The $25,000 Orlando 'dream job' winners begin their duties

In June, Orlando launched a highly promoted "dream job" contest. The winning pair of contestants would get $25,000, a condo, car and tickets to everything in the vacation Mecca.

In exchange, they would ride and see almost everything there was to do there -- every steel loop, tea cup, and spa rubdown -- over 67 grueling 8-hour days of well-documented fun.

On Thursday, the lucky winners, Kyle Post and Stacey Doornbos, defy the recession by officially clocking in -- they kicked things off by swimming with dolphins at SeaWorld Orlando's Discovery Cove.

Everything is up and running: Facebook page, Twitter stream, Flickr photos, YouTube channel, and the all-important blog are all bursting with news.

WalletPop's Jason Cochran, himself a student of Orlando, interviewed the childhood friends, originally from Michigan but now living in New York City, in the hours before they flew to Florida to begin their marathon in a fish bowl. In one of their first press duties as the winners, Post dropped by to see us, and Doornbos phoned in a break from the job she left that day to explore Fantasyland.

Check out our studio interview with the twosome, in which they reveal how they scored the coolest job of the year. And check back here in a few weeks, when we jet to Florida to catch up with the pair and follow them around for a day on the job.