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.