First Days

Hi everybody!

If any of you are still checking this, I'm actually going to write an update!! yay! I'm going to go back and tell you about the first couple of days here.

Wednesday, August 22 was my check-in date. Daddy, Keaton and I got up early that morning, grabbed some breakfast at BK, then headed to the Vista Way apartments to check in. Daddy and Keaton hung out at the friends and family tent while I went through the check-in process. I believe they toured one of the apartments and got some parent information.

Meanwhile, I was walking all across the apartment complex to various stations. First I got my nametag and filled out some paperwork. I also set up for payroll (and the housing deduction!), got my apartment assignment and picked up the key, and got my parking sticker. I met up with Keaton and Daddy and we headed over to check out my apartment.

Disney has contracted with a company to provide housing for all of the college interns. There are three main apartment complexes: Vista Way, Chatham Square, and The Commons. There is also "The Treehouse", a small complex, but they didn't really tell us much about what the apartments there are used for.

Anyway, as I said last time, I asked for Chatham Square. There are about 25 buildings at Chatham. We headed up to check it out. Right as we were leaving, my roommate and her mom came in! Her name is Elise and, like I said, she is AWESOME!! But I'll save more about her for another post.

I had a housing meeting from 12:00-2:00, so Daddy and Keaton hung out while I was in that. Afterwards, we moved my stuff up into the apartment. Then Keaton headed out for Tally and Daddy and I had about an hour together before I took him to the airport for his flight, which was nice!

After that, I had the rest of the evening to get setteld in and unpacked. The next morning, Thursday, I had another Orientation meeting at 8:30. This was the day I would find out my work assignment!! I had applied for the Hospitality part of the College Program. Since I am studying Hotel Management, I thought that would be most beneficial to me. I wasn't sure exactly what my job would be, but I was hoping for a front desk position at one of the resorts. Technically, though, hospitality can be anything from front desk to answering phones to greeting people as they come into the resorts or the park.

Well, as it turns out, I was assigned to the Port Orleans Resort, at the front desk! Click this link if you want more info about the resort: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/resortLanding?id=PortOrleansFrenchQuarterResortLandingPage&bhcp=1

The resort has two sides, Riverside and French Quarter. I will be working both sides, just wherever needed. Anyway, for the rest of that day, I continued filling out more paperwork, including tax forms, made a shopping list, and finished organizing all my stuff.

The third day, Friday, was "Traditions". This is the Orientation to the company, including history and background, and what is in store for Disney. It was kind of interesting, but mostly just boring! Elise and I had the 4-hour meeting at the same time, so at least we got to go together. That was our first official day of work!

Saturday was my first day at my resort. I was really glad to jump right in, a lot of people I talked to didn't even go to any training until this week!! So Saturday I had a four-hour Orientation to my work loation, called "All Jazzed Up". We toured the property, learned access codes to get into the office, and learned the history and stories of the resort. Then I spend the afternoon beginning my computer training (E-Learning). These are just basic programs that every intern completes online as part of the Oreintation process. I actually finished that a little early, so another front desk girl and I picked up our costumes and were able to "shadow" or observe the desk a little bit.

Sunday through Wednesday I had my "First Impressions" training. This class was from 8:30-5:00 for four days. It is the front desk training program, so it was mostly on a computer, learning the system Disney uses to check people in. It is actually quite similar to the system Hampton uses, so I feel pretty good about it. Whereas my "All Jazzed Up" class was only people who would be working at the Port Orleans resort, my "First Impressions" class was for people who will be working the front desk at various resorts across the Disney property. So I have been able to meet a LOT of people already!!

Yesterday and today are my days off. Then I begin my "On the Job" training. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (my bday!!) I will be training during the afternoon/evening shift at French Quarter. Then I have two more days off on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday, Friday and Saturday I do afternoon/evening training at Riverside!

I know this was a LOT of info this time!! Sorry, I wanted to get all caught up! Next time I do an update, I'll talk about my roommate and some of the Disney "lingo". Some of it is quite strange. People here really do call it another language!!

I miss you all! Keep in touch and I'll see you soon!

Love,
Kara