Interview a CP: Raisa (Character Attendant)

Raisa hanging with Rapunzel, Aurora and Cindy at work!

I met Raisa at the vlogger party in Magic Kingdom I posted about back in February! She has actually been a part of two college programs! Before participating as a character attendent in Walt Disney World with me, she was actually in the Disneyland program as a photopass cast member! Here's what she had to say about her experience in Walt Disney World:

What role did you have during the DCP, and where did you work?

I was a character attendant in the Magic Kingdom.

What was a typical day like at work?

I would leave an hour or so before my start time because the cp bus to MK took forever. If I had time I would grab some food at the Mousekateria. Clock in, check with my base manager then head off to my location. I would then write down any set times* (the times that the characters go on and off stage) and get to know the performer, learn their preferences, then do my thing with them. at the end of the night, pack up my stuff and clock out

Is this the role you originally wanted? If not, are you happy you got it?
It was actually! This was my second program and this was the role I wanted from the beginning, but Disneyland does not offer this role to its interns

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about your job?
All the funny outgoing people that I met made my job not a job. I was coming to work to play all day. And while I loved meeting families from all over the world but sometime the language barrier became very difficult.

Bradley's autograph!

Any specific magical moment you want to share?
Working with characters all day I see lots of kids. One day I was hanging out with Tinkerbell and her fairy friend Rosetta. It was later at night when there isn’t anyone else in the room with us. Bradley was afraid of meeting fairies. His sister was already talking with Tink but he was stuck at the door. I then got down on his level and pointed above us. “Do you see this leaf? Is a magic leaf! This is our Pixie shrinker, even though you are already small, fairies are even smaller.” I pulled a quarter from my pocket, “Bradley you see how small this is now, you and me are going to go in there and I bet this quarter is going to be bigger than both of us!” He didn’t believe me. So I tossed the coin into the room. “Why are you throwing lost things at us?!” Tink was a little mad, but Bradley thought it was funny. So I took his hand and we took a big jump though the portal. Sure enough Tink was sitting on the quarter I had just thrown into the room. Bradley’s jaw dropped but he didn’t let go of my hand. I introduced him to my friends and gave them both really big hugs. After he was done flying around the room with them, I looked at Bradley and gave him a piece of paper and asked him to sign his autograph for me because he was my hero. As they were getting ready to leave his mother approached me with his autograph book and insisted that I sign it, telling me I’m just as much part of the magic as Tink was and thanked me for making her son’s visit the highlight of their life. Bradley has tumors in his brain she told me and he wasn’t expected to live long enough to go to Disney World with his family.

What made you want to do the DCP?
See previous question.

Is there something you wish you would have known before doing your program?  

Working with Stitch!

This being my second program I already kind of knew what to expect. 

What was the main difference you noticed between your programs in Disneyland and Walt Disney World?

Housing and the size of the program itself. I felt like more of a number in Florida. For example I'm still in touch with my housing directors back in Disneyland. (Sara comment: I didn't even know we had housing directors in Florida.)

What advice would you give to those who are going to be participating in your role?
My advice would be to get really good shoes, I cant tell you how much pain I could have saved myself in the beginning because I got cheap shoes. Don’t call out/ ome in late so much. Points are precious, don’t waste them.

What advice would you give to people who are interested in doing the DCP?
Do it. It changed my life in so many ways. I’ve met life long friends from all over the world, worked in some of the coolest places on the planet and got both college credit and paid to do it all.

Raisa has an amazing video blog channel on Youtube and shared a lot about her experience both in Disneyland and Walt Disney World! You should definitely take a look here!

If you're a current or past college program cast member and would like to share your experience, email your name and role to thedisneyden@yahoo.com to participate!

Have a magical day!