One Week

It's officially one week until check-in for my professional internship and about 6 hours before I leave my home in Pennsylvania and embark on my move to Florida! My mom, sister, and I are getting up bright and early to leave for the ~20 hour road trip to Florida! The cars are all packed (that's right - we needed two!) and I am completely ready to go. I'm so excited to finally be moving, but I'm also nervous! I need to buy a bunch of furniture down there plus go shopping for groceries and other basic supplies and I'm nervous there won't be enough time to get everything done.

Our plan is to drive all day tomorrow (Thursday) until we get to a decent stopping point for the night. Then, Friday we will finish the drive to Orlando, check in to our hotel, and go furniture shopping! I need a new mattress, sofa, and dresser, so we will definitely be busy. The plan on Saturday is to finish up any shopping we need to do and hopefully make it over to one of the parks before dinner time! Then, on Sunday, we are going to spend the entire day de-stressing in the Magic Kingdom! We even have dinner planned at the Grand Floridian with one of my roommates and her dad. I'm sure by Sunday we will all be exhausted and in need of a break. Finally, Monday I get to move in to my new apartment! I'm so excited to see what it looks like and how my roommates and I can make it our new home!

Next Wednesday (June 8), I officially start my professional internship. I have an 11:30 appointment at Casting where I will be filling out all my new hire paperwork and getting fingerprinted and officially "hired" by the company. I have a busy week of training after that, so look out for more posts about the start of my marine mammal professional internship!

I'm so thankful that I got to spend a little over a week at home saying goodbye to all my family and friends and getting to do some last minute Pennsylvania things (like going to a Phillies game!) before it was officially time to leave. Now I'm off to my new adventure, and I could not be more excited for what lies ahead! Keep checking back to find out more about my Florida adventures, and as always, keep on dreaming!

So You Accepted a Professional Internship, Now What?

About three weeks ago, I officially accepted my PI with the Marine Mammal team at The Seas in Epcot. The days after my acceptance phone call were filled with excitement - I got to tell all my friends and family, make a big Facebook announcement, and start to get excited about graduation and my future. But then, after those few days had passed, I found myself sitting there thinking "so now what?" I still had a few weeks until graduation and a few months until my start date. I had let the PI application process consume my entire semester, and now that it was officially over, it was a completely strange feeling.

So, allow me share my "so now what" journey with you as I eagerly anticipate my start date for the Fall 2016 Marine Mammal Internship.

The first point of business after accepting a PI is to find housing accommodations. Disney does offer PI housing in Falcon Square, but they charge $140 a week (as of now) and you have to share a room with another intern. I've heard that the PI housing is nicer than CP housing, and it is really convenient because you don't have to worry about finding a place with a short-term lease or buying furniture. However, I did not have the best experience with CP housing, and being a 22-year old college graduate, I did not feel like being put back in a situation where I had a lot of strict housing rules to follow while sharing a room and paying a fortune for it. So, my friends and I (my roommates from my CP) decided we would find our own housing. Looking for apartments was kind of a long process, but I started a few weeks before I was accepted to make the process easier! We ended up signing a lease with Victoria Park Apartments in Davenport, Florida. The reason we signed here was because it was relatively cheap compared to other options, the staff was extremely helpful and friendly, and it came recommended by some friends! All of this made it a lot easier to sign a lease from out of state and without having actually seen the complex. We are currently in the process of signing the lease for our 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom place! I'm really excited for move-in and think that Allie, Megan, and I will have an absolute blast when we are reunited in Orlando!

The next communication I got from Disney was about joining Yammer, which is an online social networking site for businesses. Basically, it's a place to get to know one another and ask any questions about your position, costume, or other parts of your internship! The ASE Yammer is really cool because Issac, who is a part of the talent management team, is also on the page and is available to answer questions and share some funny stories with all of us. It's a really great resource and a way to keep us all busy before check-ins start!

The last piece of communication I received from Disney (so far) is my welcome letter. The ASE Talent Management Team sent me a welcome letter introducing themselves, telling me how to contact them, and giving me details about Yammer. The letter also included information about my arrival date, the Disney Look, and my costume and shoes. Finally, since I am a marine mammal intern and will be SCUBA diving as part of my responsibilities, I had to read another part of the letter specifically about diving. This section mainly just talked about how we can't wear jewelry on the job, how we have to use special animal-safe hair-ties, and about how they will provide us with diving gear for on the job use! I had to respond to the email with my height, weight, and shoe size so that my gear would be ready for me when I arrived!

Besides finding an apartment, figuring out Yammer, and preparing for my arrival, I've also been trying to enjoy my last few weeks at Clemson! Two weeks from today I will be done my finals and officially done with my undergraduate career. I have mixed feelings about this - I'm so excited for my new Disney adventure (and to be done with school, for the time being), but I am also really going to miss my friends and Clemson overall. Clemson has given me so much during my 4 years here, and I am really going to miss it!

So, if you've made it through this long post - congrats! You now know how I've been handling this "so now what" period, and the best ways for you to handle it as well! My advice would be to plan ahead and don't leave all of the preparation until the last minute. You want to be able to enjoy your last few weeks of school without having all the stress of finding roommates, an apartment, and getting acquainted with the company policies. I should be getting my new hire paperwork and some more information about the internship closer to my arrival date, so be on the lookout for another post about more pre-arrival tasks! And, as always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out and let me know!

54 days and counting...!

ACCEPTED!!

After 52 long days of waiting I can officially say that I have been accepted to the Disney College Program for the 2016 Fall Advantage program as an Attractions Hostess!!!!!

To say that I feel relieved after 52 days of waiting for this acceptance is an understatement. While I still felt optimistic about my chances of getting accepted, waiting that long for news is agonizing no matter what. I only had to wait 13 days to be accepted for my first program, so this wait was so strange and new to me. Combine that with the fact that I'm a graduating senior and was counting on having the DCP as an option for post-graduation plans and my anxiety was through the roof waiting to see if I would be accepted or not!!

Thankfully, the acceptance did come and I could not be more thrilled to be going back to the place where dreams come true to make more magic. My two roommates and best friends from my last program have also both been accepted, so we can now officially start planning our post-graduation move down to Florida!

Here is my acceptance timeline for those of you curious! You can also check out a more detailed version by clicking here.

January 13 - Applied to DCP

January 13 - Received & Passed Web Based Interview

January 22 - DCP Phone Interview with Christy

March 14 - Accepted (52 days after interview) 

For those of you who are curious to hear my acceptance story, here it is. It's not very glamorous, but it's mine nonetheless:

So, I had a pretty rough day. I had dental work done and two other doctor appointments. I was sore, tired, and grumpy because I noticed there was another wave of acceptances going out and I still hadn't heard anything. My roommates and I were texting each other about our Professional Internship Progress and I was just getting frustrated with my lack of news. I decided that since there was a wave happening, I would obsessively check my email (not a good idea, FYI). I was just about to go upstairs to get ready for my next appointment when I decided to refresh my email. I discovered that I had one email in my account, and opened it not expecting anything exciting. All I had to do was see the words "WDW and Congratulations!" and I jumped out of my chair (which was reclining at the time, so I'm still not sure how I managed to do this) and ran around my house. No one was home, so I frantically tried to call my mom. She was at work and didn't answer so I texted her and told her. Then I told the rest of my family and friends through various phone calls, texts, and social media updates. Everyone was so happy for me and I was so thrilled. I was sitting on my bed reading my offer letter literally shaking and breathing so quickly.

I can't remember the last time I wanted something so badly. I've been really stressed about my post-graduation plans, and now that I am officially accepted I am so relieved. I am thrilled that I will be going back down to Walt Disney World and continuing my Disney Dream!!

For those of you still waiting to hear about an acceptance, or if you're just in a similar situation and feeling anxious about the future, remember these famous words:"Why worry? If you've done the very best you can, worrying won't make it any better." - Walt Disney

Stay tuned to follow along with Megan's Disney Dream - Part TWO!! I'm so excited to once again share my adventure with you all. Keep on dreaming, dreamers <3

The infamous acceptance email!

Update on Applications

So, as predicted, the first DCP acceptances did go out at the end of last week and the beginning of this week. Unfortunately, I was not a part of the first wave of acceptances, however I still am in progress! I know there is really no rhyme or reason to the waves of acceptances, but it's still frustrating to not hear anything! I'm just trying to remain patient and I'm constantly refreshing my email and dashboard!

However, on the bright side, I received an email from the Marine Mammals Department over the weekend to set up an interview with their team! I have an interview set up for tomorrow, February 24, at 9:30 AM! We are going to be doing a video conference. I'm so excited for the opportunity to speak with some members of the team and tell them about myself, my experiences, and my passion for animal care and training! I'm going to be spending most of today preparing for the interview. I booked a room in my career center so that I have a professional background and I'll be wearing business casual "Disney Look" clothes! 

I'm so excited for my interview. I'll be sure to blog about it tomorrow and let you know how it goes! 

This Week?!

Last week there was a DCP Twitter Q&A session with Marcie, one of Disney's recruiters (and also the administrator of the Disney Alumni Association, in case you were curious!). She answered a lot of questions that were posed to her using the hashtag #AskDCP. If you're interested in learning more about the program, I highly recommend searching #AskDCP on Twitter to view the question and answer session! However, probably the most exciting news to come out of her Q&A session was that the first wave of acceptances will be starting this week!

While I'm obviously thrilled with the news that the first acceptances will be coming out very soon, this is still a very vague response. Why? Because not everyone gets accepted during the first "wave" of acceptances. Also, "this week" could mean any day or time during this week. It's 6:30 on Monday night now, so the whole day has gone by without anyone seeing any acceptances. Does "this week" mean tomorrow... Friday?!

Anyway, the point is that I hope to start hearing news from Disney very soon! While I would love to be a part of the first wave of acceptances, I really will be excited once ANYONE hears back, because that means the acceptance process has started. Once it starts, it usually goes pretty quickly with acceptances rolling out every few days, so it will make the waiting less difficult. Last time I applied I only had to wait 13 days after my phone interview to hear about my acceptance. This year, it seems like Disney is doing things a lot differently. On Friday it will officially be one month since my interview and it's been way more than a month since I submitted my application. Disney is certainly testing my patience this time around!

So, to wrap up this whole post, Recruiter Marcie claims that the first acceptances for the Fall 2016 DCP will go out this week. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will be fortunate enough to hear about my status sooner rather than later!!

It's Almost Time!!

With 6 days until I leave for my program, and 9 days until the start of my program, you could say that my anticipation level is through the roof! It still doesn't feel real that I start my Disney College Program so soon. I feel like it was just yesterday that I applied, and now here I am with my days limited to the single digits!

So, an update on what's been going on since my last post. I finished my semester at Clemson, and had to say goodbye to all of my friends. It was really hard saying goodbye and knowing we wouldn't see each other again until August, but I know that once I get to Disney, make friends, and settle in, that it will all be worth it. Some of my friends even promised to come visit me, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!! 

Disney was supposed to send me an email about filling out my new hire paperwork, but I never got the email. I called them twice about it, and after the second phone call (with a very helpful cast member!) I got it all figured out and began the process of filling out my new hire paperwork. The paperwork is essentially you electronically signing a bunch of papers that give you information about working for Disney, including their policies and procedures. I had some technical difficulties filling the forms out at first, but after I looked up some help hints on the Facebook group, I was able to get it all sorted out and submitted. I also learned that you can fill out the forms during your check in, so there's no real need to fill them out beforehand, it's just to make the check in process go more quickly and save people some time.

A few days ago, I got my DORMS email. DORMS is the new system that Disney is using the help the college program participants indicate their preferences as to roommates, apartment complex, and apartment size. It's another tool designed to make check in easier on everyone. Unfortunately, because my arrival date is one of the earlier ones, there were no 4 bedrooms available, so my group of 8 had to split into 2 groups of 4. But, we all did agree to still go out to dinner on our first night and get to know one another in the hopes that we can all still be friends! As far as the DORMS system goes, it's extremely straight forward and really user-friendly. 

As for now, I'm just waiting. I've made a packing list, and am starting to try to get together with people before I leave at the end of this week. I'm checking the Facebook group (almost obsessively), trying to get any last helpful hints about check in and stuff. 

I promise to write about my check in day (January 13th!!) and let everyone know the details about my role, apartment, roommates, and everything else about the Disney College Program! I want to try to blog pretty frequently so that I can share my experience with others! 

For now, I hope all your Disney Dreams come true... See you on the 13th!

The Waiting Game

At this point in the application season, it seems like all there is to do it wait. Some people are still waiting for the WBI (web-based interview), while others are waiting for their phone interview. Applicants may also be waiting for their pending status to change, and some of the lucky few are waiting for their program to start!

Regardless of the status of your application, a huge part of the Disney College Program experience is "The Waiting Game." The waiting game consists of constantly refreshing your email and dashboard (Disney's way of communicating with you), checking the Facebook pages incessantly, and stressing about your plans for the next semester. I know how real the struggle of waiting is, so I've compiled some tips to help you get through this transitional period:

1. Try to have patience. Understand that Disney knows what they are doing, and you will eventually be done with all of this waiting. 
2. Focus on your schoolwork for the current semester. You still have several weeks to get through before you can even get to Disney, so don't let your grades suffer because you're too anxious!
3. Keep yourself busy. Join a club, spend time with friends, work on homework, just do something to take your mind off of the waiting.
4. Make plans with your school for the next semester. Regardless of your application status, it can never hurt to talk with your advisor or other faculty members about your future and how the DCP can play a role in it.
5. Talk about it! Talk to your family, friends, roommates, Facebook friends, whoever you need to, and express your excitement/frustration/anxiousness or whatever you are feeling! Keeping all those feelings in will do you no good, so it's best to express yourself. 
6. Prepare. If you still have an interview to complete, prepare for the interviews. If you are waiting for an acceptance, prepare for both outcomes, and have a back up plan in place. If you are just waiting for your program to start, prepare for the program. Stay on top of the paperwork, look for class signups to start coming out, discuss apartment items with your roommates. Don't let it all wait until the last minute, especially while you have all of this valuable waiting time to prepare!

The Waiting Game is  tough, but just stay positive! Remember, we are all in this together. Have the most magical of days! (: