Anna Does Disney

One More Disney Day!

It’s been one week since D-Day and I still haven’t talked about it!

Well, it was both me and my boyfriend’s day off so we decided to go to the MK. We arrived around noon, and at the entrance to the park, we were given these nifty buttons commemorating the day.



The park was surprisingly uncrowded. Well, it wasn’t empty by any means, but it was a fairly normal February day. We walked around, did some attractions, traded pins, etc. When nighttime came, that’s when the park became more crowded. I assume it was because people were getting off of work and whatnot - I did run into a lot of my coworkers. But we had a fantastic time.

 

I’d definitely go again. Except it’s not happening again for at least four years. Sigh.

I have definitely not updated enough recently.

But I am sick. Sick as a dog. I called in today and slept until 4 in the afternoon, so I have been extremely lazy. So here’s some info about what to do if you’re too sick to work during your college program!

• Try your best not to call in sick for 3 or more days within a 30 day period. They will give you a point on your record for that, and those are not good. HOWEVER, for CPs, there is a sort of “get-out-of-jail-free card” that will allow you to miss more than 3 days and only get one point for all of it if you get a doctor’s note.
• You do not get anything leading up to a point if you are sent home early from work for being sick! So as much as they tell you to not come to work sick, it’s better to go there and see how you feel then call in.
• If you have called in, DO NOT GO TO THE PARKS, even if you feel better later in the day. You will be terminated and it will not be pretty.
• And this should be a no-brainer, but don’t call in if you aren’t sick. Calling in so you can get a day off or hang out with friends or go to the parks (see above) will result in termination. Some of my coordinators have talked about CPs that have called in sick, then later gone to their attractions as guests.

Pre-emptive measures are important too! Unfortunately, getting sick is a fact of life when you work at Walt Disney World - you see thousands of people a day and come into contact with lots of dirty things and illnesses. I very rarely get sick but I have already been sick TWICE since arriving for my program (almost exactly one month ago). Here are good (and occasionally really obvious) tips for staying well.

• Drink lots of water. You will be given a water bottle during training. Keep it filled, clean, and at your side at all times!
• Use alcohol-based sanitizers and/or wash your hands frequently. At my job, there are sanitizer dispensers everywhere but I know that probably isn’t true for all roles. Carry some hand sanitizer with you or wash your hands whenever you can if you don’t have ready access to sanitizer.
• Eat well! Even though it’s difficult on a small paycheck and with sometimes rough hours, try your best to keep a balanced diet. Your body will thank you.
• Get some sleep. I know it may be tempting to go out and party or play in the parks every time you aren’t working, but remember to get as much sleep as you can. It can be so easy to get run-down here, and you have to be able to pace yourself and use self-discipline to keep yourself in functioning order.
• If you feel yourself getting sick, try taking some dietary supplements that boost your immune system such as zinc or echinacea. Orange juice and other foods and beverages with high vitamin C levels will also help out.

Healthy days to all! :)

Seven Tips

Because I’ve now been here over two weeks, I’m gonna compile some tips for people beginning their College Program soon or who have just begun.

1. Don’t completely rely on the bus schedule. Always take a bus earlier than you think you’ll need. The buses are often late and the bus drivers will not stop for you even if you’re running and frantically waving. On our first day, we were waiting for the bus to Walmart and it never showed up.
2. Don’t squander your paycheck. Your first paycheck will be pretty measly - about $60 or so. Until you have a healthy amount of money in your bank account or on your pay card, don’t go crazy buying things you don’t need.
3. Use Company D and Cast Connections to buy Disney goodies. The stuff you can find there is far cheaper than in the parks/gift shops, and even with the discount we get on stuff, Company D/Cast Connections can sell you stuff like the Mickey ears hats for about 50 cents.
4. Use your days off wisely. I suggest, depending on errands you need to run, to spend a day doing fun stuff such as going to a park and the other day on important things like laundry, grocery shopping, etc.
5. Bring your car, or, alternatively, make friends with someone that has a car. Because of the aforementioned issues with the bus system here, having an assured way to get from point A to point B and back is almost considered a luxury.
6. Bring thumbtacks/push pins. The only place in your apartment where you can hang stuff like posters is the cork boards they provide you. As such, Walmart was sold out of thumbtacks and pushpins for days and days after we moved in.
7. Your program will be exactly as good as you let it be.  Even if you get assigned to a location or role you weren’t hoping for, make the most of it. I was hoping for the Tower of Terror or the Haunted Mansion and got Journey into Imagination and Captain EO. Not what I expected and I was a bit disappointed at first, but just try to get to know your coworkers and have fun with it. I love my location now, even though it wasn’t what I was expecting it to be. Don’t get stuck with negative people and don’t be embarrassed of remaining positive even when everyone else seems to be negative. You’re at Disney World! This is the chance of a lifetime.

Check-in: The Longest Day Of My (And Possibly Your) Entire Life.

(Excuse my incoherence. I am deeaaaadd.)

5:30 am: I wake up. Awful. So early.
6:00 am: We are out the door, and going to my roommate Carmen’s hotel to pick her up.
6:11 am: We make it to Vista Way. My parents drop Carmen and I off, and we meet up with two roommates who are standing in line.
7:00 am: The first group of people goes to check in. We end up at the front of the line for the second group! The rest of our roommates arrive and we are set to go.
7:30 am: We are let in for the check-in process. We drop our luggage off, get sticker-nametags, and we are signed in with iPads. Next came paperwork, College Program booklets and are told  approximately 50 times not to drink in wellness housing.
8:30 am: Finally time to get our apartment assignment! One of my roommates, DesNeige (better known to us as “D”), goes to sign us up. Turns out we got pretty much the last 3-bedroom apartment at Patterson. Go us! We then get our photos for our property IDs taken, and are given stickers telling us when we are to go to Casting.
10:00 am: Our bus  heads over to Casting. We get off and are immediately given our job assignments as we walk in. EPCOT, FUTURE WORLD WEST! There are endless places to do paperwork and verify stuff that you have to go through, as well as a little chat about the Disney Look (coincidentally enough, from the recruiter that spoke at Indiana University when I went to the presentation there!). You get some for-fun pictures at the end.
11:10 am: I am free from Casting! We take the bus back to Vista Way, where I get my luggage and meet up with my parents. My roommates take the bus to Patterson and I just ride in my parents’ car.
12:00 pm: After getting lost a few times, we make it to Patterson. Our apartment is GORGEOUS. We do some unpacking and eat some late lunch at around 2.
3:00 pm: My roommates and I walk over to the Commons for a housing meeting. Which was long and kind of boring but we survived. It was mostly just stuff about no drinking, where to go if something in your apartment breaks, etc.
5:00 pm: The meeting ends, and we have a bit of a break. One roommate is staying one more night with her mom at the hotel and another went to dinner at a friend’s.
7:30 pm: We (me and three other roommates) walk over to Chatham Square to catch a bus to Walmart due to come at 7:47.
8:20 pm: Our bus arrives.
CUE WALMART HELL. WE BUY ALL OF THE THINGS.
10:47 pm: Our bus to take us back to Chatham (yeah Patterson doesn’t have a bus stop) arrives.
11:15 pm: We make it back to Patterson, and with the help of Carmen (who met us at the bus stop), two friendly strangers, and the eventual shopping cart thing provided by the security, we return to our apartment with the only casualty being a broken egg and vaaaaguely smushed bread.


So yes. It was a very long day. I am exhausted. Prepare yourselves, future CPs! Get good rest the night before and a good breakfast and stuff because I got neither.

Disney College Program and Doctor Who and Sherlock

If you are going to be doing the DCP for either spring or spring advantage at WDW and like Sherlock and/or Doctor Who, LET’S BE BFFLS.

Back from Walt Disney World!

Visiting for a few days made me even more excited to do the program. I saw a few current CPs but didn’t really get to talk to many - I mainly just enjoyed the vacation. A few highlights were…

• Our Jungle Cruise skipper on the first night was a nerdfighter! We had a “moment”.
• The weather was perfect the entire time.
• Ran into a friend from high school on two different occasions.
• So much delicious food.
• All of the Christmas decorations!
• “Snow” on Main Street USA.
• Speaking Norwegian at EPCOT.
• Drove past Vista Way on the way out.

And, well, there were lots more. It was a great trip. I can’t believe I arrive in 32 days!