Red Carpet Club

Well, I thought my program was over, but I guess Disney had one more magical experience in store for me.

You see, as part of Vacation Planning, we are able to choose rewards if our sales reach certain levels. This is just a bonus, though, and our trainers make sure to stress that as long as we are focusing on helping the guest with what best fits their vacation needs, we'll be fine. So, that's what I did. I never pushed and always tried to place myself in the viewpoint of the guest. The beauty of Disney is that there's no certain way to enjoy your vacation. There are so many different options for guests, which kept my job fun and exciting. I treated every guest uniquely, and got to help them decide how they wanted to enjoy the magic.

The End of this Chapter

Having to leave Walt Disney World meant leaving my amazing job that I truly loved, and the wonderful guest interaction. It meant not living 10 minutes away from Disney and getting to have fun adventures in the parks whenever I wanted to. It meant leaving the best people that I had the pleasure of living and working with for the past 7 1/2 months. It meant saying "see ya real soon" to so many people, but not actually knowing when "soon" would be. It meant driving towards Texas, but driving farther away from my real home. It meant the end of my Disney College Program, the one thing I had been waiting and wanting to do for TEN YEARS prior.

Move Out Day

Move out day was one of the hardest things I've ever had to experience. The tears and sadness that filled our apartment was symbolic of just how close we grew.  

The day pretty much consisted of attempting to fit everything in my car, turning in my ID and key to the front desk, and then the worst part, the "see ya real soons."

Here's a glimpse of the day:

I was so glad that Cynthia, my best friend from work, came by before I left. She and I have such an amazingly similar love and appreciation for our favorite things about Disney, like the monorails, resorts, and Wishes. She always made work so much fun, and all of our trips together to the parks, too. I'm so proud of her because she is staying with Disney for a Professional Internship! Love you Cynthia, and so grateful to have a best friend like you in my life!

Patterson Court #11207

So on those rare occasions when I wasn't at work or playing in the parks, you might ask, where did I sleep?! No, not in the castle or in the resorts, but in Disney Housing!

I realized that in the craziness of Check-In, I never posted any pictures of my apartment complex! As part of the Disney College Program, there are 4 apartment complexes for CP's to live in: Patterson Court, Chatham Square, The Commons, and Vista Way. The complexes are about 7-10 minutes away from Disney property. Each complex has a variety of 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom apartments -- and each bedroom has either 2 or 3 people.

Prior to arrival, my roommates and I ranked our housing selections through an online submission, but we didn't find out which complex we would be living in until we checked in!

My Last Day of Work

January 3, 2015. This was my last day as a Walt Disney World Vacation Planner. This was one of the days I'd been truly dreading.

On the DCP, your last day of work is two days before your program's end date. This gives you the last two days to pack up, go to the parks, and get moved out.

The first true realization of the end of your Disney College Program is when you open up your work schedule at 12:00 AM on Saturday night the week before, and see the words that you knew were coming, but never wanted to actually appear:

End. Of. Program. My new three least favorite words.

New Year's in Disney

I thought Fourth of July was pretty busy. I thought Food and Wine Festival was very busy. I thought Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were insanely busy.

New Year's Eve was an entirely different story!

Our predicted crowd level at Epcot for New Year's Eve was incredibly high, so I knew it would be busy, but I had no idea just how many people came to Disney on New Year's Eve! I started out at Epcot that morning at 6:00 AM, helping to tape down extended queues for the booths, because the lines would definitely be going past our already extended chains! We then went over to the Ticket and Transportation Center for our HERA pilot shift which began at 8:00 AM. After only being at the TTC for about an hour, the Magic Kingdom hit it's first capacity phase close. When this happened during the pilots, we were sent to other parks.  

Happy New Year from Epcot!

Magic Kingdom Vacation Planning HERA Pilot

One of the things I loved the most about my role was all of the opportunities that I had. Near the end of my program, I had the opportunity to be involved in a Vacation Planning pilot test. One of my managers told myself and two other Epcot CPs that we were going to be part of the Magic Kingdom HERA pilot. The three of us, along with 3 CPs from Hollywood Studios, 3 CPs from Animal Kingdom, and the Magic Kingdom CPs were going to be trained on HERA -- which stands for Handheld Entitlement and Recovery Application. This is an app on the iPad which would allow us to sell tickets and redeem will calls.

I loved being able to use the iPad to walk around and help guests!

Tourist Day

My roommates Stephanie, Tess and I had been talking about dressing up like total tourists and running around Magic Kingdom, so on our last day off all together -- that's exactly what we did! We went all out with our matching shirts, Mickey ears, MagicBands, pin trading lanyards, backpacks, fanny packs, 1st visit buttons, and upside down maps! I dragged them out of bed early in the morning so we could get there at rope drop to see the park opening Welcome Show! We met characters, rode some of our favorite attractions, and just had so much fun! We offered to take pictures of families, and even witnessed a castle proposal! I had my DSLR camera with me and took tons of pictures of this couple, and then emailed the photos to them later! We had SO much fun in the kingdom and it was a perfect way to spend the day together! Here's some of my favorite pictures from our Tourist Day!

Tourist Day in the Magic Kingdom!

Welcome to Operations

Today I had my Welcome to Operations orientation at Disney University.

Ready for Day 2 of Training!

Checking Out my Location!

This morning my dad and I decided to go to Epcot to check out the Vacation Planner booths. Of course I've been to Epcot hundreds of times, but it was different knowing that it's where I will be working! I got such a wonderful feeling when I saw the booths today, knowing that it is where I'll be getting my start with Disney!

Say hello to my new home, the Epcot Vacation Planner booths!

I can't wait to start selling tickets and helping people plan their days!

Mine Train and Kitchen Sink

Today was the official opening of the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom! This ride marks the completion of the New Fantasyland expansion! My dad and I were lucky enough to get FastPass+ reservations to ride the Mine Train on Opening Day! This was the first attraction we've ever ridden on Opening Day, and we've been watching the Mine Train construction for years so we were really excited!

The attraction sign!

First of many Mine Train selfies!

Check-In and Casting

I woke up today and couldn't believe it was finally here! I've only been waiting for this day since I was accepted just 3 months ago, but in reality I've been waiting for this day for my entire life. It was finally my time to check in to the Disney College Program.

My roommate Hannah was also staying at Pop Century so we met up and followed each other over to Vista Way, one of the 4 apartment complexes and the place where Check-In is held. 

Seeing these signs made me so excited!

The Welcome Center at Vista Way!

Travel and Pre-DCP Disney Day

My dad and I left Houston bright and early yesterday morning for a very long day of traveling! We were expecting a lot of traffic since it was Memorial Day weekend, but the roads were empty! We made great time the entire day and it was a very easy drive. We stopped in Gainesville for the night and we were only 2 hours away from Orlando.

We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center!

This morning, we drove from Gainesville to WALT DISNEY WORLD!! It was so exciting to drive under the welcome gate and know that I didn't have to leave for 7 months! After checking in at the Pop Century, we headed to Magic Kingdom. 

I had to get an "I'm Celebrating" button!

Just Days Away

I still can't fully comprehend everything that's about to happen. I woke up this morning and my countdown notification on my phone said 3 days until I move to Florida! THREE DAYS! Something that I have been waiting for forever is happening so soon and I am beyond excited.

"How do you pack for 7 months?" is a question that I've been getting a lot recently. And I wish I knew the answer! Packing is never my favorite thing to do, but packing for the DCP makes the task way more fun!

For the past two weeks, I have been cleaning my room, packing my suitcases, and running errands non-stop, along with eating at my favorite Houston restaurants and spending time with my family! It has been crazy trying to get everything done and packed. The most I've ever moved is 3 hours away for school in 2 cars, so trying to figure out how to move halfway across the country for 7 months in 1 car is definitely an adventure. 

Getting Closer

Well, in less than 2 weeks, I will be checking in to the Disney College Program! It still seems incredibly surreal. I have been imagining and dreaming about this program for so long that in some ways, it just doesn't feel real yet. I'm not sure when it will hit me that this is actually happening!  It's a wonderful thing.

I'm officially done with school, and now I get to turn my focus to packing! It will definitely be quite a process, but an exciting one! My dad and I will be driving down in my car, so luckily I won't be too tight on space. Disney apartments are also fully furnished and they provide lots of essential items in the apartment, so that makes it really easy!

My roommates and I registered on DORMS (Disney Onsite Resident Management System) yesterday. This is Disney's online system to register for our apartment complex ahead of time. There are four complexes for program participants, and they're located near Disney property. We'll find out which complex we're in when we arrive, but we got to indicate our preferences and link together in the system. I am super excited to meet my roommates! We found each other through the DCP Facebook groups, and we all get along really well! I'm excited to share this experience with them!

About my Program

The Disney College Program is a paid internship where students can work in the parks or resorts, take Disney classes and seminars, and live with other program participants for the semester.

The application process consists of three stages: the online application, the web-based interview, and the phone interview. I will be doing a series of posts describing my personal experiences at each stage.

I was accepted for the role of Vacation Planner, which was one of my top choices! This is a very small and competitive role, so I feel extremely fortunate to have this opportunity! I will get to interact with the guests all day long, and help them figure out which of the 100+ ticket combinations that Disney offers will best suit their needs. I am so excited to get to put my knowledge of the Walt Disney World property to use! I will be based at one of the 4 parks, and I will find out which one when I arrive.

Welcome to my Blog

Welcome to my Disney College Program blog! I will be sharing my experiences, my stories, and my memories from this incredible journey on which I am about to embark. I have been waiting for this opportunity for my entire life, and I can't believe that it's finally my time to live and work in the most magical place on Earth. I know that this is the beginning of the best time of my life!

Walt Disney World has become more than just an annual vacation spot to me. It is my passion. My dreams. My life. And now, it is becoming my career and I couldn't be more excited.

My first trip to Walt Disney World was in the summer of 2000, with my parents and my sister, Megan. We loved everything about it -- what family wouldn't? But something stuck with us, and we kept returning, year after year. Sure, we get questions, and lots of them. "Don't you want to go somewhere else for a change?" 
"Aren't y'all too old?"
"Haven't you done everything there?"
And the answer is always no.