Yes, July 4th is approaching... and you can tell! Every Disney shop is adorned with Mickeys in red, white and blue with some sort of flag. I am quite looking forward to it because I've never been in America on their Independence day... wish England had something like it.... oh yeah, we do... St. George's Day. Which we don't really celebrate. Meh, we should all be as patriotic as the Americans! Anyway, it's practically the busiest day of the year at DisneyWorld... according to my bible/Disney guide, the parks reach capacity in early afternoon.... CAPACITY!
Like, even in mid August when it seems really busy, the parks do not reach capacity! Apparently, if cast members are caught in the park on July 4th when they are not working, they get TERMINATED!
Talking of TERMINATION, that was a major theme during Traditions which I didn't even mention! What happens if you drink under 21? You get TERMINATED! What happens if you hold a drink for someone else and you're under 21? You get TERMINATED! What happens if you swear at a guest or a manager, including in other languages? You get TERMINATED! What happens if you take home some unwanted food from your quick service hot dog stand that you work at? You get TERMINATED! You get the idea....
Hahaa...
Anyway, quick update of today - this morning I went to the Partners bank (the bank for Disney employees) and set up a "checking account". Now, I have never set up a bank account before (my HSBC one was done by my parent when I was about 11!) let alone one in America where they have loads of different terms and words for things... i.e. checking. So, that was a fun hour spent... but I did get it set up in the end complete with direct debit thing for when I start getting paid. (Apparently we get paid for Traditions and training too... woo!) Then I came home, battled with my phone card trying to call Tom, had some lunch and then went out to Downtown Disney to get a purse which would fit American money because all this week I have been carrying my money around in an envelope... not very safe!
It started spitting whilst I was on the bus to Downtown... and 5 minutes after I walked into World of Disney (biggest Disney shop in the world I think they said) the heavens opened and boy, did it rain!!! And continued to rain and rain and rain... it's still raining now... English kind of non-stop, drizzle. It's only about 22C which feels cold to me now!! I didn't end up seeing Wishes last night because of the rain and I don't think we'll be seeing it tonight now either! Meh!
x
Thursday, 26 June 2008
I'm walking down Main Street USA....It's the heart of America, the heartbeat of a holiday....
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
It's supercalifragilisticexplialidocious!
I found this out yesterday but I was so busy I didn't have time to come online and write up a blog post! We had a session at the Pavilion in the morning where we found out where we were working (rather like the same feeling I had going to recieve my exam results...) and then we handed some forms in and stuff. Came back for an hour or so before heading back to The Commons... did yet more powerpoint watching and form filling. Then we came back to Vista and I went to do WalMart Part 2! Only spent 45 minutes in there this time and like $35 which is a bit better, still no make up remover so I headed to Walgreens today and finally got some for like $5... rip off! At least I now have some! I came back from WalMart and then we went to Downtown Disney again and the coolest thing happened!!
We decided to go to Planet Hollywood (there was 8 of us) and the people at the door said it was an hour and 10 minute wait so we were like, lets put our names down, do some window shopping and come back... until Anna mentioned "We're cast members!" The magic words it seems! The woman went "Oh, ok, wait 2 minutes!" So we waited a few minutes and she came back and we got led to a table for 8 right in the middle of Planet Hollywood! We had massive meals and got absolutely stuffed... THEN we got 20% off for being cast members as well! WOOOO!! So, fantastic night basically!
Today was traditions which loads of people say is really boring but I didn't think it was. Had to get up at 6am which was a bit lame (and felt very like the first day at sixth form, putting on my suit trousers, brand new shirt and shoes with heels!) because it's business wear so you have to look nice and fit "The Disney Look". They are quite strict too. Headed over and got the bus at 6.50am and was at the Disney University for about 7.30am... yes, there is a Disney University!
Traditions was 4 hours long and basically was a class covering everything from sexual harrassment at work, discrimination, how to deal with a medical emergency (blates knew that already), Disney ethics, customer service, laws, taxes etc. etc. etc. etc. With a few properly cheeeeeesy Disney montage films thrown in for fun! I found it quite interesting apart from the tax and laws bit, that was properly boring! The films made me really excited to get out there and become a cast member properly, dealing with guests and doing my job! Especially as I hopefully will be in a nice, cold, air conditioned shop! Woo!
And I got my badge today which was uber exciting! I have put a rubbish photo on here and will take a decent one when I upload my next load of photos! You can check out my facebook to see the first album of pics! I might make a little montage thing to put on here tho, if you can't access my facebook! :D
I am going to see Wishes tonight as I now have my Cast Member ID and so can get into the parks for freeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! WOOO!!!
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
It's the start of something new....
Wow, three posts in one day! Whats wierd is that I have had such a busy day and yet from all this typing you would have thought I was bored in the apartment! Alas no!
We went off to The Commons and had a housing talk that went on and on and on for an hour and a half although it was quite entertaining. Then there was a lot of talk of going to Wal Mart which we all needed to do quite badly. So, eventually it was decided that six of us would go back to Vista Way and get a taxi (for some inexplicable reason the wal mart bus isn't running today, instead it goes to the Florida Mall...). Eventually we got the taxi and walked into Wal Mart at 3.15pm....
TWO hours and $120 later, I had everything I needed except make up remover - couldn't find it anywhere! I managed to get some bargains such as a toaster for $6 (won some brownie points with the flatmates there too!), a combination lock for $4, a Pooh bear lanyard for $4 and biggest of all - a phone for $30! So that's £15 for a nokia phone which comes with 300 minutes for free (I think it works out to 200 minutes if calling internationally). As far as I can see, a text either sent or recieved costs half a minute of calling time... get it? What tempted me was that it was only $0.15/minute to call the UK! I have to get it verfied which can take up to 48 hours tho.
If you want it, my "cell phone" number is: 407-455-2951. Don't ask me how to call that from the UK because I have no idea but give it a go! Hehe! And when it's all verified I will be able to call you for cheap! :D
We just popped down to Downtown Disney for a bit this evening, me and Victoria (the one I sat next to on the plane) went to a really nice place called Wolfgang Pucks which was like a McDonalds crossed with a Bottelinos... it was well nice! I had 2 side orders (best idea ever) of Macaroni Cheese and my favourite, Caesar Salad! Whoop! This came to a total of $8.50... a bargain dinner of only £4.25 and I was full afterwards... not surprising seen as all I had eaten all day was 2 cereal bars and spent the afternoon lugging heaving shopping bags back to my apartment!
My flatmate Shiela (yes, I got her name right, some small investigative glances at her suitcase labels confirmed it!) seems really nice, she is the one from Mexico. Kelly was asleep when I came in at about 5.30pm and she is fast asleep now which is a bit of a pain in the bum because I want to go and sort my room out, have a shower and wash my hair etc which I can't do if she is asleep in there (hairdryers cause lots of noise remember...) So I guess I will do it tommorrow, she leaves at like 7am anyway!
Tomorrow we find out where we are working.... scary stuff!!! (Went to the Christmas Shop in DD today.... LOLness if I get put there for the summer!!)
x
Monday, 23 June 2008
I can go the distance... Part 2
Right, where was I?
Oh yeah, we arrived at Vista Way and got taken into this room where we were shown a typically cheesy Disney video about being a cast member (gotta love it) and then given a pack with loads of bits of paper in it, maps and bus times and stuff like that (very useful). Then we were given a little paper bag with some food in it (orange juice, cereal bars, an orange and some skittles) which was really nice of them because it was about 6.30pm by this point (i.e. 11.30pm) so we were all a bit hungry as well as being tired!
As soon as I got my pack I found out I was living in Vista Way in apartment 3302 which according to my map was opposite the pavilion we were sitting in - score! And on the ground floor so no lugging the luggage (haha, lugging the luggage...) up the stairs which was good and much appreciated when I was hot and tired! I made my way into the apartment and instantly found out what it was like to go into the Big Brother house because 2 of my flatmates were there. There are 6 people in my flat in total including me... I met a Mexican girl called Shiela (I think...) and a girl from Barbados called Kelly who I am sharing a room with. This morning I met 2 more of my housemates, I think they were at work last night - they are both from Barbados also...one is called Sarah and I can't remember the other one right now (even tho she is about a meter away from me doing some washing up!)
So, I did some unpacking and then there were some rough plans for me and a couple of others from the flight to meet up at Walgreens which isn't very far away... but I got a bit lost and inadvertantly ran into some other people and so ended up going with them and missing Rob and Beth (the original people I was going to meet!). It didn't really matter tho, I only bought some water and then me and Vicky (one of three Victorias I have met in the last 24 hours!) went over to Wendy's. Wendy's is alright, if you are reeeeally hungry and there is no alternative! It's a bit mankier than McDonalds to be honest... I had chicken nuggets and chips but it wasn't too bad. Although eating it at the equivalent of 3am was a bit wierd.. I didn't know if I was hungry or not!
So, eventually we went back to our apartments and I had the most refreshing shower ever! Then, after getting online to check my emails and Facebook and such, I decided to go to bed. Kelly didn't seem to sleep in my room last night which was a bit wierd.... when I was getting to bed she was on the phone and then through my hazy, half asleep mind I think she came in and took her bedclothes away, maybe she slept in the other room or on the sofa!? I don't know... but I heard her come in this morning and get changed into her costume. Her and the Mexican both do housekeeping in one of the resorts so they leave at like 7am!
Ok so I am rambling, sorry if you're bored and well done for getting this far! It's just that this blog doubles up as a diary for me to keep after I have finished the program so I want to be as descriptive as possible!
I had a bit of a crappy nights sleep because the air con wasn't very cold so I was a bit hot and I had no pillow so was using my towel instead which really wasn't that comfortable...rather like being in prison I would imagine. I kinda napped all night rather than slept and now my neck is hurting a little bit! Anyway, this morning I got up and wrote the previous post... I went out to see where the music was and joined the queue to get my housing documents checked. It was very well organised, you had to get your passport checked and hand in the DS2019 which they photocopy and then hopefully give back to me later! Then you followed a process which led round the room, handing in and recieving various documents. I got my ID card which has a horrible picture of me on it! (I will take photos and put them up soon I promise!) and then once we did that we had 2 1/2 hours free before we go to The Commons (near the other housing complex) this afternoon for more talks and stuff. So, me and some of the other girls got our swimming costumes on and went to the pool!!
It was really nice and sooo refreshing. It was only 10.30am but it was already hot. Anyway, we stayed there for a hour or so and now I am here writing this. I am off again soon to the pavilion to get the bus to The Commons and then we are heading to WalMart where I have a stupidly long list of random stuff to buy including a toaster (I can't live without toast for 10 weeks and there is no way of cooking it unless you fry it here and seen as I don't want to return looking like Michelle McManus, I have decided to be more healthy than that!) and make up remover!
So, hope you have enjoyed reading this mammoth post!
x
I can go the distance... Part 1
I'm here!!!!
I have half an hour before I have to go to our first day of orientation so I will quickly fill you in on the last 48 hours!
Saturday - we drove down to the Holiday Inn and found our rooms. Pretty standard to be honest! Stayed in the hotel that night (had a nice but expensive dinner!). I didn't have too bad a night's sleep even though I woke up at 6am and didn't find it hard to get up! I think it was more nerves than anything else! We went down to get breakfast to find they were charging £15 per person!!!! How obscenely expensive is that! So we decided to give that a miss and go straight to Gatwick aiport to find some food there.
Sunday - Hense, I checked in reeeeally early, I had already done the checking in part online so I had my seat and everything, I just needed to give them my luggage. It was pretty easy and the check in man was really nice to me, explaining what I had to do and where to go next. Anywhoo, me, mum, dad and victoria went up to Costa Coffee and all I could manage to eat/drink was a mango smoothie because I felt really nervous. I felt just like I did when we drove to Bournemouth on my first day except with the added pressure of having to fly 5000 miles first! Eventually it got to about 9am and I decided I had better go through security so I said my goodbyes which weren't too bad and went through. It was really easy going through security, no problems except my bangles set off the metal detector and I had to be frisked LOL.
Then I got into the departure lounge and I knew where we had decided to meet but first I had to actually find the place! So I wondered around and decided to take the opportunity to call Tom and let him know I was in the departure lounge. Then I spotted some of the others I had seen on Facebook so I went over and introduced myself. Phew! The hard part was over!
We hung around for a bit because our flight was slightly delayed and eventually at about 11am we went through to the gate. There was about 15 of us by this point so we all sat around together, getting to know each other which was really nice. Finally they started calling people row by row, from the back of the plane first. I was in row 30 so it was a while before I got to go onto the plane. I planned my seat well because I ended up sitting next to a girl called Victoria who went on the ICP last year and also a guy called Rob who also did it last year (he was in the row in front of me). Eventually we took off at about 12.30 which was about 1 1/4 hours late... bit lame. Anyway, to cut a looooonnnng flight short, the films were a bit rubbish (I rewatched 27 dresses), the food wasn't too bad (I had this chickpea curry type thing) and we got a shoutout from the Captain!! "Hello to everyone going to Walt Disney World to work this summer - big up!" LMAO.
We finally landed after about 9 hours and 10 minutes, at about 4.40pm (Florida time - that's 9.40pm in the UK). As we were near the front of the plane we got off really quickly and literally whizzed through security. I've entered the US 4 times before and every time it has taken aaaages to get through security but this time was a doddle. I went up to the scary looking immigration man and gave him my passport, visa waiver forms and the infamous DS2019 form, he took my fingerprints (I acciedently knocked over his stamp thing, bit embaressing haha!) and then he was like "Go through to that room over there and take a seat". So I kinda expected him to then give my passport back but he didn't which was a bit scary because I had been guarding the passport and DS2019 with my life for the last 12 hours! Anyway, went off to sit in this little room with everyone else from my flight with a visa... met some people who had come off the BA flight which had landed at 3.40pm and they had been there for an hour!
I was lucky tho, my name got called with several others after only about 10 minutes. I got my passport and forms back and then we went to pick up my luggage. Inexplicably, my primark suitcase came through on the first class carosel and my black suitcase came through on the economy carosel! Anyway, much difficult moving ensued because I had my laptop bag on my back, my folder of important stuff in my hand and trying to drag 2 suitcases as well! Luckily we didn't have to take it all that far, only down a level to the Mears shuttle desk.
I was surprised as to how quick the whole thing was really because we were on the Mears bus only an hour after getting off the plane! Pretty impressive, well done Orlando International! We got taken on this bus to a couple of the resorts before being taken to the pavilion at Vista Way. It was good because it had just been raining before we got off the plane and so the temperature was only about 24C.... (randomly, sitting in my apartment I can hear Beauty and the Beast blasting out from somewhere!! *has a look out window* It seems loads of people are at the pavilion so I had better go too! Will finish this post later!!)
x
Saturday, 21 June 2008
It's a great big beautiful tomorrow....
Ahhhhh! In precisely 22 hours time I will be on that aeroplane having just taken off from Gatwick on the way to Orlando!! It doesn't seem real! It does seem that my MSN name has been counting down the days forever... I remember when it was 70 days, 69 days....30 days... 29 days... but now it's finally 1 day to go!!
This will probably be my last post before I get to Orlando because I don't think the hotel we are staying in at Gatwick has the internet and it's going to be all go tomorrow with the flight being in the morning so... all I can say is that I really hope I have packed everything and watch this space!
x
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
"Certain as the sun... rising in the east... tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast..."
I am still excited about going to Disney but now that it's only a few days away, the apprehension is starting to set in, I'm a bit nervous about meeting everyone at the airport and managing to get myself on the correct plane complete with luggage! I am sure it will all be fine, but there are always little worries about things such as where I will be living and who with... and also what job I will get! I think that's the single biggest thing I am worried about because I don't want to end up with a job I don't like for 10 weeks!! However, I have a feeling that any job is better than fitting shoes on smelly children LOL.
I better get back to my packing! I hope to update with my final thoughts before I go on Saturday but if not I will try and post as soon as I can about everything to do with the journey and arrival! Keep an eye on my blog, I will try and update suitably often throughout the whole 10 weeks!!
x
p.s. I have managed to upload my first picture onto my blog... a lovely pic of how messy my room is in the middle of packing. And it was worse than this when I got back from Uni..... believe me, much worse!!Tuesday, 10 June 2008
"I can finally see it, now I have to believe it...the world is made of faith and trust and pixie dust..."
Ooh, less than 2 weeks until I fly out now! How exciting! It's 12 days if I am going to be exact which doesn't seem like a long time at all... although it hasn't really sunk in that everything is finally happening... it still seems like my Disney adventure is months away and I have loads of hurdles to jump before I get there.
I have pretty much got all my clothes ready, I just need a trip to Boots for things like suncream and shampoo and get my bits and bobs ready like photos to take! As I haven't moved back from University yet, I can't start to pack so on Sunday (with a week to go!) I am moving all my stuff back from Bournemouth and then I can seperate it into stuff I am taking and stuff I'm not.
It has been really hot the last few days - about 24C in Bristol (which is where I have been for a few days) and apart from the weekend being really surreal as I have been involved in filming a Christmas film complete with fake snow, a tree and carols, I have been thinking about how hot it's going to be in Florida! You can get a feeling for it when it's warm here but add in the really high humidity and pure strength of the sun....it's going to be pretty intense! Definately need to get some suncream.
I have been chatting to people on Facebook, some who are on my flight and some who are not, many of them are going to London tomorrow to meet up but unfortunately I can't really afford to go and this week is going to be busy busy busy with trying to tie up my loose ends, do my last few duties for SJA, handing in my 2 essays and of course packing. I am sure it will be fine because we are all going to meet up at the airport and hopefully we will all be living near each other anyway once we arrive.
Sarah, whom I met at the interview day, and actually had my interview with, was put in a resort rather than a park.... I fear this will happen to me... I don't think she is 100% happy with it and I really hope I get put in a park, I don't mind which one but I think I would prefer it to a hotel. I think whatever I am given I will get on with and try to work with, you have to give things a chance but I really hope I am in a full on Disney park! Fingers crossed...
x
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Just around the riverbend...
Hi!
A few weeks ago, our St John Ambulance duty at the Poole Festival of Running seemed like months away... and I worked out that when I was doing that duty it would only be three weeks til I left for Florida. Unbelievable. Well, today was that duty!
It hasn't really sunk in that I am actually going to be 4350 miles away even though I talk about Disney and Florida non stop these days to anyone who will pretend to listen! The first lot of people went out on May 25th and it's wierd to think that they have been out there for a week now... having heard vaguely through Facebook that they've heard where they are working and have recieved their costumes it seems like worlds away to me, still in Bournemouth where I've been for the last 5 weeks!
It's only 2 days until the summer project presentations and then I have a couple of essays to hand in and I'm done for the first year! After Wednesday, I am going home to Bristol for a few days to help out with a film with the ITV Workshop people and catch up with some friends (www.hanoverpictures.com) - check it out! Come back to Bourney next Tuesday for 4 days and then it's the final trip home on Sunday 15th... following that I have a week at home and then I'm off! Hopefully the next two weeks will fly by and then it's just the packing that has to be done.
I am getting really excited (can't you tell??) but also a little bit scared of the heat, meeting new people, living with new people, having a new job, being in a different country from my family and friends, missing people etc etc. However, having said that, I know this summer is going to bloomin' fly by!!!
x
Sunday, 18 May 2008
A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down....
It's 5 weeks today until I am on that plane on the way to the US of A! My excitement is building especially as I have done my celebrate project and handed that in which is one of the hurdles for this term (I think it was pretty rubbish in the end, especially in comparison to lots of other peoples projects but meh... whatever!) and also today I have just bought my medical insurance!
After watching a programme on telly yesterday about holidays that have gone wrong and people not being able to claim their medical expenses I realised how important it is... one guy had nearly a million dollars of medical bills! It's obscenely expensive in America for medical treatment... *new found respect for the NHS* So anyway, eventually I decided to go with Diamond which I think specialises in insurance for women but I have my car insurance with them which is part of the reason I went with them.. they're pretty decent. The policy I have got for Florida covers £10million of medical expenses plus lots of other bits and bobs such as lost luggage, delayed flights, curtailment of the trip etc etc. I had to phone them up to check it was alright for my to work with this insurance but they said it was fine as long as I wasn't operating heavy machinery or working at great heights! It came out to about £80 in the end (including a copy of the certificate to be posted and the excess waiver) which is pretty decent for 70 days of cover.
I only have one more thing to pay for now which is the housing assessment fee... all $86 of it... another extra cost however I think it pays for my bills and internet and stuff once we're there which is good. I was going to go ahead and pay for it today but I went through several stages online before realising they didn't accept Maestro cards... meh. I have just applied for a Mastercard though for emergencies so I will probably wait to see if I get that in the next couple of weeks and then pay for it. I think it's the kind of thing I could pay for months ahead or just a week ahead really.
It's getting quite exciting, preparing for the trip... I have to make another trip to Primark and invest in some new shorts and pyjamas!! Oh, and get some suncream!
x
Thursday, 1 May 2008
It's a Disney kinda day...
Well, today was embassy day! I finally got all my visa stuff through from Disney and so about a week and a half ago I called up the US Visa people and got an appointment for 1st May at 2.30pm.
So, I woke up at 8.30am. Lazed about a bit.... checked email... etc... then realised "Oh darn! (LOL I have decided to try and not swear too much on this blog therefore all swear words will try to be changed to something non offensive... haha!) I only have 20 minutes before I have to leave!" I had forgotten I would need to park my car and be there 10 minutes before the train left as well... so I ran around like a headless chicken for the 20 minutes, trying to get ready and get all the numerous visa documents together of which there were about 10 different bits of paper plus my passport. After hopefully grabbing everything I jumped in the car and prayed I had enough change to put in the car park machine.
I got down to the car park by the station and it was completely full. So, I found this 'overflow' car park next to it and bought my ticket for £2.50. Got all my stuff and went off into the station. The train came on time which was good and I sat down for the boring journey to Waterloo. Because in the embassy you were not allowed any electronic items, all I had was my phone (which I later handed in) and so therefore no iPod to keep me busy on the train. Meh. Anyway, all was going well until we got to some rubbish little station near Surrey which I can't even remember the name of. And we sat there. And we sat there. For an hour! Apparently, some lightening had struck a signal thingy and so we couldn't move. However, apart from the journey taking about 3 hours, I had a lucky escape on the train because I had forgotten my young persons rail card and the ticket person didn't even ask for it!! Wooo!!
Eventually got to Waterloo and I was starving at this point because all I had eaten was a chocolate croissant at Bournemouth station. So I went and got a fat off Maccy Ds which was soooo good!! Cost me like £4.40 tho - what a rip off!! Then I made my way to the Embassy which was interesting because I pretty much didn't know where it was so cue lots of aimless wondering around until I found the entrance. I got there at bang on 2pm which was the earliest I could get into the Embassy as my appointment was at 2.30pm.
First you go through some security where they take your phone off you and you have to take off your watch (?!?) and belt, jewellrey etc. A bit like an airport but tiny! Then the scary American security man said I had to empty the pockets of my coat because I had something in them. I didn't know what he was talking about and for one minute I was really worried I had something stupid like a pocket knife in my pocket... but what did it turn out to be? A dead pocket torch which was from SJA and I had been meaning to give to James (runs our unit) to chuck away. Panic over!
Then you go into the actual Embassy itself. Now, all the other Embassies which are around Grosvenor Square are posh and have pillars and stuff. Very grand. The US Embassy is a huge, manky grey concrete beast of a building.. bit rubbish compared to the Italian one which had a proper canopy thing with pillars outside it! Anyway, went into the embassy and the only way to describe the process is a bit like buying something from Argos but with a longer and more boring wait!! You get assigned a number and you have to watch the screens until it comes up and you go to a little booth and get your documents checked. Then you sit back down and wait for it to be called again before going through to a different booth and have your actual visa interview. The first bit of waiting was alright, it only took about 20 minutes. However the second part was soooo boring... I must have been waiting over an hour easily... maybe even 1 hour 30 minutes?! I didn't have my watch or phone so...all guesswork. Anyhow, I was one of the last people left in the room to be seen, was starting to think I had been forgotten! Finally got called through and asked the briefest interview... must have only been 30 seconds long! All she asked me was what I was doing in America, what course I do and when I finish my degree!!
Then another queue to pay the £14 for the courier return of my passport in a few days which was a bit of a Mickey take (LOL... Mickey... gettit!!) and I left the embassy pretty much 2 hours to the minute after entering it. So, all in all it was pretty painless really!!
Then I headed off to Oxford Street because any trip to London HAS to include a trip to the immense Primark near Marble Arch. Having said that, it was mayhem in there. Like the Magic Kingdom on a hot August afternoon... same crowds, same annoying people who stand in the way, same heat!! I bought a tshirt, a dress (which I'm taking back... the concept of the changing rooms did not appeal to me... I think it was the mile long queue which lead from the entrance of the changing rooms practically to the back of the shop... decided to try it on once I got home instead..), 2 pairs of flip flops (also going back.. one didnt fit which was my fault - wrong size, and ones aren't very comfortable), a couple of things for Tom and I almost bought some sunglasses but there was a lack of mirror so decided against it.
After being exhausted by Primark, I ambled around Green Park/Buckingham Palace for a bit... got really bored. Realised that being in London on your own with no aim is a bit pointless and does get a bit dull. So decided to go back to Waterloo and see if I could scab my way onto an earlier train than the one I was booked onto (which didn't leave til 8.20pm!). It was only about 6.30pm at this point and Waterloo was packed!!! Absolutely heaving... you could hardly move. Turns out it was those pesky signal failures still causing loads of delays! So, went to the platform where a train to Bournemouth was due to be leaving very soon and the guard let me straight on even tho my ticket wasn't theoretically valid!! He didn't even come along the train and check them in the whole journey so got away with the Young Persons Railcard situation again! Got back home at about 9pm which is great because if I had got the train I was supposed to have, I think I would have only just got back about now!
All in all, it was a day of very lucky escapes. Lucky that I had the right money for the car park, I didn't forget any of my documents even tho I was in a rush, the train was on time, I was only in the Embassy for 2 hours, I was let onto an early train.... but then the ultimate lucky escape occured.
As I walked back to the car in the "overflow" car park... I saw a little yellow thing on the front. "Oh...flibberdigibbit..." As I walked round to pick up the parking ticket I realised it said on it "This could have been a penalty notice" and as I turned it over it said "This is just a warning. This is a permit only car park. You must not park in it unless you have a permit." WOW!! I got away with not getting a parking ticket!!!!! I thought all traffic wardens were evil! Maybe it was because I had properly paid to park there and everything?
Anyway, a good end to a very tiring and boring day!! Still, this is the last big hurdle to get over before flying to Disney!! Just my 'Celebrate' and Summer Projects to deal with now and then... zip a dee doo dah!!! :D
Cat x
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Hakuna Matata
Another post!!
It has just hit me that I'm going to Disney for the summer!!!!! It's like a secondary wave of excitement!! I think it might be because I have had to surpress the feelings of Disneyness over the last 2 weeks what with working more than full time (87.5 hours so far!) and the Links conference but today was my day off and apart from having my hair cut and running out to get rice (after cooking my curry... the forward planning didn't go too well!) I have sat here looking at photos from our past vacations and listening to my endless Disney play list!!! :D Lots of exclamation marks is how I am portraying my excitement!
Apart from the annoying news that Disney will not be picking me up from the airport anymore and instead meeting us at Vista Way (meaning we have to make our own way to Vista...brilliant.) and that I won't get my visa forms until I have sent them a scan of my current CRB form (which is in Bournemouth currently... and I'm not.) all the other news has just made me more excited!! Lots of people on the forums and Facebook groups have been up in arms about the lack of meetage at the airport, considering most people haven't been to Orlando International before, or even travelled on their own. But to be honest, yeah it's a little bit annoying but it's the way it goes! I have given up so much time and effort to get this place in the most magical place in the world so a $14 charge to get to Vista Way and add a bit more adventure to the experience doesn't bother me at all!!
Bring it on!!
x
Friday, 11 April 2008
Go The Distance...
Hi!
Well, have I been busy! Got back from Bournemouth on the 28th March (Friday) and had Saturday at home, then have been in Clarks every single day except for last Friday, Sat and Sun (4-6th April) because I was attending the St John Ambulance LINKS Conference in Nottingham (for all the student members of SJA) which was fabulous. Since I came back from Nottingham I have been in Clarks every day and in 4 days I did a total of 32 hours! Today is my day off and then I have one more day off (next Wednesday) before I go back to Bournemouth on Sunday 20th. So, why have I been working so much?
Because I have booked my flight! Woooo! £662.60! Went with Virgin Atlantic in the end, through their website as I figured a) it wasn't going to get any cheaper, b) lots of Disney people are getting that flight and c) Virgin Atlantic is fun to fly with!! Last Thursday, just before I left for Nottingham I recieved my "Disney Pack" in the post which was VERY exciting!!
It contained information on booking flights, general stuff about being a cast member and the most thrilling bits which were the "Disney Look Book" (basically a whole book telling you how you should or should not look whilst in costume), luggage tags and Mickey stickers to wear at the airport. The last thing I need to get now is my Visa application forms which will be uber fun to fill out so I really hope I recieve them before I have to go back to Uni because I have the feeling I will need Dad's help to fill them out! Also I then have to book an Embassy appointment which is sure to be fun.
So, another 40-odd hours at Clarks this week and I should have earnt the vast majority of the flight so that I can pay off my big overdraft with which I bought the flight! :)
Cat x
Monday, 24 March 2008
Whistle while we work...
Hi!
Thanks to everyone who has hit my site! I have a counter thingy so I can keep track! I will post on here from time to time to keep it alive in the build up to my leaving date! Since texting/phoning/emailing practically everyone I know to tell them about my acception to the ICP all I have been doing is sitting in the godforsaken editing suite with no windows or sitting here worrying about the unwritten essay! Lucky for me, the project I'm editing is practically finished and I have a whole 2 days and 2 nights to write the essay - look on the bright side, at least I didn't try to rush it to have it in before the Easter weekend!
Once everything is handed in, Lauren is coming down to Bournemouth for a couple of days which will be great fun and then it's back to Clarks for the spring break! I am going to try and book my visa appointment thing as soon as I get all the details plus book my flight before it gets too expensive!
I hope everyone had a magical Easter!
Cat x
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
When you wish upon another star...
Hi everyone! I can finally say that as my blog has now gone global (so to speak!) Apologies if there are spelling or grammar mistakes in this post... I am verrry tired as it has been an emotional and busy day, I've done 10 hours in Uni and only just got home from being in the edit suite since 8pm :)
So, what happened in the last few days then? Well, lots of waiting, agonising and more waiting really. Wondering when the heck Yummy Jobs would contact me...I eventually gave in and emailed them yesterday because I had spent all day convinced I would hear (seen as the May 25th and June 3rd people heard on Monday). Hannah emailed me back saying that "I would hear this week" and that "they were waiting to find out the details from Disney". So I presumed it would probably be on Thurs or Fri.
Weirdly, I always had this little premonition it would be a Wednesday I found out but there we go. So, I left the house at 1.30pm to go into Uni as I was filming some stuff with the Nerve TV people (student TV station) at 3pm and I spent a good hour rushing around, trying to blag some kit... tripod and microphone to be exact.... type up an autocue on powerpoint and generally get things done. Went into W111 (demonstration room) to sort myself out and finish up the powerpoint.... I checked my phone as I went into the room to see no phone calls from Yummy. So then I thought I would just check my emails and there it was... the email from Hannah with the title "Walt Disney World". AHHHH!!
So, I opened the email and all I could see on the page was this:
Greetings!
We hope you enjoyed the recent interviews and would like to thank you once again for coming. On behalf of the Walt Disney World Representatives and all here at Yummy Jobs we would like to say how great it was to meet you.
So of course, at this point I thought the email was going to say "Unfortunately, due to the exceeding number of applicants this year... blah blah..." so tentatively I scrolled down the page. Literally was not even breathing... to see...
I have been given the enjoyable task of being the first to say…..
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Disney World would like to offer you a Role in Merchandise on the International College Program starting June 22nd!
We will be calling you to go over the specifics of your role with Disney within the next 2-3 weeks. In the mean time, please do confirm if you are interested in accepting this position and to work at the “ Happiest Place on Earth”!
Please confirm your acceptance by Tuesday, March 25th!
If you have any questions or concerns, please do feel free to ask.
Congratulations Once Again and Have a Magical Day,
Hannah
Yummy Jobs
I was shaking!! I couldn't believe (and still can't... it really hasn't sunk in yet!) that I have actually been offered the job and will be 'making magic' for 9 whole weeks this summer. Now I just will be counting down to the fly out date! WOOHOO!
Please leave me comments! I will be posting now and again with any updates or when I'm bored probably! I can now officially say, I hope you enjoy this Disney Diary!
When you wish upon a star as dreamers do....
*breathe, breathe*
Monday, 17 March 2008
A great, big, beautiful tomorrow?
Following the email last Thursday I have been constantly watching my phone and email to no avail. And today was the same. Except that when I logged onto one of the (EVIL) Macs to start my editing I checked my Hotmail and had an email from Facebook telling me that Izabela (from the interviews... remember?) had posted on my wall. To tell me that she had got in! She had got the email from Yummy!
1. I thought that they were going to phone us!
2. She was applying for the May 25th start date.
3. She got Quick Service F+B
So I frantically went onto WDWIP forums to see if anyone else had been accepted. There were a few posts but all seemed to be from people going on May 25th and June 3rd...no-one from June 22nd as yet. So that calmed me slightly until I realised that they will obviously start letting the June 22nd people know tomorrow! I can't remember if I posted this in the last blog post but I am not only worried about whether I got through the interview, but also worried about if I even have a place seen as so many people want to fly out on the 22nd. I would be so gutted if I didn't get in just because of the date. I couldn't find any posts from people who had not been accepted although of course this might just be because they didn't want to post. Understandably.
To be honest, I just want to find out now whether I have got the job or not. But I haven't wanted something more than this for a very long time (probably since I wanted to go to BGS)...I keep feeling like I have tempted fate one too many times by making this blog, joining Facebook groups and talking to people about it. This might just be a factor of the waiting... I am starting to think Disney might enjoy making people wait!!
Cat x
Thursday, 13 March 2008
Still waiting...
I know I said the next time I would blog would be when I know if I have the job or not but I had to write about the latest development in the whole process!
Today I got an email from Hannah at Yummy Jobs. Practically had a heart attack until I saw the title of the email "Your earliest availability for the WDWIP". So I kind of knew it wouldn't be telling me if I had the job or not. This was the email:
Good afternoon!
Thank you for taking the time to interview recently for this year’s International College Summer Work Program at Walt Disney World™. As informed on the day, we will be in touch soon with the outcome of your interview.
At this stage Disney is currently collating the final details and we are aware that a large number of people have requested June 22nd as their start date for the program. Due to the numbers of places for each start date being limited we are currently looking for volunteers who are able to start on June 3rd or even May 25th instead, but perhaps put on their application form that they preferred the June 22nd date.
As Roger stated at the presentation, if you are able to give your earliest availability it will give you the best possible chance of being offered a role within the company.
Please could you confirm by 12noon tomorrow, (Friday 14th March), your earliest availability for the program if either the Jun 3rd-Aug 15th or May 25th-Aug 8th dates would be possible for you?
Many thanks and kindest regards,
Hannah London
The really annoying thing is that I would love to fly out earlier than the 22nd June but I can't seen as I wrote on all my forms that I don't finish Uni til the 12th June and really I can't leave any earlier than that because it means it starts interfering with everything going on in Uni. But as I wrote in one of my earlier posts - if one stupid thing such as a date stops me spending the summer at Disney then I will be more than upset!!!
I actually emailed her back saying that I couldn't make the earlier dates but that I would still love to go on the 22nd and I hoped that not being able to fly out earlier wouldn't jeopardise my chances of spending the summer at Disney. I figured it would be better to reply and show my enthusiasm even if it wasn't really telling her anything new... oh, and I dropped a line in at the end asking if we would find out the results of the interview after the weekend. It seems likely, judging on the above email, that I won't be finding out til Monday at the earliest and I don't want to think about a WHOLE weekend of not knowing.
Oh well, it's not like I don't have an essay (haven't started it yet... oops...), a massive editing project, my individual project and an all-night SJA duty to think about at the weekend. :S
Cat x
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Waiting...
How annoying! I have just written a fat post and it popped up with the ever-annoying "Page Cannot Be Displayed" message and deleted all my penmanship!!
Ok, so basically I was saying about how I hate all this waiting! The last two weeks have not been too bad, I have been keeping busy and stuff. However, yesterday morning I realised that all the ICP interviews were done and dusted, and that Roger and Heather had probably flown back to the USA and were making their decisions about who to offer a job. So yesterday and today I have been sooo nervous... everytime the phone rings it makes me jump. We were told it would be 2-3 weeks until we knew, and today was the 2 weeks mark so I am hoping that anytime this week we will know! I can't go through a whole weekend not knowing!
I have had my phone on vibrate in my pocket for the last two days instead of in my bag, so that I won't miss any calls. It rang at 11am this morning whilst I was paying for a very yummy and very unhealthy mixed berry and white chocolate muffin...I almost had a heart attack. I put all my stuff down to look at my phone and realise it was only my housemate Ben. Argh!
It's just gone 5pm now so that's another day of waiting done... Yummy only work 9-5 so they will ring within that time. I just have to wake up tomorrow and start another whole day of the waiting game! I guess the next time I will write on this blog (providing I don't have to write this post AGAIN!) will be when I know if I have the job or not! Ahhh!!
Cat x
Wednesday, 5 March 2008
8 days and counting...
Well, it's been over a week since my interview and we're now into March. I am surprised to see how fast the time has gone actually, I thought it would really drag! I have been keeping busy with various projects on my course both curricular and extra curricular (the most tiring being filming the launch of the student radio station...being in Uni at 6.30am was not exactly fun!) and already I am almost half way through the maximum waiting period.
I suddenly realised yesterday that the last interviews are on the 7th March (that I can tell anyway) and that's only 2 days time... so I could be hearing the outcome of my interview any time after that! I'm off home to Bristol at the weekend so by the time I come back to Bournemouth it will be the 10th March... time really is flying by!!
Cat x
