First Days

Hey guys,

So, as you may have suspected, the past few days have been extremely eventful. I’ve checked in, gotten my room and work assignments, been through a LOT of orientation, and taken a few privileged tours onstage and offstage.

Oh, for those of you who don’t know: We speak “Disney-ese” here. That means that customers are our Guests, the staff are Cast Members, and taking a break means Going to a Tea Party and other assorted niceties. Everything here is just like a show, and it’s all geared towards keeping the magic and entertainment alive. Look at me, already forwarding the brand.

I’m getting ahead of myself—but SO much has happened. Anyway, I’m living in Vista Way, one of three apartment complexes I could have been in. It’s the “happening” place to be I’m told. I’m living with five other fun girls in a three bedroom apartment with two bathrooms, a kitchen, and laundry machines (and the pool!) right around the corner. But I’m only one room in one building out of 38 buildings just in Vista Way alone! The Disney College Program (DCP) is BIG, almost 3,000 students are here, as opposed to when it first started 30 years ago, when about 30 students worked as interns during the first program.

Vista Way

Our first day (Monday, 6/14) was spent going to “Casting” where a lot of paperwork was filled out, but instead of shuffling it in front of us—we were lead on a maze of a journey through the entire building (courteously directed the entire way, of course). I was given so many packets and folders and informational booklets—I even got my fingerprints taken!

Yesterday (Tuesday, 6/15), we sat through the Housing Welcome Session which took considerably shorter time than Casting and left us a bunch of space in the day to finish moving in, socialize, and go to a pool party at Patterson, one of the other apartment complexes. It’s so nice to have a car here. The 22 hour/3 day drive was definitely worth it (Shout out to all the people in Indianapolis I got to see on my way down! Missed you guys like crazy!)

And today was my official first day of work. I woke up at 5:30, put on my “Disney Look” approved outfit, got on a bus, and I just got back as a brand, sparkly new Cast Member myself!

Today, I attended what is called “Traditions” which is mandatory for all new Cast Members. I learned a lot about the Disney Difference, what my role is in creating it, and a few extra tidbits that make me feel a little closer to the magic. I could go on and on, but I’ll just give you the highlights.

Today I learned:

· Disney’s Motto: “We

create happiness by providing the finest in entertainment for people of all ages everywhere.”

· The History of the Company

· The four key values: Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency

· Some more Disney-ese: Like, an area is either “bad show” if it’s messy, “good show” if it’s clean, and “show ready” if it’s prepared for Guests to view

o And, if you know someone who’s playing a character like Mickey or Cinderella, you say that she’s “best friends with Cinderella”

· Plus, so many individual testimonies and stories from both Cast Members and Guests. They really made me smile, to think that I’ll be on the other side now, helping to make the magic.

o I got to share my favorite Disney story: Goofy proposed to me one time I visited! He got right down on one knee while I was at a character breakfast, and since we were affianced, he invited my family and I to ride on a float during the Animal Kingdom’s “Jammin’ in the Jungle Parade.”

§ Since I shared, I also got a figurine of Goofy—the kind that you can ONLY get at “Traditions” class

· We even got some sneak peaks at what Disney has in store for the future

o Fantasyland is due for a renovation, and they’re working on it right now, apparently, all the Princesses are going to have their own meet and greet area. Plus, we should watch for a ride called Dueling Dumbos?

On top of all of that, we got to take a tour behind the scenes at The Magic Kingdom. You know those tunnels under the parks everyone’s always talking about? I got to walk through them! They’re called the utilidors, but that’s about all I can say—you know, keeping the magic alive and all. I CAN tell you that I know where a few secret doors are though, and if you come visit me, I may just point them out to you!

When we got back from the tour, Mickey Mouse, the big cheese himself, was waiting to give us our name tags. Mine says “Kelsey” with “Knox College” underneath it. The rumor is that tomorrow at training I’ll get a pin to attach to it that says “I’m Earning My Ears” which means I’m in training.

I do think the favorite thing I learned today was to use the Disney Point. It’s a two-fingered or open-handed point which makes giving directions a bit friendlier. I practiced it out in the parks when we were walking around on a tour with Ben, our orientation leader. In order to go “undercover” we were all given very official looking earpieces and battery packs to clip to our waistbands through which Ben was able to communicate with us. In other words, I felt ridiculously cool.

I’m just so excited to be here, and I can’t thank all of you enough for all your well wishes and encouragement. The most common reaction that I got when I told people that I was going to work at Disney this summer was: WOW, followed by a slew of questions… the second most common reaction was “Well, duh!” and that was from those who know me best.

I can’t wait to get started with my training tomorrow and Friday. I’ve also decided to take a class called “Marketing You” which I signed up for yesterday. But, since I just got my Company ID today, I think I’m going to go take advantage of that—we want to get back to the Magic Kingdom in time to see their revamped Main Street Electrical Parade tonight.

So, I’ll leave you all with this: KEEP IN TOUCH!!!

Kelsey Ingle

13501 Meadow Creek Drive

Apt. 603

Orlando, FL 32821

Email: kelsey.ingle@gmail.com

Phone: 262-951-0168 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              262-951-0168      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 262-951-0168 end_of_the_skype_highlighting (I have unlimited texting)

Oh, and, please comment!