Day One: Check-In, Drug Testing, and Casting

This whole process is so different from when I worked here last time! Everything is SO MUCH FASTER WOW.

Check-in: I checked in at 9:30am at my apartment complex (Vista Way) and really quickly just took my picture for my housing ID (which is horrendous and super dark), did some paperwork, and could get my car decal (but I'm doing that later because I forgot my registration). The housing ID's are blue this time so they're prettier than last time when I had orange. That's literally it. It took me maybe 15 minutes to get through the whole process (minus the car decal).

Drug testing: I checked in for my drug screening at 10am in an apartment at Vista Way and sat around with some other CPs waiting for my turn. Everyone was super nice and excited so it was nice to make friends :) For the drug test I just had to pee in a cup and leave it on the counter then go. I probably didn't drink enough water going into it, but I was so stressed from the whole car thing. Anyway that's all done and over with! You pee in a room by yourself, but there are medical personnel right outside waiting for you.

Casting: I had casting at 12:30 in the afternoon, and went with a guy I met in my drug testing named Cory. We were both alumni so it was super fun talking to him!! He's working at Kilimanjaro Safari so that's super awesome. The bus to casting was the same as last time with us counting down to going under the Disney arch and starting out in the room with all the little gold statues. We got a nice little introduction from Randy, who was super hilarious, and there was also a man there that had been with Disney SINCE ROPE DROP IN 1971. That's so cool. Well we first filled out our I-9 form which they helpfully have a template for, then filled out some paperwork, then got our fingerprints taken, talked about the Disney look, learned about where our first few days of training would take place and how to get there, then were on our merry way. It took about an hour, but everything kept moving so it went by pretty quickly. Then we got on the bus and went back to housing! It's only a 10 or so minutes drive from housing to casting.

And that's day one!! It is currently day two which is a free day, so we're going to go grocery shopping :)

WE KNOW WHERE WE LIVE AND WORK!!

So the program did something different this year and told CPs ahead of time what their location is, their apartment complex, and their first week schedule. So Lindsey and I got this email on the Thursday before check-in, while in Kansas. We got a 3-bedroom, 6-person apartment in Vista Way (last choice, but hey, no triple occupancy) and we got with all our requested roommates! I'm working at Magic Kingdom, New Fantasyland East attractions. This includes The Little Mermaid (my requested ride), Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Teacups, and Winnie the Pooh. So I probably got my requested attraction YAY! I also found out I had check-in, drug testing, and casting all on Monday, a housing meeting on Wednesday, and Traditions on Saturday at 2:40pm.

Lindsey got placed in Magic Kingdom, Frontierland attractions. This includes Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Country Bears Jamboree. She's terrified of Splash Mountain so she's hoping for one of the other two haha. She had a similar schedule to mine but with Traditions in the morning on Saturday instead of afternoon.

My other roommates locations are as follows: Alyssa is QSFB - ODV (outdoor vending) at Magic Kingdom. Alexa is merchandise at TrenD in Disney Springs. Mariam (Murr-iam) is QSFB at Sunshine Seasons in Epcot. And Brooklyn is custodial at Hollywood Studios! We all have Traditions on either Friday or Saturday.

We also received our first few days of training schedule on Monday the 23rd via email. I have "Welcome to Operations D" on Tuesday from 7:30am - 2:00pm and "Once Upon a Time...Is Now!" on Wednesday from 7:15am - 4:00pm. Both of these I have to dress business casual, and the first will likely be lots of sitting and listening, and maybe computer training at Disney University, while the second will be at Magic Kingdom and include an introduction to our park!

That's it for now - SUPER excited I'm in the area I requested!!!

The Road To Disney (WE'RE FINALLY IN ORLANDO!!!)

So I've been on the road for the past week to get to Disney and haven't had time to blog about it. So this morning I'm going to pump out like four blogs, including check-in/casting, role and housing assignment, our apartment, and today's vlog of our trip details!! It was a crazy trip.

January 17th, 2017: Lindsey and I flew out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Denver International Airport, then took a shuttle up to Fort Collins (reminder: Fort Collins is where I went to school). One of my old roommates picked me up (thanks Katelyn!!) and we got to go out to dinner at Stuft, and super awesome burger restaurant with all of my college friends. This night we stayed in a hotel so we could get our beauty sleep for the next day of driving, but the other nights we stayed at friends houses.

January 18th, 2017: We left our hotel at 8:15am after eating breakfast and headed to Kansas! We used an awesome website called GasBuddy.com which maps out your trip based on your vehicle, and the cheapest gas stops you can make along your ride which saved us a good $20 or so. But anyway, we mapped out each gas stop ahead of time, so our first stop was in eastern Kansas. Let me tell you, all of eastern Colorado and Kansas is flat and brown, so not the most interesting place to drive through. We got in to Stilwell, Kansas around 7:15pm and got to stay at my mom's cousin's house (my first cousin once removed?). It took us about 9 hours of driving, 10 hours total with stops along the way.

January 19th, 2017: Back in October/September when we booked these flights we gave ourselves two buffer days in case of weather, but the weather was perfect driving through Colorado/Kansas, so we stayed a day in Stilwell with my family. My mom's cousin took us to the barn with her and we got to ride a little bit, and she and my second cousin took us out to brunch. Even though Kansas is slightly atrocious, it was a super fun day :) Oh, and I went into their Honda dealer and got my oil changed. Also there was a passenger bag recall so they also replaced that.

January 20th, 2017: We left for Louisville, Kentucky around 9am, and drove through Missouri (DON'T STOP IN EAST ST. LOUIS), Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. It took us close to 7.5 hours driving, and 9 hours total because we stopped in Missouri to see Lindsey's cousin! The drive was super easy, we didn't hit any traffic, even around Kansas City and St. Louis areas. Super great though, because it made for a quick drive! Well we got in to Louisville (apparently pronounced Loo-ul-ville) close to 7:45pm and got Olive Garden for dinner. We stayed with a good friend of mine, Katy, who did my first program with me!!

January 21st, 2017: This was another buffer day so we spent it exploring a little bit of Louisville, and eating really good food. We got crepes at Twin Sisters, ice cream at the Comfy Cow, coffee at Please & Thank You, and dinner at the Village Anchor. It was all so tasty haha but I'm such a foodie. Lindsey has family near the Kentucky-Ohio border, so she drove an hour over to Lexington, and got to meet up with them while Katy and I went out to dinner.

January 22nd, 2017: This day was quite the day. We drove roughly 13.5 hours from Kentucky to Orlando, going through Tennessee and Georgia. Shockingly, we hit zero traffic going through Nashville, Chatanooga, AND ATLANTA (whaaaaaat). This was a Sunday though with some nasty storm warnings, so I guess it makes sense? We missed the worst of the storms for sure, we just got hit with some rain a few times, but apparently there were like 19 deaths storm-related in Georgia that day. So anyway, we drove straight to Downtown Disney (oops, Disney Springs), with one accidental detour that took us by a correctional facility (LOL). It was so fun to be back on Disney property; Lindsey and I got Earl of Sandwich for dinner, walked in World of Disney, and got completely drenched by the rainstorm. So here's where it gets interesting: we were driving to our hotel from Disney Springs, were literally 300 feet away from our turn into our hotel, and got in a car accident. We were at a yellow flashing light (which means go, yield if you have to), and t-boned a man in the middle of the intersection. Turns out he had a flashing red (which means stop, then go if there are no cars) so luckily his insurance is covering everything. His car definitely got totaled, and mine is TBD on damage. The whole front bumper area is smashed, the airbags deployed, and the hood of the car is a little wonky. Somehow both my headlights are intact though? My car was bigger than his and got hit on a sturdier side (he got hit on the passenger door, no passengers thankfully) so he had the worst damage. Anyhoo, we went to hospital for insurance purposes and we're both fine. I have a small burn from the airbag, and Lindsey has a bruised chest from the seatbelt, but my car did good. Now it's getting towed to an inspection center so I can know the damage and whether or not it's fixable.

That's our road trip!! We had to take a taxi in the morning and move all our crap to the taxi van, but I am finally sitting here in my apartment so it's okay. :) Thankful to be alive and well.

New Hire Paperwork | Spring 2017

My new hire paperwork came today! There will be a link in the email for new users and for returning users. I thought I was a returning user, but my information wasn't recognized so I switched to new user and created a password (username is listed in the email). What the new hire paperwork basically is, is electronically signing a bunch of documents. You have to create an electronic signature which will turn out dreadfully, then allow that to be your signature for all documents. You simply press a button confirming you're signing.

These documents include information about costume rental/return, the Disney Look, confidentiality, safety, policy, bloodborne pathogens, tax information, the W-4 form, bank information if using direct deposit, and some other stuff. In total there are roughly 25 different documents you will need to either sign or fill out. If you're using direct deposit, have your checkbook nearby so you can easily find your account number and routing number. You'll also need your social security card if you don't have your SSN memorized (you should probably make an effort to memorize it).

That's pretty much it!! Really not very exciting, but necessary :) I officially leave in 13 days, and will check in at my apartment complex in 19 days! SO excited. Also, I should find out what apartment complex I'm living in around the same time Lindsey and I leave!! If this is news to you, the check in process has changed! Disney will now give you your itinerary ahead of time, including what apartment complex to check in to/you will be living in. You find this out about a week ahead of time, and now find out your work location at casting instead of check in!!

Next up will likely be an OFFICIAL packing blog! Or a detailed timeline blog. LET THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUE.

Dealing With DORMS: Housing | Spring 2017

HELLO HUMANS! So soon after my last post :) Our housing email came today for us to put in our housing requests! Kind of weird it came before the new hire paperwork email, but whatever.

So the email basically said housing registration is now open, and will be open from January 2, 2017 at 10:00 EST - January 5, 2017 at 12:00 EST. It includes a registration link and a "roommate number" which is also your Perner (employee ID number). You'll click on the link and that will take you to DORMS where you'll login with your password you should have created for class registration and program acceptance. After logging in you will click on the housing tab, and it takes you to a page to input basic information.

This page asks for name, address, emergency contact, etc. It will also ask you whether or not you want to opt out of Disney housing, if you require ADA housing (handicap), if you're requesting married housing, if you're requesting an alcohol-prohibited apartment (I'm 21+), and if you're bringing a car. I'm bringing a car, so clicking yes caused a menu to drop down and I filled in car info like make/model/license plate, but nothing about insurance. I assume if you chose yes on other tabs there would be a dropdown menu for those as well. 

Next is three forms you need to electronically sign. The first is community codes, so housing rules and stuff. The second is the payroll form which basically states that Disney will take rent out of your paycheck, and nothing is prorated. Finally, I had the vehicle agreement form which says you'll follow the rules regarding getting into the apartments and putting your decal in the correct placement. 

After this is the fun stuff!! You can choose to be adventurous and go random with roommates, or put in your own roommate preferences. For my program we were able to link up with FIVE other people. So if you had seven picked out for a 4-bedroom apartment, you're out of luck. This differs per arrival date I believe, there was one arrival date last year that could only link with three. To link with your chosen roommates you need to appoint a "leader" (me in the case of my roommates), and everyone gives them their roommate IDs. You type in all roommate IDs and verify they all have the same arrival/departure dates then you can choose what apartment you want to live in. DORMS will automatically provide a list of all apartment that could accommodate your chosen number of roommates OR MORE. So we were given all the six AND eight person apartment options. You rank all of your options, so you can't take any out.

We ranked like so:

1. Commons 3-bedroom, 6-person
2. Chatham 3-bedroom, 6-person
3.  Patterson 3-bedroom, 6-person
4. Vista Way 3-bedroom, 6-person
5. Chatham 2-bedroom, 6-person
6. Commons 4-bedroom, 8-person
7. Chatham 4-bedroom, 8-person

The prices for spring 2017 are listed below:

A guy screenshotted his DORMS page but mine looked the exact same. 

And that's it!! There will be a review page, then you'll click "submit." I'm pretty sure you can go back and change stuff at any time through the 5th. Next up should be new hire paperwork. You get two emails for the new hire stuff, and I have one of them. So maybe tomorrow I'll get the other one! We'll see. I LEAVE TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW, CAN NOT WAIT AHHHHHHH!!!!

01/09/2017 UPDATE: The January 30th arrivals can only link up with TWO other people. I believe the January 9th and January 17th arrivals could link up with seven others, January 23rd could link up with five others, and January 30th can link up with two others. 

Plane AND Car Packing: DCP Edition!

Okay I thought I was going to do a paperwork blog post, but just remembered I could do one on packing! So I'm flying from Seattle to Denver, then driving from Denver to Orlando. So I need to pack for both plane AND car. I already have my car packed up because I did that back in December when I was moving out of my house in Colorado. I just packed everything I wouldn't need at home, and left it in my car!! So here's roughly what I have packed, and what I still need to pack.

WARNING: HUGE LIST

In my car already:

• All of my cute shorts/jean shorts (I think 4 pairs?)
• 8ish tank tops (both cute and athletic)
• 1 sweatshirt
• 2 long sleeve shirts
• Socks
• Lamp
• Mattress pad
• Bedding
• 2 pillows
• 1 decorative pillow
• Lounge chair
• 2 towels
• 2 wash clothes
• 1 hand towel
• Makeup and nail polish I use, but didn't need at home
• My kitchen utensils
• Garlic press
• Can opener
• Wine key
• 4-5 mugs 
• Water bottle
• 3 wine glasses
• 1 glass microwavable dish/lid
• Muffin tins
• Shampoo/conditioner/body wash
• 3 pairs skinny jeans 
• Hair straightener
• Hairspray
• My leftover pantry goods
• Quinoa
• White rice
• Canned goods like beans
• Ramen
• Mac n cheese
• Tea
• Hot chocolate
• Jello
• Noodles
• 3 bottles of wine
• Spices/extracts
• 1 pair cowboy boots
• 1 pair Chacos sandals
• 1 pair Teva flip flops
• 1 pair Sperry boat shoes
• 1 pair gladiator sandals
• 1 pair brown wedges
• 1 pair black flats
• 3 pair spandex
• 2 recipe books
• 2 swimsuits
• 1 pair pajama pants
• 2 pair pajama shorts
• 1 pajama shirt
• Random storage units like plastic drawers - may recycle/give away once in Florida
• Electric toothbrush
• Pillow pet
• Car insurance 
• Jewelry box
• Disney Starbucks tumbler
• Seahawks travel mug
• 2 pairs athletic shorts
• Sunscreen 
• Catch Phrase
• Fuzzy throw blanket
• Nutribullet blender
• 5 cotton t-shirts 
• 1 pair slacks
• 4-5 nice shirts

To be packed for plane:

• 1 long sleeve shirt
• 1 sweatshirt
• 10 pairs of socks
• Hair curler
• New hair straightener
• Underwear
• Bras
• DVDs
• Laptop
• Kindle
• Camera(s)
• Chargers
• FitBit
• Bible
• Phone
• 4 pairs leggings
• 2 pairs capri leggings
• 1 pair tennis shoes
• 1 pair black boots
• 1 pair Birkenstocks sandals
• 1 pair black wedges
• 4 dresses
• Notebook/journal
• Pens
• 3 skirts
• 5ish tank tops (both cute and athletic)
• 2 swimsuits
• 1 pajama shirt
• 1 pillow
• 1 pair joggers
• Makeup
• Deodorant 
• 1 pair bootcut jeans
• 3 pairs athletic shorts
• 3 necklaces 
• Seahawks jersey
• External hard drive
• Glasses
• Contacts and contact solution
• Prescriptions 
• Wallet
• Passport 
• Northface vest
• 1 hat
• 4-5 belts
• Face wash
• 1 flannel shirt

Okay so I know this list is kind of enormous, but it's a lot of little things. I plan on fitting all the plane stuff in one suitcase and one carry on. The car is pretty full right now, but will easily fit another four suitcases or so. Also, a lot of this is stuff like food, bedding, furniture, etc. and not clothes. I'm trying really hard not to overpack on clothes again, but it's SO hard not to!! I think I covered just about everything, but I'll go back and add some stuff if I think of it. Or take away. I probably don't need to bring that many skirts and dresses, and some other clothes, so I'll probably try cut back when I actually start packing for the plane. 

Counting Down The Days...Random Updates!

FINALLY THE DCP IS IN SIGHT! I'll be heading to Denver to pick up my car two weeks from this Tuesday, then drive down for my second college program!! We fly out January 17th, and check in January 23rd, and could not be more excited. I've honestly been counting down the days since I knew I was accepted (actually since I left my first program in 2015, let's be real) and it's finally in range.

I should be getting my new hire paperwork any day now, and was waiting on that for my next blog post, but I'm impatient. So I'm just waiting on my new hire paperwork email, then my DORMS email for housing preferences, then we're in the home stretch!!! Usually new hires get their paperwork 2-3 weeks before their arrival date, so that email could truly come any day now, but I would guess it'll come Monday or Tuesday since this weekend is New Years. Our housing email should come roughly 10 days before our arrival, so maybe next weekend!

Speaking of housing...we have a new roommate! One of our roommates, Jessica, was offered a full time position at her current job, so she has chosen to forgo the Disney College Program to focus on building her career. We'll miss you Jessica!! Our new roommate was found by Lindsey through the Facebook page, and her name is Brooklyn. She's going to be custodial, and is also 21 so we can stick to non-wellness! In case you haven't read my blog post about roommates, there are six of us and we are all 21 and 22, but none of us drink much.

Our current housing preference is a Commons or Chatham 6 person, 3 bedroom apartment. None of us are picky though, we just want to avoid triple occupancy at all costs haha. ALSO I got an email from housing stating that they have a new apartment this year! A 3 bedroom, 3 person apartment at Patterson for a mere TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS per week. Wut. That's absurd. Also as a side note, one of our roommates, Alyssa, just went to Disney with her boyfriend and he proposed!! So exciting :)

So that pretty much sums up the updates. There's not much I have to say right now, because nothing has really happened. I can't wait for these next two weeks to pass so I can be back home <3 Also can NOT wait to find out where I work!! Oh, and I've been looking at annual passes for Universal Studios. They have four different options for Florida residents (you can get the Florida resident discount, you just have to have housing print off a paper saying you're a DCP participant) and they're tiered by price and perks. I'm looking at the preferred pass, the second most expensive at $350, but it includes no blockout dates, and free parking. I think it pays for itself in less than four visits, and since I plan on being there for a year, it's definitely worth it. You can also pay one lump sum, or make monthly payments of $17/month with one $185 down payment.

Okay now I think that's it. Next post should be my new hire paperwork! HOPE Y'ALL ARE HAVING A MAGICAL HOLIDAY SEASON!