Disney Cast Member for 10 + yrs. 2 College Programs

[pluto1979]

Hi All,
I am somewhat new to this board. However I thought that I would put myself out there for anyone who has questions about the CP. I did the college program in 1998 and opened Disney's Animal Kingdom. I then did the program again in 1999 working in the MK. Later I became a Disney Ambassador for 1 year and I currently work in Disney's Hollywood Studios. I have received awards from Eisner and Roy Disney (Mousecar Award & Partners in Excellence) as well as from the director of the CP for helping the recruiting team. So with all that said, if you have any questions that you want answered please feel free to ask. I hope I can offer some help to you! Good luck and have a Magical Day!

 

[Yllsa]

Where are you planning on taking your career with Disney? Are you going for a Professional internship, a full time job with them, management, anything like that?

What is your experience with making connections and finding people in the higher escheleons of the company, or in different parts of the company?

 

[DisneyTampa]

What is a Disney Ambassador?

 

[pluto1979]

I actually work for the company still. However, i also worked outside of the Disney company and I was a director of Fundraising at an Ivy legue Univeristy for a bit of time. I did complete and received my degree from the college that I attended. While on the program I met with Managers of all different lines of Business and shadowed the General Manager of the Magic Kingdom. It is all what you make of it! Do cross-U! Shadow your managers! Shadow managers who are not even in your work area. Go to different parks and shadow people there. Now I work for the Disney Company in education puting together educational experiances for our cast, crew and guests. There are so many different oportunities within the disney company and at WDW that you can take advantage of. make sure you actively show interest and be sure to ask questions about anything! You will have a great time on the program but remember you are there to learn. This experiance will help you advance in the company so make sure you follow all the rules! And Have Fun!!

 

[pluto1979]

A Disney Ambassador is a cast member who goes through a very intense interview process to become 1 of 3 ambassadors who represent the WDWR for 1 year. You must know everything about the Disney Company, Legacy, Traditions and Heritage. You are put through a process of giving interviews, writing reports/interviews, TV interviews. You deal with problems including major issues, you deal with opening parks, cruise ships, you travel the US talking about Disney and you represent all 67,000 Walt Disney World Cast members. After the year is over you then go back into the position you were in prior to becomeing the ambassador or a different one if offered. Its a very prestigious if not the most prestigious honor a Cast Member can receive.

Where in merchandise will you be? I worked in the DHS merchandise backlands - Endor Vendors area.

 

[Joanna71985]

My old manager is one of the 2 Ambassadors this year. She is the nicest person around. I am so happy for her.

 

[Berlioz70]

A Disney Ambassador is a cast member who goes through a very intense interview process to become 1 of 3 ambassadors who represent the WDWR for 1 year. You must know everything about the Disney Company, Legacy, Traditions and Heritage. You are put through a process of giving interviews, writing reports/interviews, TV interviews. You deal with problems including major issues, you deal with opening parks, cruise ships, you travel the US talking about Disney and you represent all 67,000 Walt Disney World Cast members. After the year is over you then go back into the position you were in prior to becomeing the ambassador or a different one if offered. Its a very prestigious if not the most prestigious honor a Cast Member can receive.

Where in merchandise will you be? I worked in the DHS merchandise backlands - Endor Vendors area.

I've got a couple questions for you regarding new employees - my husband interviewed over a month ago to work for WDW, he was put on the waitlist for Food/Beverage and front desk. He has a BA in Finance and Real Estate, but nothing is really available on disneycareers.com. Do you have any tips for him to get hired? He really wants to get started in the parks/resorts and then transfer over to corporate... but with the poor economy he's really stuck. Any information would be a great help.

I should mention - I'm currently a CP and will begin a PI in January.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

 

[pluto1979]

I've got a couple questions for you regarding new employees - my husband interviewed over a month ago to work for WDW, he was put on the waitlist for Food/Beverage and front desk. He has a BA in Finance and Real Estate, but nothing is really available on disneycareers.com. Do you have any tips for him to get hired? He really wants to get started in the parks/resorts and then transfer over to corporate... but with the poor economy he's really stuck. Any information would be a great help.

I should mention - I'm currently a CP and will begin a PI in January.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Of course right now it is a tough time for any employer, however here is what I think. First did he apply in person at the Casting building? if not then that is definately something he will want to do. Does he still have the contact info for the recruiter he spoke with? If so then he should call to see if any position is currently open (full time, part-time, casual regular, casual temporary). I would also advise him that if he wants to get in pretty fast then his best bet is to tell the recruiter that he would do custodial or ODF (outdoor food and beverage). The best way to get into any salaried position is to start at the very bottom and work your way up. Make sure he uses you as a referance. Give him a casting scout card. He should also follow-up with the recruiter without being a pain. he should also call the job hotline and not use the website soley.

Things can go 1 of 2 ways. The recruiter might think that he is over qualified for a position and not hire him or they might think that he does not know enough about Disney (salaried position) and not hire him. He needs to stress that he wants to begin with the comapny and slowly work his way up. This will show his long term goals and dedication to the company. I hope this works. let me know how things go and feel free to ask any questions and time! hope this helps!

 

[DisneyTampa]

A Disney Ambassador is a cast member who goes through a very intense interview process to become 1 of 3 ambassadors who represent the WDWR for 1 year. You must know everything about the Disney Company, Legacy, Traditions and Heritage. You are put through a process of giving interviews, writing reports/interviews, TV interviews. You deal with problems including major issues, you deal with opening parks, cruise ships, you travel the US talking about Disney and you represent all 67,000 Walt Disney World Cast members. After the year is over you then go back into the position you were in prior to becomeing the ambassador or a different one if offered. Its a very prestigious if not the most prestigious honor a Cast Member can receive.

Where in merchandise will you be? I worked in the DHS merchandise backlands - Endor Vendors area.

Thanks for the info!! An Ambassador sounds so awesome!!!

I won't know where I will be working until I arrive. All I know is that I was accepted for merchandise.

 

[hsteacher]

I am a high school teacher beginning to plan for retirement and I will be reloacting eventually to sunny FL. In the meantime, I've always wanted my 2nd career to be at WDW. Since I don't teach June, July and August would like to spend my summers working seasonally at WDW. Do they hire seasonally for just the summer? I am capable of renting a condo for that period of time so I'm not worried about temporary housing. I would really like to get some epxerience with Disney as I'm preparing for retirement. Do I need to go to Casting? I'm actually visiting for 4 days in January and thought I'd stop by Casting. Any helpful info would be appreciated. My daughter is a CP - Spring Advantage 2009.

 

[pluto1979]

I am a high school teacher beginning to plan for retirement and I will be reloacting eventually to sunny FL. In the meantime, I've always wanted my 2nd career to be at WDW. Since I don't teach June, July and August would like to spend my summers working seasonally at WDW. Do they hire seasonally for just the summer? I am capable of renting a condo for that period of time so I'm not worried about temporary housing. I would really like to get some epxerience with Disney as I'm preparing for retirement. Do I need to go to Casting? I'm actually visiting for 4 days in January and thought I'd stop by Casting. Any helpful info would be appreciated. My daughter is a CP - Spring Advantage 2009.

hi and sory for getting back with you late. I hope you enjoyed the holidays! To answer your questions, yes what you would want to do is to call casting and ask to schedule a meeting with on of the recruiters for a non-professional position. you just want to ask them a few questions prior to interviewing. They should be able to meet with you. They do hire for non professional positions on a casual temporary basis. This is what you want. You can meet with them and ask them any questions that you may have. Make sure they are aware of what your intentions are and that your daughter is a CP. Good Luck!!

 

[BoardWalkBelle]

<<I've got a couple questions for you regarding new employees - my husband interviewed over a month ago to work for WDW, he was put on the waitlist for Food/Beverage and front desk. He has a BA in Finance and Real Estate, but nothing is really available on disneycareers.com. Do you have any tips for him to get hired? He really wants to get started in the parks/resorts and then transfer over to corporate... but with the poor economy he's really stuck. Any information would be a great help.>.

Hi, not to highjack this thread but i would like to offer input on this. WDW is not doing alot of hiring right now, which is most likely the reason he has not been hired, i doubt it is becasue he is seen as over qualified. I have been a CM for just one month and when i went in to apply and be interviewed i was told they had very few openings but they would keep my application on file, and lo and behold, they called me three weeks later. So dont give up, when something opens, he will probably be called.

 

[Berlioz70]

<<I've got a couple questions for you regarding new employees - my husband interviewed over a month ago to work for WDW, he was put on the waitlist for Food/Beverage and front desk. He has a BA in Finance and Real Estate, but nothing is really available on disneycareers.com. Do you have any tips for him to get hired? He really wants to get started in the parks/resorts and then transfer over to corporate... but with the poor economy he's really stuck. Any information would be a great help.>.

Hi, not to highjack this thread but i would like to offer input on this. WDW is not doing alot of hiring right now, which is most likely the reason he has not been hired, i doubt it is becasue he is seen as over qualified. I have been a CM for just one month and when i went in to apply and be interviewed i was told they had very few openings but they would keep my application on file, and lo and behold, they called me three weeks later. So dont give up, when something opens, he will probably be called.

what were you hired in? Was the waitlist for your position very long?

 

[pluto1979]

what were you hired in? Was the waitlist for your position very long?

Yes, you are correct. right now we are on a hiring freeze for certain positions. However, what I was saying in the prior thread is that many times people go in and tell of what they have done in the past and many times this leads the recruiter into believing that the person is just way too qualified for certain positons. Because of this it can lead the recruiter to not want to hire a person who is overqualified for fear that the person will hate the psotion they are put in and thus will not have the desire to work hard and not provide that exceptional guest experiance. I was in recruiting for non-professional positions for 6 months before transfering to a different position and we were trained about this possibility.
I hope this clearifies things.

 

[mrsksomeday]

We have seen several disabled CM's in our trips lately. How would a disabled person go about finding out what positions might fit their capabilities? My fiancé would love to learn more.

 

[Joanna71985]

We have seen several disabled CM's in our trips lately. How would a disabled person go about finding out what positions might fit their capabilities? My fiancé would love to learn more.

I'm sure there are plenty of positions. I worked with many people who were in wheelchairs/ECVs in character attendant/photopass. I would just ask the people at Casting.

 

[pluto1979]

We have seen several disabled CM's in our trips lately. How would a disabled person go about finding out what positions might fit their capabilities? My fiancé would love to learn more.

Great Question! At Disney we strive to make sure that all our cast members are treated equally! This includes our cast with disabilities! Therefore most of our positions can accomodate cast with disabilities. Of course there are some that are not possbile such as our character performers, attraction positions which would be a saftey concern for both cast and guests. However, there are so many positions that you can be put into. The recruiter will work with you to discuss the many possibilities open to you! Good luck and I am sure you will enjoy working with Disney should you decide to audition!