![]() ![]() Whether your thing be parties (there were plenty), going out to bars/clubs, shopping, or just sitting in and watching a film, there was always something going on. The Commons was a very social place to live. That was one of the best things about working in merchandise – we finished a lot earlier than the food and beverage cast members, who often weren’t home until midnight – we were always home by 10:30, so we had time to socialize at night. The World Showcase closed every night as the fireworks started so we would be finished work by 9.30pm. I still can’t hear that music without welling up - I really was so lucky. This meant we got to see the start of the fireworks EVERY NIGHT! You’d think I’d get sick of it – but I think that would be impossible. The beginning of the show kicks off with a huge fireball being shot over the UK pavilion and so due to health and safety we would have to put up barriers to stop anyone walking through the pavilion for a few minutes until the show had started. My job was basically to entertain and educate (as well as doing the usual things you’d expect in a store like processing sales and replenishing stock).Įvery night Epcot puts on the most spectacular fireworks show at 9pm called Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. We created quizzes, played chess, had sword fights with children and spoke to people about our customs and traditions. My duties on the shop floor weren’t your typical retail tasks. When you sign in you get a receipt print out that will either tell you to relieve another cast member for a break, or you initiate a ‘bump’ which basically rotates everyone round a position. The company uses a computer system that rotates cast members around the various merchandise shops so nobody is stuck anywhere for too long. Once through, you board another bus which takes you through the backstage area to the back of the UK Pavilion. There you’ll find everything from lockers to showers to the costuming department. Once in Epcot, we had to pass through security and show our ID to prove that we were employees and allowed to enter the backstage area. Disney has regular buses to transport international cast members from The Commons to Epcot, which are all free and take around 30 minutes one way. I was quite lucky to be on a late rotation, so on a typical day I usually started between 12 and 3pm and shifts were between 6 and 10 hours. The UK pavilion where I worked had a restaurant, a fish and chip shop, and several merchandise stores selling everything from Twining Tea to chess boards to Manchester United football strips. Everyone on the program works in pavilions that represent the country they are from in either a food and beverage location, on an attraction, or in my case in a merchandise shop. ![]() So one minute you could be in France and a few hundred yards away you could be in Japan. Everyone has a roomate - my first was from Germany, then half way through my year she left and a Norwegian girl moved in.Įpcot’s World Showcase is set around a lake with eleven pavilions, each representing a different country. The program employs people from eleven different countries and these participants all work in the World Showcase in Disney’s EPCOT theme park. LR: Everyone that works in Disney’s International Program lives in a large apartment complex about five miles from Disney World called The Commons. Talk about a girl who loved her job and made the most of her time earning abroad! Over to Lindsey…ĪB: Walk us through a typical day on the job. And the results couldn’t have made me a smile more. Bingo! Having re-drank the Disney Kool-Aid myself recently, I threw on some mouse ears and got in touch with Lindsey to share more about her experience with us. Considering my home country’s notorious stinginess with visas, it’s not exactly known as a working holiday destination among the backpacker set.Īnd then I remembered Lindsey Claire Riddell, one of the lovely girls I met and partied with all those years ago in Scotland, who had spoken so fondly of her year working in Florida at Disney’s EPCOT. Back when Earning Abroad was just a seed of an idea, and I made out the long list of friends I wanted to interview for this series, I realized there was a category missing - non-Americans coming into the United States to work. Many years ago, I spent a summer in Scotland, soaking in a country full of haunting landscapes, hairy coos and unbelievably hospitable people. Welcome back to Earning Abroad! In this series I’ll introduce you to some inspiring and ambitious friends I’ve met on the road - friends who have found viable work away from their home countries. ![]()
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