Check In and Traditions

Check-In happened Thursday. I arrived rather early but check in went pretty smooth. Check-In was at the Casting building near Downtown Disney. They send you from line to line to line - through background check authorization, I-9 documentation, fingerprinting, and giving you your training schedule. Around every corner was another line to wait in. The entire process only took about an hour though. For some reason I thought I would get my ID here, but then I was told I would get my ID at Traditions on Saturday. I was surprised at the age range of all of the professional internships. Many that I have met have already completed their Masters degrees. I am very grateful for the timing of this internship.

There was a manager meet and greet Thursday afternoon at the Coronado Springs Resort Conference Center. All of the Management Interns were invited to meet their area managers. I had spoken with my manager shortly on the phone on my drive to Florida, but this was my first time meeting her.  They provided everyone with a list of interns, title and area they will be working in. 

Old Key West and Saratoga Springs have four interns this time around covering each area (Culinary, Food and Beverage, Housekeeping and Front Desk). I actually counted up the Food and Beverage interns and was surprised to find that there are only 22 of us. I knew the internship was competitive, as in thousands apply for these positions, but I did not realize only 22 were selected for my area. My manager mentioned that I am one of the few MIs that have two properties to work at and my training lasts until the beginning of September. Whew.

Traditions on Saturday went very well. I loved Traditions the first time around during my College Program, but I wasn’t so enthused about it this time. It was interesting a few things that have changed since 2010. They started the class off with a short course on Working with Integrity. That just goes to show how relevant a business ethics course is to your degree plan. We also went on a short tour of the Magic Kingdom to look for Safety, Courtesy, Efficiency, and Show throughout the park. I love this exercise, but MK will always be my home park since that was my CP location, so I felt like our guide was not telling us enough details about everything in MK.

At the end of Traditions, Mickey Mouse stopped by to give everyone their name tags. That’s magical. I love the magic of working at Walt Disney World. However, I had to wait around to get a corrected name tag because mine said “Guymon, PR.” I did not realize that Guymon was in Puerto Rico, but that was a good laugh. And again, I thought I would get my ID at traditions, but since MIs are salary, I have to go to access control today to get my ID with a photo.

Other than work, Joe and I have been exploring the area (except for the parks… need an ID to get into those things!) We’ve been to the Florida Mall, the Premium Outlets, Disney’s Boardwalk, Downtown Disney, Cocoa Beach (Joe’s first time to see the ocean), I-Drive, etc. I am also house hunting to make an investment out here so we’ve looked at a few houses in the Kissimmee area. We had lunch at Olivia’s (the main restaurant I’ll be working at) just to scope the area out. I’m very excited to finally start some work tomorrow.

Welcome Home!

Well, I’ve made it to Orlando. I started my trek on Monday and stretched the trip out across four days. It was a very relaxed trip too. Monday consisted of many last minute details before Joe and I could hit the road.

Leading up to Monday, we had a small close family get together the week before at the duplex. Then, I still had a lot to box up and move out. I like to keep everything so it was difficult to decide what goes in storage and what gets to go in the car. I actually ended up shipping four boxes that met me here on Thursday. 

I finally departed Guymon about 3PM with a goal of reaching Arkansas before stopping for the night. 450 miles later, Fort Smith, AR was the place to rest for the night. On the drive, I received a call from my manager at Old Key West and she’s the inspiration for the blog title “Welcome Home!” That’s exactly what she said to me on the phone. I’m very excited for my internship to start. She also told me I’d be receiving my training schedule soon and that I’ll have classes every Thursday at Disney University for food and beverage. She mentioned a wine class too; that sounds so neat. I just know this internship will be filled with many twists, turns, and opportunities for growth.

We also discussed the fact that Disney will pay for tuition if it is related to your role with the company. As long as I’m offered full time in management after my internship, an MBA will fall right into that category. While, I’m still interested in Management Information Systems, I would have to take on an IT role for Disney to cover those costs. We’ll see in January where that road takes me.

The second day of traveling took us the rest of the way through Arkansas, a tiny corner of Tennessee,  down through Mississippi, and half way through Alabama. We stopped for the evening just east of Birmingham in a small interstate community. Alabama and Georgia have some thick accents compared to other places I’ve visited. We actually picked a decent hotel and went swimming and ordered pizza. It was a good time. 

I also realized that this internship is going to completely change my view of the food service industry. I know my college program working in attractions changed my view on theme parks in general. But this internship will be in the resorts and I will have the opportunity for more guest interaction than in attractions.

Joe and I have also been taking random video of the states we traveled through so maybe a compilation will come later on. Wednesday and Thursday were both shorter drives. We stopped in Georgia to hang out with Sunny, one of my Miss Teen Directors. She took us to her dad’s house for the evening in Georgia. It was very neat to see some back roads country scene of this state. 

I may have sent Joe into culture shock by taking him to the Florida Mall upon our arrival. He’s not quite used to all of the people around, but after a few trips to Disney World he’ll get used to it! 

Since arriving at my cousin Jeff’s house, we’ve unpacked the car and the boxes that were shipped and pretty much settled in. I took Joe to Downtown Disney today to see the sights. It will be a few weeks before he gets to see actual Disney World. 

That’s my update so far. I hope to do a weekly blog just to show what I’m up to and details of my internship.