The Disney College Program arrival process is like College Orientation on steroids

We arrived at Disney around 5pm on Saturday. It was a long two days of driving, but the weather was beautiful. We drove through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and then finally into Florida. My favorite part was driving through Tennessee. It was absolutely gorgeous, and the constant up and down and curving of the roads kept the drive interesting! Some things I learned along the way:

• Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia had Waffle Houses at probably almost every exit
• The typeface was different on the interstate signage in Georgia (much narrower)...yes, this is what school has done to me ;)
• Not only is Georgia famous for its peaches, but also its pecans. 

My parents and I spent Saturday night at a hotel on Disney property. The next day we spent some time at the pool, which was absolutely amazing! 

DAY 1:

The following morning (Monday) we had an early start to get to the Disney College Program Registration. I waited in many many lines throughout the day. Here are some parts of what my day consisted of:

• photo taken for my Housing ID
• figured out where I'd be living and how many girls I'd be living with in the apartment
• filled out plenty of paperwork
• fingerprinted (they had to make sure I wasn't a criminal) ;)
• informed on so many parts of the program

I was done with all of this late in the afternoon, and then my parents and I moved into the apartment! I've attached a couple photos of the outside. I absolutely love it! It's a 3 bedroom (2 girls per room), and each bedroom has its own bathroom! After a great deal of unpacking I had to do a preliminary lifeguard swim test at Mickey's Retreat. The Retreat is an outdoor recreational complex located near our apartment complexes. It has sand volleyball courts, soccer fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, 2 pools, and a small lake with paddle boats and kayaks! I passed the test and found out I'll be working at the following hotels as a deep water lifeguard:  Wilderness Lodge, Bay Lake Towers, and the Contemporary. These are located near the Magic Kingdom.

I also found out that 10,000 people made it to the interview process for the College Program. So, even more people applied than the ones that made it to the interview. From the interview process just under 50% were hired on. So, less than 5,000 people were hired, and I was one of them! That made me even more excited!!! :)

DAY 2:  

Today we had a housing meeting, and then I went grocery shopping. Afterwards I went to the pool with my roommates. The pool is literally 50 meters (if that) from our apartment! This evening I've finally had some time to relax a bit and catch up on my blogging! Tomorrow I have to go through a program called Traditions. It introduces the new cast members (that is what Disney employees are called) to the culture and heritage of the Disney organization. I think it's about a 6 hour program. We have to dress according to the Disney Look which is incredibly strict. Basically, we need to dress professional tomorrow. 

It has been a crazy couple of days (note the title of this blog entry ;) ), but I've had a wonderful time so far! Thanks for reading (I know it was a lot)!

Love, 

Erica