My First Few Days at Disney

So - the day finally came where I check into Disney! Yay! :) 


I arrived at Vista Way at 7 am and the line was about 20 people long already. Someone came around and gave out temporary name tags (just little sticker ones so don't get too excited) and then you waited to make it up and have someone scan in your DORMS barcode...

Then you pick up a "program guide" which is actually just like a planner you probably got in high school. It has a list of information and rules in the front and a planner in the back.

Then you wait in another line and THEN you find out where you are living. I am living in Chatham in a 2 bedroom apartment. 

Then you get on another line to take your housing ID picture. Just a warning - you can not have headbands in your hair (which I did and had to take off and therefore my hair is a mess) and you can't have any necklaces on.

Then you wait in ANOTHER line and get your key.

Then ANOTHER line and you get your housing ID.

Then ANOTHER line and you find out where you are working. 

Then you get in ANOTHER line and find out what time your bus to casting will be. 

Then ANOTHER line and you have a little "meeting" with you and a few people and a cast member gives you some information.

Then you get in ANOTHER line and fill out an I-9 form.

Then you get in ANOTHER line and wait for another little "meeting" with you and a few other people about classes and such.

Then you guessed it, you wait in another line, for a little "meeting" with you and some other people about safety. 


Then you get a little bag with some things in it...

Then you wait for you bus to casting. I was the first bus (8:30 am) so I only had to wait about 5 minutes to get on the bus...

Then you get on a bus and go to casting...

But I will right about casting later when I have a bit more time!  

ONE MORE WEEK!!!!

This will be the LONGEST week of my life!!!!!! 

DORMS

Hi everybody! 

DORMS is something that is is new to the Disney College Program world... And the unknown is definitely scary! I previously posted about the announcement from Disney explaining the new way of doing housing, so check back if you are wondering about that... 

I got facebook messages from all of my roommates when I was at work saying that they had all gotten their DORMS email.... And I did not.... EEKS! I was definitely freaking to say the least! 

Sadly - we did not have an option to link 8 of us in an apartment together, so we had to split up into two groups. [Previously, future DCPers would line up super early in the morning all together and hope for an apartment together but now you have to fill out a form and you "link"  to other people. We only had the option to link to 6 people, including myself... Its nice that we don't have to be up all night but stinks that we don't even have a chance at being together]

Since I didn't get my e-mail - my group wasn't able to register :/ 

I decided to call the next morning and they told me that I had not been processed yet so there was nothing they could do for me...

EVEN BIGGER FREAKOUT! AGH!

I checked my e-mail constantly that day to see if I had been processed and I had gotten my number so we could register for housing.... NOTHING!

I decided that I would call again the next morning and see if they could help me...
At 6:30 the next morning my cell phone starts ringing and wakes me up, but I don't recognize the number, so I let it go to voice-mail thinking its a wrong number or something... But my phone dings saying I have a new voice-mail...

"Hi Amanda, This is ***** from Walt Disney World College Program, if you could please call me back as soon as possible - we have to discuss a 
discrepancy in your application..." 

I felt like I was having a heart attack... I had no idea what was wrong but it didn't sound good! I grabbed a pen and paper and jotted down the phone number and called back.

Turns out my SSN had been wrong and they needed to correct it... 

30 minutes later, I got my DORMS e-mail and our group was able to register! 

***PHEW***

New Hire Documents

On May 3rd I FINALLY received my New Hire Portal e-mail. This is very exciting for all future DCPers but in reality its just LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of forms that you need to read, "sign", and submit. And I mean LOTS! But after it you are just one step closer to arrival! :)

I highly recommend that you take the time to read everything and also to save a copy to your computer for reference in the future! 

3 More Weeks!!!!

Only 3 more weeks until I call Disney my new home!!!! 

And I've been doing lots of shopping!!!!

WOW!!!!!! 

One Month Away!!!

Today is May 3rd... You know what that means?!?!

Only 1 more month until Disney!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!

Gettin' Closer...Shop! Shop! Shop!

It's only 33 days until my Disney College Program journey begins and I'm so excited! I've been buying a bunch of stuff that I need for Disney! So far - this is some of what I've bought!

Two new Disney suitcases... Aren't they adorable?!

26" Donald Duck Luggage

30" Minnie Mouse Luggage  

{I'm missing the smallest (22" Mickey Mouse) piece of the set, but I got a great deal and got these two for $60! That was just too good that I couldn't pass it up!}

My bedding...

{beds at Disney are twin size beds, I have a queen at home so I needed new bedding - plus, I'm in love with the zebra print!}

xhilaration at Target - $40

Sheets - $18

Throw Pillow - $10

My new towels...

$30 total 

New flats for Traditions (and possibly work depending on my costuming) from DSW

Abella Lindy Wedge Pump - $35 

New flip-flops from DSW - how cute are these?!

Reef Stargazer Flip Flop - $26 

New Disney Housing

39 more days until I begin my Disney College Program experience and there have been some new updates to the way that Disney runs the housing assignments. Check out this link to the official article from the official Disney College Program blog.

Click Here

Only 53 More Days!

Only 53 more days until I start my new life at Disney World!!!!!

Found this on Pinterest day & had to share it....

Disney Housing

Finding my 7 (yes,8 of us in an apartment) other roommates was not too difficult thanks to Facebook!

Breakdown of the Disney Housing 

[as I know it at the moment... I'll keep you posted on any new information I get]

Vista Way

[the party complex]

rent per week per person

* 2 bedroom... $96

*3 bedroom... $86

Patterson Court

[the newest of the apartments]

rent per week per person

*1 bedroom... $101

*2 bedroom... $101

*3 bedroom...$91

Chatham Square

[my first choice]

rent per week per person

*1 bedroom... $101

*2 bedroom... $101

*3 bedroom... $91

*4 bedroom... $91

The Commons

[previously just for international students, but just opened up]

rent per week per person

*1 bedroom... $105

*2 bedroom... $105

*3 bedroom... $93

*4 bedroom... $93

My Disney College Program Roommate Survey

Everyone has the option to fill out a survey and post it to a facebook group to find potential roommates. Everyone going into the apartment has to be arriving on the same day.

DCP Survey

NAME: Amanda Meli

GENDER: Female

BIRTHDAY: September 15, 1991 (21... Turing 22 at Disney!)

HOMETOWN:  Naperville, Illinois

MAJOR: Communication/ Pre-Law

COLLEGE: College of DuPage

CURRENT OCCUPATION: Team Member at Target/ Nanny

                                           

ROLE: Merchandising at WDW

TERM: Fall Advantage!

ARRIVAL DATE: June 3^rd!

DEPARTUE DATE: January 3^rd!

FLYING OR DRIVING IN: Flying

WELLNESS/NON-WELLNESS: Non-wellness

BUILDING:  Chatham preferably

NUMBER OF ROOMMATES: No preference... :)

LIFESTYLE

DO YOU DRINK?: Yes, socially.

DO YOU SMOKE?:  Nope! I don't think I could room with a smoker, no offense I just have a really sensitive nose :^)

MEDICAL CONDITIONS?:  Allergic to Strawberries

MESSY OR TIDY: Pretty tidy for the most part. Sometimes in a crazy week my desk gets filled with mail or my clean laundry doesn't make its way out of the hamper but it's always cleaned up on my first free day!!

DO YOU LIKE TO COOK?:  Easy Stuff (nothing too complicated but I can follow a recipe) & I really like baking if I have someone to bake with!

NIGHT OR MORNING PERSON?: Definitely night! Although I do set an alarm for my off days to get up at 9 am to go for a run... I would love a running buddy!

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR FREE TIME?: I really like to be out and doing this if the weather is nice, so I'm excited to be able to go to the parks a lot! I also loooove shopping! I like movie nights when it's gloomy outside. I would love a roommate who could also be a workout/running buddy!

ROOMMATE QUESTIONS

FAVORITE CHORE: Vacuum, Dusting, Laundry, Emptying the dishwasher, Cleaning off Clutter

LEAST FAVORITE CHORE: Bathroom Cleaning... Blegh!

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SHARING?: Depends on the item and the person, honestly. If someone would like to borrow my stuff and they let me know (and can return in the same condition) then I'm a very good sharer!  I have lots of movies (almost every single Disney movie on DVD/blu-ray) and tv seasons that I'm happy to share!

DO YOU SNORE?: nope! Sometimes I mumble in my sleep when I'm stressed :/

WHAT TIME DO YOU NORMALLY GO TO BED?: If I don't have an early morning planned... Normally between 11pm & 1 am

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP ON FREE DAYS?: 9 am on weekdays to go run and 11 on weekends to catch up on sleep

I PREFER TO SLEEP IN A ROOM THAT IS____: dark and cold

PERSONALITY

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU: Upbeat, Trustworthy, & Talkative

ONE GOOD QUALITY: I'm very loyal to my friends and I'm always there for them to talk to and have fun with

ONE BAD QUALITY: Sarcastic... It's not for everyone! haha

FAVORITE TV SHOWS: FRIENDS, How I Met Your Mother, Castle, Once Upon a Time, Greys Anatomy

FAVORITE BOOKS: Chick Lit

FAVORITE MOVIES: All Disney movies & romantic comedies :)

FAVORITE MUSIC:  Country!!!!

DISNEY STUFF

FAVORITE MOVIE:  Cinderella & Peter Pan

FAVORITE CHARACTER:  Eeyore and Cinderella

FAVORITE PRINCESS: Cinderella

FAVORITE VILLAIN: None... :/ I’m a good over evil type of girl…

FAVORITE PARK: Magic Kingdom :D

FAVORITE RIDE: Hollywood Tower of Terror

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN TO DISNEY?: A lot when I was little... Most recently January 2012

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT AT DISNEY?: Hanging out at the parks, seeing all the little kids enjoying Disney magic, warm weather, meeting some great new people (from all over!) & being close to my family in Tampa

Selecting Program Dates

A few minutes after (but which felt like eternity) I FINALLY got to select my arrival date!!!!!! 

The arrival dates for Fall Advantage are as follows:

May 13th

May 20th

May 27th

June 3rd

June 10th

Some days were only available for certain roles. 

I selected June 3rd!!!! 

Accepting My Offer

The $100 Program Assessment fee is for all of the housing activities that go on during the program.

The $200 Housing and Administration fee covers your rent for the first two weeks before you start getting paid.

The minimal processing fee is $4.50

MY OFFER!!!!!

ON MARCH 13TH.... 

I GOT THIS EMAIL....

After opening the email, I found out to which park I had been accepted and which role I had been accepted to....

For those of you who are unaware, the Fall Advantage is a program that starts in the summer (May/June) and runs through January. 

The next step is to accept your offer... You only have 10 days to do this... 

(At the time of acceptance, you are required to pay the required fees)

My Application Process

This year, The Disney College Program application opened on February 8th, 2013! That day I happened to be visiting Downtown Disney with my uncle! I thought that was a very good sign! That night after a long day in Orlando I logged on and filled out the initial application. 

The next day, I got an email telling me to complete the web-based interview. Which is a long series of questions that you have to answer in a set amount of time. It asks about what kind of person you are, what others think of you, and other things regarding work experience. 

The web based survey took about a half hour and then a few hours later... I got my next email...

I was able to schedule my phone interview for about a week and a half later... February 18th at 10 am EST. 

The phone interview comes from a private/blocked number anywhere from 15 minutes before to 15 minutes after. Mine came a few minutes after 10.

Best way to do your interview in a quiet place, at a time where you will not get any interruptions. My phone interview took about 20 minutes. She asked me about the roles I had been interested in, my work history and about myself in general. 

Three days later I got this e-mail.... 

Then I had to wait.... 

And wait....

And wait some more.... 

Hello World!

Hi Everyone! My name is Amanda. I'm 21 years old and live in Naperville, Illinois - a suburb of Chicago. I have recently been accepted into the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Florida. I was selected for a merchandising role where I will be working in one of the many many stores at Disney! (I won't find out what store until I arrive) Which by the way is JUNE 3rd!!!! (Which by the way is in 71 days!) I couldn't be more excited! I have "met" the five amazing girls that I will share my apartment with and I can not wait to meet them in person on arrival day!