My life.. an update!

It has been forever since I have blogged and I apologize to everyone who has been waiting and waiting for an update! but especially to my Grandma Jane because I know she probably has been thinking "Deanna.. you need to blog!".

Since the last time I wrote a lot has happened in my life! Let me start with Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party that I attended on Novemeber 1st. Some of my roommate's friends from Georgia were planning on coming to Florida for the party and she informed me that we were supposed to create one of a kind Alice in Wonderland costumes. Obviously I chose the Mad Hatter because he's great and I could wear a ton of crazy colors together. My roommate was Alice, one of her friends was the Queen of Hearts and two were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. The costumes turned out amazing and I thought we looked super awesome all together! We, of course, wore them around all day and got some compliments but also some "you know Halloween was yesterday" comments.. we of course didn't care very much about those comments. :) 

Once we finally made it to Magic Kingdom for the Halloween party, I was really impressed with all the cool things you could do. They had trick-or-treating, special changes to rides, special characters and a Halloween parade. The parade was amazing! It started with the Headless Horseman taking a ride down mainstreet... he was really headless and on a real horse. SUPER COOL. The parade following it was really impressive as well with floats dedicated to villians, the Haunted Mansion ride, traditional characters dressed for the holiday and many more. Right after the parade I waited in line forever to Jack Skellington and Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack is one of the first Disney characters to actually interact with guests through speech.. it was different but really awesome at the same time.

After my picture excursion we went and watched HalloWishes, the Halloween themed fireworks. Of course that was amazing and impressive and super great. Always impressed with what the company can do. After that we rode some rides and were really sad to leave when it was over. Overall it was a great day. Hopefully I can go again next year!

A few days after after the Halloween party I was lucky enough to have Aunt Lynn and Uncle Mike come down and visit me here in Florida! They stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort where I work and I was really, really excited to see them when they walked out on the pool deck while I was working. Luckily I was able to leave work early and go to Downtown Disney with them the day they arrived. We had some dinner and discussed what they wanted to do the next few days.

They started their trip at EPCOT walking around the World Showcase the next day and I met them for dinner after work. It was great spending some time together and catching up on everything I missed back home. We stayed for the fireworks, which are always aweomse. The next day we went to Hollywood Studios where we went on some rides then decided to go back to EPCOT for awhile. It was  a great day!

My most favorite day was the Magic Kingdom day, obviously because it's my favorite park. I had class that morning so I ended up meeting them . We hung around there for a while, saw the electrical parade and stayed for the fireworks, which they had never seen before! I was like 'OMG. WE HAVE TO SEE THEM.' I never get tired of the fireworks and I know they liked them too. 

The highlight of the trip was going back to Downtown Disney for Cirque du Soleil: La Nouba. It was literally one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. There were children doing backflips onto each other's shoulders, tight rope walkers, people doing ridiculous flips onto buildings from trampolines and other amazing stunts. I REALLY hope I can go back and see it again someday. So very thankful they included in their plans for the show! I was really sad to see them go when their trip was over. Having a little piece of home was really nice for a change. Hopefully they will come back again soon!

In other news.. I am still waiting to hear back about my internships I applied for. 5 more days. Really nervous about it. 

I'm also planning out my own surprises for when my family visits next week! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THEM TO VISIT. SO, SO, SO looking forward to having a few days off and relaxing with them while they are here. 

WELL... that's my update for right now. I promise to blog sooner next time Grandma Jane. :) 

4 parks, 3 days... GO!

Last week I had some really super awesome visitors from home, Lauren and Stephanie, come down and visit me and my friend, Erin, who is also on program. All 4 of us were on the same RA staff together so I was excited to have a little piece of my Whitewater life visit for a few days. We planned for their visit for a couple weeks and literally had to sit down and figure out exactly how we were going to hit all the parks in the short amount of time they were visiting. CHALLENGED ACCEPTED. 

They flew in on Wednesday night, where we surprised them with their very own Mickey ears, which they loved, or at least that's what they told us. :) We decided to start the vacation off right and go to Magic Kingdom the following day. Erin luckily got some fast passes for us and we pretty much walked onto every ride throughout the day. We knew Stephanie really wanted to see the princesses so we especially had to spend some time taking pictures with them. They, of course, were great and I am happy we got the chance to see all 4 of them. It was great to spend time with friends from home and show them all the cool new things Magic Kingdom has to offer. The park closed early for the halloween party so we went over to Downtown Disney for dinner and hung out there for a little while. It was a really longgg but extremely fun day.

The next day we went over to Hollywood Studios and spent a significant amount of the day riding rides, seeing characters and walking back and forth between attractions because the lines were long. Still not sure why it was so busy that day but we made it work. Unfortunately we couldn't make it to Fantasmic because Lauren really super duper wanted to ride Test Track at EPCOT so we took the resort boat over there around 7. Since Food & Wine Festival is still going on the park was insanely busy on the World Showcase side so we power walked over to the rides. It was still 60 minutes long but when we finally got on it was so worth it. I hadn't been on it since they changed it either and I would wait in that line again.. and I don't even like lines anymore! Another long and tiring day was over but it was still so fun to be with Whitewater friends!

Animal Kingdom was next.. I hadn't been there yet since I started my program so I was very excited. We went of Expedition Everest, watched the Lion King show, became Wilderness Explorers and met Russell and Dug. I am so impressed with the park and the commitment everyone has to the animals and the environment. Hopefully some of the things they are doing there will carry over into the other parks. I can't wait to go back when my family starts coming down. I NEED to spend some more time there. 

Overall, it was a really great to spend some time with them at the parks catching up and reminiscing. So sad they couldn't just move in with me forever.

"Taste your way around the world!"

The other day I had the chance to spend some time with friends at Epcot's International Food & Wine Festival. The festival includes more than 25 countries for the annual event including Mexico, South Korea, Belgium, Poland, Brazil and Australia to name a few. Before you start, Epcot Cast Members give each person a 'passport' to get stamped after purchasing and trying something from each country.

During the festival you can also sign up for cooking classes, have the chance to meet some chefs, and "Eat to the Beat", where some famous bands play at specific times of day. Yesterday supposedly Sugar Ray played.. pretty sure people only know one song by them but it was a huge deal according to Facebook. The park is also offering some really great merchandise right now including some Chef Mickey ears and wine glass shaped sunglasses. Totally want some!

We walked around the entire World Showcase twice before actually deciding what we wanted to eat. I personally chose Italy, Greece and Japan. It was delicioussss and of course now I want to try each country and get every stamp.. if only I had a money tree!

Can't wait to go back!

Weeks 6 & 7

Another two weeks down and once again they have been eventful! Lifeguard life is going well and I have become a professional at applying sun screen. Last week we did win against Custodial at flag football! I, however, played against Recreation because we had more players but it was still fun to get to know people from other lines of business and my fellow Caribbean Beach crew. I threw two touchdowns which is a big step up from the last time I played in high school.. i.e.. when i broke my leg.  It was fun. We are hoping to play sand volleyball as our next activity which I am not going to complain about that.

I finally made it to the beach! Jess's fiance's family lives three hours from Orlando, so we drove there and stayed with them for a few days. We went to Bowman's Beach in Sanibel. It was a wonderful day!

Last week I also started volunteering at Give Kids The World. They offer an all expenses paid, week long trip to Florida for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. First of all we got a free, awesome t-shirt. Secondly.. I love it there. It is amazing to see the passion that the volunteers and employees have for inspiring hope for the guests that come there. Each week they celebrate different holidays. I worked the Christmas celebration in the Santa Claus room, where we had the chance to meet him. It was amazing to see the happiness the event brought to the families. I'm going to try my hardest to go every week! 

My friend Erin, who was an RA with me at Whitewater and is also on program here, went to Epcot the other day to check out Food and Wine Festival. They added a lot of extra countries and offer food & drinks from them. You can pick up a "passport" and get it stamped as you taste your way around the world. The portions are smaller and less expensive as well. It was verrrryy busy but it was interesting to see all the choices. I plan on going back a few times before it ends in November!

This week Jess and I made a plan to go to Magic Kingdom and take pictures with as many characters as we could before she had to go to work. We succeeded! The new Princess Hall opened and it is amazing on the inside. There are two sides where you can meet four princesses. Having never actually seen a princess in the park, I was really super excited to go there. I was not disappointed! We also met some others throughout the park as well. We plan on going to each park to hunt down characters over the next few weeks. I think it's probably my favorite part aside from Wishes at Magic Kingdom now. So happy I have to opportunity to do everything I've ever wanted at Walt Disney World. :)

Disney recently released a new application for Smartphones called "My Disney Experience" allows you to link everything about your Disney vacation to it. It also shows you exactly what time and where everything is at each park including characters. It is extremely helpful and I recommend everyone download and check it out! 

I have some good news about my quest for a Professional Internship as well! I applied a few days ago after slowly updating my resume and received an email yesterday morning about setting up a phone interview. It's tomorrow at 1:00 pm! I also set up a meeting with my guest service manager and asked her a few questions about her journey through the company. She was extremely helpful and is going to help me set up some meetings with other people in the company in the marketing department, etc. So thankful for her help! I will keep everyone updated as it progresses. 

That's all for now!

P.S. SOOOOO excited for all the people who are coming in the next few months. Cannot wait for everyone to visit. 

Weeks 4 & 5

Another two weeks down in my Disney College Program experience! I am still trying to survive the 90+ degree weather and random thunderstorms but I am still learning more and more about the company and all the possibilities that I could experience after my program. I have been looking into the Professional Internship program that offers specific internships only for current DCP participants. I am hopeful that I can be offered a position!

Work has been the same.. hot! The nice part about working at a resort is that our recreation department is small and offers the chance to get to know or at least meet everyone. I've also had the chance to meet other people in security, etc and I've heard some amazing stories. I met a older man named William who works second shift custodial and he told me a story about a few years ago when he rescued and resuscitated a little girl with a preexisting medical condition that went under in the pool.  The recreation department and others gave him a lot of recognition that he definitely deserved. It was amazing to hear his story! We chat all the time now. 

The recreation department is playing maintenance and custodial in flag football on Thursday. I've been told we can't lose because it would be bad for our reputation.. :)

Last night my roommates and I went to Hollywood Studios for a Limited Time Magic extravaganza.. Friday the 13th Unleash the Villains! Hades from Hercules hosted a villains party and released 13 of his friends for the party. I can't remember them all and I had not even heard of some of them but it was still really cool to see the limited time characters. We did see Captain Hook, Maleficent, The Big Bad Wolf, Cruella Deville and Shan Yu to name a few.

Some of the characters went out into the crowd and danced with us to the dj and we were able to take some candid pictures with them. There was also a chance to wait in a really long line to take pictures with some of the villains. I hate lines so we weren't about to wait in them.

They also released some really awesome villain themed Mickey ears; ones for the Evil Queen shaped like poison apples, one for the Queen of Hearts with red ears, a crown, a white painted rose and cards and Ursula's tentacle ones. The Ursula ones were the best and I love the Little Mermaid so I had to get them. They also had some other new merchandise for sale that was Halloween themed but I'm going to try to wait until we go to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party to get some of it.

I'm looking forward to the next few weeks with the Halloween party and then Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party after that. It should be really exciting to see all the decorations Disney puts up for the holidays and the fun things that come along with the changing seasons. 

That's all for now!

P.S. I would also like to send a shout out to my Grandma Jane for waiting a whole extra week for my blog post. :)

Week Three

Another week has passed! I am still getting used to living here in Florida, surviving the random thunderstorms and 90+ degree temperatures but I am having a lot of fun. Over the last few weeks I have had the chance to get to know some of the people I work with and it has made my transition into working easier. I am getting more and more comfortable with my position at Caribbean Beach. As a College Program participant, Disney is required to give me (and all other CP's) at least 30 hours of work each week. At my resort we work 10ish hour days, from 9:45 am to 8:15 pm, so I have only been working 3 days a week, sometimes 4. The other days I usually go to the parks.. life is so tough. :)

A few days ago was the last night of Celebrate the Magic and Wishes at Magic Kingdom. We were able to get right up front and take some awesome pictures. From September 1st to November 1st the show will be villain themed for Halloween. Some decorations have already gone up and it pretty much looks really super great in Magic Kingdom right now. Really excited for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party!

My roommates and I spent some time at the parks over the last few days and finally got the chance to see the boss himself, Mickey Mouse. At Hollywood Studios he's usually Sorcerer Mickey and then the next day as the everyday mouse at Magic Kingdom. I always love seeing the characters at the parks and I am planning on doing a character specific visit to Magic Kingdom in the next few days I have off. Still love Magic Kingdom! 

Housing events are also really fun and we got the chance to meet more CP participants that moved in after us. The last one was Monsters University themed, complete with characters, food and games. It was pretty awesome to see a ton of new faces there and at work. I am looking forward to even more events in the future; next week are the Pooh and Tigger movies! 

I am also looking into Professional Internship opportunities coming up after my program so I will keep everyone updated once I know more. I am also looking forward to the possible family member visits while I'm here on program. Hopefully it works out because it would be great to see some familiar family faces and show some of the 'secret' things I've learned so far. 

Still having a great time. That's all for now! 

Week Two

Another week (and a few days) into my Disney College Program experience and it was eventful! I started my week with an orientation of Caribbean Beach Resort where I will be working. It turns out that I will be specifically working there for my program instead of at all three resorts, Art of Animation, Pop Century and Caribbean Beach. Back in Janurary they split the region into two separate parts, Caribbean and the other two, and staff Cast Members that way.

Next I spent three longggg and educational days in my Ellis Lifeguard Certification class. We spent a significant amount of time learning CPR and rescue breathing in case of an emergency situation. We also spent ALOT of time in the water learning saves and practicing for our final test out for our Lifeguard license. Three days in the sun started my awkward lifeguard swimsuit tan lines, which is pretty awesome. :) After the three day class we had our final CPR/AR test, written test and water test. I passed all three, thankfully!

After becoming an official Ellis certified Lifeguard, I spent three days learning the in's and out's of my resort pool at Caribbean Beach. Each pool and each resort has specific guidelines for guarding. Caribbean has one pool and an Aquatic Play Area (APA) that is staffed with guards. Pool one is a roving stand, where we walk around the pool for the duration of our time at that pool due to blind spots from the pirate themed structure. Pool 2 and Pool 3 are tradtion stands and have water slides. The APA needs a guard to enforce height rules along with some other rules. 

After spending the first two days learning the ropes at the resort I had a test out on the third day to show I was able to perform all the duties of a lifeguard at Caribbean Beach I passed! :) After all that training I was still nervous about starting my first day of work. Nothing eventful happened, of course. I'm still a little nervous about what the next few months will bring but I'm looking forward to it!

My costume consists of a one piece, red swimming suit, red shorts, white polo, red hat, nametag and whistle/hippack. It was all provided. I 1000% washed the swimsuit. Weirded me out at first, decided to get over it because I had too. I also wear crocs.. probably the best part. Not stylish but comfortable, so I can't complain too much. Rain jackets and pants are provided for rain (obviously) and when it gets cold. 

In other non-lifeguard related news my roommates and I are getting along well and I am meeting a lot of new people. Housing events are fun and offer the chance to meet others in the program and get free stuff. Gotta love free stuff! During the whole month of August there will be new College Program participants moving in, so we will be getting even more new neighbors. Woohoo! 

Still really enjoying the perk of getting into the parks for free and I am planning on fully utilizing that power in the months to come. I <3 DISNEY!

Week One

It has been almost a week since I made the long driving trek down to Florida with my family. We had an awesome time at Universal and the beach the days before I moved in on August 5th. We spent some time being wizards, met the Lorax, Cat in the Hat and the Grinch but also caught a few rays at St Augustine and Clearwater beaches. It was great to spent some time with family before starting my new adventure with the Walt Disney Company and Walt Disney World.
The night before move in day my roommates and I decided to meet around 7-730 at Vista Way to check in for our program. We got in line bright and early, received our apartment assignment (Building 20 in Chatnam Square) one of the four places we could have lived and found out where we worked. I was placed as a shallow water life guard at the Caribbean Beach Resort, which means I will work in that region. The Caribbean Beach Resort, Pop Century and Art of Animation are also included in my region so I will work as a guard at all three resorts. On check in day we spent a while learning about different opportunities while we were on program like educational things and housing events. We spent some time moving in our things and then my roommate and I went and took our Lifeguard test at Mickeys Retreat. Mickeys Retreat is a cast member exclusive pool, volleyball, fun things, etc place where we can go. We both passed our tests but mine was really easy since I was a shallow water guard (50 yard swim, pick up a 10lb brick in 5 feet of water).

Our place is a nice sized two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with a larger living room and kitchen then I was expecting. My roommate and I were lucky to get the room with the larger bathroom and walk in closet. You could sleep in there!
The next day we went the Housing Meeting and they told us the housing guidelines, do's and don'ts. No light sabers.. we were crushed! :) It was your typical meeting but it was way more fun to meet other people in Chatnam. That Thursday we had our Traditions class that taught us a lot more about Disney as a company and told us some secrets I am not allowed to share. We did get our name tags though!

We also got our employee cards that lets us into the parks for free so we went to Magic Kingdom that night and spent the rest of the day and night there. My roommates and I are consistently meeting new people everyday and it is so cool to be able to experience the program and parks with other people. Some have never been to Magic Kingdom. It was awesome to see them as riding new things and seeing the characters for the first time. I don't remember ever seeing the Electric Parade so that was a new one for me. I am consistently impressed with Disney everyday with everything they do. The attention to detail is amazing.


Wishes is still one of my favorite things Disney does at Magic Kingdom. I will never get tired of Magic Kingdom, EVER!

I'm still going through training for my position and had the whole "this is the boring stuff we have to do"  training yesterday for 8 hours. It was riveting.. pause not. I have training at my resort on Tuesday and then guard training next week. Wish me luck!
That is all for now! Have a magical day!

10 days!

It's been awhile since my last post and a lot has happened! I decided to only take one class, exploring marketing, which gives me the time learn a lot of information through Disney and time to relax. I was successfully linked with the roommates I want to live with as well. The nice thing about the semi-confusing DORMS website is only one person you want to live with needs to log on and request living with everyone. Then Disney Housing sends you a link that allows you to go on and enter your own information and accept the 1-4 other people you want to live with. The trick is to find people wellness (under 21) or non-wellness (over 21) with the same gender and arrival date.

I FINALLY started packing. One of my roommates made a GoogleDoc list and we evenly spilt up the items we were each going to bring. That was extremely helpful when deciding what else I needed to bring other than all my clothes, shoes and accessories. The most helpful thing in packing and driving down are space bags! They really do save so much space. High recommend for  I got really lucky with my grandparents having a Costco card and was able to get 15 of them for around $20.00. I have also seen them on sale at Walmart but more expensive.

I really can't believe how soon my family and I are leaving.. 6 days! I'm excited to vacation a little bit before at a few beaches and just relax.

Can't wait to make a ton of Disney memories!

27 days

I go back and forth between being apprehensive about leaving Wisconsin and being excited but today was the first day I was really REALLY excited about moving to Florida and starting (hopefully) my career with the Walt Disney Company. I spent a long time talking with my soon-to-be roommates about sharing our space, etc. and it made me really made me think about a lot of things. Change sure is coming!

I decided to take a class while on my program, something I was originally not going to do. It is called "Exploring Marketing" and offers the chance to learn about the Disney guest experience from start to finish from a marketing aspect and the importance of it in creating the magic. It also allows for ample time to learn hands-on on the 47 acres that is Disney World and offers networking opportunities. I am also looking into taking a class that focuses on creativity and innovation but I am only on the wait list. Hopefully I can get in! 

My roommates and I were talking about when we first met online at ~150 days. Time really does fly by.. I still have so much to do!

30 days!

One month from today I will probably be checked in and moving all my things into my new room! My roommates and i have been discussing details of move in day and who wants to bring what, etc. Still can not believe its only four weeks..

I am STILL waiting for my new hire documents and other paperwork to come. I've seen online that people have started to get more information about the program and I just want mine! This year I've heard Disney is doing the roommate placements a little differently by giving each program member a pin number and letting one person request to be with everyone else through a program called DORMS. I've also heard its extremely confusing so hopefully they lied about that part. :)

I still haven't started packing or finished planning out our small vacation before check in.. I better start soon! 

FLoving

I just got back from Florida a few hours ago! My sister plays and I coach club volleyball. This was our third time going as a family to the AAU National Championship but the first with Madison Elite. Tournaments are always fun but it was also nice to spend a week there before moving down for my internship. 

A lot of volleyball was played but we also spent some time at Seaworld. The dolphins were my favorite and it was amazing to be that close to animals you don't find in Wisconsin. I touched three dolphins.. so far that tops Harry Potter World. My sister was shocked. :)

A few of us paid a little extra and did a behind the scenes tour. We were able to see more of the rehabilitation and rescue side of Seaworld, touch baby sharks and pet a penguin. SO COOL. Totally recommend it. 

The second night we went to see Shamu Rocks. I liked the day show better but it was awesome to see a night show with rock music and lights. Always impressed by flipping whales. 

Being in Florida made me even more excited and love the opportunity with Disney! On the plane home I sat next to a hilarious 7 year old and her family from Florida going to visit family in the Dells. They told me a few little things about living in Florida:

         1. Always wear shoes on the black top 

         2. Sunscreen is expensive but you don't want cancer

         3. Stay inside from 12-3pm even on Christmas

         4. It has only snowed one time in Florida in the last 30 years

         5. Alligators are real 

They were really helpful and told me to make the most of the experience while I had the chance. I intend to do so. :) 

Until I see you again Florida.. 

Packing list

I found the most helpful list for packing/what to bring for the Disney College Program. I am not flying, however, but it is helpful to have a list of what to bring! 

47 days

Only 47 days until my Disney College Program adventure starts.. can't believe how soon it is. So many things to do, so little time! I am extremely excited about this program, meeting new people and what opportunities might follow in Florida. It is NOT going to be easy to leave my family back in Wisconsin but I hope it will be worth it in the end.

I've been practicing the swim test for the ELLIS certification that Disney uses for my Lifeguard role (200 yards, tread water for 2 minutes and pick up a 10 lb brick from 8 feet of water) and I am feeling both confident and nervous at the same time. I already found my roommates and hope it all works out when we get down there and check in on August 5th.

Now to start packing..