I wish I could have kept up with my blogging but, honestly, there wasn’t enough time in my short program. It was nearly impossible to take advantage of all the opportunities, work, get enough sleep, make friends/spend time with friends AND write down all my experiences especially while dealing with some of my own personal struggles. I told myself that I wanted to blog, not only keep my friends and family updated, but to also remember all of the experiences I had. I’m not going to lie, with so many things jam-packed into 4 and a half months, I think I’m already starting to forget some (minor, but special) memories that made me laugh, cry, proud, grateful, and humbled while in my Disney College Program. While it was important to me to write about these memories, I realized that in my last 2 months I was going to have to make a decision; to either continue blogging about my program or to live it out to the fullest. If you can do both, congrats! I, on the other hand, felt like I had to choose in order to do what I truly came into this program for. And I’m so glad I choose the opportunities option because if not, I would have really missed out on either a lot of sleep or a lot of amazing memories with my best friends. In fact, we wouldn’t have even became as close as we did if it wasn’t for taking those adventures and wonderful moments that we felt impelled to do because of the program. So without further ado, here’s my attempt to remember everything that happened in November. Or at least the first half of November as I realize alottttt happened. Way too much to put into one post.
Surprisingly, I never actually sat (and camped out) in front of the castle to watch the fireworks… or at least not within the second part of my lifetime, but since the “Remember… Dreams Come True” firework show was retiring (for 10 years) I thought now was the perfect time to do something I’ve never done. And man, was that show phenomenal! I went with my friend and sat there, front row seats, surrounded by other cast members waiting an hour to see the last fireworks. Cast members really weren’t lying when they said that was the best viewing area. We got to see projections on the castle with no trees or buildings in our way. All the fireworks were centered and it was just a magical experience. After that I can truly suggest that spot to guests as prime viewing area as first-hand experience rather than just saying that because a lead told me to haha!
I got my first 4-keys card! If you don’t know what a 4-keys card is, it’s pretty much a way to recognize other cast members for demonstrating one or more of the four keys (Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency) usually in an extraordinary way. These are usually given by your co-workers since they’re the ones you work with, but if another cast member notices your outstanding behavior, they may give you one too. It’s given to the cast member on an index card-type of paper but also goes on file if you give a copy to your manager. As a cast member, we come into work every day agreeing to meet the requirements of our job, which includes practicing the 4-keys. It’s a-given to do that every day. It’s what’s expected. What managers, leads, guests and even fellow cast members love to see, are those moments when you go above and beyond. That’s what the 4-keys card pretty much congratulates you on. Usually you don’t expect a 4-keys card… hopefully that’s not the reason why you’re doing the amazing things you’re doing. You shouldn’t be looking around for the commendation from others. And I wasn’t expecting one that day. I was doing trash on Main Street on afternoon and I noticed a boy, who seemed to have special needs, inflict self-harm on himself in front of the train station causing quite a bit of attention on the situation. I also noticed 2 cast members over there already as they were taking care of the boy’s needs so I debated with myself if I should go over there and ask if they needed help. It only took me a second to realize that even though they had control over the situation, it was definitely needed to be the guest control. I walked away from my trash duties to ask if I could be of assistance and the lady was so grateful that I had volunteered to help. She kept expressing her gratitude since it really helped her focus more on what needed to be done rather than worry about the guests watching and getting too close. After thanking me several times she asked my name and my manager’s name to which the next day I received my 4-keys card for “setting up a perimeter and going above and beyond.” It felt good to be recognized, but would I have still done it without being recognized? Absolutely! That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to work at Disney!
I got the opportunity to get a tour of the Walt Disney Studios, the corporate headquarters, in Burbank! The studio contains several sound stages, a backlot and other production facilities. I saw and learned so many amazing things there and even got to visit the Disney Archives. I saw where Walt’s office was (well, we saw his window from outside), where they filmed a lot of the TV shows and movies (including Saving Mr. Banks) and we saw a lot of other really cool stuff but I honestly don’t know what to call it all since they rattled off the information so quickly (and quietly) during the tour 
but here are some pictures 🙂 It was amazing being able to tour the studios though; being able to see where Walt Disney worked and where he and all his cast members created the movies, TV shows, and cartoons we know and love. Pretty much only cast members get the luxury of seeing these kinds of things so I am beyond grateful that I was given the chance to do this!
We’re ready for the tour!
You can see Pluto’s 3 paw prints… ones not there because he was lifting his leg haha
Inside the Disney Archives
I actually got to hold one of Walt’s Oscars!
I remember this being in a scene of Saving Mr. Banks
Walt’s Office
School! I haven’t just been working and playing for the last 4 and a half months! Well… kinda haha. I was also in a Management class called Corporate Analysis and honestly, I really liked it. I mean, we pretty much just learned about the Disney Company so it was better than taking a management class from another source (since I do actually need it for my degree). There was work involved just like any credited class though, so I had my days where I worked on papers for about 24-hours and I wanted to rip my eyes out! Those are the moments I won’t miss, but I did end up getting an A in the class so it all paid off. I also got the opportunity to learn about an amazing amenity that the Disney Company offers, which is Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings through a research project. I was so glad to have chosen this topic and to learn more about it since it’s something that interests me. It gave me the idea of this definitely becoming a potential future career option.
One reason why I loved going to class everyday- my best friend. Sitting next to Jessica to giggle, doddle, and laugh at her notes were my highlights of class. So glad I got to take this course with her!
One of the events offered to us was a screening of Big Hero 6 when it came out. Not only did I get to see that adorable, inflatable, health-care companion on the big screen, but I got to see it for FREE in a theater rented out just for us college programmers in the Downtown Disney AMC. Free means so much to you when you’re broke haha! But I loved watching it while being surrounded by my friends.
Being in California, I wanted to take advantage of what there is to do there, so one night I decided to go to New Port beach with some friends. We went to Club Cantina and since it was my first bar (other than House of Blues- but I don’t count that because it’s open to 18+) I told the bartender that as I was contemplating on what to order. He thought it was cute that I had no idea what I was doing so he decided to get me and my friend a free drink with the small cost of minor embarrassment from the people at the bar. He made the announcement that it was my first time and I thought ‘hey, if that’s all it takes to get a free drink, then I should just do that every time!’ We decided to leave Club Cantina and made our way down the street to another bar and danced a little until we decided we were done. We headed to the pier to see if Ruby’s Diner was still open, and to our disappointment it was already closed at that late hour. Plan 2… we decided that IHOP was the best option for 3 a.m. food runs, so that’s where we ended up.
Since we got to experience alot of what the DCP had to offer by November and had already biases what we liked and what didn’t like, the Disneyland Internships director wanted to meet with us to hear our feedback. We got to attend an event in the apartment courtyard called the Chat and Chew, and honestly, I think a lot of people just went for the free food. I know that’s why I was there haha. But it was actually really cool and I got to hear everyone’s thoughts and opinions about things that they were experiencing in the program. It was amazing how we all were in the same program, living and working in the same place, but had completely different experiences- good and bad. I heard what they all thought needed to be changed and what they liked. I even said a few things here and there as it was actually really cool to be a part of a meeting where what you say matters and could potentially change what the future programs might do differently. After it was over she invited us to take some more food home with us, and being the poor (Disney) college students that we are, my friends and I weren’t shy about it hahah! So here’s a picture of us with no shame as we take plates of (delicious) potato salad home!
My roommate, Christine, had a birthday during the program so of course we had to celebrate it in Disneyland! We had lunch at the Cove Bar and it was really cool. It was my first time there and the view, service, and food was great! We split a huge plate full of chicken nachos and I can still remember how good they were! If you want delicious food for a reasonable price, just order that appetizer and you’ll be satisfied with that choice. We ended up going on a couple rides and meeting a character or two and then we headed home for a relaxed evening. Actually I don’t remember what we were planning on doing. All I remember was our spontaneous idea of having a birthday party that night. It all came together so fast and thank goodness the grocery store was just across the street. My roommates and I ran over to get a couple things. We had some drinks, snacks, cupcakes, laughs, ‘Catch Phrase’ and ‘Cards Against Humanity’ and it was a fun night!
When Disneyland was first being constructed, Walt wanted a place to stay and watch the activity. Plus his home was not extremely close and he wanted a place to rest and spend time with family without leaving the park. Thus, an apartment above the Firehouse was built and I was fortunate enough to get a tour of it! We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but here’s my group standing underneath the window.
See that lamp in the window? (Well it was a Christmas tree for the holidays but just pretend it’s a lamp haha). That lamps ALWAYS on in memory of Walt Disney after his passing. Contrary to popular belief, it is never turned off. There’s a rumor going around that the lamp is turned off when someone in his family is in the park, but the tour guide told us that’s actually not true being that his family is so big that there’s constantly someone in the park. Plus, they wouldn’t want to broadcast it and display the family’s presence.
Walt in his apartment (I think it looks bigger in the picture)
The apartment was actually smaller than I expected it to be. It’s 500 square-feet being just enough room for a bathroom, a dresser, a tiny kitchenette, and 2 couches that could be transformed into twin beds. It was actually adorable because the couches were “I love Lucy” style with them being separate. Walt had his bed and Lillian had hers; keeping it very conservative. The shower was really interesting, Walt had the idea of constructing a shower with multiple shower heads so the water could spray your body in multiple areas at once, very Hunger Games-esque, from the Capital that is.
A little more than half way through the program, international CP participants from Brazil arrived and we had a Welcome Party/Fall Mixer for them in the court yard of our apartment. We sang and danced, played ice breaker games, and ate pizza! It was a blast to have a reason to party and I think it even brought some of us “American CPs” together that had never even spoken to one another. I love being able to go to an event and meet someone new! I really enjoyed getting to know them all and relaxing from the stressful things happening in my life. I know, working at Disneyland is SOO hard. Haha, I’m not trying to complain, but there were some difficult moments in the program. Anyways, I ended that night with getting slurpies from 7-eleven with my best friend, Sarena, and her Brazilian roommate, Deborah and a couple other friends. After that, we went back to their place to play some games like ‘Sorry’ and ‘Cards Against Humanity’ and had an awesome game night!
Red and blue for America and Green and Yellow for Brazil!
I thought this picture was hilarious so I’m just gonna leave this here:
So that was my first half of November… more happened then I thought.
Stay tuned because I’ll be posting the second half of November whenever I find time to type it up haha!
I found these post on my Facebook so I thought I’d share them here so I can remember them:)
Beth 'Baguettes' Disney Magic 
