Disney All Day

I've been doing Disney related things all day long. I got a netflix subscription just to watch the new documentaries that Disney made about the parks, I've watched Peter Pan and I've also seriously considered getting a seasonal job at the Disney Store. I just want to save all the money I'd make there. I'm saving plenty with my full time job but if I saved every bit of money I made with a part time job then I wouldn't really have to worry about anything while I was in Orlando. It would be nice. I'll apply at my local stores tomorrow and see what happens.

Visit to Disney World

I took the hour drive (it took me exactly an hour to get from downtown Tampa to the Disney exit on I-4) to meet a friend at Downtown Disney yesterday. We had lunch at the new T-Rex restaurant and then rode the monorails and did some shopping. Just getting off the highway and seeing the entrance confirmed that I really want to be there. There is now no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision when I chose to quit my full time great paying job and move to Disney World.

The picture above represents what happens when you try to take a picture while driving. Obviously it doesn't turn out very well. This one however ended up great and I was also taking it while driving. 

Finally having a phone with a good camera is turning out to be a dangerous thing for me. 

The T-Rex restaurant was great. It is way better than rainforest cafe. There is way more food on the menu and while it is pricey it is definitely worth it. I should have taken pictures in there but I was so focused on catching up with a friend I haven't seen in months that I completely forgot. They have an ice cave that's pretty cool. It's just white and cold but it turns red during the astroid shower. Every 15 minutes or so there's an astroid shower. The dinosaurs go all crazy and then it gets quiet. Well the dinosaurs get quiet. There's way too many people for it to ever be quiet in there. I got an order of bruschetta and lasagna. The lasagna was huge. I could only eat like half of it. 

Next we did some shopping. I bought myself a mug with all the villains and then some lantern thing for my grandparents. I was looking for nightmare of christmas stuff for my friends birthday but they didn't have anything good. I was also looking for those giant snow globes but I couldn't find any of those either. I love the World of Disney store. It's so easy to get lost. We headed over to the West Side too but there wasn't as much over there. My friend ended up buying a Star Wars shirt. 

Then we got on the bus to the Contemporary so we could catch the monorail and ride it around. For a little bit we had an entire car to ourself but then a bunch of people got on. I absolutely love monorails. The one that goes around the magic kingdom resorts is nice but the Epcot one is better because you're pretty much in Epcot. We went around on that one twice. 

That's how far you are in the park. That was taken from the monorail while we were inside the park. You go above all of Futureland and you're right up on the edge of World Showcase. It's free which makes it even more awesome. You can ride the monorail for free. I do it every time I'm in Orlando. 

Once we finally made it back to Downtown Disney (we had to take a bus from Epcot to Port Orleans and then a bus to Downtown Disney) we had some ice cream at Ghiradelli. Downtown Disney was so crowded because of the kids trick or treating. It is beyond me why they would wait in such a long line just to get a peanut butter cup. Once of the lines was from World of Disney to Team Mickey. I know most of you don't know how long that it is but believe me it's way too long to wait for a piece of candy. After Ghiradelli we walked around a little more and then left. 

Rather than getting right on the highway like I should have I tried to venture off and go see the apartment complexes. Dumb move. It's not like I got lost, I know Orlando pretty well and I knew exactly where Vista Way is, I just got stuck in a sea of cars that weren't moving. I got to Vista Way really easy. The buildings aren't as bad as I thought. They look older but not bad. It took me 45 minutes to get from Vista Way back to I-4. Vista Way is about one or two lights away from the highway so imagine how bad traffic was. We were lucky if one car in each lane got to go through the light because of how backed up it was. I gave up on trying to see Chatham and Patterson just because I didn't even want to try to get on the the other side of the road. I eventually did get on I-4 though and it took less than an hour and a half to get home. 

I had a lot of fun yesterday but now it's halloween night and I have nothing to do. 

99 Days

Just 99 days until I get to check in at Disney World. I am beyond excited. I've given serious thought to where I want to live and I have decided I definitely want to live in Patterson in a 2 maybe 3 bedroom. I'm not really a party person and I like quiet so I think it's the best place for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm down for a party now and then but I don't want to hear it every night.

I made a request to work in EPCOT. I got the normal automated response back. "Thank you. We have noted your request however it is not a guarantee. Blah Blah Blah" I'd be happy to work anywhere but I LOVE EPCOT. I'm not even a big fan of the World Showcase. My favorite place in the world in Future World. This Saturday I plan to have lunch at the T-Rex restaurant and then ride the monorail around the EPCOT ball. You can see that whole side of EPCOT from the monorail. If I can't work at EPCOT then I want to work in a resort or on the boardwalk.

I get more excited everyday. I love the job I have now but really only because it's good money and I'm great at it but nothing can compare to Disney. I don't see much room for progression at my current job. However, at Disney they'll be tons of opportunities. I cannot wait.

I'll try to blog more often. Life is just so hectic with school and work.

Note and School Stuff

I know these last few posts were short. I was upset about Disneyland and it was really depressing. Now I'm super excited for Disney World and I am so thankful some force was telling me to apply to Disney World as well for insurance. I guess it's where I'm suppose to be.

I went to USF and asked them about doing this program and no one seemed to know what I was talking about nor were they able to help me. I will not be going back to USF after this semester. It isn't only the Disney thing. I do not like the school. I am going to be going to Academy of Art online majoring in Motion Pictures and Television. I hope to one day go to the actual campus which is in San Francisco. It makes more sense considering what I want to do anyways and hopefully I can have a long career and progress within the Disney Company.

It's official

I'm going to Disney World. Spring Advantage for Merchandise. I'll be arriving January 31st. I'm going to apply to Disneyland for fall and hopefully it will work out. I've already received my purple folder and everything.

Rejected =[

I've been rejected by Disneyland. I guess I still have Disney World but I don't even know if it's worth going. I am really disappointed. Guess this is the end of the blog unless I decide to go to Disney World.

Pending

Just perfect. I may not find out until December 1st if I got into Disneyland but I have to accept Disney World by 10/23. Not good. I don't know what I'm suppose to do. I really want to go to Disneyland and get out of Florida.

ACCEPTED!!!

....To WDW College Program. Yeah, I know it's only been 5 days since my interview so I really wasn't expecting it. I got accepted for Merchandise and Spring Advantage. I was at the gym and just checked my email on my phone and it was there. It was hard to tell which park it was but I knew by the pay rate. It was Florida's minimum wage and I know California's is higher. I'm definitely excited I got accepted to Orlando but I'm still waiting on Disneyland. Hopefully I hear before I have to accept or decline WDW. I definitely will hear something but if it's a pending letter then that complicates things. I have until 10/23 to accept or decline WDW. I'll keep you guys updated.

Disney World Interview

So I was planning on making a post about what type of questions I was asked and all that but it was basically the same at the Disneyland interview. The only new questions I got were "What problems do you think you may have in the living component of our program?" and "Why do you think you want to be a character attendant?" I don't feel that this interview went any better of worse than the first. They gave me the same time frame and everything as well. 3-4 weeks. I can't wait to hear back from Disneyland. It's so nerve racking. Some people hear in days, others in weeks, a few in months. I just want to hear something. Hopefully I at least make one of the college programs. It would be terrible if I didn't. However, I really REALLY want to make Disneyland. I want to get out of Florida and move on to something new and this would be the best way to do it. 

Disney World

I just applied to the Walt Disney World College Program. I figured I might as well even though I really really want to go to California instead. WDW is only about an hour or so away so while it would still be the time of my life, afterwards I would have to come back home. I'm really looking for to go to California and stay there to finish school and hopefully for the rest of my life. My parents aren't going to be at all happy about me quitting my good job to go work at Disney but I'm not happy in my current job no matter how much money I make and I know I'll be happy at Disney, especially in California where I'll get to start a whole new life adventure.

I applied to the WDW college program last year but I didn't make it. I never called to ask why but I should have. Hopefully it goes better this time around but again I'd much rather go to Disneyland. I didn't really care when I was rejected a year ago but a few months later I was really disappointed. I know this is something I really need to do and I cannot miss out on, whether I go to Lake Buena Vista or Anaheim. I can't wait to hear back from Disneyland!! I'm already freaking out and it's only been a week. I want to know now.

I won't be able to schedule my interview until Monday and I'll have to sneak into the bathroom or something at work to do it so no one hears me. The earliest I'll be able to have my interview is Friday which is forever from now. It'd be nice to have heard from Disneyland by then.

Impatient

I know it hasn't even been a week yet but I am dying not know whether or not I got in. Do I get to move to California of not? I'm so anxious. Hopefully I find out really soon. Anyone else out there that's agonizing over the wait to?

The Interview

My interview was on Saturday at 3pm. I was super nervous right before the phone rang. I really want this internship. I believe the interview went pretty well but you never know. The girl was really nice and I think I actually surprised her with some of my answers.

If you had a roommate who was messy but you were very clean, how would you handle that situation?

I said that I would try to come to some sort of agreement. Maybe have separate areas in the room that way the roommate could still have her mess but it wouldn't be disturbing my stuff. 

Tell me about your most recent work experience.
I talked about my current job and what I do there. 


What are the things you like about your job?
I said that I like the different types of people I get to talk to on the phone. I said that I get to have some great conversations with people and I really do enjoy that. 


What are some things you don't like about your job?
In customer service you are always going to have people who are not happy with you. The best thing you can do is try to help them and if you can't help them or they are still upset for an irrational reason you just have to brush it off and keep doing your job. 

Why do you want to do the Disney College Program?
I stated that I love Disney and would love to work there. I said that I eventually want to work for Disney or one of it's companies in a media aspect. I mentioned ABC and ESPN so hopefully I gain some points know the companies that Disney owns but that's also in the E-presentation so probably not. 

What are your top roles? 
Attractions, Front Desk, Entertainment Costuming or Full Service F&B Hostess. I actually thought I had checked off a lot more than I had. Hopefully this doesn't greatly affect my chances of getting into the program. 


If you are engaged in a task and someone disturbs you how would you feel?
I talked about how at my old retail job we could be busy folding clothes and and a guest would interrupt and ask a question. I said that I would be perfectly happy to help the guest because that would probably make us a sale rather than the guest just walking out because no one was available to help them. I also mentioned that it depends on the situation because if I'm at home studying and someone disturbs me and it isn't a good reason than I wouldn't be too happy. I probably shouldn't have said that but oh well. 

Tell me about an experience where you had multiple things to do and didn't know how you would possibly get them all done.
I said that I am currently dealing with that. I have a full-time job and school. I said that I just prioritize and get done what needs to be done and know when everything is due. I said it better than that but I can't exactly remember now. 


Tell me about a time you've had to deal with either a difficult co-worker or difficult guest. 
I talked about how in my past job I've had to deal with someone who wasn't pulling their weight. I tried to encourage the co-worker to get their job done. I said if that doesn't work then mention it to the supervisor. I emphasized that I was not looking for that person to get fired but rather a way to light a fire under their belly so they'd be motivated to do their work. 


Are you comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people?
I talked about how I was involved in Model United Nations and my experience with that. I had to explain what MUN was and what type of conference I attended. She seemed pretty impressed. 

What do you think the role of Front Desk entails?
I talked about how you're responsible for not only checking guests in and out but making sure that the room you're checking them into is ready to a guests satisfaction. Not my best answer. 


If you were a guest at a Disney Resort what would be your expectations?
I said that I would expect Disney to be a better quality than regular hotels because Disney has a bigger brand to uphold. I talked about how I would expect a more family oriented atmosphere and that it wouldn't be just the place I'm staying at while I visit the Disney parks but also something that enhances my experience. 

What do you think the role of a host or hostess entails?
I said that you are not only the first but also the last person a guest sees so it is your responsibility to ensure that the guest has a memorable experience. I also mentioned the ordinary things such as being responsible for the seating charts and also making sure the table is clean before the guest sits down. 

What's your favorite kind of weather?
I had expected this question because of another blog. (Thank you Andrew). I talked about how I'm from Florida so I'm very used to the heat. I said my ideal weather is around 70 degrees. 

Like any interview, some of my answers were great and a few were not. I really want this internship so I hope it went well. I probably won't make another post until I get an acceptance (hopefully) notification. Hope to have good news in my next post. 

Application and Web-Based Interview

I did my application and the WBI a few days ago. At first when I finished the WBI I was not invited for a phone interview. I KNEW I answered the questions correctly so I called a recruiter. Turns out I hadn't been accepted because I was using a mac. They told me that safari isn't compatible with the WBI and that it was a common thing for people using that browser to have problems. The recruiter was very nice and reset the interview for me so I could take it again. I took it a few hours later using my sisters' computer and I, as expected, was invited for a phone interview. My phone interview was scheduled for today (that will be the next blog) at 3pm.

Lesson learned: If you get an error message that your browser is not compatible with the system then do not continue. There is a reason why you got an error message.