random questions

Hi guys,

I just have a few questions and thought you guys would be best placed to help me.

Ok, so I want to book my flight pretty soon so its booked, but I seem to remember someone saying in our welcome pack we get a discount voucher??? Is that true? I may just be making that up but i'm a sucka for a bargain so would hate to miss out on a discount haha.

Second question, and I know this seems like a bit of a silly one but how do we get paid when we are there? Do we have to open a bank account? I'm assuming it's not cash in hand (minus tips for f&b of course).

I'm probably going to have a million more questions before I get there but these are the 2 on my mind now.

Thanks for any help/advice you might have guys
xxx

 

when your over there you get your pay in a cheque, you have to go in and pick it up (show ID etc) and then you take it to Publix supermarket where you can cash it for free, yay!!! If you open a bank account with Suntrust you can then set up a "direct deposit" so that you get your pay put directly into your account on pay day, so you dont have to go in and collect a cheque and cash it etc. if your in F&B and get into a tipped position you keep your cash tips at the end of your shift, anything that comes in as tips from credit cards, room charges etc gets added onto your pay cheque.

You can also open a bank account with disney's partner bank (the vista federal credit union) and it works in the same way altho vista isnt the same as a "normal" bank (like suntrust) so there are some differences with their accounts, id suggest getting a suntrust account,its the same as any regular UK current account (you get a visa debit card etc) and you can use it to buy stuff online, to pay for things in supermarkets and shops etc

you can get away with not opening a bank account but its a bit of a hassle really as youd have to go in and collect your pay cheques and then go to publix to cash them (they only let you cash i think 2 or 3 at a time) and you would have to carry cash on you all the time (unless your guna use your UK bank card, but thats guna cost a fortune in foreign transaction fees!!!)

 

No you dont get discount on your flight - either you book it or you let disney book it and they take the cost back out fo your pay (or they used to but it worked out more expensive and they flew you via timbucktoo!)

I think the discount voucher is for mears transport as they no longer provide a pick up servioce instead you have to make your own way to vista way housing complex and then they sort you out with your room and itinary info etc then. I think mears vista is around $25 normally but you get a discount so its only $20 not 100% sure on the prices tbh as we had transport

I would say if you get a deent price for your flight go for it and book it - also if your under 26 sta travel do pretty good ones if you get the international youth card or something

 

yeah, i agree, just book your flight as soon as you can, try and get a decent price if you can but remember that your going to get the money back at the end of the year anyway (as long as you complete your year!!) dont bother letting disney book it, its more expensive and more hassle, and now that they have stopped the airport pick up im not sure if there is any benefit at all to letting them book it........?!!

 

Ah cheers guys, right, time to book my flight then
xxx

 

Just to add to Jacksons reply about pay, you don't have to go in and pick up a cheque anymore. You'll get an Elite card which is run by Partners Federal Credit Union. Your pay goes straight onto that. It works pretty much the same as a debit card. You can use it in shops and get cash back etc. A lot of people survive the whole year with just that, but I'd suggest getting a SunTrust account just because when you get home your Elite card wont work in the UK, but your Suntrust one will...aparantly. Also you can't pay money into it (well, you might be able to, but I don't know how), so if you get tips, you can't pay them in. It also doesn't have your name on it, it just says Valued Customer, so I don't think it works with buying things online...I've never tried though.

Just another note on tips too...your charge tips you get back off the Co-ordinators at the end of the night, cash in hand. It's only gratuities that go into your pay.

In terms of your flight, you might be thinking of the STA flights where if you bok with them you get a discount on your insurance. Or like someone else said, you might be thinking of the Mears coupon.

Anymore questions, feel free to ask hehe.

 

I was just wondering if you knew of anyone who had a car with them while they did the program... and if so, do you know what they required to drive it for the year???

 

Don't know if it'd be different for Canadians, but for the UK people I know that have cars they've had to take a US driving test. Think you can drive on your UK license for so long, but for some reason they wont let you park in housing unless you have a Florida license....or something like that...I don't have a car myself, so not 100% sure.

 

Random question to the guys who've done the CRP before...

What are the opening times of the chippy and the R&C, and what hours do you end up working? For example, my current restaurant opens at midday, last customer can sit at 11pm. I never start work any earlier than 12, and close can be as late as 1am. Average shifts are 12-4, or 12-6 and 6-10 or 6-close. (Other variants happen, as do splits where you work both lunch and dinner)

I'm sure I had another question this morning, but I've forgotten it now. *shrug*

 

chippy and podium staff start first, youl work an opening or closing shift usually, if you close you will be finished by 9.30pm, unless its extra magic hours. cant remember what time chippy and podium open to be honest, 10.30am maybe??? cant remember!
In the restaurant you get either an AM shift, a MID shift or a PM shift, if your an AM you go in and set up the restauarnt for lunch and the n serve, you get finished about 4.30ish, for a mid you go in and work all day, lunch and dinner, and for a PM you start at 4.30ish and youl be the last group to leave, you usually get home by 11pm...... the bus to work takes around 20minutes, but if its very busy you sometimes have to wait for the next bus to come.....

i wish i could remember the actual shift times, but i cant..... booo....... sorry, not much help really! im sure someone else will be able to be more useful!

 

i think open chippy is the earliest i think its 1045? but i could be way out, i know they also have a 12.45/1pm start there as well cant remember the pms start times i have a recollection of starting at 3/4pm sometimes but it closes at 9 and if your closing then you usually get out about 9.45pm - chippy you have to cash out as well which can be a pain and make you late leaving and the chippy has to be walked by a manager

greeter is 1.15 until 9

i think seaters are like 12 starting and some do right through to 9 and some start later i think at 4pm for the evening shift.

on podium you tend to work shifts that are between 5 (if your lucky) and 9 hour shifts

food runners you have one who does all day and then one who starts a couple of hours later so like 12 start and 2ish start again until 9

Kerry you fogot the joyous doubles there where you start at open and finish at closing a a server

Shift lengths as a server can be from 11 hours long til a mere 6 hours if ya lucky

 

ahhhhhhhahahahaha doubles, what a joke!!! worse than that was being force extended..... and then seeing mids being cut before you,nightmare!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thanks so much guys! Another quicky... I would assume, if you're on the 9 or so hour shifts, that you get a 30min break or something in the middle?

Finishing by 9:45-10pm, and being home by 11pm sounds dreamy compared to here. Travelling to work times wouldn't bother me, it currently takes me 30-40min to get to work (traffic dependant).

 

if your on a mid shift you get a break between lunch and dinner service, and for chippy and podium you get a break aswell.

the shifts are ok but your going to be working very very hard, dont think that just because the shifts are shorter its going to be a walk in the park, its not!!!!! podium and chippy are fairly easy shifts, aside from the heat and the volume of guests you see every day but server shifts are hard work!!

 

Oh, I appreciate that it's hard work. I just meant that it's nice to finish early and relax after if you've worked really hard.

 

I think if you do more than 6 hours you get 15mins, 8 hours 20 mins and 9 plus 1 hour or something like that when ya non tipped

when ya tipped depending on how busy it is you can get like an hour or less

 

Sounds about usual for a restaurant. I'm expecting to work 12-13 hours on Saturday with a 30min break. Fun times!

 

Hey Ive got a random non work question wondering if anyone can help me with!!!!!

my family are thinking of coming over in December as i fly out early November and were wondering what the black out days are in December for not being able to get family and friends in the parks.

 

I think they're just Christmas week.

For those on about shifts, don't forget about the bar I think they have the earliest start time at 9:30 and the latest finish...I don't know when lol.

Chippy opens at 11:30, so the earliest shift start is 10:45. The restaurant opens at 12, so greeters starts at 11, as does beer cart. Earliest server start is 10:45 and food runner is 12.

As far as close goes, podium usually get around 6 hour shifts (as we've got squillions on poduim at the mo ) unless you're on chippy registers where you could be stood there for 9 hours. The last ones out are chippy closers who finish around 9:45. Food runners and servers will usually gt done by about 10-10:30.

Breaks go something like 15 mins for up to 6 hours, 45 mins for up to 8 hours, an hour for 10 hours...or thereabouts.

If you're an am or pm server, you get a 15 min break before your shift...so think of it like you don't get one at all lol. For mids, you get an hour or so in the middle.

 

Oh my gosh guys!

Thanks for the info regarding shifts ;D People have been asking me what sort of shifts and hours I'd be working and I had NO IDEA!

The breaks seem to be the same as I get working at McDonalds, but I imagine it's so much more tiring working over there with the heat and sheer number of people. Well, I'll find out in just over a week! ARGH!

I've been reading over these posts and I'm getting a little confused!

What's a Server, Seater, Food Runner, and Greeter's roles???? ;D