Miami, Christmas and the New Year!

Wow, what a time it had been recently! I feel like so much has happened since I last updated this blog!

The first big thing that happened is that I took my first trip outside of Orlando- to Miami no less! I was chatting to Tom about travelling saying that there were so many places I wanted to go that I didn’t even really know where to start, and he asked if I wanted to go with him and Ashleigh, a lovely south African girl from our arrival group to Miami for a few days. We all had the Wednesday off, and him and Ashleigh had Thursday off also- I had the Tuesday off instead, but luckily Sammy wanted to swap so we did that and it meant I could go!

On the Wednesday we got up super early and got the bus into the dolphin resort, where we picked up our car, as Tom drives. We took the toll road down as it was the quickest way, even though it cost us like an extra $20, but it did mean that we got there in just over 4 hours. Tom and Ashleigh had found a backpackers hostel right on South Beach which was just over $22 a night which I thought was pretty sweet- there was a big parking lot nearby for us to use ans it was only a few minutes walk from the beach-and what a beach! It was absolutely beautiful, and even though it was December it was still wonderfully hot and pretty busy. We had a walk up and down the beach and the over the front and had a little explore. The area has a lot of art deco buildings as it was that period that Miami seemed to get its big boom, and it was incredibly beautiful. It looked just like what I imagined it to look like but more so- the art deco buildings, neon lights and palm trees. That night we headed to a sushi restaurant and had another wander through town.

The next day we agreed we didn’t want to spend only at the beach, so we got the bus downtown, and then walked for ages in search of an area called Wynnewood. We must have walked for about an hour and a half and went through some really dodgy areas that made me glad that it was the daytime- at one point we had to walk over train tracks and I honestly wondered if it would be worth it…but it so was. So Wynnewood was this really poor area in Miami (hence the scary outskirts) and all of these graffiti artists suddenly started to decorate the area. But not just a few graffiti tags-the covered entire walls and streets with massive art works that all try to make some sort of statement. Some of them were really breathtaking, and in fact there was a little gallery and bar set up for tourists like us. So we got to chat to someone about the history of the place and then have a drink and a bite to eat. It was definitely worth seeing and would tell everyone to see it if they get the chance.

 

After we went back downtown and got a bus into an area know as little Havana  this is where lots of Cuban immigrants came in the 60s after all the troubles in Cuba to settle and make a new home, and the area is indeed its own little community.  there were loads of cigar she, coffee shops and everything seemed to be in Spanish  we stopped and had a cup of coffee in this little corner shop which was actually a gorgeous cup of coffee, and just as we decided to have a mojito we were joined by a fellow traveller also having a wander around, who turned out to be in the wine business, so we had a good chat with him. The whole experience of being in a hostel, travelling and good conversations with strangers kind of reminded me of being a backpacker, and made me miss it so much! Just before it got dark we headed back and then had a great Mexican dinner on the historic Spanish street in south beach.  The whole trip was different to how I imagined a weekend in Miami would be-I guess I imagined more partying and shopping etc, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way as I had such a fantastic time.

We got up early again on the Friday as I had a safety training class  1:45. The journey was fine but the closer it got the more nervous I was that I would be late- Tom dropped me off in the guest car park and I ran through backstage and just about clocked in right on the dot! Best timing ever for sure.

On the 23rd I was sitting in the break room on lunch when Sarah came in for hers as well, and had the bright idea that we book a hotel for Christmas eve night, so that night we booked into all star movies. We both had Christmas eve off, so we checked into our hotel and then had a lovely afternoon in Epcot. I wasn’t feeling too well unfortunately as I was coming down with a cough that a few people at work had, so we didn’t stay too late, but instead headed back to the room and ate pizza and watched films! It was just what I needed actually, as the beds were so big and so comfy and as I don’t have a television it was a real treat to get to see a film.

The next morning, after a cracking nights sleep, we opened our presents, I had a secret Santa gift filled with chocolate and green tea (they chose well!) and a box of gifts from my dad. He’d chosen really thoughtful presents and they all meant a lot to me, as it just shows he knows me so well. It was more emotional than I was expecting it to be, but I just had to not let if get to me as I was working that day. I was actually scheduled to have Christmas day off, but I really wanted the experience of working Christmas so I took Maireads shift as she had flown home to surprise her family. Work itself was strange, as a lot of guests were actually in a bit of a bad mood and I think quite a few staff members were withdrawn because they missed home. But overall it was worth it, especially a few families who were so grateful we were working so that they could enjoy their Christmas! Another lovely present I had was from Anna- she had written me something called a four keys card.  In Disney there are four ‘keys’ to being a good cast member- safety, courtesy, show and efficiency, and these cards are written when you are recognised as doing one or more of these well.  I was so grateful for it, as merchandise people seem to hand them out quiet regularly, but they don’t seem so common in food and beverage, and it was sweet to feel like someone had taken the time to write one for me and it was nice to be recognised for working hard. After that I resolved to start handing them out myself to anyone that I saw being a good cast member. I also got one on Christmas day from a random member of staff after I fixed a rope that was a potential trip hazard, which was nice but pretty random.

A few days after Christmas I was randomly talking to a guest while stocking the condiment bar in chippie, and she said that her mother had fallen over on her way to Epcot and was in hospital for surgery, but had made her daughter and grandkids go into Epcot so as to not spoil their day. Poor thing seemed pretty stunned, so I told her to wait at her table for a few minutes and rushed into the Toy Soldier shop, and asked Danielle and Alex for some help to help her feel better. so we gave her a Winnie the pooh plush toy to give to her mother in hospital and wrapped its arm in a bandage, telling her that it wasn’t to be removed until her mothers arm was better. She was so happy and grateful, and I felt like I had really made a difference to her day. It was exactly this sort of thing that made me want to work for Disney, and I even got recognised yet again with a four keys card!

So in terms of me giving them out myself, I gave one to a girl who worked on Mission: Space, because she was wonderful with this young girl who was crying because she was so scared, and really took time to comfort her and make her feel better. Then on NYE (more on NYE in a moment) I had ordered a chocolate milkshake with my drink, but when I got to the counter they had ran out, and the girl who served me was so helpful about it, offering me any alternative (even more expensive things) and a desert to make up for it so I gave her one as well, and she was so happy for it I was glad I had taken 2 minutes to write one for her.

In other news, I had my first solo stocker shift on the 30th. I was nervous about it but Tom and Natalie gave me some help with it which was really appreciated, and overall it went pretty well-generally I managed to keep on top of things even though I obviously was nowhere near as good as Connor or Mark, who nearly always do it, but now that I’ve done a shift on my own hopefully I can start getting better at doing it. Overall I’ve been working more than previously, as I’ve been asked or have asked myself to come in early a few times and for Christmas week and new years week I have worked 6 days, and several shifts have been between 8-12 hours, when before I often worked only 6. I’m pleased to have more hours, even though it can be tiring!

New years eve I worked from 9 in the morning until 9 at night which was crazy. It meant that me and will, one of the newbies, had to open chippie, even though neither of us had opened since training, which seemed like a flaw in the scheduling. It was easy to be honest though as it’s basically opposite to closing chippie which we do every night, even though there were a few changes because they were expecting it to be so busy, one example being that we weren’t to sell any hot drinks because comparatively they take too much time to make. We also had to create a que line that extended much, much further than usual, and we had to pre bag many more cookies than usual because we would sell so many. For the first 45 minutes after opening, I thought everyone had been over reacting… and then the crowds came. And came. And came. An hour after opening, we had a que for chippie 4 times longer than I had ever seen it before, and it stayed like that ALL THE TIME. Most of us were working today, but we needed it. I was chippie filling for 2 hours, but we had 5 people inside rather than the usual two, and even with all the extra man power we just kept everything running on time. I had my first break at 12 and then took position on chippie register, but I’m pretty sure that inside they had at least 5/6 people working, plus 3 instead of 2 chefs. There were also 2 chippie stockers all day, which is a position that usually only exists for one person for a few hours, and there were 2 people doing the rest of the stocking.  Instead of the usual one, there were up to 4 people on beer cart. Everyone had to work so hard all time  and within a few hours I’m pretty sure many people were starting to get tired, but I have to say I’m pretty proud of everyone because we managed to get through the day well without any major mishaps. There was a terrible moment when on register we were told not to sell any fizzy fountain drinks because the machine had broken, but it was soon fixed and then things carried on as before. And what really impressed me was that all the managers and coordinators got stuck right in, even doing stocking and chippie filling when needed. So even though I was bloody knackered by thru time my shift finished, I left happy. I bumped into Sarah from HRC on the way out, and we got some food at the American Adventure (where I gave out the aforementioned four keys card) and then got a space to watch the fireworks. It was incredible actually, as Epcot had had a showing of illuminations at about half 6, for those with young families that needed to get home early on.  They then showed illuminations again at half 11, finishing with the Christmas section for the last time. For the final 5 or so minutes before the next year was about to start, they listed in turn which countries had celebrated their new years at one time, listing them in order. So china and Japan had celebrated theirs first, so they had a mini firework display set of in turn behind each of their pavilions set to themed music. They did this for all the countries around the world showcase, and the fireworks for the UK was set to Rule Britannia, and was had red white and blue fireworks.  it was way more emotional that I thought it would be, especially because at 7 in the evening everyone had cheered for the UK and I had had to not let myself think about it too much because I didn’t want to get upset while I was working thinking about everyone back home. But watching the UK fireworks was incredible, and it made me so incredibly proud to be working in Disney. And the fireworks that went off at 00:00 were literally the best I have ever experienced, especially with the atmosphere of everyone there cheering and singing and hugging each other. I just couldn’t believe that I was ending one year and opening another in such a wonderful place with so many wonderful people, and it’s made me excited all over again for the time I have left on the programme.

So, happy new year everyone! I hope you all get what you dream for in the new year

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• Miami, May 2012, just visited for the day, but completely worth it (funkyellasuk.wordpress.com)

No longer the newbie!

As of this week me and Tom are no longer the newbies at work! We’ve had another arrival group, which includes 3 people in food and beverage, so it’s another pretty small group. I first met them last Thursday for their throw in, and they all seem really lovely which is cool. But it was incredibly strange to see them in the some position that I was just a few weeks ago, and to know that they are at the very start of their Disney journey. Quite emotional actually! It’s also nice knowing that it’s getting closer and closer to the girls that I met in Manchester coming out. I don’t at all want to wish my programme away but I am really looking forward to them being here!

We had another Disney housing event as well late week- the Winter Formal. Disney hired out a couple of the Ball Rooms in the Contemporary Resort, and organised buses to take us there from housing, where they had food and a DJ and characters to meet! It was a wonderful event to be part of, because everyone dressed up lovely and it was great to see people making the effort. After a few of U went for some drinks in Applebee’s, and theonly downer on the night was that we wanted to get into Vista only so we could get the bus home, but you’re not allowed in any of the complexes that aren’t your own after 2:00, so we was told we could only come in if were we willing to receive a housing point or warning or something, which we didn’t want, so we had to walk home. That was a bit annoying, they really need to change that system as I would be none to happy if I had to walk back on my own.

I’ve done an awful lot of eating out recently, which has been good and bad. Good, because the food is incredible! Sometimes I’ve gone into work early to go to one of the other pavilions , usually Morocco or Japan for some lunch before work with someone, so it’s social as well. But with that and not going to the gym I was starting to feel a bit podgy! So I’ve tried to reduce my casual eatings out now, and the other good thing about that is that it actually saves quite a lot of money, which I want to try and out towards bigger things like a mini break! It’s finding a balance, as I don’t want to never go out, but also don’t want to be ridiculous at spending. It helps that I’ve started doing better at grocery shopping so I can make proper food to take in with me instead of just snacks. I’ve started taking in things like Pasta to heat up at work, which is a bit healthier and a lot cheaper!

Talking of money, I’ve now also opened a proper bank account here. I have a checking account, which is basically a current account, and a savings account. I actually feel a lot more settled having a proper bank account now, and it wasn’t too hard to set up- me and Tom went up to Disney University on the bus and we only had about half an hours wait before we were seen, and we’d heard it could be much longer, It means that if we want we can put our money into a savings account where we are less likely to spend it!

On my mornings before work I’ve tried to be more productive, so that means grocery shopping, or increasingly going to the gym. Maybe because I’ve never had a full time job before, but I’ve found it exhausting trying to work out and go to work! Still learning to grow up I guess haha.

Work is still fantastic, I can honestly say I do really enjoy it- sometimes, especially after a day off, I would prefer to go to a park or something, but as soon as I get into work I cheer up. Surprisingly I’m really enjoying working in the chippie, despite much preferring podium to begin with. One of the reasons may the moment podium is much busier than usual because of candlelight. Anyone who comes in the candlelight package, which is most of them, have to be in and out quickly in order to make it to the show on time, so tables get turned over quicker. This means more tables are needing to be bussed and sat. Also, because guests have made reservations quite far in advance, they expect to get whichever tables they want- outside if its warm, or inside of its cold and/or windy. If they don’t get what they want them some of them can get really quite rude, more so than guests before candlelight. Whereas at chip shop guests seem more happy in general, and I’ve had some lovely customers recently who I’ve had nice conversations with, especially if it’s quieter and I can spend more time with them.

Some times we’ll also get assigned to tasking, which is basically doing small jobs for between 1o minutes and an hour and a half. I usually do bits of stocking in this time a it is a useful job, and I’ve had some longer conversations here when guests start chatting to me and I know I have the time to talk to them as I don’t have a proper task which is nice.

On another Disney note, I saw Frozen at the cinema the other day, and it was so good! I enjoyed every second of it, mainly because the songs and animation are so beautiful!

TTFN xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Traditions, training and four loko

Another busy few days, so I thought I would update before I start forgetting things!

After my last post I skyped my Dad for the first time since arriving which was really nice, and then I caught the bus from commons over to Vista Way where we had some more immigration work to take care of. For some reason none of my hire documentation was online, but the staff were great and said they would take care of all of it and I was not to worry. While waiting in the que I sat next to a girl who recognised me from the facebook group which was nice, so I got the bus home with her and we had a nice chat. On the way to Vista I had bumped into my friend Sammy who I had met at both the interviews and Manchester, so I was well excited to see her, She invited me round to her flat on the night for pre drinks before going out to Downtown Orlando, which I of course accepted!

In the afternoon Alex met me Kim and Anne Marie to show us the outlets that are near by and some of the supermarkets that are in walking distance. One thing that really struck me was how friendly everyone was- even in the small stores the cashiers greeted us really warmly which I was SO not expecting! It was useful to have chance to go to another supermarket and I came away with a fair bit of stuff (including nandos sauce).

I was pretty tired when I got back, as I think the jet lag had caught up with me, so I went back home after Vista to do a bit of tidying and to have a nap. It was so hard to get up as I honestly felt like I could have slept through the night, but I managed to get up and cobble together a Halloween outfit. To be honest it was basically a big football shirt but I used some eye shadow to try and look like I had bruises- not the best but pretty good for my limited resources! I went round to Sammy’s place as she lives in the same complex as me and bless her she had bought me a can of four loko to celebrate my arrival! I got to meet quite a few more of the Disney CRPs and they were again really lovely, so it was great to get to meet them, Then we went clubbing in downtown Orlando! I had so much fun and I found downtown…interesting haha. Was definitely feeling it in the morning though, so I took advantage of the day off to have a decent lie in. Then Kim’s friend Josh came to see her- they had met in their own interviews, which took place before mine, so us three went out for a little wonder round the shops and explored the local area. Then me and Kim chilled in our room for a bit before deciding to go out to Downtown Disney again to have another wonder which again was great- the atmosphere was brilliant as there were so many people and types of music. I still can’t wrap my head round the fact that I’ll be here for a year!

Next morning was the day that I had been waiting for…Traditions! We got up really early to get ready into our first day of business attire and then get the bus up to the Disney University (yes, such a thing exists).  The day was to basically introduce us to the company- its past, present and future. Me Kim and Anne-Marie sat at a table with a lovely Canadian called Carolyn who we became fast friends with. The room itself was beautiful with a massive mural on eiother side of the room of Disney characters. I answered the first question correctly and got rewarded with a critter, which is a little figurine that you can only get in a traditions class. I got 2 more throughout the day, one fore being voted team other because me and my team won a round where we had to list as many Disney animated characters as possible. I was so happy to get  my little critters- I got Pluto, Donald and Daisy. The presenters were fantastic and gave us loads of useful and interesting stuff but gave it in a way that felt entertaining to listen to. We also got a tour around Magic Kingdom where the demonstrated different features which made the park as great an experience as possible, Even though it was raining really heavily I had a great time. As team leader I had to keep an eye on my team to make sure they didn’t get lost, but it was pretty easy as we all stuck together anyway.

I couldn’t believe when traditions was over, but I was excited to know what I would be doing next. On the way out Anne-Marie saw a friend also finishing her traditions, who had a car and took us to Mall at Millenia which is BEAUTIFUL to look at phone options, and to a supermarket so we could get some heavy stuff which was so kind of her.

And the today after I was back at Disney University for food training. It was mainly basic computer stuff so it was really boring but I got chatting to some nice people and went to the costume building after to get my GORGEOUS (lol, jokes) non-slip shoes for work. I get to finally go to EPCOT for work tomorrow which I am so so excited for as I’ll get to see where I’ll be working!

A lot can happen in a few days it seems! Will keep things posted as long as I am busy

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60 days left!

When I started the countdown on my phone after I found out I had the job I had over 100 days to go- now all of a sudden its only 60 left! How time flies! It’s been a good 40 days though.

So preparation for Disney is going slowly but surely. There’s actually not as much to do at the moment as anticipated (though that may change!). I’ve printed and filled in some paperwork sent to my by Disney, and completed my CRB check. I had my visa documents come through last week, and discovered I had to go and get a new picture done. It seems the US don’t use the same passport pictures as we do; so I had to go to a photobooth and get a new set taken. Hardly the most flattering photos ever taken, but when I logged on and did my online application form they were accepted so well worth it.

The online visa form took just over an hour to complete- Yummy Jobs had sent a really useful step by step guide on how to do it with FAQs so I knew all the information I would need to have to hand before. Took me a while after that to figure out how to actually book my appointment, but I managed to do it and have my visa appointment at the embassy down in London on the 12th September. The only slots they had available were at like 8 or 8:30 in the morning, so I’m not sure whether to drive down with my Dad from Birmingham REALLY early to whether to come down the night before. I’m actually really looking forward to going down to the embassy 🙂

I still haven’t actually sorted my insurance out yet. My plan is to get a 4 month plan and then move over to Disney health insurance, but not sure whether or not to get travel insurance as well. I’ve been looking at flights and there are massive price differences, but most are around the £500 mark which is a lot considering you can get return flights for a similar price. I’m going to go as cheap as I can, but would be willing pay more if it meant travelling with someone.

Talking of which, I now know a few other people going on my date! When I got my offer one of the girls who I knew from my applications added me into the big facebook group for everyone that had a place, including people from other application rounds. It’s strange that some people who applied with me are going out earlier than people who had applied 6 months or so before! Many arrival groups seem to be made of quite large numbers, but from what I could see there was no one else going on my date. This didn’t bother me too much, but it would be rather lovely to get on the plane with someone! So I emailed Yummy jobs asking them to let me know if other people had my date, in case they were those who hadn’t got hold of facebook details of anyone else at the interviews. And after a little waiting around, I had 3 people email me! I swiftly added them to the facebook group and got chatting to them- they seem well friendly so that’s calmed the nerves down a lot! One girl had been on the opportunity list for 9 whole months before getting a place, so i was so happy for her and it gavce me hope for the people still left on the opp list. 3 months felt like ages for me!

Since I got my offer, 2 more people from the opp list have gotten a place, so the list seems to be dwindling slowly but surely. I just hope everyone gets a place as there really are some lovely people on that list who I would love to see out there. It’s strange though, out of all the people who applied with me, and who I’ve spent the most time talking to, most (bar about 3/4) aren’t going out until between jan-april 2014. So I’ll have been there for a few months already! It means that I’ll be able to welcome them in hopefully but I’ll be sad that they;re not there as I like them so much. But there’ll be some lovely girls that I DO know which is great and I’m sure I’ll be able to make plenty of friends over there!

Also discovered how great the Walt Disney World Forum is- I’ve been speaking to people from several different countries, whether they’re applying and want advice or if they’re going and want to say hi in advance!  So  that’s been wonderful and got me very excited to meet people!

I’ve started sorting out all my stuff back at home- in a serious way. I realised that anything that isn’t important enough to take to America will be left behind unused for at least a year, possibly more if I do travelling afterwards. So anything that I leave behind needs to be usable in the future, otherwise it’s just wasting space in my Dads house! So I’ve sent bags and bags of stuff to either the charity shop and the tip, and there’s a lot of stuff like clothes I’ll use for the remainder of my time in England and then get rid of. Going to get loads of new clothes for America! Lovely summer wardrobe 🙂

I had my first twinge of worry the other day. Nothing serious at all, but I went to Blackpool for a couple of days for a break and to see a friend from uni, which was lovely as it had been far too long since I’d seen her properly. I love going to the beach as I find the sea so calming, maybe because of all the family holidays spent on the good ol’ British  beach. Then after 2 days at home I had Creamfields, which was amazing. I’d never been to a Festival before but I had such a good time! I went with one of my flatmates from uni and a bunch of her friends who were really good fun. Was knackered after though!
We were all talking about wanting to go again, and I realised that I wouldn’t be able to for at least two years because of America. While I obviously know I would always choose America, it suddenly hit me all the things I am leaving behind. It’s been great catching up with my friends and doing things in what has been a great British Summer, and I guess because I know I’m leaving it I’m getting a bit nostalgic about it all! But despite all this there are absolutely no doubts. I know America and Disney are going to be amazing! And this countdown is going by very fast 😀

Anyway, this has been an epically long blog post which I wasn’t expecting! Will update further when I have more news

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Pre-Screen Interviews

DUN DUN DUN!!!! Today’s the day! Woke up this morning feeling very excited- and very nervous! I did my hair and make-up, packed my bag- making sure not to forget any important paper work like my CV- got dressed and called a taxi to take me to the station. Although I could have gotten the bus- or even walked- I wanted everything to day to be as smooth and carefree as possible, even if it meant paying a few quid more here and there. I travelled in comfortable clothes as it was a good couple of hours to get to London from Sheffield, where I go to Uni. I had a pre-booked train and my friend who’s from London lent me her Oyster Card to use once I was down there- luckily I’d visited her a few times in the past so I had a good idea of how to get around on the tube station! Journey itself was fine- nothing went wrong and so I arrived at Waterloo tube station with plenty of time. After just a few minutes walk I found the Pizza Express I would be meeting the other interviewees at- which happened to be literally next door to the restaurant where the interviews were held! There were a few girls nervously waiting outside, so I approached them and was relieved to find they were here for Disney also!  Within 10 minutes there must have been about 20 of us- so when we went in to sit down the waiter nearly had a heart attack!

Most of us were too nervous to eat, so we just had chips or a drink (I love chips, but don’t recommend the Pizza Express ones!). Talking to everyone really calmed me down- I’d woken up earlier than my flatmates and so had’t really spoken properly to anyone all day so it was really nice. Got my voice box working again at least! Conversation flowed quite easily, and I couldn’t help but look around and think wow I could be working with these people in a year! There was a real mix of people, from ages 18-late 20’s (I think) and people that had applied 5 times (wow!) to people who were applying for the first time, like me.Then I did a sneaky change into my smart clothes in the toilet- at least they were nice ones. About 12 we saw a massive group of people in suits leaves the Restaurant- obviously they had had the morning interview slots. From talking to people we reasoned that those who had furthest to travel were given the later slot to give us time to travel down- which was cool as if I had the 9 o clock slot I would have had to travel down the night before and pay for a hotel.

We headed into next door at about 1:45 and saw probably another 15 people, who probably hadn’t contacted people before hand and arrived on their own. I got chatting to a few of them, before heading into the back room. We met the Yummy Jobs team, who were so so friendly, and they gave us a presentation about the programme which lasted about an hour. I knew most of it anyway because of all the research I’d done, but it still got me pumped up and I just wanted to go even more- the energy in the room was so high as everyone was obviously feeling exactly the same! Before I arrived I felt like my pure enthusiasm for the job could get me through, but seeing so many other people who felt the same put things in perspective that I am not the only Disney nut in the world! We then got told what times and who with our group interview would be- I was to be interviewed at 2 ( so straight after the presentation ) with Louise. I really liked Louise so I was happy with this, though initially I wanted a later time in order to prepare. In retrospect though it was best to go earlier for me as I was so pumped from the presentation it helped me get my enthusiasm across!

So as to the interview itself for those who would like some tips. There was a group of 7 of us, all girls (there certainly seem more girls involved with Disney than boys). We sat in a sort of semi-circle across from Louise, and she collected out CVs, and we had a piece of paper attached to our CVs where she made a few ( and I mean only a few) notes. Now, other blogs will say this and you may not believe them, but trust me the interview bloody flies past! It lasts for between 45 minutes and an hour but feels like about 15. Seriously, although there were questions, there was no set order in which to answer, so answers or comments were flying across, and everyone would respond to another’s answer. It really did feel like a chat or a conversation. Louise was great in making sure everyone had chance to answer, and no-one always spoke last or first. I’ll try and remember the questions we were asked, and also ones other people were asked:

• Why do you want to work for Disney? (Because it’s amazing- duh!)
• How could you contribute to the Company?
• Why should Disney employ you?
• How would you deal with a difficult customer (wanted to say clip them round the ears, but thought it may be inappropriate…)
• What sort of things would you like to do in America other than Disney?
• What motivates you?
• 3 words to describe yourself
• What would yo tell a customer about the UK and/or your home city?
• What Disney character would you say you were most like?
• Do you have any tattoos and/or piercings?
• Why the CRP experience?
• What’s your availability for the programme?
• How would you deal living away from home/with other nationalities?

So this may look like a lot, but only a few will be asked because it will be a discussion after each one, not a one word answer from each interviewee. The questions may also be worded differently. I would really advise people to only prepare rough answers and basics- don’t come with ready formed ones because they need to be fluid to adapt to different questions. But possibly more important than the actual answers is the way you present yourself- smile, be interested ( ‘be’ not ‘act’) listen to everyone and respond to show that you can build friendly relationships quickly. I really believe they look for personality more than experience, so be enthusiastic and there’s a good chance you’ll get through. May sound silly, but practice handshaking so you don’t crush the other’s hand through nerves, and if you can give a few seconds break after the question has been asked and take a deep breath to make sure you keep your mind in order and don’t jumble out the words.

The item that I decided on taking in the end was an anthology of Shakespeare which contains his sonnets, other love poems and the most Romantic scenes from his plays. Stratford, where Shakespeare was born, is not very far from where I live and counts as the Midlands so I feel I can lay some sort of claim! The book itself is beautiful because it’s bound in a lovely red silk, and I talked about how it’s relevant to me being and English Literature student. There was quite a range of items- another girl was from Birmingham and bought Cadburys- I had nearly done that and was so glad I hadn’t- and some ornaments of castles and things.

I guessed that probably one in three of us would get through to the next round as that makes sense in terms of cutting down the numbers, so during the interview I closely watched everyone, but I really couldn’t see who would go as everyone seemed so strong- which worried me! Half way through I became concerned that I was appearing to quiet- I was terrified of talking over people as it’s a bad habit of mine when I’m excited- so half way through I upped the ante and tried to smile and laugh a bit more.

The only awkward moment was when we were asked which Disney characters we would be. I had already prepared mine and hoped to god no-one else had the same one- the idea is to stand out and with that in mind I had chosen Grandmother Willow. She’s the calming, philosophical influence in Pocahontas and likes to try and look after everyone, but she’s also a bit silly and jokey which is quite like me! I specifically chose to not say a Princess because I thought they would be common- and this was the case ( especially when I spoke to people afterwards). Three (yes- three out of seven) In our group had the same character- they chose Ariel. When the first girl said Ariel the girl next to her looked visibly annoyed and uncomfortable. When she reasoned why this was her character, it was exactly the same reason as the first one- so it started to sound very scripted, same with the girl two seats down. It was such a shame as you could see all three were a bit panicked afterwards- in such a strong room I think everyone felt that the smallest mistake could mean them not getting through- and I understood that!

And all of a sudden BAM! the interview was over! We thanked Louise and walked out- I felt happy with my performance but I honestly knew that in such a strong room I may not compare, so left with mixed feelings. Went out for a drink with a group of the other candidates as I had a little while before my train was due to take me home, meeting even more of the others. I didn’t really stick with anyone through the day, just drifted between different people which was nice. I ended up grabbing a McDonalds with a few other people at the station. I was worried about getting too friendly and then them getting through and me not, even though I couldn’t help but get attached to some people even in the short space of time. I know its unrealistic, but there were so many people there I wanted to get through. Will just have to wait and see now!

Fingers Crossed!

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