Just Keep Swimming - A 2015 Disney Professional Internship [7/20 - 5x Update]

[disneypryncess]

Awesome TR so far....can't wait to here more about your insider experience!
Sorry I switched hotels on you & you'll have to suffer staying at night at the Grand! LOL

 

[CopperWife]

Yay! Thanks for joining in! I couldn't help but notice your upcoming trip in your signature - those two lovely little girls of yours will have to pay a visit to Nemo and his friends while you're visiting EPCOT!

We have a couple days planned at Epcot. I'm excited for Food and Wine especially, but Epcot is pretty amazing just in general. We love The Seas pavilion and spend quite a bit of time in there. We will most definitely be keeping an eye out for you!

 

[TXMNie]

Safe travels! Great Trip Report!

 

[LashesandDashes]

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[jordansmama]

Joining in! Sounds like an amazing opportunity- I'll make sure to keep an out for you in August. My DS6 loves the Nemo and Friends area.

 

[cloudy13006]

Sounds like an amazing experience, looking forward to reading all about it!

 

[I_Luv_Stitch]

Wow what an amazing experience you have had! I've thought of doing the DCP, but with my university being at different semester times as I live in the UK, it just doesn't seem like it work out

 

[randinicole]

I'm only here until August since my parents are forcing me to grow up soon lol. I'm an Industrial Engineering intern and would love to meet up!! My blog is lexidoesdisney.com, but I feel bad cause I've been so lax lately lol.

Oh I totally hear you there, my mom is wondering how long this 'phase' is going to last until I get a real job - little does she know.
Your internship sounds really exciting! I graduated with a ton friends who have degrees in engineering and they always seem to be doing such fun and innovative things - I can only imagined how much truer that is at Disney World! Do you have a home park or are you all over?

Hey there! Joining in. Professional Internships at Disney is something I actually just started to look into! They have a biotechnology internship which is actually my exact field of study, or they at least used to. Can't wait to hear about your experience with it!

Hi! Thank you so much for joining in! It's only been a few days but I can already tell you that being a PI at Disney is going to be the most fun thing I do - I highly recommend it! And even if they don't offer that exact internship anymore, I'm sure there are a ton that offer similar expertise and experiences; my internships isn't 100% related to what I went to school for but it's a great fit nonetheless - there is probably a PI position equally as exciting as your original choice that you can excel in!

Almost time for your new adventure to begin! Good luck!!! I bet it will be a blast!

Thank you so much! It has been an absolute dream so far - I can't wait to tell you all about it!

Following along. Sounds like a fun ride!!

Hi Elaine - thanks for popping in!

Awesome TR so far....can't wait to here more about your insider experience!
Sorry I switched hotels on you & you'll have to suffer staying at night at the Grand! LOL

How will I ever spend the night in accommodations as lowly as the Grand? We might have to pop over to Contemp though so I can say hi to my beloved Garden Wing haha.

We have a couple days planned at Epcot. I'm excited for Food and Wine especially, but Epcot is pretty amazing just in general. We love The Seas pavilion and spend quite a bit of time in there. We will most definitely be keeping an eye out for you!

YAY! I'm so glad to hear that your family really enjoys the Seas! I have to say I haven't spent too much time in the pavilion in the past and after these last few training days, I'm impressed (and slightly overwhelmed) by all there is to do!

And yes, now that I'm able to officially drink around the World, I also cannot wait for Food and Wine!

Safe travels! Great Trip Report!

Thank you so much for your well wishes! I am relieved to say that travel went perfectly!

Can't wait to hear more!

Aww, thanks for following along - and welcome to the boards!

Joining in! Sounds like an amazing opportunity- I'll make sure to keep an out for you in August. My DS6 loves the Nemo and Friends area.

Woohoo - I hope I'm able to see you and Jordan in August!

Sounds like an amazing experience, looking forward to reading all about it!

Thank you Claudia - hopefully I'll see you and your kiddies in September! POR is an amazing resort!

Wow what an amazing experience you have had! I've thought of doing the DCP, but with my university being at different semester times as I live in the UK, it just doesn't seem like it work out

Hi Jess - thank you so much! Have you thought about doing the International College Program? (I'm not sure if that's what you meant when you said DCP.) I believe it's a one calendar year commitment which might work out more seamlessly with your university's schedule. If not, I definitely recommend reaching out to the College Program and discussing what other options there might be (summer, seasonal, PI, etc.). It would be absolutely amazing if you were able to get over here!

 

[jandlinz]

Travel safely. Can't wait to hear about your first days.
-Lindsey

 

[randinicole]

Moving In, Training, and the First Few Days

(Not all of the days covered in the next few post are going to be the most exciting to read about, unfortunately. Because I'm still being acclimated to my new role, trained in my different responsibilities, and just generally learning about life at The Seas, there is a lot of information that I can't share. I am, however, so impressed and inspired by how much time and attention my new leaders are spending to ensure that our transition is as magical and rewarding as possible!)
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Thursday, June 11th​

So, Thursday morning looked a little something like this:

​

All at once I was excited, sad, anxious, nervous, ecstatic, and a million other adjectives that describe the emotions you feel when you're about to leave the faces you love most to live at Walt Disney World for eight months.

Of all the faces, however, leaving this particular one is always the hardest thing I have to do.
My puppy, Pepper, is the most perfect thing in my life. She's 12 years old - clearly a puppy - and I know that our time together is getting shorter and shorter as the years go on which makes leaving her all the more difficult. I just love her.
​

But alas, Peppy and I both knew what had to be done and around 11:00, I said my final goodbyes to Pepper and Bear, my sister's dog, before Momma and I headed out for the airport! I passed through security without a problem and as I waited for boarding to begin, I took advantage of Newark's whole thirty minutes of 'complimentary' WiFi.

​

My flight from Newark to Orlando was like a dream - I had the window seat of a three person row and while there was another passenger sitting in the aisle seat, there was no one sitting between us! To make life even more incredible, I was able to connect both my laptop and phone to JetBlue's complimentary FlyFi (like WiFi, get it? ) and sip on Diet Coke and Dunkin Donuts coffee the whole flight (even though I'm more of a Starbucks girl but I wasn't going to complain). In fact, I was feeling the JetBlue love so much that I decided to tweet at them and what do you know, THEY TWEETED ME BACK! I was dying.

I think this makes me a celebrity.

​

My flight landed at MCO around 3:30 on Thursday and after collecting my bags (I checked two suitcases in addition to my rather large carry-on bag and personal item - who says that girls overpack? ), I met up with Diane, one of my previous In-Room Celebrations Coordinators, who had so graciously offered to pick me up from the airport (she also drove me to the airport the previous month) and drive me to my car which was currently parked at the Disney Events Group building - the home of my former role. Lisa, my other In-Room Celebrations Coordinator, was oh so wonderful and allowed me to keep my car parked at her house while I was home in New Jersey. Then, on the morning I was flying in, she drove my car to work so that I could pick it up in a more convenient location! While I was there, I popped inside to say hello to everyone and had this incredible moment of realization of "Oh my goodness, I'm back at Disney World." It was such an exciting feeling to know that while I was about to venture into a very new role, I had already established an amazing group of friends and second family that I could share this new experience with.

After saying all of my hellos, I jumped into my car (I missed her dearly) and headed to my new apartment! I can't really explain how wonderful it felt to drive to a new home that was all mine (and my roommates', of course). I was the one who found the apartment, I was the one who signed the lease, and I was the one who would get to live there for the next eight months - it was such a welcomed change from the rules and limitations of College Program housing!

Once I pulled in, I ran right inside to meet my roommate Jessica! We had only chatted on Facebook and through text up until this moment and I could not wait to finally see her in person! We hit it off right away - which isn't even surprising because now, five days later, we're like the best of friends. Our other roommate Ashlie was already at work for the night (she's a Cast Member at Mouse Gears in EPCOT while Jessica will be beginning a Professional Internship as a Guest Relations Intern at Disney's Hollywood Studios) but I already knew that Ashlie and I would get along swimmingly (haha, fish jokes ) because we were friends from college!

By the time I arrived at my apartment it was already 6:00 - the day was flying by - and I still needed to unpack my car and drive to Diane's house to pick up some furniture that she was letting me borrow for the duration of my internship. My friend Josh (also a Floral Cast Member) came by around 8:00 with his truck to help me transport everything. I honestly would not have been able to settle into my new Florida life if it weren't for all of the amazing people that I had met as a College Program participant!

It's been a few days since I've moved in and while my room is almost finished, there a still a few final touches to piece together. Once everything is all ready, I'll be sure to post pictures of the apartment!

After Josh helped me carry everything upstairs, I quickly threw my bed together and called it a night - I was officially back home!

[continued in next post]​

 

[randinicole]

Friday, June 12th​

I woke up rather early on Friday morning because I had a 9:30 a.m. meeting at the Casting Center, followed by a trip to Security, and then a meeting with Michelle, one of my future leaders.

My favorite door handles; well-loved of course.
"...directly you will be directed in the right direction."

​

I finished up at Casting around 10:30, headed over to Security for a quick visit, and then meet up with Michelle to review what my first week of training would look like. The day before, all of the Animals, Science and Environment (ASE) Professional Interns were invited to a 'gathering' to get to know one another and meet our leaders. I unfortunately was unable to attend as I was still on my flight at the time so Michelle and I arranged to meet with each other today. Our meeting was short but really informative and once we said our goodbyes, the day was mine!

...except it was full of errands and unpacking and other fun things that adults have to do when they move into a new, unfurnished apartment. Jessica and I spent the afternoon running around to some thrift stores, Target, TJ Maxx, and other stores as we searched for furniture and decorations.

I dropped Jessica off back at the apartment before I tackled the biggest challenge of the day: WALMART. The list of odds and ends that I needed to purchase was actually endless. Sheets, spray paint, nails, a shower curtain liner - I literally walked down every single aisle and then walked down them all again, just to be sure. I have to say though, after two hours, I successfully procured every single item! It was a successful mission. I spent the rest of the night organizing my new treasure and slowly but surely my room started to look a little less like the back of moving van and little more like a real, big girl bedroom.

[continued in next post]​

 

[randinicole]

Saturday, June 13th​

Today was another day full of errands and quick meetings. I woke up and was out of the apartment around 10:30 and headed down the road to a few more furniture and accessory stores. I was still on the hunt for a bed frame to support my mattress and boxspring (as much as I was loving sleeping with my mattress on the ground...), a few storage boxes, and couches for the living room. I found everything I was looking for - including the couches! I sent a few pictures to my roommates, they agreed to meet me at the store, and, within moments, we were all checked out! We're actually picking up the couches tomorrow (Wednesday) which is great because as I write this, Jessica and I are currently sitting on the floor in our living room, wrapped up in our bedroom blankets and pillows, binge watching Netflix . These couches cannot come soon enough!

The only problem, however, with finding the couches was that I hadn't exactly planned on finding them... Because I needed to wait for my roommates to meet me at the store, I ran a little later than anticipated and only had a few minutes to get home and change before needing to run over to [drum roll please...]

​

YAY! I was finally going to visit my new home park.


​

At 2:30, the 16 Seas interns met at the Cast Member entrance to EPCOT. It was so exciting to finally meet everyone after having bits and pieces of conversations with each other on Facebook for the last few months! Before we began the afternoon's activities, I was able to meet the other two Conservation Education Instructor Interns, Samantha and Jess. The three us all graduated in December, Samantha with a degree in biology and Jess with a degree in secondary education (the two of us go into crazy teacher mode when we're together ).

The first thing our group did was head into costuming and get our oh so lovely Seas costumes!

​

In addition to my lovely light blue polo, I also wear a pair of navy blue, water resistant shorts, white socks, and blindingly white shoes - something tells me they won't be so white for long though. After we got our costumes and put them away in our cars, we followed our instructor Barry across the park to The Seas!

My new home is so bright and beautiful and colorful! I love it!
​

We walked backstage and met Heather, another leader at The Seas. She took us on a tour of our new location and briefly explained each of the different internship positions that call The Seas home. Marine Mammal interns, Aquatic Research interns, and Aquarium/Marine Biology interns are just a few of the other Professional Internship roles that also operate at The Seas. During our tour, I got to see the Education Office (it was decorated and colorful - I was in teacher heaven ) and briefly meet a few of the Education Team leaders! I'll have even more interaction with them over the next few days which I am incredibly excited about because that means I'm even closer to my first day onstage!

Our time at EPCOT was short today - we were only there until 5:00 - but even the brief time we got to spend there was incredible!

After I got home, Ashlie, Jessica, and I decided it was time for our first official roommate dinner! We thought long and hard about where we wanted go - this was a monumental occasion and we couldn't pick any old run-of-the-mill restaurant! We wanted somewhere unique, somewhere uncommon, somewhere we had never been before!

We wanted...

OUTBACK. ​

That's right ladies and gentlemen, we wanted Outback. We wanted bread, we wanted bloomin' onions. We wanted mac and cheese. Well, I wanted mac and cheese.

I mean look at it! Who doesn't crave that amazingly cheesy goodness? I know I am!
​

Okay, okay so maybe Outback isn't the most exotic or exciting restaurant but my goodness it was good. Besides, I have eight more months to eat delicious Disney food.

After our roommate dinner, we headed home and once again, I continued to work on my bedroom. I assembled my new bed frame, a bookshelf, and organized (well at least attempted to organize) my closet. It was an early night for Jessica and I - we both had 7:30 a.m. classes at Disney University in the morning!

[continued in next post]​

 

[jandlinz]

Sounds like you've had an exciting first couple of days. I hope your training is fun and you get to spend some off time at the parks.
-Lindsey

 

[randinicole]

Sunday, June 14th

[I would like to apologize in advance for the lack of pictures in these next few posts. Unfortunately my training days include a lot of well, training, and I can't exactly take photos of my classes or training material. I have started going to the parks though goodvibes) which means that once I get through updating these first few training days, I'll be able to start writing about the fun sharable stuff! Hopefully the details that I am able to share, however, are interesting in the meantime!]​

I woke up at 6:05 a.m. to the wonderful sound of my alarm clock and the kind reminder that yes, I’ll once again be waking up before the sun for the next few months. I then also remembered that I’m once again working for Disney and suddenly the lack of sun didn’t seem all that sad.

Today I had two classes at Disney University, which meant that my attire was business casual. (Random side note, I adore getting dressed up and because I recently spent many months student teaching, I have an abundance of business casual clothing – so getting dressed this morning was heaven.)

I packed a quick lunch, spent a few minutes chatting with Jessica in the kitchen over a cup of coffee and we headed out to Disney University.

It's a little tricky to see in the pictures but Pluto and Goofy are actually hanging out of the ceiling! ​

My first class of the day was ‘Welcome to Operations’ and was for new or transferring Cast Members that are considered operational roles (such as Attractions, Custodial, Transportation, and many others). There were six ‘Welcome to Operations’ classes happening that morning and although I was scheduled to be in the same class as my roommate and few of the other Animals, Science and Environment interns, my name was not on the roster. After a bit of detective work, the class facilitators realized that my name wasn’t on any class’s roster and they ultimately decided to send me back home...

Just kidding. Although my name wasn’t listed anywhere, they did send me to a different ‘Welcome to Operations’ classroom. While I was relieved to at least be participating in the class, I was a bit less than thrilled with the whole experience of not being accounted for even though I had been explicitly informed by own management of which classroom I should be in. Oh well – at least I was there and experiencing the unique magic that comes along with any and all Disney University class.

‘Welcome to Operations’ wrapped up around 11:30 a.m. (it began at 7:30 a.m. for those keeping time) and I had some time for lunch before my next class began at 12:00 p.m. I met up with Jessica and a few other Seas Interns during our half hour off. It was really nice to eat lunch with everyone because it gave me the opportunity to get to better know some of the other Professional Interns that I would be interacting with in my building.

After our break, Jessica and I parted ways as the Animals, Science and Environment Interns all met for our second class – ‘Welcome to ASE (Animals, Science and Environment)’. While we watched different videos and learned some information that more exact and specific (and thusly confidential) in nature, this short video actually provides some wonderful insight into the Animals, Science, and Environment Program at Walt Disney World Resort:

​

Quite a lot of internships fall under the ASE umbrella and take place either throughout Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion at EPCOT, and The Land Pavilion at EPCOT:

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
  • Animal Behavior
  • Animal Nutrition
  • Behavior and Technology
  • Behavioral Husbandry
  • Conservation Education Instructor
  • Education Presenter
  • Education Project Specialist
  • Reproductive Biology
  • Veterinary Hospital
  • Veterinary Medical Records
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge:
  • Conservation Education Operations
• The Land Pavilion:
  • Aquaculture
  • Biotechnology
  • Entomology
  • Horticulture
  • Plant Science
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion:
  • Aquarium and Marine Biology
  • Aquatic Research
  • Chemistry
  • Conservation Education Instructor - that's me!
  • Marine Mammal

Interns within these roles often times work across parks or in more than one location. Additionally, other areas both around property and outside of Walt Disney World Resort that the Animals, Science, and Environment team works at include:

• Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Fort Wilderness
• Koi pond in the Japan Pavilion at EPCOT
• Shark Reef at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park
• Sea turtle conservation efforts at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort
• Castaway Ray’s Stingray Adventure at Castaway Cay in the Bahamas
• Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, in Ko Olina, Hawaii

​

The Chemistry Interns, for example, will not only work at The Seas with Nemo and Friends checking the pH of the water but will also spend time at the koi pond in the Japan Pavilion, the Shark Reef at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park, and the different animal environments that include watering holes and ponds at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

At our ‘Welcome to ASE’ class, our instructors gave us an overview (as well as some in-depth details) of the Animals, Science, and Environment Program and shared the history of ASE at Walt Disney World Resort. It wasn’t anything that I had ever considered before but I was fascinated to learn that Disney’s Animal Programs (a category within the Animals, Science, and Environment Program) at Walt Disney World Resort first began at Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Fort Wilderness. The Ranch was established even before the opening day of Magic Kingdom so that guests would be able to ride horse-drawn trolleys and streetcars. Since 1971, Tri-Circle-D Ranch has expanded to include more than 90 residents – including breeds such as Arabian, Appaloosa, Paint, Clydesdale, Percheron, Belgian, quarter horse and Shetland pony. These horses can be seen not only pulling different vehicles down Main Street, U.S.A. but also participating in park parades, appearing at special events and weddings on property, and offering daily pony rides, trail rides, hayrides and carriage rides at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside. (I really enjoy history – and horses – if you couldn’t tell.)

‘Welcome to ASE’ wrapped up around 2:00 p.m. and the rest of the day was ours. I spent the afternoon food shopping (I kid you not, it took me two and a half hours because I’m slower than a tortoise when it comes to supermarkets) and organizing my closet. It was another early night because I had to be at EPCOT at 8:00 a.m. the next morning (which meant waking up at 6:30 a.m.) for my first day of Seas training!

Jessica and I also planned to make tomorrow our first park day! Up until this point, I still was unable to pick up my Cast Member ID – which meant no park fun for me – but fortunately I would be able to on Monday! We both finished training around the same time and knew that we couldn’t hold out any longer on experiencing some Disney magic for ourselves!

Tomorrow, we were headed to...

[continued in next post]​

 

[crepemyrtle]

Congratulations on the internship. And pictures or no pictures - this is a really great trip report.

 

[randinicole]

Sounds like you've had an exciting first couple of days. I hope your training is fun and you get to spend some off time at the parks.
-Lindsey

Thank you Lindsey! It really has been such a blast so far - a ton of information but I enjoy learning new things so it's great! Luckily I've been able to get to three of the four parks so far (granted working at EPCOT makes that one pretty easy ) so that's also been a really wonderful break on my off days.

Congratulations on the internship. And pictures or no pictures - this is a really great trip report.

Aww, thank you so much! I'm happy to hear that even with the lack of photos people are still following along! Hopefully only a few more days of just training information and then I can get into the real fun!

 

[MrsSkellington]

This is so exciting! Makes me wish I was there now!

 

[sparkle.castle]

Sounds like your time with Disney Floral and Gifts was a blast! Too bad you weren't able to participate in setting up any events. Disney weddings are amazing!

Your report is so organized - I love reading it. Your first few days seem to be going well! Nothing wrong with a little Outback for dinner! Very exciting to be making your way through training and getting into the swing of things. Even more exciting to get some park time! Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[CopperWife]

• ​

  Quite a lot of internships fall under the ASE umbrella and take place either throughout Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion at EPCOT, and The Land Pavilion at EPCOT:
  

  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom:
    • Animal Behavior
    • Animal Nutrition
    • Behavior and Technology
    • Behavioral Husbandry
    • Conservation Education Instructor
    • Education Presenter
    • Education Project Specialist
    • Reproductive Biology
    • Veterinary Hospital
    • Veterinary Medical Records
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge:
    • Conservation Education Operations
  • The Land Pavilion:
    • Aquaculture
    • Biotechnology
    • Entomology
    • Horticulture
    • Plant Science
  • The Seas with Nemo and Friends Pavilion:
    • Aquarium and Marine Biology
    • Aquatic Research
    • Chemistry
    • Conservation Education Instructor - that's me!
    • Marine Mammal

  
  Interns within these roles often times work across parks or in more than one location. Additionally, other areas both around property and outside of Walt
  At our ‘Welcome to ASE’ class, our instructors gave us an overview (as well as some in-depth details) of the Animals, Science, and Environment Program and shared the history of ASE at Walt Disney World Resort. It wasn’t anything that I had ever considered before but I was fascinated to learn that Disney’s Animal Programs (a category within the Animals, Science, and Environment Program) at Walt Disney World Resort first began at Tri-Circle-D Ranch at Fort Wilderness. The Ranch was established even before the opening day of Magic Kingdom so that guests would be able to ride horse-drawn trolleys and streetcars. Since 1971, Tri-Circle-D Ranch has expanded to include more than 90 residents – including breeds such as Arabian, Appaloosa, Paint, Clydesdale, Percheron, Belgian, quarter horse and Shetland pony. These horses can be seen not only pulling different vehicles down Main Street, U.S.A. but also participating in park parades, appearing at special events and weddings on property, and offering daily pony rides, trail rides, hayrides and carriage rides at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside. (I really enjoy history – and horses – if you couldn’t tell.)

Okay, first of all, I just need to say that my college guidance counselor really dropped the ball when I was in school. I got my degree in animal science and this would have been right up my alley! (Tbh, it's still right up my alley, but I'm doing the "grown-up" thing now, so it's kinda hard to drop everything and head down there for 6-8 months).

And secondly, I am a horsey person, too! I am curious as to where the Arabians show up on property? What is their role? I can picture seeing just about every one of the other breeds you listed, but the Arabs are not ringing a bell...

Sounds like everything is coming together with your apartment - those first few days after moving into a new place are so stressful. We just moved into our new house last summer and it was crazy. I remember trying to hang a picture and not having the right nail (and having to make a Home Depot run) or trying to get the kiddos some lunch, but we hadn't unpacked the kitchen table and chairs, so we just used a cooler as a table instead. Ugh. But once it's done, it's done and you can just enjoy your new place

Oh....and I don't think I replied earlier - but yes, Epcot Food and Wine festival is just a bit more enjoyable when you're of age

 

[randinicole]

This is so exciting! Makes me wish I was there now!

Aww, thank you so much! And only four more months until you are here - so exciting!

Sounds like your time with Disney Floral and Gifts was a blast! Too bad you weren't able to participate in setting up any events. Disney weddings are amazing!

Your report is so organized - I love reading it. Your first few days seem to be going well! Nothing wrong with a little Outback for dinner! Very exciting to be making your way through training and getting into the swing of things. Even more exciting to get some park time! Looking forward to hearing more.

Oh my goodness, were you a Disney bride?!? I didn't get to see any events sadly but I did get to see the bouquets and centerpieces and they were astounding! There were some days I walked in there and my jaw just dropped.

And thank you so much for commenting on the organization - I am very much a perfectionist and really appreciate when things are nicely laid out so I of course needed to make this report reflect that.

There's about to be quite a large park update so I hope you're ready!

Okay, first of all, I just need to say that my college guidance counselor really dropped the ball when I was in school. I got my degree in animal science and this would have been right up my alley! (Tbh, it's still right up my alley, but I'm doing the "grown-up" thing now, so it's kinda hard to drop everything and head down there for 6-8 months).

And secondly, I am a horsey person, too! I am curious as to where the Arabians show up on property? What is their role? I can picture seeing just about every one of the other breeds you listed, but the Arabs are not ringing a bell...

Sounds like everything is coming together with your apartment - those first few days after moving into a new place are so stressful. We just moved into our new house last summer and it was crazy. I remember trying to hang a picture and not having the right nail (and having to make a Home Depot run) or trying to get the kiddos some lunch, but we hadn't unpacked the kitchen table and chairs, so we just used a cooler as a table instead. Ugh. But once it's done, it's done and you can just enjoy your new place

Oh....and I don't think I replied earlier - but yes, Epcot Food and Wine festival is just a bit more enjoyable when you're of age

Oh no! It sounds like you'll have to go back to your guidance counselor and let them know - you could potentially change the fate of those following after you! And if the 'grown up' thing ever gets old, let me know - I'm sure I could introduce to some people haha.

I would imagine the Arabians are mostly used as the steed of the Headless Horseman at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I could be very wrong but a black Arabian seems like it could be a perfect fit in that role. I'll have to pay a visit to the Ranch and find out!

And yes, thank goodness - the apartment is coming along wonderfully! I took a trip to IKEA this past weekend and I think I'm finally done with my bedroom. The living room/dining room/kitchen is a whole other story but oh well, baby steps!