Park Orientation, Merchantainment, Training, etc.

SO, basically I suck. It is incredibly hard to sit here and type out everything that's been happening; I can't even REMEMBER half of it, so unfortunately most of it isn't going to be very detailed.. especially because I don't want to reveal too much and get terminated or something (seriously, I am so paranoid about getting terminated for something so trivial to me.)

PARK ORIENTATION
Park orientation was really fun for me, since I work at Magic Kingdom. Not saying the other parks aren't awesome, but everyone knows MK is definitely the most "Disney." We had to wear business attire, but the entire orientation was only like four hours so it was fine. We started on Main Street (where I'll be working at the main entrance), and worked our way over to Tomorrowland and rode the Buzz Lightyear ride; after that we went over to Liberty Square and were told of a legend/myth about the area and why they built the Haunted Mansion to commemorate it (the story turned out to be completely false, but it was to encourage us to make up stories to keep the Disney magic alive) so we also got to ride the Haunted Mansion. Which is awesome. I got paid to ride rides. At Disney World. Yeah, it's that amazing to me.

TRAINING DAY ONE
Not much to say here except that we basically walked back and forth 'on stage,' 'off stage,' and 'backstage' (you will get used to this terminology very quickly) to get better acquainted with our area. We got registered for the Hub and finished a lot of online safety/disability service courses. We got our costumes this day simply because for us, our training was before our park orientation (and I could be wrong, but I think most people get their costumes on orientation day.. don't quote me on that, though.)

MERCHANTAINMENT
This class was incredibly boring/weird. The first hour is just finishing up online safety courses, etc, and after that we got an hour and a half break, so two other girls and I went to Magic Kingdom, watched Philharmagic, ate a quick lunch, and went back for the actual Merchantainment course. Here you learn about money, counting the "Disney Way," about various situations that may occur while working at the POS/register/cash wrap (items not being found in the system, how to change the price of something to a "special price"/sale price, how to ring up a fellow cast member (as long as they're not your friend!) etc.. I wore heels this day because I thought most of it would be elab stuff but I actually had to stand for a significant amount of time while we practices with POSs and role played various situations between customers and cast members. It was weird. But at the end you get a sweet Merchantainment pin that you can only get by finished the course, so that's pretty sweet.

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Other than all of that stuff, I've been having an amazing time. All of my roommates are really awesome, I'm really lucky. Yesterday Amy and Elizabeth and I went to Animal Kingdom and walked around, rode Expedition Everest (our first time! I sat next to this 9-ish year-old boy who was so not phased in the least by the ride so I felt like a wimp because I (may have) screamed a few times during the ride.) It was mostly awesome for me because the last time I went was in 2000 or 2001, and so it wasn't build when I went last, but since then I've watched Travel Channel episode concerning the making of Everest and it just makes you appreciate it so much more, it's so cool to finally see it in person and actually experience it. Also while in DAK I ran in and visited Katie at Chester & Hester's :)

After DAK closed we went over to Epcot's world showcase, had nachos and churros, got our name written in Arabic for free by our new friend Mehdi (my name is كرستين.. woot!) in Morocco, and made friends with Abou and Marion in France (Marion noticed our Arabic names while we were buying stuff and asked us where we got them so she could get one later, so instead we just surprised her and went back to Mehdi and get her name in Arabic too. Hopefully it made her night a little better :) ) We also made friends with Jonathan (sp possibly, hah) who is also from France. Apparently every Sunday they all get together at the House of Blues so we're gonna crash those parties haha.

In about 20 minutes I'm going to head out to Magic Kingdom with Katie, even though I need to laundry.

It's seriously ridiculous how it's like, "Hm.. laundry, or Disney World?" All you fall CPs are going to LOVE it.

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The roomies and I at the House of Blues our first night! Left to right is Ren, Me, Kate, Nicole, Elizabeth, Lene, Brittany, and Amy.

Kate, Lene, Myself, and Brittany getting ready to go to Traditions. The clothing people wore varied from very very professional (ie, business suit) to somewhat casual (nice slacks and a more sophisticated looking blouse).

Elizabeth, Amy and I at DAK yesterday. Thanks photopass! :)

Me and the boss! :)

I've been slacking big time, I know..

But I am so EXHAUSTED. I have tomorrow and the next day off so hopefully I'll get some much-needed rest and I'll be able to fill you guys in on all the lovely details concerning park orientation, my first day of training, and merchantainment. Sorry for slacking though, I just wanted to let y'all know that a post IS coming, I just don't have the energy to focus too long because I am mentally and physically DRAINED.

Congrats to all of you who have gotten accepted for the fall!! I am so happy for you all, you guys deserve it!!

Check-In

Warning: I'm REALLY tired so my English is horrendous. I say "after that" and "next" to the point that it's almost unbearable, so I apologize! I'm just exhaused.

Sooooo I finally checked in today! I left Port Orange at about 5:30am in case of traffic, and I got there at about 7am. I just mainly talked to one guy in line (Maaattyy!) until my roommate Ren met up with me. We went through a line where they gave us a little nametag - this line led to a tented type area where there was a DJ who played Disney music and asked Disney trivia (I got one right and got a little post-it notepad that said "Disney College Program" on it as well as a Disney World pen.) After that they led us to fill out some papers (I honestly don't remember what exactly we were filling out right here, you fill out SO MANY papers on check-in day you won't remember what's what.) Anyway, after we filled out just a few sheets, we were led out of the tented area and into a small building where you finally get to request what apartment/amount of rooms you want - this is also where it matters who you're standing next to, as they'll likely be your future roommate. Today they were only taking Chatham and Vista so we picked Chatham, but it was between a one bedroom and a four bedroom.. so we got the latter. It sounded crazy but honestly all the girls are AWESOME, so we really lucked out.

Anyway, directly after housing assignments, we took a photo ID that will be used every time we enter Chatham or the bus system, etc.. directly after THAT, if you drove your car and have your insurance (with YOUR name on it), registration, and driver's license, then you go and get your parking decal. After this you get a little break to find your apartment, pick out a room, and maybe move in a few things (we had about an hour).

After all that you'll meet up for the bus to Casting, where you'll finally find out EXACTLY where you'll be working (I, no kidding, got Strollers at Magic Kingdom. Awesome.) After finding that out, you'll go to a little table with five or so other people and will be informed of the Disney Look - you'll also be checked to make sure you fit the Look before Traditions, so if you're a little iffy on something that might not fit the look, they'll tell you here. After that, if you didn't fill out your on-boarding paperwork (I didn't) then you'll fill it out in the next room - not really a hassle, just kind of annoying because it's a LOT of signing and reading and just takes a little while. When you finally make sure you filled out all your on-boarding paperwork correctly, you'll move forward and get your Visa, which your paycheck will automatically go onto. Here you can also ask any questions about how to receive payments (direct deposit, etc). Next you'll be directed to the next room where there will be a whole cast of, well, cast members who you'll talk to if you want to take a Disney course - if not, keep moving. At this point it gets a little foggy, to be honest, because so much happened, but basically you'll get a background check and find out when Traditions is for you and all the information you need to know. TRUST me, you will NOT be lost - they tell you absolutely everything, and if they don't, they're more than willing to answer ANY of your questions.

After I checked in and everything I went to lunch at Panera with Katie, which was a nice break from everything. After the two hour housing meeting, my seven other awesome roommates and I went to the House of Blues for dinner.

I'm still not done unpacking.. but luckily I have tomorrow off to finish. Yay. I'll talk to y'all later.

I'm in Port Orange for now :)

Hiii friends! So I left yesterday morning. I bawled to my mom the night before that I would miss her too much, and that I really did NOT want to do the CP anymore. Of course, I'd do it whether I wanted to or not because at this point it's just something that I have to do, but at that point in time it was one of the last things I wanted. Anyway, after she left the next morning, I surprisingly didn't cry (I did that night, though). I did bawl before I left, though.. I kissed my cats good by so many times I'm pretty sure I stocked them up for the whole six months.

But I left my little town near Atlanta at about 8am and got to Orlando at about 4.30pm - it was a freaking long time to drive by myself, to just be stuck inside my own crazy head for 8 hours with unchanging scenery. Anyway, once I got to Orlando I went to PF Chang's with Katie and we walked around the mall, which was awesome because: a) the mall is totally beast and puts all other malls to shame; b) I love lettuce wraps and hot & sour soup; and c) I missed Katie (I saved the best for last <3 bahahah.) Anyway, from there I went to the Daytona area to where my aunt and uncle live. Today we just hung out and watched Inside Man (which is a really good movie.. and I somehow had already seen it, though I don't know where that happened) and I met my aunt's parents and we all had dinner, and it was nice and relaxing. Tomorrow my aunt's dad is going to take me for a "tour" of Daytona, haha. It will be fun :)

Anyway, I hope all of you are doing well!! And to those of you hoping for Fall '10, good luck!! You can do it! :)


Pretty much my whole drive was this. Yeah, it was pretty awesome. Or not. At least it was sunny!

I leave tomorrow..

I have a feeling that is comparable to the feeling one gets before sky diving. I am so nervous. I'm really scared. And I'm really sad. At the same time, I know it will be worth it in the end.

I hope.

I had a dream Rupert Grint and I were friends. Can that be real life?

So it appears that I'm leaving on Thursday. AKA the day after tomorrow. WEIRD. Where did the time go?? Basically it's raining on Friday and my mom doesn't want me to drive down there in the rain, nor does she want me driving on a Saturday, so I'm going down Thursday; I'll be driving straight down to Orlando to have lunch with Katie at PF Changs (which will be awesome as I miss Katie loads AND I've been wanting Chinese..) and afterwards I'll drive from Orlando to the Daytona area for the rest of the weekend, where I have awesome family that I haven't seen in.. well, possibly EVER, so that will be cool.

The sad thing is that I'm REALLY going to miss my mom. A LOT. I didn't realize I'd be leaving so soon! I mean yes, you know in your head you're leaving but when the time actually comes, you're not ready. Though to be honest I don't think I'd ever really be ready so I guess it doesn't matter, but still. Oh well, I'm coming back, it's not like I'll be gone forever, so it's all okay! I just have to look at it like an adventure :) I'm determined to do an amazing job at whatever I get (even if it's strollers, which is probably will be haha) and I WILL remain positive no matter WHAT. That is my challenge to myself, and I refuse to lose to myself, because that would just be sad. (.. "I had to do it. I dared myself.")

So tonight was my last trip to the mall :( Kinda sad haha. It's totally lame but I practically live at the mall (Katie and I used to go there almost every day and just hang out) so it's almost like my second home hahah. Gosh I'm a loser.. but yeah. Anyway, I had to go to the mall because I had a reservation at the Genius Bar in the Apple store. I don't know if I ever mentioned it here but basically in July or so I had to ..redo my computer (my brain just died) due to internet connection problems - I lost my music, photos, everything. So that was all fine and good because it fixed the problem, until I realized that I didn't have the application disk (iLife) and it's just been kind of a pain in the rump (that was for Katie) without it. I dealt without it because I figured the disk would show up eventually but since I'm leaving for 7 months I decided to see if they could either hook me up with another disk or use their own disk to fix my problem. Turns out they did the latter, which was totally awesome for me because they were saying that I might just have to call Applecare and order it from them (UGH, just a pain.. yes, I complain a lot haha). ANYWAY that was my ordeal. It's been fixed. Thank you, Apple.

So.. yeah. Weird. I guess I'll be updating more but for now I've got nothing to say but that. Oh, and I haven't started packing. Oops. Hahah. My mom's taking off work tomorrow so I'm sure she'll make sure I get it all done. Woot woot. At least Thursday I get to finally find out what's on the mystery CDs, Katie! Hahah.

'Til then! & I hope you guys have been well! :)

8 days - a week (in Beatles' land!) @Katie :)

Hello friends! I hope you've all been well :) We've had some weird weather down here in Georgia; it was spring-like for a few days before it got back to being cold and rainy (aka what I assume London weather to be like.) I hear there's crazy weather all over the place, which is just nuts.

I went for lunch yesterday with my mom at La Madeline, which was nice, as it's one of my favorite places that I never get to go to due to distance (and my mom HATES being on the freeway; it makes her too nervous, which in turn makes ME nervous.. and yeah. But she sucked it up for me this time around :) ). So that was nice.. I also had "spicy" black bean soup (yeah, not spicy.. at all) later on in the day which for some reason was really good; I forgot how much I love it, I guess. And today my mom and I went for breakfast at Einstein's.. mm. I love me some bagels. Legit.

I'm contemplating buying a new camera for this CP, just because my old one has a difficult time taking clear pictures (even in the "nonshaky" mode, or whatever it is.. yeah you guys know what I'm talking about haha.) BUT I don't know, because I don't know if I'll have enough money for it, so I might wait. We'll see, I suppose! I plan on taking pictures of my hometown before I leave because I'm lame, so maybe I'll show you guys that, as well as pictures once I leave. Because I know you all care ;) Bwahaha.

So anyway I have been going CRAZY waiting here; everyone I know who is doing the CP has, for the most part, already gone down, and they post the most fun pictures so it's really hard for me to not get excited.. Only, what? Eight more days? Yeah.. eight more days.. ahh!! EIGHT DAYS!