Info Post #6: Living (The Apartments)

So I thought it was about time I write another info post, seeing as the last "official" info post I wrote was October 27. About that...

I think I covered the various steps of the application process pretty well. I wish I had enough knowledge to write info posts about what to pack/how to prepare to travel down to Orlando and check-in day, but... well, I don't. There are a lot of packing lists floating around the Disboards College Board, and Marina wrote an absolutely fantastic and detailed post about her check-in process.

So what else is there to think about before your program besides the application process? Where you want to live, of course! There are four housing complexes for the College Program, but one (The Commons) is only open to international students. So that leaves you with three choices: Vista Way, Chatham Square, and Patterson Court. (At least I think it's called Chatham square - I'm so used to calling them Vista, Chatham, and Patterson that I'm not sure of Chatham's full title!)

Vista is the oldest of the complexes, with smaller rooms and cheaper rent. It also has the reputation of being the "party" complex and very social. However, since it's the oldest, it's a bit run down compared to the others. And I think the crazy-party reputation is, like many rumors and reputations, at least a bit exaggerated. Vista features 2 and 3 bedroom apartments.

Chatham has the biggest rooms and 2nd most expensive rent of the 3. Generally, whereas Vista has this kind of crazy "Disney Gone Wild" reputation, Chatham is quieter. There are parties, but they aren't as, shall we say, rambunctious. It's a good middle ground between Vista and Patterson, socially. However, it IS more expensive than Vista and has this weird green carpet, if that's an issue for you. You can keep the price down by trying to get a 3 or 4 bedroom - the 4 bedroom apartments in Chatham even have 2 fridges! Chatham features a full range of apartment sizes, from 1-4 bedrooms.

weird green carpet

Finally, Patterson is the newest of the complexes and therefore considered to be the nicest by many. Its rooms are a bit smaller than Chatham's, but the rent is higher because, well, it's newer. It's known for being very, very quiet. It's also important to know that, unlike Vista and Chatham, Patterson does not have its own bus stop. If you have a car, that's fine. If you don't, it's a potential issue.

Here's a diagram I found to illustrate the difference in size between Vista and Chatham (I haven't found anything for Patterson, sadly.)

For the official word on the "Living" experience of the CP, check out the Housing section of the CP website. (And try not to cry when you remember that the application page is still all sad and down.) HOWEVER. Those lovely decorated bedrooms they show you in the 360º tour? Yeah, not allowed. You're allowed one bulletin board per participant or something like that, and many of the inspectors are very, very strict about this rule - you can fail housing inspections for having a single extra thing up (even something like a calendar), from what I've heard. There are still ways to make your apartment cute and livable, even with one measly bulletin board for decoration.

Personally, I'd love to live in Chatham for my program, in either a 3 or 4 bedroom - thank goodness they put two fridges in the four bedrooms!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Or favorite blogs and vlogs, rather! I'm not posting/vlogging as frequently as I'd like to, so I thought I'd put together a handy-dandy list of people who do (or did). These are either people I currently follow or people who served as excellent sources of information as I began my foray into CP obsession research. Since I can't detail EVERY fabulous blog I follow, please head on over to my profile to check out even more awesome CPers (under the blogs I'm following section or something like that)!  

First of all, I'd like to once again mention the wonder that is the DISBoards College Board. It's a wonderful community full of people who know their stuff when it comes to the CP and are more than happy to help out those with questions. It's also a very supportive community and one of the most drama-free Disney forums out there! (It's amazing how much dramarama Disney fanatics can generate, really.)

Blogs
Brenna: A Walt Disney World Career
Entertainment >> PI >> Disney career woman. I read her blog from start to finish and all of it was fantastic and informative. Yay Brenna! She's also on the College Board and very helpful when it comes to answering any Entertainment questions (as much as she can answer them, anyway).

Note that many of her posts are "friends-only" - meaning you won't be able to read them unless you have a livejournal and Brenna has accepted you as a friend. This is mostly for character integrity's sake - drop her a line and explain why you friended her, and hopefully you'll gain access to her wonderfully informative posts!


Chris Saribay
FSFB (Ohana). Chris seems to have stopped writing his blog, but the informational posts that are available make up for that, because they are truly helpful.

Joanna: The Biggest Disney Fan Around
Multiple CPs - merchandise, character attendant, custodial, attractions. She's currently working Toy Story Mania and was approved to extend to the Great Movie Ride, the lucky duck.
If you're on the DISBoards or one of the Facebook groups, you'll probably recognize Joanna as that awesome person who knows everything there is to know when it comes to the CP - and what's more, she's incredibly helpful when it comes to sharing that knowledge!

Molly: Married to the Mouse
Entertainment. An entertaining and informative blog. Like Brenna, her blog is "friends only." Molly is sometimes on the College Board, too.


John: The Purple Folder
QSFB, I think? An EXCELLENT Disney blog. I always look forward to reading his entries/weekly themes/etc. Highly recommended!

Ashlie: Princess Ash's WDWCP Blog
Spring 2010 Attractions. Another College Boarder, Ash's blog is written in a wonderful storytelling style. I look forward to hearing all about her Spring adventures!

Will's Fantasmic Disney Adventures
Companion to his excellent vlog. Will has already done a program in merchandise and will be going back for Spring 2010.


And a few of my fellow fall hopefuls!
Kristin (also an alum!)
Jenn
Sara
Lauren
Emily
Cori
Lyanne (who has the most awesome blog title EVER)

Vlogs
2 words: JOHN. HENSELMEIER. : now a seasonal Jungle Cruise Skipper.
Will : former Merchandise participant, Spring 2010 participant. Also has a blog.

Ryan O's Disney Show : Spring 2010 Main Entrance Ops
Lauren : fellow Fall 2010 hopeful. Also has a blog.

I'd also like to mention The Disney Vloggers channel and the Fall 2010 channel. The latter has nothing at the moment, but hey - subscribe anyway?

HEY LOOK I'M FAMOUS :D

My Wikipedia article on Imagineering (a seminar assignment) has officially been published! Let's hope it stays up there. :)

Here's the new lead-in section, to give you a taste:

Walt Disney Imagineering (also known as WDI or simply Imagineering) is the design and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide. Founded by Walt Disney in 1952 to oversee the production of Disneyland Park, it was originally known as WED Enterprises, from the initials Walter Elias Disney^[1].

The term Imagineering comes from Walt Disney’s blending of the words imagination and engineering, representing the skill set embodied by the employees of WDI. These employees, known as Imagineers, are renowned for their ability to blend creativity, expertise, and technological advancements like Audio-Animatronics to create “distinctive experiential storytelling” ^[2].

Imagineering is responsible for designing and building Disney theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, and other entertainment venues at all levels of project development. Imagineers possess a broad range of skills and talents, and thus over 140 different job titles fall under the banner of Imagineering, including illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers, graphic designers, and many more^[1]. Most Imagineers work from the company’s headquarters in Glendale, California, but are often deployed to satellite branches within the theme parks for long periods of time.

Info Post #5: Entertainment - The Audition!

For Spring 2010, the Entertainment role is only available through the Walt Disney World College Program, not the Disneyland College Program. The overview page on the WDWCP website can be found here. There's a cute little video and the dates and locations of auditions.

You can find out if the audition you're attending is just a college program audition or a combination audition at the Audition Calendar of disneyauditions.com, too! For example, the description of the Chicago audition is as follows:

Disney Auditions is seeking energetic performers for Shows and Parades across the Walt Disney World® Resort, near Orlando, FL. Our performers bring to life shows such as Festival of the Lion King, Block Party Bash, High School Musical 3: Right Here, Right Now! and many more!

We are also seeking Disney Princess Look-alikes. Performers develop improvisational skills, poise and grace while working for one for the world's leading entertainment companies.

College students interested in performing for the WDW College Program, may click here for additional details.

So... what actually happens AT the audition? The jist of it is basically - you go in, check in, get measured, do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight!  OK, no, not really. But you DO learn a dance routine. You'll also do an animation exercise. If they like you, they might pull you for a more complex dance routine or puppeteering or, if you're very, very lucky, FACE! (I hope to get very, very lucky...)

I'm not going to post anything regarding height ranges because a) while this blog is not widely read, it IS a public blog on the internet, b) I'm not even sure how accurate the information I've gotten is, c) that's a Disney secret, and d) they'll tell you what height you fall into at the audition anyway! I WILL say that the people over on the DisBoards are super helpful! Check out the College Board over there, or message me your questions somehow and I'll do my best to answer them. 

Two key things about height: One, special consideration is given to people under 5'0" and over 6'0". Two, your "Disney height" may be like two whole inches off your actual height, so be prepared for that. Also, apparently 5'5" is dead height so just pray that they measure you up or down if you happen to be 5'5".

I highly, highly recommend checking out Brenna's and Molly's livejournals for really great info about the auditions. Their entries are protected, so you have to get an account and add them as friends, but that also means they can go into a lot more detail than I can on Blogger!

Brenna's Livejournal. / Her vlog specifically dealing with her audition experience.
Molly's Livejournal.

So, what are some general tips to help you conquer the Disney audition and stand out as a great potential cast member?

• SMILE! :D But you knew that I'm sure!
• Be yourself but be a big, exaggerated version of yourself.
• It's worth repeating a zillion times: BE BIG! GO OVER THE TOP! ACT LIKE EVERYTHING IS CAPSLOCK!
• When dancing, even if you flub, keep smiling!
• When pantomiming, make sure your actions tell a story that presents a problem and solves it with big, clear motions. 
• Most importantly, have fun!!

Sorry this info post is not as comprehensive... I don't want to reveal anything I'm not supposed to know, haha! If you'd like to investigate further, I cannot recommend the DisBoards College Board enough. There are a couple of really great (and long!) threads on there about character heights and auditions... one of which was actually started by Brenna!

So that's all for now, and have a magical day!

Info Post #4: A quick rundown of the roles.

For a brief and official overview of all the roles and their descriptions, your best bet is to visit the Disney College Program site here. In this post, I'll be elaborating on some (but not all) roles based on what I've read on the DisBoards and in blogs.


Attractions
Can include working traditional "rides" like Splash Mountain, Expedition Everest, etc, but keep in mind that things like Innoventions, DisneyQuest, and the stage shows fall into this as well. I've heard of people who loved their experience at Innoventions but as far as I can tell DisneyQuest is more of a toss-up.

Spieling rides like Jungle Cruise and the Great Movie Ride are incredibly difficult to get. The Haunted Mansion is one of the most-requested rides - I'll bet you're more likely to get a job at Kilimanjaro Safari than as a HM servant. However, if you'd like to work at a specific attraction, it doesn't hurt to email the program and tell them so! Nothing is guaranteed, but it certainly won't harm you! (Like if I get Attractions you can BET I'm requesting Jungle Cruise or Tower of Terror!)

Character Attendant
Whereas before, CAs could work at any of the four parks throughout their program, these CPs are now being bid at just one park. However, CAs are able to pick up shifts at any of the four parks. Duties may include things like assisting your characters, keeping the queue orderly, answering questions, and (most importantly) insuring the safety of your characters. Generally the hours are pretty manageable, from what I've heard (in terms of having really late shifts and the like).

Full-Service Food and Beverage
Keep in mind that this is a non-tipped role and you are a host/hostess, not a server! However, people who have worked in this role really enjoyed it. As one blog puts it, FSFB offers "a great mix of personal freedom, responsibility and its own share of fun moments, given its high guest interaction. Better still, a lot of these roles take place in a highly themed, fast-paced and dynamic environment."

Given the huge amount and diversity of full-service restaurants in WDW, this role offers a ton of different opportunities! Again, if you want to work a specific restaurant, go ahead and request it via email. You probably won't get California Grill though - I've heard people basically have to die for a position to open up there. (But that was in reference to the servers, so who really knows?)

Quick Service Food and Beverage
This role includes both counter-service restaurants like Pecos Bill Cafe and Columbia Harbour House as well as the outdoor snack carts and snack windows (outdoor foods). You will work both in the kitchen and at the register unless you are specifically working the QSFB - Kitchen Only role.

Vacation Planner
You know those ticket windows you pass on your way into the theme parks? The people in those booths are Vacation Planners, responsible for selling ticket media to guests. Think of it like a movie-theatre box office. Vacation Planners are the ultimate resource for the different admission options available and will also assist guests in planning their days at the park.

Given the nature of what you're selling, expect to handle large amounts of cash during your shift. Though there is an emphasis on "upselling" tickets, you'll also have plenty of opportunities to assist guests in planning their visits and ensuring they have a magical experience. Depending on the time of day, you may be working under a fair amount of pressure - lines can get long and guests are rearin' to go, so be prepared for that as well. From what I understand, there's also a certain quota you must meet each day as a Vacation Planner CM.

Costuming
This role covers Entertainment Costuming, not regular Costuming where all CMs pick up their costumes (uniforms). You will be assisting Entertainment CMs, working with parades and possibly shows, and doing laundry.

Hospitality
Hospitality CPs can work three different "sub-roles": Front Desk, Lobby Concierge, and Runner. Front Desk involves checking guests into the hotel - which I think sounds pretty cool because you get to kick off their whole Disney vacation experience! Lobby Concierge is pretty self-explanatory - you are stationed in the lobby to answer guest questions, sell tickets, make ADRs (or whatever Disney's calling them now), etc. Runners ... well, they run items at guests' requests.

Hospitality has the potential for weird shifts because the resorts never close. It's also more difficult to get, especially if you're not a hospitality major/don't have prior experience in guest service. I'm going to try for it anyway though! (See Vlog.)

Well, that's it for this entry! If you have any further questions I'll try my best to answer them, and if I don't have an answer I'll lead you to someone who does!

The next info post will feature...
Entertainment!!! Yay!