WDW College Program

Week six at Disney and it was crazy. I still did not get a chance to go to the parks. The reason being was because I was getting used to the new overnight schedule which is way different from the night schedule. My co-cast members are fast and we have a schedule to keep in order to get out on time. However on my third day I was left alone on a station and even though I had help from my co-cast member it was a lot of work for two people to do. I wonder if this is how it will be like this all time with just two people working and if so I got my work cut out for me.

My trainer is awesome she worked as a pastry cook since she was 11 working her family’s bakery. She is quick and precise with how she explains how things have to be done. She made sure I knew how things were done and ensured that I knew the step and timing things had to be done by. She was extremely patient me and answered all my questions. However she was only with me for two days and then I had to be almost solo in my station. My co-cast member who was also with me that day balanced what she was doing and also assisted me with whatever I needed. She was also patient and I guess they understand that it is a lot of numbers and steps you need to remember in order to get things done. I really enjoy this schedule though because there is always something to do as well as the fact that once I get used to it I will get the chance to go to the parks.

An unseen circumstance might arise, after March 10 my apartment will be at 50% capacity which might lead me have to move to another apartment or another complex. I am hoping that I don’t have to move however I guess I will see in the coming weeks what will happen.

Let’s see what is coming to happen next on my journey here at Disney.

Week five went by so quick that I have no idea how it is already Sunday. School finally started and the assignments seem like they are going to be really interesting. In my creativity class I met cast members who know more about Disney that I could think to know. As well as finding out why my chef was shocked about me taking classes, because between my creativity and human resource class no one was from the culinary program. However I am excited to see how my mind will expand as I take these classes and learn on the way how Disney operates. In my human resource class I finally met a few girls from Citytech, which is comforting. It’s like a piece of New York is here and if any of us needs help or just want to hang out we can see each other.

As for my schedule I am worried that if I stay on this schedule I will have to either be at work or classes during my time here. However I looked at my next week schedule and I will be switching to over which will be a new experience for me because I have never worked overnight. I was able to get a glimpse of the cast members who work overnight and they do not play. I am wondering if they are tired and how do they manage working, sleeping and living life. I am nervous to see if I can keep up with them or how long I will be on this schedule for. Also on the days I work I will also be going to school meaning that I will only be able to get 4 hours of sleep the most on those days. I mean one or two days with not a lot of sleep won’t be too bad. I hope. I went again to Disney Springs after our class to get some dinner which was nice to see the night life of Disney springs and explore it a bit more. So I am hoping next week at I will find some time to go to the actual parks and have some fun there.

This is my official fourth week here at Disney. The time passes by so slow yet quick. I started to notice that I forget what day of the week it has been or how much time has passed. I still have not found time to go to the parks and I feel like I cannot get the hang of the stuff I have to do at work. I feel like I am so slow at this job but I keep pushing to keep up and get better every day. I do not want to give up I just came here and I will be a contestant at this game of, “Who can make it at Disney?”

This week I actually got to finish plating cupcakes and pastries on time. I felt like progress is happening and I will get better. Until I found out I have class next week and I am scheduled to work those days and I had to talk to the chef, which although he is approachable I just didn’t want to tell him I need to take off and give of chance of leaving a coworker alone to work a shift. However I know I need to be in class on my first day so I talked to the chef, who had been surprised that I taking classes and doing the culinary program but he was able to switch my schedule. I was able to go to Disney Springs and walk around and enjoy a piece of Disney. I realized that when I walked through Disney Springs and saw all the changes being made, it was the definition of how Disney has been able to surpass the effects of a business as time goes by. It’s now a lively area where you can go shop, eat food and just have a good time with friends.

I hope that I can manage class, work and still have for the parks. Also it will be nice to see fellow cast members from Citytech. See you next week.

This week was yet another week that I had been deployed to a new location. It seemed a little strange to me that for two weeks in a row they would send people to work at other locations other then what they were initially trained for, but from what I found out this is fairly common.

This week I was back in Epcot just not in out door foods but in their very large quick service restaurant called ” The Electric Umbrella”. For lack of a better word this is location is like a high classes McDonalds. Granted the food was exceptionally better then any McDonalds every could be but they have the same kind of process. This sounds a little harsh but this is only because I did not enjoy my time there as much as I thought I would. This was still a great learning opportunity for me but I do just hope I do not get placed there again.

When deployed to Electric Umbrella there are  not many positions available for us to take part in due to the fact that their is a much longer training process that need to take place to do these tasks. So for the most part of my stay their I was cleaning tables and refilling condiments. The work was very easy but because of the little to no guest interaction the day seemed to drag on.

When doing out door vending you are constantly talking and interacting with each guest that approaches your cart. They even allow you to walk around the perimeter of your cart to help make magical experience for some guests where you see fit. This is what I look forward to when working especially at a Disney Park so while working at Elecric Umbrella all week I started to miss the fun I was getting out of my job.

What I can say about this location is that the people who work their are very nice and more then willing to lend a helping hand. This did help me get through the week and allowed me to make some new friends along the way. Next week I will be back at out door vending so I’m taking this week as they give it to me and have a whole new respect for what I do.

I started voluntEARing for Give Kids the World Village today. I absolutely loved the experience. I’ve volunteered with children back in NY for a non-profit organization called Spoons Across America. However, this definitely was a slightly different experience. It’s a feel good job. We basically spend our time playing with families of children who are terminally ill. It made me a little sad looking at these children, but I kept my smile especially they’re keeping their smile and head up through these tough times.

Today’s event was called Candyland. It’s literally a life size candy land game themed event. The idea was proposed when a father said that his child never had a chance to go trick or treating because of their condition. We were able to give many children that opportunity today. Children would get game cards and make stops at each station to do any activity and earn a stamp. Once they earn every stamp, the children would get a super prize. The activities range from physical to mental. There were races and a dance for everyone to join in. There were also characters from the Candyland game, like ice queens, gingerbread man, etc. There were balloon animals and a selfie station as well! It was GREAT seeing all these children so happy. I really felt like I was giving these kids the world today. I am most definitely signing up to go next time as well.

This week I want to talk about my experience in school at Disney. I love the classes. They are fun and very interactive. One of the classes is Advance Hospitality Management. In this class we have to work on a big group project in which we have to create a business plan. It is 25 pages long and it’s due at the end of the semester. It is very challenging but I am very excited because we are able to interact with other people from other cities as well as other places in the world. The professor is very easy going and is always there to assist us whenever we have a question about anything related to not only the project but about Disney as well.

The other class I am currently taking is Human Resource Management. This one is very interesting as well because here we learn about laws and regulations implemented that help create a safe work environment for people regardless of their sex, race, religion etc. Here we have also learned about ethics and how they affect businesses and companies and of their importance. Some of the laws that we have learned about are The Sarbanes- Oxley Act- which focuses on procedures for public companies’ handling and reporting financial picture. Also the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Title VII which prohibits discrimination based on race, religion, colour, sex or national origin. Our professor also talked about the Age Discrimination in employment Act of 1967, which prohibits arbitrary age discrimination. These are some of the different laws that we have been learning about and they are mostly to protect employees at their workplace. I have been learning a lot of new things which are very important in the business of hospitality as well as in any business in general.

This week has been full of learning  because I have been learning a lot of new things. One of the things that I have learned is about Human Resource Management class, for example, I learned all the laws for an employee. Some of the laws are “the Civil Rights Act”, which consist on the discrimination about hiring a person based on his/her sex, color, national origin or religion. I really like this law because people can not judge other based on these things that I already mentioned. another law that called my attention was “Family and Medical Leave” this law permits employees working in a company of Fifty or more workers to take like twelve  or more  weeks of unpaid time off for medical reason each year. Even though I do not see many companies that have this privilege, I personally think that an employee should have this time off if is needed. for example in some other country in The UK they do have this law and think here in The United States we all should have that law in our workplace. The photo below is the book where you can find all the laws, in chapter #3 employment laws page #60.

I was really interested in all these laws because now I will know better when it comes to my rights in my current company or in my future.