My Walt Disney World Trip MUST-DO's!

I am going through MAJOR Disney withdrawals, so I have decided to make a list of the must-do's, do if you have time's, and can skip's for each park, as well as general park advice.

First of all, depending on how much time/how many days you are able to spend in Disney, and the ages of those you're travelling with, this will vary greatly. Regardless, you should spend at least one FULL day in Magic Kingdom. If you have kids, I would spend less time at Epcot and more at Animal Kingdom, and the opposite if you have an older group. Hollywood Studios I would only spend a half day at. If you have extra time, then Downtown Disney AKA Disney Springs is a good place to spend an afternoon shopping.

As far as timing goes, I know this usually depends on scheduling - your kids school schedules, your own school schedule if you're a young adult, and when you can get time off of work. If you have free rein then I would definitely recommend going in the fall, all September, the first 3/4 of October, and all of November except for Thanksgiving. My personal favorite time was mid October because you have the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties, Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, and the crowds are minimal. Other times when the crowds aren't too bad are early December, late January, all of February, the first week or two of March, and the end of August. I would personally go for fall/winter/early spring because you will have cooler weather.

On to park recommendations!!

Magic Kingdom

Must-Do: Again, these all depend on age groups and amount of time available. I'll go ahead and assume two full days of Magic Kingdom.

• Space Mountain
• Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor (great for when you start getting tired or hot!)
• Haunted Mansion
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Journey of the Little Mermaid
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Splash Mountain if the weather is nice, or you don't mind getting wet
• Get a LeFou's Brew at Gaston's Tavern
• Get dinner at Be Our Guest (if you can't get a reservation, always check the morning that you're in Magic Kingdom!)
• Most people will recommend that you get a Dole Whip, I'm not actually a fan but it's worth mentioning
• Mickey's Philharmagic (great for when you start getting tired or hot!)
• Meet a character or two if your crew really wants to. Ariel is great and always has a reasonably short line!
• Watch the Festival of Fantasy parade
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Watch Celebrate the Magic
• Watch Wishes
• Window shop (and actually shop) up and down Main Street U.S.A.
• Get a picture in front of the castle

Do If You Have Time: Go ahead and check these out if you have more time in your schedule.

• Winnie the Pooh
• Peter Pan's Flight
• Dumbo
• Astro Orbiter - must not be scared of heights for this one!
• The Carousel
• Bippity Boppity Boutique to give your little ones the full princess treatment
• Watch the Electrical Parade - this one is fun for your first time, but the music will never get out of your head
• Meet more characters - Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell at the front of the park, the Princess Fairytale Hall always has good ones, and Stitch by Space Mountain is fun.
• Stay in the park until a Kiss Goodnight (AKA until they kick you out politely)
• Get there early to see the morning show before park open
• Get dinner at Tony's Town Square Restaurant
• Watch the castle show - this appears intermittently throughout the day (Dream Along with Mickey)
• Eat at Cinderella's Table (the restaurant in the castle)
• It's a Small World - it's a classic

Can Skip: Personal opinion, these are things that I would avoid. 

• Stitch's Great Escape - AVOID AT ALL COSTS
• Aladdin's Magic Carpets - if you want to do a ride like this, Dumbo is essentially the exact same but in a better location.
• Turkey legs. Some people are all about these, but definitely not me

Epcot

Must-Do's: Keep in mind that this park is better aimed toward adults, so if you have an older group (ESPECIALLY during Food & Wine Festival) I would spend more time here.

• Go to Club Cool to try all the sodas from across the world
• Test Track
• Soarin'
• Walk the World Showcase (there's also a couple ferry options - it's a mile to walk the whole thing)
• Stop at the Karamel Kuche in Germany and get the freshly-made caramel popcorn
• Get dinner Le Cellier in Canada
• Get lunch in Mexico
• Get snacks in France - either the pastries or the gelato! You can't go wrong.

Do If You Have Time: These ones can be added into the must-do's if you have young kids.

• Finding Nemo
• Figment
• Spaceship Earth
• Mission Space (only do the intense one if you don't get motion sick easily!)
• Watch Illuminations, the Epcot firework show. Try get there early so you can all see the globe in the middle of the lagoon!
• Meet characters! They have anyone and everyone all across the park.
• Get snacks in Norway
• Get dinner at Biergarten in Germany AND EAT THE BEER CHEESE SOUP
• Living with the Land
• Walk around the aquarium
• Buy a tiara from Germany and walk around like a princess

Can Skip: I don't have any strong opinions here, I absolutely love Epcot.

• Ellen's Energy Adventure
• Mission Space intense track if you ever get motion sick

Animal Kingdom

Must-Do:

• Festival of the Lion King
• Expedition Everest
• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Go see the gorillas on the Pangani Trail
• Get a frozen chai from Joffrey's
• Get dinner at Yak & Yeti

Do If You Have Time: Add more of these to must-do if you have kids and want to spend more time in this park.

• Finding Nemo: The Musical
• Wilderness Explorer's 
• Kali River Rapids if you're ready to get soaked
• Dinosaur
• Go check out the monkeys and all the animals on the Pangani Trail
• Wild Africa Trek
• Meet Mickey and Minnie 
• Primeval Whirl

Can Skip: Again, these are my opinion as a 21-year old female. Kids might really enjoy these!

• Rafiki's Planet Watch
• Meet characters - Baloo, Chip & Dale, Pocahontas, and King Louie to name a few!
• Flights of Wonder
• A Bug's Life

Hollywood Studios

Must-Do's: Remember that this park is under construction and in the middle of a transition period, so it's probably the best park to avoid if you need to cut a park out of your trip. 

• Rockin' Rollercoaster
• Tower of Terror if you're okay with big drops
• Fantasmic!
• Star Tours
• Toy Story Midway Mania if the line isn't, you know, 300 minutes long
• One Man's Dream if you have older kids/adults (it's basically a Walt Disney museum)
• The Great Movie Ride
• Frozen Sing-A-Long if you have Frozen crazed kids
• Get a cobb salad and grapefruit cake from the Brown Derby for lunch or dinner

Do If You Have Time: These basically fall under "okay" but not too memorable.

• Voyage of the Little Mermaid
• Beauty and the Beast show
• Ice cream from the dinosaur ice cream shop
• Animation Pavilion

Can Skip: I don't think I have anything to add here because there's so few things to do in the park anyways.

• I would put character meet and greets here just because its characters like Princess Sofia and Jake the Pirate, and that's not my era. But it might be good if your kids are into that!

I think that's all I have for parks and park advice! I would recommend (ideally) 2 days of Magic Kingdom, 1 day of Epcot, 1 day of Animal Kingdom, 1/2 day Hollywood Studios (maybe when you need a nap, or have an evening flight).

Food wise I would recommend bringing bagel or sandwiches if you're really set on saving money, and getting a nice dinner. Otherwise, the kids meals are a great meal for the amount of food they give you, and they will sell them to people of all ages! I'm 21 and I still get the kids meal. Also never buy a water bottle unless you're THAT family, you can get a free cup of water from any quick-service restaurant! Some have Florida water, but most have normal tasting extra filtered water :) 

Honestly, if you're going to do Disney World, just go in with the expectation of spending a lot of money. It's a more complete way to vacation at Walt Disney World anyways! 

If you're planning a vacation, enjoy a magical time at my home <3 If you're just reading this for fun, do you have anything to add? I'm sure I forgot stuff :)

Because I'm Bored...Disney Favorites, 2014 VS 2016!

I kind of did a post similar to this about two years ago, so I thought it'd be fun to compare my answers from then to now! These are basic questions regarding Disney.

2014 Answers:

Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom!
Favorite Disney ride: Um, I have a million. The Little Mermaid ride, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Pirates of the Caribbean!
Favorite Disney Classic: The Lion King and The Little Mermaid
Favorite Disney Pixar: The Incredibles
Favorite New Disney Princess Movie: Tangled and Frozen oh my gosh such perfection
Favorite Disney Sequal: The Lion King sequels! Both of them :)
Favorite Non-Animated Disney Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean
Favorite Disney Song: Um. All of them. Let It Go, Part of Your World, A Whole New World, Beauty and the Beast, and anything from Tarzan to name a few.
Favorite Disney Princess: Ariel!
Favorite Non-Princess: Megara from Hercules. She's awesome. Oh, and also Mulan.
Favorite Disney Food: Dole Whips, orange and pineapple swirled!
Favorite Disney Quote: "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt
Favorite Disney Sidekick: Definitely Mushu, Olaf, and Pascal <3
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Blue Bayou in Disneyland.
Favorite Disney Show: Wishes! Brings tears every time haha
Favorite Disney Villain: Hades. I also like Scar though, gotta have that sass ;)
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey Mouse, how can you NOT choose him??

2016 Answers:

Favorite Disney Park: Epcot for food, Animal Kingdom for the shows, and Magic Kingdom for everything else!
Favorite Disney Ride: Pirates of the Caribbean, Space Mountain, Little Mermaid, Haunted Mansion, Rockin' Rollercoaster, Soarin', and Kilimanjaro Safari!
Favorite Disney Classic: The Lion King and The Little Mermaid
Favorite Disney Pixar: The Incredibles, Monsters University, and Inside Out
Favorite New Disney Princess Movie: Tangled
Favorite Disney Sequal: The Lion King sequels! Both of them :)
Favorite Non-Animated Disney Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean and the live action Cinderella
Favorite Disney Song: Part of Your World, A Whole New World, Beauty and the Beast, and anything from Tarzan to name a few. No change here.
Favorite Disney Princess: Ariel and Rapunzel
Favorite Non-Princess: Mulan
Favorite Disney Food: Chicken nuggets, LeFou's Brew, and the snacks from Epcot's Norway and Germany pavilions!
Favorite Disney Quote: "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt
Favorite Disney Sidekick: Definitely Mushu, Olaf, and Pascal <3
Favorite Disney Restaurant: Blue Bayou in Disneyland, Be Our Guest, and the Wave at the Contemporary
Favorite Disney Show: Celebrate the Magic and Wishes FOR SURE, and also Festival of the Lion King!
Favorite Disney Villain: Hades. I also like Scar though, gotta have that sass ;)
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey Mouse and Goofy <3

The biggest changes are food related hahaha kind of sad, but when you're there for four months, you get to try much more food than before. What can I say, I'm a foodie.

Disney Alumni Association

Something really cool that you can join (for free!!) after you complete your program is something called the Disney Alumni Association. This is basically a group that you apply to to join. To get accepted you only need to provide your proof of program completion! I think I just had to provide the basic info (name, program dates, etc.) and maybe my perner number? Sorry I don't remember! I just know it wasn't really an application, just proof you completed a program.

As soon as you're accepted you can join the alumni Facebook group and they send you a alumni package! Which is AWESOME because you get a free shirt (shown below), a car decal, and one or two other little "Disney Alumni Association" trinkets (such as stickers and stuff like that). The short is the most exciting thing because it's FREE (can you tell I'm a college kid? ;)). The alumni group sends out a newsletter exclusive to alumni, and puts together speaker series and even a homecoming weekend. The homecoming weekend was actually this past weekend, and though it varies year to year, this year they provided discounted tickets and hotel. Apparently some years they've done free park tickets, so it just depends on volume and budget and stuff. There WAS a cap, so you had to sign up early to get a spot. They also gave you a free homecoming package that included a shirt and stuff! I didn't go because it would have been really expensive to travel there, pay for hotel and park tickets, and buy food. But they posted stuff all over the Facebook page, so I got to find out about everything that way!

That's pretty much the alumni association in a nutshell! It's worth joining just for the free package, but if you take advantage of it you can also make some really good professional connections! Think of it as a Disney sorority. You know how sorority girls connect with other girls after they graduate just because they were in the same sorority, no matter when or where they were a part of that? That's pretty much exactly what the Disney Alumni Association is like. I've never been in a sorority, but based off of all my friends and roommates experiences, this is what it's like hahaha. You complete a program, living with all these people you have a ton in common with (your "sorority"), then join an association after you graduate where you network with people that were in your shoes and can relate to whether they did their program years earlier (were in your "sorority" at a different time) or did their program in a different park (were in your "sorority" at a different school). You probably get what I'm saying, I'm just really proud of my comparison hahahahha.

That's all I have! Join after you complete your program, it requires minimal effort and you can tons of free perks. :)

DCP Round Two (2017)? UPDATE!

So I posted awhile back about applying for the DCP fall 2017. Well new plan! I am now set to graduate a semester EARLY in December 2016, so the new plan is to apply for spring 2017! AND GUESS WHAT?! My roommate Lindsey from my first program plans to apply at the same time!!! AH THAT'S SO EXCITING. So my new plan is to do another DCP in the spring, and hopefully apply for a fall Professional Internship - Marketing, and extend into that. If I don't receive a PI offer then I would just extend through fall for the DCP! It's a win-win.

So the marketing thing is new, I finally decided what I want to do with my degree (Agricultural Business)! HOORAY! I want to go into marketing for agritourism. This includes wineries, dude ranches, cideries, breweries, AKA high-end ag. So I really want to go for a marketing PI with Disney before real life happens :) Or maybe I'll just work for Disney forever. Who knows!

Here's an update on where I would place my role choices; Disney has taken away some roles and added others, so these are the new changes:

No Interest:

• Custodial
• Quick-Service Food & Beverage
• Housekeeping
• Bus Greeter
• Character Performer
• Hopper
• Monorail

Low Interest:

• Costuming
• Watercraft
• Lifeguarding
• BBB/PL
• Recreation
• Bell Services
• Children's Activities 

Moderate Interest:

• Merchandise
• Floral
• Seater

High Interest:

• Attractions
• Vacation Planner
• Front Desk
• PhotoPass Photographer
• Concierge
• Convention Guide
• Character Attendant

The list is fairly similar to my old list, with a few updates. Most of the low interest I know I probably wouldn't be considered for because I can't sew (costuming), have a tattoo on my ankle (lifeguarding and recreation), and have no hair experience (BBB), but I wanted to show that I have a big interest in the company without being too picky. So I'm being sneaky ;) I chose my high interest roles (and really, my moderate roles too) based on what will help me most professionally in the future. I want to highlight the fact that these are all VERY "Disney", other roles such as QSFB, custodial, and housekeeping are more universal; you can find them anywhere. While going through interviews for school jobs and summer internships, people are always extremely interested that I have Disney on my resume, but they are expecting to see roles such as attractions or hospitality, and when I explain QSFB there's always a kind of letdown. I also picked roles that could relate to marketing; vacation planning, concierge, and front desk actually do a lot of face to face marketing of the company, answering questions and trying to "sell" the parks. So that's why I chose those roles. I just hope they don't look at my food-heavy job experience and write me off for those roles!

Last time around I put interest in every role except housekeeping, already a big difference. And I think on my interview I answered everything well, but did nothing to make myself stand out. Which is probably why I was pended, then accepted to QSFB. I proved that I could fit in with the company, but not that I could excel there, an important distinction. This time around I would interview with WAY more confidence, and relate more to my future career with Disney in a PI, and past experiences, and how those all relate. 

I am going through Disney withdrawals again, today marks the one year date since the day my Disney College Program ended. Crying. I've been texting my roomies all day long, and it's so sad, but there are so many happy memories!!! CAN'T WAIT TO (HOPEFULLY) GO BACK!!!! Approximately 7.5 months until I can apply again <3 Let the ridiculously long countdown begin. 

Huge thank you to people who actually read my blog, I hit 5.5k page views the other day! So I guess some people actually read this :) I went through my old blog posts (moderately embarrassing, I know) and am actually impressed with myself. I documented just about everything! Anyhoo, y'all are the best, and I hope you have a very magical 2016!

Putting the Disney College Program on Your Resume

So here's a super relevant blog post! I've been spending more time applying to jobs recently than studying for finals...whoops! But here's the general rule of thumb about the DCP on your resume: Disney gets you the interview, but you have to sell yourself to get the job. This of course depends on a few other things as well, but for the most part interviewers and employers are incredibly interested when they see the word "Disney"! They want to know more about you and your job history, because they automatically know you have great customer service experience and should be a great employee. I've actually gotten an interview for every place I've applied for a job, it's just when I get to the interview that things go hit or miss! And we're talking about at least six interviews in the past month or so. So getting the Disney College Program on your resume and having a solid resume is an essential start.

I'm not going to put my resume in here for the sake of privacy, but I made sure that my DCP section was succinct yet thorough. Don't use fluff words in your resume, it's not an essay, it's supposed to be professional! You'd be surprised how many resumes read like a high school English paper. My resume is organized with name/contact info at the top, then my education section, then work experience, and finally community involvement/school clubs/volunteer work. I put the DCP under work experience and chose to list it as a job rather than an internship. You always have time to clarify what exactly it is in your interview! So mine is organized on the first line with "Walt Disney Parks & Resorts", "Orlando, FL" (in the middle), and "September 2014 - January 2015" (on the right). The second line I have my role listed, so "Quick-Service Food & Beverage", and the third line (and below) are my bullet points for what I did/learned. I made sure to include the words safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency, since that was drilled in my brain for how to be a good cast member ;) I used terminology such as "provided excellent guest satisfaction by...", "learned how to efficiently work as a team by...", and "overcame language and culture barriers", etc. My DCP section was 5 lines total, and my other work experience varies from 3-4 lines. I have three other jobs listed under work experience. I also have slightly smaller font for my resume to try fit everything in without looking cluttered!

This is looking super long, so here's a throwback Disney pic to make it look less boring.

My main advice regarding resumes is to stress the customer service aspect, and whatever skills you picked up that will fit the job you are currently applying to. This could be teamwork, language barriers, professionalism, safety, enthusiasm, really whatever fits your job you're looking at. Make sure that you are thorough enough that you cover your bases, but don't overwhelm the person reading it. Make sure it's an accurate and succinct overview, unique/detailed enough to pique interest. Also have at least five people read it from different areas (family, friends, professors, current/past employers, etc.) not just your parents. This will act as a spelling and grammar check, and make sure it makes sense and reads well! Sometimes we cram too much detail in and it ends up looking cluttered, so having other people look at it really helps! Also if your school has a career center, those are incredibly helpful for resumes.

When it comes to the interview you can explain the DCP in more detail, it's a paid internship that gave participants the unique chance to take seminars from Disney professionals, and provided extensive networking opportunities, etc. This is where you can really tailor your program highlights to the job you're applying for. And it's always good to talk about the guest interaction experiences, and things that will vouch for your character/work ethic. Employers aren't JUST looking for relevant work experience, they want to know you'll be a good fit personality wise too!

Okay well that pretty much covers what I've experienced with using the DCP to help me professionally! It really does help you stand out in a pile of resumes, so take advantage of that :) I really hope this was helpful!! Best of luck in your job hunt <3

Does Post-Disney Depression Get Easier?

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I had a wonderful time being home for five days :) Luckily while I was home I got to see Lindsey, my DCP roomie!! We had LOTS of reminiscing and that's what brought on this post for me :) In the (almost) year since I've been out of the program I'll kind of go over the ups and downs, and what I anticipate for the future. 

The first six months or so were the hardest. You have to go back to school, or home, or (in my case) New Zealand, and it's a hard adjustment! You're SO used to going to the parks when you're bored, eating whatever the heck you want (hello chicken nuggets!!) and not gaining weight because you walk and sweat so much, and being able to use your annual pass at Universal just because you're craving a Butterbeer. The hardest part for me, being in New Zealand, is that I was no longer surrounded by these wonderful and POSITIVE human beings that are genuinely thrilled to be working, and that I was in a tiny town with so little to do on the weekdays. It's SO easy in the DCP to get to the parks, or the resorts to check out the gingerbread houses, or Downtown Disney (sorry, Disney Springs) to get a Starbucks and window shop. You just go from this amazing semester of constantly doing fun things with happy people, to normal life with some happy people and many angry/sad/bored people. So the adjustment was incredibly hard, but I had a constant group message going with my roommates that always cheered me up :) 

It's easier now that I'm back in my normal schedule (in America) with my good friends, but I'll go through bouts of missing it a ton. Like right now. Lindsey basically said the same thing, it's now bearable, but we still miss it a lot some days! We're both planning on going back for spring 2017! It was so weird for me being back in Magic Kingdom with Sarah, it was like no time had changed, but it was SO weird because we had to try squish as much in as possible rather than just meandering around and enjoying our time! So strange. And so hard to leave. Also weird to see the other CPs at my old work location, but fun to see my old coworkers :) 

Pretty much the first year sucks being away, but you go from craving Disney everyday and kind of hating your life, to still missing Disney but being able to be content with your time away :) Of course everyone has a different experience, but Lindsey and I were pretty much the same. You go through these stages (ESPECIALLY AROUND APPLICATION SEASON OMG) when you're like hmmm....how can I do another program and still graduate on time...but then you realize you can't. And continue with Plan A of doing another program once you graduate :) Can you guys believe I'll probably be doing application blogs less than a year from now?! I REALLY hope it all works out like I want it to <3

Anyway, hopefully this offered a little insight into the year following your program. I miss it all the time, and especially miss blogging my awesome days, but am running out of blog ideas! It's like having a little piece of home to read :) My advice to ANYONE doing a program is to vlog/blog/take videos/document your whole life in pictures because it is SO fun to go back and read/watch/view them. Whenever I'm homesick for Disney I go back and read my old blog posts! It's so much fun to see what I was thinking throughout the program. The first and last few are particularly fun to read. 

Anyhoo, have an amazing week! I plan on going to go see the Good Dinosaur, and of course Star Wars once that comes out <33333333 Until next time, have a magical day :)

WDW Trip Day Four: HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Our final day of our amazing trip ended in my home park! I only had about two hours here, because I had to catch the bus back to the hotel at 1:15pm. Luckily there's not a WHOLE lot to do in Studios right now, especially since Sarah doesn't do Rockin' Rollercoaster OR Tower of Terror! So we did Star Tours, then went and saw Beauty and the Beast show (which I had never seen before, but always meant to go see). It was super cute but I must admit that I prefer Disneyland's Aladdin! SIDE NOTE: SO MAD THEY'RE TAKING IT AWAY. It's seriously so good!! And there is no need to put in ANOTHER Frozen show, there are plenty already. Anyway, getting sidetracked. Well we got to go visit my old restaurant which was super fun, I got to see an old coordinator, bartender, and three of my old coworkers! One of them is now a coordinator which is great, she deserves it! I tried a pina colada for the first time, and was surprisingly disappointed. I think I prefer the virgin version hahaha! Sweet sugary drinks just don't do it for me.

Well I had a 5:15pm flight home, and had such a fun flight! I took a short nap in the beginning, but for the next 3 hours ended up playing with the little girl next to me. She was in first grade and wanted me to help her with her homework, then play makeup games on her iPad with her, then play with her fortune teller (remember those?! "Pick a color. Y-E-L-L-O-W. Now pick a number..."). She was SO darling, telling me all the characters she got to meet in Disney World. Her grandma was also in our row and was a really neat person, she grew up in Holland. So they were incredibly fun to sit with. The little girl's name was Annika, and at the end of the flight she goes "maybe next time I go to Disney World, we can meet up in Hollywood Studios and meet Baymax". And as if that wasn't cute enough she then says "well I hope you're on my next flight, this was fun!". OK STOP. So cute. It was her first flight ever, to and from Orlando. Well turns out her and her grandma live in Fort Collins too! They were both extremely sweet and made the flight fly by. And like that, my vacation was over :( I got home around 10:30pm, then had to be up the next morning for my 8am class. Had class from 8am to 1:30pm, then work from 2pm to 8:30pm. I just got off work so I'm now FINALLY home. It's been a very very very long day. I wish I was back at Disney World :( But let's be honest, I'll be back there again soon enough ;)

So weird without the hat :(

The worst part of the whole trip, besides leaving (obviously), and not being able to use my cast discount, was not having our whole apartment there with us. I've been lucky enough to be able to see 4 of my 5 other roommates in the 10 months since our program ended, but it would be so amazing to be able to meet up in our old home <3 LOVE YOU ALL! #26301