WDW College Program

This week Disney’s Hollywood Studios presented two new Star Wars shows. The first one is called “Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away,” This new live, stage show celebrates iconic moments from the Star Wars Saga with live characters on stage such as Kylo Ren, Chewbacca and bringing back Darth Vader and Darth Maul. This show takes place multiple times a day at the Center Stage area near The Great Movie Ride. There are explosions and clips on big screens on the side of the stage.

The second show is “Stormtroopers March,” which is at various times each day with the menacing Captain Phasma leading a squad of First Order Stormtroopers as they march in formation from the Star Wars Launch Bay to the Center Stage area in an intimidating demonstration of the First Order’s strength.

We also received cool sunglasses to promote the new Star Wars shows and were able to take cool photos as stormtroopers.

A lot of changes are going on at Walt Disney World right after Easter Sunday, especially with Disney’s Hollywood Studios. A lot of the changes were with taking out certain things. Streets of America was demolished. I was a bit sad and regretful that I didn’t take any pictures with Streets of America before it was destroyed. I loved the Idea of Streets of America, it was a representation of famous neighborhoods in the largest metropolitan areas. I had a ball looking at an illusion of New York City, it was a reminder of my home, although not exactly. There was a train station and the famous flatiron building. There were stores that were imitations of what NYC would actually be. Along with Streets of America, many other attractions were closed.

Some attraction closures included Honey I Shrunk the Kids Movie Set Adventure, Lights, Motors, Action!, Monster’s Inc Meet and Greets with Sulley and Mike and Studio Catering Co. restaurant.

However, it is sad that many of these attractions had to close but were a great part of Disney history, they will never be forgotten. Walt Disney World just had to make space to bring on new amazing attractions that will come within the next couple of years. There will be a Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land and these new attractions will be evolving to bring even more guests.

Along with the new changes, there will also be a change with the star wars themed fireworks called “Symphony in the Stars,” Hollywood Studios is planning to make it even better by putting in a projection of Star Wars. Making these little changes will make these fireworks the most expensive in production between all of the parks. Which include Wishes at Magic Kingdom and Illumination at Epcot.

From what I have been told when entering into to Flower and Garden you will not be deployed anywhere else until the Fesival is over. This was definitely the greatest news that I herd all week. Although I have appreciated the different kinds of learning opportunities, the stress of preparing yourself for a new job location can take up a lot of time, especially when you do not have a car.

For a majority of the other Disney locations, besides Epcot, where you would pick up your costume is in a completely different location then where you are working. When being deployed to Animal Kingdom I had to leave an extra 3 hours early to go pick up my costume and still make it to work on time. They request that you pick it up days before but the costuming building is only open until about 6pm and at my other locations I wouldn’t get out until much later. Added to the fact that the bus only goes around one way, so if I were to take the bus to costuming I would have to ride the bus all the way back to vista way before I can even make it back to Animal Kingdom.

Working at Flower and Garden has been one of the best deployments thus far. It feels as if I am back in my home locations since the carts are just like the ones in Future World just with remarkably better food. The customers are also a lot more greatful for our services since they know this is a limited time offer. Most of the other cast members who have been working Flower and Garden since it has opened have been suprisingly welcoming to the newly deployed people such as myself. I am very happy to be able to gain real connections with my leaders and managers so that I can actually show why Disney accepted me into this program; and hope that in the future they will be able to lend a helping hand when trying to return to the company.

I am now about half way through my program. I feel lucky in the fact that I had been accepted into the Spring Advantage Program and is staying until the beginning of August. I have had a lot of new friends that tried to extend their program and unfortunately didn’t make it in. There are days that I do miss New York and my family but I know that there is a lot more advantages for me here in Florida and when I come back I will have more then enough time to be in New York again.

This week to no shock to me I was deployed to Disney Aminal Kingdom Outdoor Vending. I was doing the same job as I do at Epcot just at a different park. I was very happy to get this location because I knew of other Epcot coworkers who have been deployed to Animal Kingdom and hated their position. Also I am very lucky to have my room mate who also works at Aminal Kingdom ODV. She was able to show me around along with introducing me to her other coworkers.

The way that Animal Kingdom operates was very different then what I am use to at Epcot. I have always known that each park has its own rules and regulations but I thought which in each line of business their would be more similarities. What I loved about this week was that because I am deployed they never put me for a closing or opening shifts, so this week was like a little vacation compared to the work I have to do at Epcot.

This week is also the second and last week that classes are not in session due to spring break. As much as I enjoy these classes it was a nice break from having such a hectic schedule every week. Some of the other CP’s from city tech and myself took this time to enjoy ourselves and do some site seeing around Florida. It was a nice way to unwind from these past couple of weeks with familiar faces. We all have our own struggles throughout this program but are very lucky to have each other.

Spring break season at Disney is finally over. There were various changes Disney made before spring break happened. They were getting ready for one of the most busiest season of the year. There are people coming from all over the world to just spend a few days at a Disney Resort and visit the castle at Magic Kingdom. I had guests from Egypt, Argentina, Brazil, Japan and others. How do I know all of this? I always love to ask where are they from. First, to know if maybe they live in Florida so I can give them discounted tickets, and second because I love to acknowledge where they come from. A few weeks before spring break, vacation planning had a training. Here at Disney, we constantly get training classes such as product knowledge, class, 4 keys class, selling relationship magic class, and others. This time the training was a little bit different. Disney came up with new prices for their theme park tickets. It was a whole new price structure. Before we only had one price for a 1-day park, and a 1-day park hopper. However this changed, now it’s divided in 3 seasons. Value season which is the cheapest one and the most slow season. Regular season as its name say it’s just a regular day not too slow but not too busy at the same time. And then we have Peak season, the most busiest season and the most expensive of all. To show just how much the prices increased here is an example. 1-day Magic Kingdom ticket was $111.80 now during peak season a 1-day Magic Kingdom ticket is $132.45.

With this new price structure and increase, it’s very hard to explain it to guests. I have guests coming to my window getting very angry when I tell them how much is a 1-day ticket. Sometimes they say it is cheaper online, but I try to explain it to them that they probably looked at the value season ticket, and if they buy that ticket they won’t be able to enter the park and would have to upgrade their ticket anyways.

Because everyone knows how busy Disney is during Spring Break, Disney gave us a break on classes. We had a mini spring break from the collegiate courses for 2 weeks. My location did not get too busy, so they still gave me 2 days off a week. I usually have 2 days off every week, but they are on the day I have class as well. So i really never have a day off. I have to wake up early 7 days a week. It really felt good to wake up a little later, and the ladies from City tech and I planned a trip to the beach. We visited Clearwater beach, it was very very nice. We went on a boat tour to see the dolphins., and drive around the gulf of Mexico. We have got very close during our time here in Disney, and with only one month left of my program, I am sad to leave my job and my friends. But very glad I got to meet people I will never forget.

This is the last week of classes before spring break starts here at Disney. In my class, advanced hospitality, we have been learning to market our brand. Each group has a different line of business and we have to market it in the best way possible. My group has been given a value resort. We have to look at the brand identity, awareness and loyalty. We also have to campaign the brand as well.

The people that make up the company are very important. Running a company on your own is very hard. Like they say “Two heads is better than one.” It’s always better to have other people besides yourself help come up with ideas that support the brand. It makes looking at the bigger picture a lot easier.

In relation to Walt Disney World, every employee is important to the company. Every employee is there to help make Disney World the most magical place on earth. Disney needs those same employees to carry on Walt Disney’s legacy, to help carry out the 4 keys and to create happiness everyday in people’s lives.

This is my last full week of work and class before I go on my mini vacation back to New York. A couple of days ago in class, I learned that staffing and recruiting is really important. Who you fill your company with is very important. It costs money to train people and to drug test them. Which are precautions into making sure that you’re hiring the correct person. In companies, it is better to internally promote and then externally hire. With someone that knows the company’s ins and outs and backbone, it would help better.

I also learned what types of interviews are offered and that background investigations is a normal thing to do in companies. For the Disney College Program for example, our school has been coordinating with Disney for years. I happened to see a poster on the wall at school and it sparked the idea for applying. We went through two interviews, an online survey and a phone interview before we were selected. I am grateful to be part of the selected team of Spring 2016.

This week has been very busy at the resort. We barely caught a break these past couple of days. The front desk was very hectic with so many people checking in. We are sold out. We have reached 88-100% occupancy for the past days. This week was very challenging because we had to make much more effort to ensure that the check-in process went smoothly and to address all of the guests issues and concerns regarding their reservations in a timely manner. Also, if a guest didn’t like the room they were in, room changes were more difficult due to little or no availability.

I was looking forward to the peak season and this is the first time I handled this massive guest interaction situation. I was a bit nervous too because people look forward to enjoying their vacations and if their rooms was not ready or if they didn’t like their room or wanted to stay at a different building than the one they were assigned, it would’ve been difficult to move them to another room. Also many guests had issues with their magic bands. These are bracelets that allow them entrance into their rooms (keys) and into the parks since they can link their park tickets to the magic bands  and their reservation which I think is pretty cool and convenient. So we had to ensure that they were working properly to avoid an unpleasant experience for the guest when going in to their rooms or at the parks. I really love my job and I feel very energized and happy whenever I see a smile on the guests faces and when I see how excited they are to visit the parks and meet Mickey. Front desk cast members are the face of the company and although we get tough or challenging situations, this is an ever learning experience and we also get the most memorable moments and it’s great to be able to put a smile in people’s faces.