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