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Well seeing as I don't go to college or univeristy, I applied for Disney's Cultural Representative program and i'll hear back by the end of April whether I have an interview or not hopefully!

 

I couldnt find a thread that talked about this, so i thought i'd mention it here

Anyone ever done this program before?

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^^Depends on what your role is. If you're a "non-costumed" role then absolutely yes. But other then that if you have a costume you'll need about 3 days worth of dress clothes, give or take a day.

 

I've been assigned "Operations/Merchandise", so I'm presuming that this fits into the "non-constumed" description?

 

In that case, I think a shopping trip is in order... Great!

 

No, its almost guaranteed that you'll get a costume. Don't worry about dress clothes too much, I had to wear them 3 days my first week and then I haven't had to since. If you're taking a class here however they do require professional attire for the classes.

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Well seeing as I don't go to college or univeristy, I applied for Disney's Cultural Representative program and i'll hear back by the end of April whether I have an interview or not hopefully!

 

I couldnt find a thread that talked about this, so i thought i'd mention it here

Anyone ever done this program before?

 

I did the CR-program, for 14 months, and it was amazing!! And the funny thing, you have some benefits the CP's, like hollidaypay, hehe. What position are you applying for?

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Hey everyone! I just read all of these posts and have found them all to be very helpful! Thanks so much! I attend Central Michigan University as a freshman and recently just applied to the WDWCP for fall advantage! My phone interview was the 28th. I think it went great! I had questions like how would you make a customer's day magical, would you work inside or outside (I said I would love to work outside), do you like to work alone or in teams (I said I do great in teams and love working in teams), my top 3 were attractions, main entrance, & merchandise. I really want attractions or main entrance-ticket booth. I hope I get those positions! Were my answers okay?

 

I also, have some questions if you guys could please answer them??

1st of all, I'm sooosososososoos EXCITED, i'm determined to make the BEST of this program no matter what!

 

Do you have to purchase your costumes?

Do you get multiple sets of your costume because I assume you sweat A LOT in them?

Are there washer & dryers in any of the apartments? Are they free?

 

Thanks

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Do you have to purchase your costumes?

Do you get multiple sets of your costume because I assume you sweat A LOT in them?

Are there washer & dryers in any of the apartments? Are they free?

 

Thanks

 

As far as I remember (it's been a few years), they give you two sets of costumes. If you lose items, then I think they charge you, but the first two are included with the job. They have washer & dryers at the complex, but not in the individual apartments. They are not free, but I don't remember if they are coin or card operated, but hopefully someone with recent knowledge will come along.

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^^I did the program in Spring 2010 and I worked at Animal Kingdom and our costuming is very far away from the park so I got to check out 5 pairs of costumes. The Washers and Dryers are card operated and the cards cost $1. I can't remember how much each wash or dry cycle cost though. I hope this helps and I also hope you get in the CP.

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Well seeing as I don't go to college or univeristy, I applied for Disney's Cultural Representative program and i'll hear back by the end of April whether I have an interview or not hopefully!

 

I couldnt find a thread that talked about this, so i thought i'd mention it here

Anyone ever done this program before?

 

I did the CR-program, for 14 months, and it was amazing!! And the funny thing, you have some benefits the CP's, like hollidaypay, hehe. What position are you applying for?

 

I have no clue! :L

I was just told to send my CV and a Cover Letter and they said they'll get back to me by the end of April

 

What was the process that you went through? Can you shed any light on what I should be expecting?

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Well, after appying, you'll have a phone interview, think its from the international recruiting in france, then if they like you, they'll send you an invitation for a interview/orientation thing, with lots of other people. There they'll talk about disney, what to espect and so on, then a one-on-one interview with a disney recruiter, where there's talk about positions you want to apply for and thats it.. then its time to wait for the email with your faith!! MOhahah!!

 

BUt trust me, it will be amazing to work there!

 

anything else?

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My best advice... if you get a costume with a hat where it on the way there, lol. There was once or twice where I forgot my hat on the seat next to me and had to run to costuming, which was relatively far, but I only got one hat the first time, and since I got to work early I'd have time to go and get another one and we were allowed 3. #2. NEVER EVER EVER lose/forget your I.D. I dont know how WDW does it, but this is pretty much your time card and key to work, and it was just a little card. #3, be on time... I have heard it said that we CMs will do almost anything to avoid getting points, including speeding. Points are what you get when your late, one or two are no biggie, but if you get more than a few it looks BAD! Last but not least use common sense, dont be stupid and get kicked out, and if its anything like working at Disneyland you'll have a great time. Hopefully I'll be doing the Orlando thing at some point as I had to quit DL cause I had a weird class schedule that interfered with work... and I need the grades.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Aloha guys,

 

I'm so glad i found this thread its awesome (very helpful). I just applied for the fall 2011 season and I'm pretty excited, i find out if I'm accepted in a few weeks. I'm from hawaii, born and raised so Florida is a long way from my comfort zone. however, im so excited and want to experience living far away! my first choice was concierge but i think they might put me in merchandise, which is all good too, its find. I know it will be a good experience as long as i make the best of it so I'm not really dreading anything. is there anyone who worked as concierge or merchandise who can share tips, share experiences or what not. How was it, what'd you do. Just curious!?

 

Thanks

 

= )

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Hey everyone i attended the spring 2010 in quick service food and beverage. I was assigned Studio Catering Company at Hollywood studios. This was the best experience and do not regret it at all. When I was there my restaurant got renovated. I got to be a part of the old menu, training of the new menu and kitchen and by the end teaching full timers the new kitchen.

Anyone on here that's done the Culinary Program? I'd be interested in that, but on their site it explains that the program season is based on where/when you go to school. Has anyone had any experience with this?

My friend did this and he was at Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian. He loved his job and during his experience the head chef asked him to make a appetizer which he ended up featuring on the menu.

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Long time Lurker, First Time Poster...so here it goes!

 

I'm Scott and I've just returned from a year on the WDW CP. I thought I'd just post about my experiences and everything that made 2010 the best year of my life

 

I'm from Sydney, Australia and as such, we were able to choose either a 6 or 12 month program. Australian and New Zealanders are I think the only ones able to do 6-12 month programs, without any school commitments or have to work in a World Showcase pavillion. The day I started I was one of approx 150 Aussies/Kiwi's arriving, some of whom became my best friends and are still incredibly close to since returning home.

 

I was living it up in Vista Way (Apt 811) and loved every minute of it. I'd heard a ton of bad/crazy things about Vista, but I discovered its truly what you would make of it. Vista could be a party if you wanted it to, but so could Chatham, Commons and Patterson. The whole college program is entirely what you make it. I feel I did more working than partying, but definetly got to experience some amazing things, both on property and off.

 

When I was selected to go over, I was placed in Attractions (to be honest, I proberbly wouldn't have gone if I got anything but - hey, im a theme park geek. Its all about the rides) and was soon placed in Future World East - EPCOT. I was a Nemo ranger. It. Was. Amazing. I worked "The Seas with Nemo and Friends", and "Turtle Talk with Crush" along with some of the greatest people I had ever met. Seriously, for what is a lame attraction (Seas, not Turtle Talk) we made the most of it. We never really had a wait to worry about, but would love it when we did! We didn't have to worry about fastpass or height rescrictions and were able to have a lot of fun whilst working! Just opening the building every morning and watching the dolphins follow you around as you walked the ride path was really amazing! I know everybody will proberbly say they had the greatest CP group to work with, and I'll say the exact same thing. I got to meet and work with people from all over the globe and it was a blast! So along with the fun we could have on Nemo we had Turtle Talk, and it was an amazing attraction to work. Learning how it all worked, and then running the show was really amazing. During Spring Break we started trying to sell the show more to bump up our numbers and we achieveded record crowds. Bob Igor even visited the building for a brief time to check out the work we were doing! Was a blast!

 

I was originally only supposed to be in Florida for 6 months, but after enjoying the amazing first 6 months I decided to extend my program. I was to going to be moved to be a lifeguard at Typhoon Lagoon. This wasn't an amazing option for me, but I was ok with it. To be honest, if I really wanted to be a lifeguard, I could do it in Australia. I was able to talk to the management team and was able to stay at The Seas. Due to my extension, I was able to become a trainer and got to train new recruits from around the world!

 

I got to experience some amazing things including: Backstage tours of Haunted Mansion, Expedition Everest and Safaris. (Got some amazing backstage photos of walking the track on Everest). Explore Spaceship Earth's ride path and hung out with some cool animatronics. I was lucky enough to be able to get into Wizarding World of Harry Potter down the road at Universal during the soft openings and was able to check out the controlled chaos of opening day, and of course see Turtle Talk backstage (and even got to operate the system once!) I also met an amazing girl!

 

All in all, The CP was the best thing I've ever decided to do, and I cannot recommend it enough. If anybody would like to hear more about my experiences or see any of my photos, just ask!

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^Go Nemo! Thats originally where I started too on my college program (I'm still here!) but they moved me over to flower and garden festival operations about 2 months into my program. I absolutely loved it at the seas, the people are fantastic and its a great place to work.

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Hello all!

I just got my offer to work in the Transportation role. I know that all of these roles probably aren't going to be as glorious or interesting. The CP site says that monorail and ferry operators are part of it but they also mention cleaning bus stops and audience control. So I'm wondering if you or anyone you know has done a transportation role and could give me some insight on the day to day they do. Is it realistic to assume I'd have a good chance to be running the monorail? Or would they have me walk around the pick up zones with a broom and dustpan?

 

Thanks for any input/advice!

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^Don't think of Transportation as your role, think of it more as the department that you'll be working in. You won't find out your specific job until you get there. I don't think that they use CP's as bus drivers, so I think that means you'll be working on the ferry boats or the monorails (although I don't know if they let CP's pilot either of those). They use transportation CM's to direct guests in and out of the transportation areas, so that's what audience control is most likely referring to. Pretty much every role includes something about cleaning in its description, every role at some point or another may require you to pick up trash or maintain the show quality in your area.

 

I've actually heard that Transportation is a good area to be a CP in.

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Im not 100% sure if CP's can be pilots, but perhaps if you extended your program and stayed in your area there might be a chance. I don't know 100% if this is a recent change, because I was under the impression that the CM who was unfortunatly killed during the monorail accident a couple of years back was a CP. I think transportation would be a great varied role tho! I know there was a group of CP's last year that would stand at bus stops in the morning at each resort and answer questions/pin trade with guests. Im not sure if this fell under the transporation role? Either way, I'd be quite happy with the role! The chance at driving a monorail would be really neat!

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Thanks guys! I spoke with a pair of girls in my physics class who did the program last year and they knew a guy in the CP who was a monorail pilot. So it truly is all up in the air until I get there! In the interview I was asked about a driver's license though... Anyway, part of the what's making this tough is needing to find my own housing, transportation etc for me and the mrs. I think it'd be a great opportunity but it's gonna take a bit more research and financial management for us compared to all of the single students involved in the program.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well we decided to go for it! I'll be there this Fall and I'm really looking forward to it! Fingers crossed for the pilot's duties of course. And to the gentleman who wrote before this post, I got an email within a week of my interview inviting me to participate. Did you give them a call to see what their decision is?

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  • 4 weeks later...

Just for those who were asking regarding transportation and monorails in general, college program participants in monorails are no longer trained to drive from my understanding. Expect to be standing on the platform during your whole program if you get accepted into monorails. Sorry if this disappoints some people.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Just for those who were asking regarding transportation and monorails in general, college program participants in monorails are no longer trained to drive from my understanding. Expect to be standing on the platform during your whole program if you get accepted into monorails. Sorry if this disappoints some people.

 

 

That would be disappointing and while I appreciate your input, I'm curious when you gained this understanding. I've seen the same set of bullets for a description of this role for a few months now and I hope it isn't outdated. That would be frustrating. Here's the list I'm talking about--

 

"Transportation

Responsibilities may include:

• Greeting/interacting with Guests in the resort bus load zones

• Tracking bus intervals to various locations around the Walt Disney World Resort

• Keeping bus load zone areas clean

Operating monorails and/or watercraft vehicles including using on-board computers

• Assisting Guests with boarding and exiting vehicles

• Delivering narrations via microphone during trips

• Using a radio and understanding radio communication

• Answering Guest questions about Disney transportation

• Assisting with audience control

• Standing for extended periods, working outdoors

• A valid driver's license is required for this role"

 

(From: https://www.wdwcollegeprogram.com/sap/its/mimes/zh_wdwcp/students/role_descr/onstage.html with emphasis added)

 

So I'll be sure to give a firsthand account when I get there, whether I'm ushering people into the monorail, sweeping a bus stop or whatever fun assignments I'll have in my role.

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