It all started with a Mouse; and visits to the House of Mouse as a child, as a teen, and many, many times as an adult with our family. Walt Disney World was (and still is) a refuge, a playground, a feast for the senses, an escape, a bubble protected from the real world. Somewhere along the way a dream was hatched about working at the Most Magical Place on Earth.
Yesterday, that dream came true as I experienced my first day as a Walt Disney World Cast Member attending Traditions, a training for new Cast Members, at Disney University!
After moving to the Orlando area in April and getting settled, I browsed the Disney Jobs/Careers website and applied for a couple of roles in June and July with polite decline messages in return. In August, I applied for a role on the Monorail. Shortly after submitting my application, I was invited to take a web based virtual interview, which was answering a series of questions in a short period of time. A few days later, I received an email informing me to stay tuned as I would be scheduled for an interview with a recruiter via Zoom.
The Zoom interview happened in early September. I was asked "Why the Monorail?" My response was that it is iconic! I learned that training includes platform and pilot. I was thinking that I had learned how to drive/ride different mowers and vehicles at the golf course, I could learn to drive a monorail. Then, I learned about the safety assessments that included being on top of the train when it was 80 feet in the air. When asked if I was comfortable doing that, I replied, "No." I now have greater respect for the Monorail operators and platform attendants!
My "No" did not end the interview and the recruiter and I talked about other possibilities. When was I available to begin? Immediately. BUT I was going to be gone for the month of October, traveling with Disney.
Unable to guarantee the needed time off, my name was added to a "wait list" with a potential Nov. 6 start date. I would receive an email with an offer and have 48 hours to respond. Please, please, please have that email arrive before we set sail!!! No such luck.
While we were on board the Disney Wonder, I played time travel tricks. If I purchase a 24 hour data package at 10:00 am on a Tuesday in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and we turn the clock back an hour tonight, it will be 5:00 pm in Orlando and I can check for an email sent on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I can do that twice and then we'll be on land and I can check email. . . This plan worked and the email came! An offer for Part Time Attractions. No indication of which park, which attraction(s). I'll take it! More emails arrived to give permission for background check and drug testing.
We were on the second leg of our cruise, neigh on to Sydney, when the email arrived and I bit the bullet for a data package to cover the remaining portion of the sailing. Good thing, too, as there were multiple email exchanges to arrange a phone call. I did need that to be once we returned to the state. The AI scheduler could tell the location of my phone and was offering up AEST times--Eastern Australia Times!! I was now googling "If it is 4:00 am AEST on Nov. 1, what time is it in Orlando?" Answer: 1:00 pm on Oct. 31. I'll take it!
During the call I was given more directions. Drug test within 48 hours, appointment at Casting near Disney Springs on Friday, and Traditions on November 15. More information and tasks would come via email. And, they did--multiple emails to fill out pre-employment paperwork, scan documents, indicate knowledge of policy and procedure manuals, etc.
The drug testing was a hoot! This was the second time for me as it was required when I was hired at the hospital. Everyone was so nice and as a prospective Disney employee, there is a special back door. My first attempt was not as productive as needed. I was escorted to a special area to wait--I could wait only 2 hours--and was given 2 bottles of water, but could only have 2. Also, the clock was ticking on the 48 hour timeline. I drank the 2 bottles and walked laps in the waiting area. Then I pulled up YouTube videos of streams, waterfalls, rain. I did discover a white noise machine on a table that produced similar sounds. The waiting area was near the special back door and a clinic employee asked if I was going to get the door when the doorbell rang since I was nearby. Happy to, if you would like. After 40 minutes, I was ready to try again. Facing performance anxiety, production anxiety, and time constraint anxiety, I was ready. I told the nurse that I had been listening to water (you can't have the sink on in the bathroom) and asked if she could play that outside the door. She did!!! And, it worked!
The appointment at Casting was for fingerprinting, which I have never had done before. Taking an ID photo was also a part of the appointment and ensuring that all required paperwork was completed. While I had already scanned my ID, Social Security Card, and Passport, I brought all of those with to the appointment, which was a good thing as both my ID and Passport were scanned again. I was told that I would receive my employee ID, name badge, assignment and training schedule at Traditions.
The Friday before the Wednesday Traditions, the email came with my assignment, costume requirements, and schedule for November. Magic Kingdom!! Frontierland!! Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!!
When the boy was little, he would have some hesitation to ride Big Thunder and we would tell him that we picked the "slow side" when walking down the incline and the queue divides in two to get to the trains. He eventually figured it out and it has been a Williams Family inside joke since. Fitting that this attraction would be the beginning of my journey with the Company.
There may have been some tearful moments at Traditions yesterday. Isn't storytelling supposed to be emotionally compelling?
I also learned that my blue employee ID would allow me to enter any of the 6 Disney Parks World-wide! I'm sure there are more perks that I will learn about. In the meantime, a dream has come true! I am a Walt Disney World Cast Member!
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