OUGD502 - PPP - Studio Brief 1 - Design Strategy - Twitter friends

OUGD502 - PPP - Studio Brief 1 - Design Strategy - Twitter friends

An unusual title for a blog post, I know, but I have been actively making friends (I don't want to call it networking or connections because it's really informal) over Twitter with people who live and work in the attractions industry in Orlando! I have met some incredibly charming and warm people who have so much time to help you and talk to you it's really flattering and inspiring. 

I acquired Twitter purely to create an active feed of the people and events happening in Orlando, Florida and not really for personal use like my Facebook account. I have followed over 500 accounts to get a real broad range of creatives, companies and organisations that have helped me shape together a sort of calendar of things I can do this summer.

It has also pointed me towards some great blogs - first up I will talk about is Brice Croskey's Progressland. Words cannot describe how intelligent and intellectual this blog is it's simply amazing. The blog's nature is a more theoretical look at the themed entertainment industry and 'The Art of Environmental Design and the Architecture of Reassurance'. It's so brilliantly written and to find out that he is a student just starting an MFA is even more impressive. This MFA is only the MFA in Themed Entertainment I am interested in pursuing held at SCAD in Savannah, Georgia. The blog invites you to contact him via email - so I did!

And such an amazing piece it is! 

I had had troubles contacting SCAD requesting a prospectus and had no replies from them at all, so this was reassuring/ further worrying to hear I guess!

 It was great to hear him confirm that I will gain valuable experience just from working in Operations at the Disney Parks.

I had heard of the Themed Entertainment association through being subscribed to InPark magazine and Slice Creative Network.

He then went on to personally recommend loads of really fantastic books that are sure to be not only interesting, but great for referencing in my third year dissertation, which I hope to write on Theme Park theory:

I couldn't have asked for a better response. I may even take up his suggestion of going to Savannah (about 4 hours north of Orlando, but I have family that live in Tallahassee, about 3 hours north of Orlando) to have a look around the University (SCAD).

OUGD502 - PPP - Studio Brief 1 - Design Strategy - Getting a job at Walt Disney World

OUGD502 - PPP - Studio Brief 1 - Design Strategy

Ok, so if I'm honest, I have really not been keeping up to date with my PPP blog. I regularly actively seek out new contacts and find new interests in the industry but never realise I am doing it! So now I'm going to be finally updating my blog and recording all the things I've been getting up to in the past few months.

August 2013

Way back in August of last year, with my love of theme park design relentlessly taking over my life, I found a way to an application to work in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida through the Disney International Program. The program is only open to students enrolled at university all over the world, to be employed for a short period of time in one of WDW's 4 famous parks. 
Of course, only entry level roles are offered on the program, but nevertheless I took the opportunity, dreaming of getting placed in a position where I could work on the rides themselves, as I saw it as the best kind of work experience I could get without a degree in my area of Themed entertainment design. To be able to work on the rides at entry level, you would be able to see the design and the workings of each ride, how things are run and be able to hopefully meet like minded individuals.

At first, my application was rejected by the in-country recruitment team, Yummy Jobs. I was so disappointed but couldn't see, (obviously from my point of view) any fault in my application. So I decided to email them to ask what I could do next time and for some feedback on my CV etc.
The response to this email was that there was no fault in my actual application, but that my availability dates must be from the 10th June 2014, and I had written in a later date because I wasn't entirely sure!
I managed to confirm more of a certain date and it turned out I was fully available! Thank gosh that I sent that email!

October 2013

In October, I was invited to a group interview in Manchester with the Yummy Jobs team. The interview was really informal and thankfully I had no problems with any of the questions they asked me about the Walt Disney Company (which I surprisingly knew an awful lot about, I didn't even realise) and I was fully comfortable with the thought of sharing a flat/ bedroom - I currently live with 11 other people!

Confirmation of success from Yummy Jobs!

November 2013

I was overjoyed when I found out I had passed the Manchester interview and was invited by Disney themselves to their offices in London for another interview the following month. The interview would be one-on-one this time, with Disney representatives from Orlando giving a talk, too. The interview was really nerve racking, and when they asked me what roles I was interested in I couldn't tell her enough that it would be Operations and Attractions and my reasons.

December 2013

When I received a confirmation email saying that I had gotten a place on the program, I was over the moon! I was also placed in Operations! It was the best Christmas present I could have wished for. This meant I would be living and working in Florida for nearly three months in summer 2014!

Confirmation of success from Disney!

April 2014

Since December, I have been busy booking flights, getting CRB checked, getting insurance, and getting my US Visa in London on 11th April. It was a stressful event taking over 3 hours waiting for the interview, but it was worth it when I went to pick up my passport last week with my VISA page all ready to go!

I have also been planning all different activities to get up to in my two months away, which will be put in some following posts, as there's a lot! I plan to set up a new blog for my trip away which I hope to keep updated whilst I'm there to record everything.