Hi Disney, it's me Meg, are you there?

Hello Everyone!

So, it's back to more postings! I know I've said that before but I really need to get back into writing and since there's still so much information left to cover, what better time than now! Don't forget that you can help shape my blog by telling me what topics you want written about or questions you want answered in the comments! It can even still be on an old post since I get a notification linking me to the comments!

The topic of this small post is the email process. We all spent those days constantly checking our emails awaiting that decision. Now that you're in, there's more emails to come! But they might not be as frequent as you might think and that might make you nervous if you don't know the process!

Once you pay your deposit and accept your position, there's really not much else to do. You will be getting a lot of your information 10-14 days before your check-in date, this includes you D.O.R.M paperwork (roommate and housing preference paperwork) and new hire paperwork. But in between then,it's pretty quiet!

To give you an example of what to expect, here's how my email schedule went for this upcoming program:
-Congratulations! Email: 3/17
     *This email contains the links to accept your offer and pay the $300 deposit
-Payment Email: 3/19
     *Accepting your offer triggers this email to come out, it is just another reminder to pay your dues 
      if you have not already. Remember, BOTH must be completed within the 10 day window
-Payment Confirmation: 3/19
      *A digital and detailed receipt of your payment is emailed. You may choose to print this for your
       records but it isn't required..
-Welcome to the Team!: 3/19
     *This contains your program dates and check in time and your official welcome to the team. It
     links you to the Onboarding Website which contains information regarding: a pre-arrival checklist,
     the Disney look, housing, driving directions, medical and religious accommodation forms, and tips

And this is the big stretch! You may wonder, did they forget about me? Am I really going? Will this waiting game end!

 Yes, yes it will:
-Disney Look: 6/24
     *Information regarding the Disney look

And after that, you won't really get much until 2 weeks prior to your arrival date. So fear not, Disney has not forgotten about you! They are just busy getting everything ready for your arrival!

HACCP and Why You Need to Know It

Any culinary school student has heard those letters before. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, what we call HACCP for short, are the safety guidelines that we must follow in the kitchen. It regulates everything for us including our sanitizer numbers, to how long we have to cool pastry cream or how we stock a fridge. Hint, never store your dairy or meats on top.

When you step foot in a kitchen, sure it's important to know your knife cuts or how to make a mousse, but what is just as important is to know you HACCP. This is true for not only Disney, but any kitchen that you work in.

Part of the reason why the Disney Culinary Program recruits from culinary schools is because they know that we learn these things. Before you even apply, you have to be ServSafe certified. They know they can teach you how to cook, but you should already know your food safety and sanitation.

So, why do I feel this is so important to make a post about? I work as a Campus Rep for the DCP and get to help with proctoring the HACCP tests before you take your interviews. I also get to hear direct feedback from the recruiters on what are people's strengths and weaknesses. And the major weakness is not knowing HACCP.

The tests only have one answer for each question, there's no other answers but the right one. Sure we have seen a lot of good tests get handed in, but we've also seen some pretty scary ones. We've seen tests where people think that milk is held at 0F or that you cook beef to 185F. We've een conversion factor questions left blank and a bunch of other scary answers that you can only imagine.

I know what it's like to get into lab and want to jump right into baking. Who cares about sanitation when there's cakes to be made right? But the sanitation is part of that recipe, it is just as important as picking cake flour rather than hi gluten flour. You may think that your chefs/teachers are saying this stuff just because they have to, but I cannot stress enough how much you need to know this stuff. You will walk into a bakery and need to scale a recipe down, you will need to convert something from pounds to grams, you will need to know your conversions. You will walk into a kitchen and you will need to know to put raw beef on the bottom shelf, you will need to know what temperatures to cook a certain cut of meat and you will most definitely need to know proper sanitation procedures to prevent cross contamination.

I'm a senior in my last trimester of culinary school. I've gone through 20 baking and pastry labs and a full course in ServSafe. I know my HACCP information because I've taken the time to study it. I do the Disney HACCP test just for fun to see if I've still got it and I do. Yet a fellow senior baking and pastry person had to ask me this past week how to scale down a recipe and how many pounds are in a quart. You almost have to ask yourself if you are going to the same school.

Disney can mold you into the cook they want you to be, but they expect you to already know your sanitation. We hear directly from the recruiters that one of the things they look for is basic stuff like conversions, temperatures, and sanitation. Not only does Disney look for it, but I guarantee you that every kitchen you will ever work in looks for it too. Working in a kitchen is more than just whipping things up or doing cuts with your french knife, it's having the skills to work in that kitchen and the knowledge of how to work in the kitchen safe and clean.

Start studying!

Congratulations? Now what?

You've sent in your application, gone through a nerve wracking interview and now think every *ding* on your phone is the arrival of that all too important you've been waiting for. It can be junk mail or....it can be an acceptance email from the DCP!

And yes, this is what you will do. You will scream and jump up and down. And then you'll start crying. You'll compose yourself and then start calling your family and all of a sudden, you're crying again. And you keep rereading the email making sure it does say your name and that is is in fact followed by a congratulations. At least that's how it went for me anyway....

So, what do you do next?

You will continue reading in that email that you have 10 days to accept your offer. Keep in mind it is not 10 days since YOU read the email, it's 10 days from the time ticker on the email, this is why it is important to check your email everyday.

At the bottom of the email there will be a link directing you to a page where you can review your offer letter. It will contain your role and your pay rate. It will also go over again information about housing and its fees (which I talk about next) and the Disney Look guidelines. When you accept your offer, you accept those guidelines so make sure you read everything through. Don't show up to your check in with gauges in your ears, a crazy haircut or hair color because they will send you back home immediately.

After you accept your offer, you will receive another email with a link directing you to pay your deposit. BOTH the acceptance of your offer and payment of your housing fees need to be done within the 10 days to completely accept you offer.

You will notice that the fee is $300. This fee gets broken up into 2 divisions as follows:

Rent: $200 will be going towards your first few weeks of rent. When you get down for your program you will notice your first week or two isn't loaded with a lot of hours. But you are in Disney housing for those first few weeks and still have to pay rent. This $200 goes towards you first rent payments so depending on your weekly rent fee, it can cover the first 2 weeks an some of the third. This is REALLY helpful. In your first few weeks you will be doing a big initial grocery shop, possibly buying bedding and bath linens, and any odds and ends you find that you need as you get settled in. Knowing that the money you will be earning in those first few week directly comes to you and not rent gives you enough of a start.

Events: $100 will go toward DCP Housing. Housing is always throwing great housing events and trips, check out the Housing Events tag right here on my blog for a quick preview of what you can expect! Movie nights include free popcorn and drinks, grocery bingo gives out free groceries as a prize, and housing events always include the DJ, free food, and really awesome character meet and greets. One of the housing events is your DCP graduation where you get your certificate and free Mickey ears. There's also a chance your program will fall in the time frame of Starlit Splash where they rent out Typhoon Lagoon just for CPs, or the CP formal. These are all FREE. I don't know about you, but I like free. I can't tell you how many things I have accumulated over my programs. I have my Mickey ears, 2 memory boxes, a DCP poster, DCP speakers, a free t-shirt, a lot of free food, and great memories with friends! You definitely get your moneys worth and then some!

After that, you will get another email with a link directing you the onboarding website. This is where you can review all you need to know about Disney Look, what to pack, I9 document information, and anything else you can think of as you start getting ready for your program.

After this, you are pretty much on your own. It's up to you to figure out how you are going to get down for your program which can include getting a hotel and purchasing train or plane tickets, that is all up to you and on your budget. Approximately 10 days-2 weeks before your arrival date you will get an email regarding selecting your apartment and filling out the last bit of paperwork.

Know that when you accept your offer to be a member of the Disney College Program, you are an accepting a great life experience. You get the magic and entertainment of Disney at your fingertips, the chance to work in a worldwide cherished company with a team filled with wonderful talent and leaders, and the chance to make new friends who you will make memories with to remember well long after your program is over. Yes it does come with a price but believe me, the experience itself is priceless!

Have you gotten your acceptance email? Congratulations! Leave your role and program dates in the comments!

Q&A Disney Culinary Program Application Tips

Q & A: The Disney Culinary Program Application Process