A Typical Day in the Life of a Counselor

A Typical Day in the Life of a Counselor

You could very well have the same reaction when you first see the daily schedule.

For starters, depending on wherever you come from around the world you might call it a rota, a roster, an itinerary or a timetable. At Disney this is called a "schedule". These are distributed the night before and are printed off in copies for every single member of the Youth Activities department to hang onto. On this lovely, multicolored schedule you will be able to see everyone's names and where they are expected to be at any given time while they're working. The worst part about all this is that if you lose it, you really won't know where you're supposed to be next. On the bright side, whenever anyone comes to relieve you and "bump" you from your position, they can usually look up where you should be.

(For information on how this works, have at look at: Reading The Daily Schedule)

What? Bumping? Relieving positions? 

And why does it matter knowing where you're supposed to be?

If you're thinking along the same lines, don't worry so was I when I started. I've never before had a job where people were assigned positions that they had to stand at and they couldn't move from but this is the way that it is done at Disney. Don't worry though, you won't have to stand for too long for over half an hour in one spot (in most cases) because you will be constantly rotating with other people over the course of your day. 

I guess a good way of thinking about it is like the bases on a baseball diamond. If you're standing on first base, and your teammate has just hit the ball and is coming along, you move on to 2nd base. Whoever was on 2nd base moves onto 3rd. This way, you're effectively "bumping" each other to the next position as you get there!

Another way to look at it is like the "Changing of the guard" if you've ever seen that at a national site in your country like Arlington Cemetery or Buckingham Palace. You're expected to stand within a fixed position or area supervising and cannot leave unless another guard (or in this case, Counselor) has relieved you. Even if you absolutely must leave that spot for whatever reason like a bathroom break, you must get someone else to cover for you in that position or you'll be in huge trouble.

I'll go into more detail about the possible positions you could be placed in during your rotation during a later post. For now I'll go over a very general idea of what your days might look like, using examples from when I first started on the Disney Magic:

There are generally 3 kinds of work days you will encounter: Earlies, Mids, and Lates which corresponds to what time of the day you will mostly be working. This rotates so that you will often be starting and finishing work at a different time each day. You will also constantly be working with the same people whose schedules coincide with yours (example: Two counselors, one working mostly Earlies and the other working mostly Lates during that week will rarely be able to hang out) . But remember, no matter when you start work:

You will be working on average 9 - 11 hours every single day.

EARLIES: 8:30am start

• *Prior to 8:30 - Wake up, get dressed, grab Breakfast in the Crew Mess
• 8:30- 9:00 - Open the space by turning things on, wiping down surfaces, laying out toys and costumes
• 9:00- 10:00 - Stand at the front Desk checking in kids, attaching their wristbands
• 10:00 - 10:30 - Stand next to the Washrooms to make sure kids are going into the right one
• 10:30- 11:30 - Act as a support counselor during the Program of Mouseketeer Training
• 11:30 - 12:00 - Wipe down all surfaces with a bleach bottle according to a checklist
• 12:00 - 12:30 - Sit at the top of the Slide to make sure kids are going down properly, without Crocs.
• 12:30 - 13:00 - HALF HOUR BREAK TO EAT SOMETHING
• 13:00 - 15:00 - Back at the front Desk checking kids in & out, sending parents messages for pick up
• 15:00 - 15:30 -Stand within the Captain's Closet to help kids try on costumes and dresses
• 15:30 - 16:00 - Stand next to the Washrooms again
• 16:00 - 16:30 - Stand near the Fish area to ensure kids are washing their hands and supervise
• 16:30 - 17:00 - Stand at the top of the slide and try not to fall asleep
• 17:00 - 17:30 - Pick up Cinderella from the Character Zoo and bring her up for the Royal Ball
• 17:30 - 18:00 - HALF HOUR BREAK TO EAT PROBABLY
• 18:00 - 18:30 - Stand next to the Washrooms one last time

Done for the day! 

Hours worked: 9

MIDS: 10:00am start

• *Prior to 10:00 - Wake up, panic thinking you got up late. Check schedule, go back to bed.
• 10:00 - 10:30 - Do some coloring pages with kids in the Captain's Closet
• 10:30 - 11:00 - Play a round of Hide-and-Seek in the Oceaneer Club
• 11:00 - 12:00 - Pick up lunch Food from galley, clean and sanitize eating areas, don hideous outfit
• 12:00 - 13:00 - Serve children their lunch which rocking a hairnet and apron. Check allergies.
• 13:00 - 15:00 - 2 HOUR BREAK! Grab some food since you skipped breakfast and wash hair.
• 15:00 - 16:00 - Stand at the front Desk during an empty Open House. Arrange the desktop icons.
• 16:00 - 16:30 - Pick up Stitch from the Character Zoo and bring him upstairs.
• 16:30 - 17:00 - Be a support Counselor for a luau with Stitch.
• 17:00 - 17:30 - Stand next to the Washrooms and pray that none of the kids has an accident.
• 17:30 - 18:30 - Fill in at the Nursery while one of them goes on a dinner break.
• 18:30 - 19:30 - Wipe down hard-to-reach surfaces with a bleach bottle.
• 19:00 - 20:00 - YOUR DINNER BREAK! Change into pants since you forgot you have shorts on!
• 20:00 - 21:00 - Stand at front desk admiring all of the costumes for Pirate Night
• 21:00 -22:00 - Be a support Counselor during Aladdin's Fun Adventures
• 22:00 -22:30 - Stand at the Washroom, listening for the faint sounds of the fireworks outside
• 22:30 - 23:00 - Empty all the trash bins, bring all of the trash on a trolley and sort it below deck.
• 23:00 - 24:00 - Clean and sanitize all of the toys and dresses. Prepare buckets of soap and bleach.

Done for the day!

Hours worked: 11

LATES: 14:30/2:30pm start

•  *Prior to 14:30 - Spend your day relaxing on the beach at Castaway Cay and snorkelling
• 14:30 - 15:00 - Stand at front Desk checking out kids from Scuttle's Cove
• 15:00 - 15:30 - Hose down sand and beach toys and put back in containers
• 15:30 - 16:00 - Escort children left behind on Scuttle's Cove back to the ship
• 16:00 - 16:30 - Stand next to Washroom ensuring kids are washing hands
• 16:30 - 17:00 - Assist in preparing kids for Friendship Rocks and escorting them to Theater
• 17:00 - 17:30 - Awkwardly dance with kids on stage during Friendship Rocks show
• 17:30 - 18:30 - Keep composure at the front Desk as parents rush to check out their kids
• 18:30 - 19:00 - DINNER BREAK! Refill water bottle for the rest of the night ahead
• 19:00 - 19:30 - Stand next to Washrooms ensuring kids wash hands after Dinner
• 19:30 - 20:30 - Assist with Pluto's Pajama Party handing out pillowcases and markers
• 20:30 - 21:00 - Stand at the top of the Slide making sure the kids aren't pushing
• 21:00 - 22:00 - Spend an hour inside Captain's Closet talk to the other Counselor in there
• 22:00 - 23:00 - Sit at a table outside collecting wristbands as they are returned at end of cruise
• 23:00 - 23:30 - Take down and toss out all artwork and papers the families left behind
• 23:30 - 24:00 - Write out slips for each item left in Lost and Found and take to Guest Services
• 24:00 - 1:00 - Wash, soap, and bleach down whole space for inspection. Collapse from exhaustion. 

Done for the day!

Hours worked:10.5

Generally the duties might be more or less, depending on which ship you are assigned to. But the hours and the way you are rotated around from each area to the next remains the same!