Dreams really do come true! I've always wanted to work for Disney, and now it's a reality. 
Here's how it all came about--forgive the long post. This all started in the spring of last year, 2010. We've been a Disney family since my hubby and I got married. My daughter practically grew up at Disney. We'd make the trek from Indiana, where we lived, two-three times a year. Still, I always hoped I'd be able to move to Florida when we retire and work for the mouse. That was many years away, still. My hubby worked for a small electronics company for over twenty years and the business was getting slower and slower. We both feared the store would up and close one day. I worked part-time retail--nothing exciting. My daughter, who would be starting her senior year last fall, was making plans for college and really wanted to go to UCF, major in event management with hopes to work for Disney, but there was no way we could afford out of state tuition.
Well, I couldn't sleep one night and just started thinking. Hmmm...I want to work for Disney, daughter wants to go to UCF and work for Disney, hubby wants a new job and loves for us to fish together. Why not, I thought? Let's do it! Hubby worked really hard to get a job at a major electronics retailer in Florida and was able to start a little over a year ago in Jacksonville. I stayed back in Indiana for the last year, sold the house, and let my daughter finish her senior year of high school with her friends. She applied and got accepted to UCF.
After she finished high school, we moved down with hubby. He had been transfered to Gainesville at that point. He really strived for an Orlando store and got it in August, right when DD started college at UCF. Since he had been a Florida resident for over a year, she was able to get in state tuition. Yay!
As soon as we got our apartment in Winter Garden, I applied online for a job at Disney. They emailed me three weeks later for an online interview, which I passed, and they called me in the next day for an in person interview at Casting. I was offered the job right then. I will be in merchandise at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have my Traditions class the second week in October, and then I'll go on to training from there. I'm still pinching myself that it all came together. It was a big sacrifice for hubby and I to be apart for a year, but it was important to us for DD to finish high school with the friends she had grown up with. The entire hiring process made me feel really special. I can't wait to start! Guess where I'll be spending my days off?
Here's how it all came about--forgive the long post. This all started in the spring of last year, 2010. We've been a Disney family since my hubby and I got married. My daughter practically grew up at Disney. We'd make the trek from Indiana, where we lived, two-three times a year. Still, I always hoped I'd be able to move to Florida when we retire and work for the mouse. That was many years away, still. My hubby worked for a small electronics company for over twenty years and the business was getting slower and slower. We both feared the store would up and close one day. I worked part-time retail--nothing exciting. My daughter, who would be starting her senior year last fall, was making plans for college and really wanted to go to UCF, major in event management with hopes to work for Disney, but there was no way we could afford out of state tuition. Well, I couldn't sleep one night and just started thinking. Hmmm...I want to work for Disney, daughter wants to go to UCF and work for Disney, hubby wants a new job and loves for us to fish together. Why not, I thought? Let's do it! Hubby worked really hard to get a job at a major electronics retailer in Florida and was able to start a little over a year ago in Jacksonville. I stayed back in Indiana for the last year, sold the house, and let my daughter finish her senior year of high school with her friends. She applied and got accepted to UCF.
After she finished high school, we moved down with hubby. He had been transfered to Gainesville at that point. He really strived for an Orlando store and got it in August, right when DD started college at UCF. Since he had been a Florida resident for over a year, she was able to get in state tuition. Yay!
As soon as we got our apartment in Winter Garden, I applied online for a job at Disney. They emailed me three weeks later for an online interview, which I passed, and they called me in the next day for an in person interview at Casting. I was offered the job right then. I will be in merchandise at the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge. I have my Traditions class the second week in October, and then I'll go on to training from there. I'm still pinching myself that it all came together. It was a big sacrifice for hubby and I to be apart for a year, but it was important to us for DD to finish high school with the friends she had grown up with.
The entire hiring process made me feel really special. I can't wait to start! Guess where I'll be spending my days off? 
Congratulations
Any chance you'd keep a regular update going here about your experiences? I'm sure many Dis-ers would love to vicariously enjoy the journey.
