One Month Left

I'm flabbergasted! Only one month left of my college program?! I can't believe I've already been here for 3 months and I can't imagine not living next to Walt Disney World in a month. While reflecting, a month feels like nothing, as though I'm basically going home tomorrow. But, when I see my schedule and get to work, a month feels like an eternity. I'm so thankful to have had this opportunity, met the people I have, and learned so much about not only The Walt Disney Company, but myself, too. Over this next month I know I'm going to continue to struggle with my excitement for summer in Minnesota and my urge to live the rest of my Florida life to the fullest.

Of course I've worked a bit since my last blog post. There's not usually much to report about work, but a few stories from this month have stuck out for me. There must have been something in the water at Epcot on April 5th because I experienced two different acts of kindness. The first I posted about on Facebook:

As I was on cash register at Urban Farm Eats, one of the outdoor kitchens for Flower and Garden, today, a younger boy, maybe 12, ordered a tilapia for $4.75. When he handed me his crumpled bills, though, he only had $4.05. He asked if it was enough and I told him he needed just a few more cents, so he ran across the walkway to where his bag and party were waiting. As he did this, I made small talk with the others in line to keep then from being too upset with the boy. When he returned, he quickly grabbed his money back from on top of my register and said, "Sorry for the inconvenience, miss," and began walking away. I stopped him, about to give him the tilapia for $4.05, when the next gentleman in line pulled a dollar out of his wallet to help the kid out. The boy looked surprised and totally grateful. The gentleman was nothing but humble when I thanked him and complimented his kindness. These people totally made my day!

Not only was I shocked at how polite the boy was and how humble the man was, but I was surprised at the response the story got on Facebook. The sheer number of likes was telling of just how many people were touched by this little moment at my cash register!

The second act of kindness I experienced on April 5th was a bit different. A man came up to me looking for a "fried bread doughnut thing". Thankfully, I had just learned that Epcot sells a pastry called the "Croissant Doughnut" or "Cronut" for short. It's a deep fried croissant in the shape of a doughnut, dipped in cinnamon sugar. I know, it sounds delicious. Anyway, I figured out that the cronut was what he was looking for and I pointed him in the right direction, mindlessly adding, "I've never had one, but I hear they're amazing!" Well the night went on, we closed my stand, the fireworks started, and I was waiting for my coworkers to help me escort the money from my register when the man came up to me again, cronut in hand! He beamed, told me how delicious it was, and then nudged his wife. His wife proceeded to hand me a small bag saying, "We got you one! You have to try it!" I just about died! A cronut for me?! I thanked them profusely and they were on their way. Who does that?! WHY would they have thought to get me one?! I don't know, but I'm thankful because it was delicious.

On a completely different note, Landen came to visit me last week! Though he only was here for a few days, I was still able to spend time with him for the first time in 3 months and bring him to Walt Disney World for his first time ever! Even though I wasn't feeling 100%, we had an absolute blast! It was so much fun showing him all of my favorite rides and places!

After Landen left, I worked a little bit and then spent yesterday hanging out with my roommates Denise, Kelsey, and Gemma. Though our original plans fell through, we ended up having a great day! We hung out at the pool (and laughed a lot), went to Panera Bread in the rain, and watched/sang along to Frozen. Watch Facebook for pictures of our day off!

Halfway There

These past 10 days have been nothing less than exciting, exhausting, and fun. I finished out my time at Cosmic Ray's, spent some time in the sun, and started up my new position at the Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival. I also passed the halfway point of my program! I can't believe that I've already been here for over 2 months, but it's crazy to think that I'll be on my way home in 2 months. Planning has begun for my trip home and I'm starting to plan my summer jobs, classes, and activities. Reality is slowly creeping back into my life and I'm not quite sure how to feel about it. I'm also very excited for my mom, aunt, and grandma to arrive on Monday! My aunt and grandma haven't been to Walt Disney World for quite some time, so I'm anxious to show them everything and give them the full Disney experience.

My 4 Keys Fanatic Card

Last Sunday night, the 9th, was my last night at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. It was an 8 hour, closing kitchen shift, so they really sent me out with a bang. The whole day was a bit melancholy because I was looking forward to getting out of the kitchen, but I was bummed to be working with my coworkers for the last time. That day I also received my first 4 Keys Fanatic Card (shown above). These cards are given out as recognition or thank yous for helping, going above and beyond, or just doing your job well. I got this particular card for doing a "fantastic job on chicken side when we were really busy". If I remember correctly, I was scooping fries during that time, so clearly I've reached a professional fry scooper status. ;) Another cool thing about these cards is that they go on your company Record Card. It's kind of like a report card and shows times you've been late for work, gotten in trouble, and gotten 4 Keys Fanatic Cards!

The Mike and Sully topiaries!

On Monday, the 10th, I spent some time at the pool before heading over to Epcot with Denise to really experience Flower and Garden. It was such a hot day, so I was glad to be able to spend it outside.

Tuesday, the 11th, I, again, spent my morning by the pool. I had my Disney Heritage class in Magic Kingdom that day and I still hadn't seen the new Festival of Fantasy parade yet, so I made my way to MK for the 3:00 parade. It was super cool; they definitely went all out for this parade. The floats are so extravagant and really allow the parade to come to life! Since I was focused more on the parade than photographing the parade, my pictures really didn't turn out, but above is a picture Kelsey's mom took of the two of us before the parade! Notice the tank tops, I'm telling you, it was HOT! A highlight of the parade for us was when Peter Pan and Wendy pointed at us and waved! We were in the back of the crowd, so that was really neat! My class that night mentioned my uncle Blaine again and how he did both the Partners statue with Walt and Mickey and the statue with Roy and Minnie near the front of the park. They said that he was the official sculptor for the Walt Disney Company until he retired. How cool, right!?

Last Wednesday I finally started at Flower and Garden! From Wednesday to Sunday I worked at 4 of the 5 outdoor kitchens that are available to me and I got to try a bunch of the food that they offer (woop woop!). At Urban Farm Eats I was able to try the ghost pepper dusted tilapia which was so spicy, but so good! Pineapple Promenade serves "pineapple soft serve" aka Dole Whip, a signature Disney snack of which my brother is especially fond. Buttercup Cottage boasts a delicious cheese potato biscuit with salmon tartar and lemon scones. And the Smokehouse has brisket, pulled pig sliders, and a BACON CUPCAKE. I know what you're thinking "Ewww, bacon cupcake!? Why?!" And the answer to that question is BECAUSE IT'S DELICIOUS. The bacon is actually much less prominent than you'd expect and it's not greasy or overpowering because it's baked into the cupcake as small "sprinkles". On top is a maple syrup flavored cream cheese frosting with crumbled pretzel bits. Is your mouth watering yet? Yeah, mine too.

On register at Smokehouse on my first day!

My move to Epcot has been pleasant so far. I'll admit it's weird not having a home location since I'm at a different outdoor kitchen every day, but my coworkers, management, and even guests are much more relaxed, making it an enjoyable experience. I mean, it's the Flower and Garden Festival, festivals should be fun! Another perk of being at Epcot is that it closes much earlier than Magic Kingdom, usually 9pm every night. So instead of getting home at 3am, I'm getting home before 11pm!

Beauty and the Beast!

St. Patrick's Day was wet, rainy, and cold. It poured almost all day! Despite the weather, though, Kelsey and I played in Hollywood Studios for a bit, going on Rock'n'Roller Coaster and watching Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid on stage.

#ThugLyfe at Forever 21

Yesterday I decided to visit the salon underneath Magic Kingdom. Yes, Magic Kingdom does have a salon in the utilidor specifically for cast members called Kingdom Kutters. There is also another cast only salon at Epcot called Hairport International! After my heritage class that focused on the conception, planning, and execution of Epcot, Kelsey and I adventured to get pizza and visit the outlet mall nearby. Long story short, we took the wrong bus, but ended up discovering how close our apartment complex actually is to "civilization" (stores, restaurants, etc). Above is us enjoying ourselves in Forever 21's clearance section.

Displaying my butt pouch for my rain gear!

Today I had my Disney Marketing class and learned a lot more about Disney's public relations and special events branches! This afternoon and the next 4 days will mostly be spent working and getting excited for my family to visit! So much to look forward to this week!

President's Day Weekend

The last few days have been pretty busy not only for me, but for Disney World and doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon! For Walt Disney World, this upcoming weekend is the Princess Half Marathon Weekend and it's probably going to be a zoo around here. Then the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival starts on March 5th and the rest of the month is peak spring break time. Things are picking up for me too!

As I clocked out on Friday night, one of my coordinators handed me a new training schedule. I welcomed the papers with a confused look as she explained that I am being deployed to the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival! This means that I'll be trained in at a quick service location specifically for Flower and Garden and primarily work there, in Epcot, until the end of my program. I'm a little bummed to be leaving all of the great people I've met at Cosmic Ray's and the Magic Kingdom in general, but I'm also pretty excited to get to experience orientation at another park and better understand how Disney's festivals really work. I start training next week!

At work on both Friday and Saturday, I had to close and they actually trusted me enough to close specific bays! Usually when I have closed, I've been asked to take out the trash, stock the freezers, sweep the floors, and basically hang around until we're totally closed. At Cosmic Ray's, each bay closes at a different time, so if you close a bay before the restaurant as a whole closes, you get to go home "early"! So, instead of getting done at 2:15am on Friday and Saturday, I was able to clock out before 12:30am! My Sunday shift was 9 hours long, but that meant I got an hour long break and I didn't have to close!

Yesterday was also 9 hours, but I was greeter, so I was able to hang out with guests all day. I got out early enough yesterday that I was able to watch Celebrate the Magic (for the first time) and the beloved Wishes fireworks show. Celebrate the Magic was much more amazing than I ever imagined it to be! If you ever find yourself in the Magic Kingdom, stick around for Celebrate the Magic and, of course, Wishes. They're some of my favorite things to do/see at Disney!

This morning, my roommate, Denise, and I woke up bright and early to catch a bus to Magic Kingdom. Denise has never been at the park right when it opens! It's quite the experience. A few citizens of Main Street USA greet you from the train station and welcome you with song and dance (typical, right?) while Mickey and his friends ride in on the train just in time to count down! It's pretty exciting and it's great because the park is pretty empty for a lot of the morning, so getting on rides is a breeze!

Phil Holmes!

Before we got in the park, though, I spotted a famous face. He may not be a household name, but around here, he's pretty high up! Phil Holmes, pictured above, is the Vice President of the Magic Kingdom! (Yes, he looked right at me when I took the picture...)

Today we rode plenty of rides (Peter Pan, Small World, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain twice, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, PhilharMagic, Winnie the Pooh), met Buzz & Gaston, and spent some time in Gaston's Tavern. Buzz was great and we were lucky enough to see him interact with some of his adorable little fans. They were soooo excited! Gaston is always such a flirt. He's been perfectly himself every time I've met him. He's a hoot! I also ate the largest cinnamon roll I've ever seen when we were at Gaston's Tavern.

It's also worth noting that I was able to get a second, back up name tag with my hometown on it! So this is a shout out to good old Cloquet!

I hope you're all surviving up north and, as always, please feel free to live vicariously through my sunny, 75 degree life right now. It's pretty wonderful! And it's almost Wednesday, so hang in there!

The First Few Days

What a whirlwind! I don't think I've slept as well as I did last night in quite some time! Nothing could have prepared me for how much I did the last few days. I've been completely overwhelmed but insanely exited during every minute of my day.

I woke up in my shared hotel room on Monday, got ready (I wore SHORTS!), and repacked my suitcases. I journeyed across the street with my luggage, burning arms and all, to meet one of my roommates, Sarah, at Chick-Fil-A. She grew up in Florida, but has been living in Pennsylvania since high school. Lucky (or unlucky) for her, she gets to share a bedroom with me! Her family was nice enough to let me keep my luggage in their car while we walked over to check-in.

My roommate, Sarah, and I at Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney

Check-in took a total of 3 HOURS! Luckily I had Sarah and another roommate, Meg (from Ohio!), to keep me company for the long wait. During those 3 hours, I received my Program Guide (a planner with a ton of DCP info), my housing ID, housing complex, casting time, and WORK LOCATION! I am now living in Chatham Square (said like chat-um) and will be working in Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe! Ever since I got accepted as QSFB, my dad has insisted that I would be working at Cosmic Ray's, so I couldn't believe it when the cast member told me I would be working there!

Now you may be thinking "What's a 'casting time,' Kelsey?" and that's a very good question! I found out during check-in that my casting time was 2:30pm, just an hour and a half after I was finished checking in! Sarah and I rushed over to Wendy's (since I was advised to eat before casting) and hurried back shoveling Frosty's into our mouths! Once we were back, she found her family and headed over to our apartment while I fed my hungry belly! After eating, I found the bus stop for casting. The bus pulled up not long after and I was off to casting!

The Casting Building

Casting took about 2 hours and, in that time, they took my fingerprints for a background check, scanned my driver's license and social security card, and gave me my schedule for the next few days. It turns out that I have Traditions, a class/tour that introduces new cast members to the culture and heritage of the Disney organization, on Thursday morning and I need to be at the bus at 6:45am! At Traditions I will officially become a cast member. I'll receive my official ID, nametag, and an all access pass to the Walt Disney World parks. Which means that immediately after Traditions, I will be able to go to Walt Disney World!

The Casting doorknobs based on Alice in Wonderland

During casting, I also found out when I will be training for my position at Cosmic Ray's. So this Sunday is my first official training day. On my second training day, on Tuesday, I will hopefully be receiving a costume and schedule! More details on that to come!

Following casting, I finally got to go to my apartment! Sarah's family was nice enough to bring my luggage up to my room for me, so all that was left was unpacking. I put everything away, made up my bed, and took about 2 seconds of rest before I was out the door again to meet Sarah in Downtown Disney so that we could drive to Walmart with her family.

I spent a few minutes hanging out in Downtown Disney and it was just surreal seeing all of the families, kids, and tourists around me. I realized that I'm so lucky to get to experience the magic every day for the next 4 months while the people I saw were probably just at Disney for a few days! It's also cool to think that I get to help make the magic happen for people like that for the next few months. What's more fun than making people happy?!

After my realization, Sarah picked me up and we were off to Walmart. Holy cow was that an experience! It was the most crowded, foreign Walmart in which I have ever stepped foot. I got what I needed, though, so I guess it did the job!

We finally got back to the room after 11:00pm and we were exhausted. I put my groceries, shampoo, and pillow in their appropriate places and hit the hay. I fell asleep immediately and slept like a rock the whole night!

Yesterday (Tuesday) my only obligation was a housing meeting at 10:00am. There they just explained their rules, policies, and expectations and psyched us up a little bit more for the Disney life! I spent rest of the day (or so it seemed) trying to get our WiFi to work! It turns out we needed a new router, so today I got a new one, hence, now I'm finally able to blog!

Above my housing meeting

Today I spent some more time at Downtown Disney with my roommates. It was sooo tempting to buy the entire store! I won't get my discount until tomorrow, though, so I had to control myself. Tonight my roommates and I are planning to go to the Polynesian Resort, eat Dole Whips, "watch" the fireworks (even though we can't get into Magic Kingdom yet!), and visit the quick service restaurant at the Grand Floridian Resort at which my roommate, Denise, will be working!

My roommate, Meg, and I at Once Upon a Toy in Downtown Disney

I'm having a blast and I can't wait for the next couple of days!

Are You Going to Be Cinderella?!

No, I'm not going to be a princess, but one of the most common things I'm asked is "What are you even going to DO there?" That, my friends, is an excellent question. A question to which... I don't really know the answer. I was given a role when I was accepted, but I won't know where, when, or what exactly I'll be doing until my first week there. When I got accepted, I was accepted for the role of Quick-Service Food and Beverage (QSFB). The DCP website has a whole page devoted to potential roles that interns can be offered. On that page, under Food & Beverage, you'll find a link to a short video about the QSFB role at Walt Disney World.

(It looks like this on the website!)

The Disney Programs Blog is extremely helpful for all things DCP. On that website I found this blog post spotlighting the QSFB role. It focuses on a DCP intern and her experiences and take-aways from the role. Another question that people often ask me is "What park/resort will you be working in?". At this moment, I have no idea! I'm just as curious as you! I won't find out until my first week, but to see the different restaurants that I could potentially be placed in, click here. I could be assigned to any of the restaurants labeled "Quick Service". From what I've heard, once I get assigned a restaurant, I'll be there the rest of the semester.

This is Sven. When I visited Walt Disney World with my family in 2011, he was our waiter at the Beirgarten Restaurant at Epcot. Even though he was in the Disney International Program and most likely in the Full-Service Food and Beverage role, I still hope to create an enjoyable, magical experience like Sven did for us!

If you have any questions about the program, application process, or want me to talk more about a specific aspect, feel free to comment below or let me know on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!