Katie is Back!!!

The wifi is finally working here at our apartment so I am back from the dead to update you!! A LOT has happened in the past three weeks so I will be probably be posting multiple updates to cover everything. 
Okay so the day after check-in I had a housing meeting, which was just a short meeting about rules of the complex and safety. It was sort of fun, they gave us copies of the DCP newsletter and gave away free DCP merch for answering questions. Then I came home and went to Walmart again with Claudia because I had not had half enough time the night before to get everything I needed! I finished setting up my room that night and got all settled in.

On Wednesday the fourth, I didn't have anything to do so Ashley drove Sydney and I to the Milenia Mall. It was very fancy, and made me think of a lot of the malls I used to shop at in California. However, all the stores were a little out of my price range so I didn't end up buying anything.


 Then we headed over to Downtown Disney, where we checked out all the shops and took fun photos.


Finally, I had traditions on Thursday the fifth!! I was the first one of all my roommates to go, so I had to be up at 5:30 to catch the 6:55 bus. It was not enjoyable but as I quickly learned, it was not to be the first time I was up that early.

I took the special events bus from the welcome center, but apparently I could have taken an A or B bus from the normal station as well. 

My Traditions Outfit!

Upon arrival at Disney University, we were split into 3 groups and taken into a large room with beautiful Disney murals on the walls.

During the class we spent a lot of time introducing ideas and topics that will be repeated and covered more in depth later in training--things like "safeD begins with me" and "the four keys" and "you create happieness!" 

Everyone got some great free goodies and little disney prizes for answering questions, and a surprise visit from a special friend...it was so fun! It was very long though, my class ran a little over 5 hours long. The walking part of the class was longer than I expected though, which was nice because I really loved being able to see everything that we did (I'm not telling what it was so as not to ruin the surprise!). I think the very best part was getting our WDW nametag at the very end...oh and our Disney ID's to get into the parks! 


None of my roommates were done with traditions yet, so I went to Epcot with my new friend Cailey who I met during the class! We went on Mission Space first thing, and then walked around all of the countries.

 It was so beautiful there when the sun came out! 

Then we hopped on the monorail to MK for an hour or so where we spent some time on main street shopping and wandered around adventureland and frontierland and got some lovely sunset photos! But since we had both been up since 5:30 for traditions, we were tired so we got on the monorail to the Grand Floridian to catch a cast bus back to Vista. We then proceeded to wait over an hour for a bus, which was not enjoyable, especially since the temperature started dropping rapidly at that point and we were all alone in the cast parking lot! I will definitely be carching a bus from the Polynesian or Contemporary in the future because waiting at the Grand was not enjoyable.



Friday morning dawned bright and early--Sydney and I both had the day off and we were heading to MK!:)
We went on Peter Pan and went through the new interactive Queue which was so adorable! Honestly I didn't even notice I was waiting in line because I was enjoying walking through the Darlings house so much! 

Then we rode Big Thunder Mountain, which was actually a first for me, and was quite enjoyable. 

We caught a few more smaller rides before lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus where I got some amazing bread called Garlic Pesto Bread Knots for 4$! 

Then we went around Storybook Circus and did a little shopping there before heading up to Main Street to meet Tinker Bell and wait for the other girls to meet us, who had finally got out of their traditions class. 

Later, we also watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade, which was beautiful, and went to the Hall of Presidents, which was also a first for me. 

Then Megan, Abby and Claudia arrived and we went to Cosmic Rays for dinner, and met the Little Mermaid! Then Sydney left because she was tired and had to be up early, and we went on to ride Pirate of the Carribean and Haunted Mansion. We took photos in the tangled area, and then headed up to main street to meet Ashley for Wishes! 
After the amazing fireworks we swam upstream through the exiting crowds to get in line for the new seven dwarves mine train ride, and got on with only a 45 minute wait. It was so adorable, and so smooth! The ride queue was also fun, though chilly since it was all outdoors. Then we had one last ride, Buzz Lightyear before heading out for the night. But it would still be a long time before we were home! We took a resort bus to the Polynesian (no more Grand Floridian!) and then had to wait 45 minutes for our cast bus to take us back to Vista. We did eventually make it back though, around 12:30am, which was lovely since I had to be up at 5:00am the next morning! #theresnosleepingindisney

I will upload the photos for the next part hopefully tomorrow so check back soon to get the rest of the scoop on my Disney Life:D

And My Work Location Is....

The last two days have been a whirlwind of activity! Yesterday morning, one of my roommates picked me up from Art of Animation and drove us to Vista, where we met all the rest of our roommates. It was so nice to finally meet them!

I apologize for the sideways photo, I am using the PC lab and it doesn't have a way to edit the photos :/

We were handed our program guides, and split into two lines depending on our last name.  

We went into a room full of different stations, and I realized I was about to find out my work location!! I heard a lot of people in front of me in line being assigned Art of Animation and some other resorts, which made me even more nervous, because I didn't really want to work at a value resort. Finally it was my turn, and the nice cast member stuck my sticker onto the back of my guide and said "Congratulations, you are going to be working at Hollywood Studios!"

I was happy!!! Epcot was my very first choice but Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios were my second choice so I was incredibly pleased. Then I moved on to find out my housing placement, which wasn't quite as great news. We were placed at Vista Way, which was our last choice, so we weren't ecstatic, but it was okay.

 

Then I had casting right after, so I got on the casting bus. It was so exciting to see the building that I've seen so many photos of online from past DCPers!

My casting only took a little over an hour, and then I was able to come back and take a look around our complex.

One plus to Vista is that it has the largest clubhouse, so we have a lovely common room and a library where you can check out up to three books or DVDS at a time for free with your blue ID!

They also had a case full of DCP merchandise, which was super cool to see! I know I'm going to want to buy everything in this case:D

Then all the roommates and I drove to Walmart, where I proceeded to spend at least two hours buying almost everything in the store. I was trying to buy all store-brands and spent a lot of time in the clearance section, and it seemed to pay off because I ended up spending only 145$ ($135 if you don't count tax, which still seems really weird to me) on everything!

Our cabinets after we went shopping--mine's the top right shelf (It got a lot fuller after this photo was taken, don't worry!)

Later that night we exchanged our roommate gifts, which were all beautifully wrapped.

Megan made me this gorgeous Peter Pan initial, which was so creative!

Abigail got us these super cool cups with our names on them--and the best part is that they light up on the bottom!!

Claudia got me the most beautiful Little Mermaid bow that I am obsessed with and a bath bomb, which I somehow forgot to take a photo of! Unfortunately the wifi still doesn't work in our room so I am using the Vista Way computer lab to post this, which is very nice by the way. Today I had my housing meeting, which was a very simple meeting next to check in and casting. It was mostly a presentation that you just sat and listened to, during which they tell you all the ways you can get termed and how to avoid it, and how to stay safe in the complex.

Once my room is all finished I will be posting photos of that and more of Vista Way, and I am sure I will have lots to say after Thursday, when I have traditions and can finally get into the theme parks for free!:D Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!

Here We Goooo...Off to Neverland! (Or Disney World!)

Yesterday was the day! I woke up at the horrible hour of 4:15 AM, and managed to get all my last minute activities taken care of. I arrived at the airport at 6:15 with all my luggage, ready to go! (Or as ready as I'd ever be!)

It was really hard saying goodbye to my family, knowing I wont see them again for at least four months until they come to visit, but more then that, it was just hard to leave Oregon in general, knowing how far I was going and how long I was going to be gone! Florida is pretty much one of the very farthest states from Oregon...it's about 3,000 miles!

 Thank goodness Laura and Dereck, who I met at the Oregonian DCP meet up, were flying with me because I can't imagine traveling all that way alone. I think I would have lost my mind, so props to all of you who flew long distances alone, I don't know how you do it!

 In Kansas City we landed to switch flights and realized that a lot of flights were being canceled due to the bad weather in the east--as you can see from the picture, it was pretty cold even there in Kansas City! But thankfully our flight was fine.

 After another two and a half hours, we arrived at Orlando Airport. It felt so amazing to be back!!

We got on the magical express and headed to our hotel, the Art of Animation! The ride was lovely, though I was disappointed that we didn't go underneath the Disney World sign--I thought they always do that!

 Our room is just like the one I stayed at the first time I stayed here, and it was so exciting to see it again--for a value resort, the room theming is so impressive!

Then we were starving and Laura's roommates were in Downtown Disney, so I went down there with them and had lots of fun! I haven't spent a lot of time in DTD before so it was very exciting to see everything.

 We even got the chance to drive through the magic kingdom gate on the way to the Contemporary, which was gorgeous even though it was closed, and then we went to IHOP for some real early breakfast!

Now I am on my way to check-in in twenty minutes, and I couldn't be more excited to find out if all my roommates will room together, and what my work location will be!! I will most certainly be posting all about it very soon. Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!:D

The Mandatory DCP Bucket List Post!

So, I know this is a little late--I'm leaving in less then 48 hours--but better late then never!
I have the list split into a couple categories....well really just two: The food category, and the none-food category! LOL I am really looking forward to trying a lot of food!!!

Food:

MK-

Try Dole Whip!

Eat the grey stuff at Be Our Guest

Attend a character breakfast at crystal palace

Get a milkshake at the Plaza Restaurant!

Get a waffle from sleepy hallow!

Eat pasta at Tony's Town Square and watch a parade!

Attend a Tomorrowland Dessert Party!

Epcot-

Try German Pretzel Bread!

Eat at Biergarten

Try a bakery item at Kringla Bakeri!

Get French ice cream at L'Artisan des glace!

Eat at San Angel Inn

AK-

Try the jalepeno cheese pretzel!

Try something at the Kusafri Bakery

Eat at Rainforest Cafe

HS-

Try a cupcake at Starring Roles!

Resorts-

Eat at Beaches and Cream!

Eat at CA Grill

See the Hoop De Doo Musical Revue!

Eat at Trails End

Attend a character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare!

Eat at Planet Hollywood

Everything Else:

Watch MK Fireworks on the Polynesian Beach!

Get a haircut at the Harmony Barber Shop!

See the electrical water pagent!

Take a carriage ride at Port Orleans River Side

Find Cinerella's Wishing Well

Get embroidered DCP Mickey Ears (If that is allowed)

Listen to the pianist at Casey's corner

Meet Characters in Epcot!

-Aladdin in Morocco

-Belle in France

-Aurora in France

-Marie in France

-Snow White in Germany

-Alice in UK

-Mary Poppins in UK

-Winnie The Pooh in UK

-Mulan in China

-Anna and Elsa in Norway!

Other-Must see Characters:

-Merida by Cinderella Castle

-Mickey Mouse in the Town Square Theater

-Ariel in Fantasyland Grotto

-Gaston in Fantasyland

-Peter Pan and Wendy in Fantasyland

-The Tremains by the castle

-The Beast at dinner at Be Our Guest

-Cruella

-Phocahontas in AK

Rent a surrey at a resort!

Design a Tee at DTD

Go to Disney Quest!

Ride the Characters in Flight Balloon

Spot River Country, the abandoned water park

Spot Discovery Island, the abandoned Disney Zoo in Bay Lake

Spend a day devoted just to meeting characters!

Get a Birthday Button when I arrive! (Birthday is February 12th)

Visit Cinderella's Royal Castle Suite

Walk through the Haunted Mansion

Dress up for Dapper Day!

Find the Metrophone in Tomorrowland!

Get a spot in front of the castle to see Wishes instead of watching from the end of the Main Street!

Find the Wooden Leg named Smith in MK (From Mary Poppins)

Find the Brides Ring at the Haunted Mansion Exit

Find the ghosts in the Haunted Mansion Windows

Find the Haunted Mansion Service Bells in the Wheelchair/VIP Entrance

Look for Phantom of the Opera Poster in the Haunted Mansion Attic

Find the Lady and the Tramp Paw prints on Main Street

Find Walt Disney's name on the Main Street windows

See the Kiss Goodnight

Try to be picked to be a guest conductor on the MK Railroad and get the conductor card

Ask to ride in the pilots house of the Liberty Belle and get the Pilot Certificate

Find picture of Mr. Toad handing a deed to Owl on Winnie the Pooh

Visit every park for rope drop!

Find Pharaoh Mickey and Donald on the Great Movie Ride

Get the Cowboy/Robber side of the Great Movie Ride

Find key under moppets welcome mat

Get a fan personalized in Chinese for free in Epcot

Find the Beasts Rose in the France Perfume Shop

Find the Epcot talking fountains (If they still exist)

Collect Resort pressed coins, one from each

Collect Attraction pressed coins, one from each

Three Days 'Til Take Off!

Wow, where did the last three weeks go?? I am now down to three days until my departure, and four days until check in, which is so crazy! Time has a way of running away from me when I have a lot to do, and even though I have not been going to school or work this month, I somehow still have a lot left to do! I applaud those I know who kept working up until their departure and have still managed to get everything in order for the move. 

I have also been getting a lot of emails from Disney over the past three weeks. Exactly three weeks before arrival, I received my new hire document link and password. These were basically a lot of online documents about different rules of the program and Disney in general, including the Disney look and standards. There was also a section for signing up for direct deposit. These documents were rather lengthy, and required you to electronically sign them after reading.

Two weeks before check in, all my potential roommates and I received our DORMS email, which allowed us to access the Disney Housing site to put in our roommate requests, as well as our apartment size and location requests! After waiting a couple hours for one of our roommates to get an issue figured out with her DORMS, we were able to get on and link all of us together! We requested a six person, three bedroom in Chatham as our first choice, followed by Patterson and the Commons, and placed Vista last. One part of the DORMS Housing process that surprised me was the fact that it included more documents to read and sign! I'm not sure why I was surprised by this, since Disney likes to cover their  bases and be sure everyone is aware of the rules. However, these ones were a lot shorter then the ones you have to read for the New Hire Documents thankfully! Once you submit,you will be emailed and presented with a boarding pass with a bar code on it, which is very important so be sure to print it! You will need it at check-in.

Around this same time I got emails from Disney Education inviting me to log on to Disney's own Education portal for the classes I'm enrolled in, which is really cool! It lists the courses you're enrolled in, the class roster, the teachers bio, the time, date and location of each class, a calendar that lists when you have class, and even a class syllabus that tells you exactly what you will be doing in class every day! It was really fun to explore and made me even more excited for Disney Heritage and Disney Guest Services!

Last but not least, just today, five days before check in, myself and all of my probable roommates received our specific check-in times for Monday! When I chose my arrival date after I was accepted way back in October, it only told me to check in between 8-11am on February 2nd, it didn't give me a specific time. However, we got them now and we all got the same time, 10:45-11:45! I am so glad we all got the same time so that we can meet up before hand and go together. 

So we are all set for check-in now, and I can't wait! I'm very anxious to find out where I am going to be living, although I am not terribly picky about any of the complexes. I did a lot of research and honestly couldn't find any of them all that much worse than the others, besides Vista Way, but even that one isn't too bad. I think Patterson is the prettiest, and has the fanciest feel to it. The Commons has in room washer and dryer, so that is obviously something to be happy about if I am placed there. And Chatham has the best bus situation and seems like a great complex over all! 

As for my work location placement, since I didn't request a location during my phone interview, I have utterly no idea where I will be placed but I am super excited to find out. If I could go back and request somewhere, I would request Epcot, particularly the World Showcase, but I know that is a long shot to hope for now! So if I get Epcot at all I will be sooo stoked, but I will be really really happy if I get Animal Kingdom or Hollywood Studios as well! Magic Kingdom would be amazing of course, since that is where all the magic happens, but I am not thrilled by the idea of super late hours and the huge crowds, so I wouldn't say it is my very top choice. I also think working a resort would be pretty fun, particularly The Grand Floridian because it is my absolute favorite to visit and it would be sooo cool to work there every day!!

I still can't believe I am really going to be in Florida in three days, and that all the waiting is about to end. I will keep you posted about anything else that happens before then, and also work on getting up my bucket list!! Thanks for reading and have a magical day! :D

Getting Ready for the Move!

Okay, I've got three weeks left, time to talk about travel plans and packing!

I have begun the packing process, which is proving harder than I expected. I am bringing one large suitcase and one medium, plus a good-sized carry-on; however I am finding it difficult to fit my whole life in those bags! Clothes are the main issue, and shoes. I know everyone says you don't need that many clothes since you practically live in your work uniform except on days off, but it is really hard to narrow it down. Then I have all my hats, jewelry, lotions and purses, as well as my art supplies and tech accessories and favorite books and movies! I also want to bring some Disney and Harry Potter accessories to wear in the parks, and some writing supplies for my Disney classes.

I've already decided I will have to buy bedding in Florida, as well as laundrey baskets, storage racks, hangers, bathroom accessories like mats and towels, a hamper, small trash can, table lamp, and possibly a mattress pad. So I will have a lot of shopping to do on my first day!:D And on the bright side, my roommate wont have to worry about me taking up too much space in the room, since I am not bringing very much:)

Speaking of roommates, I realized I have yet to write about them! I have five lovely roommates, so there are six of us total, and we are hoping to get a three bedroom apartment. That way we will only share the bedroom and bathroom with one other person. Right now we are working on our plans for our first night after moving in, with some of our ideas being visiting the Disney Boardwalk, eating at Ohana and/or watching Wishes, or going to Downtown Disney and exploring down there! I am also busy working on the gifts I am making for the girls for our roommate gift exchange, which I am very excited about! I will share photos of what I made after the exchange so as not to ruin the surprise:)

The Grand Floridian and The Polynesian from the Monorail

Out of all six of us, I believe I am the only one flying. I am going to fly out of Portland on February 1st at 9am on Southwest airlines, and originally was going to arrive at 9pm in Orlando with two stops along the way. However, thanks to my observant travel partner, we were able to switch to a flight which has only one stop, and arrives at 7:50pm, and save a little money! I believe there will actually be three of us on that flight heading down for DCP, so that will be nice!

Arriving at AOA on my 2013 trip

Me and the fellow DCper from Oregon who I am flying with, made reservations for the Art of Animation Resort that night before check-in, which I am so excited about! The resort is brand new and VERY Disney oriented, which is so fun, and we got our room for a pretty decent price!

The view from the AOA Little Mermaid suites at sunrise

I am beyond excited for the adventures that lie ahead, and can't wait to share them here on the blog. Thanks for reading, and have a magical day!

Less Then One Month to Go!!!

Well Hello Everyone!

Can you believe check-in for the program is in less then ONE MONTH?!?!?
December was such a busy month, I had utterly no time to write, or even think about DIsney very much, so I have a lot of catching up to do!

I worked 35-40 hours every week last month, and was switched from cashiering to guest services, which means I spent my entire 8 hour shift standing at the service desk answering phones, processing returns and helping customers with their layaways, online pick-up orders, or other questions. It was a really challenging position, but I learned a LOT, and feel that I have so much more experience than I did before I started at Toys R Us!

Disneyland Monorail in Tomorrowland

It was also my first job with such long hours--my last job I got about 20 hours a week. This was nice, since the minimum work week at DIsney is usually 35 hours, I was happy to get the experience of working that much now so I am prepared for it. I actually found it to not be that much work at all; in fact, at the beginning of the job before Christmas break, I was handling 6 hours of class before work, and then going to work in the late afternoon for a 6-8 hour shift, and still managed to stay on top of things with finals and homework! Obviously during busy season Disney's work hours go up to the 50's and 60's, but during the slow season, I feel like I will still have adequent free time if I work 40 hours or so.

So, besides that, a few things have been happening in the DCP world! For the past month I have been receiving plenty of emails from Disney, reminding me about different aspects of the program such as Educational Opportunities, The Disney Look, A tax credit form to fill out, and a DORMS update telling me when to expect to be able to get on and fill that out for housing options. I also received an email about a new arrival date Disney was asking people to switch to if they like, which was in early March. I thought that was sort of weird, why would anyone want to switch to March? I think February is late enough as it is!

Finally, on Christmas Eve I received my new hire email, which had a password and link to a site where I had to fill out information about myself and if I had any dependents or a spouse. I also had to read about 12 documents and "sign" that I read them. The only problem was that it was not letting me click the "Sign and Submit" button not the documents. I tried downloading the new Adobe and tried all different browsers, but finally came to the conclusion that it just doesn't really work on a Mac. My plan now is to try my Dad's windows computer later and hopefully that will work!

I also got one last email on my one-month-out-from-check-in day which was just letting me know that check in is coming soon, and I need to fill out the new hire stuff. I can't believe how fast all of this is coming up! In my next post I will discuss my travel plans and packing ideas and everything else going on as far as my preparations for the move.

Have a Magical Day!