QSFB / Custodial

[squish86]

Hey there!

My name is Derrick,

I have done two programs with Disney I just finished my second about 2 months ago... and I will be applying for a professional internship next semester as well as fall advantage as a backup...

I'm posting here because In my two programs I have done Custodial at MK in my first program and QS Outdoor Foods at EPCOT in my second program as well as being deployed to a QS resturant (Flametree BBQ-worst 3 days ever).

If anyone got accepted for QSFB or Custodial and has anything they wanna ask me or talk about go ahead and shoot!

-Derrick

 

[BadDad]

Where is the best place to be in QSFB? Feb-Apr Apr-June July-August

Where to avoid?

 

[julayla]

Ha, those are both in my top three picks. But mostly I have some QSFB questions:

1. Do interns often get selected to do QSFB at the resorts?

2. Do you usually get opportunities to work in the kitchen and prepare food?

3. What are some of the best places to do QSFB? Do you get to state a preference?

4. What did you like best about doing QSFB, and what were your least favorite parts?

5. What are the hours like? Is it common to be working to like 2 or 3AM, or is it more the norm to start your shift super early, or is it a mixed bag?

 

[squish86]

@ BadDad
Not entirely sure what your asking... but i think your asking best place as well as best time of year to do QSFB haha...
1. i would say best place to do quick service is honestly anywhere but Magic Kingdom...I worked there a few times... its not terrible its just the most hectic of all of them...
2. As far as time of year def feb-april is easiest time haha less people... from april and on the easter crowd hits... then spring break... then star wars crowds... then thousands of thousands of thousands of kids from Brazil absolutely take over the parks... and i mean take over quite literally.

If your quick service... you can be one of two jobs really... but they WILL deploy you to many different parks in many different positions because our role is so general... you can be Outdoor foods which is what i was... now that is working at icecream carts and things like that... or you can work at a quick service resturant such as Cosmic Rays or something like that...

If you like to work with others you will love QS restaurants... outdoor foods is all on your own pretty much... unless your placed in a cart like i was at epcot with say maybe one other person to help you...

 

[squish86]

@julayla those are good choices haha i will tell you the two jobs i did at disney were not even in my top 5 of things i wanted to do at disney but i ended up loving both of them...

IMHO Custodial is one of the best jobs at Disney.... no joke...
The job is easy... you dont do much work... AT ALL... haha anyone who works in any other position knows that the people they see most often in the parks just hanging out and talking to guests and having fun... is custodial workers...

I LOVED IT

QSFB i was outdoor foods at epcot and my first day of training was during Easter Weekend... i contemplated self terming haha but i stuck it out and i ended up really liking it ... super fast paced and time flies by...

on to your questions...

1. Absolutely... in fact a lot of my friends/ roomates people i met around the apartments worked in resorts they loved it... really laid back... but you still stay busy. As QSFB you will be moved around often ... unless you are placed somewhere that doesnt have many people to begin with... Because our training is so general we are able to work everywhere and they use us as pawns to fill in space of places where they are running low on workers... me and about 3 of my coworkers got deployed to flametree bbq for a week... my girlfriend in outdoor foods in epcot got deployed to noodle station things like that...

2. If you work in a quick service restaurant you will do everything in the restaurant most likely.... you will work on the line setting up the trays... fix the drinks... work the cash register... the cooks do most of the cooking but you will prepare the plates or poor beans or prepare deserts easy things like that but no REAL cooking as far as im aware...

3. I honestly dont know of a BEST place to work... but all i know is that if i had a choice i would not choose MK ... EVER... haha any other role i love being at MK but the thought of working at MK with peoples food where most of the people are already pissed off as it is really makes me nervous... haha

4. My favorite part about QS is how insanely busy it is... i mean its incredible... you gotta remember that there are like 40,000 people in the park... not all of them are going to ride every ride or visit every store... but every one of those people is going to eat and going to drink... so they will be coming for you haha... time flies.... Worst part is being responsible for all that dough... but to be honest it wasnt as bad as i was worried about.... i worked outdoor foods for 6 months and never got a single cash handling point or reprimand...

5.depends on where you are honestly... if you are in outdoor foods like i am they pretty much close about 80 percent of the outdoor carts when the night hits... so most of my shifts were early... and i was in epcot which is only open till 9 every night except for during extra tragic hours... which the only carts open during EMH was carts that had good lighting... MK is always open the latest out of all the parks so expect to work the later shifts however most of those places also close pretty early too... my roomate worked at Pinocchios in MK and i think he worked till midnight like 1 time during our program and we were there during summer so it was pretty busy...

As CP's we get the worst shifts generally... if you work with food you will not stay super late... if you work custodial... you will close the park almost every single night

when i was custodial i was at MK... i worked during the day light during training week... and one day the rest of my program... the rest of the time i closed the park that means that after march i was in the park until atleast midnight every single night because they always extend hours... and i was there until about 430 545 am twice a week for EMH haha but the job is cake so its not a big deal...

Sorry for the long long long post haha

 

[julayla]

No need to apologize for a long post. It's great! I'm glad to know all this, so thanks for letting us pick your brains.

For some reason I had this idea that you would typically work in one location as QSFB. It's interesting that you get moved around a lot. On the one hand it could be a little unsettling, but on the other hand you get to know all these different locations and shake things up a bit with variety... sounds cool.

Custodial would be my top choice, to be honest, but I'm pursuing a culinary arts degree and should probably stick with a role that has at least some connection with food. Which was mainly why I wanted to know about what kind of contact you have with food preparation/kitchen stuff.

Thanks for all the info! Good stuff, can't wait to sign up for fall.

 

[mickey'sbud]

@Squish86 Thank you so much for the info!!! My son just got accepted for QSFB for SA. I'm busy gathering all the info. He is just not into doing all the research that I am. He is thrilled about being accepted and said he'd do anything just to get down there. Your post really relieves my mind tho.
QSFB was about 7 on his list of jobs and matter of fact the one he wanted the least of all, but he's just glad to have this opportunity He had the phone on speaker during his interview and it seemed to me all the questions revolved around QSFB and very few questions around his top 3 choices. It was if they had a quota to meet. It's ok tho, cause he's just glad to go Thanks again

 

[BadDad]

My S20 worked five season at the local amphitheater (shows: Jonas Brothers, Vans Warp Tour, Brad Pasley, Billy Joel, etc)

I thought he would be perfect for Hollywood Studios as an usher(attactions). But he got QSFB. The good thing I hear is that they can get extra hours easily.

I hear bell services and front desk have strange hours.

 

[squish86]

your right... very very VERY easy to pick up extra hours in QSFB ....

If yall come up with anything else to ask me go for it haha...

I will be taking a class in january so that i can apply for some professional internships, but i will also be applying for the fall advantage program as a backup... One day i would love to use my degree to get a non-costumed roll at Disney... i would love to not be 25 still working in the park with my degree... but every little bit of experience in everything helps... especially if i want to be a big wig there... it helps to know people everywhere and have a good understanding of the park... and i feel like i know quite a bit already...

so ill be there in may! hopefully haha

 

[tortugapirate]

Hi Derrick,

Tell me some basics about Custodial.
What was your favorite part about it?
Was it exhausting doing so much walking?
How is the Guest interaction?
Did you get a nice tan?

 

[squish86]

OK... I am going to train you in custodial... so prepare yourself... ok?

Here Goes...
oh and also this is how it was at MK its a little different at the different parks but still kind of the same...

clock in-
get a "zone" ( a zone is an area of anywhere from like 8 to 15 or more cans depending on how busy the area is... more cans equal less busy)
I was in the east... they have since changed the zoning but its still kind of the same... anyway... in the east we had all of tomorrowland all of toontown and half of fantasyland ... an example of a zone was say... my favorite zone... E-Grove... E-Grove zone was the area in between cosmic rays and the Enchanted Grove where they do the story time... and the bridge to the hub... it was about 10 cans...

Once you get a zone... you call the person that is there already and you meet up to exchange radios... ( by the way while i was custodial the only time i saw a manager was at the end of my shift when i called one of them for an ER ... and ER's are given out like candy on Halloween)

Walk into your zone with your pan and broom in hand... check to see if there is trash in the cans... if there is no trash...... (this is where it gets tough) .... you walk around and sweep things and talk to guests... basically just people watch... and look approachable. I am from Kentucky and there are tons of UK basketball fans in the park at anygiven time... so i made it a point to search them out and say hi...

in a slow zone like E -grove i only did the trash if i was really bored... but usually you just dump the trash when it is about half full and then you go back to walking around again...

on a busy day you will do the trash every 45 mintues to an hour... but just to let you know i was in the busiest zone in tomorrowland during easter ... i did trash like once every hour and a half haha...

Custodial can get painfully boring if you dont find ways to occupy your time...
I made friends with all the girls who worked in attractions and i would get fistfulls of fast passes from them and give them out to families whenever they asked me a good question... haha

If a guest asks me where the restroom is and im standing right next to it... they get no fastpass

no its not exhausting... unlike most roles at disney you get a break every 2 hours in an 8 hour shift you get two 15's and a 45 min break much different from when i was in QSFB and i would get 1 break no matter how long the shift...

Yes you will get a tan haha

anything else? again sorry for writing so much

 

[squish86]

oh and as far as guest interaction...

Custodial has the highest guest interaction of them all in my opinion...because as custodial when you put on that white costume you are a walking ride times billboard/restoom directions/guest services/lost kid/lost parent/resturant advice/parade time sheet person...

As custodial doing the trash runs is the lowest priority on your list of jobs... to be honest highest priority is guest service...

guests ask you constant questions because as custodial we do so little that we are the easiest accessible of all the cast members.

but its all what you make it of course... you can be one of those custodial members that no one sees and hangs out in the break room all the time... but i dont recommend it.

Oh like i said before... even if you are doing your job and out in the park all the time... you will hardly see a manager haha its a very individual job...

i went a week once without seeing a manager haha no exaggeration

 

[Joanna71985]

When I did custodial, I enjoyed it a lot. It is a very laid-back role, with lots of guest interaction (and I loved not having people breathing down my neck). I worked at Epcot, and loved getting to see all the entertainment in the countries (plus Illuminations every night).

 

[VTchina]

Ok so I'm in QSFB at the Studios, as far as I know, it's a very different experience for me. Lets see if I can add anything.

1. I'm in a park, one of my roomies is in a resort. I'm not sure of the difference, but we've got plenty of CPs at my location.

2. No, but talk to your leaders, we had a culinary student who got to spend a few days working with the culinary team, but they do all of the real cooking, most everything else is just throwing pizzas or pretzels in an oven, but it's all done on such a massive scale in QS that it's different from a restaurant kitchen.

3. I really like my location (Sunset Ranch Market), but I never got to request it. Honestly during my CP phone interview I just said Studios was my favorite park and I wanted to work attractions at Tower of Terror, maybe they placed me as close as they could. I bet if you say something positive, not like "I just don't wanna work at Magic Kingdom," they might try to accomodate that. But yeah, MK gets out really late.

4. Guest interaction is sometimes hard, people at QSFB are in a rush, they just want to come up and get their food, so it can a struggle to make magic for them. And my location is outside, so when you're bussing tables or getting trash, it was rough in the summer.
But I enjoy how busy it is, I keep really busy. Also you can move and find something better to do, just ask leadership. I went from just working up front to being a stocker, which gives me alot more responsibility and freedom and I love it. Also I get to be a General Teller which lets me work with the financial paperwork, also this exposes you more to management, lets them get to know you, which I like. Just let them know, sooner than later, and they can try to give you more opportunity.
Also I like being outside at work and seeing and hearing the Tower of Terror everyday.

Also I've NEVER been deployed, but they do tend to deploy the same people every time.

5. If you work at a resort, you can work insane hours, those locations don't actually close. Working at the Studios we close at 7, sometimes 10, sometimes midnight, and you usually don't stay much long after park close. Yeah some of my friends get jealous. Another fault with MK, they can stay open till 3, like last night, not fun unless you get something like Columbia Harbor House which closes the same time no matter what.

 

[squish86]

as for guest interaction with QSFB VTChina is very very right its almost impossible to have a lot of guest interaction unless your bussing... In terms of seeing guests and doing things for them you will see tooons of guests but the most you have time to say to them is a hey there what can i get for you... or a happy birthday but then you have to move on to the next one...

so QSFB Tons of guests- little interaction

VTChina also brought up a good point about deployment that i didnt describe...
If you are in a location that is in need of people and people often get deployed to you... you wont be moving at all you will stay there haha most of the time... and if you are in another location and they decide to deploy you one week.... then get ready to be deployed a lot... because once they realize that you did well in deployment they will go to you time and time again.

 

[BadDad]

Do all locations have lockers to change into your "costume" once you get there?

Do you need a combination lock?

Do apartments have lockers?

 

[WDW_lover_in_SC]

Yes all locations have changing rooms.

You do need a combination lock for your locker.

 

[Praise2Him]

Once you get a zone... you call the person that is there already and you meet up to exchange radios... ( by the way while i was custodial the only time i saw a manager was at the end of my shift when i called one of them for an ER ... and ER's are given out like candy on Halloween)

What is an ER?

Is Custodial only dealing with trash or do you clean the restrooms too?

 

[WDW_lover_in_SC]

What is an ER?

Is Custodial only dealing with trash or do you clean the restrooms too?

Custodial will clean the rest rooms and ER is early release. (get off of your shift early.)

 

[squish86]

@praise2him

if you are a woman custodial worker you will do restrooms all of the time... because there are way more men than women and men cant go into the womens restrooms.

If you are a man custodial worker... you will rarely do restrooms as a cp... there are many reasons for this...

Let me start by saying that during a shift you will either do streets... or you will do restrooms you will not do both... unless your manager needs to move you around for some reason... but you will never be made to keep up with a zone and also keep up with restrooms... you will see on your schedule "custodial streets" or custodial restrooms for the day you are working...

now the reason men dont do restrooms often is because there are so many men and so few restrooms that it there are plenty of people to choose from to do the restrooms and its like a lottery haha you have a good chance of not being picked...

the other reason most men dont do restrooms as CPs is because a lot of the fulltimers LOVE to do restrooms i mean absolutely love it... this is because Mens restrooms is like the easiest thing you can do ....i was in magic kindom custodial tomorrowland i worked there for 6 months... and i had 1 restroom shift in 6 months and it was on easter sunday... it was the slowest day of my custoidal life... men are generally very clean in the restrooms because we dont do much haha so all you have to do is go in there check things out make sure things are stocked and walk around to the next restroom...

Now womens restrooms i have heard horror stories of....... many of the girls i was friends with in custodial were terrified to find restrooms on their schedule... one night my friend came out of the restroom in tears lol now maybe it was just that day i dont know but i have always heard that the womens restrooms in the park are terrible to take care of ... haha

anything else?