In Every Job That Must be Done There is an Element of Fun!!! DCP Report New 2/7

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

Hello!! I just found your regular tr's and this one and I love them! I am also 22 and also a CM. But sadly, not at WDW. I work at my local Disney Store.

I really love your and your fiancee's love story! I love young love, and am so glad you don't listen to anyone! When it's right, it's right!! I love it! Can't wait to hear all about your journey!

Thank you!!! I'm so glad you found them and I'm even happier that you like them. I wish I would have had a Disney store in my area that I could work at, I bet that's a lot of fun. A CM is a CM no matter where they are!!!

Thank you so much. I'm really glad you found me!!! Thanks for reading a long, hope you continue to enjoy​

AGGGGGHHHHH only 13 days(almost12 now) until i am there!!!!!!
also.....after the pic of the claw machine where you said "I think I'm gonna like it here" i totally sang that out in my best annie in daddywarbucks house...tell me you know what i'm talking about????

One week now!!! How exciting

And thank you for getting that reference that's exactly what I was going for!!! So glad you understood it ​

can i please join?! I know you are having an amazing time! I did my college program in 2007 and i still miss it and my friends alot but im lucky enough to still be in touch with most of them. I wish i took more advantage of things down there but I see you are already using those CM discounts. I know they gave us a book of discounts outside disney but always ask because not everything is in there. I got a discount at a foot locker and even at a flea market because i just asked!

Yes!!! Haha the more the merrier. If I could have everyone along with me I could. That's so amazing, I hope I am able to make friendships that stick like you have. The CM discounts are my best friend and I am making sure to experience everything I can while I am here. I flash my blue ID everywhere just to be sure!!! haha ​

I’m so sorry that you can’t get a room at the Poly But a Disney cruise AND Be Our Guest makes up for it right?

I’m happy you got to Florida and your hotel safely. Your room sounds very nice there.

Can’t wait to read more!

Totally!!! Always look on the brightside. Andy keeps telling me one day he will take me to the Poly so I can't really complain haha.

It was very nice, not Disney of course but still lovely.​

That's too bad about the poly but I would be so excited to stay at the grand Floridian. I'd want to look for all the places full house filmed when they were there lol.

When I went to visit it during my first week here that's all I thought about!!! Also when I went to see Indiana Jones at DHS haha.
​

I missed that you switched from your PTR to the TR! Oops.

Okay first of all - Dunkaroos! I was just talking about them with my boyfriend as well; I think we agreed that someone had decided they were too unhealthy and stop making them? I'm so glad to see them! Never saw them as a single serving packs.. the vanilla frosting with sprinkles was always the best kind!

I think 60% off the GFlo makes up for missing out on the Poly. What a great deal! I don't think I could ever pay full price there (the decor isn't quite my style) but it's still the Grand Floridian and staying there would be amaaaaazing.

How great that all your roommates are nice. I miss having (girl) roommates; my boyfriend's not quite the same, haha.

PS: I'm going to go follow you on twitter, my handle's @jonquillas

Sorry, I don't think that I ever posted it there. I have been so scatter brained lately!!!

THOSE ONES WERE MY FAVORITE!!! The sprinkles specifically. What a good treat, I would have bought some had they not need so outrageously priced haha. I miss them!!!

I'm the same way, I get the discount so I might as well do it while I can. I feel like I'll never get the opprotunity again. It's not exactly my style but most of my time isn't spent in the room so I think I'll "suffer through"

I was like you, I am not use to having girl roommates. I lived with Andy my last two years of school and before that I had singles in college. It's definitely a new experience!!! It's fun to have girl time every now and then.​

You know I'm not usually one for getting all emotionally sappy towards you guys (I kind of suck like that), but reading through your TR so far, I wanted to tell you that I am so proud of you for taking the leap and following your dreams. It's something that I wasn't brave enough to do and to see you doing it makes me so happy. I know you're going to take Disney by storm.

thanks D ​

Can't believe this took me so long to find but i'm in

Yay!!! Thanks for joining in. I am hoping to get into a better updating timeline than I have been. Here's to hoping, I always say that. I hope I can stick to it this time.​

 

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

All Talk, No Action


So shortly after my head hit the pillow my alarm was going off. WHAT THE HECK?! I was not ready for this morning…

Basically people who do the DCP are CRAZY about housing. There were people talking about sleeping on the sidewalk at night so they could get first dibs on rooms… Seriously?! Having never been through the process before we decided to head over while the moon was still shinning. Which meant, as I said before that I was walking up at 3:30am. Not as exciting as a Disney vacation so I really was begrudgingly getting out of bed.

I got up and attempted to get ready but Ryan and I had to share the bathroom, he spent more time in there than I did I think. We made our way down to the lobby to meet up with my roommates, his were going to meet him there “eventually”. We waited maybe 10 or 15 minutes for everyone to get there and then we made the trek over to Vista Way (one of the four apartment complexes that the DCP houses participants in).

We weren’t sure how far away it was but it was really only a 5 minute walk, even more reason to stay at the Holiday Inn, you don’t have to drive there because there is literally like NO PARKING.

Here we go… taking the walk to our new future together!!! Haha

Let me just tell you something PEOPLE LIED. They were all talk, when we finally arrived at check in a few short minutes later we were the second group in line. SURE yea right, you really slept on the sidewalk. I guess they all decided that they would rather stay in bed.

The thing about check in day, they don’t even let you in until 8:30 or 9:00 so we had a good deal of sitting to do… I hadn’t eaten anything real in the past day and a half so I was dying. Ryan and I (along with a few random people) decided to head over to Walgreens to see what they had to eat/drink. This is where I ran into my first problem and realization… I live in Disney, merchandise will be everywhere, there goes my money.

Particularly PERRY<3. Shortly there after I found out that half of my roommates have a Perry obsession

Ryan and I picked up a 24 pack of water for $1.99, like what?! The I realized that Florida doesn’t put deposits on their bottles. SO WEIRD.

When we arrived they told us that we couldn’t officially line up until 6:30am or 7am. Shortly before that they led up to the actual sidewalk of the apartments. Vista Way is where they have check in, it was the first of all the Disney housing therefore the oldest.

Let’s just take a few minutes to get a feel for each of the apartment complexes, for anyone interest. First off Vista Way, as I said before it’s the oldest complex that I have heard hasn’t been updated all that recently. Price wise it is the cheapest. I know a bunch of people who live there and I have heard TONS of mixed reviews. It is stereo typed as party central, which is why most people choose to live there. There are always people out and about, meeting others and doing other things… There are a few of other reasons why I personally wouldn’t choose to live there, but it’s a personal preference. I have met people who love it there and say that it’s not as bad as people make it sound. Generally speaking this complex is filled with the people who like to go out every night and meet tons of people. Vista is within walking distance from tons of things. Wendy’s, Chik-Fil-A, Walgreens, Cici’s Pizza and many more things.

The next is Chatham square. The in between, this term everyone was aiming for Chatham because it is the perfect balance or the best of both worlds as Hannah Montana might say. It’s the second cheapest and the ground are beautifully laid out. Tons of greenery and very homey feeling. I can’t say anything for the inside but I have heard people say that these apartments have the biggest rooms you can get. Word on the street is that this will become the new vista in a few terms because the apartments are nicer without being overly expensive.

Patterson, is the quietest of the complexes, literally you will never see anyone unless they are on their way to or from work. On occasion you will see people at the pool but most people here like to keep to themselves. It’s nice a quite and the grounds are just lovely. Being the newest of the complexes they are the most expensive but only by a few dollars. This is where I live and I love it. BUT it is the only complex without it’s own bus stop, if you have a car it’s no big deal and even if you don’t it’s still not terrible. We share a bus stop with Chatham, I was really nervous about this when I first read about it, people were complaining about it non stop. Let me tell you, it’s not bad at all. It’s maybe a five minute walk from my apartment not 20 like people made it sound. I wouldn’t let this bother you too much if you ever looking into doing the DCP.

The fourth complex is the Commons. I can’t speak much for this because it’s exclusively for students doing the International College Program. Generally speaking the ICPs stay here for longer that the regular CPs so they have the nicest apartments (including free washers and dryers in the apartments, everyone else has laundry building and has to pay $1 each load to wash and dry). From what I have seen riding the bus through the apartments are beautiful and have the best landscaping. Like I said I can’t speak much to this topic. I do know that if you are an ICP you have the choice of any of the four complexes you aren’t limited to staying in the commons.

Patterson Court, Chatham Square and The Commons are all within walking distance from one another while Vista is set off on it’s own. From the three you can easily walk to: The outlet mall (with Vera Bradley and a Disney Outlet just to name a few), Publics, Walgreens, Subway, Seven Eleven and a few other things.

Any whooooo. That’s the basic whos who and whats what. If you have any questions feel free to ask!!!

Now back to Vista Way…

We waited until 6:30 and were finally allowed to line up on the side walk near the security hut. This is where we went from being second in line to like 30th. Apparently there were people who had somehow gotten into the complex and parked in there and snuck into line as they called us in.

At around 8:00 they let us into the actual complex. SO CLOSE!!!

They weren’t kidding when they said this would be the longest day ever. My goodness I was starting to get tired and my feet were starting to KILL. At around 8:30 they finally made their way out, kind of like in Willie Wonka when everyone is crowded outside waiting to get a glimpse of someone official looking. They walked us in a neat and orderly fashion to the back of the complex the Vista Club House.

From there they asked anyones family members to step out of line and took them/any luggage to a special tent to keep them safe and entertained until we were done with the check in process.

We formed another line at the club house, I couldn’t believe how long this line was. I was SO glad that I had gotten there as early as we did. Originally we did it just to get the apartment we wanted but I would totally recommend getting there early just so you can get through the line FAST. If you are at the end you might not get done until early evening. This is the LONGEST day you will ever experience.

This was the biggest continuous line I have ever seen!!! At least it was surrounded with Disney signs to cheer it up.

The first stop they will ask you to update all of your contact information and just double check that all of your information is correct. They will do this A LOT on check in day.

From there you get in line and then taken to a table where you will receive a handbook of all the rules and expectations. You will sign your housing agreement and be told about the housing meeting the next morning.

Basically you have to keep your handbook with you for the first week so don’t lose it!!! They will continue to add stickers to it all day. The first sticker will tell you when your housing meeting is.

From there you go to a table where you hand in your housing agreement and tell them if you are wellness (under 21) or non wellness (over 21). The weird thing is they don’t even check to make sure you are telling the truth. They will circle a spot on your handbook and you are off to the next line.

In this line make sure you are standing with people you like!!! They will be your roommates for the next 6 months. That is if they are in your age category, want the same complex and number of rooms as you do. If not you might not meet your roommate until you all get to the apartment.

Luckily I knew what I wanted and knew who I would be with. We gathered together and went to a computer where we told them we would like a 3 bedroom (6 people) in Patterson Court. The woman looked at us and said “oh, I’ll have to look… I’m not sure if we have any left there.” My heart hit the floor, thank goodness she was able to find us a spot after searching for about 30 seconds lol. On the back of your handbook they will write the apartment number and then send you to another line to get your key which they tape in your handbook (see what I mean when I said that handbook will be your best friend?!)

They then show you how much you are paying for your apartment each week and you will sign your contract.

Then you are shuffled into another line to take your housing ID picture, as always this will be the worst picture of your life because you have to show it to EVERYONE you encounter. Ours all turned out really orange and we look like we have flat faces. They print them out right there which is cool.

You leave the club house and from there you can register your car or not if the case may be. You get in another line (surprise) and get another sticker telling you when your bus to casting leaves. You go to a table and they explain the rest of your day. In short lines, signing, questions and so many directions.

Obviously Disney is VERY organized and the process moves along really quickly, well for me anyways there were people who didn’t make it through nearly as quickly because each group takes in about 10 people. Being so close to the front of the line really saved us time!!!

They send you to a line to wait for the bus to casting but first they let you pick a snack!!! Apples, bananas granola bars. They also hand you a reusable shopping bag and some sample laundry soap.

The bus was waiting for us to leave by this time it was about 9:30. Before you get on the bus they will ask you for all your forms of identification just to make sure you have it. This is where Alix got caught up she had forgotten her birth certificate at home and had it overnighted. She ended up not going to casting until WAY after us.

They load you onto a huge bus and then ship you off to casting. They give you some basic Disney triva knowledge and point out everything. If you are anything like me you will keep saying “I already know that!!!” but just enjoying the fact that YOU LIVE IN DISNEY!!!

After a few minutes you pass under the archways of heaven

and they will tell you “DO NOT STOP UNDER THESE SIGNS” apparently even though there are signs everywhere that say no stopping people still do so that they can take pictures.

They drop you off in front of casting which is such an amazing building. Painted argyle (MY FAVORITE) to match Walt Disney’s socks

It’s such a pretty place the guide said that a bunch of people hate it because for the pattern but in my opinion it’s perfect.

You walk through the big giant doors and feel so little and amazing because you are starting the BIGGEST adventure of your life and it al starts out with this amazing little Disney touch

You walk into the lobby and it is just SO PERFECT!!! Cue glowing heavenly music…

This was my first real Disney sight and I basically just started crying. This was it, it was happening, I was in the process of becoming a cast member and all of my childhood friends were there to watch it happen

It is in the lobby where they tell you what park/resort you will be placed in. One by one all my roommates found out. Morgan was going to Animal Kingdom, Chelsey was going to the Contemporary, Hattie was going to Port Orleans, Lauren was going to Global photopass and me..?










I WAS GOING TO MAGIC KINGDOM!!! Does it get any better than that?! I think not!!!

From there they have you go through a legitimate maze of stations. Disney look, finger printing, paychecks/direct deposit basically just paper work on top of paper work. SO MANY STATIONS.

One of them gives you your schdule for the first few days and the other gives you an outline of your costume

After you are done you do a little more and then just a little bit more and they send you on your way. I was trying to be in constant contact with my mother that day. Get the stuff in the car and be ready when I get back!!! It was like the amazing race or something. I had to find Ryan and jump on a bus as fast as possible. Run to the Walgreens and try and find our way to the apartment. Rooms are given out on a first come first serve basis and I didn’t want to get stuck with the smallest one.

We finally found my parents and we were off…


How would the apartment be? Would I get stuck with the small room?!


Tune In Next Time!!!​

 

[leshunlenese]

So i think is is funny becasue chatham was like patterson on my DCP but we did have our parties and they were not crazy like vista. I know cause i spent a few good times over there. I see they have changed a few things. we did everythingat vista. The first stop was room and where you work and we never went to casting. You will make great friends and its one place where you can meet just as many disney crazies as you! I cannot believe you all got up so early! I mean they were saying that in 2007 but i dont think anyone did or maybe they did but not me

 

[cheekypoppins]

AGGGGHHHH omg super exciting!!!!! I love it!!!!

 

[Soarin4Disney]

Joining in. Love to read behind-the-scenes reports like this. Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us. I feel like i'm right there with you. Love Disney!!!!

 

[frankieeyre]

This is amazing! I love hearing all about people on the DCP! Cannot wait to you write some more!!

I have never heard about anyone in the DCP in costuming! Is it really fun? Do you help make cast member costumes or do you help out the princesses with their dresses?

So excited for more! Hope you are having an amazing time!!

P.S Im disney_frankie following you on twitter and instagram!

 

[LifeIsDis]

Seriously Alicia, you are making me SO excited to do the DCP! I can’t WAIT for the day when I can do it.

The whole check in process sounds totally nuts and so many lines to go in but of course it is totally worth it I can tell!

I am DYING to read more.

 

[MissPrice]

sounds like an exhausting day! Cant wait to see what room you got. -Amanda

 

[MissPrice]

Alicia, as a cast member do u get free entrance to the parks whenever? Like could you go to MNSSHP if you wanted?

 

[saintstickets]

Had to catch up with this thread after we returned from our trip. I can't wait to hear more about your apartment and learning about the "Disney way".

 

[Windsor Princesses]

How exciting!! I always wondered what the Disney Housing was like, so it was nice to get a little information on each of the different ones. It's just so great to get to read along with you on your journey, Thanks!​

 

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

So i think is is funny becasue chatham was like patterson on my DCP but we did have our parties and they were not crazy like vista. I know cause i spent a few good times over there. I see they have changed a few things. we did everythingat vista. The first stop was room and where you work and we never went to casting. You will make great friends and its one place where you can meet just as many disney crazies as you! I cannot believe you all got up so early! I mean they were saying that in 2007 but i dont think anyone did or maybe they did but not me

I haven't really been to Vista, currently all the housing events go on at Chatham and a part of me would love to have stayed there but for only $1 difference we decided to go all out lol.

I can't imagine having gone through all of those stops at Vista!!! I have no idea where they would have put everyone. Maybe it was different because they use to have every fill out their information packets at home and bring them with you, they don't do that anymore, we had to fill everything out electronically and then they had to check it with us in person.​

AGGGGHHHH omg super exciting!!!!! I love it!!!!

You are going to be here so sooooooon!!! Thanks for reading along ​

Joining in. Love to read behind-the-scenes reports like this. Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us. I feel like i'm right there with you. Love Disney!!!!

Yay, thanks for reading a long and I am so glad you are enjoying it. I figure if there is anyone out there looking to do the program this will be a huge help. Considering I felt completely lost coming into it, this will at least give everyone a basic idea of what it's like/about. ​

This is amazing! I love hearing all about people on the DCP! Cannot wait to you write some more!!

I have never heard about anyone in the DCP in costuming! Is it really fun? Do you help make cast member costumes or do you help out the princesses with their dresses?

So excited for more! Hope you are having an amazing time!!

P.S Im disney_frankie following you on twitter and instagram!

It's AMAZING. the first position I was trained in was so slow and kind of terrible BUT two weeks ago I started training on day parade and basically now I just help the princesses get dressed all day. IT'S PERFECT!!! I really lucked out getting into entertainment costuming. I know people who got stuck in operational costuming which is basically a giant dry cleaners where they do the attractions and restaurants laundry.

It's the best time ever, I couldn't be happier that I moved down here when I did. It's absolutely amazing. ​

Seriously Alicia, you are making me SO excited to do the DCP! I can’t WAIT for the day when I can do it.

The whole check in process sounds totally nuts and so many lines to go in but of course it is totally worth it I can tell!

I am DYING to read more.

Get excited Meg because it will literally be the best experience of your life!!!

It was complet chaos, which is most likely why they give you the following day off haha​

sounds like an exhausting day! Cant wait to see what room you got. -Amanda

It was so exhausting but we were pushing through on adrenaline all day!!! ​

Alicia, as a cast member do u get free entrance to the parks whenever? Like could you go to MNSSHP if you wanted?

I do get free entrances to all the parks and for right now water parks!!! However I do not get free specialty events admission, on select days we get discounts but anything outside park hours we have to pay for. Also, we weren't allowed to participate in extra magic hours. ​

Had to catch up with this thread after we returned from our trip. I can't wait to hear more about your apartment and learning about the "Disney way".

I hope you had a wonderful get away!!! More about the apartment REALLY SOON. Thanks as always for follwoing along ​

How exciting!! I always wondered what the Disney Housing was like, so it was nice to get a little information on each of the different ones. It's just so great to get to read along with you on your journey, Thanks!​

You will soon find out all about Disney housing!!! Thanks for reading along, I'm glad that you are enjoying and following along with my adventure ​

 

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

The Race Is On!!!

Vooooooooom, we were off in a flash. I really had no idea where my other roommates were in relation to me in the process. I had seen them for seconds at a time while filtering through the casting building, but at this moment I was unaware of if they had gotten back to the hotel yet or worse!!! If they had been at the apartment moving in already.

We literally had no idea where we were going. Disney doesn’t give you an address or anything. Basically once you leave Vista you are on your own. We tried using siri on Ryan’s phone but she was NO HELP. Luckily there were signs around that actually said Patterson Court/Chatam Square. It was about a 5-minute drive all in all.

We slowly pulled in, thank goodness the first day you get a free pass and don’t have to sign anyone in because that would have been a pain!!! We looked for our buildings I am in 10 and Ryan is in 11, perfect!!! We are basically neighbors so that’s a plus. We each grabbed one small item from the car, just big enough to take in and throw on a bed to claim our territory. I said goodbye to Ryan for two seconds while we rushed off to my apartment to see what was up.

They are really very spacious, fully furnished and supplied with dishes (for the most part). Decent size kitchen and a nice size living room. How ever the rooms are not all created equal. Here is a tip for future DCP participants: above the doors in very faint white paint (on the cream walls) there is a number about each room. The lower the number the bigger the room. #1 is right off the living room and has THE MOST floor space, the downside is as I said before it’s right off the main living area so if you are trying to go to sleep and your roommates are watching tv or skyping until 3am it’s going to get kind of annoying if you are a light sleeper. Rooms #2 and #3 are right on top of each other and are basically the same size. All have their own bathrooms and decent size closets.

Now here was my dilemma, do I take room #1? It has the most space and I did after all get here first. BUT do I really want everyone to be mad at me for taking the biggest room? I could just go with room #2 and be great friends with room #3 because they literally might as well just be sharing a room. After looking at the lay out of all the rooms I decided to go with #1. My mother said if you wouldn’t have picked that one I would have regretted driving all the way down here!!! Haha

So I called Ryan and he was having the same dilemma. One or Two?! I told him I went with one and he did the same. We took the rest of our stuff out of the car, dragged it up the three flights of stairs, did I mention we ended up on the third floor? It was a pain on move in day but ended up being a blessing in disguise. Ryan ended up on the first floor, the apartment above him is leaking into his and the people upstairs sound like elephants apparently. Once the car was unloaded we went back to the Holiday Inn to get the rest of our stuff and check out of the hotel.

We got back just as everyone else in my apartment was moving their stuff in, we dropped mine and ran so that Hattie would have enough space to move all her stuff in. While we waited we helped Ryan bring all his stuff into his room.

Once Ryan was settled in we went back over to my room to get my stuff in order. It was basically freshman year of college all over again. Meeting every one’s parents. Trying to claim space for your stuff without getting in anyone else’s way and finding the exact right spot for everything.

I first things first I put my bed up on my bed risers. I literally have a princess bed!!! I was just in Ryan’s room the other day skyping some friends from school and his roommate doesn’t have bed risers it was so funny to see. Anyways thank goodness Hattie has the same height ones as I do because our room would be looking a little funny of she didn’t.

Anyways we got most of my stuff settled in and then everyone went out to do family things/get food/go grocery shopping. Except Hattie who was still moving her stuff in. She literally brought EVERYHING with her, thank goodness I grabbed us the big room or else we wouldn’t fit. To give her parents and her some room Ma, Pa and I went out to dinner. We ended up going to Giordano’s pizza, for those of you who don’t know it’s a place that serves deep dish Chicago style pizza which just so happens to be my FAVORITE. The only downside, I hadn’t eaten anything substantial in two day, I was starving and a pizza that size takes a long time to cook. Once the pizza got there though I forgot how hungry I was after one slice. SO BIG. I wish I had taken pictures of it but I wasn’t thinking.

From there my mother had to decide if she wanted to stay another night or if she wanted to drive home now. They opted to wait until the next afternoon. We drove to a Marriot down the street, kind of an in between from where we stayed the night before and where I was living now. She went in and asked if they had any rooms at the price they had advertised on the website and they did!!! She checked in and they went to the pool while I passed out for a few hours in their bed.

Later that night they drove me back to the apartment and we said our goodbyes for the night. When I got back I was the only one there so I decided to take a few pictures.

This is the view of the living room from mine and Hattie’s room

In this picture upper left corner are the doors to room #2 and #3 room two is on the left the door next to it is a locked utility closet and room # three you can see beucase it right on the wall behind the chair. So like I said before rooms #2 and #3 are right on top of one another.

The view of the dinning room/kitchen. My room would be right off to the right

Like this…

the kitchen is a pretty decent size for an apartment, in my opinion anyways

It’s got your basic, oven/stove, microwave, fridge, and even a dishwasher!!! The only thing they don’t really supply you with is a toaster which is a pain.

Basically this is the view of the entire place. Not to big but it’s certainly enough space for all of us seeing how we all haven’t been here at one time since the day we moved in or when we are sleeping.

Now to go into my room. Clearly I am the bed on the left with all the tangled stuff that you might remember from my PTR. Also I am a lefty so I always pick the left. As you can see I lucked out, Hattie loves Disney and being young too so we have a completely Disney decked out bedroom she has Minnie mouse bedding and I have Rapunzel but we both bonded over the fact that we wanted the Ariel bedding but the store didn’t have it. We actually both bought them from the same department store!!!

close up on just my side

At first I was terrified to sit on my bed. I thought it was going to collapse but I am happy to say that the bed risers are going strong and were the perfect solution for storing my GIANT suit case

Each room has one mirror and dresser so everyone gets three drawers (that are too small to fit anything in!!!). I knew this ahead of time from having friends who did the program so I planned accordingly. I brought down plastic drawers and TONS of organizational closet things. Most of my roommates found out once they got here and ended up purchasing everything I had brought with me. That being said you will be able to find stuff down here, it’s up to you whether you want to bring it or not. Remember: there will be TONS of other people moving in on the same day and when you move it it’s around back to school time so you might not have the best choices in stores here.

The bathroom is split up so that the sink is outside, in between the closet and the room with the toilet/shower.

Hattie’s aunt was kind enough to buy her all the Disney bathroom stuff we would need: Shower curtain (the bathroom comes with a clear shower curtain liner), bath mat and trash can (as I said before we have THE Disney room)

Continue to Part 2​

 

[Leasha_Loves_Disney]

Apartment Tour Continued

Then we have our GIANT closet (the other two rooms have closest but they are no where near as big so get to your apartment EARLY!!!)

Hattie’s side is kind of an explosion because as I said earlier she brought everything with her. Her family drove down and the car was packed inside and out.

The rooms are also equipped with two lockers, one for each roommate to house your valuables. I decided to put the start of my Disney magnet collection on mine (I get a new magnet for each trip now, I started that as you can tell two trips ago haha I wanted to get one each time with the year on it so I can always remember the years I went to Disney because all of my trips have run together and I can’t remember any more haha)

My side with all my pink organizational things. The slim hangers are PERFECT for anyone who was wondering, they are such a space saver and they just hang things very nicely specifically the ones I bought because they have rubber grips that don’t let anything slide off of them. The sweater organizer, which I use for t-shirts was a HUGE help too. Like I said before there isn’t much drawer space and this is compact and makes good use of the closet space. The bins is where I put my overflow of food as you can see. The pantry is not big at all, there isn’t even enough room for everyone to have their own shelf so my food is just split up.

back out to the bedroom here is a close up picture of my beautiful bedding, I find I love the way it looks when it’s made so it’s always tidy

it’s just so darn perfect!!! And I don’t even care that it makes me look like a five year old.

My side of the room, each person also gets a nightstand and a bulletin board. My board has begun to take over the entire wall. BUT here is another tip, leave your posters at home. The housing providers have very strict rules, there can be nothing on the wall except that bulletin board, so whatever you can fit on there are the only decorations you can have in your entire room. No sticky back, no picture frames and no easy off command strips are allowed. You can try to hang things but they have inspections/surprise inspections so I am too scarred to even try. I don’t want to get termed for something so stupid.

This is a close up of my friendship wall, all the people who mean the most to me made it to Florida with me. It’s a fabulous thing to do, print out pictures and bring them with you!!! It can get kind of lonely in the first few days and it’s nice to be able to look and see all the faces of those you love and who support you.

Like I said before, my board is definitely being used to it’s maximum potential I have EVERYTHING up there, including my ever growing collection of pins. Hattie and I call them our official pin trading boards and joke about how we are going to start allowing guest to come and trade with us, we are legit.

All my friends who made the trip. Pluto from mine and Andy’s trip, flounder from Disney on ice and loserface my present from Andy on our first Christmas together way back when.

My nightstand which is also Disney-fied

The light that you see is PERFECT. I actually bought it at Walmart on day two (where it was the last one because of all the moves ins and back to schoolers) but that’s beside the point. It had an outlet on it which is perfect because all the outlets are placed in really stupid locations!!! I wouldn’t have a place to charge my phone any where near my bed if it wasn’t for this. So if you are planning to come down extension cords and surge protectors are a must!!!

Our room and view once we got it all set up. If you look on Hattie’s night stand you will see what looks like balloons, it’s actually her lamp and I am obsessed with it!!! It’s from her room when she was a baby and is Mickey and Pluto holding onto balloons, its perfect.

Ok so there are just a few more things to show you, off the living room, closer to rooms #2 and #3 there is a patio

Chelsey’s family was kind enough to buy us patio furniture (which I guess we aren’t technically suppose to have) although we hardly ever go out there, mainly because we are all really busy and also because it’s nasty and could use a good power washing.

This is the view from our patio and what all the buildings in Patterson look like

Just to the left of our building is the entrance to the complex it’s basically a three second walk, we really lucked out!!! There are some buildings that seem very secluded and far away.

The first night was no where near as awkward as I thought it would be, thank goodness we had all talked online for months before hand because we were all just really comfortable around one another. We talked about how our day was and our work schedule, and what our costumes would be. The thing is none of us had all the same information. I had my work schedule for the first full week but some people only had the first day or two. The schedules include: traditions times, starting days, classes, and training day. We all wondered what the things meant, literally Disney gives you no explanations about anything.

I also knew my costume but others didn’t. At this point none of us still knew exactly where we would be working which was the biggest pain of all. I just felt very in the dark, everyone at home was asking what I would be doing and I still had no idea, I went through basically they entire first week like that, which was unfortunate. I did however know that this would be my costume.

No one else had any ideas of what they would be wearing so they were all a little jealous.

That about wraps up my first full day in Florida. We had the following day off to get settled in and then the follwing day we would have traditions!!! The true welcome to the Walt Disney Company. AHHHHHHHHHH


Tune In Next Time!!!​

 

[LifeIsDis]

Your apartment looks really nice! And I love how you Disney-fied your room. It looks awesome!

And I LOVE your bathroom.

That’s kind of cool they have lockers in your closets for your valuables. And I HAVE to ask. Where did you get that Mickey Mouse Club magnet?!

Wow, I didn’t realize they were that strict about having stuff on your walls.

SO excited to hear about traditions!!!!

 

[Blissikins]

Your Disneyfied room looks awesome! I can't wait to hear about Traditions.

 

[ssimpson01]

Hey Alicia!! I'm joining in too! Can't wait to go back and read everything. I'll be applying for Fall 2013 in January. So excited!

 

[jamelynn24]

Joining!! I wish I had done the college program! So now I'm mentioning it to my kids all the time so THEY will do it when they are old enough!

BTW, after college, I traveled for my sorority for a year and left my boyfriend at home...so reading your story makes me relive the sadness of leaving him, but the excitement of a new adventure!! This was back in 1998 when no one had a cell phone and AOL was just becoming popular. We made it through just fine and have now been married 12 years! You guys will be great and have a stronger relationship for having gone through this!

 

[DisneyDreamerMN]

Joining in! Can't wait to read all about your adventure!

 

[bluechic03]

I am really LOVING reading your updates! I was not able to participate in the College Program because some unfortunate family stuff that happened in High School/College so I am always regretting not getting to do it Getting to read about your experience makes me feel like I get to go back in time and experience it too! Thanks so much for writing this!!!!

My hubby and I go once a year at least and he always promises me we will retire and work at Disney though so I have some hope of being a cast member someday When you see all the behind the scenes stuff, does it make it any less magical? That's something I have always wondered....