❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I quickly learned during training that I really disliked TC. There’s just something about the work that I do there that just doesn’t jive with me. Esplanade especially bothers me because I’m so out of my element and I can never get comfortable there. It actually feels like I’m on stage when I’m there. 

I’ve found that I work the best at the structure. I’m so comfortable there that even a couple of the leads have started to trust me with bigger jobs there. They let me control the ramp lanes, traffic lanes, and they teach me a lot of new things. 

For a while, I felt like I wasn’t making much of a difference or an impression at my job, but surprisingly enough I was! One of the leads I work with the most asked me how long I had been with the company which at that point was about two months. He knew that I wasn’t planning on staying with the company after the program, but he said that if I did, I should consider applying to be a lead or a trainer. If that’s not a compliment I don’t know what is.

This really encouraged me to continue working hard even if I didn’t feel appreciated or that I was doing good work because I clearly was. I’m glad that the lead told me this because it really revived my morale.

I honestly do not remember much about these days since it was literally a month ago, but we went over a lot of material and practiced what we learned.

We learned about the different positions at the Mickey and Friends parking structure (aka the structure). We learned to park cars, control two lanes of traffic on a level, how to close off a level and move onto the next one below, and deal with guests. The most important part was learning the process of parking the structure since it was a little complicated and got a bit sticky at times.

On the first floor there are tolls, cast parking, and handicapped/disabled (ADA) and oversized parking. There’s a position called o-zone where you control the flow of traffic that comes from the tolls. This person can control up to 6 lanes of traffic at one time. You direct traffic based on the colored tags assigned at the tolls, each color meaning a certain thing such as yellow tags being ADA.

We also went around to tour all the other lots: Pumbaa, Simba, Downtown Lilo and Stitch, and Toy Story.

We would also take time out to read operational guides OG’s to get more in depth to procedures. We took one written exam which was all multiple choice. It was super easy and passed no problem. The trainers would feed us the questions and quiz us throughout the day. 

There was also a performance assessment where either a lead or another trainer would take us around the structure and ask us various questions similar to the ones on the written test. They also quizzed us on the point position where he/she is responsible for controlling traffic and where cars would park. 

If your results were unsatisfactory, you were assigned an extra day of training, but I passed without problems. It was a lot to learn and got plenty irritating at times, but I liked it a lot more than being inside the park. It’s fast-paced and busy so that’s always a plus.

Hope you guys liked this post, even if it was a bit lacking. It’s been a busy peak season at Disneyland. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

Call time was 7:30AM and we met at the main parking office which was off Ball and behind the Mickey and Friend’s parking structure. I met Paul, the first trainer. We waited for two others before heading off to costuming to get our costumes.

The sizes in costuming are so weird so it took me and another female coworker ages to figure out the proper sizing. The costume itself is simple: navy blue slacks or shorts, a white short sleeve button down shirt, a neon safety vest, a leather belt, all black shoes (which we could get ourselves). There are some extras like hats, rain gear, and jackets, but that was the basics of our costume. It’s not too bad compared to other costumes, though you still look like a human traffic cone.

After costuming we just went around the Disneyland again on another tour (for a grand total of three Disneyland tours in one week). Here we learned about the Fantasmic shifts where you would basically be recruited for crowd control (you would get a different costume and everything). 

We also went through Downtown Disney to learn what to do if we ever get a shift there too, though that’s highly unlikely. The procedures are usually the same or similar enough so it wasn’t hard to learn or easy to forget. 

After the tours we went back to the main office to log onto the Hub, the Disney site for its cast members. We also took a short assessment on what we learned that day. 

After the assessment we met one of the managers that oversees the new hires. There wasn’t any new information really, but more like meeting a new resource to help us assimilate into the department. 

By then it was time to clock out, which I was very thankful for. It was a lot of info for one day, but was the first of many info-filled days.

Hope you guys liked this post! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

So we made our way to DCA’s Cove Bar at Paradise Pier. We were in line for a little while before we finally got seated at the bar (which they usually card you, but for some reason they didn’t card us). 

We decided to split the nachos and hop on over to Disneyland after if we were still hungry. We also got strawberry lemonades, too! Let me tell you, these nachos have changed my life and I can never be truly satisfied with any other nachos. There was also just so much cheese!!!!! Even if they were overpriced nachos, I have zero regrets because they were just that good.

Here’s a lovely picture of dinner!

We finished up dinner, but decided we were full enough (the portion is actually gigantic so don’t be fooled!) We wandered for a bit in DCA and then I finally remembered to get a birthday pin from one of the info booths! My birthday was the day after and I had the day off so I wasn’t going to get a chance to get one anytime soon. 

I got the pin and was so so so excited to walk around like it was my birthday! I’m not one to make a big fuss about it being my birthday so this one indulgence made me really happy! My friend took a picture of me in front of Carthay Circle Theater, too! 

As we were leaving, a cast member greeted me “Happy birthday, princess!” and I giggled for a good while after. I just had the biggest grin on my face the whole time I was there. I may not like Disney as a company to work for (which I’ll explain in a reflection later on), they do what they do extremely well and now I know why so many people continue to visit and love Disney. 

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more!

Check-in time was the same as “Our California Story”, but we were separated into our roles. Mine was Park Operations so I was huddled in with people that were in custodial, attractions, etc. 

We were shuffled into the auditorium at TDA and went through a million PPT’s that had nothing to do with my role like reading labels on chemicals and park ride stuff. It was really cold in the auditorium so I was really suffering and kept falling asleep trying to battle this cold. 

After all of that, we went on one more tour of the resort. We met one of the many managers in each section. After meeting a RT&P manager, I was actually really happy to find out there was a lot of stuff for me to do in the future. We then met other departments like the attractions manager. 

Once we finished up the tour, we went back into the auditorium for a review of what we learned that day. What we learned, I honestly cannot remember because at that point I was ready to collapse into bed with some Nyquil. 

We finished around 5:30 and finally let go, but that wasn’t the end of my adventure for the day. I’m gonna save that for another post. 

I know this was a quick post, but the day was so so so boring and I was just so ridiculously sick all concentration flew out the window. 

Hope you guys liked this post! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

Call time was 8:30 so a great improvement from Traditions (an hour makes a real difference, let me tell you). After we checked in, DCA kids got shuttled from TDA to some classroom portables in DCA itself (right behind Cars Land). We got split into smaller tables labeled Trolley Car(s). We introduced ourselves to our tables before the teaching part started.

We had two hosts like we did in Traditions, but these two specifically teach about DCA. We got this huge guidebook about DCA’s history and specifics. The theme was storytelling and basically telling the story of Walt’s pursuit of his dreams in California and his connection to the state. They brought in guest, another cast member that drives the bright red trolleys inside DCA to tell a chunk of Walt’s story. 

Again we took breaks every 1.5-1.75 hours. After the first break we broke up again into groups to go on a tour of DCA. This tour was similar to the one we took on Traditions of Disneyland, though this one lasted for about twice as long and thus much more in depth. DCA has such a specific and special personality I’m super glad I went on this tour instead of the Disneyland one to be honest (even if my shoulders got extremely sunburned from being outside for so long).

We had lunch at DCA, though not at the theme park since that is bad show. We had lunch in a cafeteria (I still attest that Disney caf food is actually more than decent)

After the tour, we returned to the classroom to wrap up and review the story of Walt’s adventure in California. Once class was over, we shuttled back to TDA where we clocked out and headed home for the day. 

Hope you guys liked this post! Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more!

Call time for Traditions was a bright and early 7:30AM and I had never driven anywhere other than school at that time so I made sure I had plenty of time just in case I got lost (because I’m directionally challenged) or if there was a lot of traffic. 

I got to TDA, the main office/admin building for the resort, around 7AM--the same place as we had to go to for Casting Day. I chatted with some of the people I met the precious week at Casting Day. Around 8 they told us to alphabetize ourselves and received our hiring papers as well as signed in to get our ID cards (which allow us entry into the park as well as just about do everything else). 

We hung out in the auditorium for a while until the event kicked off and we met some staff that specifically “teach”/lead Traditions. We also watched some videos about the company before we were split into smaller groups and headed upstairs to Disney University (DU). 

We got to the classrooms where we then introduced ourselves to the class and watched more videos about the company and its culture, and general info about our future roles as cast members. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to speak about the content so I will refrain just in case. 

We’d take 15-min breaks every 1.5-1.75 hours. Not going to lie, it got really boring after a while. It was like a YouTube or Netflix binge about Disney. I learned a lot, but the magic wasn’t always there. 

We headed to lunch a bit before noon. We ate in the cafeteria which has pretty good food. It was kind of awkward at first since I didn’t know anyone, but I joined in some conversations and learned some cast member-only info about the company and the parks. It feels like I’m in a special club with all these secrets!

After lunch we went on a quick tour of just Disneyland. We jumped around from backstage to on-stage all the time. Backstage is seriously a maze. I have no idea have to navigate it at all. Again, the info I learned I’m not sure if I’m allowed to share so I will keep that confidential. 

After the tour, we went back to DU to review some content before watching one last video. When the video finished, we were greeted by our big-eared boss and finally earned our name tags! They’re actually covered in glitter and sparkle like no other. Right then and there I felt the magic, as produces as I knew it was, it was still really fun to participate in the magic and learn what makes Disney so special to so many people.

This wasn’t as long as I thought it would be, but that’s probably because I omitted the content and it’s also been a very long info-filled week so I’ve forgotten quite a bit. 

As always, hope you guys liked this post! Stay tuned for more!

My casting day was June 11th, so about a week ago. Call time was 10:30AM so I was up by 8 and out the door by 9:15 just in case there was traffic and let me just say, never underestimate the traffic around Disneyland/Anaheim. It’s crazy and packed and busy 100% of the time.

I arrived in the designated spot at the Casting part of Disney a little bit before 10AM. I hung out in my car for a bit just because I thought I was super early, but as it turns out there were about a dozen others that got there before I did. My social anxiety got the best of me for a majority of the morning so I stayed on my phone even though I kept telling myself everyone has that helpful, kind Disney spirit, but I just couldn’t bring myself to actually start conversation.

Moving on, by the time 10:30 rolled around we picked up a huge packet of paperwork to complete (on top of our pre-hire documents). We filled those out then brought them back to the casting office where we met with a internship counselor of sorts that went through some of the paperwork and we also took our pictures for our ID cards (YAY UNLIMITED PARK ENTRANCE!!!), though we won’t get those cards until Traditions--the first of three orientations prior to being added to the work schedule.

After our paperwork was submitted, we hung out in an auditorium to wait for other cast members to submit their stuff. They had Big Hero 6 playing and I walked in the scenes (SPOILER ALERT) before Tadashi died and I had to try really hard not to cry! I can’t believe they’d do that to us on the very first day! 

Anyway, everyone was almost done, but the overview of the internship was being put on hold for a little longer. The speaker, Claudia, who is an educational intern for the DCP challenged us to talk to the people around us since we were so quiet. Nobody was sitting next to me so I deiced to find the guts to turn around and talk to a couple of people behind me. Turns out they’re from the Bay Area so it was actually super awesome to be able to swap stories from Norcal and Socal! 

All the registration stuff was finally finished and Claudia came back on stage to show us a PowerPoint on the internship. Topics ranged from an extensive dress code (the “Disney Look”) to class overviews  (on top of working). Other educational DCP staff came up on stage and gave us their stories on how they came to be Cast Members, and a lot of them started as DCP students. 

The presentation concluded and everyone went out to grab lunch in the area or took the drug test. The drug test is required for anyone operating heavy machinery so jobs in park attractions or in my case parking/transportation. It was a long wait so I started chatting with a group of girls behind me. It really felt like the first day of school! 

At 3PM the same day, there was a welcoming party of sorts for all the local cast members. The theme was the new Disney movie “Inside Out”. That event itself is a doozy so I’m gonna make a separate post for that one.

Hope you guys liked this post! Stay tuned for more!

I had just started my first hospitality-related class after I switched out of architecture my first semester as a freshman when I learned about DCP. A classmate in the year above me had just come back from his time in Florida and he had so much to say about it. 

I thought the internship was something out of a fairytale and it would be impossible to get into--it’s Disney! Everyone would be fighting to claim a spot so that was a bit of a deterrent. Yet as the semester went on and the more I interacted with the upperclassman, I kept hearing about the benefits and experience he gained, and his success in looking for positions after. Of course he’s a stellar student and worker, but Disney really seemed to give him that edge I thought I needed. I still think I need that edge since I don’t have much experience otherwise. 

I wrestled with this chance for most of the past year and I finally decided that I should just apply and see where fate takes me. If I didn’t get in there was always a semester or two after to reapply and other positions out there for me. So this was just an option for a long time and I think it was important for me to think of it that way because then I wouldn’t drop the ball on any other opportunities that might come my way; truly do not put all your eggs in one basket. 

By the time applications rolled out in early February, I was fired up and so ready to put my best foot forward and give it my all even just for the application. My personal philosophy is to give everything you’ve got until the very end. See everything through with the best you have so that even if it’s a “failure”, you can say you tried your very hardest to succeed and that means just as much as achieving. 

Hope you guys liked this post! Stay tuned for more!