Friday, June 3, 2016

My First Disney Office

While it's a completely different experience working for Disney in an office, I am so glad I had this opportunity. A mentor told me early on in my internship to truly value being able to experience the company from this perspective, because it could really set me apart as I move forward in my career path. I learned so much about professionalism, communication, and partnership from working in an office, and Celebration was a wonderful place to call the second stop in my Disney journey.

Here are photos from my last day working in my first Disney office!
Because where else has Mickey-shaped office numbers?!

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Mousecar Award

A long-standing tradition in the Walt Disney Company, started by none other than Walt himself, are the Mousecar Awards. These are given to individuals to recognize an achievement within the company.

I received my very first Mousecar today to recognize a successful Professional Internship with my department, Park and Event Sales. It is definitely something that I will treasure for the rest of my life!
Receiving my first Mousecar Award!

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Impacts from Sales

"Nothing like you expected, but everything you were looking for."
So much was learned inside this building!
I can't begin to describe how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to work in Sales. I have learned SO much that I will truly be able to carry with me forever. I've witnessed firsthand the importance of effective communication strategies and functions. I've strengthened my knowledge of the convention sector, added many programs to my technical skill set, and increased my sales techniques and practices. Working on a small team also taught me how to wear many hats as I improved my multi-tasking skills, contributed to a variety of special projects, and made improvements to my department.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

Give Kids The World

Throughout this semester, I have become involved with Give Kids The World as a Volunteer. Give Kids The World is a Village that allows children with life-threatening illnesses and their families a place to stay, free-of-charge, while they enjoy everything that Central Florida has to offer. This is where many of the families coming on trips through Make A Wish, and similar organizations, stay during their visit. The Village has many dining options, hosts parties and activities every night, and even includes fun things to do such as train rides, a salon, a pool, a carousel, and an ice cream parlor.

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Earth Day at Celebration Campus

Every year, the Celebration offices host an Earth Day Celebration during lunch! There were different games and stations to learn about ways to make the office more environmentally friendly, a recycled art contest, and a Farmer's Market. Russell and Dug from the movie Up also came to visit! It was such a fun event and I'm so glad I got to participate! I love working for a company that not only values the environment, but contributes so much towards conservation efforts and making our world a better place.

Here's some photos from the Earth Day event!
My hope to meet characters during my time working in Celebration came true!

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Guest Relations Acceptance Celebration

My friend Michael and I received our Guest Relations offers on the same day! Guest Relations has been both of our dream roles for years, and I couldn't be more excited to go through this experience together! We had spent the two months after our interviews trying to keep each other sane throughout the process, so receiving our offers together called for some well-deserved celebrating!

Here's a few photos from one of the best days of our lives; one of which I'll truly never forget the excitement and sense of accomplishment that we felt!
An incredibly excited snapchat after getting our offers!!!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Guest Relations Offer!

There's dreams, and then there's lifelong, ultimate, need to achieve dreams. This one is the latter. 

I'd always wanted to be a Cast Member; that was the overarching dream... but I always knew I could somehow make that happen. With a company this large, I knew that with enough dedication, I could become a Cast Member one way or another.

But Guest Relations, that has been a whole other level of dreaming. This specific role has been the one I always envisioned, always dreamed of, and always pictured myself in. Such a coveted and crucial role, in a department started by Walt himself when he saw the need for it in Disneyland. I cannot begin to express how many times I've imagined myself in plaid, and imagined myself being able to make such important impacts on people's vacations. I've been working towards this role for so long, doing everything possible to prepare myself to be the best Guest Relations Cast Member I can be, but not knowing when that time would come.

On April 5, 2016, one of my most solidified and meaningful dreams came true.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Disney Reservation Center Shadow

One of my favorite things about my Professional Internship has been getting exposure to so many internal departments and teams. Today, I was able to shadow a Cast Member at the Disney Reservation Center. This is the call center that handles booking all of the reservations and experiences, answering questions, and so much more! It was incredible to witness all that goes on at DRC!

Specifically, my shadow was in the Group Reservations department. There are many different markets that call into this line, such as conventions, youth, sports, and runDisney. Being able to see the internal processes of what goes on during a phone call was very eye-opening for me! There are so many different programs that go into booking reservations; I was in awe! I really appreciated this experience because we have called into lines at DRC so many times for our own vacations, so it was really neat to see it from a Cast Member perspective! I loved spending the afternoon learning about what takes place at DRC!
Disney Reservation Center

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Park Buyout Shadow

Tonight, I had the opportunity to shadow a park buyout at the Magic Kingdom with some of my fellow Sales and Services interns! This event was celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Disney Vacation Club! It was an amazing experience to learn about event planning from a Park Operations perspective. We had the chance to walk through the event as we learned about all of the departments that had a role in planning and executing the event. We talked about the event check-in, the exclusive entertainment offerings and available attractions, and the food and beverage operations. Getting to witness this event first-hand allowed me to gain a better understanding of how many teams it takes to successfully manage a park buyout event. Disney is known for producing incredibly unique and well-run events, and this was no exception! I'm so glad that I was able to experience this event shadow!

Group photo of all the interns that shadowed the event, with the Catering and Conventions team!

Monday, February 29, 2016

Cast Wellness Walk

Disney has an amazing health and wellness program, and each year they host a Wellness Walk for Cast Members! This is simply a fun walk through the park to encourage everyone to exercise and stay healthy! This year, the walk was through the World Showcase in Epcot, and themed to Leap Day! The walk was before the park opened so we had to be there at 6:30 AM, but it was so much fun and definitely worth it! It was a great way to start the day!
Cast Member Wellness Walk 2016

Monday, February 15, 2016

Birthday Week

For the first time ever, I got to celebrate my birthday in Walt Disney World! It was definitely the best birthday I've had and the celebrations stretched over the course of a week! Here's some of the fun adventures from the week of my 22nd birthday!

My beautiful birthday button!
Dinner at Be Our Guest!

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Professional Internship Networking Event

Tonight, Disney Internships hosted a networking event for all of the Spring Professional Interns. It was located at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. The event started off with a speaker who gave some advice about how to make the most of our internship experience. Then, we rotated throughout tables and got a chance to talk with some of the other interns. It was neat to hear about other people's experiences. I'm very close with the other sales and services interns that work with me, but at this event I got to talk with interns in areas such as engineering, animal programs, and operations. It definitely gave me the opportunity to learn about other areas of the company and see what other interns are experiencing in their roles. Overall, it was a great chance to network with fellow interns!

PI Networking Event at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort!

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Park Venue Tours

Today was one of my favorite days of my internship so far! We got to tour all of the convention and event venues at the theme parks! We started off at Epcot, then went over to Animal Kingdom, and ended the day at Hollywood Studios. The venues include events such as fireworks viewing spaces, weddings, dinners, presentations, and park or area buyouts. We also got to tour some of the executive and corporate lounges at different attractions. It was so neat to see all of these exclusive places and learn how they turn different spaces into venues. I loved learning more about how we operate events on every type of scale, and seeing how visions are brought to life. It definitely gave me a better understanding of the process that Park Event Operations undergoes! Events play such a large role within conventions, and no one executes events better than Disney does!

Sorry for a lack of pictures with this post, but I was unable to take any while on the tour!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

First Week of PI

My first week of work was wonderful! I felt so welcomed by my team. It was a week full of training, meetings, tours, and meeting new people. The first day started off with tours of my cubicle, floor, and the building, as well as the building nearby that we frequent. We had a lunch with my whole team at Olivia's at Disney's Old Key West Resort, which was so much fun! Then, we took a tour of the convention hotels on Disney property. The rest of the mornings were spent in various training classes. This was when we learned how to use all of the programs for our role. The classes were so helpful in showing us how to best utilize them for our roles. I also loved these parts of the days because I got to become good friends with some of the other interns in the Sales and Services department! Even after just one week, I can already tell that this role is going to provide me with such amazing opportunities. I am so grateful for this chance to grow and learn in such a wonderful department! Here are a few pictures from my first week of my Professional Internship!
Ready for my first day! 

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Traditions

Today I had my Traditions, which is the orientation class that every single Cast Member takes on their first day! Even though I had already done Traditions for my DCP, I was still incredibly excited for today! Traditions is such a special experience, and I was looking forward to seeing it from a slightly different perspective this time, having already worked for the company before. I continuously got chills and teared up throughout the many videos that are incorporated into the class, from hearing messages from Walt Disney and Bob Iger, to seeing clips of families enjoying the magic of Disney.
Excited for Traditions Round 2!

Thursday, January 7, 2016

Casting

Yesterday afternoon, I had my Professional Internship check-in at the Casting Center! This process was very similar to when I went through it for my DCP, but just as exciting! I did my background check, paperwork, and received my Traditions schedule. I also received the information for my first day of work at the office on Monday. I was so happy to begin the first step in my PI journey!! 

So happy to return to this beautiful Casting Center!
Ready for my Professional Internship check-in!

My Apartment

I am officially all moved in to my new apartment! I am living in a beautiful complex in Celebration, FL, which is a town that Disney built, just south of Walt Disney World. It's only about 5-7 minutes from both Walt Disney World property and my office building! I am living with my friend Cynthia, who was a Vacation Planner with me and now works in a different sales department in the same office building that I will be in!

Here are some photos of our apartment!
My bedroom