A Pirates Life for Me

Ahoy mates! I suppose I should update y’all on my program! 

If you did not already know, I am an attractions hostess at Pirates of the Caribbean. I absolutely love my job. The ride is definitely temperamental which makes my days quite interesting. The cast there are fantastic. I had such a close knit family back in Fantasyland, and made some great friends at the All Stars; so I was doubtful my new cast would be anywhere near as great as my past CP. I am glad to say I was proven wrong in so many ways. 

This CP is already completely different than my last. First off, I have my car! Thank goodness for that is all I can say. No more Transtar! I live in a 4 bedroom at Chatham Square, meaning there are 8 girls in this apartment. It’s definitely an adjustment for sure, but most of the kinks have been worked out which is fantastic. 

The bonds I have created with so many people have already greatly impacted my life. Some Spring Advantage CP’s just recently left. The issue is I wasn’t planning to create strong relationships with people this early and then saying goodbye to them almost immediately. I had to say goodbye to some amazing Cast Member’s and friends which is always the worst part about the College Program. But I know that they will all do great things in the future and am excited to see where their futures lead them. 

I was scheduled for my first ever PAC (Parade Control) shifts during the 3rd and 4th of July. It was definitely interesting, and I am glad that I was scheduled to them; however, I will be completely content living my life without ever doing another PAC shift. I definitely haven’t been getting the hours that I was used to in Fantasyland. I am more often than not scheduled a consistent 35-40 hours. I still haven’t decided if I am thankful for the shorter hours or want the overtime, I like money what can I say!

I will be turning 21 on this program! We already celebrated one of my roommates 21st at Crystal Palace a few weeks ago, and mine is coming up in a little under 2 weeks, exciting stuff. I’m excited to finally be 21 because I can go out to bars and what not with everyone, instead of saying oh no, I can’t I’m not old enough… Acca-awkward. 

I still love the Magic Kingdom with my whole heart. I don’t believe I will ever lose the magic that comes with walking down Main Street and seeing Cinderella Castle ahead of me. It’s weird for me not to be right behind the castle anymore, but I can still see Wishes and the parades pass by which is new and fun! 

Anyways, y’all have a lovely day and make sure you keep your hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the boat at all times. We don’t want y’all to have to abandon ship!

Check-in Day

Hey everyone! Today is my 4th day of my second DCP and I wanted to update y’all on whats going on!My check-in date was June 9th and I received an email notifying me to arrive between 8-9 a.m. at Vista Way. I am lucky enough to have my car during this program so I was able to drive over to Vista which was fantastic if I do say so myself. Anyways, when I arrived I could tell that Disney Internships have definitely tried to make the check-in process easier and faster which was fantastic. I started off in a general line where you receive a name tag and your planner guide for the DCP that has all of the answers you have questions to regarding your program, housing, work, etc. Then we separated into two lines by last name; in these lines you received your work location. I will be working at Adventureland/Liberty Square Attractions, yay for Magic Kingdom! I then got in a general line where we were notified where we would be living. Before arriving I found roommates on the DCP Facebook page again. There are 6 of us and we were trying to live in a 3-bedroom at Chatham Square with no triple occupancy. We have been placed in a 4-bedroom at Chatham Square with no triple occupancy instead. Meaning there are 8 girls with 2 to a bedroom. Housing was able to keep the 6 of us together and added to girls to the mix. I have already met all 7 of my roommates and I definitely believed I lucked out with these girls. Following our housing assignments we took pictures for our housing ID’s, mine looks terrible, received apartment keys, and were given our training schedules with a Cast Member explaining to us what to expect from our schedules and what we need to do to ensure everything works out smoothly. The final steps of check-in were confirming your direct deposit for paychecks, filling out an I9 form, listening to a spiel from Internships Education, a CentraCare speech, and finally waiting to go to Casting. Everyone receives a time to attend Casting, my time was at 10:30 which was about 50 minutes later so I just hung around the Vista Way pavilion until the Casting shuttle arrived. Once I arrived at Casting several CP’s and I were ushered into a line where we received a folder with some papers/documents and were asked to verify some information we provided. I also received my lovely name tag because I won’t be attending Traditions — where you usually receive your name tag — because I am still an active Cast Member. After receiving that folder they ordered a background check. I was then led to the next step which is receiving your work training schedule, which consists of your orientation days. Since I was an active CM they had to call someone for my training schedule because it was my entire on the job training schedule instead of the first few days because I had already completed some of that training. After a little bit of seeking they found my schedule which told me my actual attraction I’ll be working. I’m excited to tell y’all that I am going to be a Pirate! I’ll be working at Pirates of the Caribbean which I am completely ecstatic about! It’s definitely on of my favorite rides and I believe it will be awesome to be part of the crew there for the next several months.Anyways, I then met with a trainer and Casting CM to confirm my I9 information and explain to me my schedule. It was pretty quick and easy. My final step was I9 submission/verification; however, mine was already on file so they didn’t have to do anything for me. I finally got back to Vista Way after a little over an hour at casting, and headed straight to Chatham Square. I got all my stuffed moved in, got my parking decal, and grocery shopped! Overall it was definitely a far smoother check-in day than my first program was. I am now living with all of lovely roommates, we headed to DTD last night for a girls night and had fun there! And I will likely start my training tomorrow as long as my drug test results come back in time. And that’s about it for now, y’all have a magical day!

DORMS

It is a DCP update! My second program starts June 9th, which means in 11 days I will be a CP again! I am not nearly as nervous as I was for my last program, which is really nice. I feel far more prepared for the program this time around. And since my College Program is almost here, Disney sent me an email regarding housing!

Disney utilizes a format called DORMS (Disney Onsite Resident Management System) to speed up the check-in process. This is the first time I have used DORMS in its full format. For my first DCP in Spring 2013 everything was done on check-in day, and when I extended my program I had a quick form to fill out in DORMS regarding where I wanted to be placed in regards to my new apartment. However, this time it was far more detailed.

I received my DORMS email on May 27th but didn’t fill it out until today, May 29th, because not all of my roommates had received their emails regarding housing and their housing ID’s. This was important because we all wanted to room together we had to wait until everyone had their roommate ID’s so that Disney and Lincoln Properties will hopefully room us all together.

Anyways, once I logged into DORMS I filled out info regarding whether I was planning on living in Disney housing, if I needed an ADA accessible apartment, if I was bringing a car, and other basic questions. Since I will have my car this program (THANK GOODNESS) I filled out some extra info regarding my vehicle. After that I signed and submitted some housing forms, including: housing rules, alcohol policies, rent prices, and vehicle rules. 

Following the forms I was asked if I was ok with the roommates that had been selected for me. DORMS asks that every roommate group has one roommate link every roommate up together on their form with each persons housing ID’s and then select preferred housing arrangements afterwards. Once one person finishes this DORMS will send every roommate who had been linked to the apartment an email stating they had been connected to these people: [insert roommate names here]. Every participant also has the option of going random in terms of roommates or unlinking themselves from their roommates (this will remove you from your roommates who you had grouped up with). Following my confirmation of my roommates DORMS displayed the preferences our group made in terms of housing. For complexes, in order: 1. Chatham Square, 2. Patterson, 3. The Commons; and for apartments: 1. 3 bedroom, 2. 4 bedroom, 3. 2 bedroom. There are 6 of us at the moment and we are hoping to avoid triple occupancy so cross your fingers for us, and I’ll let y’all know where we are placed!

Anyways thanks for reading guys I’ll update y’all again when the days get closer and my second CP starts!

Fall Advantage Here I Come!

Well, I have some exciting news for y’all! I was accepted for another College Program! I will be participating in the 2014 Fall Advantage program in Attractions. I am so excited to be placed in this role again and receiving the opportunity to be able to create more magic at the Most Magical Place on Earth! 

Anyways, my arrival date is June 9th, 2014. I am actually officially moving to Florida this Sunday! So I’ll be living in Tampa until my arrival date and then I’ll be staying in Disney once I complete my program. 

Hopefully I can keep y’all updated on my progress with this CP and all the new and exciting things that are happening back at WDW! 

I did it.

My long awaited final Disney College Program post! I’m sorry it’s so late, and I don’t really have an excuse because I have just been enjoying life outside of work and relaxing. But I am here now, and that is what counts, right?! Anyways, my program end date was August 2^nd, 2013—and my last day of work was July 31^st. I’m not going to lie, I was very anxious for my program to end; almost every one of my CP friends’ was as well. I absolutely loved the program; but after a while sharing a 3 bedroom apartment with 5 other girls, having no other transportation options except for Transtar, and getting silly hours because you were a CP was a little exhausting. This caused me to make this post a list of things that I wish I would’ve done or had known before, during, and after the program.

Before I came down to Florida for my program, I believe that I prepared myself quite well for what I was going to experience. I knew that I would work hard and consistently long hours, and that I was basically at the bottom rung of the ladder. If you decide to participate in the Facebook groups, Google hangouts, and any other way to meet new people before you arrive, just know you probably won’t hang out with half the people you met or friended on Facebook. My best friend was one of my roommates who I hadn’t even said a word to before we arrived in Florida. However, some of the greatest people whom I am blessed to call my friends and Disney family—I met over Google hangouts. You just never really know who you’re going to get along with and become friends with until you meet everyone in person. I also would highly suggest bringing your own car down with you. I knew that I’d regret not bringing mine down with me; however, it just wasn’t feasible for me. While I did have some memorable moments on those lovely buses (A, B, and K buses I’m talking to you…) my life would’ve been so much simpler if I had my own car. Just make sure you can afford the gas down there, and that you don’t mind being used as a shuttle service for some of your lovely DCP friends… I may have been guilty of this.

During the program you will have some time to play but you will definitely spend most of your time working. When you have free time go do something fun!!!!! On my days off I always tried to do something; whether it was going to the parks, watching the fireworks, tanning at the pool or water parks, planning a beach day, or just shopping at Downtown Disney. You have so many options available to you, most of which are free for your use! Don’t get me wrong a chill and relax day is definitely nice after a long work week, but just make sure your taking advantage of all of the wonderful things to do around you. You’re living next to “The Most Magical Place on Earth” which people pay thousands of dollars to visit for just one week. Visit, have fun, and enjoy your time down there.

If your program is anything remotely like mine you will probably have two separate groups of ‘families’ as I like to call them. One will be your roommates and friends that you have met, the other will be your work family. I honestly believe with my entire heart that I had the greatest work family a girl could ever ask for, and I know that you’ll feel the same way. These people make you you feel okay working a 15 hour shift because at least you’ll get to see their face for a few minutes. If we had someone who had a car when we closed the park, you could guarantee that you would find us at IHOP or Ale House that night after work, maybe even “waffley house”. These are the people that will probably either make or break your experience down in Disney. Just know that you will get close to your fellow cast members, no matter how hard you try to tell yourself that you won’t care when you leave, you will—it’s inevitable. I know a bunch of part timers and full timers who hate CP’s because they become friends with us and become friends with us, and then their hearts are broken when we leave. It’s a terribly wonderful and horrible process that happens every semester and maybe if you’re lucky it won’t hurt as much when you leave. Because I know when I left it was the most painful thing I ever had to do; to leave these people whom you saw every day for 5 or 7 months, and then they’re just gone.

I am lucky though because I was able to go into a seasonal position at Fantasyland when my program ended. This is where I believe one of the most important aspects of this program came into play for me, networking. I hate that word; I hate the idea of it and everything that comes with it. I wish people could get an interview or a job based on their motivation, work ethic, education, and values. Unfortunately, life doesn’t like to play that game, so you need to network if you want to move up or around. Thankfully Disney makes networking pretty simple for you. They have all sorts of workshops, meet and greets, and you will have several managers whom you can always talk to and get to know. If you show them your determination and how hard of a worker you are you’ll have no issues networking.  I was lucky enough that managers got to know who I was for good reasons! I emailed my old homeroom manager and asked if it were possible for me to go seasonal in my old role; she was able to contact casting and scheduling and they were able to open a seasonal fantasyland attractions position for me! So I am still an official Walt Disney World Cast Member, and hope to continue my career with Disney far into the future.

Well guys, this’ll be the last post I make in reference to my Spring 2013 Disney College Program. Hopefully, I’ll be able to keep y’all updated on where life takes me—PI’s, management internships, coordinator positon, CEO! The possibilities are endless.

All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them. – Walt Disney

T-minus One Month...

I have one month left of my program. I don’t like reading those words because this program was the greatest decision I have made for myself. However, I am going to finish school and I will get my butt back down here as quickly as humanly possible! So for this update I’m going to talk about extensions, my new position, and any other things that are on my mind at the moment!

            Extensions!!! Oh, extensions… once these come out during the last 6 weeks of your program you will probably see three different types of people: those who apply, those who want to but won’t/can’t, and those who basically think the DCP is hell on earth. Let’s start off with those unhappy DCPers, shall we? Basically, they hate the program and Disney. They met some great people but they hate their job, hate the hours, don’t go to the parks and take advantage of the perks, and just want to get back home. There’s nothing wrong with these people, just that they didn’t have the experience they thought they would and they’re over it. If you don’t let them bother you then you won’t even notice them! :- ) Then we have the kids who would like to apply to extend – or at least like the idea of it – but they won’t or can’t. At the moment that is me and several of my friends. We are either need to finish school, have to go back home, or have different plans for our futures. Then we have the kids who will apply for extensions. You apply, then you get an email saying okay thanks we’ll let you know later, and then you wait. And the waiting sucks, and basically all you can think about is whether you were approved to extend or not. Then you get an email saying yay or nay and your plans will basically be made for the next few months!

            On to my position at All Star! There are sooo many cast members within the Front Desk role alone, but luckily I have been getting to know everyone a little more and feeling more comfortable in my position. I love being a runner; I can move around all day, walk outside, converse with CM’s and guests and face some fun challenges along the way. I’m probably at the actual front desk once or twice a week and runner 3-4 times a week. This isn’t common, but I believe the managers and scheduling knows that I like being a runner and they always see me as one so my schedule has kind of shifted towards that role. Front desk is definitely interesting, I like the ability to converse with CM’s near you and that you are one of the first people guests will see when arriving. There is a lot of responsibility such as making sure guests rooms are clean and ready, finding their reservation and ensuring everything is correct, fixing any issues a guest may have whether it was at the parks or in the resort, and making sure your bank is even. I don’t mind the bank until I pull cash (so when someone pays with cash) then it becomes a bit of a hassle. Usually, it’s just a few extra steps and then you are done; however, for me something always goes wrong! The machine will break, I can’t figure out why the computer is saying my bank isn’t even when I have counted it 30 times and I can guarantee it is. It’s just stupid things that make my day a little more difficult, but everything works out! I also just had my first curbside shift which I liked! Basically we walk around the lobby with an iPad and greet guests getting off the Magical Express, or answer any questions they may have, and try to contain the line by getting as much information as possible so that the cashier (a.k.a front desk) doesn’t have to ask. It is fun and easy, and I get to talk to a lot of people which is great for me!

            Other than work and extensions, Disney has been swell! I am trying to get everything that I want to do into my last month here, so wish me luck on that! I am also trying to hang out with everyone who is leaving or lives here before I leave, I hate goodbyes and I have to do them again! But this program has been wonderful and I cannot wait to return to Florida, I just have to get that degree and then I’m golden! :- ) 

Hospitality Training and All Star

So I thought I would share a little bit about my new position with y’all!

I now work Hospitality at Disney’s All Star Resorts, I work two positions: front desk and runner. Front Desk is pretty self-explanatory; I check people in and out, give them directions, explain dining plans, extra magic hours, keys, etc. And the runner is an interesting position. Basically you drive around the All Star property for your shift, helping guests who were locked out of their rooms, delivering packages they had ordered, surprising them with floral arrangements, sometimes driving them to their room or possibly to a park or other location on and off property.

I finished my training for Front Desk on Saturday. It was four 8 hour days of training at Disney University. These days consisted of learning Lilo (the reservation system, also the name of my dog!), how to do check-ins, check-outs, exchange foreign currency, paid outs, refunds, room changes, and all that jazz. It was a little overwhelming because there is so much information you need to know, but by the fourth day I felt a little more comfortable about what I was doing. I will say that the way Disney University trains you is very cool. They have an actual little lobby set up like the check-in desks, so you do different scenarios with your ‘guests’ and that helps you get more hands-on training. Once I was done with my four days at Disney University I started my All Star training.

It’s actually funny because out of all of the Disney resorts on property, All Star is the only one that I had never visited before. So I knew the least about it, but after our property orientation I had a better feel of the resort. The nice thing is all three resorts—sports, music, and movies—basically have the same set up, so it isn’t too confusing when you switch resorts constantly because everything is in the same general area. After my property orientation, I received my costume, which is all blue. Blue pants, blue top, blue bag… everything is blue, I look like a mail man. And then I had my first day of training on the desk!

I was lucky enough to have the same trainer, Edward, for all 5 days. Edward was very nice and extremely helpful! He knew exactly what he was doing and wasn’t afraid to ask managers if I had a question he could not answer. He definitely better prepared me for the desk, which I am very thankful for. Throughout my training I got a little bit of everything; I received cash, paid outs, refunds, foreign guests (thank goodness for the language bank!), cancelled reservations, groups, etc. Basically what Disney University told me might happen during my time in hospitality; I got in my first week. The interesting thing is All Star is the largest resort on property (when you put the three themes together) and they have hundreds of check-ins in one day. But, it’s a lot calmer than Magic Kingdom. Unlike MK you have downtime, and I don’t really know what to do with myself. The managers don’t really care if you talk with your fellow cast members as long as you are there to help a guest should they need it. One suggestion during down times is to blow up balloons; they even have a whole helium tank and a balloon animal guide. It’s just a very different setting than Magic Kingdom, which I will have to get used to.

My homeroom managers seem awesome, and the FSA’s are great as well! That is definitely something I like about my resort, I have actually met my managers, where in Fantasyland I didn’t know half of them by May. All Star is extremely different from Magic Kingdom and I’m assuming the other theme parks, you have guests there 24/7, so you are basically always on call. But you also have those down times, and from what I’ve been told when people are deployed from another resort to All Star, they are always surprised at how busy it is. However, I would like to try to cover shifts at other resorts, because once you are front desk trained you can pick up shifts at any resort on property which I believe could be fun!

Alright I believe I covered everything in this little post for y’all. But if anyone has any questions about hospitality, All Star, my extension, or the College Program feel free to ask! Have a philharmagical day everyone!

Goodbyes

            So this has probably been one of the hardest months of my life. The Disney College Program started out as a dream of mine that I had 10 years ago. I could work in Walt Disney World, visit the parks whenever I wanted, and still get credit for school while in Florida? Sounded like a great gig to me! Now, here I am 4 ½ months after I began my program and I have a completely different view of this program. Yes, this is an internship, and you get crazy hours, and the shifts everyone hates. But you meet the greatest people you’ll ever know. I met my best friend, made lifelong friends whom I will never stop talking to, and found myself. I know where I’m supposed to be, and I hate the fact that this will all have to end at some point.

            I’ve already said some goodbyes and I know next week I’m going to be an absolute wreck. My best friend will be moving out, the guys’ who I feel like I can call my brothers are leaving for home, and some of my amazing Fantasyland ladies will be working their last Philhar shifts. This is the moment where I wonder why I did the program. By having this program end I feel like my heart is being broken each and every time someone leaves. Yet, I know it was all completely worth it. These people made me who I am today. They know me inside and out; we shared stories about guests who got under our skin, shared all the details about our lives, had hearts to hearts when we were half asleep, and I fell in love with each and every one of you.

            So I’m going to be sappy for the next few lines…

Thank you to my entire Fantasyland family. You guys tried to help me keep my sanity through those 3:45 a.m. shifts. We may have clumped at guest flow a few times, or had sticker wars between all of us, and blew bubbles when there were no more strollers to move. When I’d pull Carrousel rotation and you all understood the hatred I had for CDS at that moment. Listening to all of my life drama which wasn’t all that important, but seemed like it at the time. Helping me fill the shows that were at capacity, and guests’ constantly listening to us say “move all the way down the row, please do NOT stop in the middle. That is a safety hazard for everyone. Sir, please move all the way down, yes you, the one wearing the hat. Yep, I need you to move all the way down, please”. So thank you to every single person I worked with: Andria, Cait, Chad, TJ, Edson, Daniel, Natasha, Jen, Melissa Emma, Jacob, Jackie, Austen, Pedro, Paulina, Ryan, Jonathan, Analia, Eric, and everyone I left out!

Sarah Mae, Angela, and Gemma! You ladies didn’t think I’d forget about you?!?! You three are wonderful people. Y’all made me so happy every time I worked with you. You listened to me vent to you about whatever drama was happening that week, complain about the positions I pulled at work that day, and act like my psychotic self. You girls are amazing human beings, and I know I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun at and outside of work without you! Angela, Beaches will always be here for you; so make sure you visit! Gemma, I’ll miss my kiwi, and please visit me in the states whenever you decide to come back! Sarah Mae, girly we’re here till August, but you are rocktastic. You were so quiet at the beginning of the program and now I can’t get you to stop yelling and screaming about your day! I love all of you girls’ so much and I hope we will stay in contact for the years to come!

My Pan peep’s: Erica, Blas, Stefen, Mason, Megan Adele, Sean, Wan-Ling, and Rumi.  Thank you for dealing with my weirdness in CDS! I became good friends with y’all and I hope I didn’t bother you too much with my loudness and random awkwardness!

Natalia, you were a wonderful roommate, I was so lucky to have you living with me! Thank you for dealing with my three alarms in the morning, my messiness, my constant discussions about the same topics until I completely overanalyzed everything, and for forcing me to watch The Vampire Diaries! You are wonderful girly, and I miss you a whole bunch!

            Paul, thankfully I have until August to say goodbye. But, what I’m going to say now is thank you for absolutely everything you have done. You are a wonderful person, and I’m so blessed to have you in my life. I don’t know how I’m going to leave in August, but right now I just want to say thank you.

            Kevin and Kody! You two are like my brothers. I talked to you over Google hangout’s before the program even started, and I had no idea that we would become so close. Kody, your awesome thanks for all the advice and you know just being your awesome self! Kevin Bear, if you ever turned into a slug I would still love you. You are one of my best friends, a fantastic artist, and an amazing human being thank you love for being you. We all better meet up at least once every few years, if not annually!

            Kristen. Hmmmmm, I never thought I would meet someone like you. You are crazy, weird, cool, silly, ridiculous, and just all around awesome. You are my Buzz Lightyear! I hope we do another program, and we move down here and live together. You are so wonderful and I know I will be an absolute mess on Thursday when you leave. Skype will be in our future, so will Facebook, letters, packages, and any other form of communication there is! I love you girly and I’m so glad that you are a part of my life now and forever.

            Alright, that’s enough good byes or as I hope to put it, “See you real soon”. 

Extended!

I have officially extended my College Program!!! Yay! Happiness, and rainbows, and butterflies, and all that jazz (just imagine a dancing Kelsey)! I was accepted to extend my program until August 2, 2013 in Hospitality. I am so excited to have this opportunity and it should be interesting to see how different hospitality is from attractions; my guess, it’ll be extremely different. But I’m hoping I will get more intense guest interaction, and it definitely doesn’t hurt that I will be in air conditioning during the summer ;).

But anyways, I am transferring roles, which means that I will be leaving my Fantasyland family May 12^th. I totally feel like I’m going to cry already, these silly people have made such a huge impact on my life, and I know that my CP wouldn’t have been nearly as great as it has been if I hadn’t have had them by my side day in and day out. We just had one of our busiest seasons of the year—spring break—and every day I was scheduled for those two weeks, I worked 12 hour shifts. But, I loved coming into work and seeing my cast members. I did a little interpretive dance/hand thing during Wishes for Daniel while guests stared at my awkwardness. I did the moon walk, Macarena,  and any other dance I thought would be fun with Andria at guest flow while Paul judged us and secretly wished he could join :). And I got to fill the theater for back to back shows with Andria and Cait while hoping that guests’ would listen and move all the way down their row. This has been the greatest job I ever could have asked for and I am so blessed to have gotten to know everyone I work with in Fantasyland. So thank you to all of my fellow CP’s, part-timer’s, and full-timers; you made my CP worth every hoop I had to jump through to get down here.  

Would I recommend doing the Disney College Program?

Yes. Absolutely. 100% yes.  

This has been one of; if not the greatest experience I have ever participated in. The hours are pretty crazy, work is hard, guests can definitely be a challenge, and sometimes you wake up and wonder why you are doing this to yourself. But then you get that special guest, or see your best friends, maybe you remember the magic that you’re creating, or you just know that you are fulfilling your dream. When all is said and done I absolutely love this program and would repeat it in a heartbeat.

I have met my best friend here, and made a group of friends whom I know I will still talk to 10, 20, 30 years from now. I can start singing a Disney song and they join along, instead of looking at me like I have gone insane. All of my fellow cast members that I work with and hang out with are just as awkward as me, and we all get each other. I know I could call anyone of them when I’m having a hard time and they will listen, comfort, and understand me. I’m so blessed to have met these people who have now made a permanent impact in my life, and I could not be happier.

I will say this; don’t plan on sticking with your plans for after the program (that sounds redundant doesn’t it)? So much stuff has happened to basically everyone I know that has changed their future plans, myself included. Be prepared for anything and be open to everything here because there is so much to experience for every single type of person! Basically, if you want to participate in the program, do it; and if you make the most of it, then you definitely will not regret it.

Story Time!

Hello world! I’m alive-ish and have time where I am not sleeping or out to write a post. YAY!!!! I know, I know; you’re welcome ;-) hahaha. Anyways, at the moment it is 7 a.m. and I need to be on the 9:13 bus to Magic Kingdom. However, I am doing laundry; let me share with you a lesson that I have learned: do your laundry on your days off. No, I’m serious do it! Because then you don’t have to wake up and do laundry in the morning 2 hours before work before a 14 hour shift, and following another 14 hour shift that got you home at 1:30 in the morning. Okay rant over!

The point of this little post was to share a few guest stories! So gather around my friends because it is story time! Let’s start with missing children; I used to think that I would never have to deal with the issue of a missing child because there were so many of us cast members that someone would find before me. Yeah, I was wrong about that. Just yesterday, I had two different cases of missing kids: the first was really only an alert. It was still the first 10 minutes after this dad lost his daughter, but he found her almost immediately after he notified me. The second child was a more serious situation, a little girl found a mom who then found us (yay for parents teaching their children what to do!!!) and let us know that she was lost. We took her aside and one of my coworkers called for a leader while I took care of her. She was one of the sweetest little girls ever and she just kept crying, so she got lots of stickers from me… I asked her what her mom’s name was, her favorite color and princesses, if she liked Magic Kingdom, etc. Thankfully the mom saw me with her and everything turned out fine. Missing children, a.k.a lost parents, can be difficult because you don’t want to freak out, but you kind of are inside, yet you have to stay calm on stage.

Anyways, more stories! Ummm… there was a guy sleeping on a bench behind the castle, and we were setting up for Wishes. Well he had been there for at least a good half hour, and I was doing strollers at Castle Couture, so I was just standing by him. And, all of my coordinators and coworkers kept asking me if he was dead, and I honestly could not tell for sure. I thought he kept moving but I didn’t know if he truly did or not. But I have yet to hear anything about him being dead or what not, so I’m taking that as a good sign!

Okay, just to keep you guys on track, I started this post 3 days ago and I am now coming back to it because I have time to do so! Anyways, this is one of my all-time favorite things that have happened to me at work and it just occurred yesterday. I just got off my break yesterday, went to CDS and pulled Carrousel rotation. Most everyone hates the Carrousel because you usually work it alone, nobody listens, and it’s an extremely difficult safety position that you are in charge of and always at fault for. So I pulled rotation and went to the Carrousel, well of course one of the trainers is doing an assessment with a new cast member, which he just ended. I then take over the operator position, and thankfully I had a grouper or else I would have been even more stressed out. So I do the safety check for my first cycle and start the ride. A few seconds later I notice a guy is standing outside the boundary, so I tell him he needs to stand inside. The carrousel does one more rotation and I see that he didn’t move, so I have to ride stop the carrousel. It was just short enough where we were going to try and keep everyone on the carrousel and do another cycle. Guests were just not having it so I’m running behind guests are confused and everything is just going wrong. Finally, I get everyone off and start a new cycle with new guests, well guess what. Another guest is standing outside the boundary! I do the whole spiel, they don’t hear me, and then I need to ride stop it AGAIN! Twice in a row guys, that is no bueno. At this point I’m stressed out, and I have lost my voice so I’m trying to tell people to exit the carrousel and they are laughing at me because my voice keeps cracking, it was great… Now to the good part! I start a new cycle with new rule obeying guests! And I’m watching the monitors and guests’ making sure everything is going smoothly, then I hear a voice over my shoulder and I look behind me and there is a little princess dressed as Belle! She had just been to BBB that day because her hair was fresh and her dress was still clean. She then puts her hand up with a bunch of flowers, and says, “Hi! I just wanted to give you these, they are for you”! Guys I just about started crying. I was having such a terrible time and this little princess made it all completely worth it. She is why I am here in Disney, making magic for guests and I wish that more of them knew how magical they make it for the cast members as well!

So those are just a few of my guest stories. I am just ending a 60 hour work week, consisting of three 14 hour days, and today is my ‘Friday’. I miss sleep and I know we will get along quite well when I reach my bed tonight. Okay lovely’s until next time, have a philharmagical day!!!

Housing and stuff!

Hello world! I'm back for another rare update! Woot woot :) Well, I have been crazy busy with work and I feel like  that is the majority of my life; but, I'm okay with that because I adore my coworkers, and my attractions are pretty great!
My family just left yesterday from a quick visit. I loved seeing them, as always. But it is definitely a little different than coming on vacation with them! But we got to do a lot of fun stuff, and I loved being able to see my family and show them what I do and where I live.
I have met some of the greatest people down here! It's crazy because we are able to sing random Disney songs together, and appreciate everyone's geekiness! It is quite lovely. My friends are just some of the most wonderful people I have ever met. This program is definitely what you make of it. If you make sure you actually do stuff outside of work then your program will probably be amazing!
There are definitely some days where I wake up at 5 in the morning and think, well it won't hurt if I just call in this once... but then I get out of bed. Catch the bus (usually an hour and a half before my shift), get to work and then see all the kids who are so excited to be in the Magic Kingdom, and I just know that I have one of the greatest jobs in the world.
Here's a quick housing update for you as well! At the moment I am living in a 3 bedroom with 4 girls, including myself. I just got a letter today saying that we are supposed to get a new suite mate on March 4th, so hopefully that'll work out well! I love love love Chatham. It's the first stop for the Magic Kingdom buses which works great for me because I'm basically guaranteed a seat on the bus going to work and am the first stop back after a long night. Also, a large majority of the housing events are held here, and most of my friends live here! It was definitely just a great choice all around :)
Okay, well that's it for now but hopefully I'll be able to do another post soonish...

1/3 of the way in...

Hey everyone! It’s been a long time… whoops. I’m sorry, I’ve been really busy! But I thought I’d update y’all on the program.

I’ve been working a whole lot lately. Yesterday I had a 15 hour shift and have a 58 hour work week. That’ll definitely be interesting! Other than that I’ve been hanging out with my roommates and friends; I’ve also been getting to know my coworker’s which is great, because a lot of them are CP’s as well!

I love my job too; it’s just amazing being able to work in the Happiest Place on Earth. I get to make so many magical moments for people and make their vacation just all that more memorable! My attractions are definitely interesting also… The carrousel is pretty crazy if you’re working it by yourself when the park is busy, and lots of people enjoy jumping off when it’s moving. So if you ever ride Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel, don’t be that person! I love Philharmagic, it’s a great movie and is always fun to see people’s reactions to certain parts in the film. I have also been Wishes trained, so I can be scheduled to basically guard the castle from guests before, during, and after the fireworks. It’s just awesome being able to watch Wishes every night and get paid to do it!

Anyways, I really love it here, and it’s scary to think that I’m already almost 1/3^rd of the way into my program. I’m super excited because my parents, grandparents, and aunt are visiting next week! So I’ll get some family time and a few days off, which will be much appreciated. Well, that’s all of the updates I have at the moment, and hopefully I’ll be able to make another update soon.

The Past Week!

Hello world! Nothing of too much importance has happened these last few days. Our apartment is actually clean tonight, which makes me extremely happy! Yesterday I went to Hollywood Studios and Epcot with one of my lovely roommates Kristen. We had so much fun! I love being able to go to parks on my days off, but I have to be super careful because I spent a ton of money yesterday. Like, a lot. I had planned on saving money during this program but right now we still have a holiday discount on all merchandise, and that discount is just trying to kill my bank account. But I’ll be more careful once the discount is back to normal… hopefully ;)

Other than that I’ve just been working! I’m getting more into the groove of work and making each position my own. I’m also beginning to get to know my coworkers more, and they seem really great. The other day I submitted a form to cross-train but I have no idea if they’ll let me, but it never hurts to try!

So, yeah, that’s about all I can think about at the moment. But hopefully I’ll have more exciting stuff to share with y’all later :-)

Mini Update!

I got my little weekend in, and yesterday was a lot of fun! I went to Magic Kingdom—which is still my favorite park, even though I work there—and got a few hours in the park! We got to ride Jungle Cruise at night (crossed off the bucket list), Kristen and I got an entire boat to ourselves on Pirates of the Caribbean, we saw Wishes while riding Big Thunder Mountain, visited our other roommate, Katie, on the people mover, and then went to Poly for some Dole Whips! I’m so blessed, where else can you go to your favorite place in the world and basically visit for free and get paid to work their every day?

So after my lovely weekend, I will be back at work today. But I have to say this: while I may deal with difficult guests, attractions shutting down, stroller duty, and a ton of other craziness; I truly believe I have one of the greatest jobs in the world. Where else can I call every little girl princess, and make a strangers day just by wishing them a Happy Birthday? I mean I get to watch Wishes when I’m working! How much luckier can I be? Yes I have long hours, and yes I will have bad days, but I’ll always come back the next day ready to see what’s coming for me. I just, I truly love what I am doing right now.

P.S. I also signed up to work the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival! So we’ll see if that request is approved or not.

P.P.S Live with Kelly and Michael are coming to Florida in mid-February, and I was able to sign up for tickets! So cross your fingers, and hope that I’m chosen to go see them!

I earned my ears!

It’s official guys, I earned my ears! I can officially operate all of the positions for Prince Charming Regal Carrousel and Mickey’s Philharmagic on my own! I had three days of training: the first focused on the carrousel, the second was Philharmagic, and the third was a combo of each. Then, I had my assessment on Sunday, which I was super nervous about. My assessor was great and very helpful, but she did e-stop (emergency stop) the carrousel when I wasn’t looking to make sure I knew how to handle that situation. And yesterday was my first day on my own! It was actually a lot of fun. I got to see so many cute little kids and wish them Happy Birthday or call them princess, I love it! I mostly did stroller parking and the exit glasses for philhar, but I made the most of it and actually had a good time doing those!

I have lost my voice though, because I have to scream/annunciate at guests to fill in all the available space in the queue for carousel. So if you guys are ever told to move all the way down please do it! Anyways, I’ve been hanging out with my roommates and friends a lot lately, which is great! And our sixth and final roommate arrived this morning. She seems super nice so hopefully everything turns out well!

In other news, the buses suck. I waited for the Walmart/Publix bus today and it never showed. Then, once I called transportation from the apartment they said it was running half an hour late and that I would have to just guess and wait for it to arrive. Yeah, ummm no thank you. So I’m either going to Publix tomorrow or getting groceries delivered, at the moment I am still undecided. 

Well, I am going to enjoy my two days off, and to end this post I will be posting some pictures of my time here so far!

First Day of Work

So yesterday was my first day of ‘training’! I would call it more of an all-day park orientation. I took the 6 a.m. bus because I had to be there by 7:15… let’s just say that I was dead to the world until I got to Magic Kingdom. When everyone was there we were split up into two groups and took tours of the Magic Kingdom before the park was open! That was super cool because I have never seen the park empty, so that was a dream come true right there! We also got to ride Haunted Mansion and the People Mover, which I love. Then when the tour was over we split up into more groups that were specific to our locations. Right after we were separated I found out that I’ll be working Prince Charming’s Regal Carrousel and Mickey’s Philharmagic! So that’ll be cool!

            We then had lunch, and went on a tour of Fantasyland! I just love Fantasyland so much; it’s just wonderful in every possible way. Once our tour was done and when we finished riding the Barnstormer, it was time for costuming! I personally like my costume, although I was jealous of the New Fantasyland and Storybook Circus costumes lol :) Costuming took a little time only because we all had to get our costumes, make sure they fit correctly, and check them all out together. And after that my day was done!

            Today was my day off so I got to sleep in, and then I start another class tomorrow, and on the job training Thursday. So wish me luck! 

here is me in my costume!

Traditions!

So this post will be pretty vague, only because I’m not allowed to disclose a lot of what we did! 

My roommates had Traditions this morning at 8, and their bus left at 6:45 so I had the apartment all to myself from 7 until 12. That was definitely weird, if only because I’m not used to being by myself because it’s been so crazy lately. After my few hours of boringness it was time to get ready for traditions! You are supposed to be wearing a business casual outfit. I found the perfect dress (which I posted about earlier) and left for the bus. 

I got on the bus at 12.45 and Traditions started exactly at 2. The beginning was pretty boring but then we got to go to Magic Kingdom!!!! Let me just say that going through the backstage areas of Magic Kingdom was a dream come true for me. It was so cool seeing all of these cast members in their uniforms walking around and hanging out. I also saw Belle and Ariel heading into work, and Cinderella about to go onstage!

Once we left Magic Kingdom we did a few more activities relating to the company, and then got our name tags. Which was a great moment for so many reasons—if you’ve been through Traditions then you understand ;-). Overall, it was a pretty relaxing day, and I feel so blessed and fortunate to finally be able to make my dreams come true at the Happiest Place on Earth!

Tomorrow we are heading to Hollywood Studios and Epcot, and then I have my first day of training on Monday! I’ll let you all know how that goes when the time comes! :D

The last two days!

So I have only been here for two days and my roommates and I have already done so much stuff!

• met lots of new people
• played a huge game of apples to apples
• made our first roommate meal
• went to downtown disney
• started a flash mob
• gone to the pool (twice so far)
• and went to the housing meeting

The housing meeting was definitely... different. It was fun, but they have to be informative also, so a lot of the info was kind of boring. But when we walked in they had fog machines going, loud music playing, and lights flashing and moving everywhere. It was very club-like. 

After that we went to the pool and hung out for a while! Now we are hanging out in the apartment and probably going to have a board game night. And tomorrow is Traditions, and I cannot wait. I'll let you all know how that goes soon!

Check-in Day!

Hello all!!! Well it is official I have moved into my new apartment and am part of the Disney College Program! It is two days after check-in and it was definitely interesting! So let me get into what we did…

            My suitemate Katie got to Vista Way at 3.50 in the morning and was I believe the 6^th group to be there, which is crazy! My roommates and I all got there from around 5-6 a.m. and we all hung out in line. Unfortunately, one of the girls who was supposed to room with us backed out at the last minute; so we had 5 girls instead of 6.

            They said that check-in would start at 9 a.m. but they let us into Vista Way at 7, and we probably began check-in at 7.20 or so. Our first station was double checking that all of our contact information was correct, once we finished that we got our program guides that had stickers telling us when our housing meeting would be. My roommates and I will be going to our meeting tomorrow at 1 p.m.! Then we were led to a new station. They had two areas: one for last names A-L, and the other for last names M-Z. This is where you find out where your location will be! And I found out that my location will be in…. wait for it….

FANTASYLAND!!!!!!!!

I jumped up and down and was so excited! This was my dream to work in Magic Kingdom as a Disney Cast Member! My dream is finally coming true! :D

Anyways, after that excitement you arrive at a table where they tell you and about 5 other people what the basic housing rules are and what the major things that can get you kicked out of the program are, i.e. drinking under age. Then you go to the housing station! We were hoping for a Chatham 3 bedroom, and that is the main reason why we were there so early. Thankfully, they had some left! So we got a 3 bed at Chatham! Woot woot!!!! Then you get your key, sign forms saying you understand how much you’re paying for the apartment every week and that you will not drink, and at the end of that station you fill out all the forms for a car if you brought one. I didn’t bring one so I didn’t need to go to that station. Then you get your housing ID photo taken, and I believe it is also used for your main gate pass. They go over the Disney Look and make sure you are following it before your picture. Once they take your picture you get your ID immediately afterwards and are led outside the building to a table where someone will discuss the Disney look again, specifically for Traditions. Once you let them know you understand you head to the last booth which talks about the education opportunities you can take part in and what not. After that you wait for your assigned bus to casting, Katie and I were lucky enough to get onto the first bus to casting at 8.30!!!

            Once we got to casting, which is an absolutely amazing building by the way, we were directed to several different areas to complete all of our new hire info. This includes: background checks, finishing I9’s, signing more papers, and getting your training schedule. One of the DCP recruiters whom was helping out said that casting can take as little as one to four hours. Thankfully I finished at around an hour. When all was said and done, I was finished with everything for check-in by 9.50 a.m. Which I thought was awesome, so it really does pay off to get their early!

            Now the fun part of the day… my mom picked me back up at Vista Way and we drove over to Chatham. I had to stop by the clubhouse because the check-in station did not have our key yet since our room just became available, this should have been a huge clue. I walked into our apartment and it was extremely dirty. It smelt disgusting, the bathrooms were filthy, the dishwasher in the kitchen stilled had dishes in it and the fridge was gross. In other words, not what I was expecting; neither was my mom. We just assumed that we would have to clean the apartment ourselves, so we went to Walmart and bought all of my groceries and some cleaning supplies. When we came back some of my roommates were there and said that we were given the wrong apartment because this one hadn’t been cleaned yet. This led to us: changing apartments, them not having anymore 3 bedrooms available and then suggesting we take a 2 bedroom and 1 bedroom apartments, or move to a new complex, and finally just send a cleaning crew to the original apartment immediately.  Once we came to that decision I left the apartment for a few hours and when I came back it was clean and no longer stank! Yay!!!

            By the end of the day I was unpacked and in my new apartment with my lovely roommates! We had some people come over and played apples to apples! So overall, it was a great, long, and stressful day! If any of y’all have any questions about check-in please let me know J