Update to Intern Park Passes

One of the greatest perks of being an intern with Disney is the free park admission. Can you imagine being able to enjoy the magic whenever you want!?!?! Even after two years with the Company I have to say it doesn't get old. While, I might not go quite as often as I did during my first internship because I wanted to make the most of my unknown amount of time here, I still go quite often. I love being able to just go for a few hours in the evening after the sun goes down in the summer, grab a bit to eat during Food and Wine at EPCOT, enjoy all of the holiday festivities, and more whenever I want. 

As a cast member, you even get to bring guests in to enjoy with you! While I am very fortunate to be statused in a full time position now so my guest passes work differently, interns (College or Professional ones) still get the same unlimited self admission and get some guest passes as well. I made a post last year about the old way that intern guest passes used to work (Old Intern Park Pass Post) but at the beginning of this calendar year Disney shook up the way intern passes work so I figured it was worth doing an update for those who might be itching to know what to expect.

The self admission main entrance pass still works the same, but instead of getting 3x 6 use passes at the beginning of your internship, interns and seasonal cast members now accrue their guest passes based on hours worked.

Need to actually type how the new passes work. I believe that once you have worked 150 hours you will receive three 1 person park hopper tickets. These could all be used on the same day or different days, it's up to you! Then after you work another 150 hours you get three more 1 person park hoppers. Finally you will recieve 3 more after the 450th hour worked. I believe at that point you will stop accruing so during your internship you will likely get nine 1 person park hoppers. 

If you were to let in the max of 3 people each time you used the old version then technically you got more under the old way (max 18 across 6 days) and could do so from the day you got your main enterence pass was nice. However, the felxibility of when you can use the new passes is nice too! Why did this change happen? Perhaps Disney was trying to avoid people starting a CP/PI using the perks and then quitting and/or trading away shifts as a CP but maintaining their own entrance to the parks. Who knows the exact reason this changed but I haven't heard many complaints about the new system besides when it was first announced, so I assume it has been going well. But let's be honest: who can complain about getting in free to Disney and having the opportunity to intern at such a great company!!!!

Hello, My Name is Sandy and I am from Vernon, CT

First off, I promise I will go and post about the last week and a half, but I figured I would at least try to post consistently now to not get tooooo far behind. So I'll start off from yesterday (the day off that I pretty much did nothing but watch Ghostbusters 1 and 2 on TV, uploaded photos to my laptop/Facebook, and didn't get out of my PJs until around 6pm).

Sunday Night (HS)

Last night we went to Hollywood Studios, but not as many people showed up as we wanted, but a good group of people came, including some of the Seas interns, which was fun since we don't get to see them that often anymore. Some of us went on a quick ride of Tower of Terror as we waited for Allie to show up and the wait was really short. We were going to head over to do single rider Rockin' RollerCoaster, but Allie said she was entering the park so we went to wait for her and a group of the Seas interns that said they only wanted to ride Tower once so had skipped the first time. This allowed us some time to shop around the store. Amber went and got the picture from the day before (Saturday) when a bunch of us had been on the ride and I got 2 ToT pressed quarters! When everyone met up we went on ToT and we were on a car with a bunch of first timers and there was so much screaming on that ride. Then we went and rode Rockin' and pretty much walked on in the regular standby line so we all got to ride together. A bunch of people left at this point, but Amber wanted to ride Star Tours to see how it was with a different scenario and Allie had never been on it (we barely made it on the last ride of the night. this was my 3rd time riding and it was a bit of a mix of the other 2 times I went on it). Then we headed home to get a good nights sleep (but apparently Allie got in an accident on her way home. eek!)

Monday

So today on the way to work I realized I forgot my name tag. Therefore, I got one of the extra presenter ones. One of my leaders, Josh, asked if I wanted to be from California or Connecticut and I didn't have too much of a preference, so he handed me Sandy from Vernon, CT. So all day we were joking around about me being Sandy. I confused Matt (the current Core Team intern) and Critter decided he was going to call me Sandy for the next 6 months. 

We started off with some info on the animal positions that we staff and then we headed out for a scavenger hunt to familiarize ourselves with the park (eg. nearest bathroom, smoking locations, break rooms, badge locations, animals, etc.). My group was one of the only ones to get done, pretty much since Tara had worked custodial at DAK before on a CP so she knew her way around. Afterward, we met at our trailer and split into our 3 tour groups again to tour our animal locations. We lost our leader Bethany today to another group, but got Matt. It was nice to get a different person's point of view and he even did a couple sample presentations. We got super sweaty and then broke for lunch.

After lunch we went back to the classroom and went over different emergency situations, met with a primate keeper (who was awesome!), did some practice conversations, and played a jeopardy review game for our assessment. Talking with the Primate Keeper made me think of how cool it would be to work with the SSP (Species Survival Plan) and make breeding recommendations based on a data and whatnot!

After work Allie, Amber, and I headed home. We chilled most of the night. Lexi, Dana and I watched some TV together and I made reservations for my family to visit next month (which ended up being a big mess). Tomorrow we have our assessment in the morning and were told to dress in "guest clothes" to go and do some stuff out in the park. Some of us have been guessing what we are doing (riding rides, earning non-Troop Leader badges, etc), but I am excited for tomorrow!

Check-In Day

Sorry that this is a SUPER LONG post, but a ton happened my first day at Disney! I will hopefully keep future posts shorter after the craziness of the first week. I just want to remember all the details myself! I will also try and post pictures later!!!!


Housing Meeting
So today began bright and early, well earlier than I am used to at least. I got up around 6:30ish to make sure that I had plenty of time to make myself look nice, check out of my hotel, and so I could get to the housing meeting a little early. I did my hair once, then I went outside to get some ice and my hair went crazy again. Luckily I got it to look presentable before I headed out. I wasn't very hungry and only ate a part of a muffin before heading over. I got to Vista Way around 8:15 and was lucky to get a parking spot right next to the building that we had our housing meeting in. When I got "in-line" (we were really more of a mob) I was right beyond Joey, a kid I went to high school with. It was a little awkward since I hadn't spoken to him since graduation, but it was nice to see a familiar face. We were given name tags and waited a bit longer before we were allowed to head inside. 

Once we got in we handed over our DORMS paperwork and got a housing packet (including out key) and got our picture taken for our housing IDs. We don't really use them much unless we want to go to housing events, from my understanding. This is also were I first met me roommate Amber. We had been talking on Facebook beforehand, but it was nice to meet her in person. We had a pretty quick 15-20 min talk over a few housing things, signed a sheet saying we understood the rules and we were on our way. Overall, Vista Way and the housing process was different than what I expected. I guess I had just read things from CP blogs, but it is WAY faster than I thought it would take. We also got free donuts!

Casting Check-In
So I was scheduled for a 10:15 check-in, but just decided to go straight to Casting after the housing meeting ended. I really didn't have enough time to drive Falcon and was already checked out of my hotel. I went in and no one said anything about me being early. First we passed through the doors, which have doorknobs like in Alice and Wonderland. Then you enter an atrium with tall white pillars with golden Disney characters on top. I didn't wait here long though.I then was led down this hallway were I waited some more, talked to a few people (including an Aquaculture intern named Brett) and met a managers at Liberty Inn who was super nice (she started as a CP, then did an MI, and she also managed the food trucks in DTD). Then we truly got started when we got handed a folder with two sheets of paper, one with our traditions time (I am in the morning) and the other with instructions on changing our address on the Hub once we get access. Then we signed some confidentiality agreements, went over our I9s (which we filled out before we arrived) and got fingerprinted. When I first tried to give my fingerprint on the computer thingy the guy didn't really give me instructions and I was putting my hand down too hard, but then didn't have a problem with getting my prints after that. He kept having a hard time entering y information into the computer system though. Near the end we were in a line and this lady told the guys that they were cooking dinner for the girls. I am waiting for my dinner Matt! lol. Lastly, we went over the Disney look and were sent on our way! I ended up getting out of Casting around the time I was supposed to start.

Falcon Square Apartment
After Casting I drove to check out the apartments. We actually were in the furthest building, which was actually the building my dad and I had driven by the day before. When I got upstairs Dana and her boyfriend were unpacking her stuff. We also did some creeping on our forth roommate since we only put 3 names down on the sheet. Her stuff was pretty much all set up, but there wasn't a lot of food. Therefore we thought she might have been there for a while but weren't sure. I tried taking some stuff up stairs, but it was really hot and humid and going up the 2 flights of stairs was tiring. I made it my goal to bring all of my stuff in from the main part of the car. Then I headed to Chick-Fil-A since I had only ever had it once at Cedar Point. It was super crowded and there were probably over 50 kids running around. I then headed back and had a little bit of time before we had to head to our Animal Programs meeting.

Animal Programs Meeting
Dana, Amber, and I jumped in Amber's car and drove back to casting for our Animal Programs meeting. We almost got lost, but made it just in time. We all waited in the atrium again, but it was SUPER crowded. Then all 68 Animal, Science, and Environment interns headed into a room where we confirmed our phone number at the door and were given a folder thing with a binder thing, a pen, a Disney Conservation button and a thing about the conservation fund. We were introduced to our leaders, played an icebreaker where we were supposed to organize ourselves alphabetically by last name (it didn't work and it was taking too long so we stopped), went around the room to introduce ourselves, and then split up into groups based on role to go over our training schedules. In all it probably took about an hour or so. It was fun to meet people we had been talking to on Facebook and Yammer and finally find out more about what we are doing. We were told to brush up on scientific names and I had read in the past they did an icebreaker involved them, and some people were nervous, but we didn't end up doing anything with scientific names at all.

Exploring
After we got done with casting, we decided to figure out how to get to Animal Kingdom and time how long it took to get back to our apartments. It was fun to drive around property. We went to the Animal Kingdom guest gate and met the CP I had talked to the day before and she said we could drive around the parking lot, so we did. She gave us some other instructions we didn't understand and ended up driving around the parking lot in circles. We decided to park and get a picture in front of the Animal Kingdom sign. It was funny that Amber and Dana had to get their bags checked, but we walked right back out 5 minutes later. We then exited the parking and tried to find the cast parking. Instead of turning where we were supposed to, we went straight and ended up at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. So we decided to park and explore the hotel a little. I loved it! I would love to be able to stay there someday. It was fun to just walk around and see animals so close. I really want to go back to explore the grounds, animal watch, and get a picture in front of the sign.

The rest of the night
Lastly, we timed our way home and drove to Publix to get some food. We found it to be super expensive so we decided t hold off on buying a lot. We finally headed home for the night and met our last roommate Lexi. She is an engineering intern from Texas who started a summer internship in May but will be extending till December. She said she might leave Falcon Square at the end of the summer. She was really nice even though we have barely seen her yet. She had also done a Project Management internship last fall and stayed at Falcon Square than as well. We all finally settled in. At this point I was past hungry and didn't feel like eating dinner. Lexi went to a friends to drink and invited us, but we all decided to stay and unpack some. 

It is amazing how much we did our first day and it was definitely better than the day before!!!!

Arrived!

So today has been super stressful. It was all good until we got around Disney. We ended up deciding to drive by the apartments the PIs live in. They are super nice, but we decided to get an idea how far they are from Animal Kingdom, and while we took a wrong turn or two, it seemed to take FOREVER! I am really wishing that the non-Disney housing I tried to line up had worked out. We did check to a CP at the gates to Animal Kingdom parking and she was super nice and helped us get re-directed and asked if I was starting a CP, too. Then we checked into my hotel. It is really nice and I am glad I stayed here over the Holiday Inn that a lot of people recommended since I saved $20. After checking out my room, we decided to find where I needed to go tomorrow, so it won't be as stressful. I luckily am pretty close to Vista (housing check-in) and Casting. Afterwards, we drove around property a bit more before heading toward Kissimmee. 

Tigger at breakfast at the Days Inn hotel (he is confused since it says that the Tiggers at Kansas City was postponed, when the Tiggers actually played the White Sox....)

I plan on it!

Since we had time before my dad had to go to the airport, we stopped to get my oil changed since I was due for it. It was looking good, until we got on the toll road and the check engine light came on. My dad got out and looked at the oil and it looked good. We were going to try and head back to where I got my oil changed, but didn't have time. So I dropped my dad off at the airport and headed back. Unfortunately, a big monsoon hit and I could barely see in front of me. Then my brakes started acting funny. I luckily somehow made it back to the oil change place right before they closed. They ran a diagnostic on it and said it should be safe to drive but I will need to get it checked out. After more stressful, rain filled driving, I finally made it back to the hotel and just didn't want to deal with the rain and decided to just make dinner out of the food in my car (potato chips, cookies, and muffins, ftw!). 

We made it to Flordia!

I spent a chunk of the night super stressed trying to find a car place and all the Chevy dealerships are further away than I would like. My mom found a mechanic closer to my apartment that has good reviews so I might try to call there or the Chevy dealerships tomorrow to figure out where I will take my car. Hopefully they can figure out what is wrong on my two days off before training on Saturday! After a shower and listening to music I am much calmer, but still a little anxious with having to deal with so much in a new state when I already have everything else (casting, moving in, grocery shopping, etc) going on. Despite today, I am super excited for tomorrow!

The hotel pool

Some birds by the oil change place

Made it to Disney!!!

Our hotel for the night. Tigger gets one bed and I get the other

My future workplace!!!

My apartment complex 

Screening Interview

One thing that is pretty common across Professional Internships is a screening interview. However, since I only applied to Science Positions (Animals, Science and Environment and EPCOT Agricultural Science) I did not have to undergo a screening interview. As far as I know, pretty much everyone besides people only applying to Animal Programs or Agriculture internships undergo the screening interview. I think that pretty much everyone that isn't automatically NLIC gets a screening interview.

From my understanding it is a lot like the College Program Interviews. They ask things like why are you applying to do a Professional Internship, make sure you are eligible, which are your top choices, your experience, and various other situational and position specific questions. If you are applying to Management Internships they will ask you leadership type questions, as well. Like I said, since I didn't do one of these interviews, I am not the direct source of this information, but this is what I have come across on other blogs and Facebook. I might apply for some other non-Animal Programs internships for next spring and if I do I will have to have a screening interview for that. 

The Waiting Game: No news is good news

One thing that you will quickly figure out when applying to Professional Internships is that the process involves A LOT of waiting. Some people talk about not liking to wait for College Program acceptances to come out, but PIs are MUCH WORSE. CPs are supposed to hear something back within 3 weeks of their phone interview. Many times they hear back sooner than that, and they are told if they are accepted, no longer in consideration (NLIC), or if they are pended. Those that are pended have to endure waiting, but PIs really trust your ability to be patient. 

There is a common saying on the past few cycles PI Facebook groups: No news is good news. 

This is generally pretty true. Since there are so many different Professional/Management Internships, it is really hard to predict timelines compared to the College Program Application Process. However, I am going to put this as a warning: if you have other opportunities and other people have gotten responses long ago for your position, don't hold your breath. It isn't uncommon for people to never go NLIC for some positions. I think that generally they are good about changing people over on the dashboard, but since applications go between so many departments, I think some positions get looked over. On that note, it isn't uncommon for people to be accepted after the date they say everyone will hear by, and it isn't unheard of for people to get accepted after others have for the same position or even after already going NLIC. This isn't very common, so once again, don't hold your breath, but it does happen. I think people aren't always NLIC right away after others are accepted or after going NLIC is that some people drop out after accepting the position and so they will contact people who where the other top choices.

The PI process involves a TON of waiting, so it can be helpful to join the Facebook groups to connect with others (misery loves company, right?) and to see how the positions you applied to are progressing. Just remember, no news is good news!

PI Timeline

So when I have been reading Disney College Program and Disney Professional Internship Blogs for a couple of years now. I even debated doing a CP or PI during a semester during college but couldn't find the time without delaying graduation. When I actually applied this semester I decided not to do a blog and just make a SmashBook to remember my experiences. However, as the time gets closer to my internship check-in I have been reading blogs again and decided that others might find this information useful. I also thought it would be a good place to get more of my thoughts down than I could in my SmashBook. I might decide to post pictures as I complete pages in my book, too.

To start out I will just give the timeline I experienced and will then spend the time leading up to my check-in going into more detail about the process.


Fall 2014 Professional Internships
28 Feb 14- Applied for 3 Animal Programs positions (Education Presenter, Chemistry, Reproductive Biology) and an Agriculture Sciences Biotechnology position  (on the last day apps were open!)
4 Mar 14- "Application Received" email from Animal Programs email w/ request for additional materials (1 Cover Letter and Questionnaires for each position) due within 24hrs
5 Mar 14- Submitted additional materials for the Animal Programs Positions
6 Mar 14-"Biotechnology Application Received" email from WDW EPCOT Science Internships w/ request for additional materials (cover letter, letter of recommendation, transcripts) due by March 14th
             -"Incomplete Application for Disney's Agricultural Sciences" catch-all email
               -"Application Complete" email from Animal Programs team
            -Decided not to proceed with Biotechnology application
10 Mar 14- Email request to schedule a phone interview
13 Mar 14- Reminder that Biotechnology material due by the next day
14 Mar 14- Montage Interview Information Email     

15 Mar 14- Montage Video Interview for Education Presenter
               -"Thank you for participating in a Montage Interview" email

17 Mar 14- Email from Chemistry Manager for Interview

18 Mar 14- Background check email
19 Mar 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Reproductive Biology 
24 Mar 14- Chemistry Internship Phone Interview
9 April 14- Request to Schedule "Brief Phone Call"
10 April 14- Education Presenter Offer Phone Call!!! 
                -Congratulations email!
12 April 14- Accepted offer
                -Request for Additional Information Email
                -Welcome to the Team Email
13 April 14-Signed up for Company Sponsored Housing
16 April 14- Invitation to join Animal, Science, and Environment Yammer Group
                -Long informational email about my internship from department
21 April 14- Another NLIC email for Reproductive Biology
               - "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Chemistry
22 April 14- Invitation to join Disney Professional Internship Yammer Group
29 April 14- "Thank you for your Interest" NLIC for Biotechnology
4 May 14- New Hire Portal Instructions (2 separate emails for username and password)
7 May 14-DORMS registration  (2 separate emails for username and password)
             - DORMS roommate linking confirmation
9 May 14- Email with Casting Time for Check-In day
15 May 14- Invitation for Animal Programs Welcome Gathering
11 June 14- Check-in!


Wow! That was a lot longer than I thought it would be, but I thought others might think a detailed response would be helpful. Here are my past applications if you want to get an idea of how other Disney positions work. If you have any questions about these applications, feel free to ask!



Summer 2013 ESPN Statistics and Information Application Timeline
28 Dec 12- Application submitted
              -"Thank you for applying" email
2 Jan 13- Assessment request (had to take a Sports Knowledge Assessment)
Eventually went No Longer in Consideration (NLIC) on dashboard but didn't get an email

Fall 2013 Disney College Program
26 Feb 13- Application submitted
              -"Thank you for applying" email
              -Web Based Interview Request
              -Telephone Interview Request
              -Telephone Interview Confirmation
5 Mar 13-Telephone Interview
6 Mar 13- "Thank you for Interviewing" Email
8 Mar 13- Accepted as a Lifeguard
                 Ended up turning down position.

Disney Daydreaming

So I told myself that I would be really productive today with work. I am currently working from home re-writing the General Chemistry Labs Prep Instructions. It is great since I am really flexible, can work from home, and make some extra money before I head down to Disney. However, it also means that I can get distracted easily. I wasn't really feeling well today, and I ended up reading Disney College Program Blogs a good chunk of the day.

 I was a little productive getting ready to go to Disney. I went through the last few boxes from college to figure out what I was definitely taking, definitely not taking, and things I might take if I have room. I have put all of the non-clothes things into my the living room so I could put it all in one place to see how much I have. I feel like I am doing well on space and can hopefully take some extra stuff! 

Well, back to watching the Tigers game, before bed. 
btw-not that many people will care, but my family went to a Toledo Mudhens game last night (the AAA affiliate of the Tigers) and Jim Leyland was sitting a couple of rows behind us behind home plate. For those who don't know, Jim Leyland is the Detroit Tiger's retired manager. He is still working for the club in the front office and was sitting with some scouts. The Mud Hens lost, but one of the players scored 2 home runs and only needs 1 more to break the minor league record and my sister and I took a picture with Jim Leyland (after creepily sneaking looks back throughout the game)!

Megan and I with Jim Leyland (Detroit Tiger's retired manager).