Red Ribbons and Clam Bras!

Hello all! Since the 21st, I have been training, training, training!!! I trained Sunday and Monday from 1:45 PM-10:15 PM and my first day not training was yesterday! That's right, I have earned my ears, no more red ribbon!

It is very exciting but a little scary because there is still so much to learn but I will get the hang of it, I'll be the one asking a million questions. You can only imagine how crazy the last few days have been, especially having to prepare almost every meal ahead of time but in order to help with that I have a cool little freezer pack lunch box that my Grandma got me! Thank you Grandma, you have no idea how much it is helping!!! Also, on my way to work the other day I got an email saying that I needed to go pick up a letter and a gift from Chatham. I thought it was my main gate but it was actually a letter from my Mom and sister that they wrote on check-in day as well as a pez of my choice (Merida!!!), it was so sweet and it had some lovely words of encouragement. I love you guys and thank you, it made me smile on my way to work!

On my last day of training I was helping at one of the bridges for Festival of Fantasy and apparently when I wash't looking one of Ariel's clams fell off and rolled down the float and onto the street.... AWKWARD lol. She recovered nicely by brushing her hair with her fork and covering the spot missing the clam. I am so excited about this job, I am going to see so much and have endless stories to share. Oh and by the way, pretty much anytime I am helping a guest a bug flies into my eye so have fun picturing my freak out in front of the guests :) Till next time!

Class, Party, Friends, and Training!

Lots has happened since my last post! We shall start from Thursday, June 19th! So this past Thursday I had my usual class from 1:30-5:30 but as soon as I got back to the apartment I had to get ready for the first welcome event of my program.

 It was called "Off to Neverland", it had a Peter Pan theme. They had Peter Pan, Wendy, Captain Hook, and Smee all there for photos. I got a picture with Captain Hook and Smee, which is pretty great considering the fact that they do not do any meet and greets or pictures in the park anymore.

They had a backdrop of Neverland set up and a photo booth with props all set up. They did a really great job and they even had free pizza and soda for all of us. We even had some pretty crazy awesome dancing!

 Jump forward to Friday, the 20th, I got to hang out with awesome family friends!

We had so much fun riding Big Thunder even in the rain. This family came to Disney looking for some magic and boy did they get it! A private Meet-and-greet with Anna and Elsa!!!

It was soooooo cool! People wait like 5 hours and yet they set aside time so this family could enjoy their time alone with them for just a few minutes. There was some serious Disney magic at work that day! After that we went to dinner at Shutters at the Caribbean Beach Resort and my goodness was that food delicious. It is so great to change it up and not have a sandwich lol. After dinner I had to head back to my apartment to get some shut eye before my long day of training and they were kind enough to give me a ride so I didn't have to take the bus. I am so happy I got to spend time with this wonderful family on their vacation :) Now we come to Saturday, yesterday! I got up all early because I was really excited about training! I trained from 1:45-10:15PM... it was a very long day and I learned so much and honestly I didn't even notice how much time was going by because I was having so much fun. I got to help with parade audience control, help set up for the parade, attend PAC meetings, and interact with guests. Big thing of the day was that I hugged a random dude! Dude-bro didn't get to hug one of the characters in the parade, so he asked me "Awwww, will you hug me Abi?" and I was like of course random stranger! Because that's the kind of service you get at Walt Disney World! I had such a wonderful day and I already love my job. Today is another day of training as well as tomorrow so I will share my crazy stories as soon as I can :)

Last Day of Orientation and Another Free Day

Tuesday of this week was my last day of orientation which means Saturday I will be officially training! Woot woot! What I did on Tuesday was go on a tour of the Magic Kingdom once again and the utilidors and learn plenty more about how things function backstage. Ask me anything about the Magic Kingdom and I am pretty sure I know it now! The majority of what learned was where I would be clocking in, where I would be having my breaks, and what sort of things my job requires. Now while there is a lot of information I cannot share, there are a couple of things that I can. One being, the gentleman who made the mosaics in the castle and in the contemporary resort may not leave the traditional signature he does leave a special marking. On both pieces he has placed 5 things where you normally only see 4... for instance, if he were making a mosaic of a fork he would give it 5 tips instead of the usual 4. Take a look at the mosaics and see if you can find the artist's mark! Another very cool thing I learned was that the tiles that you see outside of the Magic Kingdom have a couple very important names on them so take some time to check it out. And finally... thanks to my roommate, I learned that in Epcot you'll find a perfectly round circle right in front of the fountain that is right in front of spaceship earth and right below this circle is the where the very first shovel was placed for the start of the construction of Epcot. There is always a fun fact when working here! Tuesday was also my first day in costume and while it is a very hot costume, I absolutely love it. I look very dapper all the time in  my bow tie and skimmer. And today-friday I am free from work! So today I had some quick service BBQ outside of House of Blues which was wonderful and then got some groceries (I am sure you love to know that!) and then I came home to make reservations for my family's July visit which I am so excited about! Can't wait! Tomorrow I have class and after that is the first welcome event of the DCP Fall Advantage program called "Off to Neverland". Exciting! and lastly, congratulations to a close friend of mine on acing an interview and getting the job! So happy for you! :)

Using the Force... to Stay Awake!

Yesterday was day two of orientation and it was very long... The information they were sharing with us was important but all we did was sit in the chair of a classroom and it was very hard to stay awake when sitting that long. After I got back to the apartment from orientation at 2, it wasn't long after that my roommates and I went to Hollywood Studios for the last day of Star Wars Weekends. 

It was absolutely incredible. I am a big fan of "nerdy" environments, such as DragonCon, and Star Wars was an extremely nerdy environment! Loved it! Not only that but the fireworks they set off at the end of the night are the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen! (I have not seen New Years Eve fireworks at Disney... so I might change my opinion after I do).

And like a responsible adult, knowing that I had to get up at 4 AM the next morning.... I went to the late showing of fantasmic! It was just as beautiful and awesome as ever! I then got back to the apartment and fell asleep by 1 AM. My three hours of sleep then leads to today's adventures. I went to the utilidors at 7:00 expecting the same class setting as the day before. NOPE! We went on a 4 hour walking tour of the Magic Kingdom with barely any downtown. It was still great though because even while I got blisters, they were worth it in order to learn some things I did not know about the park. After the tour is finished all the CP's head to their personal work location/title group. In my group, Main Street Ops, we went to costuming to beat the crowds. My costume is basically a suit with short sleeve, a skimmer, and black shoes.  I found out that I will be working PAC (Parade Audience Control) and that I would also be cross trained in something else as well down the road. My options for other things to be trained in would be to be the conductor of the magic kingdom train, to work the kiosk at one of the sorcery portals, or the work in the theater right next to Lady and the Tramp where I would welcome guests to visit Mickey and Tinker bell. They all sound like really good choices though, I can't wait to find out which one I am assigned, hopefully tomorrow :)

Traditions and Goodbye's (SPOILERS)

(Before you read further: if you are a future CP or interested in becoming a future CP be aware that this blog post will have "surprise" information and pictures in it. So if you would like to save it to be a surprise DO NOT read any further!)

Hello! It has been a few days now... Here is what you've missed :)

Two days ago was Traditions! Here is a picture of my professional clothing for the big day!

The dress was super comfy and word to the wise... just wear flats... just do it! You think you can handle the heels but just don't! Even in flats everyone's feet were hurting and getting blisters so just choose the lesser of the two evils. Also, a little tip is to wear bicycle shorts under dresses. It changes EVERYTHING. So much better and whenever I mention it to people they immediately say they are going to do the same!

Above is a picture of Disney University and this is where traditions is held, right next to the Magic Kingdom. It's almost set up like a small building at a university, lots of small classrooms inside. Below are a few of pictures of the inside of my classroom.

The class is a mix of cool Disney things you never knew, rules, surprises, regulations, policies, and a field trip ;)

At break one they make everyone leave the classroom and when you reenter you see this on your table...

They had everybody at each table open the box as a group and when we opened them up we found these...

Our first ears as Disney Employees!!! Yay!!! And it wasn't until our second break that the real magic started to happen. Field trip to Magic Kingdom! We're not aloud to take pictures in the utilizers but let me just tell you it is really neat! And when we returned from Magic Kingdom we had a couple more surprises waiting for us... The first one being...

The Mouse himself! and shortly after, we got these bad boys.

This is when is became so much more real for me, to see my name on a Disney cast member name tag was mind-boggling. After Traditions I had to race back to my apartment in order to make it to my disney class on time. From now until late august I am enrolled in a class called "Creativity and Innovation: Gaining the Edge". The first day we went over the syllabus and did all the little things in order to get to know one another and let me just say I am super excited. I feel like I am going to learn so much from this class that will help me with Art and everything else I love that is creative. Immediately following my 4 hour long class I came back to my apartment and took a pretty amazing nap. I had been up since 5 am and I had been going non-stop until 5:30 pm with barely any food. And after the lovely nap, me and my roommates went to the Magic Kingdom for the first time as Cast Members. Little tidbit, before you get your official main gate you will have to go to guest services each time before entering the park. Here is a shot of main street...

We watched wishes and had a really great time riding rides that only had a wait time of like 10 minutes at the most! Here is a cool shot of the castle!

To wrap up the night we got our Mickey ears engraved and since I already have a pair with my name I decided to go with something else that was just as fitting.

It was quite an amazing day! Then moving onto the next day, yesterday, I had the day off and since it was the last day before my family headed home the majority of it was spent with them. We had breakfast/lunch at Fresh, which is a buffet style restaurant in the Swan and Dolphin hotel. It was absolutely wonderful thanks to one server in particular! His name was Louis and he made me quite the pancake but I was sworn to secrecy of what he made for me and said he would deny it if I ever told anyone what it was. So if you ever read this Louis, your secret pancake will remain a secret and it will be forever called "The Louis Special". and Thank you for being so nice! After breakfast/lunch we all went to the hotel room to rest and be together, some of us fell asleep... but that person will go unnamed... (it was me!!!!) haha but after that we all loaded up into the van and went to Downtown Disney. 

We played at DisneyQuest for a while and I left from there to go to Epcot with my roommates. Here a couple o-so-lovely photos of me and my Roommate Becca on Spaceship Earth.

 We all meet up there and rode a couple rides and watched Illuminations which never gets old! I also found out that CP's do not get in for extra magic hours... which is kind of sad but you can't complain when you get the benefits we do. I then rode the friendship boats back to the hotel with my family, we were exhausted so we all went to bed! But it was the next morning, today, that was most difficult. We all woke up and got breakfast at Pikabu's before my family got on the road back home to Georgia. We had plenty of laughs over our vacation but it ended with tears but that's not always a bad thing. They were tears of joy, tears of excitement, and some "I'll miss you until next time" tears. Let me just tell you that when I say I couldn't do this without my family, I literally mean I would not be here in the Disney College Program without them. They are some of the most incredible and influential people in my life and I love them beyond belief. I am counting down the days until your next trip down here! I love you guys! 

After my family headed home I went back to my apartment. I had a great day just relaxing at the apartment with my roommates. We adventured to some stores, did laundry for the first time in our complex, and we ended it with a pizza party with a big box from pizza hut! It was awesome, I had never had one before. Tomorrow is another orientation day at Disney University, so that means 6 AM bus and an alarm set at 4 AM and Hollywood Studios Star Wars Weekend after my orientation is aver at 2. So I shall go to bed and let you know how things go tomorrow! 

* Free Day *

Today started with me trying to hook up cable... which was not successful. Haha but thankfully Dad fixed it! Thanks Dad! Had lunch at the boardwalk with the family at Big River Grille & Brewing Works which was surprisingly really good, I had never been there before!

Afterward, me and the roomies visited our work locations and tried out the busses for cast members! 

Here's a picture of the cast member bus...

We went to Old Key West, Epcot parking, Caribbean Beach, and Hollywood Studios Parking! 

We eventually got on the monorail and road the ferry to Magic Kingdom and I got this lovely shot of the castle....

Dinner at the Caribbean Beach! Little tip: Get kid's meals when you go out! I know it says "9 years and younger only" but just do it! It's about $3 cheaper and comes with a drink and honestly it is just the right amount of food. 

and here I am at my work location, Hollywood Studios parking!!! Woot woot!

And finally here are a couple of videos I forgot to add earlier this week...

This one is from Check-In day as we went through the gates!

and this is a short blip from the housing meeting the other day!

Tomorrow is the big day, Traditions at 8 am and my first day of Creativity and Innovation at 1:30! Magic Kingdom utilidors here I come! :)

Housing Meeting!

Pretty much today was all about my housing meeting, it took up about 2 hours and didn't start until 11 so I got to sleep in a little bit. Thank The Lord! Before check-in day I was under the impression that after our first day it would be non-stop madness but it's actually not. There is lots of time between housing and training to get settled in and spend more time with family. I arrived about 20 minutes before the welcome session and that was perfect. The line was starting to form already, so it's definitely best to show up a bit early. And it was actually a lot more fun than I thought! Yes, we went over rules but they made it fun with music, jokes, and trivia for prizes! After housing I spent the day with my family :) there are so many cool housing events, I am so excited! They showed a whole video about the events and they looked pretty fantastic.

So, like I said, tomorrow is a free day for me and I will spend it doing little things around my apartment and spending time with family and my roommates! Then traditions on Thursday this week! 

Check-In Day :D

Today doesn't even feel like one single day! I feel like it's been two days... I'm exhausted to say the least but more excited than ever. My day began at 5 AM... Yep, 5! I arrived at vista way for check-in at about 7:30 to get in line for my arrival time of 8-9. Luckily I was closer to the front of the line! From there they seperate the students in the program and their families. Families go to a pavilion that has all types of cool information while the CP's go on to the maze of lines. Cool little tidbit: parents find out which complex you'll be staying at before we do so keep texting your parents to find out! The maze consists of first finding out your work location (mine is Hollywood Studios Parking, exactly what I wanted!!), then finding out which complex your in and receiving your key, and then verifying direct deposit. Then it's time to jump on your casting bus! Another interesting thing is that the buses that leave for casting don't really leave at your exact time. Your sheet of paper may say that your bus leaves at 8:30 but you might still be in line... No worries! You will get on a bus! Casting is a complete whirlwind... I couldn't even tell you all the documents I filled out and all the fingerprints I did there. The building is really cool though! I was there for about an hour and a half.

After casting you return to vista way from which you run to your apartment to see what it's like!!! I got very lucky, I got exactly the complex I asked for and it looks great inside. And on top of everything else I have fabulous roommates! And aside from a drug and alcohol test the rest of the day was spent moving in and grocery shopping. Check-In day is definitely madness but totally worth it in the end! I can now rest before training starts :) tomorrow's big task is a housing welcome session at 11! Shoutout to my wonderful family for working so hard to get me here and helping me move in today and shoutout to grandma for supporting me and giving me supplies! I'm fully prepared because of you! Love you all!

I'm also in the process of filling in my memory board! :)

Tomorrow is the day!

The past two days of family vacation have been absolutely wonderful! Just what we needed before check-in day! We had such a wonderful time at downtown disney and at our Ohana dinner. Late night reservations are cause for some pretty intense giggles by the way... And before dinner we enjoyed watching the parade on the lake outside.

Just perfect! :)  Today we spent all day at Typhoon Lagoon, another awesome day but it
ended with some sunburns (fingers crossed it turns into a tan!). 

 Tomorrow is check-in day at vista way so that means getting up at 5 AM, meeting my awesome roommates at 7:30 AM, and then waiting in line for who knows how long to do all my documentation and to get the key to my dorm. Followed by casting and moving into my dorm!!! I could not be more excited! Well I better go savor my 4 hours of sleep, wish me luck :)

I'm Almost There!

Halfway there folks! I have officially driven the farthest distance in my life, which is 2 and a half hours... But that's a big deal for me! Plus, I'm going to drive 2 more tomorrow lol. Tomorrow we hit the road at 6 am, check in at Coronado Spring around 10, then we shall chill at Downtown Disney, lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and then we top it all off with dinner at Ohana... At 9:45 PM... It's gonna be a long day but filled with lots of fun! :) 

First Post: Short but Sweet! :)

My first official blog post for my Fall Advantage 2014 Disney College Program, yaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!  Because I have spent most of the day compacting almost everything I own into a few small bags for the next seven months I am exhausted to say the least... So this post is  bound to be short and have poor grammar.  Anywho, I am beyond excited!! Now that I have most of the things crossd off my to do list for DCP I find myself even more excited than ever before. Just 2 more sleeps until I head to Florida. I don't think it will  officially hit me that this isn't just a vacation until my family heads back to Georgia and I stay in Florida... That's when it will finally sink in that I'm going to be living in Orlando, FL for SEVEN MONTHS!!!  But before any DCP duties begin we're going to have a much needed little family vacation. Friday-Sunday will be vacation and then I begin DCP officially at check-in bright and early on Monday. Before I close out I just want to say... Shoutout to my friends who I am going to miss terribly, and to my colleagues at The UPS Store 1938, I miss my UPS boys already! And to my incredible family for helping me prepare for this adventure and supporting me as well! I literally could not do this without y'all and I am so happy that I get to fill my days before beginning the program on vacation with y'all! Love you!