Dear all alumini, Hello! I'm a new participant who have NEVER been to Florida or Disney. ALl of you have been there. Many new pariticpants like me are very nervous and scared.   YOu guys are very familiar with this place and this programme. ;D I wonder with you can kindly share your experience with new participants, [ what I have to bear in mind when working there , what opinion or feelings you wanna express about food, accomodation ( life there)  or tips for new participants?]  Plz drop a few lines if you have worked in Disney. Melissa
I was sick the day I left for Florida...had the flu. But I still went. On top of that, I was sad that I was leaving my family and friends, and nervous cause I had never been to Florida. I was starving and all WDWIP gave me was a granola bar.... I worked in the Canada attraction, and I forgot ALL the words on the day I was supposed to go up and give the speech for the first time. I went up and said "My name is Sarah, and I am from Ottawa Ontario".....then I froze........so I said "And here is Jen. She will tell you about the movie", and I gave my trainer the microphone, ran backstage and cried. I still had the flu and I was miserable. Also, a girl I knew from back home was there, and she proceeded to turn on me, telling people lies about me and so very few people wanted to become friends with me. BUUUUUTTTT, within a couple of weeks my flu was gone, I had the speech memorized, and I had lots of friends. It may take a bit in order to find your niche, but when you do (and you will), you will have THE BEST time of your life!! I sure did! Working at WDW for a year was probably the best thing I've ever done for myself (besides getting married... ). Just keep in mind, things may not always go perfectly, and there may be times that you question yourself, BUT you WILL have the best time of your life, and you WILL make tons of friends, and you WILL NOT regret it!!!! PS - YOU WILL get the hang of things....DON'T be nervous! THOUSANDS of people have done this before you! You can handle it!
Dear Sarah, Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm so sorry to hear that the girl you knew turned on you. YOu must feel very upset at that time especially she was from your country. I guess most people will stay with friends from your own country when being in a foreign country which you are UNFAMILIar. I'm quite worried about CULtural gap between each others. There was cultural gap right? I'm afraid the cultural gap may deter me from getting along with others. :-[ Melissa
If you have EVER worker in Disney before , could you plz kindly share your experience or give some tips to new participants [ tips about working in Disney, tips about what we have to bear in mind when being in Florida or Disney, where to hang out in Disney, the MUST-try thing in Disney] Looking forward to reading your opinion
Hey there...I got over it pretty quickly. With friends like that, who needs enemies, right? It's hard for me to share any 'cultural shock' experiences though....Being from Canada, the US is not all that different. There are some small things that are different and that I noticed, but I think Canadians have the easiest time adjusting out of all the cultural reps. If it makes you feel any better, I shared a bedroom with a Hong Konger, and she adapted quite well. She used to work at the Polynesian Resort. She got used to the US and the WDW way of life easily....and she loved it.
If you have EVER worker in Disney before , could you plz kindly share your experience or give some tips to new participants ;D [ tips about working in Disney, tips about what we have to bear in mind when being in Florida or Disney, where to hang out in Disney, the MUST-try thing in Disney]
Must you keep repeating the post over and over? Always make it to work on time. In fact, arrive a little bit early. But don't clock in more than 15 minutes earlier than your check in time (there's some policies that you can get in trouble if you do). Don't do anything drastic to your appearance before consulting a manager. Especially if it's something REALLY new for you. Like if you want to dye your hair, say, blond when you're naturally brunette. I don't think hair cuts would be a big problem, nor would trying a new makeup thing. But DO make sure that if you paint your nails that it's within the Disney Look. Managers keep polish remover in their offices for you to remove the polish if it's not in Disney Look. If you have more than one piercing in each ear, remember to take out the extra piercings before you go to work. Pretty much anything you have to keep in mind if you're in a stage show, keep in mind at Disney. And things to do? Keys to the Kingdom tour. It's $29 with a cast member discount, and LOADS of fun!
Sorry if I keep repeating the post annoys you. I'm scared as I have NEVER been to the USA or Disney before. I have ONLY been to the Asian countries. SOrry if it disturbs you.
It's so scary as I know very little about DIsney and the programme. I EVEN have NOT sorted the Visa out [ They came to HOng KOng to have to interview on 1st April] I just wanna know more about the REAL SITUAtion there. Sorry if it annoys you. I'm really SORRRY.
