Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride

More like an East Coast Train Ride, how I'm getting to The Most Magical Place on Earth

      A decision you'll end up having to make once you are accepted into the DCP is how am I gonna get to The Most Magical Place on Earth? Of course, for everyone this will be different because we are all from different places so I can only speak for how I am getting down there, but we all generally have the same options; driving, flying or (if possible) riding the train. Each have their pros and cons of course, and I had to do a fair amount of debating and contemplating before finally deciding on taking the train from Virginia. So I'll break down my thought process for each.

My drive from NJ to the train station in Lorton, VA.

      Flying: I almost instantly ruled out flying because, to me, it was a major inconvenience. Having lived in apartment style housing for past 2 years of school, I know what I want/need to bring with me and flying just would not allow for that to happen. On top of some stuff needing to be shipped down after I arrive to Orlando because we don't get our addresses until we are down there, so that just didn't help at all. Lastly, cost. From the ticket, to transportation to and from the airport, to (likely) a hotel room for the day prior to check in, it was just too much to handle.

      Driving: Being on the east coast and the drive only being 16/17 hours, this was heavily considered. I would've ended up driving my Honda Civic, loaded up with my stuff, with my Dad and then flying him home after check in. I could bring (for the most part) everything I needed, have my car and spend some quality time with my Dad. But once we did out the cost of driving down (from the gas to hotel rooms to Dad's plane ticket home) we discovered it would cost about the same as taking the train down, so we chose the train.

      Train (Auto-Train): Until my Mom mentioned what the "Auto-Train" was, this had never even flown across my radar. All it is is a typical train ride, but they have cars designated to load and transport passenger's cars. We had agreed that having my car with me would be a "necessity" (more like a luxury) so we wanted to explore all of our options, and the Auto-Train turned out to be the best. I could have my car, bring as much stuff as I needed and avoid the work of driving all the way down to Orlando. It costs roughly the same as driving and it just SO MUCH more convenient.

The train ride from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL.

      It's settled, I'm taking the train. Now its a little bit of a pain cause its roughly a full 36 hour journey from when I'll leave my house to when I'll arrive at my hotel the day before check-in, but it'll be well worth it. The train leaves on Aug. 29th, two days prior to my check-in but arrives in Florida Aug. 30th, so I'll only have to kill about half a day. It leaves at 4PM from Lorton, VA and arrives in Sanford, FL at 9:30 AM the following day;  about 45 minutes from Vista Weeeeey. Therefore, I'll end up leaving my house in NJ between 8-9 AM to get to Lorton around 12-1 PM because they start loading cars at 11:30 AM and stop at 2:30 PM. Once I arrive in Florida, I'll get my car off the train and drive straight to my hotel near Vista Weeeeeeeey and chill for the remainder of the day.

      For those going from the east coast looking to take their car, I'd recommend the Auto-Train because of its convenience, general affordability and ease of travel. There are no weight restrictions for how much stuff you can load into your car and then you just sit on the train overnight and (hopefully) sleep through the night. Best of luck and safe travels to all!

When Will My Life Begin

When will my program get here, the anticipation/expectations build

My trip in 2012. #Mexico

      Ever since I got accepted to the DCP, I have basically been counting down the days until my arrival date of August 31st. Even knowing how much I have to do from now until then between school and a summer internship, it doesn't help the fact that I am a Disney geek/nerd/call me what you want I love Disney! And, when I think about it, I have barely experienced all that WDW has to offer since I have only been 3 times in my 20 years of existence on this planet. My first trip was in 2000 when I was in kindergarten and I have a few vague, fuzzy memories from that visit; I went again in 2005 when I was in 4th grade, I have more vivid memories of that trip, primarily skipping Haunted Mansion with my Grandpa cause I was scared, getting a turkey leg and the going into the Hall of Presidents. And lastly, my most recent trip was in 2012 when I graduated high school and we did so much in such little time, I had a ton of fun but it was hard to enjoy everything because we were so rushed. Therefore, its easy to say that knowing I will have 4 months of free admission to the parks is filling me up with anticipation and expectations of what I could do and enjoy.

      In terms of these expectations, I can place them in 2 categories, work expectations and play expectations; let's start with the work ones:

• First things first, I understand that everyone who is accepted into the DCP is accepted to be a Cast Member and it isn't necessarily a, "vacation." So right away, I am prepared to work...A LOT! As DCPs we are basically the bottom the of the totem pole, I am prepared to get the worst hours and work a ton of those worst hours, but you also have to view it from a positive perspective. We are accepted to work and this work experience opens us up to learn so much and gain so much that it should not be taken for granted. I want to uphold those Disney standards, and, as a Cast Member at my resort, I will likely end up being the first face guests see when they enter Disney property, so I want to make those magical moments for everyone. 
• Next, I cannot wait to find out where I work! I discovered that the Value resorts do not have bell service so when I realized I will be at one of the Moderate or Deluxe resorts I was over the moon! I have only stayed on Disney property once, and it was back in 2000 at Port Orleans and I only have vague memories of it, so having the chance to work at one of these resorts will be awesome! Ideally, I'd want to work at a resort on the Magic Kingdom monorail loop (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, or Contemporary) but no matter where they place me, I'm going to be PUUUMPEDD! 
• Third, most of the money I make is probably going right back into WDW. It's true and I'm sure Disney knows this too, even though I'm gonna go into it with the intentions of making and saving money, I know that once I am there, I'm gonna end up spending most of my paychecks on food and various shenanigans at the parks. And after talking to one of my classmates who did the program before, she basically just cemented that for me. So yeah, the sooner I accept that the better. 
• Lastly, I hope to form strong relationships with my co-workers and supervisors. This is a goal I will have for all of my jobs but even more at Disney because it is a company I want to build a career with. I was extremely lucky this past summer to have built strong bonds with the front office staff at the Hyatt and still keep in touch with them today, so I hope to be able to do the same while I am working at Disney.

      When it comes to my expectations outside of work, let's just say I'm gonna aim REAL HIGH and know that it's unlikely everything will be met.

• First and foremost, I am super excited and super nervous to meet new people and make new friends. At the end of the day, most people are entering the program the same way they entered college, without knowing anyone, and that's me. I have met a few people through Facebook groups but that does not change that when I arrive on August 31st, I will be overwhelmed by the number of people and having to make friends all over again. But, its one of those things I just need to let happen naturally and try to not stress about. 
• Next, I want to go the parks, A LOT! Having only been to WDW 3 times prior to this, I want to make the most of having free admission for 4 months, so I want to get the parks whenever I can. It is my hope that most of the people doing the program will have the same anticipation, but I won't know until I get there.
• Avoiding being in my apartment a lot, besides just going to the parks just getting out and doing stuff in and around Orlando or participating in housing events. I am pretty sure there are intramurals for CPs; and if there are, I want to get involved! I have participated in athletics since I was 5 up until I finished high school and now I just go to the gym every day, I miss playing!

      At the end of it all, my excitement builds every day closer we get to August 31st. Like I have said, I'm sure my friends and family are sick of me talking about how excited I am but I don't care; this is who I am, this is what I love and this is my dream come true! Living vicariously through YouTube and every other form of media on the internet is all I can do for now, but my anticipation for this program will never die down, it'll only continue to grow! 

When You Wish Upon an Application

Waiting to hear back is gonna be rough, but you'll be alright

      By now, you have done everything you can to give yourself the best chance to get accepted into the Disney College Program for your desired role and you are now forced to wait....and wait....and wait for what seems like eternity. Like waiting for Space Mountain at 3 PM in the middle of July or standing in the 300 minute line at Princess Fairy Tale Hall to meet Anna and Elsa, its going to be a struggle, but you will make it. Like most things in life, your patience will be rewarded. For me, everyday was like mental agony! They told me, "we begin to make most of the hiring decisions at the beginning of March,"...THAT WAS A FULL MONTH FROM WHEN I FINISHED MY PHONE INTERVIEW! The only thing that kept me sane was being super tied up with school and work for the 20 days I had to wait to get my acceptance e-mail, and I recommend doing the same. The busier you are able to keep yourself while you are waiting to hear back, the easier waiting will be. But if you are as much of a Disney freak as I am you know, no matter how busy you keep yourself, it will always be in the back of your mind. And every time an e-mail comes in to your phone, you will jump and hope its subject line reads reads, "Congratulations!"

      And even though 9 times out of 10 it was either a spam email from my school or something completely non-Disney related, when that e-mail did come in, and it was from Disney, I borderline lost it in the middle of class. Yeah, I got my acceptance e-mail in the middle of class, no worse time, and on top of that, I would've grabbed my bag and straight up left mid-class if I did not have to do a presentation later in said class. So, I saw the e-mail, saw the subject line, and took a step out from class, read the e-mail, found out my role, basked in my own happiness and gave a good Tiger Woods fist pump and went back to class. And I sat there with a ridiculous grin on my face and my leg tapping the whole time because of how excited I was. When I left that class though I could not wait to drain what little I had left of my phone battery to tell the people I cared about most that my dream had finally come true, I AM GOING TO DISNEY WORLD! Every now and again in life you will have feelings of euphoria that are difficult to describe; being accepted for the DCP will give you this feeling!
      Now, one thing Disney does not tell you is that you will have one week from the day you receive your e-mail to accept or decline (but let's face it, your going to accept ASAP, its WDW, how could you not) and you must put down a $350 deposit to essentially hold your spot in the program for housing purposes (but again, its Disney, $350 is a small price to pay for 4-6 months at the most magical place on Earth). So I got back to my room, opened the e-mail on my laptop, placed my deposit and from then on out, nearly every moment of every day has been filled with anticipation and excitement, I'm going to Disney World and I'm gonna have the time of my life!

The DCP Phone Interview

Tips to defeat the DCP phone interview

      So by now you have your phone interview scheduled for a number of days after you completed the web-based interview; and you're probably asking yourself, "What is my interviewer going to ask me?" And I can tell you, there are a few staple questions they are definitely going to ask you, and then there will be a few grab bag, more role specific based questions they are going to ask you. Now, in this post, I will only share the questions I was asked because I do not want to start tossing out false info to you guys. So, because of my major, the contents of my resume, my cover letter and the roles I put most of my interest in, my role based questions were directed toward the Hospitality (Front Desk) role and the Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter role. So here they are:

1. Why do you want to do the Disney College Program?
2. How will the Disney College Program help you professionally?
3. How would you confront a roommate about a conflict you had with them?
4. What have your previous living conditions been at school?
5. What positions do you feel you are most qualified for?
6. Are you comfortable working long hours in both indoor and outdoor environments?
7. What was one of the longest days at work you have had and what kept you motivated that day?
8. What has your past work experience been?
9. How would you handle communicating with a guest who speaks a foreign language?
10. How would you handle a repeat guest who always stays in the same room during every visit, but that room is not available during their stay?
11. Have you had experience working bell staff before?
12. Are you familiar with the Disney look?
13. How would you make a guest feel special?
14. As a member of the bell staff, how would you leave a lasting impression on a guest as they are leaving the resort?

      Out of these questions, the ones I can almost guarantee you will be asked are the general ones, like 1 and 2, any of the ones that are specifically about guest interactions within a resort, those will be reserved for the people applying specifically for the resort roles.

      As soon as I scheduled my phone interview, I almost immediately started Googling "DCP

Interview Questions." There are plenty of resources out there that post their interview questions so you can search beyond just mine to find what you need. Once I narrowed down the questions I should be preparing for, I typed them up in a Word document and then typed, verbatim, how I wanted to answer the questions. Once I did this, I practiced and practiced and practiced to the point where I would shower in the mornings and be able to remember the questions and answers no problem. And although it may be difficult to pull off with roommates or even alone, I recommend doing the same thing. Once you are comfortable and confident with how you want to answer the interview questions, you will destroy the phone interview (in a good way).
      Once you reach the day of the interview, you will likely be nervous and excited all at the same time, I know I was. If you have practiced for the interview, you will be fine, I guarantee it. A tip that I have heard a number of times and have even taken is, to dress professionally even though it is just a phone interview. It works for me because it makes me play the part of a professional and whenever I wear professional clothing I feel 10x more confident then when I'm wearing street clothes or sweats.
      Now, you have reached the point where your interviewer should call you soon. They will say give 15 minutes leeway both before and after your scheduled time. I had mine scheduled for 7:15 PM, 7 PM rolled around and I sat at my desk with my phone, waiting patiently. 7:15 comes and goes, still nothing, 7:30, still nothing, 7:40 I start sweating and getting real nervous, 7:45 and the phone starts ringing and my stress levels immediately spike, but because I practiced my interview, I felt confident the whole way through. The length of the interview will ultimately depend on the length of your answers because the interviewer really just asks questions and records your answers, my interview was about 25 minutes.
      Once the interview is over, they will ask you if you have any questions for them, AND YOU WILL! No matter the interview, no matter the job you always want to ask the interviewer questions, it shows you are interested in the company and the position. The questions I asked were:

1. Did you do the Disney College Program?
2. How did you start your career at Disney?

In retrospect I easily could have asked more, but I got accepted and still would not change a single thing about how I went about my phone interview. After all of this, the biggest tip I will emphasize is PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE, it really does make a difference and you will only help yourself by doing so!

One Jump Ahead...of the Application

 Tips to give you the best chance of getting accepted    

      So like any other Disney fan who grew up with The Lion King, Toy Story and Finding Nemo (just to name a few) Walt Disney World has been and always will be a place I LOVE. So the minute I put together that WDW was the mecca of hospitality, I was majoring in hospitality and working there could be an invaluable experience...OMG HOW DO I GET A JOB THERE!? Now, this does not mean that you NEED to be a hospitality major to participate or benefit from the program, from what I have read, heard and know, Disney holds its Cast Members to the highest standards possible in order to maintain the reputation they have for being the best at what they do. When you put something like the DCP on your resume, understand that employers know how much the training from Disney effects how you work in the future. One of my past superiors at a previous job mentioned that an employee worked for Disney and they could tell just by how the employee carried themselves and the quality of their work. So no matter your major, if you are considering applying for the DCP, DO IT! We are young and during this time in our lives we have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So needless to say when I saw @DisneyCPInterns tweet that applications were live, I was jumping on that link and submitting my application ASAP!

The Tweet that start the journey.

      The application process is, for the most part, like every other application process for most jobs. They ask for all of your basic information and the standard jazz, following the application you will receive an e-mail asking you to complete your web based interview (it is essentially a personality test). If/when you pass the web based interview, you will receive an email to schedule your phone interview and once you complete the phone interview you will be playing the ever so agonizing waiting game. As you go through the application, it will ask you to specify your interest in each role, varying from none to very interested. Personally, I went about it with the mindset of, "put the most interest in the resort roles (because of my major) and then moderate/little interest in the roles you wouldn't mind doing," (essentially, if they could not place me in a resort role, I wanted any role with customer interaction because of 1. my major and 2. I REALLY wanted to do the program). Now, because I was so antsy to get my application in, there are a few mistakes I made that I do not want you to make as well.

1. First and foremost, have your resume polished and ready to roll, as well as a cover letter specifically targeted at the DCP and the role you want the most. Every college and university has a Career Services department full of advisors ready and willing to assist students in creating resumes and cover letters. 
2. Second, if you have previous employers or professors who would be willing to write you a letter of recommendation, ask them! Letters of rec. can do nothing but help your chances, my tip, ask them WAY before applications go live. Applications for Fall & Fall Advantage usually go up around late January and late August for the Spring & Spring Advantage programs. Therefore, in retrospect, I should've asked for letters of rec. around October or November because the individuals you will ask; they'll have plenty already on their plates to handle, so writing your letter of rec. could take them some time, just be patient! 
3. Third, know what roles you would be willing to work in. Like I said, I REALLY wanted to be in a resort but would've been satisfied with any roles requiring constant guest interaction. Some people only want to do it if they'll get a specific role, others are open to any role, they just want to get accepted! So know who you are and which roles you will be comfortable working!
4. Fourth, apply ASAP, as far as I know/am concerned, the earlier you apply, the quicker you will hear back and the more positions that will still be open. Although not everyone may hear back as quick as others, it never hurt to have your application in early to give yourself the best chance possible to get accepted. Personally, I applied within an hour of the applications going live, had my phone interview scheduled for the upcoming Friday, and heard back 20 days after my phone interview. 
5. Lastly, prepare for your phone interview! I will post in more detail about this soon, but being prepared for your phone interview is going to give you confidence and make you feel much more comfortable than being unprepared.

The dashboard links for your documents.

      Now, I've given you all of these tips and you have all these documents ready to rock and roll for your application. Where you post and upload them is not necessarily tricky, but it is not very clear cut in my opinion. When I do my job applications, they usually ask for these required/supplementary documents directly within the application...not for the DCP. Once you finish your application, you will be taken to your dashboard. Look to the top left of your dashboard and you should see each of these links there. Under Edit Profile Info is where you will attach any supplementary documents i.e. letters of rec., portfolios, etc. and under Resume/CV is where you will be able to post your resume and cover letter.

Below are links to the DCP application and program dates as well as the role descriptions.
DCP Application Dates and Program Dates
DCP Role Descriptions

My DCP

What's the Disney College Program and what am I doing in it

      The Disney College Program is quite simply a paid internship where you have the opportunity to work within WDW at one of the parks or resorts in a variety of different roles. Disney supplies you with housing (rent comes out of your paycheck on a weekly basis), there are buses for transportation but you can also bring your car and participants also have the opportunity to take classes offered by Disney if they so choose. The internship and classes can both be credited by your university, but this does vary from school to school (my school does not credit either for me). There are four different programs, Spring, Spring Advantage, Fall and Fall advantage; Spring and Fall are January to May & August to January, respectively; Spring and Fall Advantage are January to August & May to January, respectively.

      The roles they offer vary from Attractions to Merchandise to Concierge to Bell Service (my role!). You are able to specify your interest in each of the different roles as you complete your application, which I will go into more depth in during my next post.

      So, what am I doing in my program....Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter at a WDW resort. Being totally honest, I have no idea exactly what being on the bell service team at a WDW resort will entail beside the obvious luggage assistance. I struggled to find any information on the role once I found out it was what I got accepted for. I would have preferred the Hospitality (Front Desk) or Concierge roles, but I am satisfied to be working in a resort. From what I could tell, all of the resort operations roles are SUPER competitive and REALLY rare, so I am really happy that I am just in the role at all! A lot of people usually get accepted for roles like Attractions, Merchandise, Quick Service Food & Beverage or Custodial because there are so many different locations to place CPs in those roles.

      During my program I am primarily looking to get as much work experience as I can and do not have any plans to take classes right now, but that could change as time goes on. And since I am graduating early, this is technically my first job out of school so it works out pretty perfectly because I will not need to go through the hassle of getting my program credited!

Who Am I and What's this Blog All About?

Who?

      So who am I? My name is Andrew Wong, I am 21 years old and I am finishing my Hospitality Management degree at Johnson & Wales University (JWU). I have worked the front desk at the Hyatt Regency Newport in Newport, RI during the summer of 2014, I will be completing the Starwood Summer Internship Program in the sales department of the Sheraton Time Square New York in New York City this summer; and last but not least I will be completing the Disney College Program for Fall 2015 in the role of Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter! The excitement has been radiating from inside me ever since I got accepted on February 19th, I am fairly confident my friends and family are sick of hearing about how excited I am, and I am sure when you get accepted you will be as full of jubilation as I am!

      A little bit about who I am and what I am all about, I am a firm believer in the work hard, play hard motto. I currently live in Providence, RI at JWU, I was born and raised in New Jersey with my family's roots back in Massachusetts. My mother was born and raised on the North Shore of Mass. and my father immigrated to Mass. from Hong Kong when he was a teenager. I love to work in hospitality, putting smiles on guests faces is what I live for and I cannot wait to make a career out of it. Currently I am a tutor at my university and am finishing my second to last trimester before graduating a YEAR EARLY! WHAT?! It's crazy and I never expected it to happen, but with it comes the opportunity to be a Cast Member at Disney World so I can't complain! Ultimately, I hope to receive a full time position at a WDW resort upon completion of my program or a Professional Internship (PI); either of those would continue my dream of making a career with Disney.

What?

      From the application to the day my program ends, I want to (hopefully) be a wealth of knowledge to everyone who is curious about the program and is considering applying for it. This is going to document my journey through my DCP in the role of Bell Service Dispatch/Greeter, and I want to answer as many questions about the program as I can to put those of you out there with those questions at ease. So if you do have those questions you want answered, leave them in the comments of the posts, I want to answer as many as I can!

Why?

      Now why am I doing this blog? After two years of debating and considering the Disney College Program, I chose to apply and pray that I got accepted. Throughout those two years I did research on research on research about the program from where I'll live, to the different roles, all the way down to what shoes each role requires. Needless to say, I wanted to know everything I could before committing to applying, and I did, I knew more than I probably needed to know before filling out my application in January; but that didn't leave all of my questions answered. So that is why I am doing this. I want to answer any and all questions I had and any questions you may have regarding the program; while at the same time documenting my journey through the DCP.

When?

      My goal is to post something every week during my program, From now until then, it will be slightly more sporadic, every other week or so; primarily for a lack of real content regarding the program. Where this blog will go after that, who knows, for now, I will keep it simple and hopefully full of useful information.