Christmas Tree

Just thought that I would share some of my favorite pictures that I took of my Christmas tree. It was my first time decorating one by myself and I think I did a good job. Of course my mom helped, but I did the putting together of the tree, which was a first. It was also the first time I'd really used my camera since the end of October, so it was a test trying to use my camera again!

 

Merry Christmas!

Image from: http://wdwmemories.com/

Font: Waltograph; downloaded at any font website!

Happy Holidays!

I'm a little late, but -

 

I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday. I'll be taking the time from this for the weekend and I'll make sure to update on Monday!

Image from: http://wdwmemories.com/

Font: Waltograph; downloaded at any font website!

You know the moment where you walk out the door or away from somewhere and you have that feeling where you don't know when you'll return? I had one of those moments today.
 

It's such a strange feeling when you're leaving someplace familiar and it's slightly heartbreaking that I'm going to have to deal with the feeling in two weeks when I board my flight and two and a half hours later find myself in the middle of Orlando and living just next to Lake Buena Vista and Walt Disney World. This is an opportunity that so many people would kill to have and here I am; a nervous wreck unsure of themselves. In the words of Dorothy, but with some editing on my part - "Lily, we're not in Jersey anymore." I guess it's slightly silly to even incorporate my dog in the phrase as she won't even be with me, but it's comforting to think the phrase as such.
 

Sitting back and reflecting my time at my first "real" job actually makes me surprisingly sad. I have honestly waited for the day where I could say that I was leaving, but now that it's happened I'm actually upset. I'm not so much upset about the job itself, since I know I can go back and I probably will even though I absolutely despise the hours and the physical pain it leaves me in is immense, but I adore the people. Each person I worked with has some sort of story that correlates to how we get along. There are a few people I feel as though I wouldn't really miss, but it's turning out I really will.
 

I guess the whole point of this, is if on the of chance anyone reads this that I worked with, I would really like to say - thank you for everything. I honestly mean that in the least sarcastic way possible, which is the side of me that wasn't widely evident all the time when we were working.
 

I really don't know what else I could even say here, so I'll leave it at this for now. However, I will mention that I leave in two weeks. There is so much that needs to be done and the time is ticking!
 

Until next time,

After Recent Events...

I will focus solely on my blog. I'm seriously tired of being belittled by all of these people who don't even know me and I'm tired of people I considered friends giving me a hard time.

This is my only safe haven...at least I hope.

Less Than a Month!

Wow! I really can't even believe it! There's less than a month until I leave!

It seems like just yesterday that there were 100+ days until I would get to this point, but now my last day of class is tomorrow and I can officially start packing for Disney!

Unfortunately, I really can't say too much on that front because I haven't exactly purchased too much for the program. There's still a lot that I need to do and in such little time! I'm afraid that I won't even be able to get everything done on time, but it won't stop me from trying. In the meantime, I'm trying to put together a Disney College Program video series. I started working on it, but I think I need to revamp the whole set-up because the audio is off, the video quality annoys me, and I just want to have videos that can be passed among future college program participants. I know what I want to do, I just need to go ahead and do it.

Maybe in my down time for when I'm really not doing anything, I'll rework every single one of my videos that I've done so far. I want people to watch them, not look at them for a second and then leave. Well, I guess that's it for now. I'm hoping to have a decent update sometime soon on everything because hopefully I'll have some things to really talk about!

In the meantime, check out the playlist that I've started so far: 

Disney College Program Playlist

Also, here's the latest video, but in order to check out the playlist in the correct order, I suggest going and pressing the playlist link above! Please ignore how the thumbnail looks because I look terrible. I really wish that I could create custom thumbnails! Ughhh.

See ya real soon!

Excuse My Venting

So, I know it’s been a fair amount of time since I’ve written on here. Believe me, it was not intentional. I just haven’t found any desire to write and out of nowhere it stuck me that I actually haven’t written anything on here in a while; more specifically in over two weeks. At least this blog gets to see some action, my other blog hasn’t been updated since my birthday which was October 13^th. I guess you can say, “whoops” for the millionth time.

I guess this should be the time where I discuss the fact I haven’t made any moves whatsoever to get my plans solidified. All I know is that my check-in date in January 9^th. I have thoughts running through my head on how I want to do all of this, but I have yet to make any moves to start making them happen.

The biggest issue is getting from the airport in Orlando to Disney. Why is this a problem? The taxi is just going to cost way too much, at least $50 unless I took a shared shuttle but according to the taxi company that is suggested by the college program, it would still mean I would have to travel from one location to get to the closest hotel to check-in. The solution is that I fly in early and stay on Disney property, but that once again leads to the question – how do I get to check-in? That would mean I would need to find transportation from my resort over to Vista Way. I guess I could attempt to find another college programmer who would be willing to bring me over (I would feel stupid taking that route) or just getting a taxi from whichever resort I’m staying at to check-in.

This is possibly the most confusing thing I’ve ever done. I’m hoping that I can get that end of my issues figured out.

With the exception of trying to figure out transportation, I haven’t really been doing much besides working and going to school. I’m not so sure how school’s going, but I think I’m doing alright. Just as long as I get through the semester in one piece, I’m honestly not concerned with what I get grade-wise. I’m so burned out from everything that I just need to get away and Disney isn’t coming fast enough for me right now. Though I have mixed feelings about the program, I just know it’ll get me away for a while and that’s what I need. I need a serious break from school and I would like to say work, but obviously I’ll be working. I think anything would be better than what I’m doing now, though.

It’s not that I don’t like my current job because I do, but the hours are terrible and I’m lucky if I even get any. I’ve asked for a location switch several times but never get it so that means I’m stuck doing the same thing and being lucky if I get hours. Now that it’s the holidays I’m guaranteed at least two days, but everyone else has at least a full week’s worth or work or at least have a second job to cover the days they’re not working. What makes things even worse is the fact that I can’t even pick up a second job that’s seasonal.

Ah, the joys of the job market.

I guess that’s it for now, excuse me for ranting and hopefully I’ll have a better update soon.

See ya real soon!

Random Thoughts

Today it finally set in that in 74 days I'll be checking-in at Walt Disney World and a few days after check-in I'll be strolling down Main Street U.S.A, probably balling my eyes out because I'm so ridiculously happy.

I think the most difficult part of leaving or even talking about working at Disney is the fact people don't really understand and "don't see what Disney can do." Not that many people outside my family seem to understand why I want to go, regardless of the reasons I give. It's never good enough for people, but I really don't care what other people think. I'm doing this to make myself happy and hopefully work my way up in the company.

Disney is such a huge company, even if I'm starting at the bottom, it's still a stepping stone in the right direction. I've always wanted to work in a theme park and it's something I want to stick with because there's jobs in theme parks besides ride attendants and the people who scan your season passes and daily tickets. I want to be working behind the scenes, but people don't understand that and just brush it off as a pointless dream that could never happen. I'm set out to prove everyone wrong, though.

I also need to seriously get on schedule with my videos and blog posts because I'm not doing very well at all. October's been a busy month, what can I say?

See ya real soon!

Whoops

So, I'm a day behind. Very un-intentional, but I'm losing track of time. On top of losing track of time, I also haven't been feeling the best. It's now 84 days and I was supposed to upload a video yesterday, but again - not feeling my best so I didn't upload or film a video as planned. That video would have been up yesterday, but I'm falling behind.

To be completely honest, I haven't filmed or started my vlogs either. I intended on starting them the day of my 20th birthday, but I ultimately failed that idea. I'm working on seeing if anything interesting is going to be happening in my life that would be fun to vlog about, but that won't be happening until I start at Disney. So, rather than create my vlogs, I'll stick with just my Disney videos right now and go from there. There's definitely a market on YouTube for Disney College Program videos so I'll be working off of that and seeing what I can come up with. It might be a few more days since I am definitely not up to filming anything at the moment. 

Well, that's it for now. 

Until next time,

Announcements!

While this is a general announcement, this video will link to my channel that will contain my Disney College Program vlogs! Make sure you subscribe to my channel if you want to keep up with everything!

I Think, I Think, I Think...

...that I have an idea! Rather than just come up with posts randomly, I've decided that every time the countdown hits an increment of 10, I'll write up a blog post about just about anything ranging from random thoughts about the program or what I've been doing; Every time the countdown ends in the number 5, I'll put together a short video just to switch things up a bit!

I don't want this blog to become really boring and I want it to be enjoyable, but there's a lot of time from now until the day I check-in, so I would rather come up with a system until I actually check-in. From there, then I have to worry about finding the time to update, but I will! I'll put up a special video on here that I'll be filming for my YouTube channel which will be an announcement for future projects. While the first video won't follow my rule, it'll be the start of what I think will be something fun.

See ya real soon!

P.S. - I would also like to mention that I've set my settings so that anyone can leave a comment on a post, so please feel free to start up some dialogue with your thoughts!

Getting Closer to the 80's

Well, my title isn't exactly the most accurate, but the count down is getting closer to "1" and really fast.

I just received my e-mail to access the on-boarding web site and it's just hit me how real all of this really is. A long time childhood dream is actually coming true for me and it's still strange, but now it's real. It's also extremely intense. For those CP's who have made it and have received the on-boarding website e-mail, you get what I mean.

The fact of the matter is, is your Disney College Program experience starts way before you even check-in. It's exciting and terrifying all at once, but there's always that strange little feeling that you can't figure out.

Until next time,

98 Degrees - I Mean Days

Truthfully, since the day I received my acceptance e-mail, the days have all run together. For me, October is very fast paced for a few reasons.

1. Fright Fest at Six Flags - for a season pass holder at Six Flags, Fright Fest is pretty much the moments we live for. The irony behind this on my end however, is that I absolutely HATE being scared. I freaked out Saturday night because I absolutely could NOT do the Terror Trail that everyone insisted on doing. It's just not possible for me and as much as I want to try one, it's very difficult to work through that fear. I'm determined to do at least one before the end of the season on the 30th, I just won't guarantee that I'll be happy about it.

2. My birthday - my birthday is on the 13th so luckily the month flies by until that point and pretty rapidly. I will not complain at all, even though my birthday isn't usually the best day of the year. However, I try to make the best of it.

3. School starts to get into full swing. Usually. - This semester is a lot different than others due to the fact I'm taking art classes so I don't have to do as much as I usually would and somehow, I miss it.

4. Just because - That's it. October's fast paced just because and I couldn't tell you how, but it just does.

There's a lot of things that are on my mind right now, that is for sure. I'll wait until another time to talk about them, though.

See ya real soon!

The Wait

Possibly one of the worst things about the college program comes in the form of the wait. For anyone who’s done the program before, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

After the phone interview, you’ll receive an e-mail giving you a time frame of when you’ll hear back on the decision. In addition to this e-mail, you’re told to check your dashboard to check your potential progress, or lack of progress, in the event an e-mail doesn’t come your way.

After my interview, I was told I would hear back within a week. A week goes by – nothing. Well, in my mind, that was perfectly fine since I knew they were busy.

Another a week goes by, still nothing. Then the acceptances, pending decisions, and the “try again” decisions start rolling in. NOW I start to get nervous.

Just one day before it hit three weeks, just before my Intro to 2D class on September 28^th at 11AM, I checked my e-mail and my heart stopped. In my inbox was an e-mail…an e-mail saying “Congratulations.”

Somehow, against every bit of possibility I thought was possible. I somehow made it. I would be working at Disney.

With that e-mail I’m where I’m at now – two days later and still not believing that I managed to get accepted. With that e-mail, this is where you come in, reading my blog and joining me in my journey. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment on any of these entries and I’ll get back to you.

Thanks for reading so far.

See ya real soon!

The Phone Interview

The phone interview was something I had immediately started to dread just moments after passing my web based interview. For one, I am not exactly a phone person. One bad incident when I was five and forget it – I’ve wanted absolutely nothing to do with a phone since then. I’m slowly beginning to work past this, but it’s still a memory that haunts me still to this day.

Anyway, as I mentioned before I immediately began to dive into learning about the phone interview. As it turns out, there really isn’t much out there and for a reason.

September 8^th came and I was up at the crack of dawn. Today was the day I would do my phone interview and I was extremely nervous. I did everything I could to pass the time, but the time just moved at a painstakingly slow pace.

At around 11, I received a call from a Florida number. Know what it was for? Dog leashes. Definitely NOT the call I had been expecting. Again, time began to move slow. It hit 11:30…no phone call. Then finally, around 11:45 I got my call. Every bit of nervousness I felt disappeared, but around 6 minutes later it came back because my phone, as well as the house phone, would not stop ringing! No matter where I went the ringing was loud as anything and was extremely distracting.

As it turned out, someone else was calling to interview me while I was already on the phone with someone!

After my interview was over, I felt great. I had possible questions that could be asked set up in front of me, but as soon as the interview started, I threw them out.

The reason why there’s so little on the interviews is because you’ll feel extremely at ease when you begin. Whoever interviews you has gone through the whole set up before and understands that you’re most likely nervous and make sure to make you feel comfortable. Do NOT worry about blowing this because it’ll be like talking to an old friend.

Instead of writing a whole tip page for this, I’ll put my tips here.

•        Remember to smile
•        If there’s any role you specifically want, or a place you want to be, make sure you mention it at this time!
•        Relax!
•        Again, do NOT stress out
•        Be excited, you’re one step closer to getting to Disney

See ya real soon!

Tackling the Application

Now, for those of you just starting the application process, the most important thing you need to know is DO NOT STRESS OUT.

Yes, for a lot of people, this process is a huge step in their lives, but do not stress out about it. Keep cool, relax, and just go with the flow. While you’re relaxing and reaching your cool point, don’t forget that you’re still doing the first step of the Disney application process. Just remember how everyone else has started in your place and you’ll feel better – everyone has had to do this, you are not alone. If it makes you more comfortable, do the application lounging in your bed or even dress up like you’re doing a real interview. Whatever makes you feel comfortable, make sure you do it before you start!

Now, when it comes to picking roles, make sure you only pick roles you would be HAPPY with. There are a dozen roles and say you don’t want to do Full Service Food and Beverage, make sure you put NO interest. If you could remotely deal with a role, put what’s higher up on the scale, which is Low Interest and so on and so forth. The answers you place on the role portion of the application WILL affect the results of Disney’s decision possibly by the time you finish your web interview.

Another important thing you will read on just about any and every blog or see/hear on any video anyone has done on the college program, READ the questions as they will be asked again and worded differently. You might not perceive a question to be similar, but they will be so keep an eye out for that. To help you not mess up in this situation is to choose “strongly” worded answers, such as “Strongly agree” and “Strongly disagree.” NEVER put neutral as an answer to any question as it might cause a problem down the line when and if you approach a similar question as the one you just answered.

Another helpful hint is to just talk to other people who have done the WBI before, so my suggestion is to join a Disney forum or search for a Facebook group devoted to your program season. These people will most likely stick with you to the end and will become a part of your DisFam. You won’t realize it now, but these people will become your close family as well as your extended family.

So, a quick bullet point recap to the application/WBI (in my opinion) –

·      Do not stress out about it

·      Do make yourself comfortable

·      If you could be OK with doing any role, PICK IT

·      If you do NOT want to do a role, no matter what, specify this on the application

·      READ the questions on the Web Based Interview

·      Do NOT put neutral as an answer to a question

·      Choose strongly worded answers

·      Check out other blogs, YouTube videos, websites

·      Join your program period’s Facebook group

In regards to the “neutral” answers on the web based interview, everyone will have different opinions on how to tackle this. Some people say a few neutral answers are alright, then there will be people like me who say to NOT do it. I personally say to not put neutral down as anything just because I had done so on my first web based interview several times and I did not get through. However, I read the questions more carefully and answered with a lot more “strongly” worded answers and made it through to the phone interview.

Just make sure you keep an open dialogue with your future DisFam as they’ll help you out every step of the way. If you need some luck your way, I’ll send it your way. After all, one could never have enough pixie dust in their lives.

See ya real soon!

The Applications

Rather than be alone on this mission, I found a Facebook group just for Spring/Spring Advantage 2012 Hopefuls. While I didn’t write anything on this page for some time, I eventually started making friends and was able to find out the day the applications would drop for the recruiting season.

What we knew before the applications came out was the site was undergoing a complete re-design and the initial application would be a lot cleaner than before. I knew that I had this in the bag and I just had a feeling. I stayed up to date on the count down to September 5^th.

The day September 5^th came around was unlike any other and there’s no possible way to describe what happened on the Facebook group I was in, other than all hell broke lose. People were freaking out. Every other message on the wall of the group was all about the applications, how people liked them, how people hated them, how they weren’t sure what something meant. In my opinion, at the time I liked the older applications, but reflecting back on them almost a month later, I’ve realized how much nicer they really were. They were a lot simpler and a lot nicer to look at compared to their obnoxiously yellow sibling that had been around when I initially applied.

I filled out all of my information as I had done, by this time, 7 months ago. I knew what was coming and I was dreading it – the web based interview. Instead of stressing out about it, I forced myself to relax and I read the questions carefully. Finally I hit the last question and feared for the worst.

I wasn’t expecting the “Congratulations” that showed up on my screen. I went and showed my mom and she was happy for me. I then went and scheduled my phone interview for 11:30 AM on September 8^th, since I couldn’t schedule it on the first day, the 7^th, because I had classes. Still, I was ready and I immediately threw myself into researching possible questions for the phone interview. I was not about to blow this, but I was extremely nervous. Not so much for the interview, but for other things which I will discuss in my next entry.

Until next time,

How It All Began

If there’s one thing that I’ll always love, it will always be Disney. I have no doubt about this since from a very young age I have been “Disney brain-washed.” This lovely little disease isn’t a terrible one and hasn’t consumed me as much as some others, but it’s still something that I think about daily. Disney has always been and always will be a part of my life in one way or another.

The only issue I’ve had with this Disney love is this strange nagging and burning sensation that kept telling me I was missing something. The answer to this sensation and only known cure for this was the opportunity to work at Disney. For years it has been a desire of mine to work for the mouse, to be able to walk down Main Street in the Magic Kingdom knowing I was working at possibly the most magical place in the world. Even though I was always taught anything is possible if you put your mind to it, I didn’t think I could ever fulfill my dream; after all, with how many people who probably applied, how was there any possibility I could ever make it?

Then, in my sophomore year of high school, I discovered the Disney College Program. Since I was still in high school, I still had some time until I could even apply, but I vowed to myself I would try it.

Fast-forward to my freshman year of college – the Disney College Program once again came into my life, this time in the form of one of my friends being accepted into the program. Since it was so late in the application season, I figured I would wait and see what happened and see how she enjoyed herself; she loved it. The fire was set and I decided I would apply for the Fall 2011 season.

I spent days reading up on the application process and when I felt ready, I proceeded. I filled in all of my information and moved onto the web based interview, which appeared easy enough. I encountered issues with this interview very early on – it froze, it would tell me I skipped questions, anything terrible that could happen during this moment did. I was given a very polite rejection and told I could apply in 6 months. Not wanting to wait that long and very distraught, I put a call through to the recruiting center and explained my situation. The woman who looked through my information said that even though I had problems, I had still managed to answer enough questions that gave them the information they needed. She apologized and stated very kindly, the same thing my MacBook’s screen had shown me – I would have to wait.

This happened back in February. I had all my hopes pegged on this opportunity and was very upset. I gave up on the program at this time and continued on with school with the idea in my head that I would finish school early by taking on an extra course load.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, a thought was nagging at me – August was the month I was told I could reapply. August 13^th, specifically was the day I could attempt my quest again. With the mind set that I wasn’t expecting anything this time, I dove right into my research so I wouldn’t fail the web based interview once again.

This time, I was prepared.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

It’s been really hard to try and keep this a secret, but now that it’s official, I can let the cat (or mouse for that matter….) out of the bag. On January 9th, 2012 I will be checking in to get an apartment at Walt Disney World so I can start working there as part of their college program. 

That’s right – I will be working for the one and only Mickey Mouse in Orlando, Florida. While my program is only scheduled from January 9 – June 1st, I hope to extend my time at the park to a longer date, provided that I enjoy the experience as much as I’m thinking I will. The only details I know about my employment is that I will be working attractions and that I can now start searching for (a) potential roommate(s.) 

As the time goes on, I will recap the application process as well as include videos that I plan on making regarding my experience. Now that it’s official, in my next post I will backtrack and start with the very beginning of the application process, which will include the web based interview. 

To everyone who has been accepted so far – congratulations; if you are still waiting for an e-mail from Disney recruiting – your time will come and when it does it will be absolutely magical; and to those who are just beginning the process – I send you all the pixie dust that I could shake from Tinker Bell and I’m sending it your way.

Just like the my future boss says – See ya real soon!