A daily Rememberance

Today is the anniversary of the greatest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. It is a day I remember well being from the New York area. There is no amount of words to describe what this moment meant in the hearts of Americans, the changes in lives and the shaking of our nation.

Every day the Walt Disney World resort recognizes the men and women who have served with the Flag Retreat and it is a special moment for the security officers and most often the guests who have or are serving our country. This happens on stage but every day I walk past many memorials to the heroes of 9/11. There are multiple dedications to the men and women who gave the ultimate public sacrifice that day. These often feature NYPD and FDNY pictures, badges and other mementos. It is inspiring that even today this company really recognizes our nation.

The tunnels are a meaningful area and a place for the Cast Members. I see a lot of things from posters on the basics to sports team representation to memorials for 9/11. I would like to commend the Resort on their ability to give Cast Members a place to express themselves.

Again, I would like to remember those we lost and thank every public servant in the United States for their amazing commitment to us.

Benefits already!

Being Concise here is going to be difficult. One of the largest perks of being a Cast Member are the preview nights. It just so happens that I am here during one of the best holidays in a Disney park, Halloween. With Halloween comes Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party, an after hours event at the Magic Kingdom that requires an additional ticket. With this party comes a bunch of candy, Hallowishes and the Boo To You parade. Going along with the Cast perks last night we were allowed to attend the Boo To You cast preview and watch the Halloween parade after hours in the Magic Kingdom.

This parade was brilliant. Showcasing the creepy attractions and the amazing characters that are seldom scene it really blends adult frights with kids fantasy. My favorite group of entertainers were the Haunted mansion groups. With the gravedigger, hitch hiking ghosts, ballroom dancers and skeleton gravediggers there was no disappointment. The floats were fun and the actors very fun and into their characters.

These cast events are not perfect. The lighting was off, timing was sketchy and characters were getting used to having guests there. It made things a bit rocky when it came to timing or photography or real organization at all. That being said I did manage to get a few pictures and a couple videos, nothing great but it will give you a rough idea and hopefully helps you choose if you want to attend the party while in WDW during this season.





Right about here is where my camera died and I couldn't get things working right. It is very tough to get great pictures when the lighting is literally fighting between theatrical and ambient light. Enough excuses the point of this is to show the unique experiences that cast members get in seeing rehearsals and previews of the wonderful Disney entertainment. Disney recognizes that it takes their amazing cast members to put on these parties and then gives them a great opportunity to see the entertainment they wouldn't usually be able to watch.

On a guest note, I would absolutely recommend this party. I will be doing as much as I can to work and attend this party while here. This party has great entertainment that is unique and very fun. Mickey’s Not-So-Scary is Not-To-Be missed.

What day is it Again?

It is Sunday already? I can’t believe everything that I have done so far! So since my last post I have attended Traditions, had Magic Kingdom orientation, Tomorrowland Orientation and Guest Service orientation. Did I mention that I have done this all since Wednesday? So that is what has happened in the first few days of being here on the college program.

So the day after checking in is really the day to settle down. Trying to unpack the first is really a lot of work. It takes time to learn how to get everything situated and put into place. So for the first day I would try and hold off on unpacking unless you have a large amount of time, or a parent to do it for you. The second only contains a housing meeting. It is much easier to complete the housing meeting and then take that day to unpack and go out to Wal-Mart and do some shopping.

Tuesday is also a good day to finally talk to your roommates and for me it was really the last day I was able to do so. The schedules here are so hectic that you rarely see each other. My roommates and I took some time Tuesday to hang out and get to know each other. I would suggest the same unless you have family around or other things that need to be done. Tuesday for me was also exciting because I was anxious about what the next day held.

Being as tired as I was sleep did not come easy. Traditions is the starting gate for the entire program. You are not a cast member until you successfully complete Traditions. It is the first plunge of the Disney roller coaster. That night I was up late thinking about what was to come probably the same as many marathoners before a race or children before vacation. The next morning I jumped out of bed before the sun and had never been that excited to be up that early.

So that is everything Pre-Traditions, next time I will take a look at traditions and what it meant to me. Also tips for getting through the first few days.

The First Day

I am now moved into and a part of the College Program. I am living in Patterson Court and it is awesome. My apartment is beautiful but housing will be covered later on. The topic for today is the check in process and how it worked. The housing process was one animal and the casting process was a beast. This will be an overview of what happened today and everything that we went through.

The first stop was Vista Way apartments. From the arrival and dropping off my bags while I went through the process my experience was awesome. I felt like a guest checking into a long-term resort stay. Everything was so much fun and paper work never was more fun then doing it with a DJ in the background. We moved from station to station like the wheels of a well oiled machined. The process was to get me my housing, and my schedule for the rest of the day and the next, if you have a car this is the place where you receive your auto sticker.

I must say that the one hiccup in the works was the bus. Moving over to Patterson was very difficult and annoying. Our bus driver would not drop us off where we were supposed to go and things were pushed late. This is typical with WDW transport whether it is to parks or anywhere else.

The next step was the most difficult. After trekking my bags up three flights of stairs, they really need elevators, I had to more or less run to the bus stop. Things were pushed so late that even when I forgot my passport I missed my initial bus to casting. This put a hitch in my plans but it was what it was. I waited for the next bus and was greeted warmly by a College Program Recruiter who treated us to some trivia and tips during the ride to casting.

Casting as I said before was a beast, and this is an understatement. There were so many people there that it was difficult to even move down the hall. I don’t know what they could have done about this. We all needed to go through this process so it had to be that way. The casting building is enchanting on its own and it gives a great feel for the company and in my opinion served as a portal to my time with Walt Disney World.

At casting you are told your position area, you go through the Disney Look guidelines, your on boarding paperwork, a bit of payroll, human resources, and a security background check. This laundry list took forever. They tell you to expect anywhere from one to four hours to complete everything. It took about three hours for me. I did not enjoy it but that is what it took. The whole process was tough but you have to stick through it.

These were really the activities for the first day. Moving in is long and a drawn out process but actually very easy. I love my new Paterson apartment, minus the lack of size and short walk to the bus stop. Later on I will talk about the other apartment complexes and compare and contrast. Also I will have more information on the second and third days activities including a look at traditions.

If you have any comments please leave them, questions can be directed to Ricoscast@gmail.com and please follow me at twitter.com/rico117 or friend me on facebook at facebook.com/rico117.

The Next Step

I have talked about my preparations for the College program little by little through this blog. I really haven’t had time to sit and think about what I am actually going to be doing for the next few months of my life. This blog was meant to be educational for those who want to take a chance and be a part of the College Program but without some introspection I couldn’t give anyone an idea of the perspective that I have.

This Internship will be for me a time when I decide what I want to do. I have jumped from profession to profession unsure of what I wanted from life. I have finally found travel and tourism as an emphasis in my major, business administration. This time at WDW will be my test on this profession. Will I still want to work for Disney or hotels or any other part of the travel industry? I don’t honestly know. This is really at the center of my apprehension.

What I do know is that the CP is the best chance to test any career. The college program gives students the full time work experience with a safety net. You don’t have to have a car, there is no need for full price rent, and a steady job is provided. The safety net experience is one that I will use to gauge my responsibility as a functioning adult. I intend to have no monetary support from my parents once I am receiving a paycheck. I haven’t done this before so it is a huge step and one that will teach me a lot about the person that I am.

The time I hope to spend at WDW hopefully will be shared with people like me. Meeting new people isn’t hard, meeting new friends and creating lasting relationships can be. I want to come home with a great group of friends that enjoy Disney as I do and that understand me. I am definitely getting the first day of school jitters but it is nothing that I can’t handle.

Tomorrow I set off on the next chapter of my life. A time of learning and growing awaits me in the coming months and I hope that as readers you all enjoy following me along and learn something about life as a College Program member along the way.