Nearing the end...

As much as I don't like to admit it, yes... the end of the year is near. Time has surely flown by. Let me update you on everything from this past year.

Some of you already know that Suzette and I participated in the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. After the program, I encouraged Suzette to apply for the Professional Management Internship at Disneyland after I had applied for the Internship with the Youth Education Series Program. We were both interviewed for the Management Internship, and I was offered the Disney Y.E.S. Program internship. Near the end of 2011, Suzette was offered a Custodial Management Internship at Disneyland, and we decided that we wanted to move back home to California. So, I turned down my internship, and began looking for any work in Orange County.

Suzette completed her internship, and was offered a temporary assignment, in Disneyland day custodial, until further notice. She receives a review just about every four months, and she is notified of an extended assignment, a different assignment, a full-time offer, or is moved to a "front-line" role.

It's still amazing how she went from this...

To this...

Her area loves her, and I am always hearing good things about her from other Operations Managers around the parks.

I was able to find a small part-time job with Disney as a parade support crew member. My primary location is working backstage on Fantasmic! and I love everything about my job.

I really give it all to my Area Manager Robb, who gave me a chance, and continues to help when I need it most. He supported me and encouraged me to re-apply for the Professional Internship role (The Emerging Leader Program), but I felt like it may not be a good fit after I was rejected again. Now, I'm on the road to self-discovery. Finding little things about myself that might shine in certain roles. People have been so helpful to introduce me to managers, operations managers, area managers and more. I'm really grateful for the friends by my side who have listened and supported us.

My college program best buddy visited the "land", but I wish we would have had a day to hang out.

After everything with work started to slow down, I decided to start volunteering again, and signed up for Disney Voluntears. The first project was a playground build at a local Boys & Girls Club. They had a raffle, and I won 4 tickets to the Anaheim Angels game!

The next event is Little Monsters. It's a special treat halloween party for Cast Members and their kids. I really hope my schedule works out for me to work the entire event, but I am excited to participate.

And now the farewell...

Suzette is due for another review around the end of November, and we're both really hoping for something positive. We've already sacrificed everything we had. Please keep us in your thoughts as we continue this crazy journey.

A day with the family

Disney gave out some complimentary tickets at the beginning of the summer, and the niece and nephews were able to enjoy Disneyland and everything it had to offer last weekend.

A little dusty

It has been awhile since we blogged last. So, although our blog is a little dusty, it's not forgotten. I'll (Alex) probably be posting pictures later, but for now I'll give you all a quick update on our lives for the past few months.

Suzette graduated from her Emerging Leader program, and she has moved onto a TSA (Temporary Salaried Assignment). Her assignment remains with Disneyland Day Custodial until September. At which point she will be considered for either a status placement or a new temporary assignment. For now our fingers are crossed until we heard a final decision. In any case, she loves her job, her team and it seems like they love her too.

As for me. I've "Earned my Ears" after my probationary period, and have been promoted from Seasonal (CT) to Part-Time (CR). I'm really hoping to find an opportunity to receive education reimbursment, through the company, for a Masters degree. Time will tell. I applied for the Fall 2012 Emerging Leader Program, and I wasn't offered a spot. I was selected for an interview, and I feel like it went well, but I think the program was just too small. My leadership support encouraged me to keep my hopes up because they understand that the program was small, and looking for roles in foods and stores. Later this week will be an info session for Disney Y.E.S. Programs.

So, hopefully there will be new opportunities there. I'll leave you all with that for now. Maybe I can try to post pictures later, and next time I can write about our ventures in looking for a home.

Some imagination, huh?

I (Alex) still cannot believe how close we are to Disneyland. For so many years, we have stayed in rooms farther away, but now we're hanging out at the parks whenever we want. My favorite attraction at Disney California Adventure is Mickey's Fun Wheel because it puts you high enough in the sky to see the entire park. So, I thought I'd share that with you with our good friend; pie-eyed Mickey.

A few days ago, I decided to go to Disneyland to watch the parade, and I saw a friend of mine from the Disneyland College Program from when I applied. She now does blogs for Mice Chat. You can see her channel here: Mice Chat [Mice Tube] Channel

Suzette and I also bought some passes to the Discovery Center, and I caught her playing with the earthquake simulator. She was giggling like a little kid. People were staring.

Same with the hurricane simulator, but you couldn't hear her giggles until the door opened.

We introduced our friend Brent to California Screamin', and I think he liked it. I think he really really liked it!

And finally, I'm BACK! New name tag, new ID, and a new lanyard to signify my debut working Fantasmic! in my first role with the land.

I am so very excited to be working Fantasmic!. This is my favorite show in all the Disneyland, I was a vocal fan when I worked at Walt Disney World, and I thought I'd share some of my favorite moments of the show with you. These are all photos that I googled, but all photos of the things I love most about the show.

Below, I posted an image of my favorite photo from a local friend, Susan Thompson. Check out her stuff at: SX70.com

A long overdue update...

Like the title, this update is long overdue.

I'll (Alex) give you a brief update of some things that have gone on since we arrived. In a week or two I'll post another update with a little more details.

When we arrived, we drove home and spent some time with friends and family for a week before Suzette needed to start in her new role at Disneyland. We were able to unpack a few things, and pack some other things from the old apartment. Just stuff like pots, pans, sheets, blankets and towels. All the things we sacrificed back in Orlando.

We booked rooms via Priceline and Hotwire for the first week and a half while we looked for an apartment. After staying at Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn right by Disneyland, we booked our last few nights at Holiday Inn in La Mirada. The staff here were awesome. Since we were staying for 4 nights, they upgraded us to a bigger room. Then, the door of our room had to be replaced because of an issue with the key card reader. So, they upgraded us again. This time we were staying in an executive suite with a view of Knott's Berry Farm, and a glimpse of the Disneyland fireworks from a distance.

After looking at almost 10 apartment complexes, we decided on staying at a complex just a few miles East of Disneyland. It's a small studio, but it works for what we need, and we'll only be here for a year. It also helps to be so close if I get another job with Disney.

I've applied to several jobs with the company, but there's one that I really want. It's a Parade Support Driver at Disneyland. This role would enable me to also facilitate with Disney Youth Education Series.

A little background on Disney Youth... I've talked with a few managers about how I can work with Disney Youth Groups, and many of them have told me that they primarily recruit from within the resort since the programs are so small. They have also said, because of the ease of working with scheduling managers, the cast members are primarily from the Entertainment department. So, by being a Parade Support Driver, I'll be within the Entertainment department.

When I applied for the role, I was rejected just after about 30 seconds. So, I contacted Casting, and they told me they would call me back on Monday or Tuesday after the weekend. I didn't hear anything from Casting after a week. I called them back regarding the issue, and they said, "It has come to our attention that we are no longer looking into this issue. Please follow whatever it says on our Disney Careers website."After explaining my situation to the girl on the phone, she told me she would speak to her manager. She returned on the line to tell me that her manager told her they were reviewing the applications manually due to a "technical glitch."

I emailed some of the managers I've been talking too, and everything was beginning to get put into action. They set up an interview for me with the manager who oversees the Parades and Maintenance on the West Coast. And, after continuing to deal with Casting...No Names...one of them told me that due to the technical glitch, they've eliminated applicants, and opened a new role with a correctly set threshold. Unfortunately, because I've already applied within the past 6 months, I'm not eligible to apply again.

This cast member told me about how these things happen often, and have been happening more now that the new careers page was launched. It's heartbreaking to hear about the 1,000s of people who apply to roles with Disney and fall through the cracks.

Home, but not home.

That's right folks. If you're just joining us, we're home.... but not quite home.

Let me explain. On our 4-day journey over from Orlando, we realize that home is not where you are, where the heart is, or where you enjoy the area, but it's all about where your friends and family are.

We definitely miss our Disney family in Orlando, but we're excited to see where the company will take them, and when we will re-unite. Some of them are already booking hotels in Anaheim for when they visit. Below, I wanted to update everyone on where we are exactly, and what our plans are in the near future.

As soon as we arrived, we went to Disneyland and Downtown Disney. I, Alex, decided to go to the fur (costumed character) audition on Saturday to meet with a manager about being a character attendant. Unfortunately, I was rejected after the first round, but it was a fun experience, and I was able to meet with the manager that I was told to find. Hopefully it will help get me something with the company again. In the meantime, I've applied to a few positions around the Orange County and LA areas including The Honda Center, AEG Staples Center, a few small ice rinks, Knott's, Universal, and other roles with Disney.

We're currently at "home" in Visalia for a few days, and we'll be moving to our new "home" in Anaheim on Friday. For now, we will live in a hotel just down the street from Disneyland for the first month while we look for a more permanent place, and I can look for a small job.

I didn't want to leave you without pictures. So, we wanted to bring you along to Disneyland with us.

This is what happens when you start going crazy while driving through Texas.

 

 

Here we goooooooo...

Follow us on our journey across the country! We nervous, scared, and the car is bursting at the seams with all our things.

If you're anywhere along our journey, comment on our post!

 

Day 4 Phoenix to Disneyland







Day 3 Fort Stockton, TX to Phoenix, AZ







DAY 2 Lafayette, LA to Fort Stockton, TX







DAY 1 Orlando, FL to Lafayette, LA

The End : The Transition

(This is Alex)

So, it's the end of our program, and I was finally able to do some of the things I've wanted to cross off my list before I left. One of them was; skating around the TTC.

A lot of people jog around the TTC late at night/early morning. So, it wasn't hard to do, but it was difficult finding the time.

My last week of work ended at a total of 75 hrs, which is very good considering our upcoming trek across the nation. We've finalized our departure date for January 3rd at around 8am, and estimate a 10 hour trip to our first destination: New Orleans, Louisiana.

The other, was drinking around the world at Epcot, but I budgeted to only drink at three. Viking Coffee, Plum Wine, and Pear Cider. Good friends, fun times throughout my program.

I'm going to miss the friends I've made here.