Exploring Disney Heritage Day 1

Wednesday, June 18 

My first day of Exploring Disney Heritage was today. It took place in one of the classrooms in my apartment complex, Chatham Square. The class is from 1:30pm to 3:30pm every Wednesday. I was notified prior to class about the attire, which is business casual or you can wear your costume. You also need to make sure to wear your name tag.

The classrooms are just a short walk down the street from my apartment, which is really nice! I left about twenty minutes early to give myself time to sign-in and get a seat. I sat next to two really nice girls, Eve and Emily. Eve works at Kilimangaro Safari and Emily works Food & Beverage at Port Orleans Riverside Resort.

Class started promptly at 1:30pm. That is when I met my instructor, Jeff. Jeff started his Disney career by doing the College Program and working at the Haunted Mansion. From there he worked Guest Relations and then started facilitating Traditions which transitioned into being an instructor for the Disney Internships and Programs. He is very enthusiastic about the company and shared his understanding of the highs and lows we all will experience on our program.

After Jeffs introduction, we had an ice breaker with the people we were sitting with. Emily, Eve, and myself shared our favorite/first Disney memory and why we wanted to take this course. I have so many favorite Disney memories, so it was hard to pick just one!

Jeff then explained the expectations for this course, such as arriving on time and the no cell phone policy. He also shared an overview of what we will be learning for the next eight weeks. This course will cover the early years of the company to the opening of Epcot.

The weekly breakdown looks like this:
June 18 - Introduction to Disney Exploration Series 
June 25 - Walt and Roy: The Original Dream Team 
July 2 - No Class: Labor Exception Period (Independence Day) 
July 9 - The Very Beginnings of the Walt Disney Company (Guest Speaker Michael Lyons) 
July 16 - Early Milestones in Disney Theme Park History 
July 23 - The Man, The Mouse, The Dream - Magic Kingdom 
July 30 - The Florida Project (Guest Speaker Christopher Stewart) 
August 6 - Heritage Competition - Disney's Hollywood Studios 
August 13 - Disney Exploration Series Closing Session 

I am so excited for all of these sessions!

To close the class we got into groups of eight and played a "Who wants to be a Millionaire" trivia style game on Disney history.

Course Registration

Course Registration just opened for the summer semester, which is specifically for Fall Advantage participants. I was able to register for the course that I have been dreaming of taking, EXPLORING DISNEY HERITAGE! 

The course description is as follows: 
"Take a journey back in time to discover the roots of the Walt Disney Company. Learn about Walt Disney the man and his vision by exploring historical milestones."
-Syllabus 

I am so happy that I checked the site before going to bed. Everyone on the Facebook page was saying that course registration would open at midnight pacific time, but it turned out to be midnight eastern time! 

To register you go to the course registration, which is located on the on-boarding site. You will need to enter your last name, e-mail, and telephone number to gain access to the site. Then you will see a list of all the course offerings, both collegiate and seminar. I was then prompted to fill out a survey about my interest in potential alumni speaker series and career development workshops.

After this survey you are able to choose which courses you would like to register for. Exploring Disney Heritage was only available during one time slot, Wednesdays 1:30 - 3:30. I chose register and clicked continue. The next page is either confirming your registration or alerting you that you were put onto the wait list. I am happy to say that I am registered for Exploring Disney Heritage! My classroom is in Chatham Square. The course starts June 28 and ends August 13. 

Immediately after enrolling, I received an e-mail confirming my registration, notifying me about course expectations, and explaining how they will be communicating with me. 

I will have one more opportunity to enroll in classes, which is the Fall semester. Exploring Marketing is the class I plan on registering for during that time. I am so excited to start learning from the company that I hope to have a long term career with.