The Happiest Internship on Earth has moved! You can now find all of my new posts at www.happiestinternship.wordpress.com. Why are you still here? Click on the link to the new site, all ready!

So This Is the Year 2000, Huh? Nice.

Just a reminder that this will be my last new post here on Blogger. Starting tomorrow, all new posts can be found at http://www.happiestinternship.wordpress.com/.

For once, no one can accuse me of being indecisive. After my computer crashed last week, I sorted through all of the options, did all of my research, and last night, just shy of a week later, bought a brand new Dell. Of course, I can't take all the credit for my decisiveness: I found a really great deal. So now I have a computer, printer, and, unfortunately, a much skinnier wallet than yesterday. But with 4 GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive, my new computer doubles the power of my old one, so it's all worth it.

Now it's time for a confession: I don't have high-speed internet at home. We live out in the sticks, and high-speed's hard to come by. I guess it's not such a horrible confession, and I may have even mentioned this here before on my blog. But it makes me feel so 1990s. So with my new, fast computer and the super-fast internet I'm looking forward to once I move to Florida, I have a feeling that I'm going to be wasting a lot more time on the good ol' inter-web. And no more bumming wi-fi at the library every time I need to work on an important project or download a necessary program! (Okay, okay. Or everytime I want to watch a video of a drunk squirrel on a treadmill.)

"Ch-Ch-Changes" and To Study or Not To Study?

After a week of exploring, testing, modifying, and just plain playing around, I've decided to switch The Happiest Internship blog over to WordPress. You can find the new blog at http://www.happiestinternship.wordpress.com. WordPress had a few options that Blogger didn't, and I felt like this was a good time to make the transition. So I hope that you will all follow me over when WordPress becomes my official new home on Wednesday!

For the next two days (Monday and Tuesday) I will continue to post here on Blogger and on WordPress. All posts, going back to the beginning, will be available on WordPress, along with some new sections of the site with more information about me and the CP. Starting on Wednesday, July 22nd, my Blogger account will still be functional, but no new posts will appear: it will be all WordPress, all the time.

Got it? Good! Now on to your regularly scheduled post.

One of the last major decisions I have to make about the CP is whether or not to take a class/classes while I'm in the program. I only have limited time in Florida, and I can't get credit anyway, so I don't want to waste all of my valuable adventure time in a classroom. I can do that at home! But at the same time, I genuinely enjoy school (sometimes), and a Disney class would definitely be a unique experience. Ugh! When can I stop having to decide things?!

Above: An actual photo taken in a Disney class lecture. (Okay, maybe not.)

There are three types of classes at Disney: Collegiate Courses, Professional Development Studies, and the Exploration Series. The Collegiate Courses are designed for college credit and are a lot of work: homework, quizzes, lots of class sessions, etc. As far as I'm concerned, these are out. I don't want to take a class that could potentially stress me out while I'm at Disney, especially if I can't even get credit for it!

Professional Development classes are available for students involved in one of four areas of study--engineering, entertainment, finance, and security--and only for those students. So since I'm not enrolled in any of these majors, these are out for me, as well.

The Exploration Series, however, is kind of intriguing. They have no tests or homework, and are, according to the official website, "highly interactive and [encourage] each participant to fully experience all aspects of the 47 square miles of the Walt Disney World Resort as a learning laboratory." Sounds fun! These classes only meet once a week for 8 weeks, which means that I would still have plenty of time to get all of this done.

There are 5 classes in this series, exploring Communication Processes, Guest Service, Leadership, Marketing, and People Management at the Walt Disney World Resort. The Guest Service class sounds the most interesting to me, and seems to have the most potential for tours and all of that fun stuff. The Communication Processes one is also intriguing, as it seems to look more at behind the scenes stuff like Public Relations.

I hope that, whatever I decide, I don't regret it. (I've still got one more month to think about it: I will have to sign up for any classes within the first few days of arriving, though I'm not sure whether I do it at check-in or not.) I originally hadn't planned on taking a class, but as the summer's wearing on, I can almost feel my brain beginning to atrophy and I think I may need to challenge it just a little bit. Plus, there seems to be a common theme of regret among the blogs of former CPs who chose not to take any classes.

Most importantly, if I don't take a class, I won't get my Mousters degree! I bet you think I'm kidding, don't you? But I'm not: Exploration and Professional classes earn you a "Mousters", while taking a Collegiate course gets you your "Ducktorate." I love it, but I have to admit that this is definitely the cheesiest thing I've come across yet in the Disney CP, and that's really saying something.

Facebook: All The Youngsters Think It's the Bee's Knees!

I’m not really a huge Facebook-er. I post the occassional picture, join the occassional group, but I’m not real big on talking to people on-line who I barely talk to in the real world. I do have to admit, though, that Facebook has come in handy the last couple of days, CP-wise.

A large group is getting together on Facebook for a meet-and-greet dinner at Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney the night before check-in. I’ll probably go, but I haven’t RSVPd yet. There are already more than 30 people who have signed up to attend since yesterday, so it will be a nice, big group! Sounds fun!

A fellow CP asked me on Facebook yesterday if I knew about renter’s insurance. I told her I hadn’t even thought about it, which was definitely true, and then I did some digging on the good ol’ official website. It says that renter’s insurance is encouraged, but not required. I need to do some checking, see how much it would be, but I have a feeling I will be skipping it. I like to live dangerously! Honestly, though, what are the chances of needing it? Probably not very good. If I do get it, though, what are the chances that I’ll waste a lot of money? Very good!
If not for Facebook, I wouldn’t have known about the meet-and-greet, and I wouldn’t have even thought about renter’s insurance. I know I’m going to sound like an 85-year old when I say this, but this technology thing is kind of nifty! I might actually try to use my Facebook account more often.

I began packing last night. Just a few things that I probably won’t need for the next month: sweaters, cookbooks, those kinds of things. It’s really exciting, but it’s also really hard. I have a lot of stuff! I’m glad to be getting such a huge head start, though. Yay for me!

Problem Found, Problem Solved

I went to the school library a couple of nights ago to get some books. I spent half an hour finding what I wanted in our huge collection, only to get to the checkout desk and hear that my library account was inactive, because I was not yet registered for the fall. Sigh.

At least they didn't sic the library cop on me.

I was supposed to be enrolled by the Career Center in a GEN 099 class, a class that signifies that I have full time status, even though I'm not earning any credits. They told me at the end of the Spring semester that they would get a list from Disney of the participating students, and then sign them up for the class. I just assumed that this had been done by now, because registration was back in May. So I went to their office yesterday to see what the hold up was. She said that they usually don't get the final list until the beginning of August, which, to me, seems like that's cutting it a bit fine.

So, because of the library thing, I asked if they could go ahead and sign me up. It took a little work--the school's switched over to a new record-keeping system, and the GEN 099 class hadn't even been created yet--but they got it done for me. Thanks, MSU!

I now have the paperwork in hand, saying that I'm a full-time, off-campus student. Yay! One less thing to worry about. I'm going to go back to the library tonight, and hopefully this time I'll leave with books!

So Little Time and So Much To Do

Living in Florida temorarily will give me the rare opportunity to be a long-term tourist. Unlike someone who might move there permanently, I will have no desire to try to blend in with the locals. And, unlike a short-term tourist, I will have the opportunity to try to see as much of Orlando as my little heart desires. It's the best of both worlds! Besides the obvious (spending time in WDW and at the beach), there are a million other things I want to do during my 4-month stay. But I am going down there to work, after all, so I know I won't have time to do it all. However, because I am such a good, organized person, I also know that the key to getting stuff done is to prioritize. So here it is, my list of the top 100 things I want to do while I'm in Orlando (Kidding, kidding! I narrowed it down to 5.)

Busch Gardens

I've been to most of the other major Florida theme parks, but never Busch Gardens. It's basically like Sea World with mammals and better roller coasters. Like this one, a floorless coaster with the closest thing to a 90-degree drop I've ever seen. See the tiny people hurtling face-down towards the ground? "Space Mountain" this ain't.

Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba

I've always wanted to see a Cirque show, and I don't think I'll ever get a better opportunity. This show takes place at Downtown Disney, and I can even get a Cast Member Discount on the pricey tickets! Other things on my list may or may not happen, but Cirque is the one thing on this list that I will do...even if it means eating nothing but Ramen Noodles for a month so that I can afford a ticket.

Skyventure

Have you ever leaned really close into a box fan and said, "Luke, I am your father"? Then you understand how much fun a fan can be. That's the concept behind Skyventure, except that instead of simply causing your voice to sound like Darth Vader, this giant fan is under you and keeps you suspended in air, recreating the sensation of Sky Diving. Click here to see an awesome video of the experience. Okay, so actually this is nothing like talking into a box fan. But that's fun, too, right?

Sleuth Dinner Show

As a mystery enthusiast, I've always wanted to see one of these Mystery Dinner Theatre things. Guests at Sleuth find themselves in the middle of a comical, quizzical who-dunnit. It's sort of expensive, and doesn't involve flying (see Skyventure) so as fun as this one sounds, it's not exactly a priority. But if the opportunity arises, I will definitely take it. (Note to self: remember to pack magnifying glass and deerstalker cap.)

ICE at the Gaylord Palms Resort

An annual Christmas exhibit of Ice Sculptures at a fancy resort may not sound very exciting, but just look at these pictures! A giant ice slide, a giant ice Santa, and giant blue parkas for everyone! Cheesy Christmas fun at its finest.

The key to fitting everything I want to do into a short 4-month period will be pushing past the inevitable bone-weariness after working full days at the park. I'll just have to remember that sleeping is for wimps. I'll sleep when I'm dead! (Or maybe when I get back to Missouri. That would probably be a good idea.)

The Computer Blackout Blues

At the end of a mostly good weekend, I tried to get on to my laptop to rip a CD. Nothing unusual, just wanted to put Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band onto my iPod. When I put the CD in and opened iTunes, however, my screen went all shimmery and then black. Uh oh. I tried to restart, with no luck (since when does hitting Ctl+Alt+Del twice not restart your computer? I don't know, but I'm pretty upset about it!) so eventually I had to just use the power switch to turn the thing off. Fortunately, everything looked okay when it came back on. No sooner had my desktop come up, though, than the screen went black again. After much fiddling, I discovered that random things would make the screen flash back up--jiggling the wireless toggle, crazily moving my fingers over the touchpad--but it would quickly go black again.

I've had problems with my computer in the past, but this is the first time it's been this bad. I hate to give up quickly, but it wouldn't surprise me to find out my screen is just done. So I may now be trying to buy a new computer before I leave for Florida.

Best Buy has a couple of comparatively economical options. For $399, I can get a Dell with a dual-core processor, 2 GB of memory, and a 160 GB hard drive or for $499, I can get an Asus with 3GB of memory and a 320 GB hard drive. Unfortunately, each has some downsides: the Dell has no webcam (I could buy one and mount it, but...) and, according to reviews, the graphics on the Asus leave something to be desired. Also, the extra $100 for the Asus doesn't seem like that big a deal, except that it bumps the computer up into the next highest price class for the warranties at Best Buy, something I want to invest in. So the price difference actually ends up being closer to $200. The extra GB of memory isn't worth it, but once you figure in the extra 160 GB of hard drive space and the webcam, it might be. I use my computer mostly to store music, videos, and pictures, along with the internet, email, and DVD viewing, so I don't know if I really need the extra hard drive space. I'm not doing any intense gaming or anything like that. Both of these computers have around 15.5" screens, which is another drawback--my old computer had a 14" screen, and even that was a little big for me. But now you can't really get much between the 15" and the little bitty netbooks. So I think this is one thing I'm going to have to compromise on.

I just hate thinking that I'm going to have to spend at least $500 of the money I'd saved for Florida. There's just really very little way to get around having a computer--I'll need it for school in the Spring, anyway, and I was planning to skip taking a TV, and just watch Hulu and DVDs while I'm in Florida. There's a computer lab in the apartment buildings, but I don't want to have to go down there every time I want to check Facebook. It's going to be hard enough as it is to keep in contact with every body at home! And, of course, I need to be able to update my blog frequently! :)

My old computer lasted just over 2 years. It wasn't a really cheap computer, either. It was a pretty nice HP, but I guess I just didn't take good enough care of it. It's extremely frustrating to me, too, that the 2 year warranty had just expired when the screen went out. However, they had already replaced the motherboard and the battery once, so I guess I got my money's worth out of the warranty.

If I have any tech-savvy readers who want to weigh in, please feel free to leave me a comment! Is it a mistake to go cheap and get the smaller hard drive? I'm just afraid that this one won't last long, either, and I don't want to wind up with another very expensive paperweight!

A Post Mostly About Knitting (Sorry!)

I started a new knitting project last night, and remembered that I never shared pictures of my other projects. I know you've all been foaming at the mouth with anticipation (can't you at least pretend?) so here are a couple, as promised:

This one is, as you can see, a bag to hold my knitting projects. This was my first big project and I'm pretty proud of it. I even sewed in the lining, which is a gorgeous Amy Butler fabric. I love her patterns and luckily I had enough fabric left over to re-upholster a chair cushion. (You can see the chair in the corner of the top picture here.)

This one is, duh, a headband. I did it to use up some extra yarn from my second project (no good pictures of this one yet) and also to practice doing lace work. Even though this may not look like "lace", the open holes in it technically make it lace. I'm not sure how I feel about the finished piece, but I learned a lot of new techniques and all it cost me was a few bucks for a new set of needles.

My newest adventure is an honest-to-goodness sweater and is definitely the hardest project I've tackled yet. It's going well so far, though, but we'll see how I feel in a few days.

As a reward for all those who suffered through my knitting pictures, I do have one small piece of CP news: I officially opted out of roommate notification. I'm just going to let the chips fall where they may when I get there. Adventure, thy name is living-with-whoever-you-just-so-happen-to-stand-next-to-in-line. (Hey, Adventure, you might want to consider getting a nickname.)

I'm Back!

Well, I'm back home, minus my luggage. I barely made my plane last night--the last flight out of Atlanta--but unfortunately my bags missed the plane, and I'll have to pick them up today. So that was sort of a pain. But otherwise, my trip was great and I'm feeling refreshed and ready to get back to real life...and planning for Disney!

After I got assigned to a roommate, we emailed each other back and forth for a few days. I was double checking some of my Disney arrival information today on the College Program website, and decided to check and see if I was still matched up for a roommate. Well, guess what. I'm not. I don't know what's going on with that. The way that the website's been, it may just be a glitch, or she may have found another roommate or whatever. I have no idea. Oh, well. So I'm signed back up, and we'll see what happens. I'm actually thinking about taking this opportunity to opt out of roommate notification all together. I'm wondering if I'll be happier waiting until I actually meet some people at check-in. Then at least I will be able to have some say in who I'm rooming with. Plus, it will add an element of surprise. And I like surprises!

I'm going to spend the next couple of days browsing the official website and the blogs, trying to figure out what my schedule will be like for my first few days at Disney. Since my mom is flying back, I will have to take her to the airport and the only direct flights are at the Sanford airport, which is about 45 minutes away from where I'll be. The flights are all early in the morning, and we'll have to figure out what day I won't have to be at training early so that I can take her and be back in plenty of time. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it.

Just one month and three days now until I'm on the road to Orlando!

A Quick Vacation-y Update

Well, hello there, friends! It's been a while! I've been on vacation for the last few days with limited internet access, and limited interest in blogging (sorry!). It's been a nice rest, so here I am for a quick update.

My wonderful grandma had some travel points, and used them to make reservations for my mom and I in Orlando. I'm not really sure which hotel she used them at, but I know it was close to Vista for check-in, and that it's a reputable hotel chain. Sounds good! So this means that, even though we still haven't sold our old house, my mom may go with me now because she was reluctant to pay for the extra 3 or 4 nights for her hotel. So now that's taken care of. Thanks, Nana! :) (yes, I call my grandma 'Nana'. Don't make fun of me!)

Well, now I'm off to do more vacationing! See you guys again in a few days when I return to real life. Happy 4th, everybody!

New Bedding for Florida!

I went on a little pre-CP shopping spree this past weekend. Target had put out all of their dorm furnishings and I was inspired to go ahead and buy some of the stuff I will need for the apartment. I bought a couple of packs of hangers and almost all of my bedding. The bedding ended up being a great deal--$25 bucks for the throw pillow (I know this isn't that cheap, but I really loved it), $20 for the sheets, and only $15 for the comforter at Wal-Mart. I love the look I ended up with, but, boy, the sheets and comforter sure feel as cheap as they were! The sheets are supposed to be cotton jersey, but they definitely don't feel "t-shirt soft!"

I plan to keep looking for a comforter because I like the look, but I'm sure I can find another plain black bedspread that doesn't cost much more and hopefully it will be made of a little bit nicer fabric. I also need to find a matching pillow sham. I'm hoping they sell them on WalMart.com, because they didn't carry them in the stores. The comforter, the sheets, the bedskirt, everything...except the shams. And they weren't just out: they never carried them! I don't know what's up with that. So the lovely yellow and white sham featured in the above picture is from the bedding that I usually use. It doesn't look bad with the new stuff (the yellow shades look closer in real life than they do in the picture), but I hate to take the sham from my nice bed set down there. That was kind of the point of buying cheap-o bedding this time around.

The sheets also feel a little scratchy, but I love the pattern (the subtle pinstripe doesn't show up very well in the pics) and I'm hoping they'll soften up when I wash them. The yellow and grey pillow is definitely a winner and really the whole reason I decided to go with this color scheme. Plus--bonus alert!--it matches the things that are in my bedroom at home right now. So unlike the rest of the things I bought, it won't have to sit in the closet until August.

I'm Okay!

It hasn't been a good couple of weeks for my car. Recently, she was burgled and infested with vermin. And now this...

I was awoken this morning by the sound of the wind outside--that's how you know it's gonna be a crazy day, when the wind is loud enough to wake someone who can normally sleep through anything. Soon it was pouring rain and thundering and lightning, complete with occassional power flickers just to keep us on our toes.

I've known for a while that my tires aren't the best. The treads are worn way down, and I don't have great traction in the rain. So I left plenty early so that I could take it easy on the way to work and drive slowly. Fat lot of good that did me! I had been on the interstate for about 5 minutes, driving under the speed limit in the right lane, when I lost control of the car, went careening across the left lane, and spun into the median. After a few seconds of hysteria, I called my dad, who called 911 and came to pick me up. We eventually got the car out onto the road and back home. It drove okay, but is obviously damaged and, also obviously, will not be leaving my garage again until I have new tires. Lesson learned!

I'm fine: just a little sore and still a little shaky 9 hours later. I really do feel like I was incredibly lucky today. There was no car in the other lane, and if I had slid right instead of left, I would have hit the metal guardrail and bumped back into traffic. When I hit the median, the ground was slushy enough to slow my car down very quickly, so I didn't even hit the dividing wires. Very lucky indeed. Blessed, actually. It certainly could have been much worse.

Some Less-Than-Two-Months-To-Go Musings

This past Wednesday marked the beginning of the two month countdown before I leave for Florida. Crazy. So I now have less than two months before I'm going to be living on my own, in a new city, working a new job, hanging out with new friends, living under a new, made-up name, going around with a new post-plastic surgery face...wait a minute. Those last two aren't going to happen. But the first few are! And not only that, but I will also be going to Disney World basically every day! For free! Amazing.

I've begun to sever ties with Missouri. Last week, I notified the nursery coordinator at church that I would need to be off the schedule starting in August, and my boss is beginning to look for temporary help for the office while I'm gone. Today, I even kept the cardboard boxes when we got in supplies at work. I'll need them to pack in!

I feel like I keep saying this here, but I just can't believe that this is really real. Every day I get a little more excited, apprehensive, reflective, and prepared for the whole experience. A while ago I caught a special on the Travel Channel about Disney World. And I watched it, thinking how crazy it was going to be to pass Graumann's Chinese Theatre every day on my way to work. Or to walk through Cinderella Castle on my lunch break. Unbelievable. In 58 days, I will be somewhere completey different, living an almost completely different life. And as scary as that thought is, I really, really just can't wait. :)

The Exciting Conclusion to the Roommate Saga!

No time or content for a full post, but I now have a roommate. There--wasn't that exciting? ;)

Roommate Notification Part Deux: The Adventure Continues

As soon as I opened my email at work this morning, there was a shiny, purple email from the Disney College Program, saying that I had been matched with a roommate. After my frustration a couple of weeks ago finding out that roommate notification wasn't available for my arrival date, I checked back last Thursday. And, lo and behold, I was able to sign up. It said that there were currently no matches available, but that I would be notified when they had found one for me. The next morning, however, I logged back into roommate notification, and the old message about it not being an option for my arrival date was back up. What the french, toast?

This morning, however, there was that super exciting email. I quickly clicked on the link to learn the identity of my new roommate...and was taken back to the same stupid page saying that my arrival date wasn't eligible!!!

I've sent a message to tech support and housing to find out what's going on. I don't know if it's a glitch in the website, or if the housing people have made a mistake. But this roommate thing is taking on a life of its own! Check back soon for the exciting conclusion to the saga!

My Life Lately, in 696 Words or Less

Updates on a few of my summer goals:

• Work Full Time--Check! At least one thing on my list is being done. But, boy, is it being done slowly! Since I work on campus, a large part of my job depends on the demands of students, faculty, and administrators thrown into the full-fledged tizzies that are the fall and spring semesters. But during the summer, things are oh-so-quiet.
  They make working in an office seem so glamorous on TV...
  
  Last summer, working part-time, I felt like things were slow. But they were sort of pleasantly slow. In the "take your time with what little work you have to do and pace yourself so you don't get too bored" sort of way. But working full-time, there's just not nearly enough to do here. I've gone home early several days the last few weeks. My supervisor encouraged me to stay, because she knew I wanted the hours, but I just feel bad sitting around being paid to do nothing. In the three weeks since school got out, I have dusted every surface of the office, organized my work space, and even ventured into the dreaded "back room" to organize the mess we call our storage space. It's all stream-lined, cleaned, and de-clutterfied now. Which makes me wonder...what am I going to do for the next 2 months?!
  
  
• Volunteer--It's not my fault! I applied at the Make-A-Wish foundation, but they said they didn't need any help right now. So, basically I'm blaming this wonderful charity for my lack of volunteerism. It's all their fault! Just kidding. I know I really should try to find somewhere else. Someone out there needs help! But I just haven't yet. I'll get to it.
  
  
• Learn Spanish--This is going...okay, I guess. To be honest, I haven't been practicing much, lately. I need to get back on that! But before I got lazy, I was really doing pretty well. I can now give basic directions. However, they translate to something like this: "Left. Go straight and right at next to bank." As you might have figured out, I haven't really gotten to grammer yet. Hopefully I'll get motivated to do that very soon so I can stop sounding like I learned Spanish from a broken See 'n Say.
  
  
• Get Crafty!--Check! I dove back into crafts with a passion after my DIY binge at the ever-wonderful DesignSponge.com. And the one that really ended up catching my fancy was an old friend--knitting! In the last couple of weeks, I've bought knitting needles of all types and sizes, deliciously candy-colored yarns for hats, gloves, and scarves to come, and almost completed a bag. Seriously! The first project of my Craft Revival is almost finished! I started sewing the lining in yesterday, but here's a picture from a couple of days ago when I was blocking the sides:
  Instead of being completed and sewn at the top, this bag is actually designed to be finished on the needles--making this a very cute bag to carry my future knitting projects in! I'm very, very proud of my baby, so expect to see more pictures in a few days! I've already started my next project, even. No pictures of this work-in-progress, but don't worry...you'll get to see them (I know you were worried! Oh, come on. Can't you at least pretend that you're really excited to see these pictures?)

Other than these things, I've spent the rest of my time lately being robbed by homeless people, (He was drunk, my car was unlocked, and they arrested him. The only thing he got was some worthless text books. Seriously. I couldn't even sell them back. Worked out real well for him, didn't it?), unintentionally providing shelter for baby mice in the air filter of my car (This didn't work out so well for the mice...or for me! Smelled horrible!), and seeing Shakespeare in the Park (Unlike the other things mentioned here, this was a very pleasant experience.)

It's been a little crazy lately, but in a fun, interesting kind of way. And, yes, I just described being robbed by a drunk guy as sort of fun and interesting. Makes for a good story, anyway!

Finalizing Travel Plans

My mom and I had another long discussion yesterday about travel plans for August. My last day of work will be Friday, August 7th. I'm planning to use Saturday to wrap up my packing, and then we'll get on the road first thing Sunday morning. We're going to break the 20-something hour trip up into two days--definitely an improvement over our Spring Break driving marathon. We have family in Alabama, so we're going to make a little detour and spend Sunday afternoon and night with them. Then we'll get back on the road at a leisurely pace Monday, and get into Orlando late Monday night. Tuesday, we're planning to spend the day at the beach, and then Wednesday is the big day--CHECK-IN! (And Ikea. :) )

This is all just tentative. My mom's going to fly back, and they only have flights early Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. So we may not leave until Monday, and then we could do the beach on Thursday. In fact, she might not even get to go--we've been trying to sell our old house for months now, and until that happens, the extra hotel bills and plane ticket may not be in the budget. We'll just have to see.

But either way, it is exciting to have an actual plan. Just a little over two months to go now! So exciting! :)

Disney Survey

It's been a sloooow week. All of my friends are either out of town for the summer or working too much to hang out, and there's not much going on at work, either. And you may wonder why I haven't been writing more if I've got all of this free time. Well, the answer is that there's not much going on with the CP, either. So I just haven't had anything to write about.

But rather than go yet another weekend without posting anything, I decided that I would post my answers to a little Disney survey. I wanted to do one of these surveys before I left, because I have a sneaking suspicion that my experience at Disney World will shift my opinions on a lot of this. For example, I may love the Wishes Fireworks show now, but if I end up working on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom and have to hear the song a million times before the end of my program...well, I may not be loving that particular show so much anymore. So I wanted a record of just how much I loved "When You Wish Upon a Star" before it was ruined for me. :)

I plan to do this survey again towards the end of my program, to see how much things have changed. So let's get to it!

I got this survey from SurveyDumpster.com, and took out some of the questions that I thought were boring and/or stupid. Use the comments section to share your answers! (or to let me know how bad my taste is for liking The Emperor's New Groove. Either way.)

Movies
Which movie is your favorite? The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Which movie has the best story? Beauty and the Beast
Which movie did you laugh the most at? The Emperor's New Groove (I know, I know, but hey! This is my survey, and I can like whatever movies I want :P )
Which movie made you cry? The Lion King. And, full disclosure, here, not just the first time I saw it, either.
What is your favorite song from the movies? Tough one! Probably "When You Wish Upon a Star." It's such a classic!
If you were sucked into one of the Disney movies, which would you prefer? Sleeping Beauty, I suppose. The landscapes are gorgeous!
Which Disney movie probably shouldn't have been made? The Black Cauldron. What? You've never heard of it? My point exactly.
Are you sick of the sequels? No! I love seeing them pimp out my childhood friends. (kidding!)

The Parks
Have you ever been to Disneyland? Nope.
Have you ever been to Disney World? 4 times.
Have you been to any of the other Disney Parks around the world? Nope.
Which park is the best? Of the parks at WDW, I'd probably say Magic Kingdom. But that's just today. Tomorrow, who knows?
What's your favorite ride? Tower of Terror
What's your least favorite ride? Um...Tomorrowland Speedway? Never ridden it, but it looks pretty lame. Test Track has its moments, but it's definitely the biggest waste of time in the parks if the line is long.
Who have you been to Disney with? My family.
Would you go back? Maybe. August seems like a good time to go. ;)
Did you get autographs and/or pictures with your favorite characters? Of course!
Which character is your favorite picture with? My favorite character picture out of all our trips isn't even of me. My favorite picture is the one where my 14 year old brother, who refused to take pictures with any characters, saw Alice from Alice in Wonderland and rushed over to get his picture taken because she was hot. Boys. lol
Would you ever work for Disney? Hey, that's a great idea! :)
Would you remember where they were if you went back? Yeah. It's not that hard, really.
Which is the best show at Disney? It's sort of a tie between Fantasmic and Wishes. But I'll give the edge to Fantasmic because they provide you with some fairly comfortable seating instead of expecting you to sit on the sidewalk.
Which is the best restaurant? I really like the Garden Grill at Epcot. It's a small, comparably quiet restaurant, and the food is pretty good for in-park. Plus, it has a cool revolving dining room!
Which is the best hotel on Disney property? I've only ever stayed at the Value resort, but the Animal Kingdom Lodge would be my first choice if money was no object. (Savannah view room, of course!)

Getting my DIY On

Lately, I've been feeling very crafty. I used to do lots of crafts, even knitting and crocheting, but it's been a long time since I've had a real project to work on, and I'm really starting to get the itch. Part of my newfound inspiration could be my recent gorge on old Design*Sponge DIY posts. They're always entertaining, and their ideas are adorable, but at the same time make me want to smack myself in the forehead for not thinking of it myself.

I'm also thinking of how I can use these ideas in my apartment in Florida. Some of them are definitely ones that I'm going to tackle, and soon.

First, I'm going to try out the "Paper Coasters/Trivets" project from Design*Sponge.

I was using one lonely hand-me-down glass coaster rescued when my mom decided to get a new set for herself. Until, that is, it got wrapped up in my computer cord, and crashed to the floor. So now I have no coasters, and I'm thinking that my old N*Sync and Britney Spears CD cases would go to good use if I used them to make these coasters. (After I remove and carefully store the CDs elsewhere, of course. ;))

And this project from Photojojo is going to have me scavenging for glass jars for months, I fear:

Super cute, right? And this is one of those projects where I go "why didn't I think of that?". I'm seeing a lot more jelly, pickles, and other things that come in jars in my future.

This has also inspired me to finally finish a few DIY projects that I've been planning to do for months now: I'm finally going to make a headboard for my bed, and I'm going to finish that jewelry tree that I've already bought a gorgeous vase for.

Jewelry tree inspiration

It's going to happen! I'm gonna get my DIY on! I'll be sure to post pictures of my awesome completed projects. :)

Online Shopping: All The Cool Kids Are Doing It!

Disney announced yesterday that they would begin to sell some of their park merchandise online at DisneyStore.com. The selection is small: only one t-shirt style, Mickey ear hats, and a few other categories. But I'm sure this is just the beginning.

I think this is a pretty neat idea. The last time we went to WDW, I really wanted to buy the park soundtrack. But by the time our last day rolled around, I still hadn't picked it up, and no one wanted to spend our last few hours in a shop while we could be getting in one last ride. I toyed with buying it off Ebay, but there was a very small selection, and even used copies were almost full park price. So I never did buy it. If this option had been around back then, I probably would have sprung for the CD and bought it off the website. Now of course, I'm glad that I didn't, because I can get a 20% off discount when I buy the CD in a few months (woo hoo for cast discounts!) And that will be one of the first things I buy when I go into the park--after my first pair of Mickey Mouse ears. (Can you believe I've been to WDW 4 times and never had a pair? I don't deserve the label "Disney fan".)

The park CDs aren't actually offered on the website right now: like I said, it's a very limited selection. But just give them time...

As a (future) Merchandise CM, I also get to look at it from the perspective of my job...but I have absolutely no idea how it will affect it. I don't think it's going to really be that big of a deal. They've had a phone line where you could order park merchandise for years, so its not really that different. I just wanted to point out how cool it is that Disney news is now news that indirectly affects me. :)

Roommate Selection

I know I left my blog on a bit of a down note for quite a while...this wasn't intentional! My moment of crisis really was just a moment, and I've been feeling much better and excited once again for my Florida adventure. There just hasn't been much else to write about!

But today I'm going to address yet another of the big decisions that need to be made before August...roommate selection!

I've already talked about the Roommate Notification Process, but just in case you missed it, if I opt in to roommate notification, Disney will select a roommate for me and let me know their identity ahead of time so we can get to know each other and coordinate things we'll be bringing with us. But lots of other CPs are trying to find roommates on their own on discussion boards and in the CP Facebook group.

There are tons of posts out there that read like personal ads: "Female CP, arriving August 24th, looking for roommate. Crazies need not apply." And there's something to be said for this method. You can specify that you want a roommate who is neat, or who wants to help host lots of parties. Disney doesn't take personalities into consideration, mostly just gender, age, and arrival date. I've had a few Facebook messages and such from some very nice CPs, introducing themselves, and even though they were just asking general questions about my arrival, what role I would have, and all of that, I wondered if they were looking for a potential roommate. It's a good way to do it, I guess!

But, by golly, something about it just creeps me out a little bit. It seems to go against everything Dateline has ever told us. Giving out information about myself to an almost-total-stranger on-line? (And yes, I realize that that's exactly what I'm doing here at my blog. But for some reason it doesn't disturb me quite as much.) I just don't know if I can bring myself to do it.

Even if you find someone to room with through the internet, you really still don't know that person at all. Sure, you know more about them than you do when you do with roommate notification, but still...I think I'm going to take my chances, and see who Disney pairs me up with. If it just doesn't look like things are going to work out, you have the option of opting out of the match. I don't anticipate needing to do this, though. I get along pretty well with just about anybody. But it is nice to know that I have that out if I need it.

The website says that roommate notification will be done around June 1st. And...ooh! I just logged into the website, and it says that my date is ineligible for roommate notification, anyway! So the entirety of the above post is now null and void. It's a little frustrating that I have now finally made a decision, only to find out that there was no decision to be made! Oh, well. It does say that my date may become eligible later, and that I can sign up to be matched when/if that happens. But I think I'll just use this opportunity to ponder my decision for a few more days.

Remind Me: Why Am I Doing This, Again?

For the most part, it’s been a good week—I finished up the semester, working book buyback is going well. But today has been a little discouraging.

I was giving my degree audit a second look today to see if I was admitted to the program. Good news: I was. The paperwork went through. So then I started figuring how many hours I have left of required classes for my major. Since the semester is over, I have 60 hours under my belt, and have another 51, including my degree-required internship and Gen Eds, to go. So far, so good, right?

Both my current and former academic advisor told me that they thought I would be able to graduate early. So I was hoping that I would still be able to graduate on time even after my CP. To do that, I would have to finish up in 3 semesters after I got back from Florida. 6 of the 51 hours are a summer internship, so that means I have to take 15 hours per semester for the next 3 semesters. I should easily be able to accomplish that!

But then there’s that one stupid little requirement: I have to have a total of 125 credit hours to graduate. Even after I’ve completed all of my required Gen Eds, the requirements for my major, and a couple of electives that I’ve already taken, I will only have 111 hours down. That means that I will still need to take an entire 14 credit semester of just electives.

On top of that, I discovered today that I may have problems with my Honors College Membership. To remain a member of the Honors College at my school, you have to meet the General Honors Curriculum requirement, which basically boils down to this: during your first five semesters, you have to take five honors classes. Which I have done. But, even though I’ve read the requirements many, many times, I never caught this little jewel until today: “…in addition to the Freshman Honors Seminar.” This entire time, I thought that the Seminar counted as one of my five classes. So this means that next semester—my fifth semester—I am technically required to take another Honors course. But I won’t even be here!

I don’t really think this will be a problem. I haven’t talked to them yet, but I’m sure they will make an exception for a situation like this. And regarding my graduation date, I have been skeptical since the beginning when they were telling me they thought I could finish in 3 ½ years. So graduating a semester later now doesn’t really surprise me that much. But the stress is just starting to build, and with the problems I had with Student Employment last week (even though that’s all been resolved; I can work this summer), I’m starting to get a little discouraged.

So, today, for the first time, Disney isn’t looking so hot. I am having a few doubts, and today it even crossed my mind how much easier it would be to just stay here and finish up school as originally planned. I know that I still want to do Disney, but it just isn’t sounding as exciting as it did a few weeks ago. The reality of the situation is starting to set in and I’m not loving every aspect of it. I know I just need to work though it, though, and things will look brighter when all of this is settled. After all, none of these are major problems. But I guess I was hoping for no problems at all!

It’s a little cheesy, I know, but I’m just going to make this my mantra for the rest of the discouraging days (weeks? months?) to come: “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Know who said that? A pretty smart fella named Walt Disney. :)

Por Favor Manténganse Alejado De Las Puertas

Perdoneme, ¿dónde está el baño?

Habla mas despacio, por favor.

Hablo español un poco solomente, pero estoy aprendiendo.

Don't worry--your translation function isn't broken. I've decided to try to learn Spanish. Over the summer, I'm going to really try to teach myself the basics. I've got a couple of CDs from the library, and I've been listening to them on my commute to and from work each day. It's going pretty well, except that I look like a weirdo to the people next to me at stop lights, sitting in my car mumbling "Me llamo Bethany. Mucho gusto" along with the CD.

I learned a lot of Spanish from Monty Python...

which means that, naturally, I know how to warn

people about the dangers of llamas. Very helpful.

I took some classes in high school, so I already know a lot of the basics. The problem for me is just coming up with the right phrase at the right time. I can remember the phrases without any hitch...but I really have to think to remember which one means what. And don't even get me started on feminine/masculine forms!

The one thing I do have going for me, though, is that I pretty much have the pronunciations down. Spanish pronunciation is a lot easier than English anyway, and that is one thing that stayed with me from high school. I can read the words, and generally have a pretty good idea about how they should be pronounced.

I don't expect to be fluent in Spanish in just a few months, but I would at least like to be able to work my way through a basic conversation with a minimum of charades-playing. It'd be nice to be able to take an actual class, but there's not one offered at any time that I could make. I think this self-teaching method will work out okay for me, though. Really, what else have I got to do this summer?

Finished With Finals (Already!)

Yay! I am done with finals for an entire year! I just took my last final, and since I will be at Disney next semester, I won't have to take another final until NEXT MAY! That's a very exciting prospect.

So now that the semester is officially done, I am just trying to figure out how I'm going to pass the next three months. For the next week, I'm going to continue working at my regular job part-time, and picking up extra hours at the school bookstore doing text book buyback. Then, I will be able to go to full-time, something student workers are not really supposed to be able to do.

Student workers are only allowed to get 1000 hours per calendar year. Under normal circumstances, this works out to abot 20 hours per week. But since I won't be here to work between August and January, I can work 40 hours per week over the summer, and still not go over the 1000 hour limit. I really love my job, so this will be a great way to spend the summer. And it feels really great to have a definite plan for the next few months, because I wasn't sure that they would be able to find enough hours for me to be in the office full-time. But I guess it's going to work out after all!

Right now, I'm off to do text book buyback for the first time. It's going to be a great way to pick up some extra cash over the next week, and I'm excited to do something new for a while. Manual labor is fun when you don't have to do it very often! :) Actually, I'm not exactly sure what this is going to entail: I am assuming that we will be sorting and boxing up the books, but I really won't know until I go in in a little while. But I'm sure I'll be back complaining to you guys soon about how much my muscles hurt, and how much I'm ready for the week to be over. lol. I'm a wimp! :)

Trying To Find My Laughing Place!

Well, I've run into the first (but I'm sure not the last!) problem with the school regarding my CP. I am a student worker, and to be eligible to work in the summer, we are required to be pre-enrolled for the upcoming fall semester. Even though I'm not going to be getting any credit from Disney, I will still have full-time student status through my school. But that status won't show up until right before the fall semester. So right now, one week before the semester ends, I am not eligible to work during the summer.

Originally, I talked to someone there who said that all I would need to be eligible to work this summer was documentation from the Career Center that I would have full-time student status this fall. But the Career Center said there's nothing that they can give me until I actually have the status!

So I called back over to Student Employment, and the new woman I talked to told me about an exception form that I have to fill out. So I have now filled out the form, and am getting ready to take it over to Student Employment. I will let you all know how it goes! *Fingers Crossed!*

A: Bills, Credit Card Offers, and Germs

Q: Name three things that always come in an envelope!

As I was licking an envelope just moments ago to send off in the mail, it got me thinking: that is really, really gross! How terrible is it that, after all this time, with all we know about germs now, we still lick envelopes? And then people put their fingers inside, right on the part we've licked, to open it. Disgusting!

Don't do it, Johnny! You'll get germs all over your pretty hat!

Maybe I'm just a germaphobe, but I'm sure I'm not the only one out there who is bothered by this. In a perfect world, everyone would use the envelopes like the ones Netflix movies get sent back in. They have a sticky strip, covered by a piece of paper. When you're ready to seal the envelope, you just peel off the paper strip, and stick! What could be easier? I wish people would stand up and say, "Hey! I will do the responsible thing and not send my germs through the United States Postal Service." *Sigh* Someday. But until then, I guess I'll just have to be sure to use a letter opener...and then dissinfect that letter opener after each use.

Embracing the College-Style Aesthetic

My mom brought up a good question recently: What am I going to do about bedding while I'm in Florida? Okay, maybe not the most exciting question in the world for most people. But for me, the interior designer, a light bulb came on. I get a whole new apartment to decorate! (Okay, fine. My roommates can have some say...if they feel they must.) I'm generally the type of person who goes for the clean, sophisticated, put-together look, with a minimum of clutter. Like this:Pretty, huh? But I am actually looking forward to decorating my room with whatever momentos, pictures of my friends, raggedy quilts, etc. float my boat. It will be fun! It's only for 4 months, and I don't want to spend my time and efforts trying to make my room look pulled together when my roommate will probably be decorating her half with magazine cut-outs of Robert Pattinson. So, as the old adage goes, if you can't beat 'em, why not join 'em?

Maybe it's sad that this gets me so excited. Am I that uptight; that the thought of letting loose is such an event? I say no. I say that I'm just a girl who knows the importance of good taste...and the importance of choosing the right time to ignore said taste.

So in the spirit of my new vision, here is the first item that has been chosen to grace the walls of my room while at Disney:

This double sided poster from "New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo", Flight of the Conchords. The poster came with their CD, and the only problem I have with it is trying to decide which side I'll have to turn to the wall! Originally I thought I liked the picture on the left, but the more I look at the trippy one with the frog, the more I like it. It's a little bit like an I-Spy book on acid. This is an important decision, y'all! I need help! So let me know what you think in the comments section.

Well, I'm off. Writing about my new style-less style has gotten me excited about all things tasteless. I hear the store down the street is having a sale on beanbags and fake plants and I've just got to get over there! (just kidding....I don't think I'll ever get to that point. ;))

Here We Go...

In a way, yesterday was the start of a lot of changes coming my way. Last night I said goodbye to my boyfriend, who is going back home for the summer to do his internship. I already miss him like crazy, and although we're already planning meet-in-the-middle trips to see each other, it's going to be a difficult summer. And to make matters worse, I probably won't even see him before I leave for Florida. So for the next 7 months, my boyfriend and I will live half a country away from each other.

For a few months, this has been my countdown--how much time do I have left with Erik? But now the deadline is here, and, thinking about it this morning, I realized how many other deadlines have been creeping closer: I've only got two weeks left of classes, including my final exams. After that, I'll be working full-time (location TBD, but I have a promising lead) and only be three months away from Disney.

I just have a feeling that things are going to start snowballing out of control (in a pleasant, exciting way) very soon. Before I know it August will be here, and I probably won't feel ready. That's just the way things go. But I'm trying to brace myself and prepare for all of the changes as best I can. That's all I can do for now.

Flying Solo

Yestday was Emily's birthday (happy birthday!) and we went out for lunch at Chili's. Emily's deadline to accept/decline date was the same as mine, but she still hadn't quite made up her mind what she wanted to do. She had some other colleges to visit, and wanted to see how those were looking before she commited fully to Disney. So she accepted her invitation, and made use of the two-week time frame for paying the assessment fee. Yesterday was the payment deadline, though, and, coincidentally, the same day she got back from another college visit. Her visit was a success, and so she has decided not to go to Disney.

I'm definitely sad, because how cool would it have been to be at Disney with my best friend? Super fun, right? But while I think Disney would have been tons of fun for both of us, this will probably be a better choice for her in the long-run. I'm just really glad that she was there to go through the whole application process with me, though. Gave me someone to worry about my interview with. :) So, Emily, good luck! Love ya, girl!

Since Emily's not going, I will probably sign up for roommate notification in the next couple of weeks. Disney can match CPs up with one of their roommates before they go, so that they can get to know each other and coordinate what they will bring for the apartment. This whole roommate thing is a little nerve-wracking, as I've never even had to share a room with a sibling, much less with a total stranger! But I suppose it's all part of the experience. So from here on out, my safety net is gone--I'm on my own. This is looking more and more like an adventure all the time, huh? :)

Dream Work Locations

Since I'm going to be working Merchandise, and I love lists, I thought I would share my list of the top 5 stores I think I would like to work at. I'm not even sure if CPs usually work at all of these stores, but oh, well. This is just for fun. Ready? Here we go!

Sid Cahuenga's One-of-a-Kind --Hollywood Boulevard, DHS

This shop is one that immediately jumped out at me as a place that I would LOVE to work. I'm a huge, huge movie fan, and this store, which carries autographed posters, authentic props, and other movie memorabilia, seems like just my cup of tea.

Animation Gallery--Animation Courtyard, DHS
Like many people, my first Disney love was their animated movies. I have a true soft spot in my heart for these films, and a true appreciation for the art that goes into them. So I think I would also truly appreciate this store, which sells authentic cels, and other Disney animation collectibles. I loved shopping here as a guest, why not working here as a CP?

Castle Couture/Tinkerbell's Treasures--Fantasyland, MK

These two stores may represent the epitome of "Disney merchandise" to many people: girly and glittery. It's really one large building, divided up into two sides: Castle Couture sells dress-up get-up, while Tinkerbell's Treasures sells...well, I don't actually know. The last time I was there, it was all one store, and they sold mostly princess stuff. While I was looking for pictures for this entry, I came across the news that it was now two stores. I'm assuming that, since Tinkerbell and her fairy friends have their own franchise now, Tinkerbell's Treasures sells fairy stuff. I think this would just be a really fun, fun place to work. Little girls shopping for tiaras, tea sets, and those little plastic dress-up shoes. What could be more sweet? Plus, over in Castle Couture, you can see Princess Aurora's color changing dress really changing colors, and at Tink's...well, if you have a really good eye, you might just spot Tinkerbell herself flitting around the store! No kidding! You've just gotta love the Disney magic. :)

World of Disney--Downtown Disney

I like to think of this store as the Wal-Mart of Disney. They sell absolutely EVERYTHING. If they can slap a Disney character on it, they sell it. This size of this store is truly unbelievable, though. It's hard to know for sure because of the way the store is divided into themed rooms, but it may be even bigger than your average Wal-Mart Supercenter. I mean, it...is...huge! This store is always jam packed, which would make it a very, very exciting place to work. Plus, it's actually not located in a Disney park--it's a part of Downtown Disney. This has its downsides, of course, but I think it would be kind of neat to save the actual parks as a place for pure fun and days off. So this mega-store makes my list.

Tower of Terror Gift Shop--Sunset Boulevard, DHS
I can't have a list of Disney shopping without an attraction gift shop, right? Basically every ride at WDW has at least one gift shop that you must exit through to get back out onto the street. Some sell very generic merchandise, while others sell merchandise that is specifically themed to their attraction. By far, my favorite of these shops is the one attached to the Tower of Terror. The elaborate theming from the ride pours out into the gift shop, where you can buy all kinds of hotel-inspired merch: bathrobes with the Hollywood Tower Hotel logo, bellhop bells, and even this...

Mickey, my face looks the exact same way every time I ride. :)

Hustle, Bustle, and...Something Else That Rhymes With Bustle

It's been a very busy couple of weeks, and it doesn't look like it's going to slow down any time soon. This semester, I took mostly easy classes--a bit of a reward to myself after a crazy semester last Fall. But I am taking one truly challenging class: AutoCAD for Interior Design. Yuck! The program has a lot of really neat features, but also a lot of bugs which make for a really frustrating experience at times. Plus, it's a night class, which is never a good thing.

In all, I have four exams, two sculpture projects, and two final projects due in my classes before finals can start. I also need to apply to my degree program, and register for classes for next semester (just as a backup--you never know). *whew!* I'm definitely getting ready for a break.

But I don't think I'll get one in the near future. In the next couple of days, I'm going to begin searching for a part-time summer job. I'm currently a student worker at my school, and we're limited to 20 hours a week. But I'm going to need some money, and I'm also going to need something to kill the time. Last summer I made the mistake of only working my regular part-time job, and found myself bored more often than not. And, because my boyfriend is going halfway across the country (aka: home) for the summer in only two short weeks *sob*, I'm definitely going to have more time on my hands than I've had in a while. Finding another part-time job would basically mean that I would be occupied full-time.

Becuase I'm going to have SO much free time, I'm also going to try to get in some volunteer work this summer. Last week, one of the corkboards at school had a list of volunteer opportunities for the summer, and one of the locations was the Make-A-Wish foundation. We actually have a local chapter, and I think that would be an amazing organization to be a part of. After I get all of my job stuff settled and I know what my schedule is like, I might try to see if I could help out there on weekends or in the evenings.

I'm tired just thinking about all of the changes that are coming my way! I've got a lot to do, and here I am, blogging away. I'm not getting anything done! I'll talk to you guys again after I've achieved something (or just the next time I have something interesting/silly/noteworthy on my mind)!

Extra Note: After publishing this post, I noticed that yet another of my post titles is two lines long. I wish one of three things: either that the title font was smaller, that the column was wider, or that I would learn to be more succinct!

The Wonderful World of Disney (Discounts)

Here's that long-promised post about what may be one of the most important and interesting aspects of the Disney College Program...discounts!

CPs get tons of discounts, not only at Disney, but at places all around Orlando! Local restaurants, hotels, and shops offer Disney Cast Members discounts...because we're just...that...cool. :) These discounts aren't so easy to know about in advance--they're called TEAM Discounts (I'm sure 'TEAM' is a cute acronym) and are listed on the HUB (which I won't have access to until I check in) and in a book that I can get once I get down to Florida. But Disney is fairly open about the discounts they offer, and, boy: even just that list is enough to make me want to sign up for the CP all over again!

For one thing, I get discounts on dining at Disney. I get a 20% discount, which can also be used by those eating with me. This will definitely come in handy as I complete my first big mission at WDW: eat at every restaurant in the World Showcase at Epcot. First down? Probably gonna be Akershus, the restaurant in Norway. What in the world do Norweigans eat, anyway? Inquiring minds want to know. For some reason, I'm thinking a lot of fish...

I also get a discount on merchandise. And since I'm going to be surrounded by merchandise all day, I can see me finding lots of things that I just have to come back on my day off to buy. That is also a 20% discount. But even better than the regular merch discount: I'll get to shop at Property Control, otherwise known as Cast Connection. This is where they send discontinued and overstock merchandise, and only Cast Members are allowed to shop there. Basically it's the ultimate Disney outlet! The discounts here range from 50-75% off original in-park prices. How cool is that?

Now it's time for the two biggies: resorts and...drum roll...park admission! Here is what everyone needs to keep in mind: I get some pretty sweet discounts, and if you want me to get you some deals, you better be nice to me between now and August. Are you listening (reading), family?

Ah, I'm just kidding of course. (But, no. Really. Be nice.) But the deals are pretty awesome. On resort reservations, there are two different deals Cast Members can get. If I stay in the room, I can get up to a 50% off discount (depends on the season--busy times for the resorts, I can't get as big of a discount). These reservations are unlimited. If I won the lottery between now and August, I would never even have to stay in the CP housing--I could just stay in a different Disney resort every night of the semester.

If I don't stay in the room, and just get a reservation for someone else, then the discount is only up to 40%. These are limited to 5 reservations. The length of the stay is unlimited, however, so that really is quite a few discounted nights when you think about it. And even though I'm assuming each room would count as a separate reservation, I don't know about that. (See? As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes I don't know everything.)

And now, the grand-daddy of all "I know someone at Disney who can get me a discount" discounts...park admission. Of course, I get in for free as often as I want while I'm there. Definitely sweet. But that doesn't help you, my friend, family member, or slightly creepy stranger who is trying to figure out how to bum tickets off of a blogger you've never met. For all of you (except you, creepy stranger), I get 6 Main Entrance Passes. These passes can be used to get up to 3 other people in. That means if I use one of my passes to get in two people, well, I've basically lost a free ticket. 3 people...6 times. It was a little confusing for me at first, but maybe I'm the only one out there who has trouble understanding this. 3 people...6 times. These tickets are Park Hoppers, which means that my guests can leave and enter as many different Disney parks as they'd like on the day that I get them in.

So, now you all know all about the super sweet discounts I can get for my friends and family. Let the schmoozing begin! ;)

Now or Never?

Pixie dust ain't cheap, kids. And with the recession, cutbacks, and the recent reorganization of the Disney Parks' corporate structure (yeah. I'm a nerd.), in a way it really looks as if I've picked a bad time to do my CP. According to the Orlando Sentinal, about 450 jobs have recently been cut from WDW. Most were behind-the-scenes salaried jobs rather than by-the-hour Cast Members; but still, it doesn't seem like a good time to be one of about 7,000 new employees coming in.

Of course, these 7,000 CPs/ICPs were figured in when Disney did their cutbacks. We're exactly the kind of workforce they want--no benefits, no union, and we're all there because we really want to work for Disney. So, even though nothing can be ruled out right now, I think my CP is pretty safe. Future programs...well, I guess we'll just have to see.

Needless to say, I'm glad I'm getting to do the CP this semester because you just never know what may happen with a company like Disney in economic times like these. I don't mean to sound like I'm saying Disney might not make it. Park attendance has actually been good lately, even if special deals like free dining and "buy 4 nights, get 3 free" are responsbile for getting people in the doors. Even though 1st quarter reports showed overall losses for the company and theme park attendance was down 5%, attendance in February was actually up over last year, as are advance bookings through June. Diney's not going anywhere anytime soon. But if job cutbacks continue to be necessary, the CP may not make it, or at least may be scaled back. If forced to choose between temporary college "interns" and unionized senior Cast Members, Disney won't really have much choice. In fact, this past February, the following appeared on Screamscape.com:

According to a Screamscape source Walt Disney World has begin some trimming of their labor force, starting with the Disney College Program / Career Start Program. Disney has begin to contact a good number of individuals who were scheduled to start working at WDW on February 11th and informed them that their offer of employment is being withdrawn due to current staffing needs. The upside is that they are offering them new contracts to come down and work on either May 20th or August 26th instead.

This shows exactly how flexibile those "contracts" Disney has with their CPs are. If necessary, the program could be drastically cut back. So, even though it may not seem like the best time to do the CP, it's better to do it now than risk never getting to do it. Hopefully the program will be around for many, many more years. And also hopefully, I won't be getting an email from Disney like the one described above.

A Place to Call Home...For a Few Months

I will be checking in in just under 4 months. And by check-in day, I have several decisions to make, mostly related to housing. Now, for anyone who doesn't know, here's the housing situation: WDWCPs live in apartment complexes located on Disney property. Each complex features 24 hour security, and facilities including a fitness center. Every week, rent is automatically taken out of each CP's paycheck for the for the fully-furnished apartments.

Above: One of the buildings at Chatham. Pretty!

There are three housing complexes for CPs--Vista Way, Chatham Square, and Patterson Court. Vista Way is the oldest, smallest, and also has a reputation for being a bit crazy at times. This does NOT sound like the place for me. I'm not against fun, but what I am against is stepping out of my door in the morning into a big pile of sick left by one of the revelers from my neighbors' party.

Chatham and Patterson are both quite a bit newer, with Patterson being occupied for the first time just last year. This means that all of the appliances and furnishings will be newer! So no years-old gunk stuck in the can opener, and minimal stink in the microwave. Chatham's just a couple of years older, though, and the apartments are larger. Plus, Chatham has a bus stop where CPs can catch a shuttle to the parks, the grocery store, etc. Patterson residents have to walk over to Chatham to catch a bus.

When I check in on August 12th, I'll be able to state a preference for for which complex I live in. I'm planning to request Chatham. Check-in starts at 9 a.m., so I'm hoping to be there plenty early. That will help my chances for getting my choice. There are no guarantees, but I've got my fingers crossed.

"Rat Me Out to the Coppers, And I'll Do To Youse What I Did To Pluto, See?"

*Whew*. The last of my major hurdles has been jumped. I just finished paying my assessment fee, and yesterday I met with my Financial Aid advisor. So I'm all set there. Now the only thing I really need to worry about before Florida is whether or not I'm going to take classes (probably not), whether or not I'll get credit for those classes if I choose to take them, and how I'm going to fit everything I own into the trunk of my Nissan Sentra. Luckily, it's a pretty big trunk.

So, now that there's nothing more for me to write about (for now) how about some Disney fun?
I'm not usually a huge fan of those "Which ________ are you?" quizzes. Usually the answers are stupid, and the questions are easy to predict and manipulate. A great time-waster, sure, but not really all that fun or entertaining. However, I couldn't resist this quiz: "Which Disney Mobster Are You?" Turns out, I'm Goofy "the Gun".

My full quiz results:

You are Goofy "The Gun". No one was really surprised when you went postal following your unsuccessful attempt to rename Epcot Center after yourself. However, it was only after this incident that your ties to the mob were uncovered. Now, the whole world knows that you are the reason why Pluto can not talk. You just couldn't handle the competition, could you Goofy?

I played around with the answers, trying to get different results. They were all equally funny, and slightly disturbing. After all, who wants to imagine Jiminy Cricket as a high-profile member of the mob family? Oh, wait. That's right. I DO! :)

Take the quiz at http://www.quizyourprofile.com/disneyquiz.php, and put your answers in the comments section. Let's start our very own Disney mob!

She's Got the Look!

Wow! New posts two days in a row. You guys are gonna get spoiled.

For anyone who doesn't know about the "Disney Look" guidelines, please: do yourself a favor and check them out. Unless you grew up Amish, chances are your style is not conservative enough for Disney. (Actually, Amish men still aren't conservative enough. Too much facial hair.)

Some highlights of the guidelines:

• Intentional body alteration or modification for the purpose of achieving a visible, physical effect that disfigures, deforms or similarly detracts from a professional image is prohibited. Examples include, but are not limited to, visible tattoos, brands, body piercing (other than traditional ear piercing for women), tongue piercing or splitting, tooth filing, earlobe expansion, and acquiring visible, disfiguring skin implants.
• Due to close contact with guests and fellow Cast Members, the use of an anti-perspirant or deodorant is required.
• Fingernails should be kept clean. If polish is used, it should be complementary to your skin tone. This includes deeper, richer shades of polish. Polishes that are not permitted include extremely bold or bright colors such as coral, hot pink, true red, neon, multicolor, gold or silver tones...Fingernails should not exceed one-fourth of an inch (approximately 6 mm) beyond the fingertip.

The guidelines also include rules about hair coloring, glasses, contacts, makeup application, and one of my personal favorite rules: facial hair. That's right: if you want to work for Disney, you better be willing to part with the ol' soup strainer.

One of my favorite things about the Disney Look is that, up until 2000, Walt Disney didn't even meet the guidelines. That's right: if Walt Disney himself applied to work at one of his own theme parks, he wouldn't have passed muster. I guess someone finally noticed this little discrepancy, though, because the guidelines were updated 9 years ago to allow mustaches, making them the only acceptable facial hair for Cast Members.

Above: Walt Disney sporting a very nice 'stache.

I have two concerns about the Disney Look and me. Here's my first concern, and also my deep dark secret. Promise not to tell? I have colored contacts. Yes, that's right. My gorgeous green eyes are fakes. The guidelines specifically mention that colored contacts are acceptable, if, "the resulting eye color [is] natural looking and appropriate to your skin tone." Which mine are...99% of the time. But every now and then, when the sunlight hits them just right, my eyes look a color that I like to affectionately call "glowstick green". It's a little startling. So there is the possiblity that I could get down there with a four-month supply of contacts, only to be told that I couldn't wear them, just because a manager happened to pass me just as the sun came out from behind a cloud. I just need to decide if that's a risk I'm willing to take.

My other concern is less of a concern, especially after last night. I have had a small nose ring for almost two years now. I was going to keep it at least until the end of this semester, but the rhinestone fell out of my last stud, and I really didn't want to go buy another one knowing that i would have to take it out in a few months. So, bye-bye, nostril bling!

So now I'm almost completely in compliance with the Disney Look guidelines. And with only four months to go, I guess that tooth filing, tongue splitting, and branding I wanted to do and that full beard I wanted to grow will just have to wait until next January.

Hmmm...Disney CP or All the Top Ramen I Can Eat?

A couple of days ago, I logged onto the WDWCP website to pay my $100 assessment fee, and a strange thing happened...I found myself hesitating.

This non-refundable fee is ostensibly to "[help] support the events and activities scheduled in the housing complexes throughout the program." In reality, I think this fee just acts as insurance for Disney and a guarantee that all of their workers will show. Once you’ve shelled out $100, there’s not much that will convince you to back out and lose that money. Especially if you’re a poor college student. $100 buys a lot of Top Ramen.

So I understand why they’re asking for the money.

But something about taking that final step is giving me the heebie-jeebies. I'm sure it's just that, like I said, $100 is a ton of money. And I'm still a little nervous about all of the stuff from school. I've talked to an advisor in the Career Center, double-checked about my full-time student status, and I've made an appointment with a Financial Aid advisor. So I'm getting all of my ducks in a row. But I'm still a little apprehensive about taking this last big step.

When I logged in, I realized I didn't have the right credit card with me, so I couldn't pay the fee anyway. But I have to admit that I was a little relieved not to be shelling out the money right then. I've still got a week before I absolutely have to pay the fee.

Just to be clear, my unease doesn't have anything to do with the program itself. I know I still want to do it. It's just that I'm worried about some random, unforseen something-or-other happening before the program, preventing me from going, and then I'll lose that $100, which, and stop me if I've said this before, IS A LOT OF MONEY!

The time for biting the bullet is fast approaching, though, so sooner or later I'll have to pay. At this point, I'm ready to get it over with and pay. But I do still want to wait and check on my scholarships first. Just to have my bases covered. Then I will gladly fork over the money.

The Price of Progress

Obviously, free admission to the theme parks is one of the biggest perks of the CP. I'm looking immensly forward to seeing how many times i can ride It's a Small World before I lose my mind, and riding Tower of Terror until I find enough guts to keep my hands up the entire time. I'm going to be testing the limits of human endurance.

Unfortunately, my ride count might be a little low on one of my all-time favorites. Space Mountain will be going down for a long refurbishment this month. The refurb is scheduled to last until November 2009, at which time I will still have at least a full month to get in some rides. But I would imagine that it's not unusual for a project like this to run behind schedule.

There is a bright side, I suppose : a couple of years ago, the Haunted Mansion was down for 3 months. In that time, they put in quite a few substantial updates, and changed some of the show elements. If they can do all of that in just 3 months, Space Mountain may be in for some big changes during its 7 month refurb!

But, that still doesn't change the fact that I'm bummed. One of the defining rides of WDW, and it won't even be open most of the months that I'm down there. And as you can see from the cheesy publicity photo above, this ride is tons of fun! Look how much those kids are enjoying it, with their 90's haircuts and that crazy guy in the back. I'm just going to have to find some way to work through my disappointment...hmm...maybe I can ride Its a Small World enough times to shrivel the "disappointment" compartment of my brain.

To-Do List

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a compulsive list maker. Going on vacation? Make a list of things to pack. Got a stressful weekend playing catch-up on homework? Make a list of what needs to be finished so that you can prioritize. Basically, I just love lists. They make me feel that, by naming what I need to do, I've already begun to conquer it. Great feeling.

I've got this huge adventure coming up, but I know that with great adventure, comes great stress (Thank you, Spider-Man.) So while the excitement still far outweighs the stress that may come later, I thought I'd start making some lists of everything that needs to be done before I can officially say that I am ready to go.

• Pay assessment fee
• Talk to advisor--make sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot by missing a semester
• Decide whether I'm going to take classes at Disney
• If I'm going to take classes, talk with Department head about getting credit
• Meet with Financial Aid advisor--make sure I'll still get my scholarships when I come back
• Talk with Career Center/Enrollment--make sure I'll still be considered a full-time student for insurance

While this may not seem exciting to you all out there in front of your computer monitors, that's not very much. Some of these things I've already begun to address: I've already talked with my advisor once, but he's new and he wasn't exactly sure what this would do to my schedule. At the time, I still hadn't even applied but now that it's an almost done-deal I'm going to press the matter and we'll look at possible outcomes. I've already talked with people in Financial Aid and the Career Center, but, again, we're no longer talking hypothetically, and I want to make a formal appointment just to cover all my bases.

That's exciting! I've still got months to go, and I'm almost done with all of the non-fun, base-covering technicalities. Soon, I'll be shopping for my apartment and planning how I'm going to pack everything I own into my little car. *sigh*. I love planning. :)