Campus Presentation: or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mouse

Today was the first of three big days in my application process: the on-campus presentation. My good friend, who I think I've almost conned into doing the program with me, kept me company while we watched cheesy videos, tried to answer trivia questions, and showed off our best Disney smiles in hopes of getting a star next to our names denoting that we'd be good candidates for the program.

I don't know if the recruiter has any say in the selection process, but I wasn't taking any chances. From the moment I walked in the door I was friendly, smiley, energetic, and everything that Disney looks for in their employees. I was careful not to come across as over-eager or fake, but I also tried to show how interested I was. Even if this doesn't have any impact on the final decision, it's good practice at least for the days ahead if I'm accepted--my cheeks need to be conditioned for 'round the clock smiling! :)

The presentation started at 5, with cookies shaped like Mickey Mouse. Although they were a little stale, the magic ingredient (which happens to be magic!) made them amazing. Ok, not really. I'm not THAT brainwashed. They were just stale cookies with tons of frosting on them. But cute nonetheless.

Our recruiter, Anne, then stood up and began the presentation. She started off with a broad overview of the Disney parks, distinguishing between Disneyland and Walt Disney World, etc., and then moved on to a few trivia questions. She had the cutest Mickey Mouse pens for prizes, and, even though I knew (almost) all of the answers, I wasn't quick enough on the draw, and was only called on for the one question that nobody knew: "How many cast members does WDW employ?". I didn't know, but I had a ballpark idea. So I guessed 50,000. The answer was 60,000. So close!

Next she showed a few videos, featuring a couple of hosts who must have had two or three Red Bulls a piece before recording their parts. Seriously--these two were so happy and peppy, it was actually making me a little exhausted just watching them. But that's kind of what you expect from Disney, I guess.The videos covered the Living, Learning, and Earning portions of the program, which, since I've been doing research for a couple of months now, was nothing new to me. But it was still fun to watch.

Anne then introduced our campus reps, who are students from area schools who have been through the program in the past. They gave us all a sheet with information about applying to the program (which I've already done--look at me being all prepared!) and setting up an interview, and with contact numbers for Anne and the campus reps.My friend and I then went out for dinner at Chipotle (OMG! Yum!) and I called to set up my interview. It's on Friday the 13th (A bad omen? *sinister music*) at 5:20. A minor embarrassing moment when the lady asked what time zone I was in, and I said I was pretty sure central, but asked her to confirm what time it would be in the central time zone, just to be sure. I promise I know what time zone I live in! But I'm just so anxious about the whole thing; I wanted to double check myself.

So, as I told someone yesterday, I expected for this presentation to be slightly boring for me. I mean, I'm obviously excited, but it was basically all review. And, like I anticipated, I didn't learn anything new. But I got even more excited than I was at 4:59 today, if that's possible. Basically, every day the program gets closer, I get more keyed up (and more nervous, but more on that later!). If this trend continues, I think I'll burst before August! And, as you can see by the following incredibly scientific graph, that's a very real possibility.