Congratulations? Now what?

You've sent in your application, gone through a nerve wracking interview and now think every *ding* on your phone is the arrival of that all too important you've been waiting for. It can be junk mail or....it can be an acceptance email from the DCP!

And yes, this is what you will do. You will scream and jump up and down. And then you'll start crying. You'll compose yourself and then start calling your family and all of a sudden, you're crying again. And you keep rereading the email making sure it does say your name and that is is in fact followed by a congratulations. At least that's how it went for me anyway....

So, what do you do next?

You will continue reading in that email that you have 10 days to accept your offer. Keep in mind it is not 10 days since YOU read the email, it's 10 days from the time ticker on the email, this is why it is important to check your email everyday.

At the bottom of the email there will be a link directing you to a page where you can review your offer letter. It will contain your role and your pay rate. It will also go over again information about housing and its fees (which I talk about next) and the Disney Look guidelines. When you accept your offer, you accept those guidelines so make sure you read everything through. Don't show up to your check in with gauges in your ears, a crazy haircut or hair color because they will send you back home immediately.

After you accept your offer, you will receive another email with a link directing you to pay your deposit. BOTH the acceptance of your offer and payment of your housing fees need to be done within the 10 days to completely accept you offer.

You will notice that the fee is $300. This fee gets broken up into 2 divisions as follows:

Rent: $200 will be going towards your first few weeks of rent. When you get down for your program you will notice your first week or two isn't loaded with a lot of hours. But you are in Disney housing for those first few weeks and still have to pay rent. This $200 goes towards you first rent payments so depending on your weekly rent fee, it can cover the first 2 weeks an some of the third. This is REALLY helpful. In your first few weeks you will be doing a big initial grocery shop, possibly buying bedding and bath linens, and any odds and ends you find that you need as you get settled in. Knowing that the money you will be earning in those first few week directly comes to you and not rent gives you enough of a start.

Events: $100 will go toward DCP Housing. Housing is always throwing great housing events and trips, check out the Housing Events tag right here on my blog for a quick preview of what you can expect! Movie nights include free popcorn and drinks, grocery bingo gives out free groceries as a prize, and housing events always include the DJ, free food, and really awesome character meet and greets. One of the housing events is your DCP graduation where you get your certificate and free Mickey ears. There's also a chance your program will fall in the time frame of Starlit Splash where they rent out Typhoon Lagoon just for CPs, or the CP formal. These are all FREE. I don't know about you, but I like free. I can't tell you how many things I have accumulated over my programs. I have my Mickey ears, 2 memory boxes, a DCP poster, DCP speakers, a free t-shirt, a lot of free food, and great memories with friends! You definitely get your moneys worth and then some!

After that, you will get another email with a link directing you the onboarding website. This is where you can review all you need to know about Disney Look, what to pack, I9 document information, and anything else you can think of as you start getting ready for your program.

After this, you are pretty much on your own. It's up to you to figure out how you are going to get down for your program which can include getting a hotel and purchasing train or plane tickets, that is all up to you and on your budget. Approximately 10 days-2 weeks before your arrival date you will get an email regarding selecting your apartment and filling out the last bit of paperwork.

Know that when you accept your offer to be a member of the Disney College Program, you are an accepting a great life experience. You get the magic and entertainment of Disney at your fingertips, the chance to work in a worldwide cherished company with a team filled with wonderful talent and leaders, and the chance to make new friends who you will make memories with to remember well long after your program is over. Yes it does come with a price but believe me, the experience itself is priceless!

Have you gotten your acceptance email? Congratulations! Leave your role and program dates in the comments!

Career Fair: Then & Now

Fall 2010, my first ever trimester here at Johnson & Wales. I was in academics, things were just getting started for me. I was 18, had just graduated high school a few months earlier and was still running on some leftover pixie dust from my Disney vacation from back in July where being a baker in Disney was just starting to creep into my mind.

It all seems so long ago. Even from that point, I'm a different person. But, I still get sunburn, that's never going to change!

I had seen flyers about the Disney presentation on campus. I had just started school, I didn't need to start looking for my sophomore internship yet but I wanted to go. I wanted to learn about the program, I wanted to be surrounded by something Disney.

I sat in the chairs. I watched Chef Pauli, a man I didn't know yet, give the presentation on apartments I never lived in, talk about a job I've never experienced, talk about a program I had never been a part of. I saw Campus Reps, faces that were new but would evolve into familiar faces, talk about their experience. They were just like me, students at this school who needed to do an internship. I was asking the questions, I was dreaming of wow, what and opportunity this would be. Those people up there are so lucky.

I want to do this.

Now, it's 2014. My last trimester at Johnson & Wales. I'm 22 and I'm closer to my college graduation in May than I am my high school graduation all those years ago. And I've done not one, but two Disney Culinary Programs as a Pastry Cook II.

And that's what this blog has mostly been about, my experience in Florida on the DCP. But my journey has also been continuing up here in RI since the end of my first program. For the past 2 years, I have been a Disney Campus Rep. We serve as a connection between Disney and JWU, we are here to educate others about the program, answer questions, host information sessions, and recruit applicants for when Chef Pauli and the Disney crew come to our school for our 2 career fairs every year. It's not a paid job but we are still employed by Disney, we still get the perks, we're still Cast Members. The magic follows us from Florida back to school.

My last career fair and DCP presentation was this past Thursday. Do you know where I was? I was up there, talking about my past experience. I was answering questions and representing Disney.  I was up there with people who were strangers to me at one point and now where friends. I was up there with Chef Pauli who once gave me the most intimidating job interview and now he's helping to shape my career.

I had a really tough time coming back from my first program. and I'm still having a tough time. The months of July-November were when it was easiest to make it through because I was back in Disney. There have been days where I have not wanted to get out of bed. Where I literally do sleep the day away because I don't want to face it. But I always got out of bed for rep work, I was always excited to help with interviews when one might have seen it as boring. I don't like talking in front of people but I love talking about Disney and sharing what I know about it with others.

Being a rep was a key element about my last 2 years at JWU. I encourage DCP alumni, no matter where you go to school, to look into it. It's been a fun and magical journey working for Disney and I'm glad the pixie dust has been able to follow me wherever I go.

If you have any questions on what it's like to be, or become a Campus Rep, please leave them in the comments bellow!

Hello There, Remembe Me?

Happy New Year everyone!

Yeah, that's how long it has been since I have made a post on here and I feel really bad about that. My second trimester was my last set of baking labs for school and with my work study I ended up being out from about 7-7 and that the last thing my fingers wanted to do was type.

But this past week the recruiter from the Culinary Program has been at my school so as a Rep I have been busy recruiting and giving out information and doing presentations. and I thought you know, why not give this blog a shot again? My other blog is way too cluttered with other things for anyone to find anything on it so at least with this blogger, it's just my Disney journey.

Which, is starting again! On September 8th I will be checking in to my 3rd Disney Culinary Program and will be going back to the Epcot Bakery to bake for the Food & Wine Festival!

As of right now, my dates are 9/8-1/2 but I do plan on extending and if full-time becomes available, finding my own place and permanently residing in Florida.

I'll be returning to Walt Disney World which is all too familiar to me but this will still be a major life adjustment. I have never been away from my family for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's. I have never completely moved away from my family as far as Florida. I will be apartment hunting, car shopping (mind you I haven't driven in nearly 3 years) and going from the CP life to the CM life.

But I'm excited. This is where I'm meant to be, I know it. and I am so thankful to have a job and boss who is so understanding back home that if for some reason I have to leave and come back, I have something to return to. My family says they may even move to Florida in time.

So that's where I'm at right now. Graduating in May, working throughout the summer, starting a CP in September and after that, I have no idea!