Will Scott
e-mail: will.alphasig@gmail.com
Showing posts with label Merchandise. Show all posts

So... I applied again....

There has to be a Disney chip in my brain or something because I just applied for the Disney College Program...again.
Let me explain because there's a logic here...I swear. I'm graduating college in a little more than a month and a half, and I applied for a few professional internships (See this post for info...) and they said I would hear back in November...well hello November! It's nice to meet you!

I have anywhere from Today (Nov. 2) until the end of November to hear back from the company on whether or not I received a Professional role within the company...so the College Program is a fall-back...a fail safe if you will, just in case.

We had our last campus presentation, and as a Campus Representative it was my very last presentation as a student. So to say I was sad is an understatement, but to apply for the program again makes me even happier...

Now I know what you're thinking...and it's not like I want to go back into Merchantainment with my bachelors degree in Public Relations and Entertainment Marketing, which is why this time around I decided to try something different and apply for a few different roles:
  • Photopass
  • Concierge
  • Vacation Club
  • Hospitality
  • Character Entertainment
  • Character Performer
...yes you read right. Character Performer. I wanted to try something different this go round , which means I will be traveling to Michigan this weekend to Audition. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Extremely. Will I vlog about it? Most definitely. I'm not banking all my hopes on it because performers are cast based on need and height. Based on experience auditioning, I've been told I'm "dead height" (meaning there isn't a constant need for my height range as far as character performers go). So instead of worrying my pretty little head off about it, I'm going with the notion of having fun and hopefully I'll get something out of the process...

In addition I plan on taking a few classes that will help me in the long run like: Exploring Marketing, Exploring People Management, or maybe Corporate Communication and of course, using my networking skills at the Speaker Series and such to a tee that they can't help but hire me after my program is over.

I'm still keeping my hopes up about the Professional Internship but it doesn't hurt to have options right? Except for that my options are with the same company! So yeah I've applied for the College Program for a third time, but honestly...I feel this company is where I belong. If you know me at all, I never shut up about Disney! I love this company and what it has done for me professionally so why not want to continue down the path?

My interview is tomorrow (Tuesday) in the evening and I'm doing everything I can to prepare. I'm not really worried, but there's no sense in not being ready. Plus I'm auditioning for roles I've never had before so it is (in a sense) a completely different interview!


UPDATE (11/3)
So for those of you wondering how my interview actually went this is for you. I received my call at around 7:30 (after freaking out mildly cause my interview was scheduled at 7:15) and after apologizing briefly Jan, my interviewer began asking me questions. After being relieved that I was an active castmember (that being she didn't have to ask so many questions) we bantered back and forth about my relationship with the company, why I'm applying for a 3rd college program and my increasing love and dedication to the company.
We talked for about a good 40 minutes about my work experiences on previous programs and why I chose the roles I did on my role checklist. She praised me on my examples and said that I was one of her favorite interviewees because she loves interviewing alumni and current castmembers because of our awesome stories and yearn to stay with the company.
What mostly stuck out to me was that she told me that she saw no reason that I shouldn't be admitted back into the program based on my interview (YAY!) and she "Would love to tell (me) right then about an offer but because (I was) auditioning on Sunday, I would have to wait until after then". So it's safe to say I'm really excited about the next couple of weeks because not only should I hear back from the Professional Internship segment of the company, I might also get a purple folder as well. The is me extremely excited for the weeks ahead.... :)

We'll know in a few weeks time what the future actually holds for me but for now I'll just keep looking to that second star to the right and wishing really hard my dreams continue to come true!

Life (Or Your Job)'s What You Make It...

So a little birdie told me that by calling College Recruiting and getting your Personal Number and then calling Casting that you could find out your location before your arrival date.

*Sidenote - I wouldn't advise doing this if you like surprises or If you feel
you're going to be dissapointed by what you hear...*


Well I did that today (which I really shouldn'tve have because I'm technically on Vocal Rest and I shouldnt've made any phone calls), and found out where I'm working for the summer...

...which is EPCOT Towers and Glow. If you're not familiar, Glow is a section of Merchandise which is my role - where you either walk around a park dressed in glowy tubes selling them to children and adults for usually $5 when it gets dark (usually before a parade or fireworks)...or you're stationed in a section of the park with a cart where you sell glow toys and you get to play with them. Another part of the job description is during the day you get to stand outside selling squeeze-breezes (the squirt bottles with the fan) or other water dispensing objects and in my case I would also get to work at The Two Towers - which are the two merchandise stations right before you entire World Pavillion.

When I first heard I was working at EPCOT I was on the fence. Let me explain...as some of you know, EPCOT isn't my favorite park. In fact it's my least. I particuarlly dislike Illuminations - the fireworks show at the park - and becauuse it's a learning pavillion i didn't spend as much time there as the other parks on my first program. Now that's not to say I dislike the park entirely. There are some aspects of the park I like. World Pavillion, Soaring, The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Space Ship Earth will always be favorites of mine, but as a whole i do feel the park is pretty boring.

So its safe to say when the lady told me over the phone that I would be working EPCOT Towers and Glow I was at first dissapointed.

But then I thought something...

When I was deployed to Glow in the Magic Kingdom on my First program, I had the time of my life! I loved walking around as "Glow Boy" and entertaining guests, dancing, performing and interacting with them, being in the parade and making people smile. That put a smile on my face and joy in my heart to know I was a part of something that great!

In addition to that, this might give me a new appreciation for the park and I'll get to see it in a different way than I did as a guest. I'll meet new people, interact with guests the same, and there's more to do on the program outside of work!

Plus...I won't have to wear long sleve shirts, slacks and a vest to work every day...that's always a plus. In addition, this will encourage me to pick up more shifts at other parks for the summer and get more money.

Here's what people had to say about Glow and Epcot in the Summer Alumni Facebook Group:

"Glow, is you stand around with a cart full of glowing
objects to sell to people, but glow is fun you can like play with the toys to
get peoples attention. Plus the bus rides to EPCOT from the Housing Pavillions
are short. Magic Kingdom busses take like an hour."


"I was just reading about this glow stuff, and it sounds
awesome, you'll be like a walking Raver. lol. Maybe you could add some funky
techno to your cart, and you'll have a one man party. Oh the
possibilities."


"Glow is awesome at epcot, everyone always wants a toy.
You get to wear them all crazy like and if you're lucky, you can ride a segway
with them. =D Just depends who your manager is."


" I got deployed to glow for a week when i was on my
program. it was at mk though. it really want bad at all... you get put in a
location and your out there by yourself which can kinda sound boring but it was
actually a lot of fun... I was kinda sad I was only there for a week. I did
squeeze breeze during the day too which was not so much fun bc it was superrr
hot outside!!Im not sure if it's the same at epcot though... but it def. sounds
like your doing so sort of glow. "


"Remember...no location is final until you're actually
there..."

That last one stuck with me. Nothing is final until 12 days from now when they hand me my sticker sand say you're working (INSERT LOCATION HERE). So I could've been working myself up over nothing. The Magic Kingdom will always be my favorite park, but it'll be nice to work somewhere else and get a different experience.

Cause as the songwriter says:

"Life's what you make it...so lets make it rock!"