Help? Newbie from Australia

Hey guys,

Im from Brissie and I just got accepted into the Jan 2010 intake. I opted to stay for the whole year because as other people said, you are paying heaps of money to get over there, you may as well stay!
I got Character perfomer for the first 6 months, and attractions for the last 6. I was so excited to get these because they were my first preferences.

Also you don't have to be experienced in any role, they will train you in anything they want.

 

i didn't know you could do 6 months of 2 different roles. is this normal or did you get lucky?

 

Hey Char, thanks for replying,
Yes I'm weighing up the cons and pros of one year, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it so may as well spend the year considering the flight costs esspecially.

I acctually dont mind being a "fur" character like Minnie or Mickey, though it would be hot, but still we're used to 40 degree heat down here (okay so we're not USED to it..but we can handle it lol)
But then again being in hospitality would also be cool and a bit more professional. So I'm a bit stuck in decision making. I wish I could do half-half and experience both.

Is the end of 2011 when you finish uni? I'm probaly gonna go in the middle of my degree since I just cant wait till 2012 (then again I will be 21 and have an even better experience lol).

Do we have to apply about 6 months before we intend to go?

haha yes, one day study will be over!! can't wait till that day!

 

heya demi
yes, for the last few months ive been weighing the pros and cons of whether or not to do the 6 months or year long program. after much 'wieghing' ive decided that the year long program will be the best option and choice for me, since I will be spending a lot of money on the flight, visa app, insurance, expenses. so I might as wll make the most of it. I dont want to regret not staying on for the year program. its literally a once in a lifetime oppotunity for me, since I would be applying after I graduate; I cant come back to WDW since I wont be attending uni anymore.

I think the main 'con' for me will be missing family and friends, since a year away from home is quite a long time. but, I guesss with the wonders of skype and webcams, we will be fine

if I dont take any 'gap years or semesters' I will be completing uni/my degree by November 2011, so I will be applying to attending WDW for their end 2011/start 2012 intake. many people on this board started appplying 6 months-a year beforehand. I like to be organised, so I would probably be applying for at the start of 2011, so if I get accepted, I have plenty of time to get good flights (the earlier, the cheaper!) and sort out visa and insurance. applying 6 months will be ok, but there is nothing wrong with applying slightly earlier!

thats another thing I thought out. I would love! to go right now, in the midst of uni holidays, but Im not 21 yet, hence no clubbing and drinking. If I wait until end 2011/start 2012, I will be 21 and then a good nightlife can be enojyed haha. why dont you wait? under 21's are placed in 'wellness' apartments and wont be able to enjoy Orlando nightlife!

I think being a fur character will be a great job. I guess heat will be an issue for some, but like you said, we experience many many hot, humid yucky days here in Australia. we can handle it I have read here though, that you must be the correct height if you want to be a fur character (aka really short or really tall) so I wont be applying for that job. Im average height.
the hospitality role will be nice, but for me, I'll like to be out in the parks interacting with guests and experiencing the theme park. dunno how to explain it haha, but I guess Ill like to be outside and in the actual parks ;P


good luck for your study and may your break be soon!

so have you been to WDW before? how did you here about this program?

 

Hi Everyone,

Im going in July! Im from NSW and I didnt have a face to face interview I only had a phone interview. But to get your visa you have to go to the US consulate and I think they are only in Sydney and Melbourne...
Im only going for 6 months and doing attractions, but if you go for 12 months you get 2 roles one for each half of the year. For those of you worried about going for 6 or 12 months, you can apply for 6 and then extend it when you get over there if you want to but I think you have to take whatever roles are vacant.

There is also an official website with more info if you dont know about it...
www.disneyinternationalprograms.com

 

hey there chris im char from perth, WA
thanks for all the info and congrats on the successful application! hope you have a great time!
Thats great that you can get two roles if you work there for a year. I'll love to have the roles of a character attendant and an attractions role.
Regarding the US consulate,I was browsing through the links to the US embassy sites and there is one located in Perth City so that saves me a couple hundred flying out to Sydney or Melbourne The US embassy is located in Canberra, but there are consulates in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. thank goodness! its just a 15 minute train ride away!

Thats cool that we dont have a face to face interview (anything to cut down costs, since I imagine they will only be held in Sydney or Melb.) I think we are lucky to only have the phone interview
thanks for website referal, Ive been on that before and its great in giving us info about all the basics and questions regarding working at WDW. hope you stick around on the forums, wouldlove to hear how your going at Florida and hope you have a great time!

 

I think getting 2 roles per year is great I didn't know this happened until I got my acceptance email. I will be starting character perfomer in Winter and then slowly getting hotter from there. Hopefully I will be able to handle it!

 

thats great mia88, hopefully the weather wont be too humid. oh well, the pools will come in handy!
how was your application process? since your living in Brisbane, did you have to attend a face to face inteview/presentation, or was it just a phone interview? many people have said that aussies dont have to do a f2f interivew yay for us. also, how was your visa application process? is it all ok?
thanks!

 

The process was so easy and quick. I sent my email to Kelly.. She sent me forms to fill out. Once she had my forms I got given a Phone Interview the next week. The day after my phone interview I got accepted. There was no waiting time for me at all..
But yeh.. no face to face interview. No one this year that I know has had one. We just had to watch the presentation online. We havent gotten any of our forms yet, so we can't start the visa process. But I have to go to Sydney for the interview, which is a bit annoying.. and an added expense ..

 

Thanks for the info Chris, its great we get to do two roles!!

Char, too true, one whole year bring it on!
I agree, I should wait till I'm 21 till I go over, which is in May 2012..but i'd have to stick around to have a birthday party first lol, so perhaps I should go mid-year 2012 (my plans have changed so much, from 2010 to 2012!!)

I finish my degree at the same time (if I don't fail any subjects..which i probably will anyway - but thats what summer courses are for)
I'll probably apply mid 2011 then.
How much is the flight anyway? I looked up a couple of figures but you never know in these fragile economic conditions lol!

Well I'm about 5'1", and I never thought my shortness would come in handy until now hehe! I hope I'm short enough tho

I'm finally on my break!! Yess 1 whole month of freedom!
I went to WDW in 2000, so long ago, all I remember is enjoying the parade and the castle and going into micky and minnie's houses and i think posing with tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee. it was really fun, oh i also remember going on the cruise thingy.
ohhh and i remember the moment i tried my first churro....omg i'm gonna be looking forward to those!! have you been?

well I was browsing this website called 43 things where you pretty much just list ur life goals and blog on how you did it/how you didnt do it, and this program was up there, how about you?

 

mia88- great to hear that australians have a quick and easy application process. So you sent your application form to the STB email right? Thats a bummer that you have to travel to Sydney for the Visa interview. Luckily, Perth has a consulate general, so Visa interviews can be conducted here. I was also worried that I'll have to travel interstate for any interviews or presentations. Its also great to hear that you had no waiting time. I would hate to complete the apllication process and find out that Ive been waitlisted or something :/ Good luck for your two roles ans saving money for flights etc.. Hopefully interte flights are cheap by then!

demi- yes, staying a whole year will be great! its really a once in a lifetime oppotunity. the only time we can virtually live at WDW haha! oh my goodness, I also remebered my first churro. it was heaven! they are soo good! ah, good ole american food!
happy that you are going to wait until 2012. me too. if I go now, knowing my work/studying ethics, I may put of finishing my degree! I will motivate myself to complete the degree, then WDW here we come! haha ( taking into consideration that I pass my units ) So you are the same age as me My birthday is in Jan 2012, so after Feb, it will be the perfect time to leave
Regarding flights, I have had a bit of a browse on the net and getting a few prices from agents and they are looking prety expensive. If we fly comfortably and via Australia-LA-Orlando (for example), we are looking at return flight prices of at least $2500 :/ ouch.. Mainly because total flight time is 24 hours and Im presumming we have many connections/transfers to make. So tie that in with Visa Application ($147), travel insurance... I need to work more hours at Kmart haha. Hopefully,when we apply, the icp organisers can give us good prices and quotes and we can shop around haha! I just hope that when we do apply, all the drama and wories of the recession/economic crisis and 'swine flu' are over and we can travel without too much fuss. Im wearly of travelling this year, I dont want to be quarrantined at an airport!
I found out the program by talking to a worker at Disneyland Anahiem, while on vacation in June 2008. She recommended I do the program and y the wonders of the Internet I wound up here!
Cant wait for the years to pass so we can start applying!

 

Ugh I know.. flights are so expensive.. and so is insurance..
Just found out yesterday my start date. I will be living in Orlanda Florida as of 23 January 2010
Yay!
Waiting till your over 21 is a really good idea. It will be heaps more fun. I am 22 next year so I'm one of the older ones. There is this group on facebook, and most of the people coming next years are 18-19 years old...

 

The visa interview is really easy but it takes a while. You will have to fill out forms before you go and pay fees (it is rather expensive to get a US visa). The interview itself is straight forward and takes 2 minutes, 5 at most, but there is a lot of waiting. I was only there (Sydney) for just over an hour but I have heard the Melbourne one takes much longer.
Flights aren't too bad, you can usually get good prices when the airlines have sales, thats what I did.

 

Char - my fondest memories include churros and those massive salty pretzel thingy's! ohhh i cant wait!
haha i cant wait to shop at wal-mart, bring on the junk food!

see at least you get to celebrate ur birthday before you leave, great timing!
eep, thats quite expensive. Well if we fly cheap and decide we dont need entertainment and bring our own food it might be a bit cheaper ey. i think i can rough it to save a buck lol. however my aunt and family friend work for qantas so maybe i can score a discounted flight, or use up my frequent flyer points.

Well i need to get a job and then start working lol. im thinking david jones or myer, they're looking for ppl for christmas apparently.
yeah i know what you mean. my friend recently went to america and when she came back they told her she had to stay at home for a week.

technically, we're not acctually in a recession as we havent had two straight terms of decline (Sorry, what can I say I'm a Commerce student )

Anyway, if you dont pass all your units in time fly up with me in the june take

 

Wow, our little group is growing bigger =DD

I'm going over (fingers crossed haha) the year I turn 21, but I don't see it as a big deal if you aren't when you go. Many people under 21 drink over there.. you just have to be careful =P

I'm so excited to hear we get two jobs! I would definitely want character performer and attractions! And congrats for being accepted!!

I got told to apply a year before I want to go, so my countdown is to January 2010! Very excited. Starting to save already... I don't want to be too poor when we first get there!!

 

hey everyone! so good to hear that other people are from NZ/Aussie.

Im from New Zealand, I just heard about this program the other day haha, through a friend and it sounds pretty cool. I'm currently studying Tourism and Hospitality Management, this should be my last yr, but I'm going back next year for semester A to do 3 more papers. Then I was thinking about doing the program once I've finished, but not too sure yet, I really want to tho..

 

Hey Mia, I'm old too, don't stress! Turning 24 in 2010. Sigh, almost makes me the creepy old lady who should just grow up and get a real job hey?

 

Yay, another NZ person on here! They appear to be scarce or hard to find!

 

yeah!

Does anyone know how many NZers/Aussies they accept?

 

havent been hee for quite awhile and its great this post is till at the top! We aussie and new zealanders rock

kimmiedancer hey! im char from Perth WA
Im not too sure on exactly how many people they accept from Aus/NZ, but judging by the number of aussie related posts on ths discussion forum, I say a fair few!