Housing Events

I've previously written about the housing events Woody's Round Up and Oktoberfest, and DCP graduation, but there are a lot during your program that you can attend. They run pretty regularly and have different themes each time. Often times they will have free food, music, and characters. When you pay your $300 deposit for the program, $100 of that goes towards the housing events and it really is worth it to go. It's great times with friends and it's all exclusive to CPs. Take a look at some of the other housing events I've been to over the course of my CP and check out the housing tab for more!

Galaxy Blowout 

 Uh-oh!

 Darth Goofy and Jedi Donald came out!

The theme of the party was Star Wars so who better to show up!

Thanksgiving Diversity Event

 Photo booth with hats!

 "Thanksgiving Dinner" I say this with quotation marks because I am an American and I know what a real Thanksgiving dinner is, and this wasn't it! Still good though!

 Mickey and Minnie dressed in their colonial wear for the first time in 30 years!

There were also other events that I was not able to attend such as a Monster's University kick off in September and a themed bingo nights throughout the program. All are good fun and provide lots of special photo opportunities and memories with friends!

DCP Graduation #2

Back in October I had my 2nd DCP graduation. It was weird, I felt like I was just STARTING my FIRST program, not finishing my second one. People say time goes by when you're having fun and I feel like this program went by in the blink of an eye. I left for Disney in shorts and flip flops because it was July and it was hot and I was going from 4th of July fireworks to Disney fireworks. and then next thing you know, I'm heading on a plane home in jeans and a sweatshirt because it's November and cold back home.

Disney hosts a graduation for you before your program ends. There's free food, music, and prizes. You receive a free gift, a free pair of graduation Mickey ears, and you get the chance to celebrate your graduation with not only your friends, but Disney characters!

Most of the housing events are held at Chatham Square field because it's nice and open. We were there during an experimental phase where I guess they wanted to test out using it at the Vista Way welcome pavilion. It wasn't as much fun because characters had to change instead of all being out at the same time and there wasn't as much room. It was still fun though, nothing could damper your DCP graduation!

 The Epcot crew and our friends Pluto and Goofy

 Pluto and Goofy have moves!

The boss and Minnie Mouse <3

 Take your pictures in front of a castle backdrop, you can even pose with your country's flag if you're international.

 The best degree you can get!

After graduation, a lot of people go to get their ears engraved. My first program it was free but for the $7, it's worth it. It's just nice to have and makes your ears that much more special. My first pair of ears has my name on it but since I was paying for this one, I went all out and got a different color.

 Another hat to add to the collection!

There's a little hidden gem in WDW, the casting door. A great place for a photo with your new ears!

I was fortunate to have the day off for graduation. Make sure you request the day off as soon as you get the email about it so that way you have a better chance of getting picked to go. It's something I would list on my DCP Don't Miss List (I don't really have one,but if I did, it would be on it!) It's just something really special and something only done for CPs. Go celebrate all your hard work!

Working Party of the Senses

One of the highlights of this program was that I got the opportunity to work with my sous chef for her Party of the Senses. The party is held on select nights during the festival and the cheapest ticket is $145 with the more expensive seats quickly selling out well in advance. I would never afford to be able to get in as a guest so to experience it as a Cast Member was really cool!

We did some prep work in our home kitchen before the party started, just getting the materials and stuff together. We had to make sure our jackets and stuff were clean and then we headed to the PEO kitchen to start getting everything together!

Most of the work for the party is done backstage and it was really cool to see how it was put together. If you were to go past the doors from party to backstage you would see a really long hallway with small fold up tables and refrigerators lining either side. Each chef and their team were assigned a table where you could plate your dishes. For example, my chef's dessert was plated out back and we would put the finished plates on trays and take them out to the party. My chef's dessert was a Banana Cake with Coconut Mousse with Milk Chocolate Caramel Ganache and a Cojit Sauce. It was DELICIOUS

 Backstage we would put the chocolate and macaroon on top of the cake and we sauced on stage

 Guests had it as the best dessert of the night!

We got to go into the room early so we could see the presentation of the chefs. Seeing all the decorations and the atmosphere was really cool! and it hadn't even started!

 Looks like a chef party!

 My sous chef is the first girl from the right

 Chef Keegan Freaking Gerhard of Food Network Challenge was there! Majorly fangirled

 Chefs of the night

Don't break anything!

 Party of the Senses 2013

My sous-chef had her own table for the night. She would stand outside of it to tell the guests about it and we would stand behind it saucing the dishes and making sure the table was full. She also made a chocolate centerpiece for it. It was cool to go from seeing my chef with paper templates trying to build it to seeing the finished piece on display!

Very official!

My chef's chocolate showpiece

Colored sugar

The table, pre desserts of course!

Me and my sous-chef

The whole gang!

I had a really great time working the party. I was missing plating desserts since that was one of my shifts at the Polynesian so it was a nice change. This was in the middle of the festival so it was nice to work with a mousse that wasn't pistachio or top something that wasn't hazelnut cheesecake. We rotated between plating out back and saucing up front and while I was up front I go to see some of the performers from La Nouba, the specially made Cirque Du Solei show in Downtown Disney. The whole atmosphere was just really awesome. Seeing guests come up to our table to take a dessert and then coming back a few minutes later to tell my chef how delicious it was was really neat.

When the party was nearing an end, we were allowed to take our nametags off and eat around the party. I'm a really picky eater so I wasn't loading up plates of stuff (except for the Kerrygold cheese, give it here!) but I definitely hit up all the desserts! What really was the kicker, I got to meet Chef Keegan Gerhard! He was the MC for Food Network Challenge back in the day. When I first started getting into baking, I would watch Food Network as soon as I came home from school and pretty much go all night. FNC was one of my favorites so to see someone go from my tv screen to right in front of me was really cool! He was busy of course but I mentioned to him how I had been a fan of his for a while and that it was a pleasure to finally meet him. He was so nice and humble and really appreciated me being a fan and noted that I was meeting him as a baker for Epcot which was pretty cool! He was a really great guy to meet, and his dessert was delicious!

 Contemporary's chocolate showpiece

 Dessert from the Contemporary

 Chef Keegan Gerhard busy at work!

 Chef Keegan Gerhard's crumble dessert

Strawberry Dessert

You're a wizard, Megan. My trip to Universal

One of the things I regretted about my last program was that I didn't get to Universal Studios. I made sure that this program, I would get there! Our trip still didn't go as planned because we went on a Halloween Horror Night so the parks closed at 7. So we decided to just hit up 1 park that day and of course we went with Islands of Adventure to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

I grew up with Harry Potter, I remember it being the first "big" book that I read. Now, I haven't read books 6 and 7 and I've been meaning to (I mean hello, I own them) but I've seen all the movies and had all the merch as a kid. I remember what it was like to read about Hogwarts and watch the movies and wish there was a way to experience it myself. and now there is!

I constantly had my hands to my face in just pure wonder, I kept exclaiming things like "wow!" and "oh my gosh this is so cool!" and just being completely amazed by it. The ride inside Hogwarts is absolutely AMAZING and butterbeer is something that I could easily drink everyday if I could.

Now everyone, position yourself between platforms 9 and 10 and run on in because we're going back to Hogwarts! *you just got a Harry Potter AND a Harry Potter Musical reference, BAM

Where's the Castle?

Before I get back into catching up on old posts and filling you guys in on what else happened on my program (so much for this being a live blog huh!) I guess it's time for another current post.

I'm home. Actually, I'm not even home. I'm in my dorm at school.
Yeah.

My second program ended 11/22, that morning I was flying home and I touched down in NJ before it was even noon.

Did I enjoy seeing my family? Absolutely. I hadn't seen my mom and brother since their visit in August and I hadn't seen my dad and dog since I left in July. It was nice to see my whole family again. I got to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and that was really really nice.

 I mean really, why miss my brother attacking my grandma with Elmo?

And I've been back at my job back home. When I'm home I bake for ShopRite in their commissary. We bake for 30 ShopRites and I work in the patisserie department and I really do enjoy it. We do entremets, cakes, tarts, a bunch of things I enjoy doing. and it was nice being back. It was weird because I left right after 4th of July was over and then I came back to help for Thanksgiving. It seemed so long but so short at the same time.

but? I miss Disney. I mean, of course I do. When my dad drops me off at work it's in front a brick building. When I would walk to work I got to pass Spaceship Earth, hear Test Track and see everyone so happy. I thoroughly enjoyed going to work and I enjoyed working with the people that I did. I loved putting on the nametag every morning that said "Where Dreams Come True" because mine was coming true by putting it on. 

As I Campus Rep, I am guilty of it too. We preach to people how great the DCP is, we show everyone all these great pictures and videos of our time here, we talk about what it's like to work for Disney and having your co-Cast Members become your friends, going to the parks for free on your day off, and all of the fun things about the life-changing DCP. But we always skirt around the fact that yeah, you have to leave. There's going to be your departure day where all of a sudden you have to pack up everything and leave. But Disney World will go on without you. The 3 o'clock parade will still happen at 3 o'clock (shocker!) and Mickey Mouse will still be greeting people and someone will always be screaming on Tower of Terror. While you're probably sitting at home wrapped up in your Disney blanket watching Disney movies and crying as you stuff your face with junk food. Or is that just me?

I had the time of my life on my first program last year at the Polynesian, I thought how could it get any better. But this program exceeded it all. I came down for 5 months instead of 3, I had family dinners with friends, lucked out with nice roommates again, I got to work with really great people doing really great things, tour the castle suite and AK, ate around the world, I got to go to Universal Studios, and I even had a Disney vacation in between with my mom and brother. Did I make money on this internship? Probably not a lot. But I wouldn't take a dime back because it was all worth it.

This place is my home. I lost my childhood home and the Breezy home last year so when I think of home now, I see a castle. I see Spaceship earth. Walt Disney World IS my home. Being here is a feeling all of it's own. I swipe my card (or should I say touch the Mickey head and press my finger until the light turns green?) and all my worries stay at the gate. I run to Mickey for a hug when I need it, I watch the MSEP when I need to smile. Whether it's been obvious or not, I haven't been myself since last year. I haven't been the same physically or mentally. Whether someone would label it as depression or anxiety, it's not easy and it hasn't been fun. When I look at the year in between my programs, I don't want to remember it. There's been a lot of crying, a lot of legitimate break downs, a lot of sleeping the days away because I don't want to bother with being awake to face them, a lot of bad thoughts. and knowing that I couldn't go to Mickey for that hug or tap my foot to the MSEP jingle made it even worse. Clicking your heels 3 times is only something that works in the movies and finding yourself curled up in the corner of your bed rocking back and forth crying your eyes out doesn't get you there either.  I'm petrified of the year ahead, scared shitless. I feel like there's only room to get worse because heck, if I missed the 1st program so much, what's missing this one going to be like?

Leaving WDW after a CP isn't like leaving it after a weeks vacation. We get this place at our fingertips. I could go to China for lunch before work, I could go snorkeling with fishes in Typhoon Lagoon on my day off, and watch world class entertainment anytime that I want. I get to put a WDW name tag on everyday, I get to call myself a Cast Member for a company that I adore that was started by a man that I admire so much. It gets to be my life. and then we have to move on with ours without it.

But I'll be back. Next fall, I'll be back. Once you're in the CM bubble, you don't ever want it to pop. You can't imagine not getting a discount, you can't imagine paying for park tickets, you can't imagine not working for a place where dreams come true.Was I excited to see my friends and family and go home for the holidays? Absolutely. But did I want to leave? Absolutely not. I know this is where I'm meant to be, I just wish God made Florida and New Jersey a little closer together so it wouldn't be so damn hard.