Pete Davison, '01 BuFi, isn't embarrassed to tell people he works for a Mickey Mouse operation, largely because his employer is the world's most identifiable mouse-themed corporation, Disney. The year-round balmy climate of Orlando, Fla., was foreign to the Ft. Benton native when he first went to work for Disney in 1991, following his younger brother who was working for Disney in its career program. "I just got an entry level job at Disney in guest services." This led to a host of opportunities within Disney including stints as a character manager and a stage manager. Walt Disney World Entertainment has more than 150 shows, parades, street performances and spectaculars every day of the year with 4,500 cast members. "When I was a character manager I worked on everything from scheduling to how the characters interact with guests. People just love characters." Davison even admits to having donned a costume as a Disney character so he could better understand the job, but he's mum about who that particular character was. "I was also responsible for one of the day parades, so I had to made sure it went out the door with its 110 cast members every day." As a stage manager he would work with convention clients on special parties throughout the theme park. "You really got to be creative. There are not many businesses that would let a finance guy be a character manager or a stage manager." Once Davison got back into the finance field MSU had prepared him for, it was still anything but ordinary as finance manager for Walt Disney Entertainment. Every entertainment component has a financial aspect. "Even with something like a new parade, you have to calculate how to make it pay for itself. We discuss whether a new show should be created and where it should be placed in the park. It's very niche finance." He says the finance people think about things like how many character interactions there should be per guest. "I'd take my staff out once a quarter into the park to experience what's out there, to have the guest experience." In his current job at Disney as finance manger for Resort and Parks Sales and Service, he's now on the convention side of the Disney operation which focuses on becoming a larger presence in the convention business. "I love that I'm staying with the same company, but I'm having a whole different career." The Disney venture has also paid off on a personal note as he met his wife on his first day on the job. Some 74,000 people are employed by the Disney theme parks in Orlando. "That's your town." He received his MBA in 2002 from the Crummer School of Business, Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla. When you work for Disney how often do you go to the theme park? "We go about once a month. I'm one of seven children, so someone is almost always visiting." Of those seven, five, in addition to Pete, are MSU grads, Patrick, '80 Bus, Mike, '86 ME, Jeffrey, '86 Bus, Matthew, '84 IE. But it's always a fresh experience for Davison when he takes his children, Isobel, 4 1/2 and Gabriel 2 1/2 to the theme parks. "It's amazing to go to the park with a child. It's new to them every time."