Disney College Program: An Overview

The time has come and my countdown has finally reached one month! Yes, that's right, only one month until I move into my new apartment in Anaheim, CA and begin the most magical chapter of my life.

The "Congratulations!" postcard I received after my acceptance.

I've created this blog to share my experiences during the college program with my friends and family, and any other random people who find my life as a cast member to be exciting. I guess I'll start by explaining what the college program is and answering some of the questions that I have been asked many times.

What is the Disney College Program?
The College Program, or CP, allows college students, and recent grads, to work within the Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort and take part in one of a kind educational opportunities. In addition to taking classes provided by Disney, we also live in apartments with other participants of the program.

How is the CP different than just applying to work at Disneyland?
The main difference between the two is that with the CP we have the opportunity to take classes. I will be taking a course called Marketing You which focuses on developing our career goals and a personal marketing plan. It covers everything from resumes and cover letters to how to present yourself in an interview.

Side Note: Since accepting my offer for the CP I have been a bit lost as far as my plans for the future and I am more than excited to take a class that focuses on helping me find my way in this crazy, wonderful world.

Are you going to be Minnie Mouse? A princess? 
Sadly, I will not be Minnie or any of the beautiful princesses, but I will be working one of the many attractions that Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure have to offer. I won't find out exactly where I am working until I move-in (aka in one month!!), so stay tuned for a post about that! Having been a frequent Disney guest as a kid, I am very familiar with almost every ride and cannot wait to find out how they operate and what exciting new things I will get to learn about my favorite place.

How long is the program?
The Fall program lasts from late-August until early-January. So yes, I get to spend Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years at the Happiest Place on Earth! To say that I am excited would be a serious understatement. With that being said, I do hope to continue as a part-time cast member once my program is over.

Where will you be living?

I will be living in Anaheim, CA at Carnegie Plaza which is about 10 minutes or so away from the Disneyland Resort. I will have 4 other roommates, and if everything goes as planned, fingers crossed, I will be living with Kaylie, Kirby, Paige, and Angel. The reason I say hopefully is because there is a roommate matching system or something (I haven't gotten to that step yet) and you are only guaranteed one person that you request as a roommate. But I have a feeling everything will work out just perfectly for the five of us :)

My new home!

Do you get discounts? Free tickets?
The question on every one's mind, what are the free perks?? Yes, there are generous discounts provided for Cast Members and a limited number of opportunities to bring close friends and family into the park with you. But most importantly, I can go to the parks WHENEVER I want to! Well, there are some restrictions of course, but then again nothing in life is perfect.

Won't you get sick of the parks and everything Disney?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! I'm pretty sure no further answer is needed.

Why would you go to your place of work even on your days off?
In answer to that, if you worked at Disneyland wouldn't you go there as much as possible?! I am actually really excited to experience many new and different things at the parks. As I've said before, I was a frequent Disney goer, but there are still so many things I have yet to do in the parks and I am extremely grateful to have this opportunity.

You are never, ever too old for Disney.

Senioritis

Or maybe I should now just refer to this feeling as Disneyitis. Mostly because all things Disney are constantly on my mind and I am just so excited for the college program to finally begin.

So basically, I just really want it to be August 20th (MOVE-IN!). Or maybe even May 24th (GRADUATION!). But at this point I will settle for next Friday because that's when Spring Break starts. I'm sure many of you experienced Senioritis in high school or maybe even during your freshman - junior years but let me tell you, that is NOTHING compared to the feeling of utter laziness that comes in the last semester of your senior year. Unfortunately for me, I have about 6 classes too many to even consider slacking off.

There are so many fun things to look forward to and thank goodness because they are the only things getting me through the next two months of the semester. First of all, I'm going to baseball opening day at the end of the month! Hallelujah it's finally back!! Second, I'm about a month away from experiencing what Taylor Swift likes to call "Feelin' 22." Third, I'm going to VEGAS for said birthday with my cousin/best friend. And then I must struggle through one more month and finals until I get to graduate. Sadly, the celebrating doesn't happen yet because two weeks after graduation I will be taking the LSAT. Oh joy. But theeeeeeeen, the 3 month countdown to the DCP begins!

Anyways, back to why the feeling should really be called Disneyitis. If you haven't read the Buzzfeed article about the stages of waiting in line for rides at Disneyland you really should. Plus, the following will make a lot more sense.

Stage 1: Excitement - So it's finally the last semester of undergrad and oh my gosh I am so excited to almost be done with college!
Stage 2: Doubt - Wait, do I really have to graduate and go out into the big kid world?
Stage 3: Acceptance - Okay, yes, I really do have to finish the semester and graduate and actually manage to get good grades.
Stage 4: Annoyance - Is it really necessary for every assignment to be due on the same day as all of my exams? I really just want to lay in bed and binge watch every possible show on Netflix.
Stage 5: Confusion - It's almost Spring Break?! When did that happen? Midterms?! No, this cannot be happening already.
Stage 6: Panic - There's just so much studying and I've learned nothing this semester yet I'm still expected to know everything for my exams. Please excuse me as I crawl into bed and have a panic attack.
Stage 7: Rage - Don't talk to me. Don't look at me. Leave me alone. I hate school. What am I even doing here?
Stage 8: Defeat - There's nothing I can do but to finish this semester no matter how many sleepless nights it takes.
Stage 9: Hope - For me, this came in the form of my acceptance to the Disney College Program because now after graduation I will no longer be unemployed and living at home. Just a few more months and it will all be over.
Stage 10: Joy - OH MY GOD I JUST GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE AND NOW I'M MOVING TO WORK AT DISNEYLAND!!

Disneyland Bucket List

Well, it looks like I can check item 1 off the list! Hello Disney College Program!

This list will be updated as I continue to find more things I want to do while I am fortunate enough to work and play at Disneyland everyday for 6 months! Most of these I have found elsewhere and love them so much/I've never done them that they must be added to my own list.

1. Work for Disney.
2. See World of Color (from the front) - I've seen it from the back
3. See the park bench where Walt Disney conceived the idea of Disneyland.
4. Pilot the Mark Twain riverboat.
5. California Adventure "bar crawl"
6. Ride in the Lily Belle train car
7. Ride in the purple teacup in the Mad Hatter ride
8. Ride Space Mountain with the lights on
9. Spend Halloween at Disneyland
10. Thanksgiving at Disneyland
11. Christmas at Disneyland.
12. New Years at Disneyland. (4X)
13. Get into Club 33
14. Try the fried biscuits at Carthay Circle in DCA
15. Have fried pickles at Carnation Cafe in Disneyland.
16. Get Pommes Frites at Cafe Orleans.
17. Perform in a Disney parade (3X)
18. Attend Dapper Day & dress up
19. Run a 5K, 10K, or half marathon through Disneyland (September 2015!)
20. Ride in the front car of the monorail 
21. Attend the Mad T Party
22. Fill an autograph book
23. Take as many photos with characters as possible
24. Tour Walt Disney's apartment
25. Go to a concert at House of Blues in Downtown Disney
26. Have my first ever Dole Whip!

27. Throw what I know (DG salute) with a Disney princess

28. Meet all the Disney princesses
29. Buy a Minnie headband
30. Shop at Company D
31. Eat a turkey leg
32. Buy a Mickey balloon on Main Street U.S.A.
33. Get a caricature drawing of myself
34. Take a picture with each member of the Fab 5
35. Go to Club 1901 in DCA
36. Have a Disney date
37. Kiss in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle
38. Eat a Mickey candy apple
39. Ride every ride in Disneyland in one day
40. Ride every ride in California Adventure in one day
41. Tour Haunted Mansion
To be continued...

My Disney Detour

EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON!

If you don't believe this statement, you really probably should.

I had my future all planned out. Graduate undergrad in May, go to law school for 3 years, pass the BAR, and then become a successful sports agent or entertainment lawyer. Little did I know, this was not exactly how things were going to work out. After what seemed to be the Fall semester from hell, I decided to take a year off before going to law school. This may be the best decision I will ever make in my life. Now that I am in my last semester of undergrad (which I successfully completed in 4 years), I am focusing on myself, school, studying for the LSAT, and GRADUATING!

So, fast forward to winter break (longest 6 weeks ever), and I receive an email telling me that the applications for the Disney College Program have opened up. Like all little kids, I had always dreamed of working for Disney and I decided there would be no harm in applying, especially because it would be my last semester to do so. I sent in my application, went off to the movies with my best friend, and came home to an email requesting a web-based interview! I was ecstatic! At this point, I knew little of the application and interview process so of course I did a little research to find out more about what I was getting myself into.

Once I'd completed the web-based interview, I was notified that I had moved onto the phone interview stage! Interviews are NOT my thing. At all. I was freaking out! And I had over a week to prepare for it! Luckily for me, I have a friend currently in the program who was more than happy to give me a few pointers and advice for my interview. It was much easier than I had expected and I was feeling rather hopeful. I tried not to think about it, but obviously that was extremely difficult.

My two week mark hit and I was a little bummed I hadn't heard anything back. And then, 2 days after that mark, I got my "CONGRATULATIONS!" email and I'm pretty sure I had to read it multiple times to actually believe what I was seeing. Not to mention that it was about 6:30am and I was still half-asleep. Happy tears were shed and I was practically jumping up and down in bed. After texts to a few people and a call to my parents to give them the news, I attempted to go back to sleep; that did not happen.

I have been on such a Disney high ever since receiving my acceptance and move-in information. I've found some amazing friends thanks to countless Facebook groups that I am happy to say are going to be my roommates during the program. Talking to them everyday and seeing more and more people get accepted into the program is making the time drag on so slowly. I cannot wait to graduate in May and move to Disneyland in August!

"If you can dream it, you can do it!"