This document summarizes Megan Gallagher's internship at Walt Disney World from August 2013 to January 2014. She worked as both a back of house and front of house cast member at Pinocchio Village Haus in Magic Kingdom. Her roles involved food preparation, customer service, and interacting with guests. She completed training and cross-training, took online courses, and worked various positions and special events. Her goals were to extend her internship, which she was approved to do until May 2014.

1. INTERNSHIP 2013:
THE WALT DISNEY
COMPANY
Megan
Gallagher
SEE 4099
10/28/2013

2. INTRODUCTION
 August 2013 to January 2014
 Quick Service Food and Beverage
Cast Member
 Magic Kingdom Theme Park
 Pinocchio Village Haus
 Back of House/Kitchen
cast member
 Front of House/Counter
cast member

3. INTERNSHIP SITE

4. COSTUME EXAMPLES
First costume (on left):
Kitchen/Chef costume. Chef
jacket, knit pants, non-slip
shoes and hat/hair-net.
Second costume (on right):
Front of House costume.
Blouse, Skirt, Apron, non-slip
shoes.

5. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
 Consists of five different subsidiaries:
 Parks and Resorts
 Media Networks
 The Walt Disney Studios
 Disney Consumer Products
 Disney Interactive

6. SPECIFICS OF CAST MEMBER ROLE
 Back of House/Kitchen Role contains:
 Preparing menu items, back up items
 Organizing food preparation stations
 Keeping up with standards:
 Health
 Safety
 Sanitation
 Using specific kitchen equipment
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Fryers
Oven
Slicers
Warmers
kettle
 Working on the expediting line to send food to the counter

7. SPECIFICS OF CAST MEMBER ROLE
 Front of House Role:
Prepare drink orders
Clean counter and cashier area
Restock counter area, condiment bar
Expedite food and fill orders
Clean dining rooms, condiment bars, lobby
Greet guests, work with door control when the park has a high
attendance number
 Park strollers for guests, assist guests with questions
 Interact with guests by giving out stickers, using marionettes and
puppets
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8. INTERN INTERACTION
 Interns from various states, both current students and
graduates
 More than 15 international college program participants at
Pinocchio Village Haus location alone
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Australia
New Zealand
England
Ecuador
Brazil

9. INTERNSHIP SITE MANAGEMENT
 When each cast member clocks in, they are assigned to a
position whether it is Front of House, Back of House, or
Cashier
 Most cast members rotate between three and eight positions
per day, depending on the length of their shift
 At any time, we are given the option on our deployment
system to put in for an early release (ER) or extend shift
(extension)
 Management, coordinators, and cast members are allowed to
give out „smile cards‟
 Smile cards are recognition card for good work and great cast
member representation

10. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
 Completed the Walt Disney Company‟s „Traditions‟
introduction class
 Completed two rounds of training and assessments
 Cross-trained from Back of House to Front of House halfway
through program
 Completed two Disney Internship Education Courses while on
the program
 Marketing You
 Human Resource Management

11. CAST MEMBER INTERACTION
 Six main managers/leaders
 Eight coordinators
 Over one hundred cast members
 Managed by one computer system: Cast Deployment
System (CDS)
 More than 20 college program interns
 Worked directly with Laurie Santana, my site supervisor
 Former graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Providence, 2007
 General Manager of Restaurant Operations at Pinocchio Village
Haus

12. MY GOALS
 In the beginning of this program, I set a goal for myself to
take action for one of these options:
 Extend my program until May 2014
 Become a seasonal employee
 Become a campus representative
 As of November 1 , 2013, I am waiting on a decision from the
Walt Disney Company on my program extension application
 As of November 7, 2013, I have of ficially extended my
program until May 9, 2014
 Between now and then, I will continue to take classes online
 I hope to become seasonal afterwards or become a campus
representative

13. MY GOALS
 In addition, while working here, I wanted
to work in various areas when I have the
chance to experience the Walt Disney
Company as a whole
 As of October 31 , I have picked up
various shifts including a special event
on Halloween called „Mickey‟s Not So
Scary Halloween Party‟
 30,000 people in attendance – sold out
event
 Special ticketed event from 7 pm – Midnight
 Maintained treat trail – 20,000 – 25,000
„trick or treaters‟ outside the Splash
Mountain attraction

14. WALT DISNEY WORLD PROPERT Y MAP

15. COMPANY HISTORY
 The Walt Disney Company began
in 1923, with the creation of a
compilation of comics
 The first Disney park was opened
on July 17, 1955
 Located in Anaheim, California
 Paved the way for 5 Disney parks
across the world
 The map (on right) is an original
map of the Magic Kingdom two
years after it opened in 1973

16. COMPANY HISTORY
 Walt Disney World opened on October 1 , 1971
 Magic Kingdom was the first park to open, followed by Epcot (1982),
then Hollywood Studios (1989), and lastly, Animal Kingdom (1998)
 In addition, in the Walt Disney World area, there are:
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Two waterparks
One shopping/nightlife area
Three mini-golf areas
34 resorts
6 Disney Vacation Club locations

17. MISSION STATEMENT
“The Walt Disney Company‟s objective is to be one of the
world‟s leading producers and providers of entertainment and
information, using the portfolio of brands to dif ferentiate its
content, services and consumer products.”
In conclusion, the Walt Disney Company wants to be known in
the entertainment field and its subdivisions as one of the most
powerful companies in the world by their products and services.

18. PROJECT REVIEW
 Over the course of my internship, I did not have any specific
major projects
 Some project-like tasks I was involved in were working special
events within my location
 Mickey‟s Not So Scary Halloween Party
 Mickey‟s Very Merry Christmas Party
 Party season varies
 Halloween Parties run from Mid-September – November 1
 Christmas Parties run from Early -November – December 22

19. PROJECT REVIEW
 During party times, our restaurant would cater to the party
theme and be customized by cast members such as interns
 Halloween Party – Change the restaurant into a „trick -or-treat‟
location
 Christmas Party – Transition from a restaurant into a hot chocolate
and sweet treats location
 Prepare baked treats and specialty holiday drinks for up to 30,000 guests
 Maintain restaurant cleanliness and organization while helping guests

20. PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
 Organization
 Managing time between work, an online class, and two education
sessions per week
 Being able to transition from each task while on site at work
 Working both sides of the site: Front of House and Back of House
 Assisting other cast members when help is needed, while keeping
track of your own task
 Example: A 50 hour work week with 3 classes, and two homework
assignments per class. This is a common occurrence for me.

21. PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
 Communication
 Being able to speak and understand various languages from cast
members and guests
 Verbally acknowledge the needs of guests (dietary, specialty, various
questions)
 Interacting with managers and coordinators about problems or
concerns, yet also ideas and positive things
 Example: Communicating with my coordinators when I was unsure of
what I was supposed to do at the beginning of my program. I asked
as many questions as possible, and that showed them that I wanted
to do my best.

22. PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
 Motivation
 Giving your best effort while at work
 Being the example cast member to guests
 Making „magical moments‟ for guests
 Dancing in the restaurant with children – hokey pokey, etc.
 Celebrating birthdays with a song and a special treat
 Positivity and motivation help make the guests experience at Walt
Disney World even better than it already was
 Example: Every day may not be the best day for myself, but I am
motivated to make every day a special and magical day for the
guests I interact with. The smiles and happiness I see from guests
motivate me to be the best cast member they interact with during
their entire trip.

23. FINISHING MY EXPERIENCE
The knowledge I have had since starting at
Johnson & Wales certainly helped me understand
more of the hospitality field and its different aspects.
This internship opportunity helped my experience lead
to organization and understanding of my career path
further down the road. I believe this internship
experience will benefit myself in the long run and I
look forward to what is to come in the next few years.

24. FINISHING MY EXPERIENCE
The past three months have been an
unforgettable experience. I never believed I could
learn so much in such a short amount of time from a
world-renowned company that every person knows
about across the globe. I have grown professionally
since beginning with this company. The learning
component has led me to realize that I would love to
work with a company such as this one, or even this
one later on in life. Their standards for cast members
and expectations are extremely high, but that leads to
their success as an incredible company.

25. REFERENCES
 http://www.trbimg.com/img -50f5e896/turbine/os -disney -magickingdom-fastpass-new -entrance--001/600
 http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about -disney/company overview
 http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about -disney/disney -history
 http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/ investors
 http://corporate.disney.go.com/media/news/Fact_WDW_08_16.
pdf
 http://parksandresorts.wdpromedia.com/media/disneyparks/blo
g/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/ loo608752LARGE.jpg
 http://disneyprograms.edu20.org/files/200606/Picture1(2)(5).p
ng?lmsauth=82056df74d2fa0acd7ae58a2e88c5beaafe526a4
 http://magikmouse.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/ traditions.jpg
 http://www.militarydisneytips.com/blog/wp content/uploads/2011/08/ MNSSHP.jpg

26. REFERENCES
 http://www.bestorlandovacationpackages.com/media/cms/x
modnewsrss/Mickeys-Very-Merry -Christmas-Party.gif
 http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rj
a&docid=xFz3J95V0Sk9BM&tbnid=VcgG7T8o1Q 4AM:&ved=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ivcmedia.co.uk%2Fmap
%2F&ei=3QZ8Ut3eEqvIsASRooHQBw&psig=AFQjCNF3IbCxYaK2
xK42XvCfGIr0ZQZ3NQ&ust= 1383946333527378