Internship Concept book WDW

The immersive worlds of Walt Disney World

Shari de Cortie

2363860

CO3A

Begeleider: Gaby Crucq-Toffolo

ICP 2015

Introduction During my internship at Walt Disney World I worked at Sunshine Seasons and Agent P, both located at EPCOT. I got the pleasure of working with a lot of great cast members and making new friends from all over the world. In these six months I made new friends, I have had great and not so great experiences with guests and learned about guest service, safety and the company itself. I experienced the magic of Disney while playing in the parks and even made magic for guests by creating magical moments on and off the clock. Guests can sense that you are a cast member even when you are not working and enjoying the parks yourself. Being surrounded by Disney all the time made me love Disney even more, not just Walt Disney World but also the movies, cruise line and a lot more.

The skills I enhanced are useful in my every day life and in my professional career Assignment The Walt Disney Company is one of the best in what they do, entertaining people in an immersive world. But which aspects make their worlds so immersive and holistic? Before that question can be answered another question has to be answered. ‘What is an immersive world?’

“An immersive world is a place in which any one can get wrapped up” as Scott A. Lukas (2013) describes in his book ‘The immersive worlds handbook’.

By analysing two worlds in this concept book an answer will be formed. The two worlds that will be analysed are World Showcase in EPCOT and Africa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Both worlds were chosen, because they feel like home to me. Even before I went to either world I knew these were going to be my favourites. Just reading about them on the Internet made me feel like I belonged there and when I finally visited for the first time it felt like coming home to me.

Africa was my dream location to work, but I am very fortunate that I worked at World Showcase with the most amazing cast members from all around the world.

The worlds both represent a part of the world as we know it. The rest of the worlds at Walt Disney World except Asia represents an era (Liberty Square, Frontierland, Tommorowland), a theme (Main Street USA, Fantasyland, Hollywood Boulevard, Future World, Dinoland, Discovery Island, Sunset Boulevard and Adventureland) or a movie (Pixar Place, Muppets Courtyard and Animations Courtyard) Although the two worlds seem to be completely different, different parks, different parts of the world and different kinds of entertainment. Which aspects make their worlds immersive and holistic?

And are they different or similar for both worlds and maybe the other worlds that Disney’s imagineers created?

Walt Disney World Walt Disney World where dreams come true!

This magical place where everyone can be a princess, pirate, or anything else and just be themselves. Walt Disney World is a theme park where kids and adults can enjoy the attractions, parades, fireworks and everything else. Walt Disney World is praised for their guest service, cast members are there to make guests happy and make them experience the magic. As long as everything is safe and sound cast members are encouraged to go above and beyond to create magical moments, which can be greeting a little girl as a princess or sing happy birthday to somenone with a birthday button. This is one of the many reasons why Walt Disney World is the happiest place on earth.

History The Walt Disney World Resort is the second entertainment complex of The Walt Disney Company. This company was founded by Walt E. Disney, who was a t alented animator, innovator, entrepeneur and pioneer. The movies Disney made became succesfull and during the 1950s he opened the first theme park Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. In the 1960s he started with a new project referred to as The Florida Project and Disney World.

But before the construction started Walt died and his brother Roy took charge of the project. Roy dedicated the theme park to his brother Walt Disney during the opening. Roy died three months later. Walt Disney World has 4 theme parks with an attendance of over 52 million annually, which makes it the most visited vacation resort in the world. The Walt Disney World Resort opened on October 1st, 1971 at Bay Lake, which is near Orlando, FL.

On this day only Magic Kingdom, two golf courses, three resorts and a campground were opened. The following years several attractions were added to the park. On the 11th anniversary its second park, EPCOT, is opened. Over the years several attractions, pavilions and resorts were added. The third park opened in 1989, this park was called Disney MGM Studios but later the name was changed to Hollywood Studios. In 1998 Disney’s Animal Kingdom was opened. Over the years a lot of attractions were replaced or added. Now the Walt Disney World resort houses 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, 27 themed resorts and 9 non-Disney resorts, a campground, a sport complex, a shopping district, 4 golf courses and 2 miniature golf courses and they are still expanding. Only one third of the property is developed right now.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

-Walt Disney

Magic Kingdom

Hollywood Studios

EPCOT

Animal Kingdom

Africa A Kenyan island town that benefits from tourism because of the conserved nature was the inspiration for Africa at Animal Kingdom. Harambe village is a twon located near the water. Guests have to cross the river to enter Africa when walking in from the Tree of Life. When guests look to the theatre on the left they can see that the village is called Harambe, as it shows on the wall. After the bridge you enter the centre of the village where you can see a local band perform from time to time. The village is living of the tourists who visit them for their culture and conserved nature. Every building is old looking and you can see its rich history.

The local people try to entertain and educate the tourists as much as possible. Tourists can make music, go on a safari, a trek through nature, visit the theatre or market.

Big Idea Africa in Disney’s Animal Kingdom is all about animals and the village of Harambe. In this world you can learn about the culture of the people living in this village according to C. S’Ku (2015), a cast member working at Kusafiri Coffee shop and Bakery.

The village consists of different types of buildings, that once had different purposes during the British colonisl time.

Nowadays the buildings readapted for the tourists with a bar, hotel, restaurant. For the local people there is a marketplace, bakery, fruitmarket, sweets store and for entertainment there is a theatre at the edge of the village.

The stage in the middle of the main street truly represents Harambe village. The people love to share their knowledge and culture with the tourists that are visiting.

Another place where to have fun is the

tradingpost/instrument cart where various instruments can be played.

The bond between the inhabitants and the animals they are protecting against poachers is strong. Everyone is very kind towards the tourists. The village of Harambe is a place where everything comes together. Harambe means ‘come together’ in Swahili. Even though the main language is English a lot of African names and words can be seen throughout the village.

There are several options for transportation. The first one is to walk from one place to another; another way is to go by bike. If you look around you see various bikes in the village. To go from Africa to Rafiki’s planet you travel by train. And the last option is by car. you travel by car to see the most of the safari from a safe environment.

Story Africa is referred to as Level 2 of the basis of a world by S. Lukas (2013, pag. 47).

Which means that the world is a blend of real and fictive world and attemps to create in detail. Africa is a very detailed world, most guests do not even notice all the details that make the story holistic.

Africa is inspired by a real town in Kenya, but was also inspired by fictive stories like the Lion King and other Disney movies.

The story about the world of Africa is a traditional tale about history (Lukas, 2013).

This world tells a story about the village of Harambe. This port town likes to keep their natural resources nearby and conserve them. This village developed and became a destination for tourists to enjoy the nature and their culture. This includes their music, traditions, food and drinks. Getting to know more about the animals is possible during a safari. Or about gorillas when taking a stroll down the pangani forest exploration trail.

When looking around at the market a lot of commercial banners and notes about conservations can be seen..

The band that plays at the marketplace are Burudika, which is Swahili for ‘to be refreshed’, Burudiki makes sure that there is a fun street party going on with Afro-pop music.

To keep the African vibe alive all cast members have a vibrant costume, like you can see on the pictures on the right.

A lot of the cast members that work in Africa are cultural representatives from Africa, the name tag states which languages they speak and where they are from. Because they are African they have an African accent and are eager to educate guests about their country, culture and language which fits the story of the village of Harambe and their inhabitants.

The buildings are very old, just like the town itself. It has a rich history and tourists can still spot canons and a fort from during the British colonial time.

Design, theme and experience According to S. Lukas (2013, ch 3) there are four overall types of theming, Africa is place & culture theming. Associations, mood and atmosphere play a very important during designing a world. Guests needs to feel ike it becomes part of their world, this is the transcendence level at the Hierarchy of needs adapted for Themed and Consumer Space Design (Lukas, 2013). When a world is transcendence it is a immersive world, because guests believe and accept every detail from that world without doubt.

When this happens memories are made.

The village of Harambe is very colorful and vibrant, guests associate this with African fashion. The buildings on the other hand are dull and old lookig, which fits the story. Becuase nature is a very important part for the people of Harambe there is a lot of green surrounding, natural shapes and textures. Guests really feel like they are tourists visiting an African port town that is surrounded by a lot of nature. The village itself is very open spaced which is in contrast with the Pangani Exploration Trail. This trail is in the mids of the forrest.

Everything is regular sized but the wildlands of the safari are very large and have enough space for all the animals, a safari takes 15-20 minutes.

In the village there is always African music playing, rather it’s live music, music from the bar or guests playing the instruments at the instrument shop which is great for the energy. The lines that are used at the village are those to create a sense of depth when you enter the village from the bridge.

ALmost everything at Africa is functional or themed and not just for the form.

Everything forms an unity. Nothing really stands on its own, which makes this whole world very consistend, balanced and i harmony. Because it is so immersive, guests do not notice all the details the first few times that they walk past it, it fits the story and that world. They do not get bothered by the contrast of the vibrant colors of the costumes and nature next to the dull buildings.

World Showcase World Showcase is a world where everyone gathers to share a story that is still being written by all our individual stories.

“The idea of World Showcase is to celebrate the world and it’s diversity” (Geuss, 2015) . World Showcase is a place where guests can explore the world within a day. Instead of just going to a theme park for a day, the guests enter a new world that can be explored. Getting submerged into new cultures, traditions, food and drinks. World Showcase showcases 11 countries which are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, American Adventure, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada all around World Showcase Lagoon.

Big Idea Every pavilion represents a country, cast members from that country work there to make ik feel like guests are really in that country by hearing cast members speak their native language. To really mimic that country each pavilion has its own natural habitat. For example Canada has a lot of pine trees, France has a lot of f lowerbeds and fountains, Japan has a rock garden and China has a pond. The same goes for the architecture. Every pavilion has a prominent building that is associated with that country or culture.

Imagineers really wanted to feature different era’s and styles into each pavilion. Every building in Germany represents a different era and region. In each pavilion tradition food and drinks can be bought, Mexico has tacos, nachos and tequila. In Norway they have

schoolbread, Morocco has kebabs and Canada has poutine. Twice a year there are festivals where there are 39 stalls with food from even more countries, daily entertainment and concerts at America Gardens Theatre.

Beliefs and worldviews are different all over the world, the same goes for World Showcase. Each countries has its own traditions and holidays which are all celebrated.

The core values of World Showcase are to reunite and be true to yourself, your culture and your traditions.

A World Showcase tradition is to gather around World Showcase Lagoon every night to wathc IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. The narration at the beginning can be found on the right pagina.

Story World Showcase is referred to as Level 1 of the basis of a world by S. Lukas (2013, pag. 47) which means that the world is based on the real world and attempts to create in detail. “World Showcase is a representation of the world. Bringing together countries, cultures and people in a fun way.” is how Kevin Cleffi (2015), manager World Showcase Attractions, describes World Showcase. Every country has it own stories to tell, a story about history, an urban legend or a traditional tale (Lukas, 2013). Guests are getting submerged into 11 different countries and 11 and more different stories. Every night everyone from all around World Showcase Lagoon gathers to watch IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Which is a fireworks show with lasers and music. A big globe will be centred on the lagoon and in the end it opens and sparks a fire to let us know we are all connected to each other.

Every pavilion tells the story about that country and its history, these pavilions are representations of that country.

From Disney stories that take place in that country character will do meet and greets. Mary Poppins and Alice can be found at the United Kingdom while Belle and Aurora can be met at France.

In Morocco Princess Jasmine and Aladdin are hanging out World Showcase tells different stories through each pavilion but in the end we are all connected.

Narration Good evening. On behalf of Walt Disney World, the place where dreams come true, we welcome all of you to Epcot and World Showcase. We’ve gathered here tonight around the fire as people of all lands have gathered for thousands and thousands of years before us.. to share the light.. and to share a story. An amazing story as old as time itself, but still being written. And though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges when we bring them all together as one. We hope you enjoy our story tonight:

Reflections of Earth

Design, theme and experience According to S. Lukas (2013, ch 3) there are four overall types of theming, World Showcase is place & culture theming. Associations, mood and atmosphere play a very important during designing a world. Guests needs to feel ike it becomes part of their world, this is the transcendence level at the Hierarchy of needs adapted for Themed and Consumer Space Design (Lukas, 2013). When a world is transcendence it is a immersive world, because guests believe and accept every detail from that world without doubt. When this happens memories are made.

Every country uses different colors for their building, costumes and props, these colors are typically popular or have particular associations in that country. The merchandise costumes in China consistes of a black pants with yellow top, this top is yellow because that is the most prestigious color in the chinese culture.

The proportions are different for every building. The American Adventure building is a 5 story building but because of forced perspective it looks like it’s only 2,5 stories. At the Canadian pavilion the opposite worked to make a building appear taller than it is.

The Eiffel Tower at the French pavilion is a lot smaller than it looks from a far.

The imagineers really thought about the lines all across World Showcase. When you enter World Showcase from Future World AMerican Adventure is the first pavilion.

When guests look from left to right they see Mexico, American Adventure and Canada, just like on a worldmap. They did the same thing between France and United Kingdom with a canal between those two pavilion which symbolizes the English Canal. Between France and Morocco there is a patch of dark pavement between the two pavilion which represents the Straits of Gibraltar. Once you enter the pavilion you can not see the neighbor pavilions.

Form versus function in World Showcase is about fifty-fifty, A lot of props are only props to create that holistic world. Like all the buildings have both, there are there for the form and are functional. Within every country there is unity, even though most buildings reassemble a different era or region. The overall design is consistent, this creates harmony within the pavilions. The balance for World Showcase comes from all the pavilions together, some pavilions are bigger, have more attractions, shops or restaurants this balances out the smaller pavilions. But there is contrast between the pavilions, which makes them unique. Only on the walkway that goes from pavilion to pavilon is soms repetition in design, the rest of the pavilions have variety. Because of all the above stated World Showcase has a whole other energy than every other world at Walt Disney World, but even every pavilion has it’s own energy and atmosphere.

Conclusion The main question to answer is ‘which aspects make Disney’s worlds so immersive and holistic?’ After analysing the two worlds, I came to the conclusion that there are several aspects why Disney imagineers are so good at making their worlds holistic and immersive. First of all the imagineers create a whole world around a idea, a background story that is the base for everything else. Imagineers travel to the places that inspire their world, so that their world is almost as authentic as the “real” world. Like they travelled to Africa and the Moroccan government sponsered that pavilion and sent their own architects to design it.

The eye for details, props, the lines, color and so much more design elements is what make the worlds so holistic. Nothing is random, everything is there for a reason and has that name for a reason. The Harambe village is called that way because it means ‘come together’ which is the vision of the people of the Harambe village.

World Showcase and Africa are two different worlds, but are very similar because of the way the imagineers built the world, starting with the big idea, creating a story and a lot of side stories. Designing everything with that story and big idea in the background.

Everything is complete and guests don’t have to second guess if it belongs in that world, that way it is easier for the guests to get immersed, the worlds are transcendence on the hierarchy of needs. This means the worlds are becoming part of a bigger world.

For guests not to worry about anything and totally believe in that world makes Disney so beloved, people can forget about their daily life and problems and enjoy these themed worlds to the fullest.

I only hope we never lose sight of one thing that it was all started by a mouse

-Walt Disney

List of resources Cleffi, K. (2015). World Showcase Adventure. (S. de Cortie, Interviewer) Geuss, G. (2015). World Showcase. (S. de Cortie, Interviewer) Lukas, S. A. (2013). The immersive worlds handbook. In S. A. Lukas, The immersive worlds handbook. p.8 Burlington, MA, USA: Focal Press.

Lukas, S. A. (2013). The immersive worlds handbook. In S. A. Lukas, The immersive worlds handbook. p.47 Burlington, MA, USA: Focal Press.

Lukas, S. A. (2013). The immersive worlds handbook. In S. A. Lukas, The immersive worlds handbook. p.50 Burlington, MA, USA: Focal Press.

Lukas, S. A. (2013). The immersive worlds handbook. In S. A. Lukas, The immersive worlds handbook. ch. 3 Burlington, MA, USA: Focal Press.

Pacheco, T. (2015). Adventures of World Showcase. (S. de Cortie, Interviewer) S’Ku, C. (2015). The wonderful world of Africa. (S. de Cortie, Interviewer) Tan, L. (2015). Animal Kingdom. (S. de Cortie, Interviewer)

Reflection report

Internship year 3 | 2259X4STAO | Shari de Cortie | 2363860 | 06-06-2016

Index Final Fontys ACI reflection paper

3

Final CMU reflection paper

5

Overview CMU assignments

8

Final Performance Evaluation

9

Certificates of Completion:

•Disney ICP

•CMU ICP

•CMU Seminar

•Disney Heritage Class

•Perfect Attendance Award

•Disney Hospitality and Guest Services

•Disney Leadership 101

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Final Fontys ACI reflection paper At the beginning of this internship/International College Program I had to make a list of learning goals. Which kind of goals did I want to develop during this internship?

These were my learning goals at the beginning of the internship.

During the College Program I want to develop/learn: 1. Develop at least 3 out of the 5 competences level 2 my school, Fontys Academy for Creative Industries, has set as a corresponding skill level.

These competences are:

1. Analysing and researching

2. Developing and advising

3.planning and organising

4. Creating and realisation

5. Representing 2. Learn how to become independent and how to live with other people of different cultures.

3. Learn how to apply the learned hospitality skills in day-to-day situations.

4. Learn communication/marketing skills that can be applied during my future career.

5. Develop time management skills.

Looking back at these learning goals I feel like I accomplished most of them.

If I accomplished my first learning goal I will explain later on. The second learning goal I did accomplish. As soon as I arrived at my new home for six months I met my five other roommates, neither of them from the Netherlands. I definitely learned how to live with people from other cultures and how to respect them and their culture. Of course there were some issues during these six months. Being away from my family and friends during these six months made me independent, doing things my parents normally do for me. Making new friends that became family during this period.

The next learning goal I successfully accomplished too. Even before you get to work at your work location every cast member gets to go through traditions, a class about Disney’s way of hospitality and communicating with guests and other cast members. These skills helped me to accurately respond during every situation while working or playing in the parks. Going to the parks I noticed I picked up a lot of skills, wanting to acknowledge every guest that is wearing a button, saying ‘hello princess’ to every little girl or even helping out guests that look confused and lost in the parks, but even in the supermarket.

Not only did I learn hospitality skills I also learned communication and marketing skills during the classes I attended. In total I attended three different courses, which are Disney’s Heritage, Disney’s Hospitality and Guest Services and Disney’s Leadership 101. During all of these classes a lot of managers came to speak to us and tell us about their functions and their part of the business that they are in.

The only learning goal I could really improve is my last goal ‘develop time management skills’.

Even though I can manage to do it for short-term projects or my personal day to day plans. I always struggle when it comes to long-term projects. I hope to improve this in the next 6 months during my minor.

The first learning goal I set for myself was to develop at least 3 out of the 5 competences on level 2. While I was reading what these competences include I realized I learned most skills last year. During this internship I definitely learned a few extra things, but mostly on personal level.

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FONTYS ACI REFLECTION |

In my opinion I improved four out of five skills, the only skills I did not improve during this internship is skill 2; ‘Development of an advising on communication policy’. I could not improve this skill because I did not work in the right place to work on this skill. The Walt Disney Company is such a big company and I did not have anything to do with communication.

The other skills I developed while working on this assignment. Researching and analysing the two worlds I wanted to incorporate in this assignment. Make a personal plan to successfully finish this assignment and internship. The visualisation is a brand document for Disney that is why I realised to improve the fourth skill. The last skill is representation in Dutch and English.

During this internship we had classes where you had to do a presentation and this assignment is a part of my portfolio. Because of this internship I am confident enough to do a presentation in Dutch and English.

Looking back at the beginning of this internship I was a different person and I gained a lot of skills, professional and personal, that I would not gained if I did not do this internship.

Being surrounded by people from all over the world, speaking different languages and having to deal with cultural differences was a learning process. Getting to learn other people, but also getting to know myself a bit better and becoming independent.

If you asked me to do this all over again, I would immediately say yes without a doubt.

Resit: Looking at my first attempt I understand the feedback and why I did not pass. This time I tried an other lay out for my document. My first conceptbook was about the design and graphic and now I wanted it to be about the text. Because of the graphics the text was not that easy to read throughout the whole conceptbook, now it can be easily read.

In the meantime I had my assessment to convince Fontys that I enhanced the 5 competencesat level 2, during this assessment they asked me if this internship was good enough for Fontys. My answer was yes, the work itself is not but everything combined it definitely is. Not only the working experience in a theme park or its resorts could be helpful for your carreer in the Themed Entertainment industry, but being at Walt Disney World for six months makes you noticed all the small details that you would not noticed if you would just visited the parks a few times. Being surrounded by the work of the imagineers the whole time makes you even look for those details. You can only fully experience the design, theming, story and big idea from all the lands when you spend at least a few months at Walt Disney World working and playing in the parks when you are off. Without this internship it would not have been possible for me to truly understand and experience these immersive worlds.With that being said, nowadays I am very critical when visiting a themed entertainment location and compare it with what I experienced those six months.

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Final CMU reflection paper During my college program I worked two different roles at different lines of business and locations, but both in EPCOT. My first role was in Quick Service Food and Beverage at Sunshine Seasons. This food court is located in the Land, which is one of the pavilions in Future World. Located in the Land is Sunshine Seasons, Soarin’, Living with the Land, The Circle of Life and character dining restaurant Garden grill. A few of my positions entailed welcoming and helping guests, serving food, stocking, cleaning the dining room and making magical moments for guests.

In my current role I am working as a attraction cast member for Agent P: World Showcase Adventure. Which means I am recruiting new secret agents for a mission to save one of the pavilions in world showcase. When I am working at one of our four carts around world showcase, my job is to spiel and set up a mission on the devices we hand out to play the mission. There are a lot of other positions where we support the carts by cleaning, clearing and providing them the devices. A totally different position we have is one of the two FastPass+ kiosks, other than that is Parade Audience Control for the disability viewing areas during IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Where afterwards you and three fellow cast members have to clear the park of all guests. The last special positions we had were during The International Food and Wine Festival. During the festival famous singers and bands performed at the American Gardens Theatre, Agent P was responsible for crowd control during these concerts.

When I was accepted for this program and saw which roles I got I was excited but did not know what to expect. Operations and Quick Service are both major lines of business for Walt Disney World. During the welcome session we got our training schedule that says your work location, which in my case was EPCOT. Even though I have experience working in Food and Beverage, this was a bit different. Getting to work close with the culinary cast members while working in the shops or taking care of all the trashcans. Learning a lot not only about Sunshine Seasons and the food, but also about the Land and the rest of EPCOT because guests will ask questions about everything in EPCOT or even one of the other parks. To most questions I did not have an answer in the first few weeks. What I definitely did not expect was the freedom we got from our coordinators and leaders while we worked in the dining room to create magic for our guests.

You are allowed to give them free food or something else to go above and beyond for guests or to throw away food if it doesn’t look appealing anymore.

During the first half of my program I experienced almost all the rides in EPCOT so I was very curious where I was going to work during the second half of my program. It turned out to be one of the attractions I did not experience yet and that attraction was Agent P: World Showcase Adventure. This attraction is different than most of the rides, because it is a interactive scavenger hunt located in World Showcase. This role was very different than I expected it to be, but in a good way. Instead of just being in one pavilion the whole time, I can work all around World Showcase in just one shift. Seeing so many guests walk by and being able to answer their questions or sending them on the scavenger hunt. I was fortunate to work during Food and Wine Festival at the American Gardens Theatre for the Eat to the Beat concerts. Crowd control was not what I expected to be our responsibility, but looking back at the concerts it was one of my favourite positions to work. Getting to enjoy the concert, the joy of the guests that are able to see the band or singer perform and yet again being able to answer the guests their questions is just great.

Making magical moments for guests is something that Disney is known for, so naturally I wanted to make magical moments. Being able to make a guest’s day turn from bad or average to good is amazing.

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CMU RELFECTION |

Just saying something about the button they are wearing is a good way to acknowledge a guest.

During my first role at Sunshine Seasons we were very free in our magical moments, we even had two songs we could sing for them, a happy birthday song and a celebrating song. We would gather as much cast members as we could find and give them a special magical moment cookie, which is a big cookie decorated with icing. Every day we would have Land Band for the kids that wanted to join us. During this magical moment we would go around the dining room to ask kids if they wanted to join us in the parade and the dance party. After we got all the kids together we would walk around the dining room making a lot of noise so everybody knew we were doing the parade. We would stop in the middle of the food court and there we would dance the chicken dance and the hokey pokey. Afterwards the kids would get a treat for their hard work. I did create a few magical moments and even got a few four keys cards from leader telling me that guests recognized me for my help or just making their day.

Working at Agent P it is difficult to really make a magical moment, but something small can be a big things for guests. I always try to make my spiel fun for the kids and parents. For example I try to get the kids to dance and do something silly. During Food and Wine a lot of parents and kids came up to me to ask if I knew where they could find Remy for the scavenger hunt that was part of Food and Wine, I never told them where Remy was but I always gave them a clue.

My program has not ended yet and I really want to make a big magical moment for a guest before my program ends. Even though the magical moment is magical for the guests it is also magical for me to set it all up.

The College Program entails not only working at Walt Disney World, but also following some courses. I followed three courses in total, all of them where Disney Exploration Series courses.

I took the 8-week DES Heritage class along with the 4-Hospitality and Guest Services class and the 4-week Leadership 101. I chose for these courses because I really wanted to learn about the way Disney does particular things. I already knew it was going to different than the college courses from back home, there was no homework or books to read. They expected you to be present every class and participate, it depended on yourself if you were going to learn things during these classes. Heritage is a great course to learn about The Walt Disney Company before Walt Disney World opened, but also about the men behind the company the brothers Disney. Our instructor David Horvath even took us on two fieldtrips, one to Hollywood Studios and one in Magic Kingdom. This course definitely met my expectations, especially all the undiscovered Disney projects at the beginning of every class. David is a very good instructor who likes to teach and has good ability to teach, which is why I give him a 5 on a scale of 1-5.

The 4-week courses were interesting too, because I got to learn about two different lines of business instead of just one. Jeff Bischop teaches Hospitality and Guests Services, because he was very enthusiastic and explained us various lines of business I would rate him also with a 5 on a scale of 1-5. Because he really wanted us to experience hospitality and guest services we got to see and explore The Animal Kingdom Lodge during one of our classes. The last course I followed was Leadership 101 by David Horvath again. Every week we had a group activity to learn how to be a great leader and how to work in a group. He is very good in interactive teaching and learning, so this class was totally different than Heritage; David is still a good teacher so for this course he also gets the 5 on a scale of 1-5 for his teaching ability.

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Because I am not originally from the United States, this whole program has been a cultural experience for me. Learning new things about the American culture, but also about a lot of other cultures. Everywhere I went I got to meet new people and new cultures. I learned a lot of different customs from other people, but also a lot of new languages and different kind of foods.

Even though we all seem to have different cultures, which most impressed me was how everybody becomes family right here.

| CMU REFLECTION

I noticed this right after the attacks in Paris, everybody was alerted. A lot of my fellow cast members asked me if I was okay, because the Netherlands and Paris is a few hours away from each other. The most respectful thing we as cast members and guests did was to bring flowers to the French pavilion. The cast members decided that they wanted to mourn backstage and set up a memorial backstage, the Eiffel tower was lit up in the colours of the French flag for a week.

Even in the apartment I live, we live with 5 different nationalities together. Living together with people you do not know is difficult, but when you are from different countries it is even harder.

You do not know each others customs and values. Even after five months I still have some moments where I get irritated by some things but that is just something normal for them.

I learned to let go of things. I can not always have it my way, because we do have to respect everyone in the apartment. The one thing I learned the hard way is that even if you agree with each other to do things, not everyone will do it. I also learned to not stress about it, because they clearly are not stressing about it either.

Because of the College Program I do have friends from all over the world which I shared this beautiful adventure with. Being able to live in country across the world for six months with people from all over the world being here for the same reason is amazing and wonderful.

During this program I developed a lot of new skills on a personal level. If I recommend the College Program to other students, my one and only answer would be yes. Mostly because I would definitely do it all over again and I am sad that it is almost over and could not extend.

At the beginning of the program we had to submit learning goals, looking back at those goals I met most of them. The assignment from my home university made me succeed my first goals which was to develop at least 3 out of the 5 competences level 2. My second learning goal was to learn how to become independent and live with people of other cultures. Living an apartment with 5 other girls from all around the world fulfilled the second part of that learning goal and being away for 6 months from my family and friends from back home fulfilled the first part of this learning goal. During work I succeed my third learning goal, which was to daily implement the hospitality skills we learned. David Horvath and Jeff Bischop learned me a few marketing and communication skills that Disney uses, these skills I can apply during my future career.

Unfortunately I still do not meet up to my last learning goal ‘Develop time management skills’ I improved them, but my time management skills could still be improved.

The new goals I have formed for my future is to learn how to properly speak Spanish, this is a language that is spoken all over the world. I would really like to come back to Walt Disney World for a Professional Internship. But first I would like to get my degree.

CMU always updated me during the program even when it was just an adjustment of the office hours. The only thing that I would like to see more is the opportunity to join in more Disney tours and maybe more special CMU seminars. Now it is just one CMU seminar, which I am looking forward to attend.

To apply for the College Program is one of the best decisions of my life, this experience did change my life. Only a few people will understand this and those people where here with me.

I get to meet a lot of people from all over the world while working for one of the best-known company world wide. I learned a lot about myself. I just have to let it go sometimes. I improved my English and learned how to become independent. The one thing I would really like to improve is the fact that I plan a lot of things to do but then I do not do them. I do think that my family and friends back home will notice that I indeed changed during my program and I am looking forward to this last month of my time here on the program.

Hopefully it is going to be a see you soon instead of a good bye.

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Overview CMU assignments

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Final Performance Evaluation

Disney Internships and Programs Evaluation

Cast Member: Shari de Cortie

Perner #: 1007221

Work Location: Epcot Phineas and Ferb

Review Date: January 02, 2016

Disney Internships & Programs Behavioral Expectations

Performance Level

Communication: Demonstrates effective communication skills in a professional and positive manner. Utilizes effective listening skills.

Satisfactory

Deliver Cast/Guest/Client Satisfaction: Anticipates and meets the needs of Guests and other Cast Members.

Satisfactory

Dependability: Performs job responsibilities in a timely manner with a minimum of follow-up needed.

Satisfactory

Disney Excellence & Professionalism: Exemplifies Disney Excellence Outstanding and seeks to produce high quality work on a daily basis.

Teamwork: Works well with fellow Cast Members and acts as a team player.

Outstanding

Attendance / Reliability: Reports for scheduled shifts on time and is prompt returning from lunch and breaks.

Satisfactory

Initiative / Problem Solving: Takes independent action to identify and Satisfactory solve problems, accomplish tasks, makes timely decisions with good judgment.

Adaptability: Effectively handles changing situations and is able to grasp new ideas and methods. Is understanding and helpful in responding to change.

Outstanding

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FINAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION |

The Four Keys Basics: Safety: Demonstrates that Safety comes first by providing a secure and safe experience for himself/herself, our Guests, and fellow Cast Members. Follows specific Safety procedures & techniques.

Satisfactory

Courtesy: Provides friendly, personalized service and treats every internal & external Guest as an individual.

Satisfactory

Show: Contributes to our Show by exemplifying the Disney Image through adhering to the Disney Look and keeping work areas clean and neat at all times.

Outstanding

Efficiency: Produces the established volume of work necessary to meet Satisfactory job requirements while maintaining the appropriate serve and quality standards.

Attendance: Evaluate the performance level of attendance.

Satisfactory

Overall Work Performance: Evaluate the level of overall work performance.

Successfully met expectations of the role

Total Hours Worked: Supervisor: Geuss, Greg Job Title: Guest Service Manager This evaluation represents the working/earning component of Disney Internships & Programs. It is recommended that this document be used in conjunction with results of the education/learning component, if applicable, to ensure a comprehensive review of the Cast Member's participation on the program.

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Certificates of Completion

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CERTIFICATES |

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| CERTIFICATES

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CERTIFICATES |

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