tables and walked over. We told them they had been chosen as our special families and gave them the gifts. They little boy was so excited about the glow cube and played with it for the rest of the meal while the little girls played with their roses. It was the sweetest thing.

What made you want to do the DCP?

I had a friend who did the program and he had enjoyed it so much, I just kinda stuck it in the back of my head as an “Oh that could be something fun to do” kind of thing. When applications opened up, it felt like the perfect opportunity to take a break and get away from my hometown for a bit. It felt right.

Is there something you wish you would have known before doing your program?

I wish I would have understood a little more about the roles. If I had fully understood everything, my top three probably would have been a little different.

What advice would you give to those who are going to be participating in your role?

Find the little joys in your role. FSFB can be stressful and there will be days you want to just say I quit and go home. You’ll deal with servers who feel like they can do your job better than you and guests who make you want to pull your hair out, but you’ll have that family that takes the time to talk to you and ask you questions about your day and the program or you’ll have the manager who tells you how good you’ve been doing and you’ll realize you’re job isn’t the worst and in the end you’ve got it pretty good.

What advice would you give to people who are interested in doing the DCP?

Research it. Take the time to read as much as you can. Look up youtube videos of apartment walkthroughs, talk to people who have done the program. Study the roles and really make sure it’s something you’re gonna want to stick out. Don’t come down thinking you’re going to party 24/7, you may work at Disney World but it’s not vacation. You’ll work long hours but you can still have fun. It’s a great experience and it truly is what you make of it.

If you would like to contact Jade about her experience, you can message her on her Tumblr here!

Have a magical day everyone!

If you're a current or past college program cast member and would like to share your experience, email your name and role to thedisneyden@yahoo.com to participate!

Deployment! (Part One: Grand Floridian)

One thing I had read about in previous QSFB blogs was deployment. Deployment is when someone is sent to work in a different location, but (usually) with the same basic role. They could be doing this because it's a slow season and need you to have enough hours, somewhere else might need you because they're understaffed, etc. Right now Epcot's Flower and Garden Festival started, so many CPs have been deployed to there, while others (like me) have been deployed to fill their positions during the festival. I have been deployed twice so far, once to the Grand Floridian, and right now to Art of Animation. Let me tell you, it's definitely a completely different experience working in different locations!

Both of my deployment experiences have been very different. You can imagine working at the Grand and Art of Animation are very different in comparison to each other. This isn't just because one is a deluxe resort while the other one is a value. The Floridian's quick service (Gasparilla Grill) was just a tiny bit bigger than Captain Cook's, while Art of Animation's food court is like ten times the size of both Gaspy's and Cook's. About ten people work at one time in Cook's, while there are nearly 50 at Art.

I personally ended up really enjoying working at Gaspy's. It's like a little family there, and all of my co-workers were really nice, helpful, and welcoming. When you're deployed, you're 100% on your own for figuring out where to get your costume, what bus to take, where to clock in, and asking for help with your job. It's definitely intimidating and stressful at first, but by around the third day you've pretty much gotten the swing of things, know most of the co-workers, and feel more comfortable. The first day they put me at window, where I took orders from guests and then gave the person in charge of fryer the order. It was pretty simple, and if a guest had a question I didn't know the answer to, I would turn to my left and the grill person could help with the answer. That's one thing about deployment I don't really like...since I'm at a new resort, I don't know the specifics about directions to help guests, or even everything on the menu. Heck, I still sometimes can't remember what's exactly on the Aloha Pork sandwich at Captain Cook's. (BBQ pulled pork, slaw, cucumber, and tomato...btw.)

The second day I was runner/busser. Runner means that I was in charge of bringing the trays of food to the guests at their table, much like a sit down restaurant. This was actually a pretty fun job, because there was a lot of guest interaction. If I'm not running an order to a table, I was greeting guests and asking if they needed any help. One day, I was about to compliment these two little's girls' matching dresses when one of them asked me if I was a princess. This made me really excited, so I told her my name actually means princess (it's true!). I then asked if she was a princess and she shyly nodded and said yes. I asked her who her favorite princess was, and she began naming basically every princess, then telling me it's so hard to choose because she loves all of them. It was so cute!

Gaspy costume!

The next few days I was mainly in charge of bussing, and then helping the runner if things got busy. It never got toooo busy though, thankfully. For about four days in a row (if I remember correctly), I had shifts that all ended at 1:30 in the morning...so needless to say by the end of that week I was pretty exhausted and ready for my days off. Overall though, I really enjoyed working at the Floridian. Made some cool new friends, and learned a lot!

Unfortunately...being deployed to Art of Animation was not as enjoyable. I'll explain more in my next post.