Catching up! -Check In

Ok, so I know that I haven't updated my blog in forever, and I checked in almost 2 weeks ago, but I'm trying to slowly go over everything that's happened so that everyone at home can keep up with me!

So, I checked into the program on Wednesday, January 18th. Check in started at 9, but my roommates and I (being absolutely crazy) got there at 4:00 am. There are 3 apartment complexes for the interns:  Vista Way, Chatham Square, and Patterson Court. The apartments have from 1-4 bedrooms, with 2 people in each room. So my roommates and I (we met on facebook) really wanted a 3 bedroom in Chatham, so we got to check-in really early. Anyways, they started check-in about an hour early, and the whole process was extremely organized. You can definitely tell that they've done this before. It took about 1 hour, and when we were through with that, we rode a bus over to Casting, which is an office building for Disney. We spent about 2 hours there turning in all kinds of paperwork and finding our locations! :) I found out that I'm working in Discovery Island at Disney's Animal Kingdom! For those of you who don't already know, I'm working in merchandise, so I'll just be working retail in a store.

After we were through with Casting we grabbed lunch and went to move into our new apartment! We like it a lot, it's not super nice, but it's a great location, and my roomies and me get along great! Check-in day was seriously the longest day of my whole life. I was exhausted.

The day after check-in we went grocery shopping and all that good stuff, then we went to the welcome event at Vista Way that was Ohana themed, so Lilo, Stitch, and Minnie and Mickey were there!

So here's my roommates and me! From the left- Demi from Texas, me, Nicole from Georgia, Julia from Arizona, Andrea from New York, and Chelsea from Michigan!

ACCEPTED!!!

I was just accepted into the Disney College Program as a Merchandise Cast Member for Spring Advantage 2012!! This means I will be working in one of the many stores at Walt Disney World! Spring Advantage means I will be there from mid-January until mid-August! I received my e-mail at 9:43 this morning and paid the acceptance fee, and now I'm waiting to hear back from Disney so that I can choose my arrival/departure dates! I'm absolutely beyond excited! There are no words to describe how I am feeling right now!!!! All of my dreams are beginning to come true!!!

Application Process

Ok! So this is extremely late, but I'm procrastinating on homework!

Applications came out on Monday, September 5th. I filled out out around 7:00 that night, and got the email about the Web-Based Interview about 2.5 hours later. For those of you that don't know, the Web-Based Interview is just that-an online interview. They ask you multiple choice questions, and a lot of Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, Strongly Agree questions, and it's timed, so you only have like 20 seconds or so to answer each question. The WBI was really simple, and when it's over they give you immediate feedback about whether or not you passed.

After the WBI, you go to a website to schedule your phone interview. All of the Wednesday, September 7th time slots were already filled, so I chose 8:30 pm on Thursday, September 8th. My interviewer called at 8:29 pm, and we talked for about 15 minutes. She asked me questions like why I want to work for Disney, whether I work better in a fast or slow paced environment, in a group or individually, if I had any work experience other than what was on my application, what my top 2 choices were, if I had ever lived with other people before, and how I deal with repetitive work. She was really great, and I felt really good about the interview! The next morning I got an email thanking me for my phone interview and letting me know that I should hear something in 3-4 weeks!

Introductions

So, I know it's still relatively early to be starting this blog, but I am so excited that I just have to! :)

So...My name is Morgan Fitzgerald, and I am planning on applying for the Disney College Program for Spring Advantage 2012. I am 19 years old, and I am a rising sophomore at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina. I am a computer science major, and I'm hoping to eventually be an Imagineer with the Disney company.

Now to talk about the program itself. The official website can be viewed here ---> Disney College Program.

But I'll try to give a quick overview.

The Disney College Program is a paid internship for college students in the United States. This internship offers an opportunity to work with the Disney company at either the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando Florida or the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California. College students can apply to work in a variety of roles within the parks and the resort hotels, and the program is open to all majors. There are three major components to the program.

Living
Disney has three apartment complexes for their interns, and the rent is taken out of your paycheck weekly.

Learning
Disney offers classes for their interns through Disney University. Some of these classes are accepted for college credit, but this depends on each college individually.

Earning.
Interns work in the parks or the hotels and have a variety of roles to choose from. Interns average 35-40 (I think) hours a week.

This is just a very brief overview, and I will go over everything in more detail later, but here it is! I am SO EXCITED!!!

Have a magical day!