New Housing Arrangments

As I mentioned earlier, there are some things that happened in my Chatham Square apartment that I am not too happy about. In the middle of March we received an email about them adding furniture to our apartments within the next thirty days. To make a long, annoying story short, about two weeks ago they came into our apartment to install bunk beds in each room and then rearrange our existing furniture. Before the people came to install the furniture, we had to move everything out of our rooms, including removing our bedding. It was not a fun ordeal, especially since we all work 5 days a week. Moving our stuff out of our apartment was not what we had in mind to do with our time off. 

On the morning of the furniture installation, a person from the Disney team knocked on our apartment door around 9:15 to remind us that they were coming in a little while. I was annoyed because I was in the middle of taking my online test when she came. She offered me orange juice and a granola bar, a "peace offering" as I like to call it. I took four of each for my roommates and me and quickly shut the door and finished my test.

All in all, the furniture installation was done to make room for a third person in each bedroom. I am obviously not very happy about this, especially because there isn't room for a third person in our apartment. We don't have the closet space, a bathroom drawer, or dresser drawer space for a third roommate. Additionally, we don't have the room in our refrigerator and pantry to add two more people's things to the mix! These apartments just aren't designed for six people, period. To make room, they added a bunk bed in each bedroom and then lofted a single bed to put drawers underneath it. They moved our dresser to in between our beds and took out our nightstands, while my roommates Megan and Danielle got to keep their nightstands because their room is slightly bigger. 

I don't know if/when they are moving a third person in, but if/when it happens, you can bet that I will be one unhappy girl!

A word of advice to incoming DCP participants: DON'T PICK A CHATHAM 1 OR 2 BEDROOM! There are plenty of three bedroom apartments that house 6 people that are made for 6 people. The one and two bedroom apartments in Chatham are now housing 3 or 6 people, respectively, when they are not designed to do that. 

Here are some pictures of our new bedroom (excuse the mess), complete with bunk beds and all. The only good thing is that they added a third bulletin board, which meant I got to make a "Disney board" to decorate our room!

My side of the room, with a now lofted bed 

Allie's side with the new bunk beds

The dresser is now in the middle of our beds

Our new bulletin board behind the TV 

The drawers below my bed (there are 4)

Our new Disney bulletin board!

Siesta Key Beach Trip

On my day off last week, some friends and I went to the beach! We drove the two hours down to Sarasota, Florida and went to Siesta Key Beach, which is one of the nicest rated beaches in the country! It was BEAUTIFUL, to say the least. We woke up early in the morning, packed up all of our stuff, and drove to the West coast of Florida. We were able to soak up the sun in the white sand beach, swim in the Gulf of Mexico, enjoy the warm Florida weather and spend time with one another! If you ever are in Florida, I highly recommend checking out the beaches. Siesta Key was a great way to decompress after a crazy work week (even though I got a nasty sunburn) and I got to spend time with a lot of great people!

Four Keys Card

One way that Disney recognizes its Cast Members is to give out Four Keys Cards. Disney's four keys are the foundation that the company prides itself on. The idea is that if the four keys are followed (in order) then each Guest and Cast Member will have a safe and enjoyable experience in our Resort. The Four Keys are safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency.

Some managers, Cast Members, and other people give out Four Keys Cards constantly, while other areas are more strict with their distribution. My area doesn't give out many Four Keys Cards, so the fact that I got one made me so happy and honored! The idea is that if a Cast Member displays one or more of the Four Keys by going above and beyond, then someone can give the Cast Member a Four Keys Card.

Once you receive a Four Keys Card, you can get a manager/leader to sign the card, and then submit it into a pool. Every so often they do a drawing and you can win a prize if your name is pulled! The Four Keys card also goes on your record card to indicate that you were recognized.

My first Four Keys Card!

Easter on the DCP

What are the holidays like on the Disney College Program? Well, to be honest, not that much fun. I would have much rather been home for Easter and spent the time with my family, but since I was here, in the happiest place on Earth, I decided to make the most of my time and try to enjoy the holiday.

Easter morning started out early with my roommate Megan and I getting up to attend 7:30 mass at Mary Queen of the Universe Shrine. The church is literally right around the street from our apartment complex, and it was nice to go to church and see all the people gathering together. However, the early wakeup call did not make me too happy!

I hid Easter eggs around our apartment for my roommates to find, so when Megan and I came home, our other roommate, Danielle was awake, so they had an Easter egg hunt while I watched and gave hints! Danielle also made an Easter basket for all of the roommates to split, so we got to open that up and eat some of the treats inside!

I worked from 11:45 to 7:15 on Easter. I actually picked up a longer and later shift that day, because I did not want to be sitting in my apartment bored and sad that I wasn't at dinner with my family. Work was fine, but it didn't really feel like Easter, it just felt like a regular day at Animal Kingdom. My coordinators and coworkers were nice enough to make us little Easter bags with candy, which was a special treat!

After work, all of my roommates were home, so we decided to make fun plans with some of our upstairs neighbors and try to make Easter as much fun as possible! We decided to head over to the Boardwalk and rent the surrey bike and ride it around the Boardwalk! It was so much fun, but we joked that with six people on it and having to go up hills, we were more paying to exercise than anything else. Still, we had a blast and it was a great experience. After having worked up a sweat, it was time to go get some ice cream from Beaches & Cream. We ended up sitting outside and talking about all of our jobs and sharing stories: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

While it wasn't a traditional Easter by any means, it was definitely a unique one and surely one that I will remember. I'm glad I got to spend Easter with such great friends and that my coworkers at Finding Nemo tried their best to make Easter as special as possible. Nemo is truly one big family!

Oh, and for those of you interested in knowing if Disney does any Easter decorations, they had an Easter egg display in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. All of the eggs are completely edible and weigh between 12 and 16 pounds. Check out some of my favorites below!

The whole display

Cinderella & Prince Charming

Queen Elsa

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider

Ariel

Lady & The Tramp

Why I Love My Job

It's 7:35 PM, I'm the only one left at the theater during my closing shift and I am bored out of my mind. I'm standing outside, hoping that I can grab the attention of some Guests with my pins or with my smile, but they continue to race past me in an attempt to make it on Everest or Dinosaur one last time before the park closes. But then, my night takes a turn for the better...

An international Guest: "I just have to tell you, this show was spectacular. We were amazed at how life-like the actors made the fish look. We loved it"

A Mom: "That show was amazing. I spent the last ten minutes crying. I loved it so much."

A young couple: "We loved your show. Thank you so much, it was beyond amazing."

I'm now standing in Upper Right, loading the 3:00 show, which without a doubt is always the busiest show of the day. A family comes in with a wheelchair and asks if they can sit in the very front. I begin to walk them down to the front of the theater, explain where we are going, how to leave if they need to, and chit chat about their day. I get them down to the front of the theater, tell them to enjoy the show, and I begin to walk away...

Little Girl (as I'm walking away): "Thank you so much! You were such a big help to my mom and my family!"

I'm at the stroller position for the 1:00 show, trying to direct people where to park their strollers while also helping people get into the Fastpass+ line. People are zooming past me and asking me questions right and left, and I'm beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed. Suddenly...

A Little Girl (walking past): "Hi, I love your makeup!"

Now, I'm standing outside at a show break, while everyone else is inside either on break or trying to get ready for the next show. A family comes up to me and starts asking me questions about the show. Then...

Mom: "Oh, another Megan!"
Me (looking at the teenage girl): "Are you Megan too? Spelled this way?"
Teenage girl: "Yes! It's the only way to spell Megan!"

I'm working a parade shift, and spieling to Guests that they no longer will be able to walk down the current pathway, but showing them an alternate path they can go down to reach their destination. A family of six is sitting on a bench next to me, listening and watching me give directions to dozens of Guests. The mom looks up at me and smiles...

Mom: "Megan, you deserve an award for saying the same thing over and over again and having a great attitude about it"

The same family walks back past me after the parade is over...

Mom: "Thank you again, Megan, you were wonderful."

Finally, I'm standing in front of door 4 as the 5:00 show empties. I'm smiling and waving to Guests as they leave the theater. A man walks toward me...

Dad: "Clemson? My daughter goes there!"
Me: "Really? I'm a current sophomore there!"
Dad: "That is so cool, what a small world"
Me: "Exactly. Hey, go tigers!"
Dad: "Go tigers!"

See that's the thing about my job. It's not exactly the most glamorous, or lucrative job out there, but I get to have the most amazing interactions every single day. All of these conversations are real conversations that I've had in just the past five days! In five days, I've had that many memorable conversations with Guests, which truly makes both their day and mine. I get to be a part of a company that prides itself on making dreams come true. And when it comes down to it, what job could be better than that?

Sea World Trip

While we all love Disney World (obviously), it's occasionally nice to get off property and check out the many other things Orlando has to offer. This afternoon, my roommate, Megan (yes, we have the same name) and I had a "Megan day" and went to Sea World for the first time this program!

We both had a great time during our visit. Sea World is a very unique park, entirely different from Disney. We saw the Killer Whale show, the Sea Lion and Otter show, saw polar bears, dolphins, beluga whales, flamingos, birds, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, and tons of other animals. We also had some cool experiences, such as feeding the otters and going on the two roller coasters there. The first one we went on, The Kraken, was crazy. We went upside down at least four times and went so fast! Megan and I thought that was crazy enough, until we went on Manta! On this roller coaster, you ride parallel to the ground and it is literally the scariest thing I have ever done (but so much fun)!

Being the animal lover that I am, I absolutely adored Sea World. I loved the shows, the atmosphere, and getting to see all of the different animals and learn more about them.

To say the least, "Megan day" was extremely fun and successful!!

Sea World Visit

2nd Family Visit

A large part of the reason I was so behind in my posting was that just last week I received my second visit from my mom and dad! It was awesome to see my parents, and this time, they stayed for an entire week, so I had plenty of mom and dad time to myself!

For this visit, we stayed at Bay Lake at the Contemporary Resort. I love staying here because it's within walking distance to Magic Kingdom AND has a monorail run right through the Contemporary, so it's easy to get to Epcot as well! Also, the resort is just really nice and has an all around great feel to it.

I did a lot of fun things during their visit! The first day included a trip to the Kennedy Space Center, which was so much cooler than I expected! I was expecting a museum type thing, but it was actually its own park! We got to see a lot of cool exhibits, including the Atlantis Space Shuttle and the Space Shuttle Launch Center. If you're ever in the Orlando area and have some time to spend away from Disney World, I highly recommend the Kennedy Space Center!

During their visit, we also had a trip to Gatorland. I have to say, Gatorland was not my favorite place, but please keep in mind that these thoughts are coming from me, a conservation biology major who wants to go into the animal training and care field. I personally thought that the conditions in Gatorland were not up to the standards that they should be. I was really against the use of gators for certain forms of entertainment (like paying $8 to sit on a gator... is that even humane???). However, while Gatorland was extremely cheesy and not my personal cup of tea, I have to admit that they did try their best to spread conservation messages to the public. And hey, my dad loved it!

I also had the chance to cross something off my bucket list during the visit - scuba diving in The Seas! The experience was AMAZING. If you're ever going to scuba dive, I highly recommend The Seas! It is like luxury diving; you don't have to clean or put away your equipment, you get a towel handed to you as you get out, and you have a warm shower waiting for you immediately! In addition to the great Guest service that Disney provided for the experience, actually getting into the tank and diving was awesome. I felt like a celebrity because I got to go up to the windows and wave to all of the Guests! I even had some people take pictures of me! Aside from all of the people watching and waving, I got to swim alongside sharks, stingrays, and sea turtles. Honestly, this was one of the best things I've done on my program. If you are scuba certified YOU MUST GO DIVING IN THE SEAS!!!! Take my word for it, it's well worth it!

Your local celebrity Megan scuba diving in The Seas

Finally, my parents were amazing and scheduled a fireworks cruise for us and some of my friends! We got to meet at the dock at the Contemporary Resort and take our own private boat out into Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks. Afterwards, we all got to hang out at the top of Bay Lake Resort at the Top of the World bar and lounge. It's reserved exclusively for vacation club members staying at Bay Lake Tower, so we felt really special that we even got to go up there! Plus, the views of the Magic Kingdom were amazing. The whole thing was awesome, and I was so glad to get to spend some time with both my friends and family. It was a beautiful night with great people!

My friends and I on the boat

Wishes from the Seven Seas Lagoon

In addition to all of our fun activities, I also had the opportunity to eat in some great restaurants with my parents, including Narcoossee's (Grand Floridian), California Grill (Contemporary), Tutto Ristorante (Italy - Epcot), Fifty's Prime Time Cafe (Hollywood Studios) and Le Cellier (Canada - Epcot). All of these restaurants are great and I most definitely recommend them. Plus, they are all excellent dining experiences in the Walt Disney World Resort, and it's always nice to get spoiled a little bit while on vacation!

So, to summarize, I had a great time with my family when they came to visit me. Thanks once again, Mom and Dad, for a great visit and for all of the fun things we did! You guys are both the best!

Love you guys!

And to the rest of you, thanks for sticking with me and reading this whole post! If you have any questions or need recommendations for activities from me, please let me know! I love to help other people plan their fun vacations/visits/etc. 

Until next time... keep on dreaming

Earning My Mouseters Degree - Week 8

Week 8 of Environmentality and Sustainability - the last week of class. I had mixed emotions about this day: happy that I would finally get my two days off per week back, but sad because I truly did learn so much through the class and it was such a great experience. Nevertheless, week 8 was it, so this is how we wrapped things up.

Jeff, my teacher, had a "Green Team" Panel for the last week of class. Erin, the Wilderness Explorer's Manager, Karen, from Flights of Wonder, and Michelle, a talent planning manager for animals, sciences, and the environment came in to speak to us about how to break into the environmental field. They shared tips for your resume, interview hints, and what kind of skills it takes to be successful in these types of field. It was nice to hear from these three, especially because they all have great careers in things that I am interested in! It was fascinating to hear from Karen, as she is a trainer at the Flights of Wonder show (bird show). 

After the panel was over, we had a wrap-up session with Jeff. We talked about things we liked about the class, things we weren't too thrilled with, and things we wanted to see changed for the future. There was an overwhelming amount of feedback in favor of the field trips, so I guess I'm not the only one who loved getting our behind the scenes tours and information!

Finally, it was time to hand out our degrees and say goodbye. I not only earned my Mouseters Degree, but I also earned a Perfect Attendance too (signed by Mickey Mouse himself!)

All in all, this class was a wonderful experience. If any of you are interested in taking DCP classes in the future, I highly encourage you to try it! Take something that you are passionate about, and make the most of it! I definitely know that my DCP experience would have been totally different had it not been for environmentality and sustainability. 

Quick Update

This post is solely to apologize for my lack of blogging in the past two weeks. As you can probably tell, life gets pretty hectic down here in Central Florida, especially during Spring Break Season! However, I have lots to tell you, including information about my last Environmentality and Sustainability class, my parents' visit to Florida, the "updates" they have coming to our apartment (hint: I'm not too happy about it), and some exciting things that have been going on in the big blue world (otherwise known as Finding Nemo The Musical). So, please continue reading, and look for these posts coming very, very soon! I promise that after my online test this week I will do A LOT of catch-up blogging, so stay tuned!

As always, keep on dreaming.