#dcp custodial

[filledthisvoidwiththingsunreal]

A blog about my Disney College Program (DCP) experience as a custodial cast member!

My DCP Blog for Spring 2016!!

[disneyonthefritz]

For my college program, I worked Custodial for the Magic Kingdom.

I know at first it doesn’t sound that great. That’s what I thought, too. However, I accepted the position because I would do literally anything for the chance to work at Disney, and do this program. Even if that meant cleaning puke and washing public toilets - literally.

Training for custodial is much like training for every other position at Disney, it’s completely overwhelming. There’s so much information and ways to do things and chemical names and zones and radio codes and what to do and what not to do’s that it’s enough to make anyone crazy. Oh, you also have to know directions to literally everything in the park, and know how Fastpass works and what time is this show and when is the fireworks and where can I buy this merchandise and what’s the wait time for Space Mountain? Well, what about Thunder Mountain? Where’s Mickey’s house? What time is the 3:00 parade? How do I get out? Don’t even get me started on that crying mom over there, her three year old is lost and grandma wandered off from the family, again. There’s 70,000 people - you have to find little Timmy and grandma. And take your break on time, but don’t rest too long, and keep good show and I know that’s not your zone but you have to clean it anyway. Have fun wearing all white and lifting dirty trash liners, all day. Smile when you clean that puke, yes guests still ask you questions. Don’t bend to pick that trash up. Always have your pan and broom, don’t let it go because it’ll stolen.

omg. I wanted to scream too. And I did. I cried a lot my first month. I complained about my job all the time and I thought that I hated it. I had never been to Disney World and couldn’t give directions and I have a bad foot and walking on it all day caused me unbearable pain. There’s so many codes to know, and know how to clean, and know how to talk on the radio, and deal with guests. It’s not fun cleaning puke and pee and poop and food and anything else you can imagine. It’s you who gets called to clean it, it doesn’t matter what “it” is. Even blood, you have to clean it. Curse you, Dumbo Tent.

No, it’s not glamorous. You’re far from being a princess, and you don’t get to work in the air condition. Trash liners are heavy, and gross. The compactor smells, and god bless you if you pick up recycle. But, thinking back on it. I’m not sure there is any other job I would have wanted to. Being a custodian humbled me to my core, first and foremost. I realized there are many custodians that I never thanked that I should have. It’s thankless job, and it’s a hard job. But it’s appreciated. Seriously, take a second and imagine what Disney World would be like if there were no custodians. Now, imagine what your high school would have been like without custodians, omg don’t use the j-word. What about literally any public place you’ve been to. Imagine if there wasn’t anyone there to clean it. Cleaning after 70,000 is hard. But, it humbled me, and I am thankful for that. I will never take anyone for granted again, and I will forever treat the custodian with as much - if not more - respect than the CEO.  It also taught me that I can work harder than I thought I could. I am way more capable of hard work and long hours than I ever gave myself credit for, and it prepared me for the rest of my life. I feel like I can do it, now. “If I can clean Tomorrowland for 13 and a half hours, I can do anything.” It gave me a sense of pride. My co-workers often picked on me for being the one to excuse myself from backstage shenanigans to go sweep my restroom, or doing more trash runs than I really needed to. But I was proud of my work. I wanted my restroom to be the cleanest one in the park, it bothered me when I would hear guests complain. The coordinators and leaders began to trust me, and checked on me less and less - sometimes not at all. That made me want to work even harder, because the little they did visit I wanted to show them that they’re right in trusting me.

 Then there are the guests.I have never been one of those “I hate people” people but I am now. I have never wanted to punch a stranger in the face before working at Disney. They’re annoying and mean and rude and holy shit are they absolutely disgusting - especially women. They ask stupid questions and they demand a lot. They think this whole shebang is just for them, and they should because that’s how cast members treat them. They are utterly infuriating. But you can’t let those ones ruin it. Ignore them. Don’t give them free stuff or give them wrong directions. Whatever. Because there’s guests that will change your world. My favorite part of my job was getting to walk all over the park with families, because no other cast members can do that. I’m not limited to a certain zone or land. You need to know where Thunder Mountain is? Here, let me walk you there. Oh, and yes - surprise - go down the fast pass lane. I used to carry around hundreds of stickers and would give out almost all of them. I used to also carry around an autograph book, and would ask little princesses for their autographs - to this day one of my favorite souvenirs.  I loved being a part of the magic. I love creating magic. Seeing them smile, and hearing “you MADE our vacation!” is truly heartwarming. And guest like that, make it all worth it. There’s nothing like asking a sick Make A Wish small princess laugh, loading her with stickers and free ice cream and jumping the Elsa line only to have them come and find you, and ask if you’ll watch Wishes with them. It’s a life changing moment when that little princess grabs your hand, and squeezes it, and she asks you, “Is my wish too extreme?” You want to tell her no, you want to take the sickness from her and have it yourself, and you don’t even know her. But, you’ll cry during Wishes. No worries, they’ll email guest relations about you. :) However, you will cry for 20 minutes straight and be heartbroken when the mother e-mails you and tells you that the little princess passed away. There’s nothing like that.

  And the most important thing that Disney gave me was a family. Your fellow custodians know how much your job sucks. They know how annoying and how special the guests are. They know what it’s like to have to climb all over the play area in Dumbo Tent cleaning pee and they understand when you complain about the number of calls Space Mountain gets. They understand the heat, and the long hours, and the late nights, and the hard restrooms. And no one will ever understand like your co-workers. Your roommates won’t be able to understand why Wishes holds your heart and why on last nights you all watch them hand in hand and sob. Your friends at home can’t understand how middle of the night iHop or Ale House dinners create a bond that’s unbreakable. Your coworkers will be there with you at 3 am, and in the heat, and will help you with your trash runs and sweeping your restrooms and that’s a special kind of bond not even Dr. Phil can explain or comprehend.

If you have any questions, PLEASE message me. I am always willing to talk about cleaning up my home. <3

10-98

[thefelinefae]

I got accepted into the Disney College Program for Spring 2016 as of yesterday!

I’m currently floating on a cloud and listening to my Disney pandora station, and I may or may not be skipping class because I can’t focus on anything but Disney. :) My mom and I are going to surprise my family with this info tonight and I have not been this happy/excited in forever!

[lyingnudieonthefloor]

so i’m super nervous about disney (i know its months away but i was talking to my boss at camp yesterday) and im also just really scared

i have to move out of my apartment in the two weeks before camp, and then two weeks after camp is when i move in to disney

im nervous im not gonna do good there and im going to break rules (accidentally) and im going to get fired

im scared i wont be able to get off for my sister’s wedding and i dont know if i can afford a plane ticket home and back so i can be there

what if ally and i get to disney and we cant find roommates before then so we’re stuck with people that wont like us?

what if shes the only friend i have????

im so scared to be away from dad. i can handle being at jacksonville because i see him like once a month at least but i doubt thats gonna happen

AND ill be there on the day mom died and what if i have to work? im so scared

and before disney im so worried about camp too

i talked to my boss yesterday about my worries and fears and he helped a lot with the camp aspect but i still have an elevated role and my own title and what if i dont live up to the standards that he expects?

im terrified.

and i want to call my mom and tell her my concerns and let her help me but i cant and it really sucks

i hope this eventually gets better because right now all these stresses are really bumming me out

[lyingnudieonthefloor]

Sooooo.. I got accepted into the Disney College Program today!

I’m moving August 17 (two weeks after closing campfire—yikes!)

I’m so excited and blessed to have this opportunity!

I’ll be working in Custodial (which people think is weird was my first choice)

[godsgirldoesdcp]

You know you've had quite the day when you come home smelling like the restrooms you cleaned all day long.

[suzlovesdisney]

SCREAMING AND CRYING CUZ I GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE DCP

[frostkings]

Okay I thought I was getting excited about being accepted into the DCP at the Disneyland Resort but now I'm really stressed and scared like?? I got custodial and that just sounds really intimidating and i don't want to mess up but I feel like I'm really gonna fuck up at this job like ugh.. is there anyone who has any advice or anything?