A typical day in Vacation Planning varies by park! MK has the weirdest variation of stuff, which is why when I put in for full time, I refused to go to MK. But MK takes the most CPs - they've got the most VPs in general. The TTC has a ton of ticket windows.
Ticket booths open 1.5 hours before the parks do, so for a 9am opening, VPs are scheduled beginning at 7am, because we get a half hour to get our till funds and get out to the booths and open up. (Except at MK, they can get scheduled earlier because some of them do "Squeegee" - which is just what it sounds like, they clean the condensation off their booths at the TTC. MK also has the most 8am openings, so VPs would be scheduled starting earlier anyway.)
I'm usually scheduled to start at 8:30am, because that's the shift I bid for when I became full time. My start times do vary depending on other people's schedules because I have low seniority, though.
My usual day:
- Clock in 15min before shift start.
- Use CDS (Cast Deployment System) to grab my booth assignment if I start 8:30 or earlier - any later and I get my assignment after I get my money
- Go grab a lockable cloth money bag and a till fund key.
- Wait for Genie Chat - the daily meeting about park hours, crowd predictions, attraction refurbs, etc. Generally only happens at 8:30 and earlier shifts, but varies by park. Most VPs get at least one Genie Chat per week depending on their schedule.
- After Genie Chat or at shift start time, go to the money room and get the starting till fund, and count it to make sure the machines are accurate.
- Get assignment from CDS if not done earlier!
- Head out to booths.
- Breaks usually come every 2 hours. 6 hour shifts are very common in Vacation Planning - I get one 8 hour shift a week except during very busy times of year. Breaks on a 6 hour shift are two 15-minutes that you don't clock out for. If you work an 8, you do clock out for your lunch, which is 30 or 45 minutes depending on park.
- 30 minutes before shift end, you're bumped out from the booth to go bank out. When they're working, the machines count all your money, making this quite easy to do.
- Clock out at shift end time.
"Special" things VPs do:
- PAC, or Parade Audience Control, or "Another reason I don't work at MK." Only MK VPs do PAC. You work a booth shift for half the day, then you head over to the actual park, have a meeting, and go make sure idiots don't jump in front of the parade. CPs get the most PAC, but it shouldn't be a daily thing.
- HERA. Most common at MK, less common at Epcot, almost never used at DHS or DAK. Not all VPs get trained on HERA, but almost all CPs do. Basically, HERA is when you stand outside the booths with an iPad and handle simple transactions and will calls to shorten the booth lines and get guests moving quicker.
- Gateway shifts - Only done at Epcot. This means working at the International Gateway.
- Cupcake shifts - Only done at MK. This means working at the ticket booth right by the main entrance, rather than at the TTC.
- Fulfillment/Will Call shifts - Basically, you do your exact same job, but your sales don't count towards rewards. Regular CMs make a 50c/hr premium on these shifts, CPs don't. You can be pulled to do HERA if needed.
Sales goals are a confusing topic. They're measured by "fiscal month" which rarely makes sense, and the "points per ticket" goal varies each month and is different at each park (MK has the lowest goal because more people visit there just one day, DHS and DAK have the highest goals). If you're at 79% of your goal or less, you're on a performance tracking level, and getting that too often is bad. 80%-100% of goal is "No Reward" - you did ok, but not great. Getting higher than 100% of the goal earns you a reward on a Bronze, Silver, or Gold level and I'm not sure I'm allowed to disclose more details about that, but it'll be talked about in training. Making higher reward levels is generally easier if you work later in the day, but I'm usually a morning person and I make Bronze most months. I pulled a Silver during Food & Wine last fall.
