Since my last post there have been a lot of major events! I earned my ears which was amazing! They had a bunch of us in a big room and went over safety and all of Disney’s important rules with us. Then they gave us a pair of mickey ears and our name tag. It was so incredible to see my name and Stetson University on a Walt Disney World name tag. It was truly a dream come true. Also mickey mouse came into the room for a bit which was super awesome.

After that, I had a few days off before I went straight to work so I spent some time doing school work, relaxing, hanging out with my roommate, and other things. We didn’t have our park entrances yet so I couldn’t go to the parks. My first day at the Grand Floridian was very good. We had an orientation where we went over the language Disney uses, the safety tips, and other important rules for us to follow.

I’ve noticed how important and serious Disney takes certain things that other companies don’t emphasize as much as Disney does. For example, Disney is very adamant about keeping all the areas clean. Everything is being cleaning constantly and every night at closing things I didn’t even think needed to be cleaned are cleaned very thoroughly. It honestly shocked me how many times we clean everyday things that I truly hadn’t even considered cleaning before. We even cleaned the cleaning supplies which was a surprise for me. I worked at Chick Fil A for two years and while a lot of things between these two companies are similar, I have to admit Disney does everything Chick Fil A does but like triples it.

Besides that, at orientation we did a walking tour of the whole property which was awesome. I’ve stayed at the Grand before so I knew were mostly everything was but it was nice to get an extra look into it. We also got to see inside a room of the Disney Vacation Club members. The Grand has the most expensive rooms on property other than the new Star Wars resort that was just recently built.

The next day I did some other training on the computers as we had a lot of information we needed to learn. Things such a food safety, the rules for alcohol servings, language, and many other important Disney guidelines. Also, we got to try free food which was super good! Then the day after was our first real day of hands on training. I worked super early in the morning. I woke up at 3:45AM to get to my 6AM shift. I will most likely never have to do that again considering they mostly have DCP kids working at night. The breakfast was good, mostly just waffles and other basic breakfast items. I learned how to make many different types of coffee and waffles. I was very exhausted by the end of that day but then I made a new friend. Her and I went to Disney Springs, I had never been before!! It is just like a shopping center but with all Disney stuff. We get a 40% off discount so I bought a lot of things. Then the next day I worked a 4 to closing shift. We also got free food this night which was amazing. I learned how to bag the food, do general stocking, and clean the dining room. The firework show at Magic Kingdom is at a park range of distance from our resort so guests always go outside the restaurant I work at to go watch it! Since it was our first night, we got to watch it as well with them!! It made me honestly so happy. Then I closed which was definitely a new experience because I’ve never closed anywhere before.

The next day we did some more training making chicken nuggets and frys in the fryer, which I have never done before, and other ways we clean our area. I made more friends and a few of them drove me home so I wouldn’t have to take the bus at 1AM. We stopped at Wawa too which was fun! I am really liking my job the more comfortable I get. I still have three more days of training, two at this location, and then one at the location that is like a little hut outside the pool called “Beaches” so I am excited to learn there as well!!

People don’t joke around when they talk about how organized but also intense the Disney training process is. I am enjoying it a lot but I am also very exhausted. Luckly, the next two days, after today, I get off so I will be going to Magic kingdom and Hollywood Studios with a friend on those two days. We finally got our free park admission so now I can go to the parks whenever I want which is amazing!!! I hope to make more friends so I have lots of people to go with!!

Today I have another closing shift and I think I am training on the register so that should be interesting. More to come but so far have had a wonderful experience with the company!!