The Ultimate Guide to the Disney College Program . To help make the most out of your time in Orlando I’ve put together a detailed guide to assist you in picking out your roles, preparing for the phone interview, and finding the best roommates. If you have any unanswered questions after reading this don’t hesitate to reach out below in the comments. As I prepare for my first audition for Disney I wanted to find out exactly what it takes to be a Disney Princess and. Miscellaneous Requirements. You can also be a character if you are in the Disney College Program. Audition Experience; Disney Life; Other Opportunities; Audition Basics. What to Expect; What to Prepare; Other Tips; Hear from current cast. David is currently portraying the role of Marlin in Finding Nemo at Disney's. Becoming a Disney princess or parade performer is. Our experience with Disney Face Character and Parade Performer Auditions. The Disney College Program is a wonderful college “internship” program that allows. This is my personal experience with the DCP Character Performer auditions. I auditioned October 2013 for the Spring 2014 program. I’ll do my best to get back to you. Roles within the College Program. Attractions. Attractions is one of the most popular roles on the Disney College program. When you think of jobs within the theme park attractions is certainly one of them. It is also one of the most popular and most sought after roles so competition can be a little bit tougher than if you’re going after something like food and beverage. Cast members who work in attractions tend to say that the coworkers make or break the situation. Most people agree that your coworkers become more like family, so if you’re looking for good friendships this is certainly a good role for that. The downside to attractions is that you’re most likely only going to be trained on one or two rides and it can get a little monotonous doing the same thing over and over again all day. If you know for certain that you only want to work in one of the theme parks attractions should be high on your list. If you get an attractions role you know you’ll be working in one of the four theme parks or at Downtown Disney at Disney Quest. With other roles you can easily be placed inside a gift shop at a resort or at the Marketplace at Downtown Disney (soon to be renamed Disney Springs). Custodial. Custodial is one of the most misunderstood roles within the Disney College program, and arguably one of the best- kept secrets. The benefit of working custodial is that you have a lot of independence and free- reign to move around the park and do as you please. Custodial members are also referred to as custodial guest services. All You Need to Know About Dorms, Roommates, and Housing Costs (mouzekateerz.com) . The Disney College Program: All You Need to Know . The reason for this title is because custodial cast members are literally walking information stations within the theme park. If a guest has a question in regards to bathrooms, show times or even where they can find a specific piece of merchandise, a custodial cast member will most likely be the first available point of contact. With that being said, this is a role for those looking for lots of guest interaction. Yes, you’ll have to sweep the streets and pick up trash, but you’ll also get the benefit of watching the parades and pin training with guests. Most custodial cast members that I have spoken to agree that custodial is one of the best roles within the college program. Recreation. Recreation cast members to work in a variety of settings from the water parks to the Boat docks of downtown Disney or even the fishing hole located at the Port Orleans resort. If you’re someone who doesn’t really care about working inside the Magic Kingdom or one of the other theme parks then this is a role to consider. One of the most popular recreation roles for college program participants is to work as slide operations at Blizzard Beach, or Typhoon Lagoon. Slide operations is essentially the attractions role of the water parks. You can expect to help guests into their floats and prompt them when it’s safe to go down the slides. In the event of bad weather, the water parks will close and those working during the Florida rainy summer will learn to appreciate the paid breaks that come from those afternoon thunderstorms. Working at a marina such as the one found at Downtown Disney, or at a fishing location can be a very relaxed environment and much slower than the rest of the parks and resorts. Cast members who work in these environments tend to have mixed opinions. Some cast members complain that the day moves a little too slowly while others like the laid- back pace. Recreation cast members can also work as lifeguards. Most of the time Disney likes to see that you have some previous experience working as a lifeguard before placing you in this role. Lifeguards are paid and a premium and are one of the highest paid roles within the program. Hospitality. Cast members who get hired for roles in hospitality tend to be studying hospitality management at their University or have previous experience working in hotels. These roles are pretty predictable for anyone familiar with the hotel industry. You have your standard front desk, concierge, bellhop roles that are found in any hotel. Obviously you won’t be working inside one of the parks, but the hotels at Disney are very impressive and being in the air conditioning all day has its perks. Food and Beverage. Like only a few other roles, food and beverage cast members get paid a premium, but the work environment isn’t the greatest. Food and beverage locations tend to be very fast- paced and stressful. Imagine dealing with hundreds if not thousands of guests every day from all around the world and having to effectively communicate with each of them in order to correctly place their order. This can be somewhat frustrating and hungry guests can be rude at times. When it comes to the ranking the unhappiest positions within the college program this and being a character attendant tend to be high on the list. Keep in mind food and beverage does not limit you to working strictly in a theme park. Working in hotels or water park locations tends to be a little slower and more manageable. With that said, if you have experience working in a fast- paced food environment then this could be a great role for you. A Disney executive once spoke to one of my hospitality classes and said that stressful roles like food and beverage provide opportunities for cast members to shine. If your goal is to move up within the company it might be a good idea to take on a harder role with the mindset of putting in the extra effort to go above and beyond. The extra effort will get you noticed by management. Main Entrance Ops. Main entrance operations is pretty straightforward. You work at the front gates of the park and assist with entry. Now the Disney has rolled out their new ticketless program main entrance operations has become a lot easier with the exception of dealing with magic band issues. In this role you are likely one of the first interactions guest will have a cast member upon getting to Disney so going that extra mile by being personable and friendly can really help get the guests off to a great start. Working main entrance operations can be a little monotonous but by injecting your personality into the role you can really make or break this job. Seldom do I hear from cast members who dislike working in this area. Photopass. Photopass is a really cool within the college program. If you’ve taken any sort of visual art classes like photography or film be sure to put that on your resume, but having previous experience as a photographer is not a requirement. One of the cool parts about working photopass is that you can work in any of the parks, resorts, or waterparks and your location shifts throughout the day. At the beginning of your shift you get your first assignment for the day and throughout the day you’ll rotate to various photopass locations in that area. I hear from a lot of photopass photographers that they really like this because it breaks up the day and gives them an opportunity to work with new people. In the morning you could be working with the princesses and in my afternoon you could be on Main Street taking pictures in front of the castle. There is a lot of bending in this role and holding the camera all day can get a little tiring, but overall most really have no complaints. Character Attendant. The character attendant role is hit or miss. You really need to have thick skin in order to be successful at this role. I’ve heard numerous stories from attendants who’ve been spit on, cussed out, and even punched by guests. The reasoning behind these crazy stories is that character attendants have to be the bad guy and cut the line at the end of a meet and greet. Most guests will understand, but you will always get that one who puts up a fight to get their kid in the line. Also, working with characters can be somewhat stressful. Not to knock anyone but some entertainment cast members have reputations for their diva like personalities (looking at you princesses). I’m not saying all characters are bad, but some tend to think that working for the mouse is equivalent to being a Broadway star. The benefits to being character attendant is that it is a global position, meaning that you can work in any of the four parks. Attendants also don’t have to worry about dealing with money or ride breakdowns, which some people find stressful. Merchandise. Merchandise is fairly straightforward. You’ll most likely be working in one of Disney’s many gift shops. Typical responsibilities include working the cash register, stocking, and keeping the store tidy. If you choose merchandise you have a high chance of being placed indoors, but that isn’t always a guarantee. Some locations like Mainstreet actually rotate cast members between the stores and outside stands. You could also be place inside a resort or at Downtown Disney. One benefit to this role is that it’s pretty easy to pick up shifts at other locations. Keep in mind some merchandise locations like Goofy’s Candy Company work primarily with food. Costuming. Costuming is a behind- the- scenes role where cast members help keep the rest of cast’s uniforms show- ready. There is still a lot of interaction involved with this role, but it’ll be with other cast members. Some costuming CPs will have the opportunity to work on one of Disney’s entertainment production, meaning they will work exclusively on preparing the cast’s outfits and getting them ready for show- time. Overall, costuming is a very laid back role, in fact some people dislike it because they don’t get to work in the actual park. If you’re a little more introverted then this is a good role for you. Character Performer. Character performer roles are by far the most in demand roles on the college program.
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