CHARACTER M&G

CHARACTER MEET & GREETS: I thought I would compile all of my character M&Gs. If you are curious as to where I met them, let me know!

MICKEY MOUSE

College Program Living

Some of you may or may not know but during the Disney College Program you are required to live in their housing. It is fully furnished and is actually a pretty nice apartment! I took a few pictures (I meant to take more after inspections but it never happened) so you can get a some ideas on what your apartment may look like. Just a nice disclaimer, all of the rooms are different. For example, I had a huge living room but a smaller bedroom, other rooms are completely opposite. Here's just a tiny example of what it could be!

So here it is! Good ol' Carnegie Plaza! It is located in downtown Anaheim about 10-15 mins away from Disneyland. It's in a pretty nice area. I mean, Anaheim in general isn't the safest place, but it is what it is. So one of my favorite parts of Carnegie Plaza is that a lot of things are in walking distance or a very short car ride away. Across the street is a nice coffee shop and a street away there is a Vons (uhh Safeway), CVS, Starbucks, and a lot of other little stores. Right down the street there's a place called Good Food. Trust me, it is really good food. The Mexican place and the place all the way to the right is sooo delicious. I'd go way too much to each place. But one of the best things ever is the Farmers Market right outside your window every Thursday. Seriously. The corn at the Farmers Market is the best. Please go eat it. For me, eat that corn!

So now let's get into the actual apartment. Carnegie is made up of many different apartment configurations. There are one, two, and I believe studio apartments. I was in a two bedroom apartment with five girls total. This means one room had a bed and a bunk bed (I was the lucky one on the top bunk) and then the other room had two beds. The photo to the right was my bedroom. The beautifully made bed on the top bunk was mine. I eventually moved the stairs to where they were supposed to be because I couldn't stand bringing my legs over that stupid bar. I believe our bedroom was one of the smaller ones with the three beds, but we did have a walk in closest so you have to pick and choose those battles.

Our room had a pretty large living room. A lot larger than most. I don't understand why our bedroom couldn't take up a little bit of the living room, but I guess we managed. In this picture it looks extremely empty. It mostly stayed like this the whole time. The apartment comes with a couch, chair, coffee table, dining table and chairs, a side table, and lamp. Pretty much all the necessities of a living room. Seriously though, we could've held a gymnastics tournament in our living room it was so dang spacious. I guess it was nice though. It was a nice place to sit and watch TV since most of the time I was way too lazy to climb all the way to the top bunk to relax.


Everything else in the apartment was pretty standard. There is a kitchen with all the basic appliances like a oven/stove, microwave, dish washer, and refrigerator. The bathroom was also standard. There was one in the living area (pretty much right behind where I took the living room picture) that was my bathroom that I shared with my actual roommates and the other bathroom was in the bedroom of my other roommates. There was also a stacked washer and dryer in the room. In the beginning the program people tell you it will take 8 hours to wash and dry your clothes. That's a big fat lie. It was a normal like two hours to wash and dry.

That's pretty much what Carnegie is all about. There's also a patio and small gym on the second floor with the program's office being on the third. If you have any questions about the living situation, please ask!

Front Desk Training

I guess the best time to describe my training is after the program is over... I am finally going to tell you how training is specifically as a front desk cast member at the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa.

For a Front Desk Cast Member the training is a lot different from other roles. In total we have three weeks of training while other roles only have a couple of days. It first starts with in classroom training and then goes to on the job training for two weeks. During these three weeks I had a test on the different room types, two knowledge assessments, and one performance assessment.

The first day of training I was completely overwhelmed. I was so nervous since I had never worked at a hotel before and especially at a four diamond hotel. The next four days were in a classroom learning the system and all the little things that went with it. We learned how to check in/out, charge people, find rooms, and many other tasks.

In classroom training was a lot of fun but a lot of work. Each day we'd be in a classroom for eight hours starring at this ugly system and trying to figure out everything. It is a lot to take in and is key to realize that you will NOT know everything after these four days. You learn the basics so you are able to move on to on the job training. Luckily, I passed my knowledge assessment so it was on to on the job training!

For the next two weeks I had on the job training. I had a trainer who guided me through the two weeks and taught me everything I would be dealing with during my program. These two weeks were probably the most nerve racking. At the front desk, especially at the Grand, you deal with thousands of dollars a day. I mean our standard room can be anywhere from $400-$500 a night. So when I check people in or deal with a guest concern, I can be dealing with a lot of money. 

The first couple of days my trainer really eased me into the front desk. He'd let me use the program while he spoke the spiel or vice versa. The scariest part for me was actually interacting with guests. I was scared someone would be upset with something and I wouldn't know what to do. I put too much pressure on myself because obviously there were going to be some things I didn't know. Hello, I just started. These two weeks were just the right amount of time to really understand what I needed to know for my performance assessment. On the 10th day, I passed my performance assessment! I could finally rip that earning my ears sticker off of my name tag. I was finally on my own! I spread my wings and asked questions every second once I was alone. By the way, isn't my costume so fashionable? I felt like I was part of an Amish community.

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Character Dining

Character Dining. It's a great chance to get some good food and meet some of your favorite characters for a semi okay price! Now, during my time there, I actually was able to go to every character dining (yay, holiday coupons!). I am here to tell you the ones I recommend, best characters, and best food. I hope I can help all of your character dining needs!

Plaza Inn

Disneyland

Breakfast

Buffet

$$ ($15 - $29.99)
Plaza Inn is located right at the end of Main Street on the right side next to Tomorrowland. It is a fantastic restaurant to go for character dining or just go for dinner (their fried chicken is the best food in Disneyland).

Food: I really enjoyed the food! Most of the character breakfasts have the same general food, eggs, bacon, Mickey waffles, omelets, all the basic breakfast foods. There isn't much that's original about this place. 

Characters: I think this dining has the best characters. I was able to meet Chip, Dale, Minnie, Tigger, Eeyore, Captain Hook, and the Fairy Godmother.

Overall: I would definitely recommend. The food and characters were great! If you are going to character dining for both the characters and quality of food, I would definitely say Plaza Inn is the place to be! I had a such a great time and found it very convenient that we could go straight to a (calm and not too dizzying) ride since we were already in the park. It is also nice to have the option to eat inside (near the food and to keep warm) or eat outside and people watch or enjoy a warm morning.  

DCP Update!

Hello Everyone! Here I am, finally making a blog post! I realize I never kept up with this but I honestly never had time. I work 40 hours a week and try to go explore as much as I can. I just wanted to update on a few things and let everyone know where I stand with the College Program!

I have have less than three weeks left of my college program. It is so bittersweet. I have loved most of my time here. I'll miss Disneyland, I'll miss the friends I've made, I'll miss the Grand (sometimes), but I am so ready to go back home. Never thought I could miss a city so much. I'm on my couch starting to pack, cleaning up a bit, and it's so sad to think it's almost over. It went by so fast but I regret nothing. I'm glad I did the program and can't wait to start my journey out in the real world.

I plan on posting a little bit more about everything. A couple of topics that should be posted soon (or eventually):
- Do I recommend the college program?
- Front Desk overview
- Character Dining (I've been to too many...)
- Training for Front Desk
- What to do when you aren't working


Hopefully I will actually keep up with posting. I want to let people who are interested in Front Desk know exactly what it is. I know when I first started researching the program I  had no clue what Front Desk was because no one wrote anything about it. Let's hope I can help at least one person out!

Anaheim, CA Living!

I am finally here! I am all moved in to my apartment in Anaheim, CA! I can't believe I can finally say I am here and starting the Disney College Program! The move started on Monday with my boyfriend and I leaving San Francisco at 5 in the morning. This meant saying goodbye to my family the night before and heading off to Southern California in the darkness of the early morning. The two days before my check in day we decided to impulse buy a one-day ticket to Disneyland on Monday and then go to Universal on Tuesday. I had so much fun those two days, but I could not wait until I could move in on Wednesday. 

Move In Day: On Wednesday I left the hotel at 10 AM to get to Carnegie Plaza for move in! When I got there I waited in line for a bit and then started filling out paperwork. When we were in line for paperwork we found out our location for the semester. I am so, so, so excited to say that I am going to be a Front Desk Cast Member at the Grand Californian! (AHHH!) After all of that was done I started to move in all of my belongings. I live on the second floor, so I was very lucky that I didn't have to take the elevator. It was a struggle to hold so much stuff walking up the stairs, but it was way better than waiting in line for the elevator.

When I got to my apartment I finally met my roommates! They are the sweetest and I am so happy I found such great roomies! Once I said my hellos, I realized I was the lucky one to get the top bunk. Now I haven't been in a bunk bed since I was like ten. I was a little iffy about being on the top but I've gotten used to it these past two days. I'm learning how to not shake the whole entire bed and finding the best ways to not kill myself when getting down.

After, we had a meeting at 1:30 PM to attend where I learned some basics of the program and housing. I then hung out with my boyfriend for a bit and then headed to Downtown Disney with my roommates to eat dinner and spend time together. It was so magical to know that Disney would be my home for the next semester. Once I told my roommates I had actually never stepped foot into the Grand Californian, we decided to go inside the main lobby. And all I can say is WOW. What a beautiful hotel. It made me even more excited and nervous to work there. We then decided to go home and get rested for the next day! 

Day 2: The second day I had a couple of meetings and a welcome party to attend! In the morning we had to drive to a meeting that lasted about an hour and a half. We learned more about the program and how much of an impact this program is going to make on our lives. After that mandatory meeting my actual room roommates and I decided to go to the optional meetings that housing held in our courtyard. I actually learned a lot about where I'm living and how to make the best out of it.

Later that night was the welcome party! It was a great way to meet some people and have fun. There was a DJ, a photo booth, and free pizza! It was fun to see who else is doing the program and getting to know different people.

Day 3: Today I have a day off. YAY! I am taking advantage of this nothingness and just relaxing. Tomorrow I have traditions! (AHHHHH!) So I cannot wait until then!

I will keep updating you guys this whole program! One of my next posts will definitely be a room tour. I may even film it to get a better look but we will see. I need to clean my room first so you don't think I'm a complete mess! haha.

"All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

Pre Disney College Program Update!

It is now less than one month until I move to Anaheim and start the journey of a lifetime. I am going to be honest and tell you that I am completely terrified. I'm not the best at starting a new job and moving the furthest I've ever been, but I am ready to take on this challenge and enjoy every moment. I still can't believe I will be working for Disney in a month. It's a sentence I thought I would never say. I thought I would give a little update on what I've done (or what I should've done already but haven't *renter's insurance*) and what still needs to be done before I move down there!

Class Registration 

I registered for my class! I am taking Blended Learning! I wanted to take every class they had to offer but I sadly could only pick one. Here is the description of the class:

This series is designed to blend in-class learning with out-of-class experiences which allow students to see how Disney operates in various lines of business across the Disneyland®Resort. Students will participate in self-directed learning with the chance for career development and networking.

This series is ideal for those who would like to experience a non-traditional education option that blends learning with work experience.

It seems really interesting and I hope to learn a lot from it! I heard some of the learning is actually in Disneyland, so that is super exciting! 

New Hire Paperwork

It took me a while, but I finally finished all of my new hire paperwork. It required a lot of reading and understanding forms I've never filled out.

Background Check

This one's simple. They just asked me to fill out a form for a background check. I passed! Woo! Haha

Renter's Insurance

So this is the one I still have not done. Do not ask me why. I am just a procrastinator. After work I don't want to do anything, so I always forget about it. I have now received two emails from Disney reminding me to do it. I swear, I will get to it this week. I will call State Farm this week! 

Schedule Preference

A couple of days ago I filled out a form with my schedule preferences. I put that I would work at any time to maximize my hours. I also said that I would work overtime, work six day weeks during the holiday season, and had no preference for the days I have off. I considered putting that I enjoyed working mornings or that I like to have two consecutive days off. But I decided that I am there to work and learn and gain experience so I want to work as much as I can when I'm down there.

What Still Needs to Be Done

A lot. I still haven't unpacked everything since being back from college (oops). That also means I still need to pack for the program (I still have a lot of time). I NEED to get my renter's insurance or else I am not moving into my apartment. There is a lot to do before August 20th but I am so ready to be a Disneyland Cast Member! 

Business Attire for Traditions and Class

Traditions. I'm pretty sure I've heard this word more than any other. Traditions is Disney's word for orientation. This is where you learn about the culture, the history, and rules of Disney. At Traditions it is required to be in business attire. I thought it would be helpful to look at a couple of stores and put examples for you to see! It is important to follow the rules of Disney and be conservative in your look. I have tried to find some cheaper looks and some nicer ones for the times you want to splurge. I'm putting together a lot of choices so I'm hoping this helps someone out! 

DCP Packing List

I have never done the DCP but I have lived in on campus housing for four years, so I know a little bit about packing for a semester/year. I hope my experience these past four years can help you figure out what to bring and what to leave at home! My suggestions are for people that are driving down/up/sideways. I have no clue what I would do if I had to fly!  Bedroom:

• Mattress pad
• Twin sheets, comforter, pillows
• Lamp
• Laundry Hamper
• Bed raisers (a lot of people have suggested this so I guess I'll put it on the list)

The Application Process

When you go to the website www.disneycollegeprogram.com you will see this lovely woman greeting you to apply now! And you should! I'm going to try my best to go through the application process so you know what you are in for and can best prepare to get accepted!

There are three parts to the application process:

1. Application
2. Web Based Interview
3. Phone Interview

Now I want to make this clear. So everyone understands this. Right now. We need to state this fact. People may not enjoy it but it is the truth. Everyone does NOT get through to the web based interview or the phone interview. You can stop at any point of the application process. Just wanted to make that clear before we continue.

All About Me

Hearst Castle

Hello everyone! My name is Alyssa and I have been accepted to the Disney College Program at Disneyland Resort for Fall 2014 as a Front Desk cast member. I thought it would be great to tell you a little more about myself so you know who is running the blog and get a little sense of who I am. I am currently a graduating senior at San Jose State University majoring in Hospitality Management with and emphasis in Event Management. And yes, I was actually able to graduate in 4 years. It is possible! After college I honestly have no clue what I want to do so I am so so thankful that I was accepted into the Disney College Program. I am able to see how I like the hotel world and go from there to see what I actually want to do.

I never really know what to talk about when I do an about me. I guess I can talk about what I like to do! I am a huge concert goer. I am obsessed with concerts and I wish I could go to one every week. That would be ideal but I would have $0 in the bank if that happened. I have a tendency to wait till the day of the concert to wait in line forever and get really great seats. I have been 4th row for Bruno Mars, 2nd row for Taylor Swift, and 8th row for Justin Timberlake. It has been great! Being on the floor and so close makes the concert a whole different experience that is truly worth the wait. I am now completely selfish and won't go to a concert unless I'm pretty close. It's a bad mentality to have but I just love being so close. I am also a huge San Francisco Giants fan. I love going to games during the summer. My favorite player is Matt Cain and he is possibly the best person ever! Another fun fact about me is that I am a huge Starbucks junkie. I could go every day if I had the financial means for that. A Triple Skinny Caramel Macchiato is my biggest weakness. One huge, huge desire and dream of mine is definitely to travel the world. I am in love with the different cultures and people and languages and want to explore it all. I have been out of the country once to go to Rome, Italy and it was honestly the best experience of my life. I would love to see the rest of Italy because it was such a beautiful place. Also on the top of my travel list are New Zealand, London, Brazil, and oh so many more places.

My Boyfriend and I with Lightning McQueen! 

I really have nothing else to say. I am a fun, weird, happy person. On the Disney side of things, I have only been to Disneyland three times and have never been to Walt Disney World. My favorite character is Eeyore. I have always loved him, which is insanely weird to some people since he is always so sad and down on himself. I love Beauty & The Beast mainly because of the song Belle sings in the beginning when she is walking around town. Bonjour! Bonjour! Mulan is one of my favorite princess movies by far. She is such a bad ass and I love Li Shang. And Mushu is one of the best sidekicks ever. As for Disneyland, I love Indiana Jones, Peter Pan's Flight, and Splash Mountain. I love Toy Story Midway Mania and California Screamin' at California Adventures. World of Color may be my favorite show ever but that's a hard decision. I hope you enjoy reading my blog and my obnoxiously long posts! Here are some more pictures of myself and suchy such!

Golden Gate Bridge!

The talented Justin Timberlake

Accepted to the Disney College Program!

If you can't tell already, I've been accepted to the Fall 2014 Disneyland College Program! I will be a Front Desk cast member and could not be happier! I received the email at 7:02 this morning. I obviously was not awake for that so I did not read it until about 10 am. I was in such shock when I saw it sitting there in my inbox. I didn't think there would be any acceptances during the weekend so I was just casually checking my emails when I saw it. And guys, when I saw that email I could not believe it. I hadn't even opened it but I could see the Congratulations in the subject and I started freaking out. I'm pretty sure I hurt my boyfriend when I shoved my bright phone in his face because I was so excited.

Here are some logistics that a lot of people wonder when being accepted. I interviewed on February 17th, was in progress all the way through, and then accepted today (3/1) at 7:02 am. I interviewed with Patty and it lasted about 21 minutes. She only really asked one question that completely applied to Front Desk and asked other generic questions.

I am so so happy I can keep blogging my journey throughout the program. I am excited to meet new friends, learn the ins and outs of Disneyland, and gain so much knowledge during the semester. I hope I'll have other opportunities to blog about the program. Maybe some things that people may want to know leading up to the program. I'm not sure but I do know is that I love blogging!

PS changing the name of my blog from Alyssa will travel to something DCP related soon. I want to make this blog strictly about my journey through the Program!

Disney College Program Phone Interview

The other day I had my phone interview for the Disney College Program! I was so nervous but I got through it and now I play the waiting game! So it all started when I woke up...well no. It all started the second I signed up for the interview. I have been anxiously awaiting for this day to come. I guess I'll go through my process of how I prepared, the actual interview, and the long waiting for an answer.

It started off with my preparing for my interview. The second I signed up for my interview I started to freak out. Of course this was the worst thing to do because my interview wasn't until another week. I started off reading different blogs and seeing what potential questions could be. This blog is the one everyone usually links to see what questions can be asked. It's a great basis for preparing for the interview. I would go through some of those, see what roles I really wanted, and went from there! I made some notes to have during my interview just in case I completely freeze and don't know anything. I had index cards all over my desk with bullet points and words like "SMILE!" in really large writing. My biggest advice while preparing for the interview is don't sound completely rehearsed when it's time for the actual interview! You don't want to be reading word for word from your notes. That definitely will not help you! The interviewer will know you are reading from a script. They want to hear who you are and what you think. Not just some script you prepared. Of course practice some questions, get the gist of things, just don't be rehearsed. You want to be prepared, not rehearsed. 

After all of that preparing the day had finally come. My interview day. Of course I had an oral presentation in my class at 10:30 so I had to try and focus my energy towards that. Obviously I didn't. I read over it once and then kept going over my DCP notes and read through the Facebook group pages. Once my class was over I pretty much went on lock down. I put a lovely note on my door that pretty much said that I was going to be doing a phone interview soon and asked politely if my roommates could keep it quiet in the kitchen and living room. This way I wouldn't have to stress about noise outside of my room. Then I put myself on lockdown. I locked my door and sat there going over my notes. I tried not to stress myself out too much. This was about an hour to an hour and a half before my interview. I'd look over my notes and then went online to the Facebook groups or something completely not related to the DCP. So the closer it came to the interview the more I tried to breath and step away from my notes. It was around 1:30 at this point (my interview was scheduled for 1:45) so I decided to sit down and wait for the call. 

At 1:41 the phone rang with "unknown"as the caller. I took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hello! This is Alyssa!" Of course with a smile. The interviewer introduced herself, I was so nervous I only half listened to her name but I think it was Patty. She was so sweet. At first she went over what was going on, if this time still worked for me, and what was going to happen next. I honestly do not remember every question she asked me but I'll try my best to write down all the ones I was asked! At first she asked me general questions and then asked me my top two roles. Now that was hard. Just two?! I didn't like that but I did it! I told her front desk and vacation planner So she started asking me specific role questions and then back to more generic questions that didn't need much thought. Here are the questions I remember her asking me. I definitely don't remember the order of which she asked me:

• Why do you want to do the Disney College Program? (Pretty sure everyone asks this)
• Tell me about your work experience and how can they help you with this job.
• How do you feel about repetitive tasks?
• Describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult customer.
• How do you feel about working indoors/outdoors and in the heat?
• How do you know you will stay calm during an emergency?
• What would you do if a repeat guest wanted their normal room but it was not available?
• How would you communicate with someone who does not speak English?
• Why do you want to be a Vacation Planner?
• How would you deal with roommate conflict?
• How do you prioritize and organize your tasks?
• How would you make a guest feel special?
• Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
• Are you going to bring a car?

I don't remember any other questions but there probably were some. Like I said, I was so focused on answering them fully and clearly that I forget what I was asked. After all of her questions I was able to ask any questions I had. The phone call lasted 22 minutes. I feel alright about it. I thought I answered some questions well and others probably needed a little more work. I'm trying to think positive though! 2-3 weeks I will find out! Good luck to everyone else out there! If you have any questions please ask!

Disney College Program - Applied!

Last Friday I decided to apply to the Disney College Program! I pretty much knew nothing about it, only that I wanted to work for Disney. I mean come on, who doesn't want to work for Disney?! It's Disney! And it would benefit me so much since I'm a hospitality major and I'm graduating in May and I still have no clue what I want to do. So if you don't know what the Disney College Program is I will tell you! Disney hires college students as interns at Walt Disney World and Disneyland throughout the year. There are different areas you can work in like attractions, food & beverage, hotels, merchandise, and so much more. It is a paid internship and they do provide housing! Obviously you have to pay for the housing and you get paid minimum wage but hello! YOU ARE WORKING FOR DISNEY AND LIVING YOUR DREAM! So yeah...that's a thing!

Back to my application. I applied on Friday. I went through it so fast. It was the easiest application I have ever done. It only asked basic stuff like name, address, school, work experience, nothing personal at all. The only other thing they asked was what roles I was interested the most rating it from no interest to high interest. I chose Hospitality (front desk) and vacation planner as high interest mainly because those two directly pertain to my major. But now since I've done more research I think merchandising seems fun and I wouldn't mind doing it all day! I finished it so quickly and didn't look it over because I was in a "this is so straightforward how can I screw up" mentality. Let me first just say that is stupid. Always, ALWAYS recheck your applications to make sure everything is right. Luckily I didn't do too poorly because I got the WBI (web base interview)!

So what is the WBI you ask? It is kind of like a personality test that Disney uses to see who can advance to the phone interviews. There are questions like "are you a positive person?" or "what wold you do if a child is hurt?" and things like that. There are tons of questions and a lot of the questions are the same just worded differently. So you had to make sure to be consistent while answering the questions. I was so nervous for this because my journey could've ended right then and there without any actual human contact. It was sad to think about, but I knew I could do it! And I did! I was so happy I passed! Now I was on to the phone interviews!

My phone interview is scheduled for Monday at 1:45. I'm kind of freaking out. I'm trying to prepare but not worry too much. I don't want to over prepare and sound rehearsed because that just sounds horrible, but I'm definitely on those Facebook pages reading everything about everyone else's interviews and experiences. So time to go back to worrying, listening to disney songs, watching vlogs, and reading my new book, Walt Disney: An American Original.