Checking in

Yesterday (August 31) was my first day with the Program!  My parents and I spent a couple days at my aunt and uncle's house once we got to Orlando then drove down to the Disney area yesterday morning.  I checked in at the apartment complex and found out which apartment I would be living in.  I was placed in the Vista Way apartments, which seem to be the least fancy of the complexes in the program - but are also the least expensive - so it is seems like a fair trade off.  And the apartment isn't even bad.  I am in a three-bedroom, two-bath, six-girl apartment, and I am very happy with all of my roommates so far!  The roommates are Katie (me), Kaila, Kayla, Marta, Megan, and Morgan.  Yes, that's three K's and three M's! Weird, huh?

After settling in, the whole group went over to "Casting" on the Disney compound, which is what they call the employment offices, as far as I can tell. We turned in our employment paperwork, got fingerprinted, and got our training schedules for the next few days.  That was also the point at which I learned that I will be doing "Vacation Planning" at Epcot Center!  I also learned that Vacation Planning is a really fancy title for what I will actually be doing, selling tickets at the entrance of Epcot.

Today, all the Program participants had to attend a housing orientation, where we learned about maintenance, security, curfew rules, etc.  I then went with my parents to Publix (grocery store) to buy groceries for the next few days.  Hopefully I won't spend money going out to eat for awhile!

Tomorrow I will be attending Traditions, an orientation every single Disney employee must participate in!  During the class, we will learn the history of the Disney company, as well as what makes Disney so successful and how we will become a part of that success.  The next few days after that will be dedicated to training for our locations (Epcot, in my case) and specific jobs.

More tomorrow! Have a magical night :-)

how I got started...

I realize that I should have started this blog awhile ago, so that I could include all the background information about it.

Last spring, I read in the KNOW (an email sent out to UT students about goings-on around campus) that Disney would be visiting UT to inform students about the Disney College Program.  I went on a whim, curious to find out what it was all about.  It sounded fun and exciting, so I filled out an online application.  I passed the first "screening" and moved on to the phone interviews.  The woman on the phone asked what jobs I would prefer to do if given the opportunity at Disney, what my strengths are, and why I want to participate in the program.  I made it through the process and was assigned job of "Vacation Planner."

My check in date was then set for August 31st, giving me time to finish my internship at UT, give my two weeks notice at El Arroyo, participate in fall formal recruitment, and still have time to pack before making the 1100 mile journey to Orlando, Florida.

I am excited to participate in the program: a) because it is a fun opportunity, b) it allows me to kill a semester, so I can graduate with all my compadres in May, and c) it will look great on a resume!  I am not receiving any college credit for the program, but - let's face it - I don't really need it, and it is too much of a hassle to try and get credit anyway.

Tomorrow, I will overview what I did today (check-in day), so that this post isn't ridiculously long.