I wanted to write this blog to share my experience of living in Florida and working at Disney for the next year. I know a lot of others are doing this as well and it will be awesome to read their blogs and hear other stories and what they think about the program we are doing (which I will go over a little later in this post). I've also decided that I am going to be as honest as possible when writing, I want others to get the full experience that I will have (Good or bad). I realize that stories are more interesting when they have a dynamic range of emotions, and so that is what I am going to do.
So a little bit about me and how I wound up on this crazy adventure and opportunity of a lifetime. My name is Janice Kiteley and I am 20 years old. I am an only child and I grew up in a small town (Seriously, our "downtown" or "main street" is a block long! And consists of a couple stores and restaurants.). These factors caused me to take a big interest in music and acting to keep me from dying of boredom. I always daydreamed about being a famous actress, but focused more on music as it seemed to be more accessible in my small town. It wasn't until I went to Sheridan College, for Performing Arts Preparation, that I knew I wanted to dedicate more of my time towards acting (I also met my good friend Mathew there, who is also going to be working at Disney and will probably be mentioned in a few posts in the future). I applied to Humber for Acting of Film/T.V and focused strictly on acting. However, something wasn't right...the learning was amazing (I learn't so much in one year then I learn't in all my years before Humber! And I've used everything I've learn't in things I have done since being in Humber. And I'm so grateful for that.) but there was something missing. I was always stressed and there was no fun or adventure in my life. Because of that, I was never able to be fully creative with any of my work, and I was miserable because of it. Since I've wanted to travel and get a new sense of scenery, applying to Disney and living in Florida for a year seemed like the perfect opportunity (Weird part is, was that I was actually going to apply last year if I didn't get accepted to Humber or for Musical Theatre at Sheridan.) And that in a nutshell, is how I am now sitting here in my room writing this blog.
So about Disney's CRP (the program I am apart of). It stands for Cultural Representative Program. This means I will be working in EPCOT at the Canadian Pavilion, representing Canada.
There are three job positions you can choose from; Food and Beverage, Merchandise and Attractions.
I chose Food and Beverage as my first choice (which I was accepted for), this means I will be starting either at an outside vendor selling popcorn and beer or I will be starting as a hostess in the restaurant, Le Cellier, which is a steakhouse. Because I want to be a server there is a couple things I need to do before becoming one at Disney (and because it is a fine dining restaurant and in Disney, the steps are quite intense). Not 100% sure about the order, but first I will be a hostess to begin learning the menu, floor chart and get a feel for the environment. Second step, after I give a spiel about the lunch menu to the manager, I will then become a food runner. For those who might not know what a food runner is, they are people who run the food out to a table (most servers or hostesses will do this, but in a busy restaurant like Le Cellier there needs to be other people to do that.). Then I will have to do a written test about the menu (and probably restaurant safety and rules/manners), when I pass the written test I will have to do a spiel on the dinner menu to another manager. Once I complete that I will have to do the final step, serve the manager, chef and president of the restaurant. Overall there are about seven steps to complete in order to become a server, and it usually takes about 6 months to complete them.
You also might be wondering where I will be living while down there. Do I have to buy my own place? Does Disney have housing? How far away am I from Disney? How will I get to and from work? Well, for starters, Disney does have special housing for the CRP and the DCP (Disney College Program). There are four different condo complexes; Vista Way, The Commons, Chatham Square and Patterson Court. They range from $80-$100/week depending on the condo size and how new/old the building is (Chatham Square is the newest, I think). Everything is included in the rent and Disney automatically takes the amount out of our pay checks every week so we don't have to worry about bills. The complexes all have pools, hot tubs, gyms and outside athletics (tennis, volleyball, basketball courts...etc.). The condos are anywhere from 1-3 bedrooms and I will have anywhere from 1-6 roommates. I will be sharing a room with someone for a year, which will be very difficult for me since I've never had to do that, so I'm nervous about that. And the complexes are about 15 minutes from the Disney Parks and Disney supplies shuttle busses that take us too and from work as well as to other places (Walmart and the outlet mall that is around the condos).
A little bit more about my position and a fact about the U.S culture. Minimum wage in Florida is $7.67/hour. I will be making $8.20/hour for non-tipped positions (vendor/hostess/food runner) and when I start serving and receive tips the wage goes down to (I forget the exact amount) about $4.00/hour. It's not as much as Canada, but I'm getting a little over the minimum wage and things in the states aren't as expensive as things in Canada. But hey, Im not there to make a ton of money, I'm there for the experience and adventure!
I also decided to start blogging now because I finally got my Disney CRP package in the mail on Monday, which made me super excited and reminded me that I need to get on this.
My Disney CRP Package!!
The inside!!
So, now that you have a little bit of an idea about me and about what I will be doing, this blog entry will come to a close. I might not write anything for a while since nothing much is really happening, but keep your eyes open!!
Until next time!
-Janice
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."
- Walt Disney
