I'm a person of words, I'd much rather spend an hour sitting there trying to figure out how to put my feelings into words than spewing it out in 5 minutes in person. In person I forget details, I try to make it seem smaller than it is, if it's something I don't want to talk about-I'll be done talking about it in a matter of seconds. So this is it, this is me putting everything I've been feeling out in the open because I don't think I'd be able to talk about it out loud. This isn't an attention seeking post or an 'I want your pity post' but I'm heading to Florida with more than just physical luggage this time around.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Disney Housing Selection and Rent Amounts
I did my first program last year and I'm already starting off doing something new that the program has introduced. Last year, everything with housing was done on arrival day. If you wanted to live with certain people you had to wait in line with them together and then select your housing (or whatever was available was given to you) at the housing table part of check-in.
This year, Disney has started the housing process before you even board the plane (heck, if you're like me it's before you even started thinking about packing!) About 10 days before your arrival date, you will receive 2 emails from Disney housing containing a code and a temporary password to register for housing within 72 hours. To put into perspective, my arrival date is July 8th and I received my email yesterday, June 25th.
With the code and the password you can select preferences for the Disney apartment complexes or D.O.R.M.S: Disney Onsite Resident Management System. From here you have to fill out a little bit of information such as your contact info, an emergency contact and any specifications you need made for you apartment in regards to marriage, drinking age, and special needs accommodations.
There are 2 persons to each room, if you have a 1 bedroom you will share it with 1 other person but if you have a 3 bedroom you will share your room with 1 person but have 4 other roommates for 5 roommates in total. To put rent into perspective, my rent for a 3 bedroom in Patterson last year was $89/week. Also, figure a week averages to 4 weeks a month. A fully furnished 3 bedroom at Patterson with bus transportation will cost you $364 a month and I was just paying $400 a month to live in an unfurnished crap house, I would take Patterson any day!
Once they cover the charges, from there you can pick preferences. I stress that they are preferences because housing cannot guarantee anything til day of but having these preferences ahead of time gives them the chance to work around them. You can select your top 3 choices in regards to which complex you want and then your top 3 choices for room size. I picked: 1) 3 bedroom Patterson 2) 4 bedroom Chatham and then 3) 2 bedroom Commons. Once you pick a size, you can't pick that size for your next preference otherwise I would have done 3 bedroom for all of them. If you don't have a preference you can let housing pick for you!
You can also pick roommates for you as well. I was told I can pick up to 1 roommate with the guidelines that they needed to have the same arrival and departure date as me. I just opted for random!
When all is said and done you get to print a boarding pass to take with you to housing and 2 more forms of paperwork and bring with you to your arrival date. They also disclose that you will be turned away and told to come at a later time if you arrive to check in at or before 7 AM since housing quiet hours are in effect until then. Check in is normally either 8 or 9 until 12.
I know that was lengthy but I hope it was informative and answered some of your questions! This is new to me as well so I will do more housing follow up posts in regards to this selection once I actually check in in 12 days! Any remaining questions? Leave them in the comments below!
This year, Disney has started the housing process before you even board the plane (heck, if you're like me it's before you even started thinking about packing!) About 10 days before your arrival date, you will receive 2 emails from Disney housing containing a code and a temporary password to register for housing within 72 hours. To put into perspective, my arrival date is July 8th and I received my email yesterday, June 25th.
With the code and the password you can select preferences for the Disney apartment complexes or D.O.R.M.S: Disney Onsite Resident Management System. From here you have to fill out a little bit of information such as your contact info, an emergency contact and any specifications you need made for you apartment in regards to marriage, drinking age, and special needs accommodations.
From there they give you a list of the apartment complexes and their rental rates. Disney will take out rent for you apartment every week. So when you get your weekly paychecks, that number is AFTER rent has been taken out. The rates for this coming program are as follows:
Vista Way:
2 Bedroom: $96
3 Bedroom: $86
The Commons
1 Bedroom: $105
2 Bedroom: $105
3 Bedroom: $93
4 Bedroom: $93
Chatham Square
1 Bedroom: $101
2 Bedroom: $101
3 Bedroom: $91
4 Bedroom: $91
Patterson Court:
1 Bedroom: $101
2 Bedroom: $101
3 Bedroom: $91
There are 2 persons to each room, if you have a 1 bedroom you will share it with 1 other person but if you have a 3 bedroom you will share your room with 1 person but have 4 other roommates for 5 roommates in total. To put rent into perspective, my rent for a 3 bedroom in Patterson last year was $89/week. Also, figure a week averages to 4 weeks a month. A fully furnished 3 bedroom at Patterson with bus transportation will cost you $364 a month and I was just paying $400 a month to live in an unfurnished crap house, I would take Patterson any day!
Once they cover the charges, from there you can pick preferences. I stress that they are preferences because housing cannot guarantee anything til day of but having these preferences ahead of time gives them the chance to work around them. You can select your top 3 choices in regards to which complex you want and then your top 3 choices for room size. I picked: 1) 3 bedroom Patterson 2) 4 bedroom Chatham and then 3) 2 bedroom Commons. Once you pick a size, you can't pick that size for your next preference otherwise I would have done 3 bedroom for all of them. If you don't have a preference you can let housing pick for you!
You can also pick roommates for you as well. I was told I can pick up to 1 roommate with the guidelines that they needed to have the same arrival and departure date as me. I just opted for random!
When all is said and done you get to print a boarding pass to take with you to housing and 2 more forms of paperwork and bring with you to your arrival date. They also disclose that you will be turned away and told to come at a later time if you arrive to check in at or before 7 AM since housing quiet hours are in effect until then. Check in is normally either 8 or 9 until 12.
I know that was lengthy but I hope it was informative and answered some of your questions! This is new to me as well so I will do more housing follow up posts in regards to this selection once I actually check in in 12 days! Any remaining questions? Leave them in the comments below!
Monday, June 24, 2013
A Lesson from Julie Andrews: Recognizing Fear
So yesterday morning I had the pleasure of waking up to this email:
It is coming, and fast! 2 weeks from tonight I will be off a plane, out of the hotel and into my apartment. AH!
Being an alumni of the program has not shielded me from what my brain does best, get anxious and over think. It still has not hit me that I'm about to leave home for 5 months and to be honest, it probably won't happen til the night before where I'm trying to rearrange my suitcase a hundred times to make it all fit.
I'm starting to doubt, think and question. My mom tells me she won't be as worried this time around because I know what I'm getting into, last year was 100% unknown. But I feel like I'm more worried this year BECAUSE I have done the program before. I'm already pointing out the fact to myself that I'm going down completely alone. Last year a bunch of us from my school checked in at the same time, 3 of us ended up working together so I already had a net of people to fall back on. This time it's just me, all my friends are already down there and now I'm the only one from my school checking in on July 8th.
and then because of that, what about my coworkers? I've tried searching for my location but because it's backstage there's hardly anything, I can't even picture it. and now I go into a workplace not knowing anyone. Again, I'm on my own.
and I just keep thinking of all the things that can make this different than the last one. What if I don't get Patterson and get Vista? What if my roommates are horrible? What if I make no friends? What if this program makes me reevaluate practically my entire life and my career? They always say you should be able to picture yourself where you're going. I can't see myself boarding a plane or moving into a new apartment or going to Traditions again or even seeing New Fantasyland for the first time, it's like it's not even going to happen. But I went through this last year too. My brain just makes things way more complicated than they are and very very annoying.
but I stumbled across something on my tumblr today that made me feel a little bit better. I absolutely adore Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, The Princess Diaries, and The Sound of Music are three of my favorite films and she has just always been someone I have admired. She has been a living projection of nothing but grace, class, courage and strength. So why, of all people, would Julie Andrews show...fear? Well, this was my little pick me up today:
It's ok that I'm scared, it's normal. This post is getting a bit long but I'm sure somewhere in the near future I will use my Rapunzel waiting for the lanterns analogy. My return to the DCP is Julie's return to Broadway, although hers is obviously a more significant feat. But my fear won't stop me from boarding the plane or make me chicken out at check-in, it will just give me more drive to go forth and prove myself wrong.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
2 weeks!
2 weeks from tonight I believe I will still be in an airplane on my way to Orlando International Airport. I'll arrive in beautiful Orlando and take the shuttle to the Holiday Inn and spend the night unwinding, probably with some Chick-Fil-A!
And then the next day it's off to non-park Disney things! It's not worth it for me to get my campus rep ID so instead I will be using the hotel buses to take me to the parks and use the Disney vacation buses from there to get around. I'm definitely going to hit up Downtown Disney to get my hands on some Independence Week merchandise and also try this lovely beauty:
Doesn't it look delicious!? Independence week is July 1-July 7 so I'm flying down the night before so I can spend the whole day catching up on the tail end of all things Red White & Blue!
and to top it off I will go back home to the Polynesian to see Cinderella Castle in patriotic colors and to watch Wishes! for the first time since I last saw it bawling my eyes out.
It still hasn't hit me that I'm going but I'm sure as it gets closer and closer the butterflies will start fluttering a bit faster!
And then the next day it's off to non-park Disney things! It's not worth it for me to get my campus rep ID so instead I will be using the hotel buses to take me to the parks and use the Disney vacation buses from there to get around. I'm definitely going to hit up Downtown Disney to get my hands on some Independence Week merchandise and also try this lovely beauty:
and to top it off I will go back home to the Polynesian to see Cinderella Castle in patriotic colors and to watch Wishes! for the first time since I last saw it bawling my eyes out.
It still hasn't hit me that I'm going but I'm sure as it gets closer and closer the butterflies will start fluttering a bit faster!
Monday, June 17, 2013
3 Weeks!
The countdown keeps getting smaller and smaller, only 3 weeks until I check in for my second Disney Culinary Program!
3 weeks from now I should be moved into my apartment, possibly hit up Downtown Disney, who knows! I would have checked in, gone to Casting and met my roommates. It's so close but yet so far!
It still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving in a few weeks. My plane and hotel are booked but I have not started packing (heck, I'll do that the night before!) and I can't even imagine saying goodbye to everyone yet. I still have 2 weeks of work and then 1 week to myself to get things done and make my rounds.
Disney countdowns go by really fast! Both of my countdowns started around the 115 day mark and now I'm at 21, crazy!
3 weeks from now I should be moved into my apartment, possibly hit up Downtown Disney, who knows! I would have checked in, gone to Casting and met my roommates. It's so close but yet so far!
It still hasn't hit me that I'm leaving in a few weeks. My plane and hotel are booked but I have not started packing (heck, I'll do that the night before!) and I can't even imagine saying goodbye to everyone yet. I still have 2 weeks of work and then 1 week to myself to get things done and make my rounds.
Disney countdowns go by really fast! Both of my countdowns started around the 115 day mark and now I'm at 21, crazy!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
What Do YOU Want?
Hey everyone!
So we have a little less than a month to go before I return to Florida for another Disney Culinary Program and then this blog really gets going! I want to make more posts but not sure where to start, there are so many I could do! So help me out! What topic do you want to see written about next? Is there a certain area you want more information about? Any pictures you'd like to see? You name it!
Leave what you want the next post to be about in the comments below and stay tuned my friends!
So we have a little less than a month to go before I return to Florida for another Disney Culinary Program and then this blog really gets going! I want to make more posts but not sure where to start, there are so many I could do! So help me out! What topic do you want to see written about next? Is there a certain area you want more information about? Any pictures you'd like to see? You name it!
Leave what you want the next post to be about in the comments below and stay tuned my friends!
Saturday, June 8, 2013
1 Month Until Check In!
1 month from today I will be checking in to my 2nd Disney Culinary Program! I leave home July 6 and check in on the 8th and don't leave until November 22nd! 5 months of baking for Epcot ahead!
Don't forget to leave questions about anything in the comments!
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