Seasons with the Mouse

As the Season Comes to a Close

2011-12-22T12:57:00.002-06:00

I am back again! Almost a full month later... oops! But lets be honest if you are still reading this thing at this point you know that I am doing good to post once a month. I am both a lazy and busy bee. Interesting combination.

Well I do have some updates since my last post. After I posted about trying to find someplace to live Kat had to back out on us living together. I won't lie, that sucked. It put my life into a tail spin trying to figure out what to do. I started looking for other people and went on Donald's Deals (the Disney classifieds) for people trying to fill rooms. I spent probably 2-3 weeks trying to find someone and totally freaking out. I ended up having to go and sign up for CP housing so I could keep my extension a viable plan. That was the day before my family got in town (another amazing story that will be included in this post) and that night I literally cried myself to sleep. I was so stressed and staying in CP housing was the absolute last thing I wanted to do. But God smiled on me and my luck broke and I managed to find someone. Over the last few days I have been in contact with a girl I found on Donald's deals who was looking for a roommate. Come to find out that I know her and talked to her for months before my first CP. She was a part of my first online D-fam. We went and looked at apartments yesterday and have put in an application for a place. I am so excited, happy, and relieved to say that I won't have to live in CP housing for the next 5 months and in fact I won't be a CP anymore.

With housing now in place I need to start busting my butt to find a big girl job. As I guessed I didn't get either of the Alumni PIs I was still in the running for. It sucked to hear that but like I said, I expected it. I can't be sure why I didn't get one. I wish I knew, but I don't. I can only assume my interview wasn't very good since I didn't get a call back from any of the PIs. Who knows but it is time to move on. As much as I love Disney, it may just be that I don't end up working here in a big girl job. That isn't really what I want but maybe it is the path I need to take. So I am searching in the Orlando area and really all over for a job that I can use my degree and my brain rather than just my body.

In other news... MY FAMILY CAME TO VISIT ME! Unlike a lot of people on the CP I haven't really had anyone come visit me. I had my aunt and her family come the very very beginning of my program (like the 2nd week I was here). Other than that I have had my high school soccer coach come who I saw for a few hours one afternoon and that is about it. So the fact that my mom, her bf, and my sister got to come was a wonderful thing. My sister was a last min addition too (literally 2 days before they got here). They got to see me and Mickey in DEP while they were here too so that was really fun. They brought me christmas gifts which I now have sitting in my room waiting to be opened. :)

Life is pretty good for me right now. Finding some place to live has taken a huge stress out of my life and I am so much more optimistic right now. I know that once I get back into the grind of looking for jobs I will get beaten down again. Being a recent graduate in an economy like this is just plain horrible. I can only imagine how it is going to shape my generation because I have no doubt that it will. (yes I am a nerd and things like that interest me)

To end this update I will leave you with a few pictures.

With the End, Comes the Stress

2011-11-28T20:22:00.001-06:00

Lets not talk about the fact that it has almost been a month since I updated.

Its been a busy month. The first part of the month steamed past, but somewhere around the middle of the month time decided to slllooow down. That slow down period coincided with the week that I got the official notice that I was no longer in consideration for my top two (and really best chance) PIs. I also realized about that time that I was going to be very hard pressed to afford to live in any of the apartments that I had looked at up until that point. To say it was a depressing time was a bit of an understatement. Coming to the realization I have no idea what I am going to do with my life come January is scary.

Honestly I am pretty much still at that point. Not so much the depressed point but the I have no idea what to do with my life. I have been applying for jobs both within Disney and outside. Unfortunately there isn't much out there for a college grad with little practical experience. My mom keeps telling me I'm far to harsh on myself and I will find something, but its hard to see that. I know from past experience that I am very hard on myself, but that doesn't change the fact that I think I am at a huge disadvantage for not having actual PR/Marketing experience. Moral of this story, do actual internships in school, not just Disney internships. Gain experience while you can still afford to not get paid for it.

I am still in consideration for 2 alumni only internships, project support for DTD and MK. I am still in interview stage for both, although I have only ever had the initial screening interview. That isn't a bad thing and I haven't heard of anyone else having more than that for those two. I am just not very confident that I will get them. I had a point where I had no hope and basically already believed I was out of running for everything. I now have a little bit of hope but I am not sure that is a good thing. Final deadline for PIs is the first week of December but I know of people who have heard back after that, especially for alumni only.

Within the Entertainment department I have been getting myself ready to switch from a CP to something else. I did accept an CP extension in my current role. That is my super back up and I hope I don't have to take it. I went to casting today and got myself on the lists for part time and full time. In the attempt to try and make myself the most versatile (and hopefully attractive for casting) performer I can be, I have been trying to make as many new character friends as possible. I have also been trying to talk to various people about what I need to do to get utilized more. That hasn't been going very well but I can only keep trying.

Life isn't so bad, its just very uncertain. I need to find a place to live and ideally another roommate to make a perfect trifecta of Kat, Me, and Someone else. I think if I could just find some place to live I would feel a lot better. Or really have just one thing fall into place for me. As if I didn't already know it, this has taught me that I am not very good with uncertainty. I am a planner and an organizer and uncertainty in my personal life makes for a stressed and frazzeled Marion.

To end this on a positive note I want to add that on the 3rd and 5th I will be playing with some of my character friends in the Main Street Electrical Parade. I can't really say how excited I am. Its good to know that I haven't been forgotten and even more exciting to think that I will finally get to roll down Main Street. So if you happen to be in the Magic Kingdom on the 3rd keep an eye out for a wooden boy and the big cheese on the 5th. :)

-M

Event # 3: WDW 40th Anniversery

2011-11-05T13:33:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. A month after the event I am finally getting around to blogging about it.

Sorry.

Anyways the 40th anniversary was on October 1st and was amazing. I had the morning off but worked at 4:00 so I spent the morning at Magic Kingdom and then went down into the tunnels to start my work day . Because I worked that evening I parked in cast parking and went through the tunnels to get to the park. Since that isn't exactly proper I tried to be sneaky and slow so that I didn't pop out into the parks before there were any guests. I think I got into the park about 9:30 or so (I really have no idea lol) when guests were just beginning to come in. All of my roommates came as well but we arrived separately.

I picked up the awesome 40th anniversary maps and got myself a commemorative button. I then found myself a seat for the character cavalcade that I knew was coming. At one point I ended up running down the street to find my roomies and we went back to the spot I was previously in only to find that two old ladies that had been standing next to me and stole my spot. Slightly frustrating considering I had been gone for literally a minute. It turned out alright though because I just crowded in on them and got my space back. After the parade went past we followed it down to the castle hub where Meg Crofton and some other guy whose name escapes me made little speeches. The Dapper Dans then lead a sing along of When You Wish Upon A Star. That was very cool and moving to say the least.

Yes that is indeed a shot from between one of those old ladies legs. It was about the only way I could see around her. Super annoying?... yes.

They had just kissed. Too cute.

Why yes. Flynn is Smoldering. And I did catch it on film.

That was pretty much all for the 40th events. They were giving out free cupcakes but I didn't want to stand in the ridiculously long line so I missed out on that. There was a lot of special merch things and artist signings going on in the parks but yet again, I wasn't really interested. Even though I didn't necessarily partake in any of the 40th specific events I did get to enjoy several things I have never experienced at MK. I saw the trolly show and saw an adorable little girl dressed as a Trolly girl. super cute.

I saw some of the Main Street characters including the Mayor, Fire Chief, and some of the Suffragettes. I also saw this band that I have no idea what they are called. They are not the Dapper Dans or any other group I have heard of. They were very cool though and one of them had worked at WDW since park open.

The man in the yellow shirt is the 40 year cast member.

I forgot to mention that I dressed up a bit. Its not really a 70s dress but it is vintage (late 50s) and adorable. It was a very fun day and I am glad I got to be a part of it. I spent some time with my roommates and some friends. After we watched Celebrate A Dream Come True, it was time for me to go to work. I worked at Chef Mickey's that night so unlike many people I have both a parks 40th anniversary button as well as a resort 40th anniversary button.

The marathon event weekend was exhausting but was definitely worth it. I didn't end up getting to go to another Halloween party which was sad but there is always next year. The Halloween parties just ended on Nov. 1st and the Christmas parties will begin in just a few days on the 8th. I will of course be going to at least one and will post pictures and such.

Till next time,

-M

Disney Event #2: Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party!

2011-10-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

Event # 2 was the MNSSHP on 9/23. I had purchased the ticket to go early in the month and had planned to go with my roommates Kryssy and Kat. However by the week of the party I found out that they were no longer going and I was left with no one to go with. OH NO! It turned out all right though because I found another friend who had the same thing happen to her and we ended up going together.

I elected to wear my Pirate costume which my grandmother made me about 5 years ago. It is an epic costume if I do say so myself and I have worn it many many times on International Talk Like A Pirate Day, to Renaissance Festivals, and of course during the Halloween season. My friend Morgan dressed up like Alice.

Since we are both performers, we love characters and decided to make the priority of our night to meet characters. We started of with Mickey and Minnie. There was a long line of people waiting to meet them in their Halloween outfits and hardly anyone in the regular queue. Since I am all knowledgable and knew when Mickey would be out in his fancy costumes and how much time the line takes, we jumped in the regular queue and were some of the first people to see them in their Halloween outfits. Basically we were sneaky sneaky and jumped all those people. BAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

We of course made a stop to see Alice and Mad Hatter for Morgan. At this point we were joined by one of Morgan's friends whose name I of course can't remember.

I make wonderful faces yes?

Soon after our visit with those Wonderland folk we went to watch the Villans Mix and Mingle. May I just say that the Villans show is THE BEST THING EVER! It needs to be a priority in anyones MNSSHP evening. After the show the Villans that are in the show do a short meet and greet. Short as in 15 mins. So be smart and get there early and stand in the general area of your fav villain. We watched the show and then jumped in line for Maleficent.

We made stops to see various other characters not often seen in the parks such as Terk and Jane as well as Timon.

We hit up the second parade since that one tends to be a little less crowded and got a good seat right at the beginning of Main Street (which is actually the end of the parade route). I took a good number of pictures but also made it a priority to enjoy myself. Many of the wonderful pirates came to visit me including the great Barbossa. Peter Pan came and asked me to a sword fight, but I couldn't get my sword out and then he had to run. :) It really is an amazing parade.

After the parade we scurried up the street to hit up the Hub were the Villans roam. While we were waiting in line for Gaston I got a text from one of my amazing CP #1 training group family, Ryan. Turns out he was sitting across from us during the parade and recognized my voice. :) He and his wife have moved back to Orlando which is an awesome surprise. I hope to be able to hang out with both them and the other guy from my training group Patrick (and his fiance Toni). Yes that means I will be like a 5th wheel but who cares! I love them all. :)

We finished out the night dancing with some of our favorite toys at the Diamond Horseshoe. We saw Woody, Bullseye, and my favorite Cowgirl Jessie. It was quite fun and a great way to end the night.

All in all Event #2 was super fun. I haven't bought tickets for another party yet and I'm not sure if I will. I do have one more costume to sport but maybe I won't wear it this year. I don't know of anyone else going to another party but maybe I can convince someone to go again.

-M

Disney Event #1: Trick or Meet Up

2011-10-06T15:10:00.004-05:00

I have decided to make a post about each of the Disney events I went to this past week. This is post #1 (obviously) about the Disney Parks Blog Trick or Meet Up.

I mentioned in the first post that I "won" a ticket. What I really meant by this is that there were a limited number of people that could attend this event and that I managed to RSVP early enough to get myself a spot on the list. Each person who RSVPed could bring one guest and was encouraged to dress up in costume. Im not sure exactly how many people went but it was definitely more than 100.

The meet up basically revolved around the Haunted Mansion and Halloween. We met up at 9pm at Blizzard Beach and were bussed over to the Magic Kingdom from there. While we waited for everyone to check in and the busses to get there a DJ was there playing some music and facilitating a Disney trivia contest. I recognized him as the DJ that was at my first CP completion ceremony aka graduation ironically doing the same thing. I think his name is DJ Miles.

Anyway, I think we managed to get to MK at about 10pm although I'm really not sure about that. We were bussed to what is called Splash Gate which is also where the Parade Control building is and where all of the parade floats are kept. They had some of the parade floats lit up in the barn so we got to see some of those as we drove past. After we were let into the park, we were walked to the Hall of Presidents. Right outside the entrance to the Hall of Presidents, Gene the Disney Parks Blog photographer was taking pictures of guests in costume. Guess who got a picture taken of them... ME! and my twin who was my guest.

As you can tell I wore my Daisy Duck costume although stupid me forgot my bracelet. Whoops. Once we got inside and were all seated Imagineer, Jason Surrell, came in and talked to us about the Haunted Mansion and answered questions from the crowd. It was very interesting to say the least. I'm not a Disney parks/imaginer/rides expert by any means so there is a lot of things I didn't know that probably a lot of the crowd did. One of the cool things I learned was that the Haunted Mansion was completed in April of 1971 and basically they just locked the door of the ride for 6 months until the park opened in October.

After he was finished they let us go free to tour the new Haunted Mansion queue with an Imagineer, ride the Haunted Mansion, take pictures with some characters, or trick or treat. I of course did all of the above with a focus on characters. As soon as we walked out of the Hall of Presidents we saw Daisy and Donald Duck. Since I was in my Daisy outfit I dragged my Twin to the line and made him wait with me. Daisy of course thought I was the bees knees and Donald got down on one knee for me. I guess he was momentarily confused and thought I was Daisy. Twin then proposed to Daisy and it went down hill from there. I love fun interactions with characters. :)

I also met Dr. Facilier which was super awesome. And saw some ghostly singers serenade the guests.

Sitting outside of the Haunted Mansion was 2 wonderfully funny ghosts, Renata and Carlotta DuBois. They are totally hilarious and can be found outside the Haunted Mansion during the Halloween parties, or so I have heard.

The night was finished off with a run of the Headless Horeseman.

It was a great night and I had a ton of fun. I hope that if there are future meet ups at WDW I will be able to go. I don't know if I have ever mentioned it but a dream job for me would be to work for the Disney Parks blog. Hopefully one day I can make it to that dream.

In PI news... I have my interview for the Entertainment Management Internship (MI) tonight at 8. I finished applying for the rest of my Comm internships last night. I have a grand total of 9 internships I have applied for. 1 MI, 6 communication related PIs (all but one social media related), and 2 Alumni only PIs. I really hope I will get one of them. Wish me good luck on my interview tonight!

-M

3 Days of Disney Events!

2011-09-30T15:53:00.002-05:00

My marathon 3 days of Disney events is well under way. Last night was the first Disney Parks Blog Trick or Meet Up and I managed to get a "ticket". Tonight I will be attending my first Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and tomorrow is the 40th Anniversary of Walt Disney World. I will post more about all of these including photos and such. But for now this is just going to be a teaser.

In other news... I just got an email telling me to schedule my phone screening for the Entertainment Management PI. This is great but I also need to apply for all the communication PIs I want. Its an exciting and busy time for me!

:)

-M

Professional Internships and Other News...

2011-09-24T12:07:00.000-05:00

Updates Updates...

As I have mentioned before I am in the process of applying for Professional Internships. I have many that I am applying for but the one I have been focusing on recently is the Entertainment Management Internship. I met with an entertainment manager at Magic Kingdom that I work with somewhat frequently and she agreed to help me out. She look at my resume and made some suggestions on how I could improve it. She has also looked into setting me up some meet and greets although I am not sure how that will pan out. I am very very grateful for her help but I do wish I had meet with her earlier. The deadline to apply for the MI (management internship) is Sept 30th aka a week away. So I am going to apply and do all that without as much of the benefit of her help as I could have had if maybe I had met with her earlier.

So that is a big suggestion I have. If you are graduating or just planning on doing a PI immediately after your CP, be there for as long as possible before those PIs would start. Start talking and being visible to leadership asap. And then talk to them about your interests in PIs as soon as you can and long before the apps go up. For people who are interested in the Entertainment department, just realize that you are going to have a much harder time making contacts with managers, especially if you are a performer. Your hardly ever in the same location multiple days in a row and if you are that doesn't mean you will have the same manger every time. You probably will often not even see a manager while you are at work. They can be hard to find and even harder to get a chance to talk to. Although I can say its not impossible to get their help, because they are willing, it just isn't as a performer as it is if you are in say attractions.

Anyways I guess that is all for this post. There are lots of cool event coming up at Disney including the 40th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom and the Food and Wine Festival. I am going to make an effort to go to both and so hopefully you will get some pictures from those events.

-M

Hallloooweeeeeen!

2011-09-14T14:23:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned that Halloween is my all time favorite holiday? I think I did in my last post. But thats ok , its the truth so it can be repeated.

I LOVE HALLOWEEEEENN! It is really the best holiday ever. To me, it is the perfect fall holiday.

Anyways. I have pictures of the Boo To You parade to post! It was absolutely amazing. Lots and lots of fun. Unfortunately it was a bit crazy trying to get situated for the parade. If you ever doubt that Cast Members can be just as stupid as guests, please do not. The waiting, crowding, and pushing that happened before the Cast Preview is a great example that Cast Members are not above guests. They act just as idiotic given the opportunity.

I ended up going with my roommate Kryssy and friend Amanda. They had bought Woody and Jessie shirts earlier in the day so we all kinda dressed up. Them in Toy Story and me in my Daisy shirt. We ended up standing with some of the D-Fam (read almost all of the D-Fam) which was totally random, unplanned, and awesome.

Look at how cute we are!

Now for pictures of the parade! I took a good amount but I am just going to post some of the best.

I will be going to an acutal MNSSHP on the September 30th and October 6th. I also plan on going one more time in October. I have 3 costumes (Daisy Duck, Pirate, and Tinkerbell) to wear so I have to go to at least 3 parties. :) I will post pictures of the parties and me in my costume when I attend.

Thats all for now my loves!

-M

This is Halloween, This is Halloween...

2011-09-11T18:25:00.000-05:00

GUUYYSSSSSS!

Tonight is the cast preview of the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party parade Boo To You. Basically what that means is this is the first real fall program marker. This is one of those things that you hear people talk about when the fall cp is mentioned so I am so freaking excited to go.

It also helps that I am in love with Halloween. It is truthfully my favorite holiday. Christmas? Nope. Don't really care about it. But Halloween I celebrate all month long. ... Well because of Disney I will be celebrating for two months. Beautiful. :D

I will post pictures of the parade when I upload them.

Get excited guys! Get Excited!!

-M

My Life is Crazy!

2011-09-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

Its true. My life is crazy. I don't mean that as an excuse but as a statement of truth.

Its getting to be that time when Professional Internship listings go up. So I have been trying to get myself in the best position for those. I often feel like I am doing to little to late or really just that I suck at the whole self promotion networking getting my name out there thing.

Word to the wise, if you are in an Entertainment role, specifically performer, and are looking to network for future roles in maybe a different area.... Good Luck. I guess I didn't realize this but the global nature of a performers role is not an asset when it comes to getting to know management. I am literally never in the same place two days in a row. Managers are hardly ever around it seems and because I am never some place often the times when they are around, they are only going to see me once. So know one knows who I am and its difficult trying to ask for help when you feel like they don't know you. Maybe its just me but if I am going to ask someone to help me I at least what them to know who I am.

At this point I am relying on the two managers I knew from my time as an Attendant to help me. I have contacted one manager that I know from being a performer. I hope that she will help, but honestly I'm not sure she will even remember who I am. I hope I am underestimating my notoriety for lack of a better term. Maybe managers do know who I am.

In other news I got my first Great Service Fanatic as a performer the other day. Another performer got lost and wasn't going to make it for their set time so one of the other performers and I split her set time to cover it. So instead of us both doing 20 min sets we did 30. It really wasn't a big deal to me and I didn't expect any sort of recognition so it was very nice to receive a GSF. I just didn't want those poor guests to have to sit there for 20 mins waiting for a character that should have come right back out just because I wasn't willing to go out there for a little longer. I guess that is the definition of going above and beyond. Go figure.

Hummm other work tidbits... I am going to a face type out for Tokyo Disneyland. I would legit crap a brick if I got to work there. If you happen to go look at my Disney Dreams tab one of those is that I would love to work in one of the parks abroad. Working at Tokyo would be my top choice and if I could do that in an Entertainment role I might just die. They are going to be opening a new night time parade over there as well as their version of Fantastic which basically means if I were to work there, I would probably get to be in those. Insanity right? wahhhh I have never wanted to be pulled so bad. That audition is on Monday and I assume I would know relatively soon if I was offered a contract or not. I think that if I got offered that I would choose that over a PI. I probably would hardly even have begun the process for a PI at the time of an offer. I have always wanted to travel and this would be my opportunity. You have to do something like this while you are young and its not really something I will get multiple shots at. That just basically means I would have to take some community college classes in order to apply for another PI but I would do that if I needed to. But all this talk is basically just that, talk. I can't count my chickens before they hatch.

All I seem to talk about is work. Thats boring right? Maybe not. Unfortunately work seems to consume my life. I am really a boring person. I went out last night to see some of the D-fam at DTD and many of them remarked that they hadn't seen me in forever. One of them I hadn't met at all and she has been here longer than I have. I know I should go out more. I really enjoyed just hanging around with them last night. But I am so often tired and lazy. OR lets be honest here, consumed by my twin. He lives far away (aka an hour) so I often spend my two days off with him. And while I enjoy that and don't regret it, I also know that I am neglecting a lot of other people by doing that. Le sigh. Le kick myself.

Well I really must go. Literally. My computer charger is broken and so I can not charge it. And seeing as how the battery is at 19%... I really have no choice in writing any more. Its about to die on me.

Love you all. Sorry I don't write more often. If I did maybe my posts wouldn't be such massive books.

:/

-M

A Magical Life

2011-08-16T20:58:00.001-05:00

I'm currently sitting across from The Diamond Horseshoe in Magic Kingdom waiting for the Main Street Electrical Parade. As I sit here I can't help but think how very blessed I am for so many reasons.

While familes hurry past to hit up as many attractions, shows, and even parades as they can, I can lazily stroll into the park at 8:00pm plop down in Frontierland to watch it and leave after knowing I can come back whenever I want.

I'm also blessed because I know that very soon I will be able to consider myself a parade performer. :) On the schedule that dropped this past Saturday I was scheduled parade orientation at Magic Kingdom. While I'm not exactly positive what all I will learn I do know that it means I will eventually get to be in a parade at Magic Kingdom. I will get to roll down Main Street smiling and waving at guests. That really is a dream come true.

The last few months have allowed me to fulfill several of my dreams for working with Disney. As some of my dreams have come to fruition, I have found that here are other dreams to take their place. I can only hope that I continue to be blessed with the ability to do the things I love to do and make magic for the company I love.

-M

Friends New and Old

2011-08-12T18:05:00.000-05:00

I wrote a little post today at work, but of course it didn't save. I was a spare today which basically means you sit around as a back up in case someone doesn't come in to work and you are needed. I wasn't actually needed today so I literally sat around and did nothing for 11 hours. Since I didn't have anything to do I decided to share some of the pictures I have on my phone of my various friends. Unfortunately it didn't save. But that is alright because I am just going to post those pictures and more! Picture posts are fun right?

Kryssy, Kat, and I flew over to Pixie Hollow to visit the Fairies. We met Tink and Rosetta.

That same night we went to visit the boss and his girl at Town Square Theatre. Mickey loves me. I love him too.

I also recently went to meet Jessie at Splash Mountain when she was there hanging out with Woody. We had a great time.

Donald got a visit from my two friends Lisa and Emily. They gave him kisses which I am sure he loved. :)

Everyone loves Goofy! Or at least Jamie, Gianna, and I do. He is such a sweet guy. :)

That is all for this one. I have noticed that more often than not I take pictures of friends rather than with them. So I have a ton of pictures of other people, especially if they are in a parade or show, but not a ton of me. Also I love characters so 99% of my pictures are with characters. :)

I will post again soon!

-M

The Mouse and His Girl

2011-08-09T10:11:00.000-05:00

New Friends

2011-08-08T07:24:00.001-05:00

Sounds Like Summer: 2U A Tribute to U2

2011-07-28T10:45:00.002-05:00

Look another post! ... I guess when it rains it pours.

So remember that post a while back where I said I wanted to go to some of the Sounds Like Summer concerts? Well I never really did remember to check and see when they were so I could go. But by chance I happened to be at Epcot on Tuesday evening and happened across the last performance of 2U the U2 tribute band.

It just so happens that this was the same band that I saw last year with my friend Patrick. They were as good as they were last time although the lead singer was a bit more awkward than I remember him being. He does these like karate kick type things which are made very awkward by the fact that he is a slightly pudgy old guy. But he (and the rest of the band) sound great so it is well worth the effort to see them.

I didn't have my camera with me so the only picture I got is off my phone from when I checked in at the theatre on Gowalla.

2U A Tribute to U2 at Epcot for the Sounds Like Summer Concert Series

BTW did you know that Gowalla is the social media check-in site that has an official partnership with Disney? So you can actually check in on the rides and stuff and have little badges/passport things that go with the ride. This is the reason for my choice of Gowalla over Foursquare. Sad, but true.

Anyways that is all for this post. I will get around to posting the random park pictures I have soon enough. Promise. :)

-M

Way to long..

2011-07-27T12:32:00.001-05:00

It has been far to long since I updated. July 8th? That was almost a month ago! I absolutely refuse to be a bad blogger and never update. So this is my renewal of dedication to blogging once a week.

Anyways. I got my updated codes back about a week ish after the SECPS. I now have a 3/4 and was able to preference various parades and such. Which is awesome but who knows if it will do anything for me. In other parade news casting for the Halloween parade has gone out. I know of at least like 10 CP performers who were cast in it. In addition to those 10 who were pulled for that there are many others who have been pulled and trained for other parades or are getting to go through parade orientation. I will be honest and say I am jealous and it makes me quite unhappy to have so many people I know getting oriented and trained and I just sit here and get the same shifts over and over and over. I realize that my bitching about such a thing seems ridiculous given the opportunity I have been given. I am a performer at Walt Disney World. Why should I complain? Right? ... Well you would think that and while I logically know that, the fact that I see so many people around me getting these opportunities I can't help but get a bit down when I don't get them too.

I console myself with the fact that if I were to get cast in the Halloween parade I wouldn't be able to go to the parties as a guest since I would be working. That means I wouldn't get to wear my awesome costumes in the parks. And I am really looking forward to that.

In other news I have started going to Entertainment workshops as well as some of the networking programs that the CP puts on. I went to the Alumni Speaker Series featuring Alumni who now work in various areas of Entertainment. There were tech specialists, production assistants, show managers, and some others. 7 people in all although one of them was not an alumni of the program. It was really interesting to hear what they had to say and I'm really glad I went. I talked to a few of the speakers about my interest in applying for the Entertainment Management PI when they come out and received some encouraging responses. On the Entertainment workshop front I registered for and will be attending a workshop on Friday in which I learn bit of the christmas parade choreography. Hopefully by going I will get my face out there and get myself cast in something. I also plan on going to the Beginning Movement workshop that is in mid August. I figure the more people who get to know me and see me the better off I will be. Not only in regards to getting cast in things but in getting my name out there for when I apply for the Entertainment PI. The next step is starting to get some connections for the Communication PIs I will want to apply for.

It is absolutely crazy to think that the "advantage" portion of my program is almost over. I am looking forward to the end of the summer though and the eventually cool down in both crowds and temperature. I know I have only been posting about work stuff but I have been enjoying my time here with friends as well. I will post some pictures from that soon.

-M

Dancing into the Future

2011-07-08T13:09:00.000-05:00

The audition results are in!

I didn't get pulled for face. They didn't even glance at me for more than a second this time. A little annoying but seeing as how there is nothing I can do in that department, I have decided to not be bothered by it. The one cool thing about the day is one of the people checking people in and giving them numbers was a lady named Katie. Katie is one of two people who are called Performance Specialists who come around and observe everyone in the entertainment department and basically give them feedback about how to improve. The observe both performers and attendants. Well the cool thing was when I was checking in I had to give them my last name so they could look up my height and when I said my last name Katie said "Your a performer now?" I was confused because while I knew who she was I didn't expect her to remember me. She then said "You were an attendant right?" and I was like "Yes! I'm finally a performer now. 3rd audition was the charm." It made me really happy that she remembered me. She only observed me once (Abrah the other part of the pair observed me the other time) and that was close to like a year and a half ago. She either has a really good memory or I made a good impression. Hopefully both. :)

As for the SECPS movement/animation audition I think it went pretty well. I was really nervous when I got there. Nervous might not be the best word to describe my feelings but I wasn't at ease. It was definitly a fear of the unknown thing but I had my wonderful roomie Kryssy with me to chill me out.

Side note: Have I ever mentioned how much I love my roommates? They are all beyond amazing. They are all so supportive and loving and I really couldn't ask for better girls to live with. The best part... I still have like 5.5 months with them. :)

Back to the audition. I keep calling it an audition but it really isn't one. Its incredibly similar to a regular entertainment audition but like the choreographer Marissa (same as my last cp audition) said we already have jobs! No need to stress because we do this stuff every day. Very true and somewhat relaxing statement. It really is more of a coding update thing. Anyways. I was all uneasy and stomach in knots but it turned out well. Katie checked me in again which was nice. I was number 77 and Kryssy was 79 so we were in the same group. They took our pictures with our numbers like at the other auditions although at this point I'm not sure why. I guess they do it at every audition/coding for casting purposes. I have heard that this SECPS is where they start to look at people to cast for Halloween and Christmas. Eh. Anyways.

They called out random numbers 2 separate times to pull people for an advanced dance thing but interestingly it was before anyone was ever taken back for the first dance/animation portion. From what I understand from a girl who was pulled for this they did a combination to Festival of the Lion King music, a 2nd combination to music from Disney Channel Rocks, and a 3rd combination to "Magic Kingdom" music. I was in the 2nd group to get called and was taken back to a big wide room where we were taught the movement combination. It wasn't really hard. It seems that the movement combinations always seem to include a box step, grape vine, march in place, and some sort of turn. So for anyone curious as to how to do well at disney movement exercises... learn how to do those things and you will be one step ahead. lol.

As for the animation, we were only given one and it wasn't a set senario. They simply said to act out something that one of your furry friends might do. So very vague, which made things slightly more difficult. I took a page out of my training and helped Donald find some hidden treasure. Since there was only 1 scenario we were given we did the animation, dance, different or continued animation, dance. Our group of 10 was asked to do the dance one extra time as well. I was really grateful for that because I felt like I may have did the best the last time. Who knows if the casting people were looking at me that time but whatever.

I have no idea when my new scores will show up. I didn't think to ask someone that night but I am going to try to ask a manager next time I work. I think I did better in the movement portion than I did last audition. Hopefully enough to at least get me a 3. I also hope that I didn't manage to drop my animation score because I have found out from telling other people my score that it was a really great one. I guess I knew that seeing as how it is a 4 out of 5 but I didn't know that it was as hard to get as it sounds like it is. I feel like I did just as good as my initial audition and if they gave me a 4 then I can't see why they wouldn't now.

Hopefully good things come of this coding as well as going to as many auditions as possible. I really do want to get my face out there. I'm not sure where I want to go in this company and while I know I don't want to stay as a front line performer (or really any other role) for very long, I do know that people knowing who I am and my dedication to doing a good job can only result in good things.

Thats all for now my lovely readers. Because I don't say it often enough I love you all too and I read every comment that yall write. <3!!

-M

Face and Codes

2011-07-07T19:05:00.001-05:00

So instead of stories and thoughts on my character friends, this update is about the practical/business aspects of being in entertainment (aka auditions and such).

I mentioned in my last post about another face audition that I could go to on the 5th. Well the time has come and tomorrow is the day. I'm still rather hopefully about my chances of getting pulled but I'm not going to place any bets. And I'm pretty sure that no matter what happens I will be perfectly fine. Why you might ask? Because I now have other goals that are more within my control.

About a week ago (give or take... Disney screws with my days), my animation and movement scores finally showed up. When I wrote a post about auditions I mentioned that is consists of two parts, animation and movement (dance). Based on your audition you get scores for those two things. They used to be called color codes and your color represented your level of skill. Since January entertainment has switched to a number coding system where 1 is the lowest and 5 is the highest. My scores are a 2 in movement and a 4 in animation. I am really happy and proud of my animation score. When I auditioned I put a lot of effort into those animations and its nice to know that paid off. On the other hand I know I didn't really showcase my dancing ability during my audition because I was so focused on my animations. While I'm not a dancer, I also know I'm not a 2. So I will be going to the audition on Wednesday that is for current entertainment cms. Its specifically to update your coding (and get your face out there). I am going to be shooting for a 4 and hopefully will be able to raise my movement score to at least a 3. I'm hopeful that I can manage to do that.

From what I have learned you need at least a 3 to be able to do parades. While I was able to express an intertest (there is a formal way to do it based on your coding) in both Halloween and Holiday/Christmas parades, if I ever want a chance at being able to express interest in any of the other parades I need to get my movement score up. Unlike some people I don't have my heart set on being in parades, I'm not a professional performer so its not something I NEED to do. But it is definitely a dream that would be awesome to fulfill.

So while neither of these things (face and a higher movement score) are things that I will be devastated (aka cry, feel horribly depressed about, feel like a failure if not achieved) if I don't get, I really do want them both. Its nice to have goals for yourself and I'm happy that at least one of these goals are things that I have the ability to control.

I will be sure to post the results of both of these auditions. I know I would be curious about what happened if I was reading this. But then again, this is my blog. tehehe. :)

-M

A Special Little Girl Named Ingrid.

2011-06-29T17:49:00.000-05:00

I feel like the last couple of posts have shown the ups and downs I have been going through. Obviously my posts about Training show some of the downs. To say I was in serious self-doubt mode is an understatement. I have since come to realize that pretty much everyone goes through that during training. I think I mentioned in that post that I remember being hard on myself and having similar doubts when I went through attendant training. It really makes you wonder if the self doubt breakdowns during training is like built in. I especially feel like during character training they are really hard on you. If its on purpose I think that is BS. But its just as likely that its me. lol

I also have been having some costuming issues which have resulted in serious upper back/shoulder/neck pain. To the point where on Saturday and Sunday night I just came home and laid down because I was in so much pain. Those few days were really hard. But the point of this post is to say that even with these hardships I have begun to experience the pure magic that can be had with my role.

In fact the first truly magical moment I had was on Sunday, one of the days where I was in intense pain. I was working with Mickey that day and I literally told him that I did not want to put on my outfit and go out there. It was pretty much one of the last things I wanted to do since I knew it would be 45 solid mins of discomfort. But I of course put on my outfit and went out there with him. About 3 families in Mickey met a little girl who honestly changed everything.

Mickey told me that the first thing she said was "Guess what Mickey? I have a boyfriend!", to which Mickey responded with a head nod. She then said "Your my boyfriend Mickey!" He of course gave her a hug. It just got better from there. She explained that she couldn't come visit him all the time anymore because she had moved to Equador. She said "its ok though you know why?" and as she patted her heart she said "because you are right here." Mickey gave her copius hugs and kisses and when she said to not forget her he said that he loved her and that he would never forget her and that she would stay in his heart. This little girls name was Ingrid and she gave Mickey a letter and 2 drawings. Mickey let me take pictures of the drawings so I can share them with yall.

Watching Ingrid with Mickey was magical and for the rest of the set, I forgot the pain I was in and pushed myself to really interact. I am very grateful to Ingrid. She was the first guest to really show me the Magic that I can create when helping my furry friends. My days can be long, tiring, and sometimes painful but my job is one that has incredible potential to make magic and memories. This is something that I knew but didn't really KNOW. I hadn't experienced it until Ingrid and I can't help but be very grateful to her. She will never know how much she touched me. But she is my inspiration to push myself everyday and touch as many people as I can. Just like Mickey told her, she is going to stay in my heart forever.

"I should blog, but I don't know what to blog about."

2011-06-21T22:37:00.000-05:00

I totally just said that to my roommate Kryssy. I feel the need to blog but I'm just not so sure what to write about.

I guess I can start with work. It has been going really well. I have worked at Epcot, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom. The only day I didn't see someone I knew was my first day out of training at Epcot. I know I had mentioned I was nervous but it turned out really well. I made some friends which was nice and I also had my fellow training group shortie Ariel come visit me and Mickey. Oh! and my other friend Trevor did too. It was really nice to have visitors.

Ariel and Mickey

Trevor and Mickey

My aunt, uncle, and two cousins are in Orlando this week to visit and play in the parks. It has been really nice to see some family and hang out with them. I haven't seen this particular part of my family since like Christmas so it was nice to catch up. While at Animal Kingdom on Sunday they visited Mickey and got some fun pictures with him.

Mickey and I have been having a lot of fun hanging out together. At first I was a bit intimidated with the thought of helping him out but I have discovered that he is a very nice guy and very easy to hang out with, although sometimes (read frequently) I end my days helping him with bruises.

That is one thing that while they never really mention in any of the things you hear about being a performer. It is absolutely exhausting. I come home tired, completely sticky and gross, and so far always sore and often bruised. Obviously people come into the job knowing it is physically demanding but I'm not sure people realize how demanding it is. I literally have come home every day with some sort of bruise. Be it from shoes or kneeling, they are not fun. And it is hard to force yourself to get up every morning when you are still tired and sore and know that you have to go back out and do it again. You hear a lot of people say children's hugs make it all worth while, but honestly a lot of the time (at least for me) it doesn't. Children's hugs don't make me want to get out of bed. The obligation to do my job is what gets me out of bed but don't get me wrong, I do love hugs. Its a wonderful role and I still feel truly blessed to be able to call it my job, but don't ever let anyone fool you into thinking it is easy. Performers earn their 40 minute breaks for 20 mins of work.

I feel like this is a bit of an odd update but I suppose thats ok. Its an update. To end this little post I have a picture that I took of a computer screen (so excuse the funky-ness) of my friend and boss Mickey and a guest. It makes me smile. :)

-M

First Real Day!

2011-06-16T09:56:00.000-05:00

So today is my first real day of work. I am honestly a bit nervous. I am working in an inside location but it is one where I have a whole group of people dependent on my ability to keep the line moving. Writing that makes me realize thats really not anything new. As an attendant I was in charge of keeping the line moving but I also realize that this time around its completely different.

In other news I am not as frustrated as I was yesterday about my face type out experience. I know of a girl who is friends with Kryssy who has had the same experience I had (being looked at and talked about) multiple times but has never gotten pulled. However I just have to hope that I will get pulled. I am feeling confident and very go get em tiger. I have to know that they saw something they liked and will hopefully pull me at the July 5th type out. Kryssy talked to a girl who went 5 times before getting pulled for anything. While I don't have that amount of time, I do know that nothing with Disney has ever come on the first try for me. I really can't expect that this will either.

One of my trainers used an analogy of cake to describe the entertainment experience. Everyone who makes it into the department starts out with cake. Some people get icing on their cake and some people get icing and sprinkles. It can take a while to get those extra layers and some people may never get them. But hard work and time can get you to those extra layers. I know how hard I worked to even get that piece of cake that I have. I am just going to give it my all and hope that my icing will come and maybe I will get some sprinkles too.

-M

Not my day...

2011-06-15T14:16:00.001-05:00

A quick update about the face type out I went to this morning...

Today was not my day.

WOMP WOMP. It kinda sucked. Basically all you do at these things is stand in a line with a number on you and they stare at you and talk about you. They have music on and they tell you you can chat to others. But the whole time they are looking at everyone.

I got stared at a good long while. It was very awkward and so I just continued to chat with the girls beside me rather than stare at the casting directors and smile. I now can't help but be frustrated with myself about that. Would things be different if I had stared and smiled? I have no way of knowing. Suffice to say I didn't get pulled for anything. But there is another audition July 5th and I will attend that one. Who knows maybe I will have better luck next time.

-M

Training Tidbits Part 2!

2011-06-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

So on to the more positive side of training.

The first and most awesome aspect of training is that I got to train with my roommate and friend, Kryssy. I am so so so glad I had her with me. Having someone to share it all with was the biggest gift. I also developed a close bond with my other shortie Ariel. We got to be partnered up on our last day of training for our last set which was really awesome. I think we played off each other quite well.

I had a large variety of trainers this time around. First day started off with Auriel and Joel. Auriel stayed with us up to day 3 but yesterday was our day off, so she was not with us on our last day. Christine and Jenny stepped in on day 2 and Christine then stayed with us till the end of our training. On day 3, our first day of in park training, we had Brandon and Christine as well as Lori, and attendant trainier to help with out lines. In a very amusing twist I actually met Brandon the night before while at my friend Cory's birthday party. Day 4 consisted of Christine, Perry, and as previously mentioned, Ashley.

Ya. Thats my trainier. lol.

In other fun news I spent Sunday (day 3) hanging out with the big cheese. It was actually quite fun. Mickey did tell me he had one young girl hit his nose and then stood on his shoe but other than that he said the day was quite good. I had several friends go visit Mickey and that was very exciting. My friend Cory and her mother visited Mickey and she sent me a picture. :) She said she had a very good time.

Yesterday I got to hang out with my all time favorite character, Donald Duck. I was very excited about that but it turned out the be quite stressful for me. When I was having to redo my autographs Perry mentioned that I might be so hard on myself about things concerning Donald because he is my favorite. I am willing to conceded that this is probably true. Donald is number one after all and I don't want my helping him out for the day to bring down his amazingness. I think we were a pretty good pair though even though his autographs ended up looking like crap through my assistance. Unfortunately no one came to visit Donald while I was helping him so I don't have any pictures to share.

In other news, my twin left me to go vacation in the mountains for 2 months. I will miss him quite horribly but he needs the vacation and I probably need the time away from him.

Also in other news I will be attending a face type-out (read audition for current entertainment cms) tomorrow. I am hoping the casting directors think I look like a certain fairy. I have gotten a surprising amount of comments about our resemblance since being down there. I can only hope that the casting people see it too. I would love to get to hang out with her. :) So send me pixie dust tomorrow!!

Love you all!!

-M

Training Tidbits

2011-06-14T10:15:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!

I am back and here and alive! I know its only been like 6 days since my last post but it feels like a millennia. Yesterday I finished training and I can't even begin to say how happy I am about that. Training has been a huge emotional roller coaster for me. I had moments where I was like Ya! I can do this!, moments of I got this! and then moments of feeling that I totally sucked and just wanted to crawl into a little hole and cry. Unfortunately I ended training on one of those moments.

I hate to write a debby downer blog post but it will probably be therapeutic so I'm going to write it anyway. I was in a group of 8 trainees which was really small compared to the group that started on Saturday (we started on Friday). I like most of my fellow trainees but one somewhat annoys me. No big deal though. All of them either have dance, cheer, or theatre experience or really just performance experience. As has been documented in this blog I on the other hand have pretty much no performance experience. While that really doesn't matter I think it fed into my feelings of inadequacy. There were times when we were doing inprov and things like that and I just felt like I had no idea what to do and that I sucked at it while everyone else was good at it. I also kept remembering that I had failed to pass my audition 2 other times while everyone else passed on their first attempt. I kind of felt like I just wasn't very good at this role.

The final down note I ended my training on was my assessment. Everyone who trains for a role at Disney must complete an assessment at the end of their training program so that they can be approved in their role and begin working. For performers it is no different. Part of our assessment is signing the names of some of our furry friends. We had to do 4 and we are allowed to know which ones before hand. So when the time comes for the assessment I complete that part before going on the the multiple choice section. Halfway through the multiple choice section I glance up when I hear one trainer ask something of the other in a rather loudish whisper. I notice that they are talking about some signatures and that one of them picks up a paper which has the name of a certain bear who loves hunny. I was the only one who had to sign that certain bears name so I knew they were talking about mine. I don't remember what was said but I do remember them saying something about making me redo them. So before I ever finished my multiple choice section I knew I was going to have to redo my signature section. So when I turned in my multiple choice section I waited a few minutes and then one of the trainers, Perry, came and brought me my signatures back. They had glorious (read all sarcastic like) blue marker corrections all over it. After explaining all the things wrong with them, he gave me another sheet on which to redo them.

At this point I am just trying not to cry in front of everyone when all I want to do is just curl up in a ball and cry. I have no idea why this set me off but I guess with feeling a bit inadequate and then being the only one asked to redo all 4 of my signatures was just the icing on the cake. My redos were honestly worse then the originals. The harder I tried to make them better the worse they got and when I had no more squares to attempt to fill I just turned it in. Those then got more blue corrections and returned to me with more comments from Perry. The rest of the time we spent wrapping up training I spent trying not to cry. What was supposed to be this uplifting ending turned into a torturous waiting period for me.

I know I took that little incident far more personally then I should have but on the other hand I don't think it necessarily went the way it should have. Other people had comments and things wrong with their signatures but I was the only one that had to redo all of them. And for the most nit picky things too!! It just very very frustrating and it still makes me upset to think about it and write it now.

While I had a variety of trainers through the last 5 days I can say that the person I am most grateful to isn't even a character trainer, but instead an attendant trainer. Ashley, who actually spent one day training me while I was in attendant training, was there yesterday to help out with our lines since we didn't have an attendant group training with us. She commented at some point in the day that I was really hard on myself and was even when I went through attendant training. I do remember being hard on myself and thinking I would never learn and become good at all the things I needed to do, but I eventually did become good at them and honestly I was a damn good attendant. I don't know if her pervious experience with me gave her insight into what I was thinking but she seemed to know that I was getting down on myself. At the end of the day after we were finished she told me that I had to stop beating myself up because I was just going to psych myself out and gave me a hug. I am going to have to force myself to remember what she told me. I know I am amazing and it seems I am my own most harsh critic.

So that is all the bad stuff that happened during training. I guess I will just make another post with all the other stuff. I can already tell this is a massive post and I know if I add the other stuff in here it will just make it that much longer. So! on to Training Tidbits part 2!

-M

Welcome to Entertainment!!

2011-06-09T15:14:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!! I thought I would send in a quick little post.

Today was my first day of training although I wasn't the fun training. I think I have mentioned before that since I trained as an attendant the way training goes has been changed. There is now a general entertainment class that you take before splitting into your individual areas called Welcome to Entertainment. The change is actually kinda nice in that it beings all areas under entertainment together including costuming, photopass, attendants, and performers. It also makes our training more similar to other areas in hat we now have a general day at Disney University to get us started.

Now that being said I found it rather boring. That isn't so much a negative reflection on the class as much as it is that I already know all the info they shared from attendant training. There was a nice tour part which was fun and included things I haven't done before. However considering I was waived through as an attendant I really should have been waived through this time. In fact the reason I am actually writing this ATM is because I don't have to do any e-learning and so can just sit outside killing time and getting paid. It's rather grand.

I will say though I am very glad I am taking the class because without it I wouldn't meet people. I'm not going to even act like I'm not annoyed by people. I can already see the subtle posturing and bragging. I'm not a theatre major or a dancer or in any real entertainmenty things so I'm not used to that sort of thing and I really have little patience for it. I know the entertainment department can be very hierarchal so I guess I will see how I survive.

On another note one of my W2E facilitators, Katy, is actually one of the trainers I had on my very first day of attendant training. Another random thing is there were two entertainment managers sitting in on the first part of our class one of which was a studios manager, Tracey. Both of them somewhat recognized and remembered me and once I mentioned how I knew them, were all oh yaaa! I thought it was rather funny.

So thats pretty much it for today. Tonight I am going to watch my twin drive in DEP. I start core training tomorrow and I'm quite excited about that. I'm not sure if I will have time (or energy) to do little updates like this but I will of course try.

Love and Kisses,
-M

The Insanity Continues: Check In Day #2

2011-06-08T08:33:00.000-05:00

Well Hello there!

Yesterday was the day I officially began my second CP. The night before check-in I met my roommates at DTD where we ate at Earl of Sandwich and then walked around a bit. We decided that we were going to get to Vista at 5:30 so we could make sure we got in the front of the line and got the apartment size and location that we wanted.

Monday morning I got up bright and early at 5:00 am. I had my bestie/twin there to help me with move in so he sat in the car while I stood in line. We were probably 5th in line when we got there at 5:30 and the line just got progressively longer as we waited. While I hate that I had to get up so early, I am glad I got there when I did. What time you get there greatly depends on the people in your season and so changes every semester but I also think that as more people do the program they hear that you should get there earlier so people just continually get there early. Kind of like a catch 22.

Roooomies!! (L-R Kryssy, Jenn, Kat, Me!)

They started walking us back at 8 am. We ended up being first in line because the people in front of us all had suitcases and had to walk their bags to the suitcase tent while we just went to the first table. First thing you do is get your program guide book which eventually gets a ton of stickers stuck on to it with all sorts of info and a name tag. Next station is when you fill out some paper work for housing including your contact info and agreeing to all the housing rules. Next stop is where you select your apt roommates/apt size/apt location. I was selected as the person to head up to get our apt. We got a 2 bedroom in Chatham and had a choice of the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd floor. We had talked about what we wanted before so I chose a 1st floor and it just so happened that we live in building 26 which is right next to my old building of 25. This time I am on the back of the building so we have a little patio without a fence. We are literally in the back right corner so we face a drainage canal which means greeeeeen and a fence in the way. Its actually quite nice.

After getting your apt number the next stop is picking up your apartment key. You then go to a station to sign your rent paper (telling you how much you will pay), then you move on to a table to pick up a bus route map, then on to getting your picture taken for your housing ID. Kat and I had problems with out IDs. They just wouldn't print out. I had to wait like 10 mins and she had to wait like 15 while our other roomies Jenn and Kryssy got theirs quite quickly. We ended up getting a bit separated at this point. Next stop is the car decal area (if you have a car with you) and then the last stop at Housing is where you get your Casting bus time and info about the rest of the day. I was given the 9:00 bus time but ended up being placed on the 8:45 bus with Kryssy and Jenn. We didn't actually end up leaving Vista till like 9:06. Kat unfortunately got stuck on the 9:00 bus that didn't leave till well after 9:00.

After Housing we went to Casting. I'm not going to go into as much detail because.. well, I am lazy. lol. We got the location for our roles. Since I already knew mine and performers are park universal I didn't learn anything new. We turned in our I-9s and saw that there is a open audition for females 5'1 -5'7 and that CPs can attend. Usually CPs can't attend auditions till the end of their program and I assume the 6 month between audition rule is in place here too, but it was an interesting little side note learned at casting. When I got my fingerprints taken the man (which I am almost positive is the same guy that took them last time) told me I had really good fingers. Go Me! :) I then went through various other rooms before finally ending up in the room with all the trainers. Let me just say that the trainer for Entertainment sucked! I literally didn't learn anything. I know I have Welcome to Entertainment on Thursday morning and that I will get the rest of my schedule then. While I already knew that (and the rest of my schedule up till Sat the 18th) I was frustrated because she mumbled the whole time! I couldn't hear her over all the other trainers. I wanted to tell her to SPEAK UP! ugh.

I ended up getting out of casting first since I was able to skip a table which put me a bit in front of Kryssy and Jenn. I waited for everyone else to get out of Casting and we all took the bus home together. While I was at Casting my twin had brought all the stuff to my apt since he had plans later in the afternoon. I expected to have a bit of time in between housing and casting like I did last time, but I didn't. I did run my key to him before I got on the bus so he was able to get into the apt and put everything in there for me. I ended up having to get a late check out so that I could have time to get to the apartment, get my car, and then get back to the hotel. After I did that I spent a bit of time unpacking before my roommates returned and they then went to the housing meeting. I decided to be bad and not go because 1) I was an RA and its basically a hall meeting (which I conducted several times) and 2) I had already gone to one once. I also figured since all three of my roommates would be going, if there was anything I needed to know, they would tell me.

To end the night we all went to Port Orleans Riverside to have a check-in night dinner meet up. A few other people showed up which was nice. We had a good time. :) That is pretty much it for check-in day. . Kat, Kryssy, and Jenn went to Traditions today but I didn't have to since I am a current cast member. I did have to go get my CP ID and I got the new blue ID. It used to be that blue IDs were reserved for Managers only (white for cps, red for seasonal, and yellow for pt/ft). Now everyone will have blue ones and vendors/contractors will have green. They just started issuing the blue ones today so I literally got one of the first ones. :) My picture is horrible though because i didn't expect to have to take a picture today. Traditionally CPs don't have pictures on their IDs. I will try to continue to update with training and such. It was a bit hard to find the motivation to get this one done but I have promised to be dedicated to this, so I am going to be.

Anyways, LOVE YOU ALL!
-M

So Much to Share

2011-06-04T23:20:00.000-05:00

Today was an awesome day. I mentioned before that I had picked up a Spare 6 attendant shift today at Studios. My bestie/twin picked up a shift at Studios too so he drove us there. We got there way early (like 2 hours) because it was a Star Wars weekend (hellish parking) and also because I had to get a costume. I have lost a good deal of weight since my CP so I wasn't sure what size shorts I would wear (or even what size shorts I used to wear).

Well after I got my shorts I went and checked in and sat down. I then basically sat there for an hour and a half till I could clock in. I had to take some silly update computer-y thing but then I had nothing to do. All of the other Attendants showed up so I literally just sat at base for my whole shift. At one point I thought I might have to go to Epcot because the were down an attendant, but I guess by the time my lunch had ended they had filled that hole because I didn't end up having to go. So instead of helping out Phineas and Ferb I decided to Early Release (ER) instead.

Two ish hours after I got my ER I finally got to meet one of the people I have been talking to online for months, Emily. It was really awesome to finally get to meet her. :) We watched the Countdown to Fun Parade, then went on Rockin Roller Coaster, GMR, and Muppets. We then headed over to the Animation building where Fantasmic characters were greeting and saw a few characters. We met Pinocchio, Pocahontas and Meeko, and Pooh Bear. To end our play time we took the animation class and drew Buzz Lightyear.

I love them, but especially my Fro-Yo.

What a cuddly little bear.

<3 him (and her!)

We had a great discussion about how to say goodbye in Poca's language and if Emily and my hair flowers were the type Meeko liked to eat.

While this day was quite fun the best part for me was getting access to EISS again. EISS is the entertainment specific scheduling system. Because I hadn't logged in since last July, my password had expired. I called IT today while at work and got it all reset and was finally able to see what height I am. Suffice to say I am SO EXCITED! Since it is saturday and schedules drop on Saturday I was able to look up where I am scheduled to work after training. :) Seeing that finally made it real. I am really going to get to hang out with characters. Its truly insane to me. I can't help but smile when I think about it. I will of course post pictures of my friends once I start making them but for now, I'm not really going to go into any detail.

It all starts getting really real on Monday when I check in to my second CP. Baaahhh!! I am so excited. :) Life is good.

-M

Will you let us know if you got face or fur? Or do you plan to keep that under wraps? :)

2011-06-03T12:00:00.001-05:00

I honestly don't know. Lol. I'm not going to come right out and say it but I will for sure talk about my friends and share pictures. I don't think it will be to hard to figure out who my friends are.

Ask me anything

Finally Made It!

2011-06-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

Well guess what?

....I FINALLY MADE IT TO ORLANDO!!!! YAAAAYYYY!!!!!
Honestly the best part about that statement is it means I have no more long distance driving to do. I can't even begin to explain how happy I am about that. I am SO tired of driving. I have basically spent the last 2 weeks in a state of transition and travel and I am so glad to say that period is done. I have made it to Orlando and can chill and not worry about long distance driving for a very long time.
I decided to make a map of my road trip. I figured it would be fun to look at my trip and remember it in years to come. Each leg of the tour has its own color and how long the drive took.

View DCP Road Trip 11' in a larger map
Well thats really it for this post. I'm really tired from driving all day and I am pretty much just being a vegetable and watching my twin play video games. My friend Cory and I are going to go watch him (my twin Josh) in MISICI tomorrow and probably play around. It shall be lots of fun. :)
Love-M

Blog Stuff

2011-05-31T23:27:00.001-05:00

Hey everyone!
I have one more update for the night. I created and added a formspring to this blog. I'm not sure if anyone ever comes on here and has questions but I figured it couldn't hurt to add a formspring. I love interacting with my readers and reading comments so feel free to use the formspring or just comment! I try to respond to comments and things. :)

I have also been working on updating the pages on this blog, specifically the "Other DCP Blogs." I try to keep it limited to blogs that post regularly and have interesting/informative posts. Some of the ones I have up there now are not updated as often anymore since they have finished their CP, but I feel like they have a lot of good info on them and really share their CP story, so I keep them up. That being said if you know of a good blog that might be worthy of sharing with others please let me know! I will be honest and say I am only going to post ones that I think are truly helpful, post regularly, and share a person's CP story. But don't let that stop you from giving me suggestions! Even if I don't post them here, I do follow a whole ton of CP blogs. :)

Thats all for tonight. I am going to try very hard to post tomorrow night but I'm not going to make any promises. I may be too busy spending some time with my long lost twin. I kinda miss him. :)

Twins!

-M

Blogging on the Go

2011-05-31T22:57:00.003-05:00

So hopefully this works. I am testing out blogging via email from my phone. I know that once I get to Orlando and start the cp I know my time will be some what limited and it will be harder to find the time to sit and write posts. But hopefully if this phone thing works I can send little updates while at work and then expand them later. Or just have posts with a picture. I figure updates of some kind are better than none.

In other news I forgot to mention that I registered for my Disney class a few days ago. I will be taking the Exploring Marketing Exploration Series class. I debated about which section to take but decided on the 8am class at Chatham on Thursdays. :) I'm excited and have already talked to a few other people taking the class.

Well thats all for this little post. I will be staring the last leg of my road trip tomorrow. A 7 hour drive and then I will be in Orlando. :)
-M

Chillin in Florida

2011-05-30T01:14:00.000-05:00

Well hello there!

I am currently chilling at my beach house in Destin, Florida. I arrived here on Saturday afternoon at around 4:30ish. I got a late start on the second leg of the road trip because I stayed up till 3 am with my sister watching the filming of 21 Jumpstreet.

They were filming some scenes for the movie at a house on the end of my Grandma's street so after going to see Pirates 4 we stood around and watched them film a few scenes. We were about 8 ish feet behind the director and all the monitors where they review what is being filmed. Which means when they reviewed the scenes we were about 8 feet away from the stars of the film Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. I didn't get really any good pictures of them (didn't want to be a creep and was more interested in getting a picture of the director chairs) but I did get some general pictures I will share. :)

Hard to see but Channing Tatum is indeed in this picture.

The thing I was attempting to take a picture of the whole time.

The general layout of the scene. It was a house party being busted by the parents.

So after my late start I drove and drove and drove some more till I made it to Destin. Suffice to say I am very over driving. But I still have a 2 hour drive this evening (to reach my mom is Port St. Joe) and then a longer drive to Orlando. I'm not sure how long the drive is from Port St. Joe but from Destin I think it is about 6 hrs.

.... Please hold while I google the drive time from Port St. Joe.......

Depending on the route I take its about 6-6.5 hours. Womp Womp. I really am very very tired of driving. But on the plus side I will be in Orlando on Wednesday. Probably late afternoon/early evening.

In other news... Since it is Sunday the schedule for June 5-11th came out today. That is the week that I check-in and also begin training. So from earlier snooping I was able to figure out that I was scheduled for Welcome to Entertainment on the 9th. That is still true. I am also scheduled for training on the 10th and 11th. I thought that with the scheduled drop my role might finally be changed from attendant to performer, but that was not the case. I am still listed as an Attendant and even more frustrating my training is listed as Attendant Core. I'm not going to even lie I am sad/annoyed/frustrated/ugghed by the lack of change in my role and now the slightly incorrect info about my training. I know that the attendant and character training is similar and its the same departement and all that will change when they switch my role is "performer core" rather than "attendant core" but I still want to see it change. I'm am highly annoyed with Disney that they haven't gotten around to changing it yet. If I didn't have to 2nd purple folder with printed acceptance letter in it I might be worried that something has gone wrong. I know it hasn't but still. Get on this Disney.

To end this random update I shall post a picture of my legs and the sand here in Destin. It is gorgeous sugar white sands and I love it. My grandma is going to give me one of the spare keys to the house so if I ever get a long weekend I can drive up here and chill. :) yay!

-M

The Road Trip Begins...

2011-05-27T12:22:00.003-05:00

Moving Right Along...

2011-05-27T12:19:00.003-05:00

Well today I began the road trip down to Orlando. I completed the first leg of the trip with a stop in New Orleans. YAAAAYYY!!!

I have to be honest I am glad I am breaking this trip up over a series of days because there is just no way I could have driven it all at once, even if I only went to Chipley, Fl like I did last time. Unlike last time I am driving by myself this time around. I will admit that I am my favorite driving partner. I can turn my music up as loud as I want and not have to worry about turning down to hear someone else. I can also listen to whatever my little heart desires. :) But the downside of road tripping by yourself is there is no one to take over driving once you get tired. And I was really getting tired by the end of my 6 hour drive to New Orleans from Houston.

Yes. 6 hours. Usually it takes me about 5-5.5 hrs but I hit sevearl areas of pointless traffic and saw many cops which made me slow down. Why is it that every time I drive to Orlando I see a ton of cops? I guess the difference between this time and last time was that I actually did get pulled over (instead of the scare I had last time). I think I was going about 3-4 miles over the speed limit so I assumed he pulled me over for speeding. I was of course freaking out. But then he walked up and told me I hadn't signaled when I changed lanes. Honestly I am suspicious of that statement becuase I ALWAYS use my blinker. I am religious about it. But I think he may have pulled me over to slow me down. Anyways I chattered on about how I was going to Orlando to do an internship program with Disney at Disney World and yatta yatta yatta. He asked me some questions and then just gave me a warning. ** INSERT SIGH OF RELIEF**..... I then proceeded to drive 65 for the next hour before I got really tired of that and moved it up to my usual 5 mph above the speed limit. Don't judge. I learned to drive in Houston where the minimum accepted speed limit is 70, almost everyone drives 75, and there is frequently bumper to bumper traffic at 80. I really think it is impossible to learn to drive in Houston and not be super aggressive.

Anyways. Out of my run in with the law it was an uneventful trip. I dragged out my old well worn and loved ipod and played the playlist I made for my last CP road trip. It is an awesome playlist if I do say so myself. I will definitely have to add more to it though because I played the whole thing yesterday and I am going to need more music for the next two segments of the trip.

In other news I found out that CP entertainment training has changed. There is Welcome to Entertainment, which I didn't have to take last time b/c they hadn't started it yet. I am scheduled to take it on the 9th but I also looked at it and it says that it was completed on 12/31/10 (waived). I assume that is from my time as an attendant and so they just waived it so I didn't have to take it but I wonder if that means it is waived for now so I wont be taking it on the 9th. I basically don't know what that means. I hope that I get to take it again b/c even though I wont have to do a lot of the computer stuff there is still a bunch of performer specific things I don't know how to do and more importantly its the first day you are with your training group. I don't want to miss out on that bonding. After WTE there is now only 4 days of training and only 2 of those are in park days. When I went through Attendant training it was 5 days total (still the same) and 3 days in park. I am kind of upset that they took out that additional day of in park training. I want everyday of training (especially in park) that I can get!

I got a call from Disney Workforce Management this morning. For a second I was all "AHHH!!!! Whats going on? Maybe they will tell me something awesome!" but then it was just a courtesy call to let me know I was on the schedule for next week. That was nice. I picked up an Attendant shift for Saturday the 4th. Its the first day I will work in a little under a year so I guess they wanted to remind me because of that. Its a Spare 6 shift at Studios. Usually there are only 2 spares so I have no idea what I will be doing but its also a Star Wars Weekend so who knows. You have to be specially trained to actually work with Star Wars characters so its not like they would put me with one of them. I basically have no idea wtf I will be doing. Hopefully something awesome and something that doesn't really require timing a line. I haven't done that in a little under a year so I am rusty. With my luck they will give me a pop up character and I will have to relearn reaaalll quick.

I guess thats all for this rambling post. I will continue the road trip tomorrow by traveling 4 (or so) hours to Destin, FL. :) I will then hang there for a few days before driving the 6 hours down to Orlando to arrive on the 1st for 5 days of play before I check in to my DCP #2! :)

To end this post I will share the song that I took the title from. Hit it Kermit and Fozzy!

-M

Packed and Waiting

2011-05-19T22:33:00.002-05:00

Well hello there my lovies!

I am currently writing this from Houston. I have officially graduated and moved out of my Apartment. Thats a really odd thought. I am done with school. I will never wait for final grades to come in. In fact the time I spent waiting for final grades the last few days was really pointless since I had already graduated and it really didn't matter anymore.

Speaking of graduation I snuck my c/o 2011 Mickey ears in. Turns out I didn't need to sneak them in, I could have just walked in with them. After I walked and got my degree holder (b/c the degree isn't even in there) I switched to my Mickey ears from my grad cap. I got lots of comments. That picture is of my mom, sister, and I after my graduation. As shown in that picture I totally rocked my Mickey ears.

After graduation I went into extreme packing mode. Turns out I had packed a lot more than I realized during finals week. My sister stayed and helped me pack everything and then yesterday (Wednesday) some movers put all my stuff in a uhaul we had rented and my dad drove it back to Houston.

I did a test run on my Orlando stuff and it all fit in my car. I am SO proud of myself for not overpacking. I was terrified that it wouldn't all fit even though I was trying my hardest to not overpack. Not only did everything fit but I didn't have anything blocking my vision aka it wasn't stacked to the roof.

Almost all of my stuff (obviously not the table).

Those are all pictures of my car when it was packed. Look at that room! Which is good because I have one box that accidentally got packed in the uhaul and my twin bedding which was in Houston.

So now that I am done with school and packing, I am just waiting. I have decided to head to Orlando early so I will now arrive on the 1st instead of the 5th. I will be staying with my Twin/Bestie and he will help me move in on the 6th. So that means that I only have 13 days till I am back in Orlando!! So Exciting!! I will be in Houston till probably Tuesday, then I will travel to New Orleans to visit family before heading to Destin, FL to spend Memorial Day weekend with my family at our beach house. I am really looking forward to all of it. I am going to enjoy the journey but I can't lie and say that I don't want to just hurry up and be at the destination. Yesterday was the first check-in day so I have already seen pictures of some D-fam members in Orlando. I am quite jealous. I can't wait to get there and meet them all. I also really can't wait to get there and work another Attendant shift. I know I need to work another shift before the end of July and I know the best time to do it is before I start my CP. Plus I want to see everyone and get my feet wet again. ACK! so excited.

I guess that is all I have for this post. I know it is quite rambly. Sorry, but at least its a post right!!

<3 yall!

-M

Graduation, Packing, and other random things.

2011-05-09T14:52:00.000-05:00

Well hello there my lovelies! It feels like it has been so long since I last posted (12 days! unacceptable!). The fact that I feel totally horrible and sad that I have neglected this blog for 12 days just goes to show how important it (and my readers) have become to me. That kind of makes me happy because I am relatively sure I won't fall off the wagon and never post like I did on my last CP. I feel obligated to post regularly and keep everyone informed of my fun.

I am pretty much done with school (one last final that I can literally just write my name on and pass the class) and graduation is just 5 days away. Since I have nothing to do this finals week, I have started packing. Flash back to a year and a half ago and this post and my feelings about packing have not changed one bit. I have yet to edit that packing list and take out the things I know I won't need which means I have just been packing things I know will just have to go into storage. Since I am planning on staying in Orlando after my program everything that I am not taking to Orlando is getting packed and stored at my parents house until the end of my program.

I am trying really really hard to just pack and get it done. I realize that the reason I am not good at packing is because you have to let your space get really messy in order to pack and I can't stand the mess. So I end up trying to be neat while packing and that just doesn't work.

In other news.... IN EXACTLY 4 WEEKS I WILL BE CHECKING IN AT VISTA WAY!!! flkgjadl;gjldfkgfadgjdflkfj
Sheer. Excitement.

I can't believe it is almost here. I can't believe its almost time for me to go back. I have literally been waiting to return since July 27th, the day I left. Working at Disney and living in Orlando was really one of the best things to ever happen to me. I met people that have become such an essential part of my life and I can't wait to go back and make meet even more people.

Speaking of people, I have such an incredibly long list of people I want/need to see as soon as I get back that I just don't know how I am going to fit everything in. My roomies and I are planning on going shopping together on our second day to get things that we will want/need for the Apt. Because I am still a Cast Member I don't think I have to go to Traditions again which means I will have day 3 (traditions day) off. The down side to that is I will probably have to go to Access Control to get my CP Id rather then getting it at Traditions check-in and I don't know how I will get my name tag. So basically the 2 free days I will have before training will be spent doing things other than spending time with all of the people I want to see. I will be intensely busy once training starts so if I don't get to see them before then, I won't see them till like 1.5 weeks after I get there. That is also assuming I start training right away. Depending on how many Entertainment CMs need to be trained they could split us up into multiple groups and I may be delayed further than the 4th or 5th day in starting training. I pray I am in the group that starts immediately b/c I have friends who will be on vacation at the time and slightly planned it around the hopes of seeing me while in training. I think I will be able to look up when I start on the HUB once that schedule drops, but as of now they still haven't even switched my role so who knows if I will actually be able to do that.

Humm... I guess that is all I have to talk about at the moment. I will probably post again next week unless something awesome happens that I need to talk about. :)

Love
-M

Crazy Busy

2011-04-28T14:01:00.000-05:00

I hate that it has been so long since I have posted a blog. School has been pretty insane though. I had so many things do the beginning of last week, then a 5 day easter break, and then on tuesday I had my Communication Portfolio (a graduation requirement for me) due. I thought once all of that was finished I would be home free but I have come to realize that isn't the case. I have a 6-8 page paper due next thursday, a final Wednesday, some journal entries to write, and basically more school work than I desire at this point in my college career. I am a bit apathetic about it all too.

Whatever.

Graduation is almost here (16 days), which is awesome. But with graduation comes its own large to-do list. I just got my correct personalized announcements. The first time the company sent them they were not right. I now have to pick one of my many graduation pictures to print and send with my announcements. Then I have to send the announcements which is hard when I can't for the life of me get my mother to make me a list of who to send them to. I also need to pick a restaurant to go to after and then make a reservation. And I have to do all of this while doing the homework I have and fitting in my Disney obsession.

Can I just be in Orlando already?

Did I mention my Disney obsession? Its such a constant in my life that I can hardly remember a time when it wasn't there. Well, thats a lie. I can remember back to Spring 08 before my Disney CP obsession (which turned into the general disney one I have now) set in. Life was so much more boring then. NOT! ... but not really.

Also have I mentioned how blessed I feel? Anytime I think about the role I have, I just get this happy bubble in my chest. I'm so excited to get to Orlando and start training. I didn't think about it till I just wrote this but this is how I felt before my last program. If I had ended up being an Attendant again I don't think I would be feeling this way right now just because it wouldn't be new. It wouldn't have zing of the unknown that I have right now. So I guess I am even more grateful that I get to be a performer. Being a performer has also brought a new set of Disney dreams for me, which I have put in my official Disney dreams list (and can be found in its own tab at the top of this blog).

Sigh. Thats it for this rambling post. Just wanted to update and let everyone know I am alive.

<3 yall!

-M

Third Times the Charm!

2011-04-11T19:30:00.001-05:00

:LKGJFLSDKG:LSKG:LK~!!!!!

The minions are accurately illustrating my feelings right now. I am so beyond excited its not even funny. Why you ask? Well after 2 previous attempts I passed my WDW entertainment audition!

I am so blissfully happy. I am sure that is a DUH statement but its very true. I felt that icky rejection feeling twice before and to have finally managed to make my dream come true is just an amazing feeling. Another amazing feeling? Knowing one (and soon two) of my roommates as well as various other friends will also be in entertainment is pretty awesome too.

I guess in addition to announcing my news and expressing my excitement I need to explain what this will mean for this blog. Character integrity is an incredibly important thing to me. There is magic in Disney Characters and it is something that as a Cast Member, both entertainment and in general, I feel obligated to protect. I probably wont post much about being a performer because this is a open blog and is on the open-free-anyone-can-see-internet. I have no way of knowing who will read this and I don't want to do anything to tarnish the integrity of my beloved characters or ruin a character experience for someone. I'm not saying I won't talk about my role at all, just that it will probably be limited.

I thought I would end with an adorable picture of me. I can't believe that I am going to get to be a part of this very special type of Disney Magic. Pinch me?

-M

Packing (1.5 months early)

2011-04-06T08:36:00.030-05:00

Last weekend I got reached the point of total disgust with the state of my room and decided to clean it. In the process I also switched out the winter clothes in my closet with my spring/summer clothes. I figured instead of just putting everything away and then having to go back in and resort once I start to pack for Orlando, I would put aside some winter-y stuff now. By winter-y stuff I mean a few long sleeve dresses, a few long sleeve ts, and 2 sweaters. I know that it really wont get cold (aka cold for a southern girl) until like end of November/December. So anyways I packed the stuff in space bags and stuck them in my shallow clear tub thing and VOILA! Marion has already started packing for Disney.

:) So proud of my packing. Go me!

Space bags are really great for College Program participants no matter if you are flying or driving to Orlando. They are very helpful for the traveling aspect and also for saving space when you are living in the apartments. Orlando obviously has really hot summers but they do have winters as well and no matter what program you are on your going to experience both (especially if you are on an advantage program). Space bags allow you to save room in your closet when you don't need those winter clothes.

From previous experience I do have a few tips when using them. #1- Do NOT over stuff them. I made that mistake on my last CP. They ended up losing their vacuum seal. After many uses they eventually start to lose that seal anyway but if you don't over stuff them they still work. #2- Be careful with them. They are made of thin plastic and if you aren't somewhat gentle with them they will rip. My sister realized this after she shoved them around in my car when packing and managed to rip one. They don't stay vacuumed to well when they have a hole in them. Also... clear packing tape doesn't really fix ripped space bags.

Thats all for this really random post. Per chance I will start working on that revised packing list and put it up here.

-M

Summertime JAM!

2011-03-28T16:28:00.002-05:00

Do you know that throughout the year, Epcot holds free (well with park entrance) concert series? It's true! They do. Being a CP means free entrance which means totally free concerts. And they usually offer some entertaining stuff too.

Today, Disney released the schedule for this year's Sounds Like Summer concert series. This series is all cover bands, but if my experience with last years bands is any indication, they are really good cover bands. Last year I went to go see 2U (a U2 cover band) with my training group buddy Patrick and his then girlfriend (now fiance) Toni. I went just to spend time with Patrick because I would be leaving Orlando to return to school soon but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed the band too.

Patrick and I enjoying the concert.

I have decided that this CP I am going to try to take advantage of everything. While that means I will be a very busy bee, it also means I will be a happy bee. So the plan is to hit up Epcot concerts because they are fun and free. I will hopefully go to the following Sounds Like Summer concerts:

Slippery When Wet – The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute, 6/26-7/2/11
Frontiers – A Tribute to Journey, 7/10-16/11
Karin Lawson – A Tribute to Janet Jackson, 7/17-23/11
2U – A Tribute to U2, 7/24-30/11

If you are going to be at Disney World in June or July (or just want to see who will be there) the Sounds of Summer schedule can be found here.

-M

Audition Pictures!

2011-03-26T14:05:00.001-05:00

I forgot to add these into the post audition entry. Its really long so I just decided to make a post for the pictures. :D

This is me right before I left my apartment. Look I am all cute and not sweaty-gross!

Hillary and I outside the audition room right after we finished. Look at how fierce and sweaty we look. Obviously we rocked it!

On more random tidbit that I forgot to mention in the audition post... Gina (the casting director) was actually the choreographer I had the very first time I auditioned. A nice little coincidence.

3rd Times the Charm

2011-03-26T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here it is! Post-Audition Review #3!

I don't think I have mentioned this before but I am relatively positive that this was my last time auditioning to be a Disney performer. The real purpose of doing the CP again is to use the program to network and get my name out there so hopefully I can get a PI and then a FT job with some sort of communication focus. Since my plan is to get a PI, I may end up extending my program, but I am hoping that I will eventually turn down the extension in favor of a PI. So basically this audition is the last chance I have to get into the performing side of entertainment.

So with that being said some of my previous really anxious posts might make more sense. Surprisingly though day of I wasn't freaking out. I had some butterflies but that isn't bad and went away once I got there and started talking to people.

The full recap:

I woke up at 7:30 am so that I would have enough time to chill and get ready. I also wanted the extra time to stand around in hopes that my spine would compress some. I know that sounds totally ridiculous but you are taller when you first wake up and since I wanted to be as short as possible, I figured I would wake up and stand. Which I did. About the only time I sat that day was to drive to and from the audition location.

The audition location was only about 10 mins from my apartment so I left at 9:50 to get there for around 10. Check-ins start at 10:30 and the audition started at 11. Once I parked and got to the doors of the studio there were probably at least 30 people there. I am bad with visual estimates but there was definitely a good chunk of people already waiting. After some looking around I finally went up to the girl that I thought was probably Hillary, a girl I know from the FB group. Its turns out it was her (!!YAY!!). She came with 2 other girls she goes to school with (Molly and Kat) and I ended up staying with them the whole audition.

They led us into the audition room at I assume 10:30... I didn't look at my cell to check. The process was pretty much the same as the last 2 times I auditioned. They sat us down gave a kinda brief overview of the paperwork. Asked how many of us were there for the CP (most) and how many for Full Time/Part Time/Seasonal (15-20). The Casting Director (Gina) introduced herself and the choreographer (Marissa). They then handed out the application and pens. I knew going in that I didn't want to be #1 like I was last time so I took my time filling out the paper work. Since I am currently seasonal I got to check off that I was a current cast member which was a nice little change. Hillary, Kat, Molly, and I then got in line. When I got to the front of the line I got my number (36), Gina looked at my application and saw that I was a current cast member. She has what I was and I told her I was an attendant at Hollywood Studios. She then asked me if I liked it, I responded I loved it, and then she took my picture.

Next up was getting measured by Marissa. Measuring this time around was a bit fancier than in the past. The last two times there was a strip of tape on the wall which had heights marked and they just stuck a ruler on the top of your head to measure you. This time around they had some fancy laser thing that they put on the top of your head, pressed a button and then you stepped away and it read the height from the floor to where the laser started. I of course thought short and was measured at "5 foot and some inches." That was Marissa's exact words, which I think are quite odd. Kat was measured at "5 foot 1 and some inches" so I know I was under 5'1 but I don't know exactly what I was measured at.

After getting measured everyone sat, stretched, and waited till everyone was checked in. There was a grand total of 88 people at the audition. From my previous experience in Austin auditions that is average. Once everyone was checked in and measured, Marissa got us all up and started the audition. The layout was the same as in the past, we are given scenarios for the animation portion and time to come up with what we are going to do and practice. Then she taught us the dance portion. It was 6 counts of 8 I believe. Counts 1 and 2 are pretty simple, 3 and 4 have more speed but the movements aren't really hard, then counts 5 and 6 are when the moves get more technical with the speed. The one thing I really appreciated about Marissa was that she went slow, not snails pace but not light lightening speed. After each bit she taught us we had a chance to do it one or two times. She also asked if we had questions every once in a while. Overall I think she was really great. After we learned the movement we then put the animations with the movements, did them a few times, and then she split us up into smaller groups so we would have enough room to do the whole thing together. The "whole thing" was animation, dance, animation, dance. I ended up being in the first group to do the whole thing. After all of the groups (4 in total I think) practiced the whole thing we were sent into a smaller dance studio to wait for our turn to go perform for Gina.

While we waited, a lot of people practiced the dance. I practiced some but I also spent a good bit of time just trying to chill before the final audition. The room had so many people that were so hot that the mirrors started to fog up, the walls got kinda wet, and the floor (IMO) started to get a bit slippery. Totally gross. They took us in groups of 6 so I ended up auditioning with Hillary which was nice.

I can honestly say that this was the best Disney audition I have ever done. I really don't think there is anything I could have done better. I wasn't bad at the dance, but I am not dancer. I got the first part of the dance and then the more technical aspects I was alright. I went the right direction and generally did the right thing so it was as good as I could have made it. As for animations, I am so glad I took the time to practice the two days before. I know that I was big and expressive. I actually had someone say after I did the group practice "You were really great! Your movements were probably the best." That makes me feel good and I can only hope that Gina saw that too. I am really happy with my audition. No matter what happens I know that I did my best. The fact that my last shot was my best gives me so much peace. I can walk away happy.

So that is it for this post-audition entry. :) Gina said we should hear in 2-3 weeks and the "after steps" paper we got says within 4 weeks. Next week marks the end of the audition tour so hopefully 2 weeks is accurate. Fingers crossed I will hear some awesome news.

-M

Blog Milestone!

2011-03-24T20:16:00.000-05:00

This blog just hit 100 followers! That is so amazing!

Thank you to everyone who reads this little thing. I really do love writing it. As silly as this sounds each and every one of you followers means a lot to me. That fact that you take to the time to read what I write just boggles my mind. I am so thankful. So insert *Happy Follower Dance* here. :D

I am working on a post audition entry. I just saw this and needed to immediately post something about it.

LOVE YOU ALL!!!

It Twas the Night Before Auditions...

2011-03-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

And all through the apartment, only one person was stirring, a hopeful potential mouse.

That hopeful potential mouse would be ME! I am quite excited at the moment and a bit wired. I am so freaking happy that I am not anxious and freaking out. I chalk that up to dance class on Tuesday. After that I have just been really confident and positive. I spent some time after class in the gym (where we hold our dance classes) in front of the mirrors practicing animations. I did that again today. Doing that has really put me at ease. I probably won't be given the scenarios I worked on but just the act of doing and practicing has given me confidence.

I also just finished reading Dan Brown's The Last Symbol which for some odd reason has given me this mind over matter I can do anything mind set. Part of the plotline includes humans being able to like, do crazy things like change the form of ice crystals with your mind. Hence mind over matter. So because of that I am all I can do anything I just have to have the right thoughts. Also kinda "the secret" book thing where you think and it comes to you. As ridiculous as these all sound I know that a lot of this audition for me is going to be mental. If I can just relax, have fun, and be my normal peppy big person like I am when I am excited I will do great. I may not pass but I won't have any regrets and will leave everything I have in that studio.

Sooooo Goodnight my dear bloggy followers! Please send good vibes, juju, prayers, pixie dust and general good luck my way tomorrow around 11 am central/12 pm eastern. :)

-M

T - 8 days!

2011-03-16T14:00:00.001-05:00

Well hello there everyone!

Sorry it has been such a while since I last blogged (really blogged not that little update thing). I have been a busy bee with school and such. But I am finally freeeee!

I am actually sitting in the airport getting ready to fly to St. Louis for a friend's wedding. It seems that even when I am doing something completely unrelated to Disney, Disney finds me. The people sitting next to me have either just come from a Disney park or are on their way. The mom is looking at Disney Vacation Club brochures and the daughter is hanging out with her Jessie doll in her Mickey hat. And the mother is sporting Mickey Mouse sock and watch. Can we say ironic? I even look like I am one of them since my big Sorcerer Mickey pook-a-looz is popping out of my carry on bag. He is my travel companion. :)

In other news... 8 days till Austin entertainment auditions!

Blerg, Eek!, AHHHHH!

As I am sure I have said before I am both really excited and really nervous. Although at the moment I'm not so nervous. More excited and amped up. Yesterday was the first audition in Salt Lake City. Ironically today is the St. Louis audition day. Although that audition started about an hour ago at 1pm central time. No one posted in the FB group or DIS about attending the Salt Lake audition. Hopefully someone will about going to the St. Louis one. I am quite curious to see what the animations are. I think they may be different than the traditional ones but I have absolutely no way of knowing that for sure.

I am currently in audition prep stage. I am about as confident as I can possibly be in my dancing ability. I am taking a dance class so I am about as prepared as I can possibly be in that department. As for animations I have just be standing in front of a mirror and acting like characters, mainly Minnie. Really big, sassy, girly movements. I figure if I can do that, then I will hopefully be able to do the animation sequences. Although I wouldn't be adverse to knowing what the scenarios at this year's auditions have been. :D

I have also been trying to figure out what style make-up to wear to the auditions. Its really a question of eye makeup. I plan on wearing pink lipstick and pink blush. As a friend put it "circle blush" aka circles right on the apples of my cheeks. The debate in the eye makeup comes in should I try and go more Tinker-bell or just something that will make my eyes pop. And if I go with the eyes pop should I go with colors that will make my eyes look blue or green. I have blue-green eyes that lean more towards green most of the time but the colors I wear can change that. Any thoughts? Perhaps I will post tests pictures here and get some opinions.

Other than auditions not much is going on in the Disney front. The days are slowly ticking away till graduation and check in. My birthday is also at the end of this month so I am counting down to that. The current countdown is: 14 days till my 22nd birthday, 58 days till graduation, and 81 days till check-in. Speaking of check-in I need to start figuring out travel logistics. Ideally I would be able to get someone else to come with me in another car so I could have more room to bring some stuff. It would be super duper fab if I could bring some of the furniture that I know I will use and that can then be there for when I move out of CP housing. Like a little bookcase or other random things. That way they don't have to be stored. But odds are if someone comes with me then we will both me in my car. Which would be fine since that is what I did last time. I have checked into hotel rooms. GO ME! Oddly (or really not since it is Disney) staying on site at a value resort even with my 50% off CM discount would be about the same or a little more than staying at the Holiday Inn Sunspree. And if it is the same or more plus travel time... well then its not worth it.

Anyway. Thats all for now. I will post more audition-y stuff soon. :)

Dear blogger, I miss you.

2011-03-13T14:32:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't made a post in a while and I feel quite bad about that. My excuse is school. Last week was mid-terms and even though I am technically on Spring Break right now, I am still trying to finish a paper. Almost done though! And as soon as I finish it I am going to write an entry. About what? ... I have no idea. But I miss blogging and I feel like I have neglected this lovely little things so I will come up with something.

Also... 96 followers!? Thats almost 100! Holy poop. I love all 96 of you!

-M

Whos got a roommate... I DO, I DO!

2011-03-04T10:19:00.002-06:00

Thats right ladies and gents I know who I will be living with this upcoming Fall. :)

My immediate roommate is a girl named Jenn. She is from Massachusetts, is a Theater majors, and will be an Attractions host. We chatted a lot before making the decision to live together and I think we are going to get along great. I am quite excited. She has a blog and if you click her name you can go check it out.

We will be living with Kryssy and Katarina in a 2 bedroom apt in Chatham. I am really quite excited about that because I have been talking to those girls since like August and I already love them. I am confident that we are going to get along and have tons of fun. I think that is the thing I am most excited about. I got along with my roommates last time but they were all a lot closer to each other than I was to them. We didn't really hang together after the first month or two. I really think that we (Jenn, Kryssy, Kat and I) are going to hang out together. I can foresee movie and TV nights and days in the parks. Hopefully our schedules will mesh enough to where we can actually do that sort of thing. Or at least mesh every once in a while.

I have to start thinking (eventually) about redoing my old packing list. There is definitely stuff I didn't really use last time and I don't need to bring this time around. Unfortunately I am going to have to figure out what that stuff was. I'm really not looking forward to that. But I am looking forward to being back in Orlando! 93 more daayyyssss!!

DCP Presentation Live Blogging Event!

2011-03-02T08:26:00.003-06:00

Technical issues (no internet access or cell signal) meant I couldn't live blog yesterday's presentation. However I am going to try again today!

Update (1:15): Thanks to everyone who participated! I had a great time live blogging the event. If you want to see the transcript of the event just click the replay button in the box below.

<p>&amp;lt;a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=09b6c5273c" &amp;gt;DCP Live Presentation&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;</p>

-M

I'm Going Home!!!!

2011-02-20T14:07:00.001-06:00

Thats me right now. Because I finally heard back from College Program Recruiting! I was accepted for Fall Advantage as a Character Attendant! :D *insert happy elephant dance*

I really can't express how happy I am. It took forever to hear back. I'm not going to lie the wait was absolutly killer. Amusingly my invitation letter is dated Feb 4th. Which means I was actually accepted 2 weeks ago, but I never got an email. I must have slipped through the cracks. My folder was mailed out on the 14th and it got to my apt on the 17th but I didn't get it until today. Thats a full 2 weeks of unnecessary stress. Womp Womp. But its ok. Because I am going back to Orlando. :)

In other amazing life news I was able to take the CLEP test (a test that you can take to gain college credit) finally on Friday! I got the 50 I needed to get 6 credit hours which means I not only am definitely graduating in May but I get to drop a class so I will only be taking 16 hours again. Can we say YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Basically this has been the most magical weekend ever. I am totally floating on cloud 9. Now I have to begin Audition prep and hope that I can pass it this time. .... Correction with confidence: Audition prep so I can rock that Audition and pass it with flying colors. :D

-M

PS: I forgot to mention my check in day is 6/6/11! Gotta start the roommate search! :D

Role List Update

2011-02-17T10:54:00.008-06:00

Just because I can...
Another batch of emails has gone out. Which means some more roles to add to the list of roles that have been offered so far.

The role list: Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping, Custodial, and Main Entrance Ops, Hospitality, Concierge, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Photopass Photographer, Character Attendant.

The update role list: Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping, Custodial, and Main Entrance Ops, Hospitality, Concierge, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Photopass Photographer, Character Attendant, Vacation Planner, Costuming.

In case you are wondering which roles have not (as far as my detective/ninja abilities have found) been offered, the list is as follows: Bell Services Dispatch, Hopper, Recreation, and Transportation.

Thats all for now.

-M

Update (2/17 10pm): Someone got Transportation so the roles not given out yet is down to Bell Services, Hopper, and Recreation.

Update (2/18 7pm): Recreation can also be taken off the list. So that now leaves Bell Services and Hopper.

Update (2/23 9am): I saw a post on DIS that someone got Hopper. I think they may have been accepted a few days ago. All thats left is Bell Services.

Update (3/4 1:30pm): I asked around and it turns out small batch of people have been accepted for recreation. 2 girls I talked to were accepted on the 18th. So all roles are out there now. :)

Annnnd Another Batch

2011-02-16T09:39:00.003-06:00

So last night saw more invitations go out. Over the weekend (Friday and Saturday) pending emails/letters went out. But on the bright side about 10 or so people who were pended received invitations last night. Which is good.

Old Role List: Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping, Custodial, and Main Entrance Ops

The update role list: Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping, Custodial, and Main Entrance Ops, Hospitality, Concierge, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Photopass Photographer, Character Attendant.

Also people have been accepted for the Culinary program as well. It is getting to the point where so many people have been accepted that its hard to keep track of the roles. I think I have them all but to be honest, I'm really not sure.

I am not even going to try to act all calm and cool. I am starting to worry. Friday will be 4 weeks from my interview. I have not heard anything. Not only have I not heard anything, invitations for Photopass and Character Attendant have now gone out. In total I think it is 3 invitations for CA and 2 for Photopass which isn't a lot but it still freaks me out.

At this point the only reason why I am not in full terrified mode is that my friend Trevor is still waiting to hear too. He is a 2 time CP alum who had to leave from the Spring 2010 program early due to illness. He also applied for Performer and Attendant. I feel like as long as he is still waiting with me, I am ok.

I pray I hear soon. I really don't know how much longer I can feel this way (worried and filled with doubt) without breaking down. I am trying to console myself with the fact that I only have to wait till Friday and then I can call and hopefully get some answer as to what my status is. That is really only helping a very small bit. Sigh.

Please send me your good thoughts readers!
-M

Oh Look! More Invitations!

2011-02-09T10:25:00.003-06:00

... but none for me. Waah Waaaaaah.

But lets be honest here the real reason I am posting this is to update my list of roles currently offered. Now of course this is not totally accurate becuase there is a high possibility someone has been offered something that I don't have on my list and I either missed them or perhaps they never said what they were offered.

The old list: Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping

The updated list: Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping, Custodial, and Main Entrance Ops.

That is all I have seen so far. No Attendants or Photopass. I secretly hope that the reason I haven't been accepted for Merch or Attractions (both of which I checked) is because I am going to get one of my top choices which they haven't sent any invites out for. I of course realize that this is the most BS statement ever and the fact that I haven't heard back yet does not mean anything, positive or negative, it just means I haven't heard.

Anyways. I have to believe that I will hear soon. Friday is my day.

-M

Waiiiting and Waiiiiiting and Waaaiiiiiiiting some more

2011-02-04T16:24:00.004-06:00

Tick Tock goes the clock.

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin into the future.

Ok so thats all I have in the way of song lyrics for today. Obviously this post is about the wonderful wait that is going on right now. A total of about 10 people have been invited to the program. The rest of us applicants are suffering through the wait.

For the most part I haven't been really obsessing over the wait. I haven't checked my email any more than I usually do (not that this says much. I usually check my email like every 2 hours). I have been preoccupied with school. But that is starting to wear off. Especially today because for the first time in my life, there is legit snow outside and it is a snow day.

So I am now quite.... agitated. I'm not freaking out but I an definitely antsy and agitated. I definitely think an invitation is coming for me. I can't imagine not being accepted to the program again. But I don't know when it will come. I am also afraid that I may not get to stay in entertainment. Really I am just nervous. Gack! I have no idea what I am feeling other than just being a bundle of emotions and nerves.

In addition to the previous 10 (ish) Facebook group members that have already been accepted, 10 more people got accepted today. Several are people I would consider friends and part of my close D-fam. While I am happy for them, I am so jealous it's not even funny. I console myself with the fact that no one seems to have been accepted for the roles I want most aka those under the entertainment umbrella. Its been Merchandise, Attractions, QSFB, FSFB, Lifeguard, Housekeeping, and I believe thats it.

I was hoping that today would be the day I heard back. I heard back last time on a Friday. However it was at 3 weeks and this week was at 2. For whatever reason I just expect that I will receive notification on a Friday. It could happen on another day, but I will now set my sights for next Friday.

So I will bide my time. Listen to the tick tock noise that my internal clock makes. Watch the time slip away as I dream and wait.

-M

Its a Jolly Holiday

2011-01-31T22:12:00.000-06:00

So my promised vacation post is here! Yaaaay! An honest moment: no one is really going to want to read my trip review. SO! I have decided to post a TON of pictures (not really, I didn't take that many pictures) because pictures are much more fun. So without further ado, my Jolly Disney Holiday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my twin. Not literally but he is my best friend whom I happened to meet while on the CP. My ability to go on this Disney Va-cay was in large part do to him since he is the person that I stayed with while in Orlando. As you can see we are goons. I think I maybe have like 3 normal pictures of us in my possession and all of the pictures I have of us from this trip are weird ones. These are actually all of the pictures. Baha.

First thing I did was go to Hollywood Studios and visit my very good friend June. I love this little ballerina. I unintentionally wore a purple skirt and so we kinda matched. :)

Woody as a chia-pet. Or at least that is what one guest called him.

I love these girls. :) Some of the all important (and often mentioned) Super Amazing Training Group! <3! <3! <3!

I saw some cool animals at AK. The elephant actually moved and ate some leaves off a tree. And behold! The K. Safari Lion was actually up and about! I got some pretty cool pictures of him.

I went to Magic Kingdom with Flat Kaylen and took some pictures with awesome characters. Tink gave her bunny ears. :) Later on I met up with the wonderful Luz.

Luz and I took part in the hoe-down thing that has a name which I don't remember in Frontierland. Horace Horsecollar was a gentleman and escorted us towards Splash Mountain.

Near the end of my trip I went to Hollywood Studios with my twin and saw Beauty and the Beast from the VIP seats at the front. I got some pretty awesome pictures of the show.

I will end this really long picture post with a picture of me in front of the castle. I surprisingly did not suffer from PDD when I returned home. I am just so much more determined to get back there as soon as I can. 102 days till graduation and the freedom to return to my beloved Orlando.

-M

:/

2011-01-24T19:04:00.000-06:00

I have a confession to make. I am absolutely terrified that my Disney interview did not go well.

I didn’t feel like I connected with my interviewer. Literally from the moment I started talking to her I felt that she was bored and not engaged. It was totally just a Q&A interview, not a conversation like my past 2 Disney interviews were. Not like all the rest of my D-Fams seem to have gone. It scares me. I can't imagine not getting accepted again. I was and still am a wonderful employee. But what if I don't? Or what if I don't get a role I want? I would do Merch, but I really don't want to. I want to stay in entertainment.

I pray that I am psyching myself out. I pray that perhaps my former/current managers get contacted and get to share some rave reviews. I pray that I am going to get accepted and I will look back on this and think “You freaked out over nothing!” But right now all I am is scared. I’m also sick and therefore not at school and have nothing to distract me.

Uggles, urgh, blerg, blah!

-M

Post Interview Review

2011-01-21T22:29:00.001-06:00

I interviewed for my second CP this evening with a lady named Danielle. She was nice but honestly not as peppy/enthused/interested as I would have hoped. I didn't really get much feedback from her. It was quite the question and answer style interview not so much a conversation. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing.

Me during my interview.

I got asked questions about why I wanted to do the program, what sort of work experience I had other than the CP, a difficult thing I had to in one of my past jobs, and other sorts of generally experience. I have worked at GAP before so she asked if I had register experience. She how do I deal with doing multiple tasks at once with lots of stuff going on. She really only asked like one question for each of the roles I chose (Performer, Attendant, Photopass, BBB, Attractions, Merch, Concierge). She didn't ask any questions for Attendant (because I have experience there) or BBB or Concierge.

At the end I asked her how she started with the company and if she had done a CP. She said that she had done a CP in Attractions. From there she worked in lots of different roles including Hotel Management and at Disneyland Paris. She then said that there are lots of opportunities including PIs. She said that is is about thinking outside the role though. Going to the offered seminars and really putting yourself out there and networking. I am really glad I asked her that question because I really do want to make a career with the company and tips on how to do that is really helpful.

Over all I think I did pretty well. I will say I am second guessing myself though. Was I outgoing enough, did I get across my excitement, etc. I would hate to not get accepted for a second CP. I don't think that will happen but a part of me is unsure and nervous. She said I should hear in 2-3 weeks which basically means just as I am preparing/taking a major test I am taking to gain hours to graduate and preparing/going to Nebraska to visit my friend Joseph. It would be pretty awesome to find out while in Nebraska while I'm with Joseph. I know he would love that.

Anyways thats it for this one. I have been updating my interview question list so the link in the post before this one is as up to date as can be. If you want it or need it go take it!

-M

Blah Blah Blah says the Phone Interview

2011-01-19T23:03:00.002-06:00

Lookie! Another tip blog entry! It seems like everyone is doing these right now. I would avoid that band wagon but I had planned to do one so I am going to continue on with that plan. Hopefully the fact that I have interviewed with Disney twice will provide some unique insight. I have decided rather than list questions I will post my super awesome master word document to a file sharing site and then post the link at the bottom for anyone who wants it to download. That means that the portion here is just going to be tips and insight.

#1 thing to remember is that you won't necessarily be asked all of the questions you find online or hear from others. Each Recruiter/Interviewer is different and chooses different questions to ask. However by looking at possible questions and coming up with answers, you will have an idea of what to expect, feel more prepared (and so more calm), and be in the right frame of mind so when you are asked something you don't already have an answer for you will be able to come up with a good answer.

#2 thing to remember is that the point of the interview is for the Recruiter to get to know you. They want to get a feel for your personality to see if you would be a good fit for the company and then what role you would be best suited for (that also matches their needs). That being said it is important to remember to BE YOURSELF! If like me, you are a quirky chatter box, don't be afraid to show that! I wouldn't say to shove it down their throats and interject it into the interview if it doesn't fit. However, if it fits, rock it. The final aspect of this is to try to relax so you are able to be yourself. I know that any interview can be really nerve racking and for many potential CPs the phone interview can be really stressful. But I also know that once they are finished with it, people tend to say "Hey! That wasn't so bad! My interviewer was really nice."

General tips:
- Do your research. If you are reading this you are probably already doing that. But in addition to this, try to get a general idea of what the roles you selected really include. Then think of problems that you might face in that role and come up with responses to those problems. They will generally ask questions that relate to your "top x roles". They also may ask questions related to roles that they think you might be suited for based on previous work experience. (I was an RA and had checked hospitality but didn't say it was a top choice but was still asked questions about it)

-Make yourself comfortable before the interview starts. That means pick a quiet, comfy place with good cell phone reception. Go to the bathroom before your interview. Because lets be honest here, t minus 1 min and your probably gonna say "AHHHH! I GOTTA GOOOOOO!" Also wear something comfortable. If your wearing your new skinny jeans that are maybe a bit uncomfortable, change before your interview. It would suck to be in the middle of the interview and in your mind be saying "Dear lord these pants are doing crazy uncomfortable things!"

-Finally, as you have probably read by this point. SMILE! Make a conscious effort to be peppy, get excited, and smile. It really does make so much of a difference in the way your voice sounds. Don't get so caught up in your nerves that you forget to be excited. Also don't be ashamed of your excitement (and possible cheesy-ness). Disney wants an enthusiastic work force. Its what guests expect. So don't be afraid or forget to show just how much you want to be a CP!

Thats all for the tips. I will put the link up for the questions list asap. Its going to be a word .doc and will contain question gathered from all over the internet and supplemented by questions I was personally asked. The link will go HERE.

-M

Fall 2011 applications are up!

2011-01-19T21:46:00.001-06:00

Well the big day has come!

Today the E-presentation and applications went up for the Fall 2011 WDW College Program. :) Yaay! They went up around 11/11:30 ish. I was in the middle of a project at work but that didn't stop me from trying to do the application at the same time. I failed at doing multiple tasks at once though so I ended up finishing it at like 4:30.

In case anyone didn't know already, if you are a current cast member or have passed the web interview within the last 6 months, you don't have to take the web interview. Which means... MARION DIDN'T HAVE TO DO IT AGAIN! YAAAAAAAAY for being a seasonal cast member! I have yet to schedule my interview because they were of course closed when I finished. I am debating on whether to schedule it for Friday afternoon/evening or Monday.

Thats it for this post. I am in the process of writing an interview tips one. Hopefully that will come in handy for people in the next few weeks. :)

-M

What This Blogs All About

2011-01-16T14:33:00.000-06:00

Tick Tok: The coutdown is almost done!

2011-01-16T12:13:00.001-06:00

Well hello everyone!

I am back from my Disney vacation. It was quite fun although if I'm honest I probably didn't take as much advantage of my time as I should have. But oh well. Can't change that now.

We are currently down to about 4 days till applications come out. In case anyone is wondering how I came about the end date for the countdown, I shall tell the tale. Basically for the past Fall application seasons the apps have come out on January 20th at about 4 o'clock. That is the reason for the assumption that apps for the Fall will come out this Thursday. I seem to remember that in the past applications have generally come out on Fridays, so its possible that they will come out the 21st. Who knows. We (we being the collective group of prospective Fall 2011 applicants) hope they will come out some time this week.

Since applications will be out so soon, I plan on working on that interview prep/tips entry. It will be up either today or tomorrow since I start school on Tuesday. I will also probably post some pictures from my vacation.

And speaking of school (since everyone who reads this cares so much about my school saga), I may not be graduating this May. I found out recently that I only have 99 credit hours right now. I need 120 to graduate. If you do the math that means I would have to complete 21 hours this semester to graduate in May. I'm honestly not sure that is going to happen. I am going to meet with someone on Wednesday to talk about my predicament and figure out what I can do. This doesn't change my plan to do the Fall Advantage CP. One way or another I am leaving Austin in May and not coming back for school ever again. I may end up having to graduate in August and take an ACE course on my CP to make up the hours I will need to graduate.

Love you all!
-M

1 Year Anniversery

2011-01-13T12:19:00.000-06:00

Today marks my one year anniversary with the Walt Disney Company. A year ago today I completed Traditions and became an official Walt Disney World Cast Member. While the company does not recognize this date for a year pin or any of the other perks that go with company anniversaries, its still an important milestone for me.

Happy One Year Anniversary To Me!

In case any potential CPs (or anyone else) is curious as to what I mean by Disney not recognizing my hire date for anything I shall explain. Basically Disney does not recognize any time in an internship program (Career Start, College Program, or Professional Internship) as counting towards seniority or any of the benefits of being with the company for a long time. I know several people who could practically have a 5 year pin by now if the company did recognize time spent in internship programs. lol. Oh well!

-M

A year ago today....

2011-01-11T12:30:00.002-06:00

I was going through the check in process at Vista Way. It was freezing cold (legit. It was below 32) when I got to Vista Way at 7am. I have so many fun memories from that day and my program as a whole.

I was so cold I wore a shirt under my sweater under my jacket. I had forgotten to take it off before I went to Casting and while waiting to get my location and start the Casting process I was dieing of heat. So I handed my stuff to my roommate Katie and took off my undershirt while standing in line in the middle of Casting. All of my roommates were quite amused that I basically stripped in the middle of Casting.

Its crazy to think that it has been a year since I started working for Disney. A year in which I have changed so much. I met so many incredible people. I know I have said that before but its true. I had and continue to have to sacrifice a lot because of my decision to participate in the program. But its a decision that given the chance to make again, I would make in a heartbeat and wouldn't change a damn thing. I had a dream and I went after it. I fulfilled that dream and I made new ones along the way. And now I am about to begin the process of making those new dreams come true.

To end this ridiculously sappy entry I will leave you with a quote from a new and really awesome Disney movie, Tangled.

Rapunzel:What if it's not everything I dreamed it would be?
Flynn Rider: It will be.
Rapunzel: And what if it is? What do I do then?
Flynn Rider: Well, that's the good part I guess. You get to go find a new dream.

-M

D3DC: Day 30

2011-01-10T14:39:00.000-06:00

Day # 30: Your favorite park show

So I guess technically my favorite park show is a parade, but it has a show stop and spends most of its time stationary. SO! I think it counts as a show.

Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party

I honestly didn't really got into this show until my friend was trained and cast in it. I love it now though. Its really high energy and of course my favorite part is the guest interaction. Guests are invited to dance with the dancers, stilts walkers, and characters. A good chunk of time is spent dancing in the streets with them. The reason I chose this over more traditional shows (some of which I like a lot such as FOLK) is because you get to interact with the performers. I think that it makes this show special. Its the reason Block Party Bash was my favorite parade. Anyway. MiSiCi is awesome and amazing and pretty much rocks.

Sheer Awesome-ness!

-M

PS: This is the last 30 day challenge post. :( sad day. But its ok because I am going to be a good blogger and post regularly even though it is finished.

D3DC: Day 29

2011-01-09T21:35:00.000-06:00

Day # 29: Favorite Park Attraction

There is a tie for this post. Mainly because I am to lazy to choose one. But also because I really like them both. So in no particular order, my two favorite park attractions.

Tower of Terror

I like the ride in and of itself but I think my favorite part of this attraction is the themeing. I absolutely love all of the old stuff in this ride. I'm really into this time period in general so I kinda love the fact that the themeing is so spot on. Maybe one day I will dress all vintage-y and go ride it. :)

Rockin Roller Coaster

Yet again, I like RRC for the ride itself. The roller coaster is quite fun and the take off is quite fast. But honestly thats not the reason I love this ride as much as I do. I absolutely LOVE the music. Aerosmith is awesome and listening to it while going really fast is fun. I have a specific song loop that I like best but rarely get. I mean what's not to love about getting to listen to Aerosmith while waiting in line? 30 mins of that... ok!

-M

D3DC: Day 28

2011-01-08T20:53:00.001-06:00

Day 28: Favorite Park

Hollywood Studios

This is probably (read: most definitely is) colored by the fact that it is my home park, but Hollywood Studios is my favorite park. I love Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. I also love love love the characters. The fact that you can meet Buzz and Woody together (for at least part of the day) is one of my favorite parts of the park. Really I love all of the characters, but then again they are the characters I worked with so I am definitely biased. I love Fantasmic. I think it is an amazing show and now matter how many times I see it I still love it. Hollywood Studios also used to have my favorite parade, Block Party Bash. Unfortunately it is now gone. :( . It cost too much and many guests didn’t like that it stopped and the you saw the exact same thing a second time. Stupid, stupid guests how I hate thee. So now Studios will have Countdown to Play parade which is almost the same thing as the Pixar Play parade in Cali. Same music and all. There will be nothing new or awesome to the new Studios parade. :( BOOOO!

But its ok, Hollywood Studios is still my favorite.

-M

PS: I took that picture. I always thought it was pretty awesome b/c it has all of the big park icons.

D3DC: Day 27

2011-01-07T21:29:00.000-06:00

Day # 27: Favorite Quote

Let your heart guide you. It whispers, so listen closely

- The Land Before Time

I don't know if I truly believe in listening to your heart before all else but I do like this quote.

-M

D3DC: Day 26

2011-01-06T21:57:00.000-06:00

Day # 26: Saddest Death

Ellie Fredrickson

This is by far one of the saddest scenes in any Disney movie. Even though you don't actually see her die, its still so sad. Ellie and Carl are the cutest couple so to see her die and him all sad and cranky is just incredibly difficult. Poor Carl.

-M

D3DC: Day 25

2011-01-05T09:10:00.000-06:00

Day # 25: Your Favorite Scene From Your Favorite Movie

I don't really have one favorite Disney movie and I have already posted many if not all of my favorite scenes from my favorite movies so I am just going to post one more favorite scene from a movie I like.

I love this song and this scene. As a kid (and lets be honest, now too) I wanted to learn how to the the perfect cast so I can dance along to this scene. Tevin Campbell is pretty much awesome even though the only 2 songs that I know by him are the two in this movie. :)

-M

D3DC: Day 24

2011-01-04T16:45:00.002-06:00

Day #24: A Movie That Makes You Cry

So I am a cold hearted biz-nitch that rarely if ever cries because of a movie. I can think of only 2 that have made me cry and neither of them are Disney (or a Disney owned company). However, I do have something that I think counts.

The first time I saw a Disney movie after I finished my CP, I cried when I saw that intro (the castle part, not the steamboat willie part). By cried I mean I shed a few tears, like drip drip. I have absolutely no idea what movie I was watching. I also teared up when I saw it at the beginning of Tangled. For whatever reason it gets me all chocked up. I think it is because I miss the magic. I miss that feeling I get when I worked there.

On a side note, I'm not missing it to much right now because I AM IN ORLANDO RIGHT NOW! My 10 day vacation has officially begun. I am going to try super duper hard to keep posting these every day. :)

-M

D3DC: Day 23

2011-01-03T22:38:00.000-06:00

Day #23: A Movie That Makes You Laugh

Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

OMG. Roger Rabbit is a great comedic movie. I snort when I watch this movie. LOOOVVVE IT! I love Roger and Jessica. I bought a Jessica Rabbit pin when I visited Disney in 06 and I had no idea wtf pin trading was. I just bought the pin because it was Jessica. And Roger. How I love him. I am so sad there is nothing left of him at Hollywood Studios. I remember going when I was little and there was this whole warehouse thing like at the end of the film. I remember these boxes that were labeled with things like box of laughs and when you opened them laughter came out. There was also a big steam roller breaking through the wall like in the movie. There is a picture somewhere of me as like a 2 yr old "crawling" out from under the rolling aspect. :( Now that whole area is the Studio Prop Shop store next to the Monsters Inc. character meet and greet location. They still have the Acme Bricks hanging from the ceiling and some of the old props. While he is pretty much all gone from the parks he can still be seen on the back side of the Animation building, but only by CMs. He is kinda hidden too.

-M

D3DC: Day 22

2011-01-02T23:43:00.006-06:00

Day #22: An Underrated Movie

This movie is totally awesomely 80s and so underrated. I mean the lead dog Dodger is voiced by Billy Joel. The chihuahua is voiced by Cheech Marin. The soundtrack features both Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Huey Lewis and the News. How can this movie be so overlooked? I absolutely love it. Also, Why Should I Worry is kinda the best song ever.

D3DC: Day 21

2011-01-01T23:36:00.001-06:00

Day # 21: An Overrated Movie

Finding Nemo

Its an entertaining movie and all but I feel like people make a bigger deal out of it that really necessary. I feel like people freak out about that damn movie like its the best damn thing ever. I definitely think it is overrated. And I didn't really like the live show at Animal Kingdom either. I saw it once and that's enough for me.

D3DC: Day 20

2010-12-31T22:54:00.002-06:00

Day #20: Your Favorite Sequel

Toy Story 2!!

I am not going to write anything now, bc it is new years eve and I don't really have time. But tomorrow I will add onto this with a picture and why I like Toy Story 2. Although that should be obvious. Its the only sequel that was ever actually any good....

New Year's Day Addition:
Why is Toy Story 2? Well it has a plot that is actually full enough that in theory it could stand on its own. I say in theory b/c you need the first film to know the characters and understand Buzz and Woody's bond but the plot and story is as robust as a stand alone film's would be. It also introduced the world to Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl and Bullseye. Such amazing characters. Its really just a great film. :)
-M

Selecting Potential Roles

2010-12-30T17:57:00.002-06:00

Its getting close to application time for the Fall 2011 CP season. One of the most important aspects of the application process is deciding what roles to check on the role checklist. Its kind of a big deal. What you check off is the list from which your eventual role (if you are accepted) will come from.

Obviously the more roles you check off the better your chances are of being accepted simply because you allow more room for the recruiters to place you especially as the application seasons goes on and roles begin to fill up. As a result of this I think a lot of people who really really really want to do the program will check anything and everything almost without thought. I read on facebook, disboards, and blogs where people say they don't care what role they are as long as they are in Orlando and at Disney. So they check everything on the checklist or when asked by an interviewer to add things to their list, they do.

In my opinion that is not the best choice to make. I think that it is incredibly important to be realistic and honest with yourself when checking roles on the role checklist. Both times I have applied, I only checked roles that I knew I would not only be willing to do but that I would be happy doing. I didn't get in the first time I applied but I know that if I had checked a role such as housekeeping and ended up going I probably wouldn't have been happy. I know myself and I know how difficult and physically challenging that role can be. As a result I know that not selecting that role, even if it meant I didn't get accepted, was the best decision. If I had checked either Quick Service Food & Beverage or Custodial I probably would have been accepted to Fall 09 because they need so many people to fill those roles, but I wouldn't have been happy.

I think that people really do think that as long as I'm in Disney I will be happy, no matter what my role. But what you may not realize until you are down there and on the CP is that you are there to work and most of your time will be spent working. Yes you will play and have fun, but they have you there to work and that is what you will predominately be doing. So if you have a role that is just something you said you would do but not something you really honestly wanted to do, your not going to enjoy your time. If its a role that you don't like AT ALL but you thought you would be able to put up with to be at Disney, it will SUCK!

One of the best parts of my CP experience was my role and the incredible times I had while at work. If I had gone in Fall 09 as say QSFB I honestly don't think I would have had as fun a time as I did. As snooty as that may sound, that role wouldn't have made me happy.

I guess what I am trying to say with this post is be honest with yourself and only select what you would truly enjoy doing. If thats everything on that damn list, more power to ya! But if it is only 5 or 6 roles, don't pick things you wouldn't actually like doing just to make it to Orlando. It's really not worth it. I have heard far to many people bitch about the CP because of their job and I always wonder if they just checked that role to make it to Orlando thinking it was going to be a fun easy break from school. News flash people: its not a 5-7 month long spring break! Your there to work! It can be fun, but don't ever lose sight of that.

-M

D3DC: Day 19

2010-12-30T16:45:00.000-06:00

Day #19: Your Least Favorite Pixar Film

A Bug's Life

I love the circus bugs but I have to be honest, outside of them, the rest of the characters annoy the shit out of me. I find Flik annoying. Really the whole move just sucks. Except for the circus bugs. Heimlich amuses me greatly. As does Slim and the Ladybug that is male.

-M

D3DC: Day 18

2010-12-29T17:40:00.000-06:00

Day # 18: Favorite Pixar Movie

I love the Monsters!! I'm so freaking happy that they are making a Monsters Inc. 2. I have no idea what it is going to be like but I am sure it will be amazing. I hold a special place in my heart for Mike and Sully. I worked with them a whole lot at the beginning of my CP and I met my best friend while working with them. I even have a star on the wall in the Monsters break room. :)

Mike and I (with Sully in the back for once)

The next picture is from the super awesome Molly (Mollay). I LOVE her drawings. I think they are the cutest things ever. I dream of one day getting the courage to ask her to draw me. :) One day...

Tagged: 10 Random Things

2010-12-29T16:28:00.002-06:00

I was tagged in a post by both Jessica and Katelyn in which I am supposed to post 10 random things about myself. Since I am quite the random person, this shouldn't be to hard.

I can touch my tongue to my nose. I can even stick my tongue in my nose. My sister can do this too. We tried to get on David Letterman's stupid human tricks as children.. but that didn't work out.
I spent around $500 dollars on concert tickets to 2 New Kids On The Block shows back in 08. They were the best concerts ever and totally worth the money. (Although looking back at it now... that is a shit load of money)
I have never been outside of the United States or really the South. I have been to NY/Pennsylvania once, DC once, and TN once all for a week (ish) each. And thats it. I have only been as far west as Abilene, TX.
My favorite animals are pigs. Cute little rolly polly pigs. I have always wanted a pot belly pig, which are really very intelligent animals, but they are far to much effort. So I shall just have to dream.
I was born and lived the first half of my life in New Orleans. I am ridiculously proud of that and still call it home even though I haven't lived there in 11 years.
My initials are MLF. I think it would be kinda cool to add a second middle name that starts with an I. Then I would be MILF. tehehe
My favorite color is Red. My favorite color crayon is the Scarlet crayon that you can find starting in the 24 packs of Crayola crayons.
I am a rather small person (5'1) but I have a big personality with a lot of sass.
I think my last name is the most awesome last name ever. It is pronounced Frizz-ell. Like the model or the animal (not the famous teacher).
I say "true story" all the time. Its kinda my thing.

So I am tagging Margaret and Paige. Have fun girls!!

-M

D3DC: Day 17

2010-12-28T20:14:00.001-06:00

Day #17: Your Least Favorite Classic

Pinocchio

I don't know why, but Pinocchio is my least favorite classic Disney movie. I have always been underwhelmed by it. If its sitting in someones movie collection I don't think I would ever choose to watch it. Not to say I wouldn't watch it if someone else did, I just would not make that choice on my own.

-M

50 Followers!

2010-12-27T22:23:00.001-06:00

Yay! I have 50 followers. :) #50 is Conner Emery, one of my lovely spring 2010 d-fam.

I would like to take this chance to thank all of my followers and the people who don't follow but read my blog anyway. The fact that people read this thing brings me endless joy. Seeing an increase in followers, comments, or lots of page views makes me do a mental happy dance. So Thank YOU!

-M

D3DC: Day 16

2010-12-27T21:14:00.002-06:00

Day #16: Your Favorite Classic

I'm going to be honest... I feel like at this point the 30 Day Challenge is starting to beat a dead horse. I feel like I am answering the same things over and over. But whatever I suppose.

I really think it would be helpful for this particular day (and tomorrow's) if classic was defined. I have decided that movies that are within the "Renaissance" period and onwards don't count as a classic. Mainly because I was alive for that period and if the movie has been created within my lifetime its not old enough to be a classic yet. Although I guess that is technically not true since The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin are definitely classic Disney movies in my eyes. But for the purpose of this entry and this challenge, pre-1980s = "classic".

After looking at a list of all of the Disney movies released, I have decided that the Jungle Book is my favorite classic Disney movie. King Louie is pretty much the coolest thing ever. One of my favorite random Disney facts is that King Louie was voiced and was based on Louis Prima. There is a really cool clip that describes King Louie's character development and the development of the song I Wanna Be Like You. King Louie is basically the most awesome characterture of Louis Prima.

-M

D3DC: Day 15

2010-12-26T17:05:00.000-06:00

Day 15: First Disney Movie You Saw

So I don't remember this, but I know that I saw The Little Mermaid in theaters when it first came out. I have heard stories of me losing my sippy cup in the theater. So while I don't remember it (at all. I was like 8 months old), it is definitely one of my earliest Disney movies.

-M

D3DC: Day 14

2010-12-25T23:00:00.004-06:00

Day #14: Your Favorite Kiss

I had originally decided that Aladdin and Jasmine's first kiss was my favorite kiss. But then I remembered the adorable pasta kiss from Lady and the Tramp. That has got to be one of the most adorable scenes in that movie. So I decided that Lady and Tramp's kiss at Tony's is my favorite Disney kiss. :)

-M

D3DC: Day 13

2010-12-24T18:47:00.000-06:00

Day #13: Your Least Favorite Song

I don't totally hate this song but it definitely has the power to annoy me. Snow Whites voice is ridiculously high and warbly. The words are kinda oh someday he will get around to coming to sweep me off my feet and marry me, which is annoying to me. Basically the song annoys me greatly.

Some Day My Prince Will Come

D3DC: Day 12

2010-12-23T13:37:00.000-06:00

Day #12: Your Favorite Villian Song

This is an easy one. Be Prepared from the Lion King is just an awesome song. Scar is a really awesome villain and Jeremy Irons has a really epic voice. I totally associate his voice with bad guys, which probably has everything to do with the fact that the first time I heard it was coming out of Scars mouth. lol Anyways here is Be Prepared by Scar (aka Jeremy Irons)

D3DC: Day 11

2010-12-22T21:54:00.001-06:00

Day #11: Your Favorite Love Song

I had to search through Disney love songs for this entry. I don't have many favorite Disney songs, well not specific ones. But when I saw this song title it stood out to me. I really loved Hercules when I was a kid and I definitely remember belting out this song. I always loved the Muses. They made me laugh whenever they were on screen.

I Wont' Say I'm In Love

-M

D3DC: Day 10

2010-12-21T16:23:00.003-06:00

Day #10: Your Favorite Disney Song

With as much difficulty as I have had in selecting some of the subject for my previous 30 day challenge entries, I am almost surprised at how easy this particular entry is. I mean picking just one favorite Disney song is a big task, but I guess not for me. As I think I have mentioned before (maybe not) as a child I loved Lady and the Tramp. I remember asking for it on VHS when I was little and at one point it was definitely my favorite movie.

This song is from Lady and the Tramp. Its a song that I randomly find myself singing. In fact I randomly started singing it today when I was microwaving my food at work. Its a classic and I love it. I think I partially love it for the old sound. It was sung by Peggie Lee. You really can't get much better than that. So here it is He's A Tramp as sung by Peggie Lee.

-M

D3DC: Day 9

2010-12-20T17:05:00.002-06:00

Day #9 :Your Favorite Original Character

DONALD DUCK!!!

So I mentioned on the first day that I was withholding my all time favorite Disney character for another day. Well the day has come that I reveal my favorite. Donald Duck is my all time favorite Disney character. I have loved him my whole life. He is #1 in my heart. Working with him only made me love him that much more. I love his fluffy tail and sassy waddle. I love love love love him! He is mi amor.

Kisses from Donald just make me happy.

-M

PS: DONALD'S #1!!!!

D3DC: Day 8

2010-12-19T19:57:00.003-06:00

Day #8: Your Favorite Villian

YZMA!!!

She is the BEST EVER!!! I freaking LOVE HER! She is really funny and evil and and and awesome. She has some of the best villian lines ever. "Ah, how shall I do it? Oh, I know. I'll turn him into a flea, a harmless, little flea, and then I'll put that flea in a box, and then I'll put that box inside of another box, and then I'll mail that box to myself, and when it arrives... I'll smash it with a hammer! It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, I tell you! Genius, I say!" Also her kitten form is super evil. I would love to have a small grey kitten and name her Yzma.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.. I Win.

The whole time I was at Disney I collected pins from my own lanyard to bring back to my friends. I have 2 friends that love Yzma. So I speant the whole 7 months I was there searching for Yzma pins. Let me tell you, she is not an easy lady to find. But I eventually found 2 of this pin (which is like the only Yzma pin I ever saw). And my friends loved them. :)

-M

Apartment Tour

2010-12-19T18:11:00.001-06:00

I filmed this back in January but never posted it. It is filled with lots of awkward excitement. :) hope you enjoy.

-M

2,000 views!

2010-12-18T23:09:00.000-06:00

At some point over the last... 10ish hours I had my 2,000th pageview! YAAAAY!! In my eyes that is a ton of pageviews. So thanks to everyone who has read this thing. It makes me happy to know that people actually read it. Hopefully I will continue to be good about posting and will create helpful entries. :D

LOVE YOU ALL!

-M

D3DC: Day 7

2010-12-18T23:00:00.002-06:00

Day #7: Your Favorite Sidekick

This is a very hard decision for me. I really love 2 sidekicks, however one makes me laugh a lot which is important for a sidekick.

Mushuuuuu!

Mushu has got to be one of if not the funniest character ever created by Disney. He is most definitly the funniest sidekick. While I do think Louis is a very funny character, he pales in comparison to Mushu. He has some amazing lines such as "Lets go kick some Honey Buns!" "Did you see those Huns? They popped out of the snow, like daisies!" And of course "Dragon, DRAGON, not lizard. I don’t do that tongue thing."

And just because... some concept art of the great and powerful Mushu.

-M

Rawr! I'm the scary Web Interview!

2010-12-17T21:06:00.002-06:00

I know a lot of people are nervous about the web interview and I can totally understand why. The fact that such an impersonal thing as a web interview can stop your dreams in its tract is definitely a scary thing. But I am here to say that the web interview is nothing to be afraid of.

To begin with you have to have either attended a presentation or watched the e-presentation, completed the application, and then after that you take the web-based interview. When picking a place to do the interview, definitely choose someplace where you won't get distracted. Every individual is different in the level of noise and stuff they can take and still concentrate. Know yourself and pick someplace you can take the interview and not fear being distracted. Also I would suggest taking it alone. By that I mean, don't let your mom, dad, sister, brother, roommate, best friend, whatever, etc. hang over your shoulder and give you suggestions on answers. You know yourself (or at least I would hope you do) and having someone else around might make you second guess yourself. That might result in inconsistent answers, which is not something you want.

On to the interview itself! The best way to describe it is as a kind of personality test with a work focus. You are asked a question and then are given a sliding scale on which to choose an anwser that you feel best fits. You can answer: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree. You get asked questions that gauge your personality (are you self-motivated), how you interact with others (I work well with others, I'm a team player), what is your work ethic like (I'm always on time). You will also be asked things multiple times to check for consistency. So you will be given the statement "I'm always on time." Then a bit later you may be asked "I'm rarely late." Then later still you will be asked "I'm often late." They are going to look to see if you answer similarly to all of the questions. So if you are a type of person that makes sure your on time you would agree or strongly agree to the first and disagree or strongly disagree to the last.

The fact that you are asked similar questions can possibly trip you up, especially if you don't take the time to read all of the question/statement. I gave three examples above but the question could be "I'm always on time" and "I'm always late." Those are two COMPLETELY different statements that carry two totally separate connotations but they are exactly the same except for one word. Make sure to READ the questions so one little word won't trip you up.

I know that many people say to only answer strongly agree or strongly disagree. I don't know what types of "points" you get for doing this. I'm not sure how it effects the numerical score you get which allows you to pass or not. However I can give my reasoning as to why it makes some sense to answer mostly stronglys. Mind you I did just say mostly. I don't think it is bad to have some agrees/disagrees or even one or two neutrals. My opinion on why strongly agree/disagree is the way to go is as follows. Disney wants you to be confident in your opinions on yourself. To me that means answer strongly to things! Strongly equates to Hell Ya thats me! I'm most definitely always on time! I love working with other people! Its not bad to sometimes answer just an agree/disagree. And occasionally you may really not have an opinion. In that case I would even say its ok to answer neutral, just don't do it a whole lot.

It is true that some of the questions are timed. Don't let this freak you out! Read the questions and go with your gut reaction. Don't take the time to second guess yourself. You know you! Your gut reaction is the right one. I am of the opinion that you shouldn't try to answer the way you think Disney wants you to but in an honest way. By being honest and true to yourself it is going to be much easier to answer consistently because it is the way you really feel.

I hope that this post is helpful. I know that the web interview can be scary, but it doesn't need to be. Knowledge is power. I think that statement is true for most things in life and especially in this application process. I highly recommend the disboards and particularly the college board. There is lots of good information there about the whole application process as well as the move in process. Its also a great place to talk to other Disney minded people who are just as excited at the prospect of working for Disney as you are.

Please please please let me know if this was helpful! I would love some reactions.

-M

Happy News for Marion!

2010-12-17T14:16:00.000-06:00

So in addition to today's 30 day challenge entry I actually have some happy CP related news to share. Last weekend I received a call from my friend Kaylen. She told me that she is going to apply for the Fall 2011 program with me! This makes me SOOOOOOO happy/excited.

She goes to a school that has quarters rather than semesters. Or actually I think they are trimesters.. but she did the Spring quarter program. ... Ok so I donno but the real reason I am saying this is to explain that she normally goes to school in summer and fall mesters. She had applied to the Spring 2011 program but turns out they LOST her application/file. What bums. But on the bright side that resulted in her decision to apply for the Fall Advantage program. So she will miss some school but will be in Disney with ME.

a;lkjsfglkjsdfg HAPPINESS!!

Its kinda crazy how close you can get to someone in such a short amount of time. Because Kaylen was on the quarter program she left in early April. I only knew her 4 months but I love and miss her so much its kinda crazy. I can't even begin to express how excited I am at the idea of spending 6 months with her again. :D yay!

In other news...
I was talking to my Fall 2011 D-fam last night and realized that I have a lot of information and tips to share about the application process. Since I have applied twice I have gained a lot of knowledge about the process. I had planned to write about the process as I go, but I now think that maybe writing out my tips and stuff before might be the best thing to do. So I will be working on some entries about that. I currently have web interview, role choosing, and phone interview posts planned. I might try giving an over view of the audition process too. I will be working on those and hopefully post them in the next few weeks. :)

-M

D3DC: Day 6

2010-12-17T13:02:00.003-06:00

Day #6: Your Favorite Animal

Louis the Alligator

I LOVE him. He makes me laugh. In fact my favorite part of The Princess and the Frog are all of the awesome supporting characters. I like them more than I like Tiana. But back to Louis. Some of the things he says are totally things I say. Such as this:

I totally yell, and yes I do mean yell, MAN DOWN MAAAN DOWN! when I am leaving a friend or get left by a friend. Or really whenever I feel it is necessary. When I saw this scene in the film I died. I was like !! YOU GO GATOR YOU GO! He is just ridiculous which is totally something I can understand and appreciate because I am ridiculous too.

gif from: fuckyeahdisneygifs

I wish I could meet him in the parks, but sadly the only time he ever came out was for Tiana's Showboat Jubilee which has gone bye bye. The only way you could meet him at the time was if you were chosen to go on the boat. I think he occasionally comes out of the swamp for special events such as marathons. But the likelihood of me ever running a marathon is slim to umm ya NONE.

I love you Louis!

-M

D3DC: Day 5

2010-12-16T17:44:00.006-06:00

Day #5: Your Favorite Hero

Robin Hood!!

Robin Hood was one of my favorite movies as a kid. The songs from that movie are just awesome. But this is about the hero, Sir Robin Hood. :) I LOVE him. I have always had a thing for Robin Hood (not just Disney's but the myth/folklore too). I think it has everything to do with the fact that my name is Marion and Maid Marion is one of the few recognizable figures with my name. Disney's Robin is playful and fun. He is also an adorable fox. I have dreams of one day meeting him at Walt Disney World, but I know he rarely comes out to visit. A girl can dream though right?

I want to meeeeeet him!

-M

D3DC: Day 4

2010-12-15T14:22:00.004-06:00

Day #4: Your Favorite Prince

Aladdin!

So when I was thinking about who my favorite prince was, I knew that I liked the princes that have personalities. Most of the older ones (Snow White-Little Mermaid) don't really have defined personalities (IMO). That left me with 4 princes to choose from; Beast, Aladdin, Naveen, and Flynn. While I do like all 4 of them, Aladdin is my favorite although Naveen is pretty awesome too.

I think I like Aladdin because he is a heartwarming character. At the beginning he is a stupid boy who thinks you have to act a certain way (aka kinda duesche-y) to get a girl. But he figures out in the end that just being himself is what works best. I have always really liked that he freed Genie in the end. I donno... Aladdin is just a likeable guy.

A horrible picture of Aladdin and I. But its the only one I have...

-M

D3DC: Day 3

2010-12-14T16:30:00.003-06:00

Day #3: Your Favorite Heroine

Mulan!

Now this decision may or may not have something to do with the fact that I watched Mulan last night. Who knows. But she is a super awesome heroine. I mean she saves China! She is smart and doesn't take no for answer, at least when she knows she is right aka the fact that the Huns survived the avalanche and are in the imperial city about to attack the Emperor.

And just because it looks oh so cool, the movie poster from Mulan. Look at that fierce girl!

-M

D3DC: Day 2

2010-12-13T14:03:00.004-06:00

Day #2: Your Favorite Princess

This has actually changed over the last few weeks. I have fallen in love with Rapunzel. She really reminds me of myself. She is crafty. I love to do crafty things. I like to paint and draw. I LOVE to collage things. She is a joyful, free spirit and very curious which are things I can identify with. She also seems to make friends easily.

And beyond having a similar personality we look alike. I have blonde hair and green eyes. And for most of my life I have had reallllly long hair. When I was a senior in high school I cut off 13 inches and I have never gone back to having it long, but before that I was definitely a Rapunzel look a like. And actually I have similar hair to her short haired look. So basically she is awesome and I love her.

-M

Disney 30 Day Challenge: Day 1

2010-12-12T12:52:00.005-06:00

So I am just going to abbreviate the title from now on. It will be D3DC: Day X. Just FYI

Day #1: Favorite Disney Character
I am just going to say that this is not my favorite Disney character, but my second favorite. My absolute favorite falls into the category for another day so I am saving that character. I will let it be known they are my favorite when that day comes. So... Marion's 2nd favorite Disney character:

Tinkerbell!

I have loved Tinkerbell for quite some time, since I was like 8 or so. I love her sassy-ness. She is a little thing with a lot of spice, sass, and emotion packed into her. I think the reason I love her so much is I identify with that. I'm a little person with a whole lot of personality. I became motivated to try to become a character performer after I realized that you could meet Tinkerbell in the parks. I have dressed up like her three times for Halloween. The most recent time was this past Halloween.

:) Thats all for now.

-M

I have returned!

2010-12-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

So I am officially (as of 2 days ago) finished with this semester.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!! HAPPY DANCE!!!

That is not only exciting because this semester has been hellacious but also because that means I have more time to update this thing! woot woot! If I am totally honest even though I don't update this thing like I should, I love it. I love going back and reading what I wrote when I was on my CP. I wish I had written more. I guess that is just the promise I will have to make to myself next time around, to write more frequently.

I'm not going to lie, I see CP blogs with a ridiculous ammount of followers and I am jealous. I want people to find this stuff interesting and helpful and decided to follow it. But I don't want to go out and solicit for that. Not to say I'm not happy with my 42 followers! I am! I LOVE YOU ALL! I love to look at the stats for this blog and see that even if people don't follow it, they visit. It just makes me incredibly happy.

Nerdy Marion is looking forward to starting the process of applying not just to get started (which is a huge reason) but to document it. I want to be helpful to others. :D

So! In other news... Holiday season means possible Disney gifts. I got myself a super adorable sweater from the Forever 21 Minnie Mouse inspired Minnie Muse line. I will take a picture of me in my super cute sweater soon. :) I asked for a few Disney books for Christmas so we shall see if I get them. The Blockbuster near my aunts house was closing so she called and asked me what movies I might want. She got me 14 movies, most of which are Disney. So I will be getting some of those for Christmas although some will be saved for my birthday in March.

In other really freaking exciting news... I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!! for a 10 day vacation. :D And that vacation starts in exactly 25 days, 2 hours, and 26 mins (the time my flight leaves Houston). I bought my tickets at the end of October for $150.60. That is for a round-trip non stop flight. 8O (read that as a shocked face) Southwest had a deal going on at the time I bought them. The next day the same tickets on the same flights cost around 120 dollars more. To say the least I am quite happy with the deal I got. :)

I am so beyond excited to go back home. Many of my friends will be there at the same time including some of the all important training group. I will be staying those 10 days with my twin/bff. Which is super awesome because I miss him like crazy but also because that means I don't have to spend money on a hotel room. I will get to play for 10 days in the happiest place on earth and the place I call home. I may try to pick up a shift not because i need to (thank you seasonal june/july) but because I miss my job. I want to experience that magic again. The one thing I am not looking forward to is having to come back home. I know it is going to just suck. It will make me experience PDD all over again.On the bright side when I come back from my vacation there will only be about 2 weeks (ish) till applications come out.

EEEEEKKK ACK! JOY!

On a side note I think I am going to start that Disney 30 day challenge. It may end up taking more than 30 days since my vacation will fall in the middle of the challenge. And lets be honest here, I'm not sure how dedicated I will be to posting the 30 day challenge while on vacation. However it would probably be good practice for making myself post even when busy with other Disney things. Hummm.. I accept this challenge. I'm going to rock it!

That is all for now. Love you all!
-M