Classes!

I'm horrible at keeping up with this blog, I know. And I'm sorry. :(

But, a week later, I'm finally going to tell you about my classes! :) I'm taking two of the Disney Exploration Series classes--Exploring Leadership and Exploring Disney Heritage. I love these classes because they're free, there's no books to buy, no tests to study for, no assignments to turn in. The DES classes are perfect for me since I graduated in May, and I don't want to have to deal with the typical college coursework again right now. Plus, we get to take a couple of field trips with these classes. :)

I'm pretty sure I'm going to love both of my classes. Last week was pretty much just introductions, so today I'll get a better idea of how their going to go. But I have the same teacher for both, and he's really great. He's very energetic, and you can tell that he loves his job, and he loves this company. That definitely makes me excited to go to class, and to hopefully stay with this company.

So why did I decide to take the classes that I am taking? Well, the Heritage class is pretty obvious. :p I mean, if I'm going to work for this company, then I need to know about it. :p I decided to take the Leadership class because I want to stay with this company, and I want to move up into a good position with this company. So, this class will help me develop the leadership skills I need to make all of that possible.

I'll update more about the classes after today's sessions. :p

Have a magical day!

Picture Time!

Okay, here is the long awaited picture post I've been promising.

And yes, I'm aware that you all are saying it's about time. :p

So without further ado........I give you:

THE PICTURES.

First roomie picture! Taken at Casting right before we found out where we would be working.

Me and Cayla with Pooh and Tigger

Me and Mexican Donald. :)

Me and Cayla on a boat. :p

The oh-so-attractive costume.

Back when I was training. :)

Finally got to meet Pinocchio!

I sent this picture to my parents. :)

Minnie and Mickey came to my apartment complex for a Western style party. :)

Got to meet Gaston at Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. :)

I met Captain Jack, too. :p

Me and one of my co-workers, Emily. :)

Finally took that hot air balloon ride. This is the view of Downtown Disney.

Panorama shot of World Showcase.

In Canada. ;)

Beautiful sky at sunset.

Found this on my car. I don't know who put it there, but it was definitely a magical moment for me. :)

Sorry it's sideways....but, Kristie, Chris, and Hannah visited Disney! :)

He danced with me. :)

Raspberry wine from South Korea. Yay for the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot!

Tiff and Jordan enjoying F&W, too. :)

Trying out the different sodas from all over the world! :)

I found out I got to audition for my dream job the day F&W started. This is how I celebrated. :)

I came home to find this lovely head in my bed. >.>

Those are just some of the many pictures I've taken since I've been here. Life has been pretty amazing down here. :)

Today is the first day of classes for me, so I'll post a blog later tonight telling ya'll all about them. :)

PI Auditions

So this morning was my audition for my Professional Internship. The day started off good, minus the fact that I was a bundle of nerves this morning. I think I became so focused on my nerves that it got to me, and I ended up messing some things up a bit. I forgot my nametag, so I had to turn around and go get it from home. Then, I got all the way to Disney University, and was about to check in when I realized that I left my paperwork hanging on my bulletin board. Thank God I talked to them and they're letting me turn it in tomorrow morning. Luckily, they have an office at Epcot, so I can drop it off before work tomorrow.

Then, I realized that I was supposed to schedule a phone interview last week when I applied online, and I hadn't done that. The email I got after I applied told me I was supposed to schedule the interview within 2 days of applying, so I was really nervous when I realized I hadn't done it. If I wasn't able to schedule the phone interview, then this audition today would have been for nothing. THANK GOD I was able to schedule my interview for Friday morning.

However, now it's time to play the waiting game. The next step in the process (after this phone interview Friday with Casting) is to hopefully have done well enough in the audition to get a phone interview with the Y.E.S. Program. However, I won't hear about that for 2-3 weeks. This is the frustrating part now. I probably won't find out if I got the internship or not until sometime in November or December. I don't want to wait that long, but at this point, I guess I don't have a choice. I just don't know what I'm going to do if I don't get it. I guess I'll put it for an extension when the time comes (which is apparently some time this month) just to cover my bases.

So, because of everything that happened this morning, I was feeling pretty low. I want this internship so much, and I was so scared that I was screwing everything up. However, once I was able to schedule the phone interview, I started to feel better. And then I went to CFA and did some shopping and resort sight-seeing with Cayla, and that made me feel better. Then we came back home and cooked dinner (chicken alfredo tacos!) and watched "Lion King" and then went for a walk. It was definitely a good ending to a day that started off less than steller, and it was a good way to end my weekend.

Work the rest of this week is going to be nerve racking. Actually, work all this week has been nerve racking. I was trained in a new position Sunday and Monday (General Teller), and I'm going to be trained as Assigner tomorrow. Then Friday and Saturday, I am the GT. I'm not feeling comfortable with it at all, but hopefully I can talk to the GT tomorrow night and get a little more comfortable doing this on Friday. We'll see. I'm just glad next week I get to go back to the positions I'm comfortable with.

Well that's all for this update. I really do need to get some pictures up here. Maybe I'll have time tomorrow night to do so. I'll try! :)

Have a magical day!

Happy Birthday WDW!!!

So, there is both big and little news today.

Big news: Today is Magic Kingdom's 40th birthday! Yay!

Little news: Today is also Epcot's 29th birthday! Yay again! :)

I didn't get to go to MK today, but that's okay because apparently this morning, 6,000 people were on Main Street. I don't like crowds (and I work at Disney World. Yes, I'm aware of the irony.), so I'm glad I didn't go this morning. However, it would have been nice to get a 40th anniversary cupcake. Or a button. Or a map....which are already on eBay. Go figure.

But anyway, I was thinking that my first trip to Disney World was taken during the 25th anniversary celebration. Fifteen years ago, I entered this world of fantasy and magic and dreams, and I never wanted to leave.

Fifteen years later, I don't have to anymore. :)

Oh....so I do have some more big news, and it kind of ties in with all of this. Tuesday, I went to an information session for the Y.E.S. program to find out about the audition process and all of that. I found out that I could apply for a Professional Internship since I'm currently in the College Program, so I did. I had to apply by Wednesday, and they were going to notify people yesterday that they wanted to move up into the next phase of the process, which is the actual audition. So everyone who submitted a resume did not make it to the audition round.

How did I do?

Well..........

..................

I made it!!!! I get to audition for a PI in my dream role this coming Wednesday!!!! I'm so excited! And I celebrated by going to the opening day of the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot with Cayla, Tiffani, and Jordan last night. :) Now I just need to work on what I'm going to do for my audition. I'll work on it tomorrow. :)

Fifteen years ago, I came to the happy place and told my parents that I wanted to work here someday. To me, Disney has always been a place where I can escape reality and see my wildest dreams come true.

And fifteen years later, Disney is still making those dreams come true. This place is truly magical. And I truly am blessed.

Wish me luck on the audition! :)

Have a magical day!

Sore & Tired....

Well, work has been keeping me pretty busy last week, and it's going to again this week. It started Thursday when they asked me to extend my shift to cover a co-worker who had to leave because she was sick. I agreed, so instead of getting off at 5pm like I was scheduled to, I got off at 8:30pm. Then yesterday, I went in 3 hours early. And I'm only getting one off day this week because I agreed to go in on Wednesday and work. I don't mind all the extra hours....especially since I know my next 2 paychecks are going to be AH-MAZING! However, I am definitely feeling the soreness and exhaustion that comes with being on your feet all day.

So, for those of you that are applying for the program and get FSFB, just be prepared for this. There will be days where you are either asked to come in early or stay late. And there will be times when they ask if you can come in on your off day and work. Do it. Even if you don't want to. Even if you have a million other things you need to do (laundry and grocery shopping, for example, like I needed to do). By helping out your managers and co-workers, you're making yourself look like a great CM, and that's important. If you want a future with Disney, doing this kind of thing helps, because they know they can count on you when they need you. Even if you don't want a future with the company, by helping out when you're needed to, your managers will be more likely to write you a glowing recommendation should you need one for school and/or a future job. Plus, if you have to extend your shift to cover a co-worker for whatever reason, that will definitely make your co-workers have more respect for you. :) It's important to be a team player here. Remember that.

Luckily for me, I love my job and the people I work with, so even though I'm completely sore (like....I could barely move when I got up this morning), and I really want to go back and lay in my bed, I'm not dreading working today, because I know that I get to make some magic for guests, and I get to work with some of the most amazing co-workers ever. :)

Always Remember

I know this is my blog about Disney, but I figured that I would take an entry to talk about September 11, 2001.

10 years ago today, I was in my 8th grade homeroom taking a standardized test. I went to school that morning not thinking that anything major would happen. I knew I had that test, and that is what I was worried about. I remember that my homeroom finished taking the test early, and my teacher took up our tests, and then informed us that while we were taking that test, a plane had hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. This is when everyone thought it was just a horrible accident. I mean, how does a plane not see those towers? That's what we all were asking. As my teacher was telling us this, she was watching her computer screen. All of a sudden, she goes "Oh my God." Then she turned and looked at us, trying not to cry, and told us that a plane had just hit the South Tower. And that's when it dawned on all of us that this was no accident. We spent the rest of the day, going from class to class, watching the news and all of the events unfold. We saw the plane hit the Pentagon. We heard about the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. We spent that day watching these horrible events unfold and trying to make sense of what was happening. We were under attack, and the world that I knew on September 10, 2001, changed drastically forever on September 11.

10 years later, and I'm now sitting in my apartment in Orlando, getting ready for work, and watching the anniversary memorial on TV. I'm so incredibly thankful that I didn't lose anyone on September 11, 2001. I'm thankful that I was able to keep my sense of normal for the most part. And I'm thankful that the events of September 11, 2001, didn't keep me from being able to follow my dreams.

But my heart breaks for those who did lose people on that tragic day. Sitting here watching the memorial, hearing the names, seeing the ages of those who died, and hearing stories from the families of those we lost that day....it's making me tear up. But seeing our flag flying, seeing how everyone has come together, it makes me realize that this is a strong country.

And it makes me so proud to be an American.

It's Been A Month!

I have officially been a Cast Member for a month! Yay!!!

Now, I know I've sucked at posting, and I'm sorry for it. Between work and hanging out with my roommates, I've been kept pretty busy. I feel like I live at Coral Reef--but luckily, I love the people I work with, so it's not a bad thing. And I get 2 consecutive days off right now, which is good. And judging from how the part- and full-timers schedules are, I should keep getting 2 consecutive days off. However, I know that could change when the Christmas season gets here. Business for us will pick up dramatically after Thanksgiving because we are one of the restaurants people can choose to eat at when they book their dinner packages for the Candlelight Processional. :)

So, I've been to Magic Kingdom a couple of times in the last week, and I'm very excited to report that they have their fall decorations up!!! It makes me excited to see the fall colors and pumpkins everywhere because it makes it feel a little more like fall....even if the temperature here isn't fall like at all. And what's even more exciting is that Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party starts on Tuesday!!! I've never been to the Halloween party, so I'm really looking forward to getting to experience it this year. :)

Well, I wish this could be longer, but I have to get ready for work. If I'm not exhausted when I get home, I'll try to post again tonight.

Have a magical day! :)