Forty-six days

I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last post. I've been super busy. Last week, my best friend who just got out of the Navy and now lives in Alaska was home visiting. So, I was spending time with her. In addition, my graduation party was last week too. So, I was also getting ready for that. And then this week, I've been helping open up a new store about an hour away. I've worked a 40-hour work week this week. Soooo... I haven't been around much to write an entry.

And this entry is going to be pretty pointless as well, except to say that I will try to post something more substantial soon. I'm currently working on a bucket list of things I want to do while I'm in Florida. So perhaps that will be my next blog. We'll see. I have some other ideas in the works as well.

The summer seems to be dragging by a little, but at the same time, it's flying. I'm starting to get a littler nervous for the fall. Let me clarify. I'm not nervous for the internship, or anything having to do with Florida. I'm nervous for leaving home. It's my first time away from home for an extended period of time. And I won't really have an option to come home if I want to since I won't have much spare cash for gas or airfare. I'm gonna miss a lot of things about home, and it's starting to worry me a little bit. I'm sure once I get down to Florida, I'll be fine. I'll be too busy to really think about much other than my job. But that doesn't keep me fretting over it now.

The roommate conundrum

There are thousands of college students who do this internship each year. That's a lot of things to keep track of for Disney. A lot of paperwork, a lot of arrival and departure dates, a lot of everything. To help them have one less thing to worry about (and probably for other reasons as well) they do the whole roommate situation a little differently than one would expect.

Disney begins by separating the interns by three pieces of information. The first is the sex: male or female. This obviously makes sense. The second is age: over 21 (non-wellness) and under 21 (wellness). This also makes sense. They are pretty strict about their alcohol policy. Interns risk termination if they get caught underage drinking. This helps Disney keep track of the wellness interns. It also helps protect non-wellness interns from getting in trouble. The third piece of info is arrival and departure dates. At least initially, the people that you room with have to share these three things in common. It makes sense.

However, here is where the unexpected comes into play. In general, Disney does not pre-match roommates before arrival. At least, not the entire apartment. They do have an online program put into place that interns can log on to and utilize. Once logged on, the intern can choose to be randomly matched up with ONE other person. They are given the contact information for said person and begin talking. If they decide they are not compatible, they can un-match and try again. Using the same program, an intern can also match up with somebody they already know and would like to room with. The upside to the program, you will be guaranteed to room with that one person. The downside, most apartments have more than one room, and thus you will be living with more than just that one person.

Here is where the even greater unexpected comes into play. The aforementioned program is just a convenience thing for the interns. How Disney actually assigns roommates and suite-mates is this. The interns show up to check-in on their assigned days. Whomever is standing next to each other in line and share the three pieces of information (male/female, wellness/non-wellness, arrival/departure date) is then assigned to room with each other. If you do not use the online program, you are not guaranteed that you will know your roommates ahead of time.

Some people like this. They enjoy the thrill of not knowing. That's great for them. I'm a planner. I like planning a head. And I worry. I would like to get along with my roommates. If I'm not happy, I'm not gonna have a good time. Planning is necessary for me! I know others feel the same way, so here is how it works behind the scenes. You get on facebook, or another social network, and start looking. You find people who you think you can room with and you ask them if they want to share an apartment. And then, you arrange a time at check-in for everybody to show up and stand together in line. Since Disney groups you with the people standing around you in line, if you're standing next to the people you'd like to room with, you should technically not have any problems.

So this is what I did. First I started talking to people to get to know them. I found Nick and asked him if he wanted to "tentatively" room together, purposely using that word. In the weeks that followed, if I found that I really couldn't stand him, the "tentatively" would give me an out. However, in further discussions with Nick, we found that we get a long really well. We recently just officially became roommates by using the online-program.

From there, Nick and I started discussing how many people wanted in our apartment. We knew for sure we would want at least one more bedroom, so we started looking for more people. From there, we found Chris and Benji. The next question: did we want to stop at a 2-bedroom, or did we want a 3-bedroom? After some discussion, we decided that the next size bigger would be good. So we found two more men: Phil and Jeff. We just recently confirmed that Phil and Jeff would be our third bedroom. So now, we're all set.

The next step to ensure that we will all be living together is to show up at the same time for check-in. This shouldn't be hard. Technically, since each of us is officially paired, only one person from each room actually has to show up at the same time. I assume that most of us though will be there at the same time, as it's an exciting thing!

Learning a second language

Okay, well technically it's more than the second. But you get the point. To work at Disney, there are certain things that you need to know. Disney refers to some things differently than other companies. They also have a lot of acronyms and abbreviations to make things easier. I refer to this as Disney-speak. I have listed below many of the more common abbreviations and acronyms that Disney employees use. I have included them for two reasons The first is that it's just interesting to know. The second is so if I ever use these terms in future blogs, you can refer to here and figure out what I'm talking about.

The first group of terms seem to refer to a theater production. This is because at Disney, we're always putting on a show. We want our guests to by happy and to believe in the magic of Disney. This idea does not just refer to the terms used below, but an overall universal idea in the parks.

Cast Member – employee
On Stage – the part of the parks where guests are present; what guests see
Back stage – the part of Disney that only cast members (and approved others) see
Role – the particular job to be performed
Costume – Uniform

The next group of terms are acronyms/abbreviations used to simplify places, things, and events in Disney. When spoken, we usually say the entire thing. But when written, it's quicker to use these abbreviations.

WDW – Walt Disney World

MK – Magic Kingdom
DAK – Disney’s Animal Kingdom
DHS – Disney’s Hollywood Studios

DTD – Down Town Disney

--Epcot doesn’t have one; Epcot technically is one already: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.
CDS – Cast Deployment System

EMH – Extra Magic Hours

TTC – Transportation and Ticket Center

CP – College Program (also a noun referring to the interns themselves, as in “CPs" or "CPers”)

PI – Professional Internship

The last group are again acronyms/abbreviations. This time for specific roles performed in the parks for Disney.

MEO – Main Entrance Operations
PAC – Parade Audience Control
BBB – Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique

FSFB – Full Service Food and Beverage

QSFB – Quick Service Food and Beverage

ATTR – Attractions

Learning

The last component of the Disney College Program is learning. Each participant has the chance to learn during their program. Disney offers several courses to participants. Taking courses is not a requirement of the program, but it is encouraged. Classes not only provide the expected educational outcomes, but they also provide a great way for participants to meet new people and network with Disney employees. People who do take courses have the opportunity to earn college credit. When it comes to scheduling for work, the location managers already know if and when somebody is taking a class and are sure to never schedule somebody during one of their classes.

Disney offers three types of courses. The first is Collegiate Courses. These classes are much like many other classes that you'd find at a regular educational institution. They do, however, focus on some aspect of Disney. These courses usually have textbooks and assignments to be completed. These classes include things like Creativity and Innovation: Gaining the Edge and Advanced Studies in Hospitality Management. These classes normally meet four hours per class, once a week.

The second type of course that Disney offers is known as the Exploration Series. These courses focus on a specific aspect of the Walt Disney World Resort operations. They meet for only 2 hours per class, one time a week. And there are eight classes. They are less academically demanding than the Collegiate Series. However, they are highly interactive and have the students learning outside and inside the classroom. There are no tests or assignments for these classes. They include things like Exploring Disney Heritage and Exploring Guest Services.

The last type of course is the Professional Development Series. These courses are specific to a participant's college major. Students must have a declared major in the area of study to be able to participate. Unfortunately, they don't have anything for music or education.

When I first looked into the Program, and also when I applied, I was looking at two courses to possibly take. The first was the Creativity and Innovation course from the collegiate series. The other was the Exploring Disney Heritage from the Exploration series. On the Disney website, it states that those participants who take courses will work on average 30-40 hours per week, while those who do not take courses will work 30-50 hours per week. I wanted to work as much as possible, so I had decided to not take any classes.

But then when course sign-up came along, I re-evaluated my decision and decided that I would indeed like to take a course. I decided to take the Exploring Disney Heritage course. It is less time constraining since it only meets for 8 weeks, and only 2 hours per week. It sounds really fun. The class takes a look at the history of the Walt Disney Company. I think I will enjoy it quite a bit. One of my (hopefully) roommates has also signed up with me. We will be taking it on Mondays from 4-6.

Living

Another question that is always asked by people I tell about my internship is that of housing. Yes, Disney does provide housing for College Interns. There are four hosing complexes that are available solely to college interns, and each college intern is guaranteed an apartment. The Commons is only for international students. So I don't know much about it. But then there is Vista Way (the oldest), Patterson Court (the newest), and Chatham Square (the in between-est). Vista has a bad reputation, although I don't think it's probably as bad as all the rumors say. It's known as the place to go if you want to party. Patterson is rumored to be pretty quiet. And I am told that Chatham is a nice happy medium between the two. I am hoping to live in Chatham or Patterson, pictured below from Google Maps.

The dark-roofed buildings to the West make up Chatham Square. The lighter-roofed buildings to the East are Patterson Court.

All of the complexes are apartment-style housing. Each apartment has a kitchen, "dining room," and living room. They come fully furnished with couches and tables. The kitchen is stocked with utensils and silverware, bakeware and flatware. Each apartment has one to four bedrooms; each room houses 2 people. That means there can be anywhere from 2 to 8 people in each apartment. The bedrooms also come fully furnished with beds, nightstands, and dressers. One to three bedroom apartments have one bathroom per bedroom. Which means, participants only have to share their bathroom with one other person. Four bedrooms, I am told, have 2.5 bathrooms. Each bedroom also has a walk-in closet shared by both occupants. 

Each complex does have laundry facilities. These are not in the apartment but in its own separate place shared by many apartments. Each complex also has a pool, gym, and other recreational areas. Occupants also receive access to a wireless internet lounge, high-speed internet in the apartment, local phone service, and cable. The complexes also come with maintenance, all utilities (water, electricity, waste disposal), and security.

I do have to pay rent to live in these complexes. Rent is based on what complex and how many roommates. But even the most expensive apartment is still only about $100 a week. This pays for the rent itself, as well as everything listed above. It also gives us access to Disney's public transportation as well as various programs/trips throughout our stay in the complex. When you add it all together, $100/week or $400/month is quite a good deal when you think about it. This rent is deducted directly from our weekly paycheck, so we never have to worry about paying the rent; it's taken care of for us.

Earning

The main part of the internship is working. I've been assigned the role of MEO (Main Entrance Operations). When I get down to Disney, I will have a one day general training session and introduction called Traditions. Then I will have several days of being trained in MEO. Once my training is done, I will take an assessment and then will begin working.

On average, I will work 30-50 hours a week. The information given states that an intern that takes classes will work 30-40, and one that does not take classes will work 30-50. I will be taking a class (more on this later) but I also plan on picking up extra shifts wherever possible. My motto as of late is to minimize costs and maximize income.

I'll be making Florida minimum wage. I do get paid overtime. From what I understand, overtime is anything over 8 hrs/day and anything over 40 hrs/week. My shifts may be normal day time shifts such as 8am-4pm or 12pm-8pm. But there is also a strong possibility of having late night/early morning shifts. I've seen other roles with shifts from 5:30pm-2:30am. I've heard of another MEO cast member working a 10pm-5:45am shift. College interns such as myself are the bottom of the food chain, so we get left with the odd shifts. I personally, look forward to them. It'll be different but a fun experience.

All Disney cast members have to wear uniforms (or in Disney-speak: costumes). We check out costumes from the costuming place. We can check out up to five at a time. We can wash them ourselves, or just return them to costuming and check out clean ones. Below are examples of costumes I may have to wear for my role (pictures courtesy of The Hub, Disney's online employee page).

Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom

Epcot

Magic Kingdom

Parking

Parade Audience Control

Typhoon Lagoon

Blizzard Beach

And to further explain my role, here is a description and possible sub-roles that MEO entails. This was taken from Disney's College Program website. It's just a brief overview, but will give you a better idea of what I may be doing. I will not find out exactly what I'm doing, nor where, until the day I arrive.

Main Entrance Operations
Responsibilities may include:

• Working in one or more of the following areas:
  • Parking
    • Staffing outdoor Toll Plaza areas
    • Operating a large motorized parking tram
    • Delivering narrations on a microphone
  • Park Greeter
    • Greeting all Guests who enter the park and validating their tickets
    • Operating turnstile areas
  • Ticket Operations
    • Selling various ticket media at our water parks, Downtown Disney®, or Disney's Wide World of Sports®
    • Using computerized ticketing systems
• Strong knowledge of Walt Disney World Resort ticket media
• Cash handling - both manual and using computerized registers
• Assisting with audience control, including during parades
• Cleaning main entrance areas
• Standing for extended periods, working outdoors

The Inside Scoop

Okay, so for those of you who don't know exactly what it is that I will be doing, here's the dirt. Every semester while you're in college, you have the chance to apply for this Disney Internship. The main rule is that you have to be enrolled in at least one college course during the time when you apply, which means the internship doesn't actually have to be completed while you're in college. Like me, I graduated in May, but will be participating in the program starting in August.

Overall, it's a pretty straight forward thing. You go down for a set period of time. For the fall, there are two programs. There is the normal Fall Program which is August-January (which is what I'm doing). Then, there is the Fall Advantage Program which is May-January. I wish I had been able to do the Fall Advantage Program, but during the time that I applied, the dates were not clear. I didn't want to risk missing my graduation and/or having very very little time to move home from college and then move to Florida right away. So, I opted for the normal Fall Program. Later, I found out that I could have tried switching by contacting Disney. But, by the time I found this out, I had already found my roommate and didn't want to change my date. So, Fall Program it is.

The main focus of the program is that a college student gets to work for a very prestigious company. They get to network with lots and lots of people. They get work experience, possibly in their field. They also have the chance to take classes (for credit). Not to mention meeting a whole bunch of amazing people.

So I'll be headed down in August to start my internship. When I tell people that I'm going to Disney, people's first reaction is "For vacation?!" And I tell them "No, I'm going to work." Then their second question is "So are you going to be performing or will you be a character?!?" Okay so here's the deal. No, I won't be performing or be a character. As fun as that all sounds, I don't like auditioning, and performing is not my main focus. This internship is random work. But it's a great way to get my foot in the door.

After the initial 5 months, my plan is to stay in Disney as long as possible. I have several options to do this. My first option is to extend my internship. From what I understand, I can extend it up to just under a year long. That is one way to stay, although I would like to start working up a little. My second choice is to apply for a Professional Internship. These are a little more prestigious than the normal College Internships. For this, I would look into their Education Professional Internships to get my back into the field of education. If this doesn't pan out, then I also have the option of applying for a full- or part-time job. My overall goal though is to get up and into the Youth Education Series that Disney has, or something like it. I would absolutely love to work with children and teenagers visiting Disney. And although I wouldn't necessarily be using my music degree, I would still be using my education degree to some extent.

So never you fear, I do have a plan. I love talking about Disney, but when I tell people I won't be using my degree, they all get this very confused or judgmental look on their faces. That's the part I don't like. But no matter, in a couple months, I'll be working for Disney and having the time of my life.

Disney splits the internship into three main parts: Living, Earning, and Learning. Due to the length of this entry, I will post more specifics about each of these in later posts!

Putting the pieces together.

My Disney adventure is by no means a finished product. There are still so many questions and holes in the picture. But slowly, the puzzle is coming together. I'm still 70 days away from checking in so I'm not too worried. But I like to plan ahead, so to find out a little more always makes me happy. Here is a glimpse at a couple of the recent puzzle pieces that I have finally placed.

Roommates - Later, I will post a longer entry about the whole process of finding roommates. It's actually rather different than you'd think and warrants more time. But for now we're just gonna get to the point. Back in Late March and early April, I was talking so some people and found Nick. I asked him if he wanted to "tentatively room together," choosing my words carefully. After several weeks of talking, I think I've found a really great person to room with! We seem to get along well and  have similar interests. Nick and I started looking for other men with which to share our apartment (notice my proper grammar there? haha!). We meet a pair of guys (Chris and Benji) who were planning on rooming together and finally were able to decide 100% that we would all like to share an apartment. We all seem to get along well, so that's good! Now we're in the process of decided if we want to stick with just the four of us, or add two more. More on this later!

Classes - Disney offers several classes during the Disney College Internship. They are not required but they definitely are very useful classes with many applications. Some colleges require students to take classes while doing the internship, other colleges don't care. Since I'm graduated, it really doesn't matter for me. When I first looked at the classes, there were two that stuck out to me. But ultimately, I decided that I wasn't going to take any. You see, interns that don't take classes on average get more work hours, and I wanted as many work hours as possible. But then upon re-evaluating it, I decided that I would indeed take a class. I signed up for Disney Heritage Exploration. It's a free class, that only meets once a week for eight weeks. It looks at a brief history of the Disney brothers and the Walt Disney Corporation. It should be interesting!

Moving - The trip down to Florida is gonna be an experience that I've never had before. The only thing that comes close was when we took a family vacation to Mississippi and drove down. But even then, we took several days to get to Mississippi. My trip to Florida will be a two day drive. One of my best friends who lives in Florida will be flying up, and driving down with me. We will drive half way on the first day, find a place to spend the night, and then drive the second half on the second day. Recently, some cousins just moved to Georgia. So I contacted them to see if we could possibly stay with them for the night, instead of getting a hotel. They said so long as their house, which is currently under construction, is done, they would be more than happy to give us a place to stay. If this works out, day 1 will be fifteen and a half hours in the car. Day 2 will only be about eight and a half. My cousins' house is a little out of the way, but I'm not complaining.

Those are the main (and recent) things. I think I'll be writing an entry about what exactly the internship is. I know all the people going to Disney already know this. But I have some family and friends who don't necessarily know the details. So for their sake, my next entry (or one of the future entries) will be all the basic info about the internship.