Mondays are NEVER fun, but when I realized I was past the 70 day mark and 10 weeks from check in it made my Monday a million times better!!! I've been itching to post again since my first one but I decided to hold off a few days. To keep my readers on the edge of their seats....all 100 of you. AND OMG GUYS 100 VIEWS LIKE WHOA I DID NOT EXPECT THAT!!!!! Ya'll totally rock. Honestly thought it was gonna be like 5. Sooooo let's get going with some more wonderful info about the magic that is the DCP!!
I thought I might explain what it's been like in the past 4 months since I found out about my acceptance and what I've had to do. There's actually a lot to it that I get A TON of questions about so this might clear things up for my family and friends, and hopefully in the future help other newly accepted participants manage their wait time!
Right off the bat after I found out my acceptance there was a small series of steps I had to take to officially accept my job offer. The DCP is a paid internship so there was some immediate paperwork that had to be taken care of. I had to read some info, press a few buttons, give some personal info, and pay the DCP fee. (Which is actually super cheap compared to what this experience entails. You'd think it'd be an arm and a leg!) So really that was very simple and nothing you actually want to hear about.
The next thing I did is something I HIGHLY recommend to any person who is even thinking about applying for the DCP. Join the Facebook groups! There is a huge private FB group for everyone doing the DCP for that season and it can be very useful! I didn't join it until after I got accepted but a lot of the people joined during their pending application process. I didn't mention this in my last post but while my application process took about a month, some people wait 2-3 months to find out if they got accepted! I was one of the lucky ones...
But anyway back to the topic at hand! These FB groups can be very supportive. If you have any questions they've probably already been asked on the group and it just takes a few clicks to find your answer! If you can't find it then ask it. You'll get an answer almost immediately. They're also a pretty supportive bunch! You can also join specified groups. For example I'm in a group for DCP Lifeguards as well as one for the DCPers on the Spring Advantage Quarter system. It's a great way to connect!
Speaking of connecting... The next thing you might wanna do is find your roommate. It's not something that has to be done so fast, or even has to be done at all! Disney does give you the opportunity to pick your roommates. Originally I thought I was going to room with someone I went to school with. This made me super excited because the thought of finding someone on FB that I had never met, to live with me for 4 months, was just terrifying! Well unfortunately her program fell through and I was left to face my fear.
Disney has some rules when it comes to roommates. The person you live with has to have the same arrival and departure date as you and they have to be of the same gender. Also if you're under 21 you have to live in wellness (no alcohol allowed) and if you're 21 and up you can choose to live in non-wellness (alcohol is allowed), but if you're over 21 then you can live in wellness if you want. So I searched the Spring Advantage Quarter group (most all of us had the same program dates) and finally found someone that I felt comfortable with.
I am SO lucky to have found Julia!! We obviously haven't met but we text on an almost daily basis and we are basically the same fabulous person. We share a love for Harry Potter and Christmas. She's a tallie just like me and we are definitely the best looking roomies in the DCP. We plan on going to Harry Potter World together with our mommies before check in so we can all bond. I can't wait for us to become total besties!! Love you girl!! :)
After you've found your roommate it's basically just a big waiting game. I've preoccupied my time by watching Disney movies, reading DCP blogs, texting Julia, talking about it non stop and driving all my friends crazy, making plans with mom, and making a genuine effort to keep myself sane from the waiting. Now keep in mind that since I am one of the roughly 70 (out of a total of like 3,000 DCPers) who is stuck doing the Spring Advantage Quarter system because of the school I attend. This means I am in the last group to arrive and I have the longest waiting time. The normal Spring Program students started check in dates at the beginning of January! So you can imagine how miserable this is for us waiting till APRIL!!!! Ugh.
There were a few things to take care of. For example I had to tell my current job I was leaving, I had to make special accommodations with Kappa Delta, I had to tell my roommates I was leaving early, take care of things with school and TOPS for taking a quarter off, etc. While I haven't had much to do, things are about to kick into overdrive. The month of February marks the end of winter quarter at Tech and my time to move back home. Classes end on the 27th and I have to be moved home on the 28th. During March I have LOTS to do. Roseball (My boyfriend's fraternity formal) is the first weekend in March, I have to visit family and friends one last time before I leave, I have TONS to pack, and make arrangements for our time in Orlando before check in. There's much to get done but I am SO very excited!!! Hopefully all of this will make time fly and before I know it it'll be April!
So this might not have been the most entertaining post, but hopefully it answered some questions now and any questions that future DCPers might have that read this. Also, like I mentioned, I was just itching to get something down on paper (or computer screen) again to keep me sane during this awful wait!! Who knows what the next one will be about or when it might come out. But if you have any questions or suggestions for something to post let me know! I'm really starting to like this whole blogging thing...
Peace, Love, and Pixie Dust!
Amy Dousay
Monday, January 27, 2014
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Jumping on the Bandwagon!
If you Google search "Disney College Program" almost all you will find are links to blogs and vlogs of former or current participants. At first I had no desire to add to the craziness, but as I get closer and closer to my time to move in with the Mouse I find myself clinging to those blogs and vlogs. When I get so excited that I feel like I'm going to explode, I just find a blog I have yet to read and engulf myself in the wonders of the Disney College Program and fantasize about if my experience will be anything like that of the person who's blog I have delved into. So I figure I could help others (and myself for that matter) by contributing to the DCP blog world. And I guess there may be one or two people in my life that'll want to keep up with my time there. Even if it is just my mother. Hi mom!
So let's start with the basics...
I found out about the Disney College Program (from here on out refereed to as the DCP) back in about August or September. Someone that I follow on instagram posted a screenshot of an e-mail regarding her application process. She said something about making her dreams come true and the email was quite obviously from Disney. It sparked my interest but I didn't inquire any further into the matter.
Well fast forward about a month or so and I stat seeing these banners and flyers all over campus about this Disney thing. They always caught my eye but I never had the time to look any further into it. Well one day I get out of class, walk to my car, and find a DCP flyer stuck smack dab in the middle of my windshield! I took this as a sign. I went home and immediately looked it up. After about an hour or so of research I figured it couldn't hurt to apply. In my mind I had NO chance of actually getting accepted. After I finished the application I almost instantly got an e-mail saying I qualified for a web interview. That took me about 30-45 minutes and then I was just confused. I was wondering what this web interview was about? That couldn't be the only thing I had to do?
I was pretty shocked too. Keep in mind this all happened in a span of a few hours. I hadn't even mentioned it to my mom or boyfriend yet! I told myself not to worry about it, that I was only applying to say I did. There was no way I was gonna get in! Well sure enough, the next day, I got another email saying I qualified for a phone interview and to schedule a time for it. At this point everything became real. I actually got a phone interview?? What?! I then proceeded to tell my mother about the whole thing. She was beyond excited. Her childhood dream was to perform for Disney, and she loved that I was perusing something similar. I was most worried about her not liking the idea so, needless to say I was excited! Everything seemed to be falling into place now and I was starting to believe that this could really happen.
A few days later I had my phone interview and it was fantastic!! Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I know a thing or two about interviews, and this was one of my best. The lady I talked with told me I would get an e-mail in 2-4 weeks letting me know if I was accepted or not. I had NO idea this was the last step!! All I had to do now was wait! Boy was that harder than it sounded.
Finally after 13 extinguishing days I got the e-mail I had been waiting for. All I had to read was "Congratulations!" before I proceeded to make a fool of myself in the back of Tolliver. I was screaming and running around and all my friends thought I was going into some sort of fit. Within roughly 5 minutes it was on Twitter, GroupMe, Insta, and Facebook. I called my mom, texted the boyfriend and was still throwing a fit. I ran as fast as I could to the library to look up my first batch of paperwork and find what role I got. To my surprise I was chosen as a Lifeguard!! I was SO happy!
A mere 3 weeks prior I didn't even know what the DCP was and now I was accepted and on the fast track to working at Disney World! I never in a million years thought this was possible. This was such an honor! No way I was lucky enough?! But it actually did happen. Now, 4 months later, I'm only 73 days away from check in and spending 4 months living in Orlando, FL on the Walt Disney World Property. I'll be making magical moments and getting a few myself. I get to meet new people from all over the world, network myself to some very important people within Disney, and learn so so much about working for a company of this size. This is an experience of a lifetime and I'm beyond blessed to have this chance.
Well I think that's enough for now! Next time I'll give the in's and out's of what exactly I'll be doing while in the DCP and what all it entails. For now, though, I'm tired of typing. I think I'll go listen to the Frozen soundtrack for a while...
Peace, Love, and Pixie Dust!
Amy Dousay :)
So let's start with the basics...
I found out about the Disney College Program (from here on out refereed to as the DCP) back in about August or September. Someone that I follow on instagram posted a screenshot of an e-mail regarding her application process. She said something about making her dreams come true and the email was quite obviously from Disney. It sparked my interest but I didn't inquire any further into the matter.
Well fast forward about a month or so and I stat seeing these banners and flyers all over campus about this Disney thing. They always caught my eye but I never had the time to look any further into it. Well one day I get out of class, walk to my car, and find a DCP flyer stuck smack dab in the middle of my windshield! I took this as a sign. I went home and immediately looked it up. After about an hour or so of research I figured it couldn't hurt to apply. In my mind I had NO chance of actually getting accepted. After I finished the application I almost instantly got an e-mail saying I qualified for a web interview. That took me about 30-45 minutes and then I was just confused. I was wondering what this web interview was about? That couldn't be the only thing I had to do?
I was pretty shocked too. Keep in mind this all happened in a span of a few hours. I hadn't even mentioned it to my mom or boyfriend yet! I told myself not to worry about it, that I was only applying to say I did. There was no way I was gonna get in! Well sure enough, the next day, I got another email saying I qualified for a phone interview and to schedule a time for it. At this point everything became real. I actually got a phone interview?? What?! I then proceeded to tell my mother about the whole thing. She was beyond excited. Her childhood dream was to perform for Disney, and she loved that I was perusing something similar. I was most worried about her not liking the idea so, needless to say I was excited! Everything seemed to be falling into place now and I was starting to believe that this could really happen.
A few days later I had my phone interview and it was fantastic!! Anyone who knows anything about me knows that I know a thing or two about interviews, and this was one of my best. The lady I talked with told me I would get an e-mail in 2-4 weeks letting me know if I was accepted or not. I had NO idea this was the last step!! All I had to do now was wait! Boy was that harder than it sounded.
Finally after 13 extinguishing days I got the e-mail I had been waiting for. All I had to read was "Congratulations!" before I proceeded to make a fool of myself in the back of Tolliver. I was screaming and running around and all my friends thought I was going into some sort of fit. Within roughly 5 minutes it was on Twitter, GroupMe, Insta, and Facebook. I called my mom, texted the boyfriend and was still throwing a fit. I ran as fast as I could to the library to look up my first batch of paperwork and find what role I got. To my surprise I was chosen as a Lifeguard!! I was SO happy!
A mere 3 weeks prior I didn't even know what the DCP was and now I was accepted and on the fast track to working at Disney World! I never in a million years thought this was possible. This was such an honor! No way I was lucky enough?! But it actually did happen. Now, 4 months later, I'm only 73 days away from check in and spending 4 months living in Orlando, FL on the Walt Disney World Property. I'll be making magical moments and getting a few myself. I get to meet new people from all over the world, network myself to some very important people within Disney, and learn so so much about working for a company of this size. This is an experience of a lifetime and I'm beyond blessed to have this chance.
Well I think that's enough for now! Next time I'll give the in's and out's of what exactly I'll be doing while in the DCP and what all it entails. For now, though, I'm tired of typing. I think I'll go listen to the Frozen soundtrack for a while...
Peace, Love, and Pixie Dust!
Amy Dousay :)
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