What was Merchandise really like?

Hello gang!

So as most of you know, I worked in Walt Disney World this past summer in the merchandise department. I absolutely loved my role and working in Future World ended up being the highlight of my summer !

However, if I’m being honest with myself, I was really not that hyped up about my role when I first got it …

When I opened my acceptance letter and found out my role, my heart did sink a little as I had been hoping to be allocated in attractions. Throughout the entire process, I had imagined what it would be like to operate a ride at WDW and how cool that would be so it was no surprise that I was a bit bummed.

But then I done a bit of googling and found so much information about working in merchandise. I found some blogs and some YouTube videos of past cast members and their experiences within the merchandise department and it completely changed my perspective! They gave me so much more hope about working in this role and settled all nerves I had prior to going to Florida.

So I thought I would share my views on the role! (With the input of a few of my fellow cast members)

In my personal opinion, the pros outweigh the cons 100x over! The fact that I was able to speak to guests all summer about their vacations and where I came from (whether they thought I was from Ireland or not) made my experience working for the mouse even more special!

There were multiple times when I was having a really bad day. I was missing my family, it was too hot, and I simply did not want to move from my bed. Nevertheless, I would get up and go to work and know that I would finish an eight or ten hour shift feeling incredible as I was able to interact with so many guests and make their vacation special.

One story always sticks in my mind. I was standing at work talking to one of my leaders, Brad, and we started speaking to this family. They started telling us that their hometown had just been struck by a hurricane and they did not know how their pet was and they were trying not to let it affect their vacation. While my leader spoke with the parents, I started playing with the two little princesses and gave them each a piece of candy to enjoy. The family then left feeling a little bit happier and I had had a small part to play in their vacation.

So in summary…

Merchandise is a great role so throw yourself into it fully! 

If you do have any questions about the role, then feel free to comment below or contact e via my instagram page – tashainafairytale!

See ya real soon guys,

Natasha xo

Final Interview

So a couple weeks after the pre-screen group interview, I received the long awaited email to tell me I had been selected for the final interview!

Me as soon as I found out I had been selected for a fnal interview

So after having a little celebration dance, I sat down and selected the date and time for my final interview. I chose the Monday at 9am so that I was able to enjoy my time in London afterwords. We also had to complete a role checklist where you ranked the roles available from High Interest to No Interest. Here I put Merchandise, Attractions, Character Performer and Character Attendant as High Interest and ranked the other roles lower.

From there all I had to do was wait. It was about 3/4 weeks until the final interview and I had to organize flights and hotels for when I was down in London. Thankfully, my mum had decided to come down with me for support and so we turned the trip into a holiday.

 

The Lead Up to the Interview

The sunday before the interview came quickly and suddenly I found myself sitting on a plane on my way down to London! I was so excited and nothing was going to ruin this for me.

Mum and I had a day exploring London on Sunday and then we came back to the hotel to prepare for the final interview.

 

The Day of the Interview

I woke up on the Monday morning, bright and early so I could make myself look as nice as possible. The hotel was only a 10 minute walk away from our hotel, but even still we left 30 minutes before my interview time so I could stop and have a small cup of tea to settle my nerves. It came time for me to head to Disney HQ and I said goodbye to my mum and headed on in.

Disney HQ was more than I could imagine. It was the most amazing experience of my life and the interview did not even feel like an interview. Once you were taken upstairs, they measure you if you are interested in being a character performer. From there, they check over all your paperwork to make sure everything is sorted out.

You are then taken up individually to speak to a Disney recruiter. Some things that my interviewer and I discussed were:

• Where I had traveled from
• Did I have any tattoos?
• Did I have any piercings?
• What was I studying at university?
• What work experience did I have?
• What were my top roles and why?
• Why I applied for the program?
• Have I lived with other people before?
• How would I be able to handle the heat?

Like I said, the interview felt very informal. It felt more like having a conversation with someone rather than feeling like I was being interviewed. I think this was an advantage in the end as I was truly able to just be myself and show the recruiter just how much my love for Disney shone through.

I then came out of my interview to have a wonderful day meeting up with my best friend and having an amazing holiday with my mum. Let’s just say that long weekend was one of the most memorable and precious times that I have had in a long time and I am very thankful for it.

That’s all for me just now. See you real soon.

Tasha xo

Pre-Screen Interview

So I finished my application on 14th September 2016 at 9.30 am, just a few days before applications closed and found out that I was successfully through to the next stage at 1.30 pm that same day!!

My interview was due to take place on the 29th September at 2.15 pm down at the Yummy Jobs office in Essex, London. To say I was excited was an understatement.

I found a few other girls to fly with including someone on the same course as me at university. We all flew down in the morning and got an Uber to the offices in Essex in perfect timing for the interview. We were even able to go to Costa and meet some of the other people waiting for the interview which was lovely!

The Interview

Once we got into the Yummy Jobs office, we met Anna, Luke and Adam who were going to be the ones interviewing us. They done a short presentation to everyone about what the programme consisted of and it only got me more and more excited about the possibility of doing the programme. Then it was the serious part. They split us up into small interview groups of around 7/8 depending on what team we got when we came in (Go Team Scar!).

My interview was led by Adam who was so lovely and made the interview so easy. we started off with an icebreaker. We all selected a starburst and depending on the colour we were each asked a different question. I chose the orange starburst and I had to say where my favourite destination I ever visited was. I then went on about how I had recently visited Shanghai and was lucky enough to go to Shanghai Disney. This was a great topic as it struck up conversation with Adam and the other people in the group interview.

We were then asked some generic questions which included:

• What is your motivation to do the program?
• How would you cope with the long hours?
• What are your top role choices?
• An family waited 2 hours in the rain to discover their child is too small to go on the ride, what would you do?
• How would you deal with homesickness for yourself and your roommates?
• How would you deal with a messy roommate?
• Which Disney character would you most like to go to tea with?

Each interviewer asked the same questions roughly but maybe worded them in a different way. No matter what they done everything the could to make sure you were comfortable and were enjoying the interview process.

If you are looking to do the program, prepare rough answers to these questions! I had looked on blogs prior to the interview and felt so prepared that the answers came naturally to me. DO NOT MAKE IT SEEM REHEARSED THOUGH! They are looking to see if you have the initiative and personality to make it in Disney World.

My biggest advice for this interview is to smile and make your personality shine through! Act like yourself so they get to know the real you. It’s a fun experience and the people are all so lovely.

Anyway, that’s all from me!

Tell everybody I’m on my way!

So the big day had finally arrived.

17th June.

I had absolutely no sleep as it was my hometown Gala Day fireworks the night before, and I had to leave my house at 3.15am the next morning. I was ridiculously tired but just ried to power through until I got to the airport.

Then 3.15 came and it was time to leave my little house for 3 months. I had said all my goodbyes to my family and friends in the lead up to leaving and it still had not hit me that I was going away.  So off we went to the airport and in all honesty I felt nothing. A tiny bit of excitement but that was about it. We played Disney songs in the car to try and get me excited and eventually we arrived at the airport at around 3.35 am.

Once we were parked we went inside where I was meeting the rest of the girls I was flying with and their families. This was great as all the mums got a chance to chat to each other and that was exactly what my mum needed. We talked for a long time and got loads of pictures with everyone.

Then it was time for us to go up to departures and get ready to leave. My mum gave me one final cuddle and it all hit me. I got a bit emotional and didn’t really want to leave her. Most of you will know that my mum and I are the best of friends and this was the longest we were ever going to be apart. We both knew that this was the most amazing opportunity for me however, and we knew that we were both just a call away.

So all 5 of us went up to security and through to departures. We went to the Weatherspoons and had some food and got ready for our first flight to London Gatwick. Our first flight was fab with the cabin crew even referring to us as the “Minnie mouse exchange group” wishing us luck once we landed!

Now it was time for Flight #2 and by this time had been awake for more than 24 hours. I needed my sleep! I started watching “Moana” and 10 minutes in I was asleep.  We then had a shuffle around of seats so that some of us could watch “Newsies” and once again I fell asleep. My friends thought it would be hilarious to balance a cup on my head and it was so funny!

Then 9 hours later we landed! We navigated our way through customs and finally arrived at the magical express. From their we went on to our hotel for the night!

That is where I will leave it today. There are hundreds of stories I still have to tell but not enough time to tell them so I will try my best!

See you guys soon !

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So, what am I ACTUALLY doing?

So if you read my first post, you will know that this summer I am getting to be living my life long dream of working in Walt Disney World in Orlando. I will be working there for just under 3 months and if you have not guessed yet – I AM SOOOOOOO EXCITED !

But how exactly did I get this opportunity? And what will I actually be doing?

 

What am I doing?

I am taking part in the Disney Cultural Exchange Programme, which is a Disney international programme which lets university students from around the world to spend their summer break working at Walt Disney World in Florida.

The exchange programme offer a number of roles for you to work in whilst out there which include:

• Character Attendent
• Character Performer
• Costuming
• Custodial
• Quick Service Food and Beverage
• Lifeguard
• Merchandise
• Operations
• Recreation

While I am out there I will be working in the merchandise department which means I will be working in the shops around the Disney parks. I am super excited to be in this role as I am going to get soooo much guest interaction and I cant wait to make people happy.

In the past few days of being here my location has been confirmed and so I am going to be placed in …. EPCOT! Specifically, I am going to be in the Future World area and I am super happy!

 

How Did I Find Out About This?

 

Someone from the year above me in university had done the programme last year and I kept seeing her posts on social media. From there, I done some investigating of my own. I searched for YouTube videos and on Google which eventually led to me finding the official Disney International Programme webpage. I applied through The Walt Disney Company and was directed to a company called Yummy Jobs.

Yummy jobs are the UK representatives for the Disney International Programme and deal with the applications and interviews for the programme.  They are a fantastic company with lots of different opportunities. For any more information on this fab company click the link below:

http://www.yummyjobs.com/work/disneyculturalexchangeprogram

The applications open around the start of July and close around the end of August/early September. I am hoping to upload a blog post specifically about the application process so keep an eye out for that.

But for now that is me, I will be uploading some blogs describing the whole process as well as updates on my life here in Florida, so keep following me so you can catch up with my Disney adventure.

Speak soon guys xo

My Disney Adventure!

Hey there guys!

So, most of you will know, but if you don’t then let me tell you something…

I’M GOING TO WORK IN DISNEY WORLD THIS SUMMER!

(No joke guys, I was way worse than this when I found out)

After a very long process last year, I finally found out that I had gotten the job to work in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Now that it is finally time for me to leave, I have decided to start a blog to keep track of my little adventure. I am super duper excited to share my Disney journey with you all, and I hope you enjoy the ride!

This is getting posted the night before I leave for Florida and I am on such a high! After a few hiccups when choosing my seats, I have had a lovely relaxed day and just can’t wait to meet up with my friends and fly away.

I should be posting a new blog every week (fingers crossed) so follow me on my social media to keep track !

See ya real soon guys !