Wednesday 19 January 2011

So much for my Disney book being closed...

Okay, sooo... this is my third blog which is related to Walt Disney World. I should probably give a brief overview of the last two for those who have not read them:

Magical Summer 2008  : This was my first job with the Disney Company, an International College Program which was from June 22nd - August 29th 2008. I worked in the Magic Kingdom, in a Merchandise role. The location was the Emporium which is the biggest store in the park.

Magical Summer 2010  : My second International College Program from June 20th - September 3rd 2010. I worked in the Hollywood Studios (formerly known as MGM Studios) in an Attractions role. I worked at a simulator ride called Star Tours and I was the last international Cast Member to work at the original version of Star Tours before it closed in September 2010 for major refurbishment to become Star Tours 2.

Okay, so now the basics are covered I should explain the purpose of this blog. As with my first blog; it's a secret for now and just somewhere for me to log my process with my latest escapade... applying for the Cultural Representative Program in 2012.

In one of my final blog posts during my Summer 2010 program, I said that I was closing my Disney book for now and it felt like it was over. But I was wrong. Within a month of returning to the UK, I'd gained a job at my local Disney Store and still spent every working day talking about the Mouse, my time in Florida (and from time to time I even talk about Star Wars!) and although I was initially a Christmas temporary Cast Member, I was kept on as a permanent part-time Cast Member which I was very pleased about. Not just because it meant I could keep money coming in but more because I enjoyed still being affiliated with the Company and indulging in my obsession. However, I kept up the theory that it was a part-time job which was not forever and that I would NOT be going back to work at Walt Disney World in the near future. The reasons I cited for this were that it would delay my "life" by another year, I wouldn't earn much money doing it, it's a whole YEAR away from home and my family/friends plus I didn't think it would hold many career benefits really.

However, something strange happened a few days ago. My mother (of all people) brought up the subject of spending a year in Florida working back at WDW. I told her the above reasons for not applying for the CRP and she rubbished it, basically. She (and several other people I've mentioned it to) said that you're "only young once" and "when you're 50, what difference did an extra year make in your twenties?". Plus, the big factor that I have literally nothing to lose - no contracts with rent to pay, no mortgage, no relationship, no full-time job etc. So, I decided to give the Yummy Jobs website a little bit of a surf...

And this is where fate stepped in. I logged into the website as their new procedure means that when you're interested in applying for a position you have to set up a profile and this gives you a username and password. So, naturally, when going on the website I just logged in as you do. However, when I clicked the button 'Apply Now' I did expect it to prompt me before actually sending an application (I thought it would just take me through to more information) but no, it actually applied!! Before I knew it, my Blackberry pinged with an email from Yummy Jobs to thank me for my application!

Even though I probably would have pressed the Apply Now button at some point that evening anyway, the unexpected quickness of this happening meant I then had to instantly dedicate time to updating my profile (it was 18 months out of date from my last application in September 2009!) and then recovering from the emotions it induced from the prospect of going back to work at WDW again!


So, now it's a waiting game (of course). And this time, it really is. It will be March before they review the applications and contact people for telephone interviews so based on that I'd imagine it will be April/May before they hold the face to face interviews should one be lucky enough to get through. And then even if you get the job; you won't be going out until next year - 2012. Apparently the year the world is going to end... well, Disney World is a good a place to be as any, right?!