A New Future Cast Member!

I just got an e-mail from one of my friends, Rebecca, and guess what... she's going to Disney! She'd been on the waiting list and just got an e-mail from Kristen saying she's been hired. Not only that, but she's going July 15th for Food and Beverage, the same as me!

This is awesome, now I'll have another friend in Florida, and someone to go through training with (I hope we'll be in the same sessions)! YAY! I'm super excited. Only 24 days until I leave, and 29 days until we start at Disney!

Disney Acknowledgement Form

Today Kristen sent me my Disney Acknowledgement form!

Greetings!

Within the next 6-8 weeks you will receive a packet from Disney in the Mail. However, as I know you may be extremely excited for more information about Disney, I wanted to send your acknowledgement from to you early!

This is the document that will act as a checklist for your arrival to Disney. Please do read through the acknowledgement form and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask!

You will want to print out the form, fill out the bottom portion, and then fax to Walt Disney World. Please do note that before your arrival to Florida, you will want to pay your program assessment fee of $85.50 US. This will need to be paid online (www.disneyurl.com/internationalPAFs) and will reserve your room in Florida.

Have a Great Day!

Kristen

Here it is!



I can't wait to get the full package... 95 days to go!

Yummy Called!

Kristen from Yummy called today! She just called to confirm that I'd been given a role in Food and Beverage starting July 15th, 2008, and to give me some information on the process.

Um... food and beverage? I told her that I'd been told merchandise but that I really had no preferences, and I'd love to do food and beverage, too! I'm just excited to work for Disney! Since that's what Disney has listed I'm going to stick with F&B! This is actually a great opportunity because you get paid $0.50/hour more for regular jobs, and if you get to be a server it means tips! All of this will help me pay for the gas/insurance for that new Toyota Corolla I bought on the weekend! Plus, Kristen said it's more interesting because you get to be in a wide variety of roles. PLUS I'll get to wear both kinds of costumes, and most of my friends are in F&B so I'll get to work with them! YAY!

So, here's what Kristen told me:

• They have received my background check and correct information from Cast-A-Way... bonus!
• I will need medical insurance for the first 4 months, after which I can get insurance from Disney. The requirements for the insurance will be listed in the package I should be receiving soon! I asked her if she knew anything about the Disney insurance, and she's going to get back to me in a couple of days with the price, etc. I've heard some people just get insurance for the year, and opt out of Disney insurance, so I'd like to get as much info as possible!
• I will need to bring my official birth certificate to Florida
• I will need to bring professional attire for my first few days of work
• A couple days before I leave for Florida I need to e-mail Disney and they'll tell me when/where to meet them!
• When crossing the border I'm going to need to tell the customs agent I'm going to work in Florida to make sure that they stamp my passport
• There is an $85.50 program assessment fee that can be paid online before I go
• Save my gas receipts from driving down... Disney will reimburse them

The full package should be arriving at my dad's house in a couple of weeks. It will have all of this information and more!

Yummy Jobs

I received an e-mail from Yummy! YAY!

Dear Jennifer,

Many thanks for your confirmation email and Congratulations on being offered a position at Walt Disney World®! You are about to embark on an exciting adventure that you will remember the rest of your life and we here at Yummy Jobs are here to assist you through your journey from now until you arrive in Florida.

As the new recruiter for Canada, we wanted to formally introduce ourselves to you. Yummy Jobs is based in two locations, the United Kingdom and Michigan, USA (right on the border of Ontario, Canada!). While we may be in a different country than you, we here at Yummy Jobs are 100% committed to assisting you in anything you may need. Our Yummy Jobs team members will aim to response to all enquiries within 2 business days, however receiving an answer within a few hours of your enquiry is not out of the ordinary for us! To give you a better idea on who you may have correspondence with throughout your journey, we would like to give you a brief background on the Yummy Jobs team:

Kristen Thornton: Based in Michigan, USA, Kristen will be your contact person from today to the day you arrive in Orlando, Florida – every step of the way!

Jason Smith: Founder of Yummy Jobs, Jason assists with the overall process of all the different programs offered at Walt Disney World in the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Russia & now Canada! Formally a WDW program participant and WDW International Guest Service Manager

Michele Harris, Alexis Smith, and Hannah London are the other Yummy Jobs UK team members and work with those currently in Europe. However they are all there for your journey as well!

Walt Disney World will be sharing all of your information with us about your role and position, and we would like to continue the work to ensure you have a smooth process to America. I will be contacting you in more detail within the next 4 weeks to confirm the information we currently have and what we still may need. If at any time you have any questions or concerns about this process please do not hesitate to contact me.

We look forward to working with you, and assisting in making your time at Walt Disney World the best! If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do hesitate to email me.

All the Best,
The Yummy Jobs Team

This is really good news! They were quick to respond, and seem really nice. Everyone on WDWIP has spoken really well of their interaction with Yummy Jobs so I'm excited!

Until I hear more information I guess I'm back to the waiting game.

No More Cast -A-Way

Good Afternoon!

For your information, We will no longer be recruiting or handling anything with Walt Disney World, We will no longer be your point of contact.

This means that everything having to do do with your arrival at Disney should be referred directly to roger.antoniazzo@disney.com or michael.d.almeida@disney.com

We will however still be recruiting for Disney Cruise lines, so if after your program you are interested, please go to our website www.cast-a-way.com and fill out our online application.

It has been a pleasure meeting you and I wish you much success on your program.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Eric Theriault
Cast-a-Way

At first I started to panic. What do you mean Cast-A-Way is no longer responsible for hiring? What does this mean? Then just over two hours later I got this e-mail:

Greetings from Walt Disney World,

As you prepare to depart for your experience here at Walt Disney World, we have some very important information to share with you. Here at Walt Disney World, we are always seeking out the most efficient ways to make our candidates have the most seamless experience possible.

With that said, it is with much excitement that I introduce you to your new Procurement Allies, Yummy Jobs. How does this affect you as candidate in Canada? Yummy Jobs will now be your main point of contact re: all pre-trip planning information for your experience here at Walt Disney World. In the past you have notified Cast-a-way of all the pertinent information re: your travel, Visas and Embassy appointments. However, moving forward, you must contact Yummy Jobs (see contact information below) with this information.

We are very excited to grow our partnership with Yummy Jobs into Canada. We have worked very closely with them over the years with our Western Europe Region. They have provided excellent service for our candidates in UK, The Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland and we can assure you that you will receive that same service.

At this time, I need for each and every one of you to touch base with Yummy Jobs at the email address provided below. Please provide all of the following bulleted information by Wed March 12, 2008. Your email will verify your participation on our program. Rest assured, Yummy Jobs is a reputable employment sourcing agency and your private information will be completely confidential.

· Your Full Name
· Phone Number: Best Number to reach you at
· Your Arrival Date and the Role You Were Offered
· Your Embassy Appointment Date (If applicable)
· If you have already had your appointment, please state if you have your Visa

Yummy Jobs
Website: yummyjobs.com


In addition to handling pre-trip work, Yummy Jobs will also be pre-screening and hosting all future Disney International Program presentations. If you have friends or acquaintances that are interested in our programs, please refer them to Yummy Jobs as they are now the main point of contact for Canada.

Thank you in advance for responding immediately to Yummy Jobs! We look forward to your arrival here at Walt Disney World!

Sincerely,
Walt Disney World International Recruitment

Naturally, after this e-mail I was a little relieved, there was more information on who would be handling everything, but I was still nervous. Would all the information be transferred? Why were they asking me what position and start date I was offered? Shouldn't they know?! Are they going to change my start date?

I responded to the e-mail, so we'll see what happens! I'll keep you updated!

Background Check

Sent in my background check to Eric today. I have no criminal record... yay! The background check is so that I can get a Visa to work in the states for a year. Hopefully that will come through soon, and then they'll send me the package with all of the information on my year at Disney! I can't wait!

Apparently Not Enough!

Since the last two messages were so amusing my Dad was able to record the message I left at my Mom's. Here it is, the first words I was able to get out of my mouth when I found out I was accepted.
Message #0
Enjoy!

Excited Much?

Everyone who's heard them has been laughing at the phone messages I left for my parents when I found out I was accepted into the Cultural Representative Program. Now you can laugh too! My Dad recorded the messages I left and now they are available online for everyone to here.

Message #1
This is the message I left for my Dad right after I received the e-mail. So I've already called my Mom, and I'm still this excited.

Message #2
This is the message I left for my Dad right after calling Eric. You would think I've calmed down but after the first 5 seconds you'll realize I haven't.

Hope you enjoy the audio files! Oh, don't worry, I won't be surprised if (like Krista) you're "judging" me for these crazy messages!

Waiting List

After the group of acceptance e-mails were sent out yesterday it turns out only a few people who were on the boards/forums were actually accepted. We all just assumed this meant more acceptances were coming soon for those who hadn't heard.

Nikki (Timitu on the boards) was nice enough to ask Eric when she called in the morning, and he said he'd be sending out another round of emails! YAY! I still had my fingers crossed for all my friends who hadn't heard anything.

As it turns out, the e-mail was to be placed on the waiting list, and it seems most of the people I know fall into that category. Fortunately the waiting list is not a bad place to be! With the few number of acceptances they've sent out most people are assuming they just haven't finished sorting out start dates and positions, but they wanted to let people know that they were still in the running! Also, they will most likely need replacements for people who get kicked out, or have to leave early! It's quite possible that they could be down in Florida before I am!

Also, there are many stories of people who have applied, and been put on the waiting list (or even have been sent a rejection email) and then they get a call from Eric a week later offering them a position! I really hope that is the case. Now that I'm starting to calm down about being accepted, I'm really hoping that my friends will get to go too! Can you say "trip to South Beach"?

*fingers crossed* and I'll keep people updated!

Congratulations

To: Jenn
From: Eric
Date: Thu, Feb 14, 2008 at 2:27 PM

Congratulations!!!

You have been selected to take part in the Cultural Representative program at Walt Disney World!!

Please contact our office ASAP and I will give you your arrival date and your details to get you started!

You can reach me at ***-***-****.

Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you.

Eric Theriault
Cast-A-way

I read this around 2:45pm... and was shocked.
I made a squealing noise and started hyperventilating I was so excited. I was literally shaking... all I could think was "I'm actually going to work at Disney!"

I immediately phoned my Mom (I should add that it required several attempts to dial the number because my hands were shaking) and I left a message:

HEY IT'S ME, MOM IT'S ME, I JUST GOT AN EMAIL, I GOT THE EMAIL AT 2:27 TODAY. I'M GOING TO DISNEY! I'M GOING TO DISNEY! I HAVE, I HAVEN'T CALLED HIM BACK, I HAVEN'T, I'M TOO EXCITED, BUT I'M GOING TO DISNEY, MOM, I'M GOING TO DISNEY!

I left a similar message for my Dad, and then tried to calm myself down so that I could be more articulate when I called Eric. I called Eric and after a few phone line transfers I was talking to Eric! He offered me a position in Merchandise starting July 15, 2008!. I immediately accepted and he started letting me know about information regarding the program.

They'll be mailing the information package and my visa information to my Dad's house. It will have everything I need to get started. I also need to fax them a background check ASAP.

After getting off the phone with Eric I started calling/e-mailing all my friends and family. I wanted to know if my Disney friends had received the e-mail too, so we could all celebrate together!

Turns out they didn't send out all of the acceptances today, so I'm so lucky that I know! Rae, Jen, and Rebecca still haven't heard! Keep your fingers crossed for them and I'll keep you updated as planning for my Disney adventure continues!