EPCOT Information

Here's a little bit of info about where I will be working...

Travel thee to jolly old England, where you can stroll through an informal area with a 1500s-style thatched-roof cottage and canal or stop to catch the beat of the British Invasion at a formal square with a Hyde Park bandstand. Find a bounty of British toys at The Toy Soldier, unique clothing at the Sportsman Shoppe, English perfumes and soaps at the Queen's Table, and more authentic British goods at other delightful shops. Enjoy fish and chips at the renowned Rose & Crown Pub and Dining Room. And don't miss the one-and-only Pam Brody and the comical World Showcase Players, entertainers sure to tickle your fancy.

Merchandise

Left side of street (all shops connected):

The Tea Caddy (location on map)Sells Twinings Tea and accessories, sweets, chocolate, crisps, etc. Gets quite crowded!Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (rotate between)Costume: UK Merch costume (see below)

Magic of Wales (location on map)This shop used to be all Welsh merch, but recently there seems to be less of it, and more general tea pots and the like. You can still find love spoons and other traditional Welsh gifts.Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (rotate between)Costume: UK Merch costume

Queen's Table (location on map)Perfumes (horrid stuff, mostly), soaps, etc. Possibly the quietest of the UK merch locations.Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (rotate between)Costume: UK Merch costume

Right side of street (all shops connected):

The Toy Soldier (location on map)Toys, of course! Lots of Winnie the Pooh stuff, but also Paddington Bear, toy soldiers, and more.Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (rotate between)Costume: UK Merch costume

Crown and Crest (location on map)Small shop in between the busy Toy Soldier and Sportsman Shoppe. Sells Beatles merch, chess sets, and pub accessories (glasses, coasters, etc.).Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (rotate between)Costume: UK Merch costume

Sportsman Shoppe (location on map)Sports-related merch (football jerseys, golf, rugby, Wimbledon-branded clothing).Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (rotate between)Costume: UK Merch costume

On the promenade:

Merchandise Carts (location on map)A number of carts on the promenade sell British souvenirs, pins, etc.Positions: Cash/stocking/cleaning (you do it all!)Costume: UK Merch costume

Official Disney Stuff

Information pack received at interview: The Disney Look book, luggage tags and stickers which have to be worn when arriving in Orlando (so that the Disney people know who you are!):
Welcome booklet:

And a funny Disney picture...just because:

Hello!

I've recently received my Disney paperwork - woop woop! It all looks so shiny and fun, although the "Disney Look" book is a little OTT. I believe there is actually a page depicting which moustaches are and are not suitable! Ah well, I suppose when you think about it, the fact that Disney is quite strict about appearance and rules does show through when you are in the parks. Their staff are always happy, clean, well presented and it does make it a better place.

Amongst all the paperwork was an official acceptance letter which I have signed and sent back to the guys in Flrorida. Next up, I have to have a CRB check, I am currently filling out the form for this. After that I will be trying to book a flight for December. Yummy Jobs seem to have a good partnership with STA Travel, so I will be contacting them and hopefully will get a very reasonably priced flight.

After my CRB check and flights have been booked I then have to sort out some medical insurance, save some money for my trip and then finally, about a month before going to WDW I will have a Visa appointment at the US Embassy in London.

I have already set up a countdown, I think that I currently have 235 days, 12 hours and 13 minutes to go until the day I depart!! Can you tell I'm excited about going?!

Anyway, aside from my year in WDW, I will be going there for a holiday after I finish uni so at least I have that to look forward to in the meantime! It'll give me a good chance to scope out where I will be working. Although we've been to WDW several times (and I'm talking double figures here!) we've never really taken the time to take in EPCOT and the different countries represented.

This time I plan on taking my camera and getting some shots of the shops I'll be working in, the costume I have to wear and hopefully, the housing complex I'll be staying in! At least this way when people say to me "are you going to be Minnie Mouse?!" I can say "um, nope, I'll be a milk maid". (Apparently the people who designed the UK pavillion think that we all dress like milk maids! You'll see what I mean when I can find a picture of the costumes.)

That's all folks!

Ooops, sorry, I should probably say something "Disney" rather a saying from Warner Bros....so in the words of Mickey Mouse...

"See ya real soon!"

Drama, drama, drama...

Well, it's been a while since I updated this but I have had good reason! I'll start at the very beginning...the interview.

I was up at 5am, so that I could catch a train just after 6am. This is when the first drama occurred. It managed to take an age to de-ice my car which made me a little late. Then, when I got to the station the car park ticket machine decided to take my money without giving me a ticket! So I went inside and asked for a hand written ticket, again making me a little late. After putting the ticket in my car I decided to check the machine and lo and behold my money had come out at the bottom...free parking for the day!

Anyway, I managed to get to London Waterloo in good time and found the restaurant where the interviews were taking place. I walked in, thinking that I was early and found several people already there. Most of them had come from the North and had left at around midnight the night before. And there's me thinking I had a long journey!

We all had a chat, filled in forms and got to know each other before being sent into a meeting room for the presentation. This was soooooo cheesey! But very Disney. It was quite a fun presentation actually and I even managed to win a mouse mat for answering a trivia question correctly. Yippeeee!

After the presentation we were all split up into pairs and given interview times. I had a while to wait so I went for a wander with some other girls and then we went back and read some of the leaflets provided.

My interview was ok, but afterwards I got really upset because none of my answers I gave were the same as the answers I had in my head, and in all honesty I was convinced I'd blown it. On the way home I missed the train by about 10 seconds which made me more angry and when I eventually got on a train an hour later I had a very lonely and emotional journey home.

So, having had the interview, thinkning it had gone badly and really wanting to get the position, I, like lots of other hopefuls, waited for the call or email which would tell me whether or not I got the job. Then on Monday the dreaded email came...

"Many thanks for attending the recent interviews for the Walt Disney World International Programs!
Disney was very pleased with the amount of interest we received from applicants across the country wanting to participate in Disney’s Cultural Representative Program. Your qualifications, along with those of other applicants, made their decision a challenging one. Participant selections were made after much evaluation and deliberation.
The standards were extremely high and at this time Walt Disney World are not able to offer you a position on the Cultural Representative Program. Disney will keep your details on file until October 2008 and if a position becomes available we will be in touch."

I thought this was the end of the road so I emailed them back and asked if I could apply for other programs at Disney World. The people at Yummy then emailed me back saying that I was not unsuccessful and I was on the waiting list, however I could apply for other jobs.

After this I felt better and was planning on beginning the LONG application process again when, this morning, the phone rang! It was Michele from Yummy jobs offering me a position in Merchandise at the UK Pavillion at Epcot from the December 2nd 2008!! I could not stop screaming down the phone at her! She told me all the details and asked if I would like to accept the offer...um...let me think about that?! YES YES YES!

So, you are now looking at a future Walt Disney World employee. I cannot wait to start, but still have a long way to go. There's all the paper work, a criminal record check and a visa application to go through. Not to mention finding flights and sorting out a job here so that I can save some money to take out there with me.

Well, that's all for now I think. Lots of drama this week! xx

Preparing for London...

Well, it's nearly time for my interview in London and the nerves are starting to kick in! I'm mostly excited and have been on the WDWIP forums talking to people about what to wear and the types of questions might come up in our interviews. However I am a little worried because there seem to be a lot of people going for interviews the day after me but not very many on the same day! Hopefully there are others out there somewhere.

I'm very proud of how prepared I am, I've been to the station and bought my return train ticket to London (not bad at £28!) and have bought a snazy folder to put all of my important documents in. I considered buying a Mickey Mouse folder but decided it may be overkill! That, and the fact that the Disney folders were about tripple the price of my the folder I actually bought.

Tomorrow's challenge is to go shopping to find some "professional attire" which I have been requested to wear. As I am a uni student, my wardrobe is full of hoodies, jeans and basic t-shirts so I don't really think any of these really equates to being "professional"!? My plan is to go to Next (or New Look if I decide to save my pennies!) and get some nice, smart trousers and a crisp shirt. I'm not one for wearing a suit jacket so I think I wil just wear a smart cardigan instead. Hopefully this will be ok.

I think that's it for now, I just have to contact a few friends who live in London and ask if they want to meet up (you know who you are), but other than that I'mall sorted! I'll post again next week once I've had my day of London fun. I just can't believe how quickly this all seems to be happening. Hopefully the interview will be great and I will be able to keep this blog going for the next year or so!

I've got an interview!

That was fast...literally as soon as I posted my first post on this blog, I have received an email from Yumy Jobs (the company in-charge of recruiting UK participants) inviting me to the next stage of interviews!

Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Now I just have to arrange my trip to London in March and make sure I don't have any Uni work/presentations due that week. I'm soooo excited now, I can't wipe the smile off my face!

The Beginning

Hi All!

Well, it would seem I've jumped on the band wagon and started my very own Disney related blog. I just hope that by doing so I am not tempting fate, seeing as I haven't actually been offered a place on the Disney programme yet!

I've officially applied to go on Disney's Cultural Representative Programme in Walt Disney World, Florida. So far I've submitted my application and had my phone interview with Jason (a very cool dude!) and am now waiting to hear whether or not they want to see me at the face-to-face interview in Hammersmith in March. I can tell you, I only had my interview on Saturday but have been tentatively checking my emails every 5 minutes to see if I've been invited to the f2f!

Lots of people have asked me what this programme is about and why I want to do it and my answer to that is that I am in love with Disney! Since going to WDW for the first time in 1992 I have constantly tried to persuade my family that they want to go back, again and again and again....well, you get the picture! It's got to be one of the most magical and fun places to work in the whole world, plus it means I can live in the warm sunshine for a whole year!

If I'm lucky enough to get on the programme I will be living in the Disney area with hundreds of other cast members (that's what Disney staff are called) from all sorts of different countries. In fact the 11 countries which are represented in EPCOT, which coincidentally is where I would be working! I could be placed in either food & beverage or merchandise and when I'm not working I'll have the chance to play in the parks, yippeeeeeeee!

Of course, none of this is actually definite yet as I've not been offered a position, but I'm ever hopeful and will keep you posted! In the meantime, if you'd like to know more about the programme have a look at www.wdwip.com.