DreamBigDisney || a CEP blog

Hi, This is my J1 Cultural Exchange Program blog for the program of Summer 2016! I will be updating this blog with my experiences from the application process, interviews and my time actually working in Walt Disney World.

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Hey, I am looking to apply this year and I will be a final year student - please could you explain what you mean by this! Tip: If you’re a 3rd year and finishing university, when filling it in make sure your graduation date and your completion of work date are THE SAME and the date needs to be BEFORE your program start date! What's a completion of work date? What date are you meant to put? Thanks!

Okay so once you get through to the final interview in London you’ll be asked to complete a “proof of student” form. On here they’ll be a few things you need to get your university tutor/lecturer to fill out. 

Since you’re a final year student you’ll have to write in your ‘graduation date’ and your ‘completion of work date’ (when all your work for uni is done eg. exams and essays). Since i didnt have exams i wrote in my last deadline in BOTH of these boxes (even though thats not when my actual graduation date is.)

 They need to be the SAME date and also the date needs to be BEFORE your program start date. For example: My completion of work and graduation date both read 6th May 2016. My program start date was the 20th June 2016. Its so they can confirm you’re finished with university work before your program begins! Hope that made more sense :)!!!

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Hi! Hope you're enjoying sunny Orlando, this is just a quick enquiry about how you wrote your cover letter and is there anything you important that you'd pass on to someone wanting to apply? I've literally scoured over your blog for the last 24 hours (running out of books to read and because I desperately need to get my CV written to apply!)xx

In my cover letter i really focused on how i could use my skills from previous jobs in my new role at Disney! I spoke a lot about customer service as i know thats a BIG thing for Disney. I also wrote about how i’ve experienced the amazing customer service first hand from the Disney company. I think that may have helped me a little bit!

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Hi! I'm just wonder about applying through the disney website, when you go to apply on there now it comes up that there is nothing available, do you get a link in the email from YummyJobs? Does that make sense? Hope you're having an amazing time!!xxx

Yeah you should get an email after applying through YummyJobs to then apply through the Disney website! :)

[dreambigdisney]

Walmart Shopping List

For a stress-free (good luck!) trip to Walmart on your move in day, follow this list!

Bed in a bag

Mattress protector

Pillows

Bath towels

Hand towels

Face towels

Bathmat

Beach towel

Locker lock

Washing up liquid

Sponges

Tea towels

Hand soap

Kitchen roll

Toilet roll

Bleach/toilet cleaner

Kitchen spray cleaner

Water filter

Laundry detergent

Dishwasher tablets

Tupperware or ziplock bags

Internet router

Trash bags

Clothes hangers

Reusable water bottle!

Every shopping list is different for every person, compared to what you want to buy and what you take with you from home! This list is just essentials you will need and probably forget about because I know I forgot a few things! Don’t forget to stock your freezer with frozen pizza’s and invest in the big packs of ramen if you’re not about the cooking life like me!

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Move In Day

20th June 2016 - 

Before heading to housing, some of us met up for a character breakfast at Ohana, The Polynesian Village Resort! It was my first time dining at Ohana and I really enjoyed the character interactions...

After that we all headed to our different housing complex’s! 

Once our check in times had come around, we had to go into the office where we had our housing ID photo’s taken, then we were given apartment keys, housing ID’s and some paperwork including this...

The program guide! All the info you could ever need. 

I was the first one to arrive at our apartment, so i picked my room and waited for the others to arrive! My other roomies turned out to be Megan, Pam, Shaunagh, Alice and Emily! Once we had all gotten settled some of us headed out for our first Walmart trip to grab the essentials... 

And that wasn’t even all of it! To see my Walmart shopping list click HERE

After that we all unpacked and ‘decorated’ our rooms to our liking

Here’s my side of my room!

And before we knew it, it was about 9pm and we hadnt eaten since breakfast! We all took a long walk to the local ‘Carrabbas’ restaurant, in which we dealt with a waiter who didnt really have a clue! After that we walked back home, all sat on the floor of Emily and Alice’s bedroom and had a little roomie bonding session to get to know each other! Then it was off to bed ready for the next day!

[dreambigdisney]

BUCKETLIST: RE-VISITED

Before i set off on my adventure, i created a bucket list here on this blog. Now i’m going to check off everything i actually managed to do!

4 parks in 1 day

Become a ‘Galactic Hero’ on Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin

Meet all the princesses/royals: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, Ariel, Belle, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Rapunzel, Anna, Elsa, Megera

Watch Wishes! from one of the Magic Kingdom resorts

Hug Baymax

Be the ‘rebel spy’ on Star Tours

Drink around the world! An alcoholic beverage at each pavilion in the World Showcase

Eat around the world! A meal/snack at each pavilion in the World Showcase

Visit Diagon Alley & Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios

Visit the Florida Mall

Visit Busch Gardens

Travel to Disneyland, CA

Travel to Salt Lake City, Utah

Travel to New York City

Win Disney mini-golf

Attend lots of housing events

Eat at the Be Our Guest restaurant

Go to a beach

Visit every single resort

Get Dole Whip at The Polynesian Village

Get some cool merchandise from Cast Connection or Property Control

Collect some pins

Finish ‘The Kitchen Sink’ at Beaches and Cream

Take a class (Disney Heritage, if possible!) at the Disney University

Buy an MU hat

Replace my (sadly broken) Chip mug!

Become a Wildnesses Explorer

Go to ‘Grocery Bingo’

Get a picture in an empty Main Street USA

See all the nighttime shows, in one night

Do a tour/cast member only tour!

Get a ‘Just Graduated’ badge from Disneyland

Go to a character breakfast

So as you can see, i didnt manage to get everything done! Just goes to show, you can never spend too much time in Walt Disney World. I’ll leave those bucket list items for my next visit, whether i’m a cast member again or not!

[dreambigdisney]

Background Check, Visa Process & Flights

Heres what happens after you accept your offer, pay your program fee and buy your mandatory medical insurance!

CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK Since you’ll be working with children, a criminal background check is necessary. Yummy Jobs will post a background check application to your home address - you’ll need to fill this out and send it back to Yummy Jobs ASAP. As well as this, you’ll need to pay a £75.00 background check fee which you can submit through your Yummy Jobs profile, or by following the link sent in an email YJ will send to you. It’ll take a few weeks to be processed.

FLIGHTS This is the time most people tend to start booking their flights to Orlando! You’re free to book with any airline, through any provider. I suggest booking a flight at least 1 day before your program start date as you’ll have to check in to your housing at a certain time! People tend to fly out 1 or more days beforehand, and use the Facebook groups to discuss sharing hotels with others. My suggestion is to book a Disney resort - that way you can utilise the Magical Express, which is free! If you’re on a budget, sharing a room with other program participants in a value resort is a great option! I’m lucky enough to have parents who are Disney Vacation Club members, so they’ve used their remaining points to book me into the Polynesian Village!! (I’m literally dying of excited, thanks mom and dad) Once youve booked your flights make sure to send the information to Yummy Jobs via email!

VISA PROCESS Okay, brace yourselves because this is where it gets a little complicated. You’ll receive an email from Yummy Jobs saying that your visa documents are currently being created, as well as some other information...

It’ll take a few weeks but when you have all your documents in front of you this is the time you can apply for your visa online, pay all the fees and book your embassy appointment. If youre struggling with the online application, make sure to make use of the helpful guide Yummy Jobs will send you in an email! It outlines all the information you’ll need to fill in making everything very straight forward and clear.

EMBASSY APPOINTMENT This is when you’ll visit the US Embassy to have an appointment about your VISA. The embassy has strict rules on what sort of things you can bring into the building, make sure to check online what you can and cannot bring with you! You can bring your phone, and a normal sized bag - but no rolling suitcases etc, as you’ll have to go through security.

What you’ll need to bring:

Your Passport

DS-2019 form 

DS-160 confirmation page

A VISA photo

SEVIS payment reciept

Appointment confirmation page

Job offer letter

Proof of strong home-ties (a bill addressed to your home address)

The appointment itself wasn’t too painful, overall it took about an hour and a half. It’s nothing to stress about, just make sure you take all your documents with you. Also be prepared to be without your passport for about a week as they send it off to print your VISA into it!

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Accepting the offer

As you can see in the email - once you’ve nabbed a position on the cultural exchange program you need to complete a few steps within 30 days! This is EXTREMELY important, if you don’t complete these steps you will lose your place. 

The steps include: - Clicking a link to go to the ‘Offer Portal’ This will be in the email you receive from Disney International Programs.  - Printing off a copy of the offer letter for your records (To take to the embassy to obtain your visa) - Click ‘I Accept The Offer’ at the bottom of this page - You’ll also be sent another email, instructing you to upload relevant documents to DOCs - Pay your program fees. This will be through a system called DORMS, which you’ll be instructed on through email.

Tip: I suggest creating a folder in your email inbox to store all of these emails, it makes things a lot easier! 

You’ll also be sent this email:

Advising you to complete the online onboarding! 

And finally: INSURANCE

You are obligated to take out mandatory medical insurance for the entire duration of your time in the United States. You’ll receive an email about it with a link that takes you straight to the correct medical insurance. When applying - it automatically adds on an extra month after your stay, which is also mandatory. For me the insurance cost was about $280 USD. It’s wise to also take out an extra policy to cover travel and possessions as the mandatory insurance is only medical. 

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My Final Interview!

Unless things change, your final interview will be at the Disney headquarters in Hammersmith, London! (Tip: the entrance is next to a bus station)

The first thing you’ll have to do is go up to the desk, tell them your name and you’ll get a security pass (If your lucky it’ll have your name on it, so take a picture of it because you dont get to keep it!) Then they’ll send you upstairs to a room a bit like a cinema. This is the presentation, which is very similar to the pre-screen presentation. It includes; - Introductions of the Disney recruiters - Disney trivia - Facts about the program, and videos!

You’ll then be asked to leave the premises if your interview time slot isnt the first one, in my interview some of us stuck together and waited at a nearby Costa Coffee! 

When your interview time slot roles around you’ll be able to go back into the headquarters, and the YummyJobs team will take any documents you’ve been told to bring off you. Make sure you have your ‘proof of student status’ form with you! (Tip: If you’re a 3rd year and finishing university, when filling it in make sure your graduation date and your completion of work date are THE SAME and the date needs to be BEFORE your program start date! This was a problem for a lot of us, but not to worry - if you can amend it and email it to one of my YummyJobs team ASAP it should be fine! Thats what i did.)

Once the team has checked your proof of student status form, they’ll send you to a room where you will meet with one of the Disney recruiters. It’s extremely informal, and is more of a chat. Some of the questions included:

- How far have you travelled today? - What do you like to do in your spare time? - What are you studying? - Why did you want to do the programme? - Would you be willing to have a background check? (Everyone has to have one!) - Have you lived with other people? - What is your previous work experience? - Why did you pick your top roles? You’ll also be asked specific questions related to the roles you chose as high preference. If you’ve selected life guarding you may be asked about a drug test. If you’ve selected character performer your height will be measured!

My ‘interview’ was really laid back! It was more of a discussion than an interview. We even spoke about our love of the musical ‘Wicked’. The thing to remember is to let your personality shine through, if you’re very enthusiastic about something - show it! They’re looking for happy, cheery and enthusiastic people to work for them!

[dreambigdisney]

Before the final interview

If you’ve got this far - WELL DONE! Trust me, the hardest part is over. You’ll receive an email that looks a little like this:

“The next stage” of the recruitment process is the final stage! The big one: the Disney headquarters presentation and 1-to-1 interviews. The first thing you’ll want to do is follow the link to the schedule and choose your date and time. You MUST pick a date and time within 5-days otherwise they will assume you a no longer interested in the opportunity. I actually received this email whilst on my lunch break at work and was able to use my phone to look at the schedule and book a date and time straight away. I would recommend doing it ASAP as the best times and days do fill up VERY quickly! 

There were 2 weeks of interviews to choose from in mid November. Once you chose the day you could attend, you then had to pick a time slot in which you would have your 1-to-1 interview. It is important that you arrive to Hammersmith early to attend the presentation at around 9am (It’ll specify what time exactly on the schedule) as you MUST attend this to be able to have your interview. For us, the interview time slots were an hour long each and began at 11am and ended at 6pm. I managed to bag the 12pm - 1pm slot which meant only having to wait around for about an hour and a half after the presentation. (the presentation finished around 10:30am) Some other people i met had to wait around till the very last slot (5pm-6pm) so try to get an earlier one if possible!

Once you’ve picked your preferred interview date and time, you’ll receive another email confirming the information, as well as giving you the address of the Disney Headquarters, what time you should arrive and also reminding you to dress appropriately and bring the correct documents with you. A lot of this information will also be on the schedule webpage when choosing your date and time so SCREENSHOT IT!! I did and it helped a lot to be able to go back to it!

Preparation - Transport & Accommodation:

Now you’ve booked your interview, its time to think about travel. I was travelling from Sheffield so decided to book a train down to London the night before my interview with my mom. This was the cheapest and easiest option for me. After I booked the train I then booked a hotel for 1 night in Hammersmith, a short walk away from the Disney headquarters. Some other people opted to book hotels further out of London which were cheaper, and then take the tube into Hammersmith. I felt like spending a bit more on a hotel within walking distance would be less stressful, as I didnt want to rely on public transportation the morning of! (Nothing worse than being late to an interview). If youre interested in the hotel i booked here’s the info:

Premier Inn London Hammersmith 255 King Street Hammersmith London England W6 9LU

Total cost for one night: £79.00

"Dress Appropriately” - Interview Attire

Next I had to think about what I was going to wear! I wanted to be formal, but not too boring - After all it is a Disney interview.

I found some floral printed tailored high-waisted trousers on Boohoo.com and paired those with a button up black shirt and a blazer jacket, along with some heeled ankle boots. I also wore a knitted poppy for Remembrance Day and my Disney Alex and Ani bracelets. Heres a picture of me in the Disney HQ with Mickey!: 

(PS. My interviewer loved my trousers and poppy!!)

My next post will be about the actual final interview! 

[magickingdoms]

ATTENTION DISNEY FANS:

If you have a spare minute, please fill in this survey about the Disney films released in the 1990s! I’d really appreciate it, as it’s for my 3rd year university dissertation project.

http://bit.ly/1RuQEJ2

http://bit.ly/1RuQEJ2

http://bit.ly/1RuQEJ2

Theres the link, 3 times. (ps. reblog please!!!! help a sista out)

[dreambigdisney]

My Disney Cultural Exchange Program Bucketlist!

These are all the things I plan to do on my program in Summer 2016! Some of these I may have done before in previous trips to the parks, but I definitely want to accomplish them next summer too.

4 parks in 1 day

Become a ‘Galactic Hero’ on Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin

Meet all the princesses/royals: Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Jasmine, Ariel, Belle, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Rapunzel, Anna, Elsa, Megera

Watch Wishes! from one of the Magic Kingdom resorts

Hug Baymax

Be the ‘rebel spy’ on Star Tours

Drink around the world! An alcoholic beverage at each pavilion in the World Showcase

Eat around the world! A meal/snack at each pavilion in the World Showcase

Visit Diagon Alley & Hogsmeade at Islands of Adventure in Universal Studios

Visit the Florida Mall

Visit Busch Gardens

Travel to Disneyland, CA

Travel to Salt Lake City, Utah

Travel to New York City

Win Disney mini-golf

Attend lots of housing events

Eat at the Be Our Guest restaurant 

Go to a beach

Visit every single resort

Get Dole Whip at The Polynesian Village

Get some cool merchandise from Cast Connection or Property Control

Collect some pins

Finish ‘The Kitchen Sink’ at Beaches and Cream

Take a class (Disney Heritage, if possible!) at the Disney University

Buy an MU hat

Replace my (sadly broken) Chip mug!

Become a Wildnesses Explorer

Go to ‘Grocery Bingo’

Get a picture in an empty Main Street USA

See all the nighttime shows, in one night

Do a tour/cast member only tour!

Get a ‘Just Graduated’ badge from Disneyland

Go to a character breakfast

[dreambigdisney]

My Pre-screen Interview

As I had been to a pre-screen the previous year I knew what to expect going down there. I arrived about an hour early and sat in a coffee shop until about 2pm, then I went to the YummyJobs offices and stood outside to wait until we were officially allowed in at 2:15pm to register. Whilst waiting I spoke to some other people who were there just to try and make some new friends.

The pre-screen interviews are really casually and friendly so theres no need to stress about them at all. To register, I just walked up to a desk and said my name, they then gave me a sticker with a characters name on it - that would later be the team I would be in and a time - when my group interview would take place.

Presentation:

We all sat down in front of a projector where we waited for the presentation to begin. The YummyJobs team came out and did some Disney trivia (with prizes!) and then gave us some basic facts about the program along with showing us some videos of students who had previous done the program.

After this we were told to go off and do our own thing until our interview time came around. Mine was straight after the pre-screen so we just waited until they moved the tables around and set up little areas where each YummyJobs team member could conduct the group interviews.

Group Interview:

There was about 8 people in our interview including me, and we all sat around in a circle with the YummyJobs team member, he took our YJ passports and our photocopied passport page and then we did an ice breaker. This was just speaking to the person next to us and introducing them to the group! Really fun and an easy way to get to know the other participants. After that we were asked a couple of questions like:

Why would you like to do the program?

Which Disney character do you think you are most like and why?

What are your top 3 roles and why?

What sort of work experience do you have?

We were also given some scenarios we had to solve if we were a cast member having to deal with a cast issue. These questions may vary slightly but just answer honestly and truthfully, they’re very straight-forward!  

We were then placed into two groups and told we had the chance to plan a housing event, but it had to be UK themed. Each group then had the chance to discuss their ideas, and then present to the group. This shows the YJ team member how good you are at working in a team, and also how creative and fun you can be! Housing events are a big part of the program so its nice that they are involved in the pre-screens!

Dress Code:

The dress code on the email is stated as business casual so i wore a smart dark purple/burgundy dress with a peter pan collar, skin coloured tights, and black heeled boots. I curled my hair and did my make-up nicely, I also wore a pretty smart tan coloured duster coat over top. Other girls wore things like skirts and a smart blouse, tights and black ballerina flats. Boys wore a mixture of things, from full on suits to smart shirts with black jeans and smart shoes. Its not too formal, so don’t worry too much! 

To Conclude:

Overall the group interview took about 20-40 minutes, it all depends on how much your group talks! We were quite a talkative group, but we were all given a chance to speak and answer questions. Don’t be afraid to speak up in your interview, It really helps if you answer more questions and talk more, as they’re looking for bubbly and outgoing people to work for Disney!

[dreambigdisney]

Before The Pre-screen..

I received an email from YummyJobs before the application deadline and was super happy to see that i’d been invited to the pre-screen interview at the YummyJobs offices in Epping, Essex! (In 2014 my pre-screen interview was actually at Leeds Beckett university, as the YummyJobs gang travelled around the country to do regional interviews, but this year everyone was invited to the YummyJobs offices.)

The email was straight forward, congratulating me and inviting me to the pre-screen, which was on a Thursday afternoon at the start October, luckily I have Thursdays off uni, so I just had to make sure work didnt rota me in for a shift. If your pre-screen is on a weekday (you don’t get to choose the date they give you), you may have to plan your university or work schedule around it.

The email also states what time you should plan to arrive at the venue for registration and also what time the pre-screen event will actually begin. I was told to arrive at 2:15pm to register as the pre-screen would start at 2:30pm. It then explains that you must print off and fill out your YummyJobs passport to bring with you to your interview, there’s a link to this on the email. It also states the business casual dresscode, and to make sure you bring a photocopy of your actual passport picture page.

You MUST remember to accept your interview place on your YummyJobs profile to confirm your place or you will lose it!

I found it easier to organise myself as soon as I received the email, so I printed off my Yummyjobs passport, filled it out as well as photocopying my actual passport and put it in a plastic wallet ready for the interview. I also organised my transport down to Essex, as I was having to travel from Yorkshire. My dad kindly offered to drive me down as he knew how important it was to me to get there, but some other people I spoke to took a train down to London and then got the tube to Epping. 

[dreambigdisney]

The Online Application Process

I recently applied for the Disney Cultural Exchange program through YummyJobs, here's my journey! In 2014, I applied for the same program but unfortunately only made it to the group interview, this year i've been lucky enough to advance to the final interview with the Walt Disney World resort representatives in London! In this blog post i'll be chatting about the online application process through the YummyJobs website. The application process was fairly straightforward to grasp. To start yourself off, you need to sign up to the YummyJobs website, create a profile and choose which program you really want to do. It's advised on the website not to apply for more than one program, as this could affect your chance of getting an interview, so make sure you pick ONE you are definitely dreaming of doing! I chose the Cultural Exchange program for the summer of 2016. I began my application with just inputting basic personal information like my name, passport information and job experience, after this they ask you a few questions like what does cultural representation mean to you and why do you want to do this program? You need to answer these questions as honestly as you can - after all if you're applying you should be interesting in the subject! I wrote a brief and to the point paragraph about what i think cultural representation means, and the importance of learning about different cultures. I also personalised it by talking about my own experiences with meeting people from different cultures and gaining friends from all around the world. As well as this, i raved about how i practically worship the Disney company, and have been dreaming to work for them ever since i can remember - I'm not sure if this helped, but it got me to the next stage! When applying, make sure you make a note of the application closing date - you don't want to miss out on this amazing opportunity! The deadline is usually around Freshers week (End of September) Which can be a very busy time for students, so put a few reminders around (I used my calendar updates on my laptop) to make sure you don't forget to press that all important submit button! You don't have to complete your whole application in one sitting, so if you're struggling to answer some of the questions you can save it and come back to it later, which is always handy! Once you've submitted your application you should get an email from the YummyJobs team, telling you they've received your application and to look out for future updates! I submitted mine around the first week of September, with the closing date being the 27th of September. I found out I was successful and able to move on to the group interview stages/"Pre-screening" on the 16th of September (Before the closing date!!) - So it's best to get your applications in sooner rather than later! 

(Ps. After you’ve submitted your application, you will receive an email telling you to also apply through the disney official website which is important to do, if you don’t apply through the website you may not be considered as an official applicant.) Hope this post helped you! In the next post i'll be talking through the Pre-screening group interview stage - Stay tuned!