It’s April 13 and I’m currently sitting in a Florida Panera Bread cafe. For the last two months I have been living in Orlando, working for Walt Disney World as a College Program Internship Participant.
Two months ago I packed my bags, drove 20 hours down the coast of America, and began a new journey at the most Magical Place on Earth — all for college credit. Since my first blog post, a lot has happened. I am already halfway through my program, and have extended my internship beyond its original end date. I have already experienced so much more than I knew I could. Not only do I get to see super-secret backstage areas of the Walt Disney World Resort, I get to hear about changes and new projects before the public and I work with and tend to people from all over the world and all walks of life. It’s pretty cool.
The month of February was mainly a month of adjustment. I was placed in an apartment with five other girls around my age who are also working in various places along the Resort property. We all come from different places, are at different stages of our lives, and for the most part, have very different tastes and personalities. But I wouldn’t be where I am without these amazing girls. When I found out about my acceptance back in November 2015, I immediately joined a Facebook group (with over 10,000 members) to connect with other CPs who were embarking on their program in the spring of 2016. This is where I met Bailey and we became immediate friends. Everyone was so nice and making additional friends was easy.
The people I have met, especially my new close friends, have really helped me find myself out here on my own. We all are at such different stages of our lives and have such different personalities, but we bring each other up when we can: when we miss home, when we get in fights with our parents over money (frequent) or with our significant others (more frequent), and when we get stressed over working long shifts (way more frequent).
Through the month of February as we were getting to know our roles and each other, my new friends and I really bonded. Then March rolled around and it got nitty gritty. We realized just around then what we had gotten ourselves into — a crazy cycle of working 7‒10 hours in a row, five to six days a week, and sleeping to just wake up and do it all over again. Now that I have picked up shifts in two other parks, I have worked in 3 out of 4 Disney theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios (my favorite so far).
I am in Merchandise, which means I work in the shops. I also have the privilege of working in any other shop throughout the parks, if I trade or pick up shifts via the Disney company website. My home base is in Hollywood, on the left block side of the main street in the park. I love my leaders and coordinators and the people I work closely with. A lot of them are fellow CPs so they understand the workload and other stressors we have to deal with (school and money). There are also full time and part time workers, who are also extremely nice.
My role includes me working on registers, assisting guests, closing and restocking stores for the night. Moreore recently, I have started getting floorstock and Heart of House shifts. These shifts are different from normal register/closing/opening shifts because they normally require that I wear a different costume, or I come in at a different time. It’s more behind-the-scenes work, if anything. I prefer it to the on-stage work. Heart of House is a shift that runs 4:30. In this role, I have to receive and document deliveries of product for inventory purposes, arrange the products in the store, fill in any holes in displays, and make sure the store is “show ready” for the day.I get to do bulk work and the time goes by fast. I get out at 1 p.m. and then have the day to myself. As for floor stock shifts, normally they are later in the day and I simply continue the work that the Heart of House employees do in the morning. I continuously stock shelves or outdoor carts, make sure that displays look nice and that things are organized.
One thing I have learned along the way is the importance of arriving to work on time and ready to work. I had to be very aware of rules about clocking in on time, attendance and taking breaks. Like, I imagine most companies in the real world, Disney is very serious about its employees following the rules.
My usual work week is about 36 ‒ 45 hours, and I normally work 5 days a week. I get two days off, unless I want to pick up a shift elsewhere on my days off. I only did that once, and afterwards I realized how much I cherish those two days off to unwind. Over the last two months, I have learned a lot about my Walt Disney World and how wonderful it is.
I had been enjoying my internship so much that I applied (and got accepted) to extend my program. Disney does two CP programs a year, following a traditional spring and fall semester schedule. The dates aren’t exactly matched to every college’s semester dates, but they are pretty close.
After your original 4 or 6 month program, you can return home, apply to stay with the company full/part time, or extend your CP. To me, extending your CP is the smartest way to establish yourself down in Orlando. As a CP, you get shift scheduling priority over the part timers, which means you are guaranteed 30+ hours a week. You can extend your CP for a full calendar year, so since my start date was February 5, 2016, I can stay until February 5, 2017. If I wish to stay longer, I can apply for part-time position when my CP ends. Once you are full or part time, you can begin moving up the ranks in jobs. Currently, that’s my plan.
My first extension period will change my original end date of June 2 to July 28 basically making my program turn from a 4 to 6 months. Disney gives you the offer to apply in a new role if desired, but I applied to stay in the same role at the same location, because I love it..
Disney has taught me a great deal about perspective and working with people from all over the world. Through these interactions, I have learned that everyone is going through something we don’t necessarily know or see on the surface. I have really learned about putting faith in people you don’t completely know because if not, things will never change. I have learned to accept change. I have learned that empathy is a valuable trait.. I have learned that support is there if you ask for it.
I am satisfied with my program and my progress so far, and can’t wait to see where I am in a few weeks and ultimately, at the end of my program.
Kayla Jones is from Wallingford, CT and is a senior at Albertus Magnus College, studying Business Marketing. She is currently located in Orlando, Florida and is completing an internship through the Disney College Program for the spring 2016 semester—Her dream job