Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend

More followers!  Thanks for taking the time to read my WDWCP blog, you guys!

First, I apologize for being such a bad blogger for the past week.  School is keeping me very busy, and then there's that trying-to-have-a-social-life thing.  Today I looked in my planner and realized that the first half of my thesis (roughly 10-13 pages) is due the day we get back from spring break.  Yuck.  I guess I know what I'll be doing that week.  And it's a good thing my vacation plans fell through, I suppose. :-(  I love my research, I love my research, I love my research...

Oh, and you might have noticed that I decided not to deactivate my Facebook.  I just amped up the privacy settings and started limiting my time spent on it.  So I'm going to be a bit of a lousy Facebook correspondent for awhile, but such is life.

Now the real reason I wrote this blog is because I had a wild and crazy idea.  At least I think it's wild and crazy. You might know of the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend that takes place early in January every year.  Well the Half Marathon through the MK and EPCOT is scheduled for Saturday, January 8, 2011.  And my departure date is scheduled for the 7th, the day before.  WELL, the idea hit me that maybe I could participate in the half marathon before I leave Orlando!  Now the scheduling will unfortunately not be completely worked out until I would arrive for the CP, because I've read that sometimes people are still working shifts even after their departure date.  And I know it's iffy whether or not they can honor my request, especially so far in advance.  :-/  But with any luck, I'd be able to put my request in and hopefully secure the 8th off.  If that didn't work out, maybe I could find someone to take my shift?  Anyway, I definitely don't want to register and pay the fee to participate and then not be able to get the day (or at least the morning, the marathon starts before 6am) off and then lose the money, not to mention the time I spent preparing.  But I feel fairly sure that if I put in my request as early as possible, there shouldn't be any issues.  And I'm not sure how all of the departure day stuff works, but I also feel confident that I can get all of that done in time to rest up the night before the marathon.  I'd probably stay in a value resort, since from what I understand participants in the marathon get transportation to and from the event provided to them.  But those are details for later.

I'm even trying to convince Robert to come down and participate in the marathon with me!  He loves running so I'm hopeful that we'd be able to do this together.

What I am mainly concerned with now is a) not being scheduled to work or fulfill any other CP duties that day and b) still being able to register (it could be filled up by then :-/ ) when I get the scheduling worked out.  I'm going to stay optimistic!  And if it doesn't work out, well at least I kicked my own butt training for it!  And I can always try for another year, or maybe the Princess Half Marathon that they do in March.  Don't expect to see me jogging in a Belle costume, though!

Attractions

So it occurred to me that I never posted anything about my official job description as an Attractions CP.  Now here it is, according to the official WDWCP website:


Attractions - Onstage Role

Responsibilities may include:

• Working at one or more of the "rides" or theater shows
• Loading and unloading Guests from an attraction
• Operating sophisticated ride systems
• Memorizing and delivering lengthy narrations on a microphone to large groups
• Handling the evacuation of an attraction when necessary
• Monitoring Guest flow and providing a safe Guest experience
• Assisting with audience control, including during parades
• Operating a motorized vehicle
• Cleaning areas surrounding attractions
• Working with FASTPASS®, the ticketing distribution system that confirms attraction ride times
• Standing for extended periods, working outdoors

I am so curious as to where they will assign me!


One of the main things that concerns me is the shift times.  From what I've read, they are legally required to give you eight hours between the end of one shift and the start of the next.  But that means they don't have to give you more than eight hours.  For example, you could work EMH at a theme park and your shift might end at 2am.  And you could be starting your next shift at 10am later that morning!  So say you give yourself an hour to get home and get to bed, and an hour to get ready and get to work the next day.  That means at the most, you could get six hours of sleep; you could potentially get much less.  As someone who does feel a bit under the weather if they don't get enough sleep, I am worried about instances like this.  But I guess I will just need to take it as it comes and try to rest as much as I can so I will be fresh and energized for each shift.

Now, isn't there a 20-page article I am supposed to be reading for my next class?

Congratulations post!

It appears that another late-night batch of acceptance e-mails went out!  Congratulations to everyone who was accepted this morning!

Take care!

Assortment

Guess what arrived yesterday?  My purple folder!  I don't have my camera right now to take any pictures, but I'll do that ASAP.

So after I put up my roommate survey, I got a couple of comments from people interested in sharing an apartment.  I promise that I will sit down and respond as soon as I can! :-)  In the very near future I'm also going to make a list of everything I own that I think will be useful for the apartment, both for me personally and for community use.  I'm actually kind of bummed that school is taking so much of my time/energy that I can't participate as much in the WDWCP discussions as I'd like.  I usually jump on Facebook for two minutes to check and possibly respond quickly to something.  And with all of these blogs to follow, my Google Reader is working hard to keep me updated!

Today I have a meeting with my senior seminar professor to discuss my thesis topic, and then hopefully I'll be good to go and can start researching more thoroughly and submit my proposal next week.  I'm excited about this project, and hopefully I can keep up with it and all of my other schoolwork.  SO.  MUCH.  READING.  I don't even enjoy doing things outside work for class like fun reading, knitting, or watching a movie, because I always feel like I'm procrastinating since there is always something I need to be working on for school.  Rob thought I was crazy or depressed last night because I didn't go watch LOST at my friends' house like I usually do.

Speaking of Rob, we had a great Valentine's weekend!  It did end up snowing on Friday, and how!  My 1.5 hour drive wasn't difficult, though.  It wasn't until after I stopped by Walmart to pick up some food and head to his house that I even had troubles driving in the snow, because by then the roads were completely covered except for the two tire tracks where someone had driven before me.  After I got to his house, we went out in the snow for awhile with his mom and took some photos.  Believe me, Georgia natives tend to be amazed by snow that is actually sticking to the ground.  After it got dark, we went inside, and the power went out!  It came back on around midnight, though.  Saturday morning, we all got up early and went outside to play again.  I even made a snowmouse!  But I haven't uploaded my photos of it yet.  That evening, Rob and I had our Valentine's date since I was leaving Sunday afternoon.  He made us spaghetti and Texas toast (yummmmmm!!) and we watched The Emperor's New Groove and Mulan, two of our Disney favorites.  He gave me a Snow White card that said "You're the fairest of them all!" as well as a rose, lots of candy, and a cute Disney princess mailbox thing.  I wasn't expecting any gifts, so I felt bad because I didn't get him anything. :-/  But  I love how low-key our Valentine's dates are now, since we've been together for almost five years.  We don't see each other often so I was just thrilled to spend the whole weekend with him!

Here are a few photos from the weekend of the snow!

Love this one!  And he's wearing the "man scarf" that I knitted for him. :)

I didn't have any makeup on, sorry.  Who puts on makeup to go play in the snow?

Right after it started on Friday. Snow??  What is this?!

Last, a photo of what their front yard looked like on Saturday morning.

Unfortunately it didn't last long.  By Saturday afternoon, more than half of the snow had melted.  By Sunday evening, it was almost completely gone everywhere.

Well I need to be going.  Take care, and have a magical day!

The Roommate Survey

I filled this out on the Facebook Group, but I thought I would also post it here on my blog.  I've pretty much copied-and-pasted my survey, but a few of my answers have some elaborations added.


1. Your name?: Anna
2. Are you legal (over 21)?: Yes, I'll be 22 when the CP starts
3. Male or female?: Female
4. Gay, straight, bi (optional): Straight
5. Where do you live?: Georgia
6. What role will you have at Disney?: Attractions
7. What are your arrival/departure dates/program (fall, fall advantage, fall quarter)?: 8/9/10-1/7/11 Fall program
8. Which apartment complex would you prefer to live at? Preferably Chatham or Patterson Court.  Vista Way seems too "lively" for me.
9. How many roommates/rooms would you like? (1-7 roommates, 1-4 rooms)?: I'm thinking 3br/3ba with five roommates.  Anything with more than four people per apartment, so the rent will be lower.
10. Do you like to party? Will you be hosting parties in your apartment?: Not much of a partier, no.  I enjoy movie marathons and game nights.  I'm not so much into the wild and crazy parties.  So I don't plan to host anything rave-like. :)
11. What's your favorite food, and more importantly, can you cook well?: My favorite food is pizza, but I'm pretty good in the kitchen!  I really enjoy cooking.  I'm not sure what cooking amenities will be available yet, though.  I'll have to look into it!
12. If your friends could describe you in three words what would they be?: Kind, sweet, friendly
13. What kind of music/movies do you like?: I have pretty random taste that varies song to song or movie to movie, so it's difficult to give a general answer.  I don't like loud, metal music or stupid (at least they're stupid to me) teen-oriented comedies.
14. Do you smoke, and if so, inside or outside?: I don't smoke.
15. Do you drink? (socially or alcoholic): Socially. Sometimes I'll enjoy some wine at home, but most of the time it's cocktails at dinner if ever.
16. Are you a night person or a morning person?: I'm a night person.
17. Are you driving or flying down?: Driving!
18. What do you do for fun?: Hang out with friends, bum around on the internet, listen to music, watch movies, knit, read, sleep. Hope I don't sound too boring.
19. What is your favorite quote?: "Love is all you need."
20. What are you most excited about in being in the WDWCP?: Pretty much everything! I can't wait to be immersed in Disney and meet so many new people!
21. Favorite things to do when not working: Pretty much what I put for #18. But in WDW, I imagine I'll be going around enjoying the atmosphere and taking photos a lot.
22. Name one good quality about yourself: I am very considerate.
23. Name one bad quality about yourself: I am a procrastinator.
24: Your college: University of GA (I know, and yet I'm not a partier!)
25: Your major: History
26. Any medical conditions (optional): Well I'm lactose intolerant and synthetic fragrances (like in scented dryer sheets) irritate my skin and give me rashes. :(
27. Are you messy/tidy?: Mostly tidy. I sometimes get messy in my personal area, but it's only if I'm busy and I clean up pretty frequently.  I tend to keep public areas very clean so as not to annoy my roommates. :)
28. Anything else you want to state: I think I make a great roommate!  I'm fairly quiet and considerate, and I do my best to make sure shared areas of the apartment are clean.  I'm also a very tolerant person as long as my beliefs are respected as well.  I do not attack people who disagree with me, and I hope for the same courtesy.  By the way, I don't swear often but if you are uncomfortable with it please let me know, and I'll make an effort not to curse around you!  If I know that you're uncomfortable, it makes me uncomfortable.
29. Favorite Disney movie? Either Peter Pan, Beauty and the Beast, or Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs.  I love so many!
30. How many times have you been to Disney? Well over 30! We never really tried to count.
31. Favorite park? Magic Kingdom
32. Favorite ride? Probably Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. But I don't know how I could pick just one!
33. Favorite show? Does PhilharMagic count? If not, Fantasmic!
34. Favorite resort? POP Century. Although I've never stayed in a Deluxe!
35. Favorite dining? Kona Cafe at Polynesian Resort and Sci-Fi Dine-In at Hollywood Studios.  I am also one of the few people who seems to like Disney pizza in the parks and food courts.
36. Favorite character? Dale, Dopey, Tinkerbell all tied.
37. I prefer to sleep in a room that has: Quiet, but I definitely don't mind a bit of white noise.
38. I like to go to bed: when I am sleepy. Usually around midnight, unless I'm really tired.
39. I sleep better when the room is: dark.
40. I would prefer to sleep in a room that is: dark and not too cold, unless I have ample blankets.
41. I would prefer guests: respect my personal space as well as shared living areas.
42. I absolutely could not live with a roommate that: disrespects me or other roommates.
43. Do you snore: Nope. At least not that I know of.
44. On your day off..what time would you wake up: I usually wake up between 8am-10am, depending on how late I was up or how tired I was the night before.

Snowpocalypse Now?

Good morning!  I'm so excited to see people taking an interest in my CP blog and following it.  It puts a smile on my face!  I'm hoping to get my purple folder in the next couple of days, possibly Monday?  And I have so many other blogs that I need to catch up on, too!  School is keeping me busy lately, so my internet usage will vary for awhile.  Whoever came up with that idea of an easy final undergrad semester clearly overlooked the senior thesis.  Blegh.  I'd also like to put up a more Disney-fied layout when I have time to work on it.  This one took two minutes to upload, so it will have to do for now.

So today my area of the country is supposed to be getting a taste of the Snowpocalypse.  I live pretty far south so we get snow very rarely, and it only sticks to the ground once every few years.  Last March we actually had a TON of snow, more than we'd had in years.  I know it wasn't a lot compared to some regions, but it was a lot for us.  My roommates and I were snowed in so we had a Disney movie marathon.  We were lucky, though; several streets completely lost power for days.  Anyway today we are supposedly getting 1-3 inches, and that's a big enough deal around here that everyone goes into freak-out mode. :-)

I was awakened this morning by the radio announcements telling me that pretty much every school in my city was closed today in anticipation of the inclement weather (I told you, just the idea of snow is enough around here!).  So I was certain that my university would be closed for the day, too.  The policy is that they send out an official e-mail by 6:30am.  But there was no e-mail.  Yes, my university is too cool to follow the city's example so it's class as usual today.

I'm mainly concerned because I'm supposed to leave town today to drive back home for the weekend (I'm going to spend Valentine's weekend with my boyfriend!).  I don't want to be driving on icy or snowy roads this afternoon just because I had to show up for attendance points.  Yuck.  So wish me luck with driving today!  I hope we do get snow, I just want to be curled up inside enjoying it rather than trying to drive in it.

As for more Disney stuff, I'm actually trying to make a list of WDW or CP-related topics that I can blog about to keep readers entertained.  And as my arrival date get closer, I'm sure other things will pop up to write about.  I can't believe I'll be moving in less than six months!

Expansions coming to Fantasyland!

I saw this article over on Abby's blog and wanted to post it.  It's a list of some of the changes we can expect during the big Fantasyland Expansion.  Here are the outlined points:


* Groundbreaking on the three-year project will take place this spring.
* The first phase will be finished in late 2012.
* The entire project is expected to be finished by 2013.
* It is the largest expansion project in Magic Kingdom history.
* Say goodbye to Toontown. It will now be home of part of the Fantasyland Forest.
* The meet and greet opportunities currently available in Toontown will be moved to Exposition Hall.
* The Pooh-themed play area, opposite The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Ariel’s Grotto will be closed.
* The remaining classic Fantasyland attractions will remain.
* Guests will be able to have more immersive encounters with Disney princesses in each of their own themed villages within Fantasyland Forest. 
* At Dreams Come True with Cinderella, guests can meet Cinderella face to face in her country chateau, share a dance or train to be a royal knight.
* At a Birthday Surprise for Sleeping Beauty, guests will be able to take part in a surprise birthday party with the princess.
* An “enchanted mirror” will move guests from Belle’s father’s cottage to Beast’s castle for a storytelling performance. (This will replace Storytime with Belle near Tomorrowland.)
* Also, the new district will feature the Be Our Guest Restaurant, one of three dining rooms inside Beast’s castle.  And just outside the castle in Belle’s Village will be Gaston’s Tavern (though the “tavern” will be dry - the Magic Kingdom is a dry park), another themed eatery. 
* Taking the place of the old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea attraction will be “Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid” attraction. It will be the same attraction located in Disneyland.
* Dumbo fans, fear not. “There will always be a Dumbo ride operating,” Sedlock said. However, when all is said and done, Dumbo’s Flying Circus will provide twice the size of the classic attraction.  Inside a stylized tent, guests will enjoy midway games and other fun-filled experiences while waiting in line. Because if you want to ride Dumbo, you gotta wait in line. 


I'm a bit excited about the Beauty and the Beast-themed restaurant!   Although I will miss Toontown Fair.  That area has gone through so many changes since I was a kid.  I still remember the show featuring Darkwing Duck, the Rescue Rangers, and Ducktales that used to be there!


And it will be pretty interesting to witness some of this change first-hand (well, as much as they allow a lowly CP :-D) during my time there!

My life as a CP applicant.

As promised, it's time to write about my application process and interview for the WDWCP!  This will be a long post, and I hope you enjoy!

I believe the e-presentation and applications were on the WDWCP website the evening of Jan. 20th?  It feels like such a long time ago now.  As soon as I found out these were online, I watched the online presentation and chuckled at the many adventures of Tara.  My favorite part was definitely when the neighbor guys burst into the apartment with pizza.  Very amusing, although it made me hungry.

Next came the WBI, or web-based interview.  From what I understand, this is a rather new step in the application process.  I wasn't very nervous about this section, although I've read that they knock out about 50% of applicants with it!  I loved the instant notification after I finished that they wanted me to move on to the phone interview.  The whole application/WBI process took me about 45 minutes, maybe closer to an hour, because I had to use super-slow IE, which I hate.

By the way, always use Internet Explorer for this section.  The CP site says that a lot of their forms are not compatible with anything but IE.

Here are the roles which I initially checked off:

• Attractions
• Merchandise
• Hospitality
• Concierge
• Full Service Food & Beverage
• Vacation Planner
• Costuming (pretty much last choice, but I wanted diverse options)

My top three were Attractions (:-D), Merchandise, and Hospitality.  I have over a year of retail experience with a company geared towards children and families, so I was pretty certain they would end up selecting Merchandise for me.  I also have a bit of Quick Service Food & Bev. experience, but I really didn't want to select that role.

Anyway, fast-forward to my interview on Wed., January 27th.  It was scheduled for 7:30pm, so all day I was trying to get myself mentally prepped for what I expected the interviewer to ask me.  One of my roommates was at work that evening, so my other roommate and I were sitting around trying to get me psyched up and ready.  She played "Eye of the Tiger" and I basically channeled Dwight in this clip from The Office (substitute "internship" for "raise," obviously!):

I decided to take the interview call in my car, so that I could have privacy and no noisy distractions.  I was in my car and my cell phone rang two or three minutes before 7:30.  Luckily I was just sitting there staring at it anyway!  Here is a run-down of how the conversation went:

We went over my application, and the interviewer asked for my top 3 role choices.

Big question: Why do I want to be part of the WDWCP?

Several questions about my work experience, including responsibilities at both jobs I've held.

What were my favorite aspects of each job?  Things I was unsatisfied with?

She asked for examples of when I provided great service to a guest/customer (Luckily at one of my former jobs, we called all customers "guests" so I am already used to this!)

What was my experience handling cash and conducting transactions?  Could I provide an example of a transaction (do quick math)?

Would I be willing to add QSF&B to my list? (I declined)

Do I have experience living away from home?

Have I ever lived with roommates?

How would I handle a situation in which my roommate was messy?

What does teamwork mean to me?  Do I enjoy being part of a team or prefer to work on my own?

Can I stay calm if there is an emergency situation?
Would I be okay working both indoors and outdoors?

How would I respond to an unsatisfied guest, especially a guest who is angry and confrontational with me?  Can I provide an example of when I have experienced this and how I handled it?

Do I have experience giving speeches or performing in front of an audience?  Am I comfortable with this? (apparently I sounded a lot calmer than I was because she complimented me on my articulation and composure)

Which is my favorite park at the Walt Disney World Resort?

She did not ask me which was my favorite resort, so I assumed that she did not favor me for Hospitality.  The entire interview lasted thirty-six minutes.  My interviewer was very friendly and I enjoyed talking with her.  She definitely made me feel more at ease as the conversation went on.

So after the interview, I got to play the waiting game with everyone!  And as you know, I received my acceptance e-mail on February 10th, offering me the role of Attractions!

Introduction/Acceptance

Rather than do an awkward drawn-out introduction, I'm just going to let you get to know me through my "About Me" page to your right!  It's very much still under construction, but I'm working on it!

So today, at 3am, I received my acceptance e-mail from the WDW College Program!!

I'm so excited!  As you can see, I was offered the role of Attractions, which was my first choice. :-)

That's really all that there is to say about the e-mail!  I accepted the invitation, so I'll be arriving in Orlando for check-in on Monday, August 9th.  Isn't that fun, 8/9/10?

Coming soon, a blog about my application process just for those who want to read about my interview.