Chris Saribay

No matter what program you embark on, there’s a number of different roles to choose from, and sometimes there isn’t a lot of information on them. Today, I’ll be talking about two roles: Full Service Food and Beverage and Vacation Planner.

Full Service Food and Beverage

Full Service Food and Beverage (FSF&B) is probably one of the most underrated role offerings for both the Disney College and CareerStart Programs. Having worked in this role previously, it’s one that has a great mix of personal freedom, responsibility and its own share of fun moments, given its high guest interaction. Better still, a lot of these roles take place in a highly themed, fast-paced and dynamic environment.

As a FSF&B cast member, your primary responsibilities will revolve around two basic tasks: greeting guests at a restaurant podium, and seeing to it that they be seated as quickly and efficiently as possible. These roles alone are pretty simple, but due to the nature of the business, this role can involve a lot of guest interaction and can require some skill in resolving challenging guest situations. Particularly with busier locations (like Cinderella’s Royal Table, Chef Mickey’s and ‘Ohana), a willingness to be flexible and see challenges through to their resolution makes for a great cast member, and at the end of the day, can be quite rewarding. In FSF&B, you may also be called upon to assist in other areas of the restaurant front-of-house operation.

I also found that in FSF&B, if you prove yourself to be a strong, steady cast member, there may be additional responsibilities that you can take on, including FSF&B Assignor (which essentially dictates the ebb and flow of the dining room seatings and coordinates other podium cast) and F&B General Teller. This is a role where you can really make a very big impact to the operation if you want to.

Note that Full Service Food and Beverage is a non-tipped role. You will not be able to work as a server at any point during your program.

Vacation Planner

Vacation Planners are the one-stop-shop for guests before entering the parks. These cast members are the ultimate resource on the multitude of park admission available, and also are able to help day guests plan their visit.

As they’re stationed just outside the theme park gates, their primary responsibility is to help guests select and purchase admission media (tickets) to the various Walt Disney World Resort theme parks and water parks. To go along with this, these cast members should be pretty comfortable cash handling, as they handle a high amount of cash during their shifts. They also assist guests with any questions they may have about the park they’re visiting that day, and can provide tips and their own personal expertise to ensure a great experience for guests.

Many shifts for these roles tend to start earlier in the morning, since many park visitors will enter during the first few hours a park is open. While I would be cautious in making any assumptions, this probably points in the direction of having more of a consistent schedule than not. To go along with this, vacation planners should be very open to the idea of working under pressure while still personifying the heart of the Disney experience- Vacation Planners are often the first cast members day guests interact with. Lines are sometimes long, and Vacation Planners must still take the time to individualize their planning for each guest, while being mindful that there are others waiting in line.

Vacation Planners may occasionally be scheduled for other parks operations tasks, including Parade Audience Control, at certain parks.

Publishing Note: As the recruiting season winds down, this blog will now be posted as needed. I still plan to blog once or twice a week on a subject of interest, but the publishing of this blog may vary a bit in the coming weeks.

Note: The photo above is by Flickr user Thomas Jung, used under the “CC By/ND” license.

Labels: College and CareerStart Programs • Roles •