"You gotta friend in me."

After receiving our roles we were sent back to our apartment complexes to get settled in. My mother and I spent the afternoon moving me in and then I returned with her to spend the night in the hotel so we could enjoy a park day together on the 16^th. As Disney employees you are allowed free entrance into the parks. You also receive something called “Main Gate Passes” that give you five opportunities to bring three friends or family members inside the parks with you for free. However, it takes a few days to process all your information and begin training so there are about 3-5 days before you are able to use your IDs to get in. As a present from my dad, we hit the park the next day as guests and obviously we went to Magic Kingdom.

I remember it being such an exciting feeling. I was really there. This lifelong dream of mine was truly being fulfilled before my eyes. I think I spent most of the day in happy tears. After enjoying the day with my mother and spending one more night in the hotel, she returned home and I made my way back to my newest temporary home, Patterson Court. You are given 3 days from your check in date to move in and calm down. The entire check in process is extremely stressful and utterly exhausting so you spend most of the days sleeping and getting to know your room mates. One evening we ventured out to Downtown Disney but for the most part we stayed in and unpacked while excitedly discussing and anticipating our future days.

Let's talk a second about room mates. With apartments comes the question of "How many?" There are the options of 1, 3, 5, or 7. You can choose from a one bedroom apartment with a single room mate all the way up to a four bedroom apartment with 8 of you. Some people find their room mates before the program begins. There are multiple forums found on Facebook that you can join to find people doing the same program as you with the same start date and you can arrange your room ahead of time. Others find their room mates as they are going through check ins. As I entered the line on the day of check ins I knew I wanted a bigger apartment. I was leaning towards a 3 or 4 bedroom preferably, but I knew no one and had no certain plans. That is when Fate intervened and introduced me to my room mates that became my very best friends and the biggest blessings of my program. I was just standing in line when Marta (you will hear about her often) walked up and introduced herself. After speaking to me for sometime she pulled her two friends aside (Rachel and Caten) And they returned to explain they needed one more room mate and would like to ask me to join! There is housing for under 21 year olds called "Wellness Housing" and because we were all 19 and under it fit perfectly. I can't tell you how wonderful knowing them has been.

Your first day of training is called Traditions. You load buses and are taken to Disney University, where all of your initial training is held. It was absolutely thrilling. In the beginning you are randomly separated into smaller groups and led to different classrooms, strictly based on alphabetical order. This is when you acquire all basic Disney training, that is given to anyone regardless of their role. I remember this day being rather overwhelming. There is so much information thrown at you at once and while they make you feel valuable, you are also acutely aware of how many people want your job, and could have it if the rules aren’t followed. The majority of the day was spent discussing Disney history and heritage, and the importance of you as an employee, carrying on this legacy. Day Two and Three were more specifically targeted at your personal role. Stay tuned!