Come Visit Me!

     I couldn't be more excited to start my program.  I must say "I wish I could go right now!" at least once a day.  Who could blame me?

      
     As excited as I may be, I know I'm going to get homesick and miss my friends and family.  So I'm hoping there will be visits!  If you'd like to come to Orlando, please let me know, and I can use my Cast Member friends and family discount on a hotel room, and on park tickets!  My fall program begins on August 12, 2013 and ends on January 3, 2014*, so I will be in Disney for the following events:

• Limited Time Magic  (2013)
• Year of the Ear  (2013)
• Night of Joy (September 6-7, 2013  7:30pm-1:00am) Separate Ticketed Event
• Unleash the Villains (September 13, 2013)
• Dapper Day  (September 21, 2013)
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 10-Mile Run (October 5, 2013) Separate Ticketed Event
• Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party  (September 10, 13, 17, 20, 24, 27, 29, October 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29, 31, November 1, 2013)  Separate Ticketed Event
  
   Epcot International Food & Wine Festival  (September 27-November 11, 2013)
• Wine & Dine Half Marathon  (November 8-9, 2013)  Separate Ticketed Event
• Festival of the Masters   (November 8-10, 2013)
• Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party  (November 8, 11, 14, 15, 17, 21, 22, December 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 2013  7:00pm-Midnight) Separate Ticketed Event
  
• Candlelight Processional  (November 29-December 30, 2013)
• Holidays Around the World   (November 29-December 30, 2013)
• The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights  (Late November-December 2013)

     Whenever you decide to come, we will definitely have fun things to do!     

 

2013 Projected Crowds

If that Christmas magic is important to you (and it really is worth seeing), then try to come during November or late December** to avoid the crazy crowds.  There are also lots of other special things that go on during the holidays, such as festive parades, shows, dining, carriage rides, etc.  Disney really goes all out for the most wonderful time of the year!
For more information on crowds during my program, click HERE. 

Hope to see your smiling faces at Disney!

xoxo 



*  If I am able/choose to extend my program, this will change, and I could potentially stay through either May or August 2014.  Updates will be shared!      
  
**  EDIT 9/3:  Blackout Dates for Parks
Magic Kingdom
October: 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26
November: 1,, 2, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22-30
December: 6, 7, 13, 14, 20-31
Epcot
November: 2, 9
December: December: 23-31
Hollywood Studios
November: 25-27, 29
December: 23-31
Animal Kingdom
December 23-30

3 Girls and a Cat Lady

     Last night, I had a brief video chat with my roommates, the first one with all four of us together!  It was really great to finally get to chat with Brooke "face to face".  We're hoping to plan another chat for sometime this weekend, hopefully we'll get to all hang out a little longer!
     Yesterday, I received my congratulations postcard from Disney.  It's a little bent, but SO pretty! Brittany wanted to make a collage with all of us holding our cards, and of course, this is how mine comes out...

Photobomb!

     Typical cat lady incident!  I'll have to take a re-do, but in the meantime, this is what it got me.

Always stealing my spotlight!

   

   136 days to go!

xoxo

Tie Your Napkin 'Round Your Neck, Chérie...

     Be Our Guest is a restaurant themed after the castle from Beauty and the Beast.  Opening in November 2012, and located in Magic Kingdom, it's instantly become the most sought after place to have dinner reservations.  It has immense, intricate detailing, and the food on the menu is rumored to be excellent.     
     Naturally, I'm one of the many people that want to try this place for themselves.  However, since this spot has become so popular with the crowds, reservations fill up the full 180 days prior (maximum days allowed from any Disney reservation). My program begins mid-August, so I figured it was safe to plan for late September. 
     My roommates and I now have a dinner reservation at Be Our Guest for September 23, at 8:45 pm, the only available spot left for the day! I even called to put a special note with our reservation, that we were celebrating two birthdays (okay, so they're not until December...), and that we'd like to be seated in the ballroom.  
   At Be Our Guest, diners can either sit in the Rose Gallery (lunch only), the West Wing, or the Ballroom.  We all decided without a doubt, that for dinner, we'd like to sit in the ballroom.  We'll visit all the rooms, and will surely be back to eat in them (I hear the West Wing has some awesome show effects!).  However, it's hard to compete with the Ballroom!

Ballroom from Beauty and the Beast

Ballroom at Be Our Guest

     The gentleman helping me make the reservation asked if we would be celebrating anything special.  I honestly told him we weren't, to which he replied that we should be, because Be Our Guest does something really special for celebrations.  
     Not willing to pass up any extra magic, I told him we were celebrating the two closest birthdays, Brittany's and Brooke's.  If the rumors are true, this means they will be bringing us some of "the grey stuff" to try, and apparently, it's really tasty!

"Try the grey stuff, it's delicious! Don't believe me? Ask the dishes!"

     I'm very excited to try out this new spot, and am certain it won't disappoint!  So glad my roommates were up to planning this so far advance, I'm sure it will be worth the wait! 

This is definitely happening!

138 days until I'm working for the Mouse!

xoxo

I'm Going To Disney!

I GOT ACCEPTED!

     This morning, while watching T.V. with my brother, Kenny, my phone had the telltale tone of an email from Disney (something I had set up to make sure I knew if I got in asap).  I frantically open the message, to see this:

      AGAIN?!  I was very confused at first, and after reading what had been sent, I realized I had actually been accepted 5 days ago, on March 5!  For whatever reason, the information had never come up on my dashboard, and I never received any email, even in my spam folder!  However, an acceptance is an acceptance, and I'll take it!  
     After some tears and a call to my mom, I immediately made my way to a computer and logged onto my dashboard, where I saw my offer waiting for me.  Upon opening the file, I saw my role, and I got my second choice!

     I am so excited to be working Concierge!  My resposibilities were listed as:

     "...completing check in/check out process for concierge club-level guests by inputting and retrieving information from resort computer system; proactively greeting guests, exhibiting the expected high level of Disney show quality, often times interacting with VIPs, celebrities, and executives; creating individualized ticket packages; being comfortable in a strong sales enviornment; making reservations and handling any special requests from guests; handling cash and other forms of payment, including foreign currencies exchange; maintaining cleanliness of common guest living/dining areas within concierge club level; assisting with luggage and other deliveries to guest rooms; working concierge buffet line which can include maintaining overall cleanliness of buffet area, and replenishing food, serving alcohol, maintaining inventory of liquor, and partnering with the culinary team to ensure food quantity; and partnering with property VIP tour guides. Click here for more information about this role"

     It sounds like an awesome role, I'm so happy I got it!  I think it also gives me a much better chance of meeting a wide variety of people, versus my first choice, where I would have been in a small boutique with only 10 other women at a time.  And VIPs, celebrities, and executives? How fancy!  I can't wait to find out which resort I'll be working in.  I'm crossing my fingers for The Grand Floridian, but all the resorts are so beautiful, I'm thrilled to be at any of them!

     All I can do is think of all the fun adventures I'm going to have with my roommates, and what I want to pack and buy.  Now's probably a good time to start making up one of those Disney bucket lists I keep reading about.  It took all my willpower not to run to the Disney Store this afternoon! I have no idea how I'm supposed to concentrate for the next 154 days!  

I can't believe I'm moving to Disney World!

xoxo

And Then There Were Four

     The past two weeks, my future room mates (if I get in, knock on wood!) and I have been chatting non stop, and we've really hit it off!  Facebook chats that go on and on, and really fun video chats have become the norm.  On Monday, while searching for a room mate for my bedroom, I came across Brooke.  Super sweet, and seemed like a perfect fit, except she wanted a Wellness (no alcohol allowed, mandatory for under 21, optional for 21+), while the two girls and myself had decided on Non-Wellness (21+, alcohol permitted).  
     I wrote to her, explaining that I thought she seemed like a great fit, and that despite our preference for non-wellness, it wasn't because we were planning on throwing raging parties.  It just seems like one less thing to worry about.  We all chatted about it, and came to the agreement that it wouldn't be an issue.  So we've got all the girls we need for our 2 bedroom apartment!  Brooke has joined our daily chats and check-ins, and it's like she's been part of the group all along!  

Clockwise from top left:  Alyssa, Brittany, Brooke, me!   (Collage put together by Brittany)

     We've talked about all the things we want to do while we are there, from making shirts, to challenges (The Kitchen Sink, see all the fireworks shows in one evening, drink around the world at Epcot, etc), to park adventures, movie nights, cooking together, and making big scrapbooks.  There's so much we all want to do!  Everybody is working on a Disney Bucket List, and eventually we will make one big one to do together.  Thank goodness Alyssa and Brooke are so into photography, there should be plenty of documentation!

     Today makes my 10th day of waiting for news from Disney, and now, with three great gals to live with, I want it more than ever! 

Keep those fingers crossed for me!

xoxo

The Waiting Game

     Today makes one week that I've been waiting.  It feels like a million years!  In the meantime, I've studied, gone on long walks, and chatted a ton with my potential (awesome) roomies.  Their optimism is really infectious!  Hopefully another wave of acceptance letters will roll out tomorrow, and one will have my name on it! 

     The three of us had our second video chat hangout tonight.  It's amazing how quick you can become friends with people you've never met!  We laugh, and plan adventures, and get generally excited to be working for the mouse.  We've still got another spot open (assuming I get in), since one girl made it very clear we weren't "pretty or fun" enough to room with.  So now we are looking for a girl who is a better match for us!  Hopefully we will find somebody who isn't all about going nuts on the party bus, and actually wants to explore all the parks with us! 

3/3/12 Video Chat (Photo Credit to Brittany!)

Here's to hoping tomorrow is my day! Cross your fingers for me!

xoxo