Hey there Pointers!
I apologize that I have not written recently, I have never had a busier lifestyle than what I have right now … but I LOVE IT! So I am hoping that within the next few posts I can get you all caught up on all the amazing things that have gone on this past month 🙂
So the last time I talked to you, it was right before the big move. Well, the drive down went extremely well; my dad, brother and I made it down in one piece. We had one day after we got down there that we could explore my new neighborhood and learn the roads a little bit before I’m all alone.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Today is the BIG day … it’s my first day with anything officially Disney! The first event of the docket today is my housing meeting at the Commons Clubhouse. I’m not quite sure what to expect at this meeting, but I am excited to find out more about what my housing is going to be like 🙂 When I check in for the meeting, I got my first Disney name tag (it was a sticker, but I don’t care). I was super excited, but I feel like it was justified! The first thing we do at the meeting was to take our picture for our “off property” housing I.D. So I was glad I kinda did up my hair nice that day. At the meeting they gave us all the information about our living arrangements as well as the keys to our new apartments!
After the meeting was over dad, Chris (my brother), and I headed to the Marketplace at Downtown Disney and grabbed some lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. This worked out perfectly because my next meeting was at the casting center which is right across the street! At around 10:30 we made our way over to the casting building. The magic begins as you first open the doors, the doorknobs look like the doorknob from Alice in Wonderland! We walk into the lobby … this place is so cool! There are Disney movie references all over the place. However, the lobby is where I had to leave the guys behind. The first room that I headed into, I received a folder with all my information that I needed for the day. From there I went and had to show my passport and drivers license and I had to sign a few papers. After that I went and got finger printed … weird but kinda cool, I felt like I was on a cop show or something 🙂
At 3 p.m., I had a meeting with the Animal Programs people. I walk in and I am handed yet another packet haha! Here we got to know our coordinating team and we got to meet our team members. We went over what we are to be expecting the next few days, and the best part is that our position is brand new as of June 1, we are now Wilderness Explorer Troop Leaders, just like from the movie UP! This means that we have new costumes and we are going to be the first group to be trained in this position … so cool! They told us we are pretty much going to be the rock stars of Animal Kingdom.
After the meeting I met back up with my dad and brother and we moved my stuff into my new apartment. I got to meet my new roommates and got most of my stuff unpacked, but we soon called it a night because we were all tired after a long and exciting day 🙂
-Caitlin
Caitlin Braun is a senior majoring in natural science with teaching intent at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. She is interning as a wilderness explorer troop leader at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.