Flag Retreat @Magic Kingdom Park

If you ever happen to be near Town Square at the Magic Kingdom around 5:00pm be sure to check out the daily flag retreat ceremony.  Magic Kingdom Park is truly one of the most patriotic theme parks you will ever find.  Not only are American flags and bunting strung throughout park, pride in the American spirit is displayed each and every day by honoring our country through the tradition of respectfully lowering the American flag at dusk.  The ceremony has taken a rich place in Magic Kingdom history and will continue on for years to come by honoring a veteran to assist with ceremony each day.  

The flag retreat ceremony starts off with the Main Street U.S.A. Philharmonic and Town Square cast members proceeding to the the American flag after playing some patriotic music:

Next the Magic Kingdom Security Detail and the honored veteran of the day salute the the American Flag: 

The Pledge of Allegiance is then conducted by one young member of the audience.  Nearly all of Town Square was participating:

Next the Star Spangled Banner is played while the American Flag is slowly lowered to the ground: 

The American Flag is then properly folded for the night and then passed off to the honored veteran of the day:

While the American Flag is being folded the Dapper Dan's sing along with the crowd "God Bless America":

The ceremony is then concluded and the veteran holding the American Flag marches down Main Street U.S.A. along with the Main Street Philharmonic playing  patriotic tunes:  

The ceremony is something to surely check our if you are looking for a unique Magic Kingdom experience.  Check it out!

Fantasia Gardens

For the past few days I've been stationed at Disney's Fantasia Gardens near the Disney Swan and Dolphin Resort properties.  Fantasia Gardens is a 36 hole miniature golf course themed around the Disney animated feature movie "Fantasia".  Work begins early at 4:30am each day in order to accomplish several tasks before the 10:00am opening.  It was unbelievable to see the workforce that is required to operate and maintain the course.  Individuals working include: four people on paint crew (they touch up / repaint the holes each night); ten people on mow crew (they prepare all the grounds), two mechanics (they repair / maintain all mechanical features on each hole), five landscape maintenance individuals (they install / maintain various aspects of the course), lastly one garden specialist and myself working alongside him.  All these individuals are required to operate / maintain this miniature golf course! Its an army of people.

Fantasia Gardens has one permanent staffed "garden specialist" (horticulture professional) that determines various aspects of landscape design / upkeep procedures throughout the course.  This is who I worked with over the past few days.  Garden specialist are placed at every location at Walt Disney World.  Depending on the size of the location their will be several on staff.  Working along side Fantasia Gardens garden specialist I learned about various techniques regarding irrigation, fertilization, planting placement, themed elements of design, lighting, and plant identification.  

Tomorrow morning at 2:00am I will be moving to Typhoon  Lagoon water park to work with their staffed garden specialist in the area.  I will be at Typhoon Lagoon all next week also and then transition to Blizzard Beach the following week.  In the mean time... time for bed!

My Region: Animal Kingdom

Today started out early at 4:30am as we visited the horticulture services center where we received additional details about our professional internship program.  Horticulture services is located just north of Animal Kingdom, which makes it about a 15 min drive from my apartment (light traffic at 4:30am!).  

All 34 professional horticulture interns were placed into designated "regions" of the Walt Disney World Resort for the summer.  The region I was placed in is Region 3 which includes Disney's Animal Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, and Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.  I will be spending roughly 2 weeks at each location and each day will include different experiences and tasks (pest ID, irrigation techniques, design, maintenance, and plant ID).  Basically there will never be any two days alike!  Each shift will last from 4:30am to 12:30pm with weekends / holidays / afternoons off which makes for some awesome free time to ride Splash Mountain!

We also received our costumes today at the wardrobe department.  Each intern received a set of 10 costumes.  Our "costumes" are unique in that they allow us to travel between different themed areas of parks and resorts but yet still blend in with the general story-line of a certain "area".  Also the costumes we wear are all custom made to fit each person on the team.

Lastly we were briefed on an update regarding our summer creative design project.  The project is very open ended, but must relate to what we learn throughout the summer and relate to our region of work (Animal Kingdom).  The creative project will also be presented to a panel of Walt Disney World Horticulture Managers and also Industry Professionals from around the Orlando area.  Can't wait to get started!

Over the next couple days we will continue our safety training and move onward to our selected regions throughout Walt Disney World.  In the mean time I have to start studying this one inch binder of Disney World plants! We will have a test soon.   

Disney Traditions

Today was simply one of the most surreal days of my life.  I never imaged after my sophomore year of college I would be already be walking the paths of Magic Kingdom Park as a Disney Professional Intern.  It was a strange but yet unbelievable feeling.  The dream of working for Walt Disney had become a sharp reality.

 

This past Saturday we attended the “Disney Traditions” at Disney University.  Disney Traditions is a four hour class that all new employees of Walt Disney World must complete before starting their new role.  This employee orientation included a wide variety of Walt Disney Company information, procedures, and employee guidelines.  We were educated on the past, present (we as professional interns), and the future of the Walt Disney Company.  The class also took a short underground and above ground tour of the Magic Kingdom.  We also learned of the four keys of Walt Disney’s vision for a great Guest experience which are Safety, Courtesy, Show, and Efficiency.  The class was not only amazing, but also extremely inspirational when Walt Disney himself addressed new cast members through archived recorded videos.     

Pictured above from left to right:  Chris (Instructor), Aaron, Me, Jacob, Jesse (roommates and fellow Professional Interns), and Bryan (Instructor).

   

The most exciting portion of Disney Traditions happened when Mickey Mouse himself paid a surprise visit tour our classroom.  It’s not every day that when you are sitting at a desk and in walks Mickey Mouse!  Mickey arrived to class with our official Walt Disney World name tags in his hands.  It was pretty awesome to see your own name representing your university on a Walt Disney World name badge.  The reality had finally sunken in, it was time to work for Disney (and represent Ball State!).

We also received our company “Blue ID” which allows us to enjoy all the benefits of being a Disney employee, such as unlimited free admission to all Disney theme parks.  I’ve already put that to good use!!! It will be very nice to not only enjoy the attractions, but to also understand and identify key elements of detail and design through the large amount of time we have here over the summer.

Disney Traditions eventually wrapped up that afternoon and the very first item of business for me and my roommates was to visit Magic Kingdom Park.  It was a beautiful day and truly inspirational.  The Disney culture is simply amazing.  

The First Few Days

Arriving to Disney was not your typical first day employee orientation. The day started off at the Vista Way Welcome center where check-in to housing began along with completion of some paperwork.  Next up the venture to the Walt Disney World Casting Center began.  The Casting Center (located next to Downtown Disney) is the central hub for all Walt Disney World employment, programs, and recruitment. 

Here is the entrance to the Casting Center:

The entrance doors!  Don't these friends look familiar? 

 After opening these doors you arrive to the "Disney Oval Office" which is filled will gold sculptures of all the famous Disney characters which boarder the wall above you.

(Image from H.J. High Construction)

Leaving the "Disney Oval Office" you venture down this long quiet hallway several hundred feet which leads to the check-in / reception area.

Inside the Casting Center everyone completed paperwork, hire documentation, and learned new employee information.  

After the business at the Casting Center was completed everyone proceeded to our new housing units.  We then experienced our housing welcome session / meeting.  This meeting was anything but a typical boring housing meeting though.  It included flashing lights, music.... let's just say its was a "Disney" meeting! After the meeting we proceeded back to our new units. I live near the Downtown Disney / Resorts area about 10 min from the nearby theme parks EPCOT and Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The apartment / community is really nice and my new roommates (all Professorial Interns with Horticulture) are awesome.  

We have come from all corners of America and have backgrounds in Horticulture, Landscape Architecture, and other related fields.  Over the next couple days we will get settled in, explore the area, and meet other PIs and CPs here for the summer from around America and abroad.  On Saturday all Horticulture Interns will complete "Disney Traditions" which is a class that is the official orientation for all new Disney employees.  In the mean time its time to relax before work begins!  

Destination Orlando, Florida

It all started in snow.  Back in December 2012 I applied to become a Disney Professional Intern (PI) and little did I realize that just three short months later my dream turned into a reality.  This past March I accepted the offer to become a Professional Intern with the department of Horticulture at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL.  So what am I doing?  Horticulture deals with the art, science, and technology of plants.  Throughout the summer I will be learning from and working along-side Disney Horticulturalist that design and manage the vast themed landscape of the Walt Disney World Resort.  Over the summer I will be involved with plant / pest identification, field studies, seminars, gain experience with the operations and maintenance of horticulture, and lastly complete a creative project to be presented.  After hearing what was in store I began to pack my bags and set sail for the 16 hour trip to the vacation capitol of the world.  The excitement and support from friends and family has been overwhelming and I cannot wait to start my adventure working with one of the largest entertainment companies in the world.