Breaking the CP Stigma

You're a CP...and everyone knows it

     It's just a fact, at the start of your CP it's gonna be a little uncomfortable going into your new workplace that will most likely be temporary while you are surrounded by people who do it full time. It took me weeks to feel fully comfortable and accepted in my role at Disney. No one was super talkative toward me, my role did not have a ton of other CPs and I felt alone. But it did not last forever and it shouldn't for you either.

     Don't be lazy, prove you are trying and doing your best to learn. At the end of the day that's all anyone wants or cares about, it's when you slack off and show you don't care...then your fellow cast members will never accept you. Also be social with them, no matter their age you share a role at Disney with them. I had cast members my age and ones twice my age and managed to become great friends with all of them.

     The stigma that comes along with being a CP is not permanent. If you work hard and prove your there to learn and enjoy work, they will accept you. Some of the best people I met in Disney were the full time or part time cast members at Port Orleans.

Making the Most of your Time

If you work nights, go out in the morning...

     Whether you do your DCP for 4 months, 6 months or extend up to a year, you have a lot of time and opportunity you have to enjoy everything Disney has to offer. It's also easy to let it all slip away and it took me a few weeks to realize this.

     The mornings are not only some of the best times to be at the parks because it's usually less crowded, often times it may be your only time to go because of your work schedule. For me, my shifts started at either 1, 2, or 3:30 PM...consistently...every week. I worked 6 morning shifts out of my 4 months and 5 of those were just for training. After that, I was assigned to be a true CP (closing personnel), so the best advice I can give is expect it and don't get upset about it.

     That being said, if you are anything like me and primarily looked to be at the parks as often as possible, get used to going for 3 or 4 hours in the morning before work. Since the parks usually opened up at 9, there is plenty of time to get a few rides in. Of course, this is substantially easier when you have a car as I did, but if you are motivated enough, you can do it while riding Transtar.

     Sleep is for the weak. And I lived by this everyday I was there. I was consistently getting my body used to waking up between 8 and 9, just to get to the parks before work and I do not regret it. Some days I may have only gotten 6 hours of sleep, but that's what coffee is for.

     I was a major advocate of hitting DAK on these mornings because I could usually get my 3 major attractions done in a small period of time and it was usually the least crowded. I'd get there, hit Kilimanjaro Safaris, see the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock Festival of the Lion King show and made sure I rode Everest either after the Safari or the Lion King depending on wait times or when I showed up. Although I only did it once (primarly cause of $$$) go to Tusker House for the character breakfast! It was about $25 with the cast member discount and it has a massive breakfast buffet to dive into. I went HAM on the Mickey Waffles as you should and its never a bad thing starting your day off with some characters!

     I did Magic Kingdom a couple of times before work but only when I worked later since getting there is so time consuming. If you drive, you almost have to account for about an hour of travel to get to the main gate since you park at the TTC and it just takes a while. But to get a ride on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear...well worth it.

     All in all, become a morning person and go have fun! Don't leave your CP regretting not going to the parks more!

     

CP Housing Options

To me, they were basically the same...

     This will be a decision everyone will need to make when completing your DORMS application. Choosing between Vista Way, Patterson, Chatham or The Commons can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. There are plenty of minutia details that can be the primary decision makers but overall, they are all pretty equal and mediocre. It's a roof over your head and you gotta pay regardless so what're ya gonna do.

     The Commons is the newest but also the most expensive of the 4. They benefit from having in unit laundry which is nice and host all the housing meetings. But your distance from Chatham to catch Transtar is the furthest.

     Chatham and Patterson  (in my opinion) are two in the same and only a stones throw away from each other. Chatham benefits from being the hub for all the Transtar buses but from what I was told Patterson had a nicer gym. The unit themselves are generally the same though.

     Vista Way lived up to every reputation it had. The people who lived there either loved it or hated it, and the ones who loved it loved to party and didn't mind the lack of quality. The others hated the partying and we're salty about how poor the apartments were.

     Pricing for all units is gonna be between $90-$140 if I'm not mistaken. And that'll all depend on how many people are in a unit and how many bedrooms.  Overall don't stress about where you'll live, if you are anything like me, you'll barely be there anyway, only to sleep and shower.

California Grill

Expensive yes...worth it...also yes

     Now first off, if you wanna go to California Grill make your reservation as soon as you know your are doing your DCP and put the money aside for it, otherwise you will likely be unable to do it when you are here. That being said the way this all worked out for me is pretty crazy but at the end of the day I could not have been happier that I went and had the opportunity to eat there because aside from Victoria & Albert's, California Grill is the next best restaurant on Disney property.

     As soon as I found out I got accepted I immediately started bringing up with family and friends, who was visiting and when. So all the way back in March, months before my arrival, I made the reservation for California Grill for myself, my brother and his girlfriend to eat at when they were planned to visit. I had been looking forward to it for months and unfortunately they could not make it for financial reasons. But there was no way I was cancelling this reservation because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

     Therefore between my arrival and the date of the reservation I had been stressing about who I would ask to come and if anyone at all would be able to afford coming. Everyone doing the CP knows how expensive this place is and not everyone is in the financial place to afford such a meal. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough that two of my roommates and one of my other friends were willing to drop the coin on this meal and were just as excited to join me.

     I was massively nervous when I got my work schedule for the week of this reservation when I saw I was scheduled on this day, but lucked out because I was out of work with enough time to get to the Contemporary. 

     We arrived at the Contemporary about 45 minutes before our reservation just to wander around and explored the hotel. None of us had ever been in the Contemporary before, other than cruising through on the monorail. So we took our time, perused the shops they had and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a great time to just relax and enjoy the fact that we have this opportunity to be in Disney and do this kind of thing leisurely.

     We finally went to the restaurant for dinner and from the moment you get up there it is unreal the views you have. You can see over the entire Seven Seas Lagoon, inside all of Magic Kingdom with a great look into Tomorrowland and you are even able to see EPCOT from the observation deck. We took our time and enjoyed our meal just mind blown at everything they had to offer. The perk of eating at Cali Grill is you are able to come back to the restaurant to watch the fireworks in Magic Kingdom. It was great that we had the reservation on a night of MNSSHP so we got to come back later and watch Hallowishes. 

     We had about 2 hours to kill between the end of our dinner and the fireworks, so we spent time out on the observation deck taking in the views and taking pictures and then went back downstairs to roam around the resort again.Watching the fireworks from atop the Contemporary is amazing. We were so high up it felt like we were in line with the height of the fireworks and you get a great view of the all the perimeter fireworks as they pop off. End of the day, if you have the opportunity to get a reservation, DO IT! You will not regret it!

Being a Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter

How y'all doing welcome to Port Orleans!

     And welcome to being a Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter at a Moderate Resort at Disney. This role is genuinely what you make it, you have a fair amount of freedom without management or guests constantly watching your every move. That being said when managers are around, you never get stressed about if your doing it right or not because it's so simple. And when guests enter and exit the property, you simply interact with them as you see fit, just always say hello and have fun!

     For my resort, being a moderate, we had a few different positions you could have for a shift...luggage greeter, lane greeter, dispatch and transfers. Each nearly as easy as the last. During a luggage greeter shift, your primary responsibilities are to greet guests coming off the Disney Magical Express (DME) from the airport or returning from the parks, wish them well as they depart the resort for the airport or head to the parks, answer any questions they have and store their luggage when necessary. Lane greeter is essentially the same, but rather than store luggage you are more responsible for keeping the lane where cars pull in and out clear and making sure no one parks there. Transfer shifts were some of my favorite and you'll realize you are literally "making the magic" for guests. So....when guests change resorts during their stay, they can have us move their bags from resort to resort for them rather than taking them themselves. That's where the transfer shift comes in, you drive the big 'ol transfer van full of luggage to the resorts that guests are moving to. Each day your trip length will vary, I've been done in 30 minutes while other days I'd be gone 5 hours. Once your done with the transfer shift, you'll return to your resort and do a normal luggage greeter shift until your 8 hours are up. 

     Lastly you have dispatch, this is where your job can get stressful but not to the point where you'll break down. You'll be in front of the computer answering phones and putting in work orders for bellmen to deliver bags to rooms. It took nearly a month and a half before I got trained for this part of my role because it requires you to take a class at DU but it's not terrible. The system you'll use is super simple and once you understand it you can do it in your sleep.

     And there you have the Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter role at a moderate resort. If you end up at a Deluxe Resort, basically eliminate the greeter roles. You'll only be doing dispatch, transfers and luggage room, where you stand at the bell service desk and get luggage from the luggage room when guests need it.

     At the end of the day I loved my role and the people I got to work with. I had a ton of fun at work once I got comfortable there and the fellow cast members became some of my best friends!