Role questions

[steveboy]

Hi I am looking forward to my role in Merchandizing for Spring 2012 in /Disney World. I have just a few questions if anyone could answer them that would be great! How is the bus system and getting to work on time? I know that once in merchandizing I can be flexiable to other areas in the park and will have freedom. My question is can I pick up other shifts like in character attendent or attractions and if so do I look into getting trained in those areas as well. Also I was interested in working in the Pirate league. Is it still open and how easy it to work there. Also any other tips for merch or general advice would help thanks. Also anyone arriving on Jan 25th 2012 should get in touch.

 

[taigirl87]

Hi I am looking forward to my role in Merchandizing for Spring 2012 in /Disney World. I have just a few questions if anyone could answer them that would be great! How is the bus system and getting to work on time? I know that once in merchandizing I can be flexiable to other areas in the park and will have freedom. My question is can I pick up other shifts like in character attendent or attractions and if so do I look into getting trained in those areas as well. Also I was interested in working in the Pirate league. Is it still open and how easy it to work there. Also any other tips for merch or general advice would help thanks. Also anyone arriving on Jan 25th 2012 should get in touch.

Hi! I did merchandise in fantasyland in the fall of 2009 I'll try answering your questions for you. The best way to use the bus system I would say is take the bus just earlier than the one you would take to get you to work right on time. Disney is really strict about being to work on time. One minute late and you have half a point. Sometimes there are unforeseeable things that happen, like some of my friends were trying to get to work and their bus had a small fire, so they had to wait for another bus to come and get them from the side of the road. But that doesn't normally happen. Also it's good to be at the busstop around 15 minutes before the bus should be there, because sometimes the bus will come and leave a few minutes early.
You can pick up a shift in any other merchandise area. But you'll be scheduled in the area you were trained in. Sometimes youll be deployed to other areas, I was deployed to Tomorrowland merchandise for a week. Its fun to work in the other areas because they don't all operate exactly the same in the way they do things.
Unfortunately you can't pick up shifts in attractions or character attendant, because you need training for those, and again, unfortunately, as a cp you can't be asked to be trained in those roles either. You can pick up PAC(parade audience control) shifts, which are under attractions. I love PAC, because I extended my program into that role...I do wish the people who picked up those shifts had training though, as we went through specific training for it. But oh well
Pirates league is still open, but it's very hard to get into. On of the awesome members on this board Berlioz70 has mentioned how competitive it is. Was it something you mentioned that you were interested in during your interview?
Anyways, merchandise is an awesome role and there's loads you can do to make magic for the guests!

 

[Practically.Perfect]

The buses usually run every 20-30 mins, but depending on where you work and which complex you live in it might take a while to get to work. Remember the parks are big, so once you get there you still need to get to your area to clock in. At Mk after the CP bus drops you off you have to take a special CM bus to the park and then walk through the tunnels to your location. I was Main Street, so I had a long walk. I usually tried to get to MK at least 30 mins before I started. I think the buses actually helped me be on time/ early since I had to get there so early.

 

[disneymegs]

Hi! I did merchandise in fantasyland in the fall of 2009 I'll try answering your questions for you. The best way to use the bus system I would say is take the bus just earlier than the one you would take to get you to work right on time. Disney is really strict about being to work on time. One minute late and you have half a point. Sometimes there are unforeseeable things that happen, like some of my friends were trying to get to work and their bus had a small fire, so they had to wait for another bus to come and get them from the side of the road. But that doesn't normally happen. Also it's good to be at the busstop around 15 minutes before the bus should be there, because sometimes the bus will come and leave a few minutes early.
You can pick up a shift in any other merchandise area. But you'll be scheduled in the area you were trained in. Sometimes youll be deployed to other areas, I was deployed to Tomorrowland merchandise for a week. Its fun to work in the other areas because they don't all operate exactly the same in the way they do things.
Unfortunately you can't pick up shifts in attractions or character attendant, because you need training for those, and again, unfortunately, as a cp you can't be asked to be trained in those roles either. You can pick up PAC(parade audience control) shifts, which are under attractions. I love PAC, because I extended my program into that role...I do wish the people who picked up those shifts had training though, as we went through specific training for it. But oh well
Pirates league is still open, but it's very hard to get into. On of the awesome members on this board Berlioz70 has mentioned how competitive it is. Was it something you mentioned that you were interested in during your interview?
Anyways, merchandise is an awesome role and there's loads you can do to make magic for the guests!

I'm working a PAC shift for MNSSHP tonight. I've never worked PAC before, and like you said I should probably be trained but I really wanted to work the party. What is PAC like and what all will I be doing?

 

[LMKerins]

I'm working a PAC shift for MNSSHP tonight. I've never worked PAC before, and like you said I should probably be trained but I really wanted to work the party. What is PAC like and what all will I be doing?

I've never worked MNSSHP (soooo jealous that you're working it!!) but I wrote a post about working pac here: http://disneyworldcollegeprogram.blogspot.com/2011/05/typical-shift-pacing.html

Hope it helps!

 

[disneymegs]

Thanks!

 

[Cj Fantasmic]

You can pick up a shift in any other merchandise area. But you'll be scheduled in the area you were trained in. Sometimes youll be deployed to other areas, I was deployed to Tomorrowland merchandise for a week. Its fun to work in the other areas because they don't all operate exactly the same in the way they do things.
Unfortunately you can't pick up shifts in attractions or character attendant, because you need training for those, and again, unfortunately, as a cp you can't be asked to be trained in those roles either. You can pick up PAC(parade audience control) shifts, which are under attractions. I love PAC, because I extended my program into that role...I do wish the people who picked up those shifts had training though, as we went through specific training for it. But oh well

Hi! I'm merchandise for SA 2012 you can pick up shifts in PAC? That sounds like so much fun! Can you explain that a little more? Like, what do you do? And if you picked up shifts, they didn't train you?

 

[onestepcloser]

Hi! I'm merchandise for SA 2012 you can pick up shifts in PAC? That sounds like so much fun! Can you explain that a little more? Like, what do you do? And if you picked up shifts, they didn't train you?

Yep! You can pick up PAC shifts (and stroller parking shifts) on the HUB, which you'll learn more about when you get there. PAc and strollers are positions that don't require any specialized training. I've also seen shifts as QSFB greeters that don't require training either.

I did two PAC/Crowd Control shifts on the 3rd and 4th of July @ Magic Kingdom. On one hand, I'm really glad that I did them because I got to see the fireworks and I had said I wanted to do PAC before the end of my program, but on the other hand, it's really difficult because no one wants to be told they can't go a certain way and they'll have to walk around. It's fun, but it can be very challenging, especially when it's super crowded.

 

[Cj Fantasmic]

Yep! You can pick up PAC shifts (and stroller parking shifts) on the HUB, which you'll learn more about when you get there. PAc and strollers are positions that don't require any specialized training. I've also seen shifts as QSFB greeters that don't require training either.

I did two PAC/Crowd Control shifts on the 3rd and 4th of July @ Magic Kingdom. On one hand, I'm really glad that I did them because I got to see the fireworks and I had said I wanted to do PAC before the end of my program, but on the other hand, it's really difficult because no one wants to be told they can't go a certain way and they'll have to walk around. It's fun, but it can be very challenging, especially when it's super crowded.

Thanks for the info! I didn't know that, and probably wouldn't have if you didn't tell me about it I believer you when you say it's difficult though. I've seen PAC cast members during parades and fireworks when it was really busy, and a lot of people did not want to listen. I do want to experience it though so we'll see what happens when I'm there!!!

 

[taigirl87]

Yep! You can pick up PAC shifts (and stroller parking shifts) on the HUB, which you'll learn more about when you get there. PAc and strollers are positions that don't require any specialized training. I've also seen shifts as QSFB greeters that don't require training either.

I did two PAC/Crowd Control shifts on the 3rd and 4th of July @ Magic Kingdom. On one hand, I'm really glad that I did them because I got to see the fireworks and I had said I wanted to do PAC before the end of my program, but on the other hand, it's really difficult because no one wants to be told they can't go a certain way and they'll have to walk around. It's fun, but it can be very challenging, especially when it's super crowded.

Exactly, it is very challenging! It was overwhelming when i first started training, and the positions that seemed the hardest ended up being my favorite! Of course they won't give those positions to people who picked up extra hours, as they do need training. Only once did I absolutely hate a certain area, and that was keeping a path clear by the castle so people can get to their cinderellas royal table reservations. Worst night ever! But it was because I had a guess threaten me and we had to call security on him but that's a different story

I've never worked MNSSHP (soooo jealous that you're working it!!) but I wrote a post about working pac here: http://disneyworldcollegeprogram.blogspot.com/2011/05/typical-shift-pacing.html

Hope it helps!

I never worked mnsshp either for a PAC shift, I was working in fantasyland at that time! But I am glad you posted your blog about it though like I said above, normally they don't give extra hours people the difficult positions where they would have too much trouble, a friend of mine would pick up shifts and she would always be put in the bypass(backstage area that guests go through to get to the front of the park to exit). If they do give you one of the regular positions, they will typically put you by someone who can help you out a bit. Extra hours are great for helping us when we are low on numbers, but they have to remember, you watch the guests NOT the parade. I've had to run a few too many times and find a cast member across from me who was a regular PAC cast member so they could take care of a problem that i noticed, and the extra hours cm wasn't paying attention to the guests. that's the only reason why I wish everyone had to be trained. Lol!

 

[LMKerins]

Ugh I haaaaaaaaaaaaated Bypass! I worked there my first pac shift and although i did have some people stop and talk to me, there was sooooo little guest interaction, which is my favorite part of any role. I worked a few shifts with other ehh people who were way more interested in watching the fireworks than assisting the guests, and that definitely created some issues later down the road. Also I feel like one of the biggest problems with people picking up shifts, especially in pac, is miscommunication. It can be incredibly frustrating to be yelled at by a guest because someone else told them the wrong information. I'm so jealous you got to extend in pac! I wish I'd been able to : )

 

[taigirl87]

Ugh I haaaaaaaaaaaaated Bypass! I worked there my first pac shift and although i did have some people stop and talk to me, there was sooooo little guest interaction, which is my favorite part of any role. I worked a few shifts with other ehh people who were way more interested in watching the fireworks than assisting the guests, and that definitely created some issues later down the road. Also I feel like one of the biggest problems with people picking up shifts, especially in pac, is miscommunication. It can be incredibly frustrating to be yelled at by a guest because someone else told them the wrong information. I'm so jealous you got to extend in pac! I wish I'd been able to : )

It actually wasn't one of my choices to extend into, but it was a blessing in disguise! When I did fall of 09 they just started doing extensions through the hub and a lot of people who applied got told on there that there was no record of them applying...me included. They were helpful and they had me reapply when talking to them on the phone and they put it in manually. I only had 5 choices and main entrance operations was one of them(and the better one IMO) and since I specified I wanted to do pac, that's what I got! I ended up really loving it and even though it was tough, I did gets lots of guest interaction. I had hoped to be extended into character, cuz I passed the audition, but I'm glad I ended up in PAC as I met some amazing people! I agree that bypass isn't that fun, and miscommunication sucks!!! Though sometimes I think that people make things up to get their way. One time this family was sitting somewhere because they said someone said they could, I went around and asked all the cms if they had said that and no one did. We moved to the family to the VIP section at the front of the parade route...they definitely weren't grateful even though it's a good spot! Oh well!

 

[steveboy]

Thanks, that helps a lot! So looking forward to learning and exploring!