Extending my Disney College Program and Professional Internships

I am officially extending my Disney College Program into Attractions! I am excited to know which attraction I will get assigned to! I am also still in progress for two professional internships so I should be hearing back from them within a week or two! It has been busy down here. I went to Mickeys Not-So-Scary Halloween party twice and have been to Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party twice. I also had my first cookie and hot cocoa shift last week during a Christmas party which was a lot of fun. I hope to be able to pick up more of those shifts! Its been weird having it be so warm down here in the middle of November, meanwhile it is snowing at home.

So I picked up some PAC shifts....

Last week I picked up 2 Parade Audience Control Shifts at Magic Kingdom. They were both for the same day. One was during the 3:00 parade, and the other was at night for the first electrical parade and wishes. I had a few hours break in between to relax. Because I normally work in Magic Kingdom I was not too worried about the shift, it did require me to figure out where to meet and clock in at. It was a little confusing because I think you can clock in at a lot of different places, then you have to find what building to meet in. For PAC South shifts you meet in once place and for PAC West shifts you meet somewhere else, so I finally figured out where to go for each one after asking a bunch of different PAC people but it all worked out! For Festival of Fantasy I worked South and got a position right near the hub in front of the castle. It was a lot of fun and I got to learn all about how PAC works. It was a really hot day and I did not have a water bottle, but it was still so much fun to get to see how other roles work in MK. After the parade passed our area, the girl who was in a position near me and I took our poles and put them away then we got to join in the parade at the back and wave to the crowd! We were in the parade!!!! Then after that we had a meeting to go over how everyone did. It reminded me of marching band, where we would have a game plan and talk before and after to discuss what happened. For the night time parade, as we were getting ready to go out and set up it started thundering and lightning so we went back inside to wait. They first electrical parade ended up being cancelled, so I only got to work Wishes. For that I stood in front of the castle and told guests to stay to their right and keep moving to not block the pathway. Overall, PAC was a really fun experience and I can't wait to do it again! I really want to do it for the Halloween parade some time so I am going to keep looking for that! I also signed up to work a Frozen Parade shift at Hollywood Studios this friday, so that will be a new experience. I have not worked at another park yet and I don't know my way around there as well yet, so hopefully everything goes well!

1st Beach Trip

After being here for a little over 2 months I finally made it to the beach with my roommate! We went to Cocoa Beach yesterday. It was such a nice day! As it got later storm clouds began to roll in and we got stuck in a huge downpour on the way home. There was also some intense lightning! We made a wrong turn and got a little lost on our way home, but we found a Chipotle to go to for dinner so it was worth it! My roommates and I have been planning more trips and made reservations at a few places to eat so we can start experiencing more things here instead of just going to work and the parks all the time.

This week was also a sad week because a lot of my international friends went home because it was the end of their program. A few are still left, but they will be leaving soon too. I am also excited to start meeting the incoming Fall college program people. I also booked my parents room for when they come to visit so our plans for that are starting to come together which is exciting!

Getting into a routine

So I feel like I am finally getting into a routine! I feel like I have been here a lot longer then a month and a half. I know where I am going, what bus to take, where to go at work. It is nice feeling like I am in a routine. This week I started my back of house training to learn the different roles in the kitchen. It is nice learning the back of house assignments as well as the front of house assignments so I can see how we all need to work together and what goes into the back of house jobs. My assessment is not until sunday, so in the meantime I have a few front of house shifts as well as another day of BOH training. I have been getting to the parks on my 1 day off a week which is nice. I actually had 2 days scheduled off for next week but I only had about 32 hours, so I decided to help my friend out and picked up her shift on one of my days off. So that brings me up to 41 hours and only 1 day off. I have been having a lot of 6 hour shifts, which is nice, but that means I get less days off. I need to go grocery shopping soon, but it is hard because the buses take so long to get to Publix. I will probably try and go tomorrow after work so I do not need to rush to get back. I actually plan on buying real food and not microwavable things. I am going to try and cook real meals. I figure I need to start somewhere. So I am going to start out simple. We will see what happens. Everything has been going great at Disney so far and I can't wait until I get to explore more. I hope my roommates and I can go out to eat as a group or something soon, we have all been having different days off. The times we hang out most are at 1am when we all get home from work. So we stay up late, sleep late then go to work at night. I only have 1 closing shift next week and the rest are during the day so it will be nice to be able to actually cook a real dinner!!! I hope everyone else out there is having a great experience so far too!

WOW! What a month!!!

I cant believe I have already been down in Florida for a month!! Where did the time go??? I have been working soo much! With only having 1 day off a week I havnt gotten to do too much, but I did get to go see the 4th of July Fireworks on July 3rd! So they were the 3rd of July fireworks? They were amazing with the 360 degree fireworks! I even got to see them on the 4th while I was working. I just happened tobe bussing tables outside so I got to watch! I forget if I ever said where I am working. I am working at Pecos Bills Tale Tale Inn and Cafe! So far it is going great! I am starting to get friendlier with people from work which is nice. I havn't gotten to see my roommates all tha much since we have all been working a lot. Tomorrow is my next day off so I am planning to either go to Epcot or Hollywood Studios. I have yet to see Fantasmic or Illuminations so I want to see one of those tomorrow. Maybe I will park hop so I can see the Frozen event at Hollywood Studios then go to Epcot. We will see! I will try and keep this blog more updated but it is really hard when I am working this much!

First few days of the Disney College Program

So on Monday I finally checked in for my program! I arrived at Vista Way around 7:15am. I then had to wait in a line at the entrance until they lead us back to the building we were going to go through check in in. I met up with my roommates and we got in line. We all got stick on temporary nametags. Then we got our program book. After that we got our sticker that says where we will be working. I will be working at Pecos Bill's Cafe in Magic Kingdom!!!! I am so excited to be working in Magic Kingdom! 

After that we got our housing assignment and found out we are in a 4 bedroom in Chatham. We requested a 3 bedroom, but now we can make more friends! The 2 other girls with us are nice and I am even rooming with one of them. Me and 4 of my other roommates are working in Magic Kingdom, 2 in Hollywood Studios and 1 at the All Star Resorts. 

After that we went over some more details, got our housing ID and apartment key then headed over to casting. Everyone was so nice and helpful. It went by pretty fast. When i was done I got on the bus to go back. Then I met up my my family to head over to my apartment to unpack. After getting all my stuff out of my apartment we went to Publix and Walmart for some stuff. After that we got Chick-fil-a then I said bye to my parents. When I was back at my apartment I did some more unpacking and organizing. Then at night I went to Downtown Disney with 2 of my roommates.

On Tuesday I had my housing meeting at 1pm where they went over some rules. They made it a little more entertaining by asking some trivia questions for prizes and playing music. After that I went to Target with my roommates and at night we just hung out at the apartment because it was storming.

Today the plan is to go to Beaches and Cream and get the kitchen sink with my roommates!

DCP: Weekend before check in!!!!

My journey to check in began on Thursday June 5th. We left PA at 3:14am and got to Savannah around 6pm. Along the way we stopped at South of the Border to take some funny pictures then continued on. After we got settled in our hotel we ate at Longhorn steakhouse then drove into Savannah to look around. We drove around the historic section of Savannah including Forsyth park and took pictures. The trees were all really pretty and the area was nice. I was surprised how little traffic there was fora city. I also noticed how clean everything was. It was a nice little side trip. After exploring we went back to the hotel and went to sleep. The next day we woke up and headed on our way. In the morning over breakfast we decided to stop at the Daytona International Speedway. While we were there we took a tour of the stadium and my dad did a ride along in one of the racecars. We were there for a decent amount of time then we ate dinner at Outback. After eating we drove the rest of the way to Lake Buena Vista. We checked into the hotel then relaxed for the rest of the night.

On Saturday we went to Epcot. We got there right when it opened and went straight to Soarin'. It was great! We got right on! Overall the park did not seem too crowded. We got to do all the rides we wanted to as well as visit all of countries and really take it all in and see everything.

Today we went to Downtown Disney for a while. We ate lunch at the at the T-Rex restaurant and had ice cream at Ghiradelli. Then we went in some stores and headed back to the hotel.

We have been busy these past few days! Also Orange is the New Black season 2 was released on Netflix so I will have to find time to fit that into my schedule soon. I don't know when I will get around to it though with starting work soon but we will see! I am excited to check in tomorrow and meet everyone and find out where I will be working!!!!!

Tomorrow will be just like going to college except I won't have any homework, I get to live in Florida and I can go to Disney World everyday. Other than that its the same thing hahaha

DCP: T-minus 3 days

In 3 days I will be leaving PA and heading to Florida to start the Disney College Program! I am so excited! But still a little nervous. I am sure everything will be a lot of fun and I will make plenty of friends! I have been away from home for college for a while so I know what it is like to be away. But it is still a little nerve wracking that I will be so far away from home. I have gotten most of my packing done. I finally received my new hire paperwork and DORMS emails on Thursday so all of that is taken care of. I was getting nervous because I had to wait so long to get it but everything worked out and everything is all in order. My roommates and I all were able to request each other to live together so hopefully everything with housing works out! In the next couple of days I will be meeting up with friends for last goodbyes and I will finish packing. Then the journey to Florida will begin and I can start my time in the Disney College Program!!!

DCP: 2 Weeks until check in!!!!!

So I check in for the Disney College Program in 2 weeks!! I will be starting the trip down there in 9 days!!! Ahh so soon!! I've been packing and reading up on other DCP blogs to prepare. It is exciting reading about peoples experiences who are already there and seeing people post in the Facebook groups. Pretty soon that will be me! I still have not gotten my new hire paperwork. Today was Memorial Day so they were probably off. I may email them again or call if I do not get it by tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. Good luck to anyone reading this who will be checking in soon and I can't wait to make some new friends!

DCP: Packing

So I think I have bought most of the things I will need for my time at Disney! Now I just need to figure out how to narrow down my clothes selection to the clothes I will actually wear. I really do not want to overpack. I am driving down, so I do have more room than people flying, but I do not want to pack too many things. I want to travel with stuff I will actually need and use. Only 3 weeks to go!!!!!

DCP: Planning for my trip to Florida for the DCP

Things are starting to come together for my trip down to Florida! My entire family and I will be driving down to Florida. We are stopping about 12 hours into our trip then will spend a day and a half there then continue on to Florida. We will then have Saturday night and Sunday to spend in Florida before check in! I have been doing some shopping and laying things out to start packing. I still have a lot of things on my list I need to get before I leave but I still have a few weeks to get things together which is good. I still have not received my new hire paperwork so hopefully I will be getting that soon so I can fill it out and check one more thing off my list. We still have not found a 6th girl to join us for an apartment so I think we are just going to get someone random. After all the 5 of us who have been talking are all basically random too, we just think we will get along. Hopefully everything works out! I am excited to get down there and start working, but I know I will miss my sister and family. Its sinking in now just how much I will be missing while I am away. I'm sure once I get down there and am busy it will go by fast and I will be home before I know it. I just don't like missing out on family events, especially holidays. Just thinking now about all the holidays I am going to miss is making me sad. I just hope I get along with my roommates and make a lot of friends to spend time with. I just need to look on the bright side and make the most of my experience and everything will be ok!

I did it!!!!!

Well I graduated college today.......how crazy!?!?! I can't believe it!!! I have the world at my fingertips now! So what will I be doing now? I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!

College Graduation

So tomorrow is my college graduation! I cannot believe the time has come! These past 4 years have gone by SO FAST!!! I will miss all of my friends and the structure of going to school and knowing what comes next, but I am also excited to start a new chapter of my life! What better way to do that then working at Disney World in the Disney College Program! My first full time job will be working at Disney World, how amazing is that!? 26 days until I start my journey to Florida for the DCP!!

DCP: My Postcard came!!!!

My postcard came in the mail yesterday and my parents brought it up to school to give to me today!!!! I can't believe it got here so quickly!! Its starting to feel real now! I can't believe I am going to Disney World in a little over a month and I will get to live there!!!

DCP Update

So in the past few days I have found some roommates and started making a packing list. I've also been making lists of what to buy and have started thinking about what else I will need to bring. I also need to decide what day I want to get down there and how I will get down there. I'm not sure if I am flying or driving yet. Right now I am focusing on end of the year/end of college stuff like finals and projects. But when I am done in 2 weeks, I can focus totally on Disney! I also have played Mission Timekeeper and I plan on playing it a few more times before I leave.

DCP: Details

Yayyyy!!!! Ok so now that I have read over all of the different emails I have received and paid my fees and chosen a date etc.. here are some details!

I will be doing Quick Service Food and Beverage for the Fall Advantage 2014 program! I will be arriving in June which gives me time to pack and spend some time at home before I leave for the program. I already have found 2 girls I want to live with, so we are looking for 3 others to live in a 3 bedroom apartment. So far everything is going smoothly, now I just hope I like the location I am assigned (-: where ever I am placed, I will be sure to make the best of it. I can not believe I will be moving to Disney world in a little under 2 months!!! I am so excited to get to do everything in the parks and explore the surrounding area a little.

DCP Fall Advantage/Fall 2014 Timeline

3/26/14  Applied

3/26/14-6pm: "Thank you for Applying" email

3/26/14-7:12pm: "Immediate Action Required-Web Based Interview" email

3/26/14  Web Based Interview

3/26/14-7:56pm: "Immediate Action Required-Schedule Phone Interview" email

3/26/14-8:08pm: "Phone Interview Confirmation"email

3/28/14-3:41pm: Phone Interview (Scheduled for 3:45pm)

3/28/14-11:19pm: "Thank you for Interviewing" email

4/10/14-9:25am: "Thank you for Your Interest" (pending email)

4/18/14-2:17pm: "Update on your Application" ('wait list' email)

4/23/14-5:37pm: "Congratulations!"

5/2/14- Postcard came in the mail!

I JUST GOT ACCEPTED INTO THE DISNEY COLLEGE PROGRAM

I JUST GOT ACCEPTED!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! I got accepted for Fall Advantage in Quick Service Food and Beverage!! I am still reading all the paperwork so more info when I calm down and read everything more!!!!!

DCP: The decision

SO today is the day we were told we would hear Disney's decision by. I just got my email......AND I'M STILL IN IT. The email said that all positions are currently filled but my application will stay in consideration and I can hear back up until May 9th! So I guess if people drop out, decline their offers or decide not to go they will accept me! So I am kind of on a wait list I think. Yeah!!!! I am so glad I am not out yet!!! I am wondering if I would have applied earlier (sooner than the last week you could apply), if I would have been accepted. Either way, I am SO SO SO happy to still be in consideration!!! I will continue crossing my fingers and praying everyday until May 9th! I can hear back sooner than that too according to the email. I am just so excited!!!!!!!

DCP: This week I will know

The final week has arrived. By Friday, I should have a yes or no answer from Disney whether or not I have been accepted into the Disney College Program. There was a wave of acceptances on Friday, so I am hoping there are still spots open. I'm sure there are, i'm just hoping my interview and everything showed the interviewers and decision makers how much I want this. The more and more I think about being accepted into the program, the more excited I become and the more I want it. I keep imagining myself one day working in Animal Kingdom as an environmental educator. That would be the best job ever! It would involve my major (Earth Science) AND I would get to work at Disney World! I have been staying positive and I know everything happens for a reason, so even if I do not get accepted, I will know something bigger and better must be out there for me. I am still crossing my fingers and wishing nonstop to be accepted though. So hopefully I will receive an email soon!