A brief introduction…

Hello there!

So I’m writing this for a couple of reasons, one as a personal record for myself about the application process and hopefully I’ll keep up with it whilst I’m away so that people back home can keep up with what I’m up to over there. But also hopefully this blog will offer some advice to anybody considering applying to this amazing program! I’m more that willing to answer any questions anyone might have as well!

I’ve been lucky enough to go to Florida twice on holiday with friends (once in April 2011 and again in January 2012) On our first holiday we enjoyed a visit to EPCOT and noticing on a cast members badge in the UK pavilion it said they were from a place quite close to my home town. So I asked how shed got the job and she told me about Yummy Jobs and scribbled the website address down on a piece of till roll. I had a fantastic time over there on holiday so when I got home I began to research and look into all the different programs that WDW offer to international applicants. And that is where I found the CRP program.

So a brief introduction to the program. The CRP program stands for cultural representative program and it places participants in areas of the parks where their home culture is represented through theming, restaurants serving traditional food and shops selling relevant merchandise. The finishing touches are that they employ people to authentically represent the culture so that the guests are fully immersed within the atmosphere. Most participants will be placed within EPCOT where there are 11 pavilions. You can be placed within different departments ranging from Food and Beverage, Merchandise/Kidcot or attractions.
Now i am obviously going to apply to the United Kingdom pavilion which if you’ve been doesn’t have any attractions so I’ve got the choice out of food and beverage or merchandise.

I decided I best apply for after I finish uni because although I found people had applied and taken it as a gap year between years at uni. I was enjoying uni, had my house set up and leaving uni on pause for a year didn’t appeal to me. I wanted to get it finished with then go off and hopefully have one of the most exciting years of my life!

So ‘typically’ Yummy Jobs – the company who recruit for Disney open their application process twice a year. (Spring and Autumn) but the reason I use the word typically very loosely is because there isn’t usually fixed dates for applications to open etc it’s just a case of repeatedly keeping an eye on the yummy website and Facebook page so you can see when the applications are open and you don’t miss your opportunity.

Now I first applied in the autumn application round of 2012. We applied late august and towards the end of September as I was finishing up a short break in London I received an email saying I’d been unsuccessful. I was gutted but it made me realise how much I wanted this! So when I got home I began looking through my application and realising I hadn’t demonstrated my full potential and showing Yummy Jobs why I would make an amazing cast member! So from then on I realised that when the next round of applications opened I’d be ready! And that leads me to here where I am now ready to apply again!

Cheers!