Hello! It is me, Jenna. I know I have not updated this is a VERY long time, so I finally thought maybe it was time to do so after some recent happenings!

So I guess I’ll go back and do a quick overview of the big stuff that’s happened since I was last here (in February, yikes). In May, the whole family came down for our biannual vacation together and it was a lot of fun! I was able to get most of the week off from working and so I was able to join in all the fun at the parks with my parents, the Lamborns, and the Wensleys. It was also very nice getting out of my tiny apartment and trading it in for the Disney resorts that week! I remember having a second jump at Yacht and Beach, for a little tiny girl that wandered over into the deeper water in front of me and got a little caught up in it. Then once we got to June I was able to spend a weekend in Rochester and we got to see Luke graduate from his class in daycare. Flash forward a little more towards the end of my College Program in July, I was very excited to learn that I had been offered a position lifeguarding part-time at Coronado Springs! So once August came, my parents along with my Aunt visited and I got to move out of the small Disney Housing apartments into an awesome house (thanks mom and dad!) with three other girls who I had become friends with during the program. I also got to fly home in the middle of August too and see lots of friends and family.

So now being part-time, I finally became an official Disney Cast Member with no end-date in sight! Although the down-side of PT is that you are not guaranteed ANY hours to be scheduled for you. And so every week when the new schedules would drop, I would get nothing. But! That ended up being okay because I could pick up shifts whenever I wanted to work and I got to make my own schedule. The coolest part was that I was able to start picking up at a lot of other resorts, and so far I have accumulated a bunch of new places. In addition to Coronado Springs and Yacht and Beach, I’ve been able to work at the Boardwalk resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge, All-star Movies, Polynesian, Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Art of Animation, and I also have Fort Wilderness coming up next week. I have loved getting the chance to work at other pools and meet new lifeguards, coordinators, and managers. And it was always so cool that at every place I went they were all so welcoming and made sure that I was doing well for the shift. I’ve even returned to many of those resorts for multiple other shifts. I also got to jump in again at Yacht and Beach for a little girl that came down the bottom of the slide and got stuck in the current. She was a little shaken up afterwards but she was okay! Total jump count: 3!

From August up until now, I’ve had some visitors as well! My friend Madison who lived in Martinsburg only for a short time during our elementary school days and her boyfriend flew from Chicago to spend a week in Disney, and I was able to go to the parks with them which was great! Madison and I both love Disney and so we had a lot of fun. Then in September, the Wensleys returned to Florida for a long weekend trip which was also a great time. We even found out that Luke was finally just tall enough for Space Mountain and he loved it! We also got to do the Halloween party at Magic Kingdom which the boys really enjoyed as well. We all picked a villain and wore outfits based on them; Brooks was Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, while Luke was Buzz Lightyear/Zurg from Toy Story. Heather did Ursula, Chris was Hades, and I was Maleficent. Then my latest travel adventure was back up to Rochester for a long weekend, and we even had a mini party to celebrate Dad’s birthday.

So in between all of the visits and traveling, I’ve also been able to do some other fun an spooky stuff with friends in Florida this fall like attending Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party twice (and even working them twice!), and also attending Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. I NEVER thought I would go to HHN because I despise all scary things, but I’ve already gone twice, and I plan to go once again before they are done for the year! I even braved a few haunted houses which was terrifying but also fun. And yes you did read that right up above I actually got to WORK at Mickey’s Halloween parties at the Magic Kingdom! During the parties guests pass by multiple stops where they can walk through and go trick-or-treating and get candy. They post these treat shifts on our online cast hub and anyone and everyone is able to pick them up! So I was able to work at MK on two nights and got to hand out candy and see everyone’s cool Halloween costumes. One night I was stationed in Fantasyland, in Mickey’s Philharmagic Theater, and the second night I was placed in Frontierland, at Splash Mountain! It was a really cool experience since I never thought I would ever actually work at Magic Kingdom, and it was super fun getting to go to work through the underground tunnels!

Now I think that finally catches us up to what’s going on now. PHEW. So now I get to say the exciting news! Once I was transferred to part-time, I was able to apply for full-time positions as well. I went ahead and did that back in August, and I have been sitting very contently on the waitlist ever since, UNTIL NOW! When checking on my status the other day, I was very excited to see that I had been matched with a full-time lifeguarding position…..at the Polynesian resort right across from Magic Kingdom!!!

I am so excited that I was placed at the Polynesian, as that resort holds a lot of memories for me and my family. When Heather was doing her college program with Disney, my parents along with Pappy Jay and Mimi Shirley all went down to visit her as she was a character performer! That day she was hanging out with one of her chipmunk friends Chip and Dale at the character breakfast at Ohana, an awesome restaurant at the Polynesian. And during the meal they had a conga line with the characters and kids that went around the restaurant, and of course my sister and her chipmunk friend came over and grabbed me and Pappy Jay to shake some maracas and parade around which I will always remember. Then the whole family got to stay there a few years later, and then again on the next trip (Pappy Jay even somehow got us into the exact same rooms on the second trip as the time before since they were first floor right on the little beach overlooking the castle!). I think it’s safe to say that it was Pappy Jay’s favorite place to stay at Disney and the rest of our family loves it too as we stayed there yet again a few years ago, so I am beyond happy that it will be my new home away from home. I don’t know yet when I will be officially transferring over, but hopefully it will be soon! How many people can say that every night at work they can see Magic Kingdom’s fireworks from right across the lake? Now I can!

Anyway, I think that is everything I can think of for now. I am afraid to look at how long this post is now but there’s been plenty of stuff going on that I thought I would share.

Until next time! -Jenna

Starting last Sunday, I had my first official week off training at Y&B! And I would have to say that it was a success! Sunday was my first day, and although for now my shifts are 9:45 am to 8:15 pm, the first day didn’t even seem that long. It might have just been because I was excited though, because as the week went on they did start to feel a little longer. My first shift was pretty uneventful, but I went through the rotation just fine and only had one little mix up. After my first break, I got a little confused about when I was supposed to leave to go back on stand and I ended up being a little bit late. I felt terrible because that meant somebody was late to their break, but once I got back out there the coordinator (the people above us but below the managers) there that day found me and she was so nice about it! She told me she totally understood because it was my first week and she even said that when she first came to Y&B she was also just as confused about the timing. So a huge shoutout goes to Ivonne for being so sweet and making me feel better!

I had a day off on Monday, and some of my roommates had some time off as well so we spent some of the day at the housing complex pool and we also went to the grocery store and picked out some balloons for my roommate’s birthday which was on Wednesday! After that day off, I had shifts on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of last week. Like I said before, by the time Thursday came around I was exhausted. BUT! I did still have three good shifts and I even jumped in!

Towards the very end of my shift on Tuesday, I was at a lifeguard stand that we call Active. It’s called this because it is a roving stand, which means that for the entire time you are on it you must be walking back and forth between two points while you watch your water. Only one little boy was in my section of water since it was close to pool closing, and he was sitting in one of our lazy river tubes just floating around. After a little bit his tube floated about 10 feet away from me on the other side of the pool where there is a waterfall that comes down over some rocks. He called over to me and I said hi and asked if everything was alright. He told me that he thought he was a little stuck near the waterfall current and that he couldn’t get his tube out to the edge. So I asked him if he wanted me to come in and bring him out to the edge and he said yes. So even though it wasn’t really an emergency, I still had to blow my one whistle to let the other guards know I was losing my water and going in. I whistled, jumped in and went over to his tube and pulled him back out the edge and helped him get out of the pool. So even though it wasn’t a crazy or dramatic rescue, I still felt pretty good about it! Plus I suppose it was a good warm-up for if something more serious does happen under my watch.

After that, Wednesday and Thursday’s shifts were pretty uneventful, but were good ones. Wednesday was my roommate Paige’s birthday, so we did all go out together that evening which was a lot of fun! Then Thursday night after work I was VERY tired and so was everyone else so we just stayed in and watched some TV. Now, on the following Monday, I am in the middle of FIVE (!!!) days off in a row!! I have been very excited to have some time off but it also feels very weird already not going to work for so long. Last Friday I went to Epcot and Magic Kingdom with my roommate Sammy, and we even saw our other roommates Paige (who works at the Figment ride and Judi who works at the Peoplemover/Astro Orbiter) while they were at work which is always fun to do! Then on Saturday Paige and I were off together and so we spent most of the day at Epcot looking around the Festival of the Arts, riding some attractions, and meeting Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. We even waited about an hour for Frozen Ever After but it was so worth it as we both enjoy that ride a lot! Yesterday was a more relaxed day as Paige, Judi and I were able to hang by the pool again before they went off to work. The rest of the day I went out to the grocery story again and I even finished the book I was reading out on our apartment balcony before my roommates started getting home from work. Today, Monday, I think will also be a more chill day. Paige, Judi and I might go out to the mall to look around before they head off to work for the evening and then who knows what I will be up to. Tomorrow will be my last day off, and then I will be back to work with shifts on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The next two weekends are looking to be pretty exciting though thanks to some family that are coming to Florida! Aunt Cindy and Uncle Neil will be arriving for their vacation this week and I will be spending some time with them at the parks on my days off. Then the following weekend Heather, Chris, and the boys will be coming to Florida to visit Chris’s parents in Cape Coral on the gulf side. I was very lucky to have a few days off while they are here so I will also be able to spend some time with them at the beach which I am super excited about! But until all of that, I will be enjoying my last two days off, catching up on some park time and some much needed rest before getting back on stand.

Last time we left off with me finishing up my classes to be a licensed Ellis lifeguard, and since then I have had to go through my on the job training at the Yacht & Beach club and become an official lifeguard there! Before I started actually training we had an orientation day at Y&B. We started in a classroom and learned about the resort and all that is has to offer guests, and then we took a 2 hour walking tour of the resort. We looked at both lobbies, walked into the different restaurants on either side of the resort, the pools, and we even got to see a guest room in both the Beach and the Yacht side. As a bonus we also walked through the HUGE convention center there, and learned that since its recent renovation is now the largest convention center on Disney property. Then before we left for the day we were greeted by a manager and they showed us the costuming area where I picked up all my costume pieces and got issued a locker. That was all for that day!

The next day I finally started my on the job training. The first day was more of a tour day as well but of course it focused on the large pool and the three smaller quiet pools at the resort. Then we started focus on the large pool where we would be guarding, which is called Stormalong Bay. This is where things started to get a little overwhelming, as it is a VERY big pool split up into 3 different sections, including a large water slide, a kiddie water slide, a lazy river, a sand mound for kids to play on, and plenty of extra water for everyone else. There are thirteen (yes, thirteen) lifeguard stands at the pool, which is by far the most out of all the other resort pools at Disney. A lot of them have less than 5! Over the couple days of training, we had to learn the names of each stand, the equipment each stand needs to have with them at all times, and we had to know the EAP (emergency action plan) for each one. If a guard jumps in to help a guest in distress, they blow one whistle. Once that happens, the other guards surrounding that stand have to follow their EAP and know where to move to in order to take over the water that the whistling guard has just lost by jumping in. If the situation escalates to a real emergency (i.e. the guest has gone unconscious, isn’t breathing, etc.), then 3 whistles are blown. Once this is done, an entire new EAP is put into action, and so we need to know what surrounding guards must do if a 3 whistle is blown. So to summarize all that, we needed to learn 1 whistle and 3 whistle EAPs for alllllllll 13 stands, which was tricky at first but by the end of training I felt much more confident. On the second day of training, we had to learn more advanced saves in the deep water. At my original lifeguard training, we only learned how to backboard people out of the water and deal with spinal injuries at the shallow end of the pool. Since the Y&B pool does get up to 8 ft. deep in the one end of the lazy river, we needed to know how to do both of those things in the deep water as well. This was also a little tricky, since you have to tread water until you can swim with the guest to the edge of the water to the backboard. We practiced this A LOT, and by the end of the day both my legs and arms were sore once again. But our one trainer Will did a very good job at playing our unconscious guest all morning! Another smaller thing we went over early in training was where each stand’s lifeguard was to report to if we had to close the pool for inclement weather. On days two and three, we practiced spotting vats (the black mesh silhouettes that sink and look like people). My trainer went in the water and placed some vats on the bottom while I was turned around and I had to turn back and point them out. This is an important thing to practice because managers can drop a vat in your water at any time in order to audit you and make sure you’re always doing your best on stand. We also practiced scanning in and out, which is what we have to do when we rotate guards at each stand. Then I got to officially be on stand at all 13 spots with my trainer and practiced scanning the water.

That mostly sums up my first three days of training, which brings us to my KAPA day (knowledge assessment/performance assessment), or my testing day. For this I first had to once again demonstrate my CPR and rescue breathing skills for an adult, child, and infant with my trainer. Since that had been drilled into my head during my first lifeguard training, it was no problem. Next we walked around to each lifeguard stand, and I had to tell my trainer the name of each stand, the equipment needed for each, and what the 1 whistle and 3 whistle EAPs were without any help. Next I completed the written test, which was also super easy. After our break, we went back out and it was time for the performance part of the day. I started scanning in to a few different stands, and I was warned that if I were to see or hear anything that wasn’t a real-life situation, I was to respond accordingly. So what that meant was that while I was at one of the stands, someone was going to drop a vat for me to jump in for, and also that at any stand, a surrounding guard was going to blow a whistle and I had to correctly respond and implement the correct EAP. The first time someone whistled next to me, I did get tripped up on the EAP and I went to the wrong spot. But it was okay, my trainer simply said we would do another one of those drills. He also reassured me that I had just gotten everything right when telling him the EAPs earlier, so I could do it! When I went to the next stand, that is when I was given a vat. As soon as I spotted it I blew my whistle and jumped in to retrieve it. One of the managers was standing by to watch at this point and once I got back out of the pool he said I did a good job! The only thing he said to improve on was to make sure to blow the loudest whistle I could possibly blow. After that jump, I went to another stand where I assumed I would respond to another whistle to make up for the first time, and I was right. The lifeguard to my left whistled and moved out of sight, so it was my job to grab the walkie-talkie at my stand and call in that they had whistled. Next I had to grab my walkie off of its clip and take over for that lifeguard. This time I did everything exactly right, and with that I had officially passed to be a lifeguard at Y&B! The only thing left to do before I went home was to have my one-on-one with the manager on duty, who was the one coaching me about my whistle-blowing earlier! He was a very nice guy and he talked to me about the expectations of being a lifeguard, how we will be audited, and how we can implement the four Disney keys in what we do. He also assured me that if I ever had any questions or concerns that I could go see him or another manager at any time which was very nice! Being a lifeguard at Disney is a little nerve-wracking at first, because you are constantly being audited and people’s lives could really be in your hands! But both my awesome trainers and the manager I spoke with assured me that being nervous was very normal and that I would do great as long as I do my job the way I was taught!

My testing day was this past Thursday, and I thankfully earned two days off following that. Tomorrow, Sunday, is my very first shift on my own! I am of course a little nervous but everyone that I have met so far has been very welcoming so I know that if I get mixed up I can ask anyone around and they will be happy to help me. Since it is a lower peak time for Disney at the moment, the pools aren’t open for quite as long each day which means that there is only one shift that we work: 9:45 am-8:15 pm. Until the middle of March, I will be working almost 12 hour shifts which is a little scary as well, but the paychecks will certainly be nice! Once March comes around, the pools will start opening for a few more hours each day and then we will go to split shifts, one opening and one closing. Being in the college program, I will definitely be getting lots of closing shifts, so then I can finally sleep in a little more! But as for now, I am enjoying my two days off and getting excited for tomorrow as my first day on duty!

Now it is time to talk about my lifeguard training! It consisted of three 8 hour shifts scheduled Sunday through Tuesday. There were almost 30 of us total that started out on Sunday. We all had to wake up bright and early to be back over at Mickey’s Retreat (the same place we had our swim tests) each day. On the first day, we learned about the Ellis training program and how it came to be, watched some informative and sometimes scary videos on why being a good lifeguard is so important, learned things like rescue breathing and CPR, and also spent some time in the pool learning different rescues. We all came to realize very quickly on that first day how intense being a lifeguard at Disney is, and we also figured out that it is a lot of work! If you ever want to feel completely safe while swimming in a pool, definitely go to a Disney pool!! We practiced both rescue breathing and CPR for adults and children on mannequins and each other for what seemed like forever that day, which resulted in my knees and the palms of my hands becoming VERY bruised and sore for the next few days. Going into the pool also wasn’t that enjoyable of a break from it either as it was very cold and raining that day However, we were still able to learn the different rescues and practice them despite all the shivering.

On day two, we added a lot more onto what we had already learned the day before. We were still practicing our original skills, but then we added on rescue breathing and CPR for an infant, things we would find in our trauma bags such as oxygen tanks/equipment and an AED, what to do with all of those things and how they would help us when trying to save a potential guest. After adding on this information, we were split up into teams so that we could all practice working together on a potential guest which is very important! Once again we also spent a few hours out in the pool, although thankfully this time it was just a little cold with no rain which was an improvement! This time we learned how to pull an unconscious guest out of the pool as a team using a backboard, and also how to deal with and remove someone in the water who has a spinal injury also using the backboard. Each person in our team took turns being the guest in distress, the primary lifeguard, and the secondary lifeguards. There were a lot of steps to follow, but after going through it a handful of times everyone started to get the hang of it. Thankfully, our instructors were very helpful in telling us what we needed to work on. To end the day we finished up talking about important first aid information.

This brings us to the final training day on Tuesday, which happened to be both my birthday and our test out day! I got up bright and early once again and headed over to Mickey’s Retreat for the final time. Before we began any testing, we practiced our CPR and rescue breathing skills on the adult, child, and infant mannequins. Once we all felt comfortable to move on, the testing began. The first part was a written 50-question test, but that was the least of our worries as it turned out to be very simple! Next, we moved on to our individual CPR testing. I was VERY nervous for mine and it showed as I was a little rocky on my adult demonstration, but the instructor proctoring me was super nice and told me to take a deep breath and to relax because I knew this stuff (which was true). Once I got past adult, I moved onto child and did that one with no mistakes! However, when I got to infant I faltered a little bit and my instructor told me to take a break, practice infant for a few minutes and then come back (we were all allowed one re-test). Once I went over it by myself and thought it through a few times, I went back ready to try again and thankfully I passed! Once they finished everyone’s individual tests and sent home a few people who had failed, it was our lunch break which gave us all time to continue stressing about the team test out coming up (dun dun dun). For this part of the test, there was only two options: either everyone on your team passed or everyone on your team failed, with no in betweens. But of course, we were allowed to talk each other through everything out loud to make sure we were following the correct steps. The team tests took place at the pool. While a team of 4 was taken out of earshot, the remainder of the class stayed in the pool and a few people were given certain things to do at the instructor’s hidden signals. They could either drop a vat (a silhouette shaped like a person) or a mannequin baby at the bottom of a pool, pretend to be an active guest drowning on the surface, an unconscious guest on or under the surface, a guest with a spinal injury, and so on. The team would then come back and spread out around the perimeter of the pool as if they were really lifeguarding. When the few different scenarios occurred, it was our job to be scanning the pool and respond to them as quickly and efficiently as possible without making any large mistakes. My group was one of the last to go, so we started getting a little familiar with the different scenarios that were thrown at the other groups. When it was our turn, one teammate jumped in for a vat, I jumped in for an active guest drowning in the deep end of the pool (they placed me on that side intentionally since I am a deep guard!) and another member jumped in to help a guest yelling that they hurt their neck. This case was one of our bigger scenarios (a spinal), since one guard had to jump in and make sure the guest’s head was completely stabilized, while the rest of us helped get the guest onto the backboard and pull them out of the water to safety. The real curveball for us was the scenario implemented immediately after the spinal one: as soon as our instructor told us that EMS had arrived to tend to the spinal injury, another “guest” ran up to us exclaiming that her baby was choking and needed help. This prompted us to provide back blows and compressions to try and force the item out of the airway…but once we were told that this baby had gone unconscious, one team member (which ended up being me) had to start performing CPR while the rest of the team got out the oxygen equipment and the AED from our trauma bag. Once we utilized all of our skills for that scenario, we were told that our test was over. We did make one mistake, but before the test ended a teammate caught the mistake and we were able to fix it for the rest of the scenario. Since we caught that one mistake ourselves and corrected it, we had no reason to fail and so our instructor told us we passed! The amount of relief the four of us felt at that moment was UNREAL. I don’t know if I have every felt relief quite like that before! If we had failed, all of that time and energy we had spent in training would have been for nothing, so it was such a great feeling to be told that we did a good job! Only a few groups failed their first try (we could also have one team re-test if needed), but in the end all of us passed the team test out which was awesome! Once we all got changed and back inside, we signed our paperwork so that we could be issued our lifeguarding license, and we all walked away as official Disney lifeguards.

Another great part of the day was waiting for me as soon as I returned from training. My sweet roommates had decorated the apartment and surprised me with it when I walked in the doorway (soaking wet from the pool of course). They even got me a little cake! It was so nice and we were all laughing at the fact that we had only just met a week ago, but we were already celebrating birthdays as if we had known each other for years. Another one of my roommates has a birthday coming up in February, and I’m sure we will do something very similar for her! We all sat down and had some cake before we got ready to head out to Epcot. When we got there, we first stopped at a store to get a birthday button for myself and celebration buttons for everyone else. We walked right onto the Figment ride, and then started walking through the world showcase. We were able to get a late reservation for 5 at the San Angel Inn (in the Mexico pavilion, right next to the Grand Fiesta Tour!) and it was so good!! I even got some complimentary ice cream since it was my birthday.

So even though I spent most of my birthday morning and afternoon nervous and worried about my lifeguard tests, everything worked out just fine in the end and I was able to finish the day with a birthday celebration at Disney! And now I can finally rest easy tonight, sleep in and enjoy a MUCH needed day off tomorrow (my body is VERY sore after all that training!). Later this week, I have two more shifts of classroom learning to do at Disney University, one called Welcome to Park Operations and one called Welcome to Hospitality and Recreation (no more CPR for now thank goodness!), along with my orientation at the Yacht and Beach Club resort where I will get a guided tour of the resort and receive my costume. Then next Monday, I will finally have my first day of on the job training as a lifeguard at the resort, which I am excited for. But for now, it is time to get some sleep!

~Jenna

It’s been almost a week since I started the DCP, and those first days were busy ones! Last Tuesday, I checked in at my housing complex Patterson court right away at 8:00 in the morning. Once I received my program guide book, my housing ID, and my room key, I headed up to my 3 bedroom-6 person apartment. Since I had such an early check-in I was the first one to get to the apartment, which meant that I got first pick on the rooms! I brought some stuff up from my car and claimed my bed, but unfortunately I couldn’t stick around and meet my roommates just then because I had my appointment with Casting at 9:00.

On my way to Casting, I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to bring my social security card from home (which was very important as I needed it to be hired). It took a little extra work to get around that but long story short, despite my worrying I was still able to get everything settled later in the week before my Traditions class (phew). At Casting I was checked in and fingerprinted, and then I was able to head back to my apartment to finish moving in! By the time I got back, all 5 of my other roommates had gotten to the apartment so I was able to finally meet them all! Besides me being from PA, one was from Michigan, one from North Carolina, one from Texas, and two were from Chicago. By the afternoon, my parents and I had everything unpacked and settled so I said goodbye to them for a little while (they were staying in Florida until the end of the week). Later that night some of my roommates and I all went out to dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Disney Springs which was a lot of fun!

Next comes one of my favorite parts of the week: bright and early on Wednesday morning, I had my lifeguard swim test! For that I walked over to Mickey’s Retreat (a recreation center for cast members right next door to housing). For Disney lifeguards, there are actually two versions of the swim test. One is for shallow water (which refers to almost all of the resort pools) and the other is for deep water (which refers to the water parks plus one resort and is a little more difficult). After a quick vision test and hearing test, it was time for the swimming part. Since my original itinerary placed me at the Contemporary resort, I went into it thinking I would be doing the shallow test. However, when it came time for my group to step up to the pool, our instructor told us that they would be testing us all for deep water. After hearing that I was definitely a little nervous, but I had to give it a try. Even if I didn’t pass the deep test, the shallow test was still there to fall back on. First up, we had to swim down the length of the pool and back 4 times. After than, we had to retrieve a brick from the bottom of the 8 ft. end of the pool, and then tread water for 2 minutes with our hands out of the water. Treading water was what I was most nervous for, but it ended up being pretty easy! The instructor who was timing kept us busy and distracted by having us name a Disney character for every letter of the alphabet. Out of my small group, me and one other girl passed the deep test. Once we were done, the instructor told us that the two of us would now be lifeguarding at the Yacht & Beach Club Resort, which happens to be one of my favorite resorts! Once I got my final placement, I was finally sent my training schedule which will start next week. The rest of the day on Wednesday was pretty low-key, going to the grocery store with my roommate Anna and hanging by the housing complex pool for a little while. On Thursday, my parents and I went to Hollywood Studios for the day and had an awesome dinner at Mama Melrose’s.

Friday was an empty day and my roommates and I were anxious to get to our Traditions class on Saturday, which is the first official day working at Disney. Once that day came, we drove over to Disney University behind the Magic Kingdom for our class. We learned a lot about how the Disney company began and how it became what it is today, along with other important information such as the four keys to abide by at all times while working on the job. We also received our official company ID cards, and our name tags! Traditions was still super magical the second time around, and it was so exciting to once again be welcomed into the Disney family. The day after Traditions, I started my lifeguard training which takes up 3 full days, but I will go into more detail on that in my the next post as I am about to study for my lifeguard tests as I type this. Wish me luck!

~Jenna