Traditions and "Earning My Ears!"

I left off when Ana and I were arriving at Disney University for Traditions. The bus ride there was quite an experience. We get a behind the scenes look at the new Fantasyland construction and it was so neat to see Disney from the inside! The beginning of Traditions was basically an introduction to the company policies and procedures. As our leader was explaining the Disney Basics, he stopped and said, "You know what, maybe you would understand better if we showed you. Anyone up for a trip to the Magic Kingdom??" Yay! How exciting! We even got these cool headsets that made us look so official. I asked someone to take my picture as I posed!

 

It was, hands down, the coolest experience of my life. Not only did we go to Magic Kingdom, but we went through the underground tunnels! As we came out of the tunnels we were standing at a large wall, it looked like an everyday construction site. Normal signs, normal workers, nothing seemed like Disney. Our leader told us to look around and soak it all in. Remember the sights, sounds, everything about the moment we were in. Suddenly, he OPENED the wall in front of us, and we were on Main Street, U.S.A.! The magic of Disney instantly hit me and the whole atmosphere shifted from reality to fantasy. I will never forget how awesome that was and just that experience made the whole internship worth it! After we walked around MK for a while, we headed back to the classroom to wrap up the day. As we were finishing up the videos, someone knocked at the door. It was Mickey! He had a special gift for all of us...our name tags! Here is a picture of mine!

I was BEYOND thrilled to see my name on a Disney name tag! Soon after that, traditions was over and we hopped on a bus back to Chatham. It was a very long day and I was exhausted, but I had two days off so I planned on enjoying them at Disney! That's exactly what I did. I sat around the apartment until Sam got home and she and I hit the parks three days in a row! I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to drive to Hollywood Studios simply to ride Rock 'n Roller Coaster once and leave. The fact that doing something like that is completely reasonable is unbelievable to me! My Disney ID is probably the most valuable thing I have ever owned, haha. I can get into any of the parks for free as well as park for free and receive discounts on merchandise! I fully enjoyed my days off and had my first day of training on Saturday. It went well, just more talk about the Disney Basics, and my real work didn't start until that Tuesday. I trained for about four days with different trainers, did online learning, and.....wait for it.....I FINALLY EARNED MY EARS! Woooohoooo! I was so excited to remove the"Earning My Ears" badge from my name tag. I feel like a real cast member now, LOL. I am working in both the Swan and Dolphin resorts and I may also pick up shifts at the Boardwalk resort. I am only working with one other college student, most of the other cast members are older, but I love them all. They are so sweet and helpful. Our shops aren't the busiest, but I have really great hours compared to the late night shifts at the parks. I have had so much fun visiting with guests the last few days! I've always loved the experiences I've had at Disney, but actually making the magic is even more fun! If you're ever in the area, stop by the Swan and Dolphin and say hi! Have a magical day!

Oh, and by the way, if you're wondering what our apartment looks like, here's a video tour that I made. Enjoy!