Traditions is the first day of actual work, but it’s just a class where you watch videos and learn things about the company. You also get to tour around the parks “on stage” and “off stage.” Disney actually paid me to watch awesome exclusive videos and take an exclusive tour?! I mean, that’s something I would pay Disney for!
I got to dress in my first business casual outfit for work!
Just some quick lingo that I learned: We say “stage” because we are an entertainment company and we put on a show. We also say “role” instead of job because we all have a role in the show. And our clothing is our costumes rather then our uniforms.
Along with this lingo, we also found out why Disney does the things they do, how Disney does those things, and where Disney does those things! It was so cool to see “behind the magic” and (for example) where they set off the fireworks.
Before we went on our tour we got a very special gift, we were the first Disney College Program to receive Classic Mickey Ears (at Traditions)! When we got back from our tour we got our name tags and IDs which just makes it that much more official.
Here’s my name tag and ears from Traditions.
After Traditions we decided to go to “Company D” for the first time to buy some discounted Disney merchandise. Company D is a store off Disneyland property for Cast members that sells marked down park items, anywhere from clothing to food.
Here’s my ears, name tag, ID, Cast Member magnet, Traditions Magnet, mickey figurine (for answering a question in traditions) and Cast Exclusive Vinylmation “VoluntEAR” (even though I haven’t been a voluntEAR yet haha).
Operations was two days after Traditions for me and, my goodness, was it a tough act to follow! It was quite boring compared to Traditions and I’m not going to lie, I felt like falling asleep during some of it (that being said, I didn’t have any coffee that morning!). There was a lot of information shoved into one day (on how to do your role and what it means to be a good cast member). We also broke into smaller groups and toured the park again but this time it was a little bit more specific. We got to see all the roles in “Park Operations” (since I’m custodial) and talk to the leaders and managers of those areas. It was actually really nice to hear from the higher up people specifically about their role and how they got there.
After having gone to all these classes, I’ve gotten a better grasp of what it means to be a Cast Member and I couldn’t be more greatful! That being said, I’m excited and ready to start my training this week! For those wondering, I did indeed get Disneyland (not California Adventure) for my custodial role 🙂
Beth 'Baguettes' Disney Magic 