#dcp fall 2017

[rachelostapower]

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Disney College Program fall 2017!🐭🐭🏰

[magickingdomqueen]

Disney College Program Advice

I thought I’d share just a bit of advice from my experience at Disney World on the DCP Fall 2017

1. It will seem overwhelming the first few weeks

When you first arrive on your program, a lot of information is going to be thrown at you between housing and work. You’ll arrive at housing, meet your roommates, attend housing meetings, Traditions, training at Disney University, and then you’ll get to start training at your work location. A lot happens in a short amount of time, but during your free time you’ll be able to hang out by the pool, bond with your roommates, or walk around Disney Springs until you get your admission into the parks. It’s all so exciting because your dreams are finally coming true! I’m guilty of crying at Traditions because I couldn’t believe everything I had imagined was unfolding right in front of me. So while everything may seem hectic at first, try to absorb it all and live in the moment.

2. Spend time with roommates and work friends

You’re going to meet a lot of people. A LOT. But these are people that will leave such an impact on your life, it’ll seem like you’ve known them for longer than just a couple of months. During my program, I made the most amazing friends I could ever ask for. I’m so thankful to Disney for bringing them into my life. They all relate to what you’re going through. Everyone is away from home, working long hours, and also trying to take in as much as they can. Before you know it, you’ll have to say bye to these people & it’s not going to be easy. Especially the international friends you make. So while you have the opportunity, hang out with them and live in the moment together. These people are the closest thing you’ll have to family while you’re there.

3. You will encounter rude people, stay calm

Not everyone you meet at Disney is going to be friendly. That can be said for guests or fellow cast members. Some people have off days & some are just rude. Ignore these people & don’t let them get to you. Guests will blame you if they’re having a terrible day, some want you to fix every problem they encounter, some will be impatient, and some will be the furthest thing from understanding. You have to find a way to ignore it when it happens. I had a guest ask me once when I was going to find a real job. Some people just don’t get it, and that’s okay. Move on and don’t let them ruin it for you. The nice guests will outweigh the bad ones, anyway.

4. It will go by SO fast, enjoy it

Many people had told me that the program would fly by, but I wasn’t prepared for how fast it actually went. Of course some days felt like they would never end, but before I knew it I was working my last shift for the Mouse and getting ready to say goodbye to all of the people that have come to mean the world to me. Take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Work will exhaust you and you’ll feel like you have barely any energy left after your shift, but try to go to the parks or go out with your friends. Working for Disney ensures that you’ll almost never be bored. There’s always something to do so utilize that while you can. Before you know it, you’ll be home and longing for a day sitting on the hub grass at Magic Kingdom thinking to yourself, I can’t believe this is my life.

Have fun & live out your dream! Make friendships that will last a lifetime and memories that will put a smile on your face. Most importantly, know that Disney will always be there to welcome you back home.

[stuff-and-fluff-and-pixie-dust]

LOOKING FOR NEW BLOGS

I just unfollowed 300+ inactive blogs and I’m desperately in need of some new content! I move back to Florida in about a month and wanna see more Disney on my dash! If you’re a Disney themed blog (or mostly Disney themed blog), please like or reblog so I can follow you!!!

[lolsomeone-actually]

Now I’m out here lookin like revenge… Happy Disney Winter Formal! (It was lame af)

[latenightmagichours]

Some recent Disney adventures! I know I’ve been doing a shabby job of updating my blog, so I’m gonna do a couple of big photo posts the next few days ☺️

[thatdisneydame]

Howdy All!

Goodness gracious I haven’t posted anything since August! That is crazy! I hope y’all didn’t forget about me (hahaha)! 

Well, let me update you guys on my life since August!

1. I started my program by working the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival! That was a really cool, and highly stressful experience. I saw some famous instagram faces. I learned a bit about different drinks. Am I a connoisseur, absolutely not. In fact, I still am not a fan of the taste of alcohol, but I know what drinks to pair with certain foods. I can also untap and tap a new keg in like 4 seconds  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. After Food and Wine ended I went to my home location in The Magic Kingdom. It was new and different and a different kind of stressful, but I absolutely love it! I love the location, I love my coworkers and I love most of my leaders. There are like 2 I am just not a fan of. I love all of my coordinators though. They are the absolute best and keep our locations running.

3. After a week or so I decided to apply to extend my program, and I got accepted to extend my program. So Disney still has me until May! I just thought about having to leave this place I’ve called home for almost a year now and I almost started crying.

4. My family came to visit me in December! I missed them so much.

5. I may be becoming a trainer at my location in The Magic Kingdom. That is crazy. I’ve only been there for like 3 months and they want me to train? Are they crazy? Truth be told you have to be a little crazy to work at Magic.

6. I cross-trained at the main restaurant in my location. I had a leader say they would have brought me there even earlier if they could. That made me feel good inside.

7. I am going to be cross-training at ESPN Wide World of Sports next week! I’m excited and nervous because it is going to be new, but I know one of the leaders and some of the cast members that are going to be working there. Spring training is going to be so cool!

I can’t really think of anything else, but you guys, this has been such an amazing experience. I can’t believe I have the opportunity to work for Disney, a lifelong dream of mine. I love my roommates so much! They’re from all over and it has been so cool to be a part of that. One is Australian, one is from California, one is from Georga, one is from Illinois, one is from Virginia. I’ve worked with people from the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Haiti, China, and Japan and I have never felt so small! I have learned so much about different countries culturally, and I want to visit each and every one of these new friends. 

Advice to future CPs because they have been moving in for the past like 3 weeks.

SAVE YOUR MONEY!!!!!! Holy Crap!!! I have spent so much money I am so angry at myself. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is ok to buy merch and stuff every once in a while, but not all the time. I have spent most of my money going out to eat and I tell myself I really need to stop. Honestly, spend that extra money on groceries to meal plan. You’ll save so much money. Bring your lunch to work. The cast cafeteria is fine, and the food is good and cheap, but you don’t need to spend that money unless you have to.

You’re going to get stressed. It happens. I basically panicked at work one day because I was at a location by myself. I lost count of how many cups of coffee I had made and went to make more, but I grossly miscounted and the coffee overflowed and made a giant mess.

Guests are going to yell at you for anything and everything, whether it is under your control or not. I was working the Christmas party and I heard a guest ask what food they were giving out at my location. I turned and saw a guest start to walk up to me. I said “I’m sorry ma’am are you asking what food you get here? Or where something else is?” She got mad. 

“Can I ask you my question or are you going to keep talking?” 

“Of course ma’am, I’m sorry, I thought you were asking that question because I heard someone else ask that question and I thought it was you. What can I help you with?”

“They told us that we can get our wristbands here, but there is no one to give wristbands out. Where do I get a wristband.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, they stop giving the wristbands out at this location at about 6:45.” Luckily, and unluckily, another cast member heard this exchange and jumped in.

“Yes ma’am, they stopped giving them out here earlier. You’re going to have to go to Main Street Guest Services, City Hall, to get your party wristband.” The other Cast Member said. To which the lady stormed off towards her to complain about how unfair it was that we weren't giving the wristbands out here and how ridiculous it was that they had to go all the way to Main Street to get the wristband. Mind you, Main Street is not far at all, and you can get to Main Street from literally any location in the park. Anyway, after the exchange of words, I went to the other cast member to ask if she was ok, and she said she was fine. Truth be told, guests yelling at you starts losing its edge after a while. There are sometimes that a guests tone will get to you. When they say certain things are unmagical it hurts because when you love working for the company you try extra hard to do things magically. My cure for those situations though is to do something extra nice for another guest because when their eyes light up and you see the smile it makes everything better. 

My final piece of advice for now. Sleep when you can. Sleep for however long you can. I left work at 1:30 AM one night and had to be back at 9:15 AM. I got about 3 hours of sleep that night after everything was said and done. So sleep while you can. Enjoy your days off. Sometimes you want to go to a park, go to a park, sometimes you want to just chill in your bed all day, do that too. You are never going to know what you need to do until your day off comes. Just take it a day at a time because it is a lot to bite, especially in the beginnig.

[intheaffterglow]

Cute photos from when my favorite person visited me

[lightningmcscream]

did I ever mention to y'all that I'm doing the disney college program this fall?? 39 days until move in and im trying not to freak out about it

[philharmagicall]

would anyone be interested if i wrote up posts about merch and attractions and what I liked and didn’t like about each? I feel like it could be helpful

[mydcpjournal]

A day of firsts for my friend! She had only been to DAK once and didn’t go on the new Pandora rides so we just got and Pandoran Sunrise and did the River one (FAP was over 2 hours...) then we watched It’s Tough to be a Bug then hopped on Everest. The ride stopped right as you finished going backwards and we did single rider... which would be one of the few times I get stuck on a ride... next to a stranger. But anyways we headed to Epcot (my fav & my friends first time there!) we did test track, soarin, frozen ever after, and food & wine! It was a great day off finished off with Illuminations.

[hex-inthecity]

If you are doing the Disney college program and also vlogging it hit me up! I have been vlogging my program for a while now and i haven’t met other Youtubers and I want to meet some. So send me a message or something so I can meet you.

[magickingdomqueen]

I Can Go the Distance

When I was accepted to participate in the Disney College Program and work at Disney World, I truly didn’t know what to expect. I had heard and read a variety of experiences that people have had and wondered which experience would align with mine. Would I get homesick & hate it? Could I move to a different state on my own without knowing a single person beforehand? Despite my anxiety, I stuck with the feeling in my gut, packed my things, and headed to Florida.

Doing the Disney College Program was the best decision I’ve ever made in my life, and I mean that wholeheartedly. If you knew me before, I wasn’t a very adventurous person so moving to Florida on my own was a huge step. Throughout the program, I learned to deal with things on my own without having the help of a family member nearby. The awesome thing about the program, though, is that the people you work & live with (if you’re lucky) become the closest thing to family that you’ll find.

Never in my life did I imagine I’d have such good friends from all over the country/world. I had roommates from Brazil, Mexico, Japan. I met people from the UK, Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, & so much more that I’m forgetting. Meeting these people inspired an immense desire to travel. After being exposed to people from all over the world, it made me want to get out and see all there is to see. Your comfort zone can be limiting, don’t stay there forever.

Leaving the people that I had met was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. While doing the program, you go through a lot. So much happens in the small amount of time that you’re there because you’re being exposed to A LOT on a daily basis between your work life and life in the apartment. I worked in a park where we would interact with about 40,000 guests every day. You’re being exposed to people all of the time, which can be exhausting. The people you work with go through the same as you. They understand what it’s like. You see them basically every day because even on days off, if you’re not with your roommates, you’re with them. It may seem like in 5 months you can’t establish a solid relationship, but that’s false. My program was during the fall, which meant I wasn’t with my family for the major holidays. It isn’t easy being away from home on Christmas, but that’s where your Disney family comes in. They, too, are away from home and so (not to be cliche) but you’re all in this together.

I never would have met these people or ventured outside of my comfort zone if it weren’t for Disney. I accomplished my dream by working for the company, but came away with so much more than I had ever hoped. I learned to rely on myself, to not let my anxieties get the better of me, to let people in and build relationships, and that I truly can make my dreams come true. Disney already held a special place in my heart, but it means more to me now than it ever did before. The experience is something I will forever be grateful for.

“And so our journey comes to an end, but yours continues on. Grab hold of your dreams and make them come true, for you are the key to unlocking your own magic. Now go, let your dreams guide you. Reach out and find your happily ever after.”

[agentromanoffsir]

today was my third day out of training and I already received a four keys card for show and courtesy guys I'm so excited right now !!!

[aimsbond13]

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.✨💭🐭 (at Disney University)

[thatdisneydame]

You guys

I leave TOMORROW! I can't wait!! I'm so excited to start this chapter of my life which I have dubbed "The One Where I Earn My Ears"

[hokie-loki]

Check out my DCP vlogs!