Reminiscing about the DAK Wilderness

I've been missing my park home lately, so I visited DAK not once, but twice last weekend to see my old home. I love my new job, but since Animal Kingdom is where I began my Disney journey I will always have a BIG soft spot towards it. I hadn't been the Animal Kingdom in a while and hadn't visited any of my old locations since the Spring. So I decided to use the afternoon on Saturday to earn a few badges before meeting an old presenter friend in the evening. Despite being at the park for a few hours on Saturday and a little on Sunday, I actually didn't do many of the parks attractions. That's because I always run into people I knew working there or get into good conversations with new cast. I loved being able to spend time watching the animals, meeting a few trails CPs, catching up with a DVC friend, and talking with the current Conservation Education Presenter Group. It made me miss my time there some and I wish I was able to pick up a shift once in a while to relive my days as a Wilderness Explorer Troop Leader.

I remember when I was first learning about the Presenter internship I came across this video and I came across it again last week so in the spirit of reminiscing, I figured I would share it with you. With the start of the Wilderness Explorer program, the costume and role for the Presenters has changed, but overall responsibilities she talks about have remained the same. Enjoy!

Disney Professional Internship Presenter Video

2014 Fall Presenters Stats

It's been a little over a year since my group of presenters started our internship. Since I have had a ton of time on my hands I've decided to dig a bit to see where we are all now.

-There were 29 of us in the Fall 2014 Conservation Education Presenter internship Group.

-There are currently 15 of us still employed by the company (not including the 3 that are still seasonal presenters).

-Of the 15 of us left, 10 have positions still within Animal Programs. (This is a little lie since in reality one person works with Natural Encounters, Inc which is a contractor, so she technically isn't really a cast member and isn't in Animal Programs, but it's close enough...)
-The 10 who are in Animal Programs currently hold positions as Summer Conservation Camp Instructors, Education Programs Instructors, Wild Africa Trek Guide, Pangani Trail Guide, Animal Keeper, and Wilderness Explorer Coordinator Internship (called Conservation Education Operations).
-Most of the people in Animal Programs are part time. The Conservation Day Camp Instructors are on a Full Time TA for the summer but go back to part time Instructor positions afterwards. 1 person is an intern. The one who is a contractor with NEI is full time. The Keeper at DAK Lodge is on a Full Time TA.

-The 5 of us who aren't in Animal Programs are in widely different positions from Revenue Management to Secretary to Cruise Line Trainer to Attractions Host to a position that I don't understand.
-The 5 of us that aren't in Animal Programs are Full Time or have Full Time TAs

So that's a peek into what a Presenter Group looks like 6 months post-internship completion. I loved my group and can't wait to see where Disney takes us, whether it is a life long career or a place to vacation.


As a side note, the 14 who aren't employed by Disney have a wide range of jobs too, including Museum Education Manager, part time Zoo Keeper, a couple Zoo Educators, Au Pair in Germany for a year, one still in undergrad, an Education Coordinator, one going to dentistry school, one works with the Salvation Army, one is getting her PhD, and a few that are between things (such as just moving across the country and getting married to her marine fiance, another getting married in a week or so, and a few that are a bit of a mystery to be honest after finishing their second PIs a month or so ago)

"Last" Training Day

Today was our last training day. Like I said before, we were told to come to work in guest clothes. we started off the morning by taking our assessment. There was short answers, T/F, and a practical. It was not as bad as I think most of the presenters thought it would be. I got almost all of them right, and the rest I was at least 75% right with my answers. We were given 2 hours to finish, but 6 of us finished within an hour. So one of our managers took us over to Cast Services Center in the employee cafeteria to check us off on all of our computer training. 

Then we were sent off to go and get as many Wilderness Explorer badges as we could! We had previously gotten the 10 that the Troop Leaders (us Education Presenters) give out through our training. Our group headed in the direction of Everest and got a few Africa Badges and most of our Asia badges (and HAD to ride Expedition Everest to complete to Yeti and Everest Badges.) Then we headed to DinoLand to get the 2 we needed there and rode Dinosaur. Afterwards, we headed back and got the rest in Africa and Asia (mostly Trials related ones). At this point we had collected all but the ones up at the Conservation Station and we didn't have time to go up to Rafiki's planet watch. Therefore, we have 26 out of our 31 badges! Now one of these days I will have to go and get my last 5 badges to become a Senior Wilderness Explorer!!! Then we broke for lunch at Pizzafari and even got a Conservation button for donating to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund!

Then all of the presenters met one of our Core Team leaders at It's Tough to be a Bug and we watched it as a group. Unfortunately, Hopper didn't work, but it was a ton of fun to see everyone's reactions. I don't think that I have heard so much screaming at it before. Then we walked around a bit and saw the kangaroos and giant shark catfish before going over to watch Flights of Wonder. It was an amazing show and I can't wait to go back to see it again! Anastasia even got picked to be a volunteer. At this point we went back to the classroom to go over our assessments and learn the last few things before getting done a little early.

A group of us (Amber, Allie, Diana, and I) wanted to find the Company D by Animal Kingdom (and failed to do so before it closed for the day) but we were able to get the appropriate rain gear from costuming and I grabbed another pair of shorts to see if they would fit. Then we headed back to the park and met up with Megan and Amber's friend Nick (who is pretty awesome!) and rode Dinosaur twice. After Megan left to go home we also rode Everest (we rode in the first few rows which is a completely different experience!) and Safari (we saw a ton more animals then I expected for how hot it was. We even saw some hippos fighting and a rhino was just a couple of feet from our vehicle).

I am sooooo tired. I got home and watched Pretty Little Liars with Dana (and Amber, but she doesn't know what is going on completely...), ate a delicious bowl of cereal with peaches, took a shower, and am pretty much falling asleep typing. Today was a ton of fun, but being out in the sun was exhausting. Tomorrow is our first shadow day and first full day out in the park in our costume. I am going to sleep well tomorrow. Luckily I have a later start on Thursday since I am supposed to meet up with my cousin and Aunt at Magic Kingdom tomorrow night. Well, time for an early trip to bed!