I can’t remember if I shared this before, but I watched this video the other day and it really took me back to Orlando and the Disney College Program and I decided to post it (possibly for the second time)! So I’m not sure if you’ve ever considered exactly what goes on at a Disney College Program graduation ceremony, but if you guessed characters in caps and gowns, you would be correct! They also dance. I took this video on our graduation day! I love having memories like this to look back on, my Disney experience is something I will remember forever!!
Archive for the ‘Disney College Program’ Category
Goofy Shuffle
In Disney, Disney College Program, Florida, walt disney world on April 30, 2012 at 5:16 amArt of Animation
In Disney, Disney College Program, Florida, magic kigdom, walt disney world on April 26, 2012 at 3:11 pmSo something that I love about Disney is how they are so inventive and constantly changing. There were many exciting changes happening at Walt Disney World when I left last fall and one of them is rapidly coming to completion. A NEW RESORT!!! It’s very exciting because they haven’t opened a new resort since Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge (where I worked), in the 90’s. The new resort, called “Art of Animation”, showcases varying stages of Disney art in the hallways, colorful fountains in the pool, and is coming along quite nicely, as you can see here in this video!!
I can’t wait to see it when I’m back visiting Orlando at the end of May!!
Recognition
In Disney, Disney College Program on March 28, 2012 at 5:32 pmWell good morning!! Last week was an exciting week for me, Camosun College had a recognition ceremony for myself and the other student who recieved recognition from the Canadian Co-op associations. To check out the photos, look at the college’s Flickr stream here! It’s so amazing to be recognized for the hard work that I put in. It’s also a little bit overwhelming! I’m not great with lots of attention and I always feel awkward in these kinds of situations, but I managed to not look too foolish and had a lovely time at the ceremony. My amazing family was there to support me and that was helpful also. On friday I’ve been asked to come to a class at the college and answer some questions about the program and the whole experience. I’m so happy that other students are interested in this experience as well, I hope I can be a helpful resource for them. Have a great week everyone!
Fireworks!!
In Disney, Disney College Program, fireworks, walt disney world on July 29, 2011 at 5:07 pmThere’s something I totally forgot to mention before. One of our engineers took me up on the roof the other day and it was so high up that we could see the fireworks from all three other parks, MK, Hollywood Studios, and epcot. It was amazing!!! Such a phenomenal view. I took a picture of the lodge so I could show you the ladder we went up to get to the top of the lodge!!
So if you look to the immediate right of the peak thingy you can see the ladder that we climbed up!’ I was waaaaay up there!!!!
So if you look to the immediate right of the peak thingy you can see the ladder that we climbed up!’ I was waaaaay up there!!!!
The Final Week
In Disney College Program, packing, travelling on July 25, 2011 at 12:10 pmI’m sitting on my bed in my room, surrounded by the last few boxes that I need to ship and I can’t believe it’s almost over. I have 3 shifts left and 4 days here in Orlando before I say goodbye. I’m excited for what’s to come but I’m so sad to leave. I really love it here. I’ve been so caught up in saying goodbye and getting organized that I haven’t had too much time to be sad, but now, alone with my thoughts and Lind’s and my quickly emptying room, I’m sad. So I’m giving myself some time to mourn right now, pout pout pout. Le sigh. And that’s enough of that!!
So naturally, me being me, I’ve been scouring the web for all information I can find on Disneyland Paris because I want to be prepared and have an idea of all the places I could be possibly working. So far, I have to say that the Paris park, first of all, is STUNNING and I want to live in Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. Secondly, I want to work in the Red Garter Saloon in Disney’s Hotel Cheyenne. It’s so cool looking. I’m looking at all the food and beverage establishments since that’s the department I’ll be working in!! I’m getting irrationally excited.
MK
In Disney College Program, fireworks, magic kigdom, walt disney world on July 22, 2011 at 5:34 pmSo last night I took my lil old self over to the Magic Kingdom to see the fireworks for the last time for who knows how long. It was lovely. I spent time wandering around and watched the electrical parade, which has been a favorite of mine since the first time I saw it in Disneyland! Then I stayed for the fireworks!!! I had a spot right in front of the castle and I had such a lovely time. I reflected upon my time here and just enjoyed the show. I’m going to miss MK! I need to go to all the parks before I leave. One down, 3 to go! 
New Orleans
In Disney College Program, New Orleans, travel on July 15, 2011 at 7:21 pmI have so much to say!!! I need to get all you lovely people caught up!! New Orleans, let’s start there! I LOVED New Orleans!!! It’s amazing. The whole city has so much character and heart!! It’s like you can see history unfold right before your eyes!! There’s still some places where you can see the leftover damage from Hurricane Katrina, and then there’s buildings that are brand new and massive. I spent most of our time there just wandering the streets and taking pictures. I love jazz so I also wandered into as many little jazz bars as I could find. Bourbon St is unreal! People everywhere, drinking on the streets, people I’m balconies flinging beads into the street, it’s like everyday is Mardi Gras! There’s a really cool walkway thing that’s along the Mississippi river with shops and restaurants. I also adore Cajun food!!! It’s so flavorful and delicious!! I am so happy that I had a chance to visit this amazing city before I leave the states!!!
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| Gorgeous buildings!! |
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| Bourbon Street!! |
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| The architecture is so fabulous!! |
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| Exposed brick everywhere!!! This is in one of the hotels I stayed at |
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| Crazy voodoo piano in a store in the french quarter |
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| Crazy animal on the wall in a store in the french quarter |
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| The ceiling in a fabulous cajun restaurant! |
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| I adored this building. So much character |
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| My favorite gate! |
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| Hotel room |
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| Really tall building in the sun!! |
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| Quaint little shop’s in the french quarter |
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| They get a little angry when you try on the masks and take pictures of yourself in the store!! Whoops!! |
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| In the arts district |
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| SO MANY MASKS!!! |
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| Steamboat that goes up and down the Mississippi |
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| Warehouse district |
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| The Mississippi River! |
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| Run down building in the art district |
As you can see, I LOVED New Orleans!!! Everyone should go!!
St. Augustine
In Disney College Program, Florida, travel on July 9, 2011 at 12:55 amOne of my favorite things, as you know, is traveling! So it’s really cool to be in a different part of the world is getting a chance to explore it! So I happen to have five days off and I’m on a little road trip! Today we are in St. Augustine, tomorrow we head to New Orleans! St. Augustine is actually the oldest city in the US and is absolutely gorgeous! It’s got so much history and beautiful architecture! It was founded in 1596 (I think) and it’s lovely. Theres an amazing fort where we actually got to see Men dressed as soldiers shoot a real working cannon!! So I thought I’d share some photos! 
The New Email Diaries
In adventure, concierge, Disney College Program, training on June 30, 2011 at 4:20 pmSo, I have some more emails that I’ve sent to myself lately and I thought you might enjoy reading them:
June 26th:
Today is a magical day! I got to train a new cast member on the desk this morning! It was kind of by accident, his original trainer called out so I got called in and got to train. I loved it!! So much fun!!! I wish they’d put me on training more often but because I jsut got trained up on the club desk I’ll be up there most often I think. However today I got to train, which not only is a lot of fun, it also means I get paid more per hour, which I can’t argue with at all!! I managed to sneak in a workout at our lodge gym on my first break, my second break will be reserved for homework. So now I’m up on the club desk, listening to a guest tell us some fun stories. We also have some very important people in the lodge right now, staying on club level! I’m not at liberty to discuss details, unfortunately, sorry!
I just had the best chat with a guest. He’s the CEO of Disney English, which runs schools that teach English in Asia. He’s going to put me in touch with his hiring team in New York. I would LOVE to relocate to Shanghai! How amazing would that be?! It’s unreal how many connections this job offers. I’m so thrilled just to even talk to this man and he spent the last hour at my desk!! Granted I was making dinner reservations for him and his family, but still, that’s special interacting time where I can show him that I am perfect for his company!!
June 27th
I had such a nice surprise this morning. I came into work at 8:30am and said hi to everyone and prepared myself for my day and one of the bellmen stopped me and asked if he could talk to me. I’ve only really ever talked to him a few times, and only just saying hi in the halloways. He totally made my day! He said; ‘I just love seeing you because you always have such a good energy, you always smile and wave and when I’m having a sad day, seeing you cheers me up.’ SWEETEST THING EVER!! It really goes to show that even when you don’t think people are watching, they are. People can be affected by your attitude and behavior without you even knowing!!
June 28th
I love the club desk. One of the funnest things that we get to do is make ammenity baskets for our guests. When they check into the club level, we know if they have any special things they’re celebrating and we make them gift bags! I love this part!! We give them cute little books made out of elephant poop, we have little beaded keychains, chocolate shaped like animals, etc! And for guests in suites they get big baskets full of goodies. Then we get to run around the resort, putting the gifts in the rooms along with welcome letters before the guests have arrived. I’m like the easter bunny, but in burgundy!! We also really get to know people up here. I know I’ve said it a thousand times, but you really do!!. They sit at the desk for hours planning their vacations with us and having us look for reservations, and you really get personally involved with them. They come back and tell you how much they liked the restaurant you recommended, or how fun a certain show was. I think everyday I have a story to tell about my club guests and it always starts with, ‘oh my gosh, my favorite guest……..’ and then ‘my other favorite guest’ and so on.
Reflections
In Disney College Program, travelling, University of California Riverside, work on June 30, 2011 at 2:20 amIt’s down to 30 days until my program is over and I go home. I can’t believe it’s almost over. I’m working on my final report for the University of California Riverside and it requires a lot of reflection and its really making me think about the time I’ve spent here and how much I’ve learned and grown. I’m also in the process of having final performance reviews with my managers. This has been an amazing process as well. The manager I spoke with today is also leaving the company and we had a really great talk about how we’re both moving on to the next chapters in our lives. At the end of our talk I asked her if she had any advice or life tips for me and she said ‘Never get upset if you see someone who is possibly not deserving or unfit for a role in which you think you would have been perfect. Your patience will serve you well, and you will end up in the role that is perfect for you. Often people get wound up about roles that they really want to be in when they aren’t suited for them, and they end up being miserable. The universe will put you where you’re meant to be, and you are destined for great things.’ I really enjoyed that and will remember that in the future. Funnily enough if I look back, there have been times in my life when I haven’t gotten the role I wanted and I was upset about it and look where I am now. The universe seems to know what it’s doing, as my current path is fabulous!!
