Finally, it's Suzette again. I've been very busy working many hours at the Magic Kingdom since May. It's been a difficult 7 months so far, but the struggles seem to have brought a reward.
It seems like it wasn't long ago that Alex and I moved to Florida. And now, with just less than a month until our College Program is officially "ending" I've gotten word that I've been accepted to a Management Professional Internship at Disneyland.
That's right... DisneyLAND back in California. The place we moved from and weren't sure that we'd ever see again. I am thrilled for the opportunity and potential for advance within the Disney Company. It's going to be a crazy journey (again) and will definitely come with more struggles. Struggles that we're going to be facing with this opportunity is that Alex (as of today) does not have a position in California. He is still in the running for one or two positions at Disneyland, which we're crossing our fingers for.
A little background to the whole situation.
Alex was offered a professional internship with the YES program at Walt Disney World about a month ago. This position was a facilitator position in the parks from January until May of 2012, with no guarantee of a job after his internship was through. I was also accepted for an extension of the program that I am currently in, Custodial at Magic Kingdom (not guaranteed set hours, and no promise of any position afterward) He applied for several other internships both in Disneyland and Walt Disney World and has been denied from most of those other positions since. After many long discussions before and after receiving our acceptances for each program, we've decided that it is in our best interest for me (Suzette) to take the Management position in California and for Alex to move with me and look for a position (with Disney or not). We're taking this chance because the internship I was offered has a lot of promise for remaining in management after I am finished and the term of this internship is from January to September, not January to May like the others would have been. This is also a one time shot kind of thing, because with the "College and Career Start Program" that Disney has, you can only be in a college program or internship for a full calendar year. So, since we started in May of 2011, we can only go until May of 2012 with these programs Disney has. (The exception to why mine is until September is because from January to May 2012 I will be taking classes at Disney University and shadowing a fellow "leader" or manager learning how the operation of, in this case, Disneyland Custodial works, and then once I finish that on May 12th, I will transition into a "T.A. or Temporary Assignment" in that same area that I trained in, as a leader/manager, until mid-September. After September I can possibly stay in that area if a position opens up because I will be in a pool of candidates to be chosen from since I did this internship.
I'm sorry if that's drawn out, and a long explanation, but it's justification for why we feel that us both moving to California is the best decision for us. We're excited for the new journey, and are hoping and praying for something to come through for Alex before (or shortly after) we move back to California.
In other news, Heather and Sean (my sister and brother-in-law) came to visit Thanksgiving week. It was great being able to see them and spend time with them. We did a lot of theme park visiting while they we're here and I think they had fun. I wish that we had more time to spend with them (since both Alex and I had to work a few days they were here) but it was great either way. Here are some pictures from our visit with them.
Test Track at EPCOT
EPCOT
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Also, last week Alex and I decided to take a day (since we were still unsure if we were going to be coming back to California or not) and go to Universal Studios here in Orlando while we still had the chance. We ended up just going to Islands of Adventure (part of the Universal resort) and had a really fun day riding rides and exploring the park. My favorite was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. (It was recently announced they're going to bring something similar to Universal Studios in Hollywood, CA and I am super excited. Universal has some great technology up their sleeves. Here are some pictures of our visit at Universal.
Me in front of of Hogwarts
In front of Dragon Challenge
Alex told a joke
Alex and Marmaduke
Me in front of Jurassic Park entrance
This picture is supposed to be turned horizontally, so it looks like Marmaduke is pulling me, so just turn your head. :)
Frozen Butterbeer. Yum!
The Butterbeer after Alex mixed it together, it made a pretty design.
Hogsmeade
Alex and I in front of the ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey"
It was awesome!
That's all that I have for an update for now. More decisions are going to be made in the near future, and hopefully a job will come up for Alex before we begin our trek back to California.
We miss all of you Californians and hope to see you soon!
Love, Suzette
