Disney On The Brain

The last couple of weeks I've had Disney on the brain a lot.  I've been thinking of the stuff I packed, what I still need to pack, etc.

I can't wait til I check in to the program. 

Thinking ...

I've been thinking about Disney more and more latel  It seems to be on my mind more now that I've got less than 2 months left.  I think about my apartment and what it's going to look like, how I want to set up my bedroom, and where I'll want to put the TV.

I think about going to the parks on my days off and getting to experience everything I didn't have time to when I visited last time.  Like all the shows and parades I want to see.  Or the rides I didn't try yet.

I haven't really wondered about my roommate yet.  At least I hadn't until i started writing this post.  I hope we get along well.  And that we can work well together to keep the apartment clean.  It would suck having someone who doesn't clean up after themselves.

I know that, myself, can get a little messy but I keep that to my room/area.  And I don't especially enjoy doing the dishes, but I will.

Come to think of it, I think I should probably have a meeting with my roommate on the first day to come up with some apartment rules and maybe a chores list.  That way there will be less arguing later on.

So Lame...

I admit it, I have fallen into the ranks of the lame blogger.  I haven't written in what, a month or so.  I'm sorry.  The reason for my not writing has a lot to do with the fact that there's not much going on right now.  At least Disney-wise.

I've been busy with school and work lately, including a big group project/presentation for my Interpersonal Communication class. 

As for Disney news, I've finalized my plans for getting down there.  January 13th will be my last day at AMC, then, on January 14th, my mom and I will drive to Jersey to visit with some friends of hers.  On January 16th, Sunday  morning, we'll start the first leg of the drive to Florida.  We'll be staying the night in a motel probably in South Carolina or something.  The next morning we'll get up and drive the rest of the way to Florida.

That night we'll stay at my sister's apartment in Winter Park.  The next day is shopping and then bright and frickin' early on the 19th my mom will drop me off at Vista Way for Check-In.  Check-in, technically, starts at 9 am but they let people into the gates starting at 8 am but I want to get there for at least 7 am so that I can, hopefully, get my first choice in apartment.

I'm really hoping for a 1 bedroom in Patterson Court but of course I'll settle for a 2 bedroom in either Patterson or Chatham Square.  I do not, however, want to get Vista at all.  I value peace and quiet.

I check in on the Facebook group page from time to time to see what's going on.  The two most popular Wall Posts seem to be "Looking for a roommate on (fill in the blank)" and "I'm so excited!"

For me, once I knew that I got in to the program and had most of my plans made, my level of excitement dropped a little.  Okay, it dropped a lot.  Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get down there, but I'm not jumping up and down, having trouble concentrating kind of excited anymore.  Of course, every so often now I get a thrill and my brain goes "OH MY GOD! I'M GOING TO DISNEY!" But for me, mostly, I was concerned with budgeting money while in Florida and saving money before going to Florida.

I've got it all figured out now. And  I should be able to save plenty of money while down there too.  Which is good because I need to be able to get home somehow and I'm gonna need to mpay for school when I get home as well.  My parents will probably help out a little but I prefer to pay for things myself.

Speaking (or writing) of money, I have come to the conclusion, and maybe I've written this before, that I will not be able to afford to bring my car down with me.  Or I could afford it but nothing else and I wouldn't be able to save any money.  So i will be relying on the shuttles to get me to and from work/the parks and public trnasportation for going to the stores or my sister's apartment. 

I think this week will be a good week to pull out all the totes that I have for Disney and go through them all.  At least if I can get my room organized enough I will.  Not to mention I have to get to packing up all of the stuff in my room because there's a chance that I'll be coming back to CT to a new house or to a house in the process of moving.

In other news, I had to go to my local mall to pick up Assassin's Creed 3 for my sister's xmas gift and I stopped in at the Disney store (the only one left in CT :D) and they now carry Vinylmation figurines.  They look so cute.  Much better in real life than they do online.  I can't wait to visit D-Street to see all of them.

Until next time, have a magical night.

Nothing New

I haven't written anything in quite awhile now but that is because there hasn't been anything new going on in awhile.  In fact, if you read other blogs written by CPers in the past, this time period is always a little lean on blog posts.  That's because the application process and the waiting period are over.  And yes, I am currently waiting to move down to Florida, but it's not as nerve-wracking as waiting to hear whether I got into the program or not.

I've already bought most of what I'll need to bring down to Florida with me and now I just need to plan how I'm getting down there.

My mom and I are going to drive down, us in her van and my car towed behind us.  See that's the thing.  Even though Disney provides shuttles to and from all the work locations and some local things like Walmart and grocery shopping, I have come to be spoiled when it comes to the freedom of having my own car.  I want to be able to go out whenever the mood strikes me and not have to wait for a bus or something.  So, because my car probably wouldn 't make it all the way down to Florida on its own and surrive the whole 7 months I'll be down there, I will need to tow it.

There is a chance that I'll be inheriting my Dad's current car in November or early December, but that's only if they can afford buying him a new car.  Otherwise it's my 2001 Kia Sephia that I'll be taking down with me.  I know that I could probably get away with not taking a car with me but I really would prefer to have my own form of transportation.

On other news, getting home from Florida is becoming quite the hassle.  The thing is, my parents go on this 2-week camping trip every year with the SCA.  For those of you who are not familiar with the SCA, it is a medieval re-enactment group that is country-wide (and some other countries too).  Anyways, this year, or next August, my program end-date falls within the middle weekend of their trip.  If my sister is still in Florida next summer (she is in FullSail U. for grad school) then I can stay with her until their trip is done, but chances are, she won't still be there. 

The best option right now is for my Dad to fly from PA (where Pennsic is) to Florida, drive with me back to CT and then fly back to PA for the rest of Pennsic.  How complicated, right?

Oh well. 

I've also been helping my mom plan a Disney vacation that she and my Gramma will be taking in May while I'm in the program.  They want to visit me and my sister and spend some time in Disney while I can get them discounts and free park passes.  I love being able to share all of my Disney knowledge with her.  She bought a Birnbaum guide book to Disney and every so often she'll look up from the book and say what's this? or what does this mean?  And I can usually answer.  The only problem is that we can't plan everything until after I check into the program and stuff.  Until then, it's mostly basic planning, like where they want to stay (she's thinking Pop Century) and what parks they want to go to.

I think that's it for now.

Planning

Right now I'm in the planning and shopping phase of waiting.  I've been researching car insurance, gas prices, motel costs, and buying supplies and things I might need for Florida lately.

Eventually I'll post a packing blog but for now I'll just tell you some of the things I've bought for Florida.

• bed-in-a-bag
• over the bed shelf system
• a boyfriend pillow (the ones that look like part of a chair)
• a clip-on desk lamp for the shelf system
• over-the-door hooks for the bathroom (towels, robes, etc.)
• suction cup shower shelf for storing my shampoo, conditioner, scrubbie, etc.
• hanging shelves for the closet (shoe shelf, sweater shelf, pants shelf) to save space in the drawers
• a large pink tote for bringing all my clothes down in

I have a lot of other things that I already have in my posession that I'll be bringing down but I don't have a full list yet so I'll have to post that later.

I know I still want to buy food containers and a toaster, an ironing board(table-top) and clothes iron.  But I guess those will have to wait til I get paid next. :D

Bye for now!

I GOT IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got my purple folder today in the mail!!!

I have been accepted as a Spring Advantage 2011 Merchandise Castmember for the Disney College Program!

I have been avoiding posting anything for awhile because I had started to become a little bitter.  You see about a week or so ago, I read on Facebook that the first batch of acceptance e-mails had been sent out.  Then 2 days later another batch went out, then the day after, then last Monday and Wednesday, I think.  Needless to say I was not happy that I hadn't heard anything from Disney.  I was uber happy for all my Facebook friends that they were getting in, but I had interviewed before most of them and they were all getting accepted.

So here's how I found out:
I had to work the morning shift at the theatre today so I was going to rely on my Mom to let me know anything.  I texted her about 1:30pm to see if the mail had come yet and if I had gotten anything in it.  A few hours later, I was walking to a projector when I could hear music.  I couldn't figure out where it was coming from; I thought maybe I had left the booth music on for a projector.  Then I felt my pocket vibrating.  I pulled out my cell phone (strictly against the rules ;D) and saw my mom was calling.  By the time I opened my phone, the call had ended, so I called her back.

After I said hello, she proceded to inform me that there was a large, white, thick envelope with Disney and my name on it was in her hands.  So I quickly told her to open it and read what the letter said.  I was so happy and relieved when it said Congratulations.

After I hung up the phone, I walked over to a projector to start a movie and as I waited for the start time, the realization that I was actually IN hit my body.  I got a huge whoosh of adrenaline all through my body.  After I started the movie, I practically ran down the booth stairs to my manager, James.  I had told James about the DCP and that I had applied.  Applications actually came out on the first day of his Disney Vacation.  Anyways, I got downstairs and found James. By this point I could barely contain myself.  I was like "Guess What?!"  "I got in!"  He is very happy for me; all my managers/supervisors seem to be.

When I got home I got to read the letter for myself and accept the invitation online.

So officially, I check-in to the Disney College Program on Wednesday January 19, 2010.

Wow, this is such a relieft.  Now I can relax and plan, fully, for the program.  I can't believe that in less than 4 months, I will be in Florida, working for the mouse.  That's one step closer to my dream job of working on the Disney Cruise Line.

Alright folks, I think that's all for today, I'll probably write more soon.

Magical wishes and pixie dust for everyone!

September 3

It is now the 3rd of September and that means ... it's back to school time, homework time, and waiting for purple folders time. Yea!

The latest news concerning the purple folders, or e-mails, is that the "pending" e-mails have gone out.  That doesn't mean that the applicants were rejected, just that Disney needs more time to decide whether they fit the program.  Many of us on the Facebook group are hoping that means the acceptance/rejection letters are coming out soon.  We can only hope!

Not too much else exciting has been happening on the Disney front so until the e-mails/folders start going out, I doubt I'll have much to write about.  At least not Disney related.  Though my theater has been showing commercials for a special Beauty and the Beast Sing-along event that will be happening at the end of September and early October; looks interesting.  But it's another way for Disney to creep into my life.

On a different note, I've been reading the Sookie Stachouse books lately.  For those of you who don't knwo what I'm talking about, the Sookie Stackhouse novels are the books that TrueBlood was based on.  The first season of True Blood is a lot like the first novel aside from a few difference, unlike most book-to-TV/Movies do.  I'm really enjkoying the series and encourage you to try them as well.

That's all for today, folks!