The Disney Whirlwind!

Okay, so I've officially been in Florida for a week and a half. In that time I've checked in, gotten my apartment, met my roommates, gone through Traditions, completed my role training and passed my assessment, and spent some much needed time in the parks! All I can really say is that this experience so far is bordering on the surreal. I wake up every morning and put on my costume to spend my shift playing with kids...really, they're paying me to do this!?!?

There are so many things about this that just boggle my mind. I'll try to go through the experience so far one step at a time.

I checked in on May 18th at Vista Way Apartments, the original Disney College Program apartment complex. I had already met 3 of my roommates so we all showed up together to make sure we were placed in the same apartment. We were assigned to Chatham Square in a 3 bedroom apartment, which meant that we would be randomly assigned 2 more roommates. All I can say about my roommates is that they're the greatest group of guys I could have hoped to live with. Everyone is respectful of each other and they're all incredibly laid back. The apartment is great with the exception of the broken air conditioner (but that got fixed on the first day so it's all good). It's only about 10 minutes driving from the apartment to the front gates of Magic Kingdom also. We didn't actually get to move into the apartment until late afternoon on the 18th because almost as soon as we checked in and got our apartment we were sent directly to Walt Disney World Casting to get our roles and location assignments. I was assigned as a Resort Bus Greeter, which I am beginning to believe is one of the greatest jobs I could have hoped for. The casting experience was incredible, just being in the building and knowing that I was being processed in for a job with Disney was amazing!

Once we were done with casting we were able to move in and relax for a little while before our housing meeting. Truthfully the housing meeting was incredibly boring but I can see the necessity of it. We had the following day off so we decided to host a cookout at the pavilion by the pool. We were able to meet lots of new people and it was a really great time. None of us really were able to sleep that night because we were so excited. After our day off we attended Traditions. I can't really say very much about it except that it was an amazing thing and there were tears at a couple of points. The legacy of the Disney company is so incredible and I am proud to now be a part of it. It was at Traditions that we received our nametags...this was a moment I had waited for almost my entire life! I was officially and without a doubt a Disney Cast Member...is there anything better?!? I can't even begin to describe the feeling of putting that nametag on for the very first time, it was surreal, incredible, satisfying, just pick a word and it was exactly that!

I am going to end this post here before it becomes a novel, but I will be posting again soon to talk about my role and the training I did for it!

Until next time, may all your days be magical and may all your dreams come true!!!