Final Review
Hey guys (she said sheepishly). Somehow I doubt anyone is still bothering to read this thing, considering how long it’s been since I updated it. When I started my program (okay, let’s be real, when I was still daydreaming about even being accepted into the program), I figured I would have lots of time to write out my thoughts and do reviews and overall be a good little Disboards blogger. Obviously that fell apart pretty quickly. And I do sincerely apologize for that. In hindsight, I really do wish I had been better about writing down my thoughts and experiences, because the memory is a very fallible thing and I’m sure I’ve already forgotten plenty. But alas, my lazy side took hold of me.
So sorry, for leaving you all hanging like that. And I’m also sorry that you won’t be getting much in the way of back reviews. I had a lot of Disney fun during the last almost seven months, far too much fun to try to remember and chronicle. This here will likely be a lengthy post though, because I intend it to be my last. Here will be my final review of my Disney College Program. It’s not really a trip report, I’ll acknowledge that, because it won’t have many pictures or reviews or details about my day to day experiences. Mostly I’m doing it because it’s therapeutic for me (I’ve been away from Disney for 10 days already and I’m kind of losing my mind), and because I’m hoping it will be helpful to any other Disney-loving college student who’s interested in the DCP.
Since it’s kind of an overall review here, my thoughts might be a little bit repetitive, for all 3 of you who have been reading along since the beginning.
I was, as you might recall, extremely excited for this experience. I’d been looking forward to it for quite some time, I was nervous about my chances of acceptance, and I was overjoyed when I received my acceptance email. I’m a freakishly organized person, so I had the whole thing all planned out. I’d done all the research that I could, and I thought I was ready. I set about the process of finding roommates, I booked my place ticket, and officially accepted my offer to work in Full Service Food and Beverage. Then I started counting down the days. And hours. I was really, really excited.
In retrospect, I’m not sure how I finished out that semester. Every fiber of my being was living for Disney, knowing that in just a few months and weeks and days I would leave dreary old Utah, then head off to Florida (with a few week detour at home in California). It wasn’t an entirely cheerful prospect, of course-in order to leave, I had to organize everything, pack up my entire apartment, pack my two huge suitcases with everything I thought I might need in the next six months, and take finals, all in the course of just a couple of weeks. It was a stressful time for me, but I was filled with anticipation.
The semester finally ended and off to California I headed. The next few weeks both flew by and dragged on forever. But finally, the day arrived: on January 18th, just about seven months ago, I boarded a plane and was off to Orlando to start my Disney adventure. I was nervous, yes, but mostly excited. I was spending the night in Port Orleans French Quarter with three of the hopeful roommates I had met via Facebook. Two went to my university, so at least I had met each of them in person once before. But my life felt pretty perfect, in those moments.
I met up with my (spoiler alert) roommate Casey in the Orlando airport, and together we took the Magical Express to the resort. Allison and Amanda were already there, but they came to the entrance to greet (and meet) us and help us lug our luggage up to the room. We already felt like a little family. Of course, at that point we weren’t positive that we’d all be assigned as roommates, but we bonded and talked and got to know each other for real. Before we were ready, it was time to say goodnight and get ready. We all came from across the country, so the time difference was messing us up, and we had an early day coming up. The van we had arranged was picking us up at 7, because Allison could check in at Vista Way at 8 a.m.
Needless to say, we were up early that morning, primping and repacking in a state of nervous anticipation. I think it took 2-3 trips to bring all our suitcases down to the lobby, we all had packed so heavily. But eventually we got everything sorted out, successfully checked out of the resort, and loaded all our junk into the van. Soon after, we pulled up to the security tent at Vista, where the driver was interrogated about our check in time. There were a few hiccups along the way, but soon enough we had stored our luggage in the designated spot and joined the line to learn our fates.
First up, we learned our work locations. Casey went first, and ended up as a Character Attendant in the Magic Kingdom. Basically her dream-come-true. Second was Allison, who also ended up in MK, but in Attractions. Later on, she learned she’d be in Fantasyland, and even later, in Storybook Circus. I was third, and was placed at Citricos, a signature restaurant in the Grand Floridian. Lastly (so far) was Amanda, who would be working custodial at the Caribbean Beach resort.
Check-in was kind of a blur, but we received our housing assignments, the second most exciting part after work locations. Thankfully, we were all together, in our first choice of apartment complex (Patterson), but, surprisingly, with two extra roommates, making it a 3 bedroom 6 person apartment. I’ll skip the dramatics, because this is all review and I don’t want this post to last forever, but our other roommates Marlon and Denise arrived the next day. They were from Holland, and, because they were ICPs, actually worked in two different roles during their programs. Marlon started off in QSFB in MK, working at Stands East, and later transitioned to Attractions in Adventureland (Enchanted Tiki Room, Magic Carpets, and Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse). Denise began in Merchandise in Epcot, working at various locations, then transitioned to QSFB, where she worked in outdoor foods.
The first week was rather slow, as we didn’t have park access, but was filled with mandatory meetings and trips to Walmart and finally, at the end of the week, Traditions, in all its glory. Needless to say, we celebrated our newfound freedom with a roommate trip to MK to watch Wishes together for the first time. It was truly magical. Shortly after, work began, with all its training. I got into the swing of my job and the restaurant business. I made friends, mostly from work, and thoroughly enjoyed my main entrance pass when I wasn’t working. Since Citricos was only open for dinner, for basically my entire program I always had the mornings free. I’m a rather anxious person, so for a while I was too nervous to go out too much before work, but eventually I came around.
There, I think that’s most of my background information, for those who were too lazy to go back and read everything, or who forgot the details in the last few months without any updates (again, sorry). I’m not going to bother much more with day-to-day stuff, but rather focus on reviewing my program: my role, my roommate’s roles and experiences, at least as best as I can (which isn’t great, I’ll warn you now), Citricos, my deployment locations (Narcoossee’s and Whispering Canyon Café), working for Disney, my feelings about the experience, whether I would do it all again, et cetera. Settle down, it’s going to be a long one, as I’ve got lots to say.