Originally Posted By piratebrittany It's official! I clocked in and out for the first time on Sunday! I'll be in training this coming weekend, but if you're in the parks the weekend of October 3 stop by the Cocina Cucamonga in DCA for dinner and say HEY-HOWDY-HEY! or BUENOS NOCHES! or whatever suites you :] (Sorry I'm not at Boudin Ruthie)
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 How Exciting!!! We won't be there that weekend but hopefully there will be a CM PB tracker on LP so we can find you later in the month Did you get some comfy shoes?
Originally Posted By murfsmom Hey PB, I'm so happy for you ! we'll be there on the 10th & 11th, and will be sure to come and see you !!!
Originally Posted By alexbook Wow. I go away from LP for a while and I miss important stuff. Big congrats, and good luck. How's the commute looking?
Originally Posted By lesmisfan Nice! ive been needing to see the new place for the mexican restuarant and now i have an excuse to go there and say hi and welcome you to disney!
Originally Posted By piratebrittany amazedncal2, they issued us shoes from the costuming department and they are REALLY comfy. They're all cushy and padded. Stevie, I can't wait to see you! Alex, thanks for the congrats and luck! The commute isn't too bad. It's only about a half and hour on good days and I've yet to run into horrible traffic, though I know it's bound to happen soon. Ruthie, I'm looking forward to satisfy your hankerin's. Cassidy, I'll see you soooooooon!
Originally Posted By MPeriolat Congratulations and welcome to the Disney family. Reading your story reminded me of when I was at the Disney job fair back in 2003 and my own experiences. I'm not sharing simply because this isn't my story, this is yours. Remember one simple thing: you are now a part of something very special that goes back for over 50 years. Every person you talk to, everyone you work with, is going to be special in some way. Some days may be long, some Guests may be tough, but at the end of the day, remember what I always have said: Forget the Army, Disney is the toughest job you'll ever love. Congrats again.
Originally Posted By piratebrittany Thank you! But please, share your story. I've loved getting to know my co-cast members and it always starts with how they got the job and why they wanted to work for Disney. I'd love to hear your story.
Originally Posted By MPeriolat Well, to start, former CM. I left after three years to move from CA to KY and start my schooling again. Just too expensive to stay and live in CA. As to my story, I'll try to keep it short: in 2003, I had just left a job of four years and was doing some volunteer work when I heard on the radio one night about a Disney Job Fair at the Paradise Pier Hotel. I was a PAP for going on three years, had been raised on Disney culture both in movies, Disney Channel and frequent visitor to the park (met my fiance there, but that's another story) so I decided to give it a shot. Mind you, my expectations were very low simply because I knew of the high Disney standards with them only taking the best. The one ace I had up my sleeve, besides my Disney history, was I already had the application filled out before I even arrived. I had gotten one from TDA a few weeks before, but hadn't turned it in yet. So, went into the Paradise Pier ballroom, turned it in and was called in pretty quickly in what can best be described as a bullpen, sitting with a bunch of people watching Cast TV on a screen. After a few minutes, I was called in with three others and sat in front of a recruiter and asked a few questions. The ones I remember were: - Give an description of helping someone out in a difficult situation? - Why do you want to work for Disney? - What would you want to do here? In the first question, I related a story how a person came into the computer store and wanted to get a printer. Since she was a little elderly and it was her first big purchase, she didn't leave until I was sure she had the printer, the right cable she needed, paper and ink cartridges, walking her to each one. The point being that if she came back, it was because she WANTED to, not because she NEEDED to. As for why I wanted to work for Disney, I just said "Because of the traditions of the place, the history involved. To be a part of something special and to make it special for anyone who visited." As for where I wanted to be, I said I'd prefer working in Stores, since that was my experience. I will say, hopefully not harshly, that the other two people I was interviewed with seemed to be going through the motions, just wanting a job, not putting much effort in. Anyway, I was sent back out to the bullpen to wait and was called back within about 5 minutes and was told they wanted me for World of Disney in DtD. I was just a tad disappointed, since I was hoping for Main Street, but I was so happy, I jumped for it. Was all I could do to keep from crying, tell you that much. Only bad part of the day? Forgot my social security card, which they needed to process me. I was back with it within 24 hours and two weeks later, I was on the floor at World of Disney. Three years later, after making it through the 50th anniversary, maddening crowds, long hours and days and enough memories to melt the heart and change your life, I had to go. Believe me, if I had a choice, I'd still be there today. One tiny bit of bragging: I have in my desk drawer beside me an equal parts souvie and going away present - my name tag from Disneyland (they let me keep it after I turned in my CM ID) and a very special pin attached. See, I worked mostly in Collectibles in World of Disney and made a point to really know my materials, especially in connection with the Robert Olszewski miniatures of Main Street. Somehow, along the way, I got a reputation as the go-to guy, both for information and for getting people interested in the product, so much so that on no fewer that eight cases, Guests left will all the pieces we had in stock, sometimes to the tune of over 1500 dollars. Got so Guests would come to Collectibles, specifically ask for me to help them and if I was off, they'd come back later when I was working. So, what's the point of all this? Three days before I left, I was honored with the Spirit of Disneyland Award, which, if no one knows, is a very rare honor at the Resort, the equal of a Oscar, I suppose. Equal parts honor and going away present. So, that's my story. Sorry if I went on too long. Like I said, it's tough at times, but I do think you'll be very happy and find the work and experiences to be worth more than any pay check.
Originally Posted By piratebrittany I already find it rewarding. My main reason for wanting to work for Disney was of course how much I loved the company, but also having witnessed the "magic" CMs have brought into peoples trips and lives I wanted to do that. I've only worked two full days on the job and it's been a blast. I was working in the Pacific Wharf Cafe and this older gentleman was so happy that I offered to hold up Mickey and pumpkin shaped sourgough loaves. He practically had a photoshoot with me while the runner was grabbing his soup. He was grinning from ear to ear and just seemed genuinely happy. It was a silly and tiny thing to do for someone but he really loved it. I was also able to give a little girl a small Mickey shaped loaf and she was so excited. Little moments like that make any "difficult" guest worth it. Of course, I've only had a few of those so far. People get pretty mad when you won't sell them beer due to lack of an I.D.. haha.
Originally Posted By alexbook ^--I used to have to check IDs for cigarettes at Compass in DTD. Teens can get quite surly when they're caught trying to buy smokes illegally. :-( Have you started keeping a count of the number of times per hour you're asked for directions to the restrooms?
Originally Posted By piratebrittany Only once the whole weekend I worked, can you believe it?! I was asked where the ATM was at least 10 times though. And where to get free refills maybe three or four times.
Originally Posted By MPeriolat Oh, I gave up on the bathroom question. Was an especially big nightmare for WOD because they forgot to build bathrooms into the La Brea Bakery. Ah well. Sounds like you're having fun so far. Just keep at it, enjoy yourself, and above all beg, borrow, scratch and kick for hours. The more you get, the better your rep, the more you'll be assigned.
