All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

I've not posted in ages because I've been working pretty long shifts most days but I'm now off for 3 days! Definately time to make use of my free entry card!

I found out that I'm working at World of Disney in Downtown Disney which is the largest Disney store in the world! Its HUGE. Still struggling to find my way around it. The costume is horrid. I've not got a photo of it yet but I'll post one soon. All my shifts are 8 and a half hours long at the moment which is good but very tiring in the heat. The people are all really nice but they see that i;m from Scotland on my name badge and start asking ridiculous questions like i'm from mars. The training i've had here has been amazing. They completely focus on giving amazing guest service. However, guests now realise that Disney pretty much give them what they want to make them happy so often take the Mickey (Get the pun?!). My trainer told me that the other day he forgot to pack a keyring which a customer bought into her bag and so she came back the next day raging. He obviously apoligised and said he would give her a new one but she still wasn't happy. He then asked what it is she would like him to do and she replied saying that she would like 4 days free stay at the Grand Floridian (Disney's most expensive resort!) hahaaa! Instead, he gave her a beach towel.

I have now been to all the parks except Animal Kingdom which I'll probably go to tomorrow. Today I'm just gonna chill by the pool for a but, maybe go out later then hit the cinema at night to be patriotic and see the new Disney film Brave! Last night a few of us went to Epcot. I finally went on Mission: Space! Didn't even do the less intense one first just walked straight on the intense version haha! It was really good! Felt a wee bit dizzy once I came off but it was worth it. We then watched illuminations which was ace! Instead of just getting the bus home we decided to take the boat to the boardwalk and have a stroll there. Its so nice there. We heard music blaring out one of the clubs so obviously headed there. We tried to blag our way in but the bouncer was having none of it :(

I'm offski to work on my tan!

I'm now in the Disney family!

Yesterday was my traditions class. This is when we all have to go to Disney University (Yes this actually exists!) and have about 4 hours of training. We also had to dress smart for this which was a pain cos it was absolutely roasting outside! However... it was ace! Filled with with cheesy Disney videos and of course a visit from the man mouse himself!

He came to deliver our name badges! My first name badge was a bit of a disaster as it said "Lauren - Edinburgh, England" EH?? Stupid Americans. It wasn't as if I put a tiny town or village it's the capital city of Scotland! I got it fixed pronto though and here was the end result.

We also got given our passes which allow us discount all over disney and other places in orlando and  FREE ENTRY TO THE PARKS! The best part of traditions though was definately seeing the utilidors! (The tunnels underneath Magic Kingdom). It was so weird seeing all the cast members walking about with their costumes like half on or on their phone and stuff. These led us into the park. We were like the FBI walking about Magic Kingdom with little ear pieces in getting told lots of little facts and stuff. It was amazing! Soon the class was over and we were officially cast members!

We nipped back to our apartments to get changed then hit Magic Kingdom! We didn't get there til about half 9 so we didn't have much time but it was brill. So good to be back! We went on Space mountain and splash mountain and watched a bit of the night parade. So that was yesterday. I'm now away to get ready for going to Hollywood studios!

TTFN

Arrived!

I've arrived here in Florida! Such a manic past few days so i've only just had the time to do this blog. here's a quick run through of the start of my Disney adventure...

Sunday 10th June
I left my house in Edinburgh at 5.30 to arrive at the airport for 6. I then flew at 7.30 to Gatwick airport. Here I met us with several people who were also doing the programme who i'd previsouly spoken to via facebook. Our flight was meant to leave at 11.20 but we were delayed and ended up leaving at 2.30pm which was a bit annoying but it could have been far worse. The flight was alright. plenty of films to watch. Once we arrived in Orlando we queued for about an hour to get through immigration. We then got a taxi to the to the Disney complex. The taxi driver was absolutely ridiculous! He didn't know how to get to Disney!! What taxi driver in Orlando doesn't know how to get to Disney! Therefore we had to set up his sat nav for him. We eventually arrived however, by this time there was a massive thunderstorm! All our luggage was absolutely soaking as it was outside for a while while we were receiving paperwork and getting out apartment keys.
I then went into my apartment and met my flatmates... only 3 were in at this point all girls: one
 from New Jersey who was very load and excitable but she is really helpful and approachable (Stacey),  one from New York who was again very excitable and pretty nuts (Willow) and one from Hawaii who is very chilled out and cool (Rush). Since then I have also met a few others in my flat: Kayleigh from Washingon DC who seems really nice,  Jojo who i've not really spoken to other than hello really. She is from North or South Carolina I can't remember which and there's also my roommate Liz who seems okay to me but again we barely see each other. One of the English girls from my flight stays directly in the flat below me which is good cos it means we've been going to meeting etc. together.

Monday 11th June
Today was the start of all the paper work and meetings. I think I had two different presentations this day. The second one was hillarious. We all turned up to the venue and it was literally like a nightclub or something! The lights were all off except spinning strobe lights on the roof and there was Disney music blaring out. This meeting was very 'Disney'. We were singing supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, winning prizes and listening to "Smiley Sarah"'s speech. It was all very Disney. Here I also bumped into two girls that I knew from school which was funny but really nice. After all our meeting were done we went to Downtown Disney for tea and a look around. We were late for our reservation at "T-Rex" because we were too busy learning dance routines at the outside entertainment bit! Teah at "T-Rex" was amazing! Its all set out like a rainforest with massive moving dinosaurs around it. Also every 20 minutes the lights go off and there is a meteor shower haha!

Tuesday 12th June
Today was again more meetings. First of all we got scared to death by the immigration officer. Turns out if I even so much as smell alcohol whilst i'm out here i'll be deported! We also received our bank cards which our wages will be paid into and applied for a US social security number. After this is was back to more paperwork but... we also found out where we'll be working! I'm gonna be at The World of Disney Store at Downtown Disney. This is the biggest Disney store in the world! I'm gutted that i'm not in a park cos thats where I really wanted to be placed but I guess I shouldn't really complain as I'm out in Florida working whilst most other people I know are just working at home! Although i'll mainly be based at this store I can also pick up any other shifts within merchandise at any of the parks which is good and i'll definately do that. After our meeting we went the premium outlet mall for a look and for some lunch then we went to the pool for a swim as it was roasting! After this we all went to my flat for a while to hide from the thunderstorm before going to Walmart to all get a mobile phone to use to contact each other here. Then we went once again to Downtown Disney for a quick bite to eat and look around the shops. I'm back at my apartment now and getting myself sorted for my Traditions class which is tomorrow! Here I will once again be listening to heaps of presentations and getting a tour of the tunnels at magic kingdom! I will also be given my name badge and free park entry pass yasssssss!

Adios xx

Goodbye Scotland, Helloooo Florida!

This time tomorrow I will have arrived in Orlando and be at my apartment!

I can't believe how fast these past few months have gone. I think i'm pretty much all set to go! This morning I printed out my boarding passes so thats me got all the necessary paperwork including visas and what not. This week has just really been spent saying bye to friends and family and getting last minute bits and bobs. I also had to dye my hair today so that I meet Disney standards as they do not allow unnatural hair (bye bye highlights!).

Thanks again to all my pals who have got me leaving presents! They're brill! I promise I'll be in touch though via skype! And as much as I probably won't want to I will be back in 3 months!

I'm gonna go and finish my packing and have my last drink for 3 months!

Next time I blog I'll be in sunny Orlando!

Catch ya!

Less than 4 weeks to go!

It's all becoming a bit more real now! A lot has happened since my last post.

                                                    

First of all my Disney Welcome pack arrived at home. This included an acceptance letter, loads of visa paperwork and a guide on 'The Disney Look'. Having now received this pack it meant that I could then book an appointment at the US embassy in either London or Belfast to get my 3 month work visa. I booked mine for the 4th of April in Belfast as it was cheaper to fly Edinburgh-Belfast than it was Edinburgh- London. It took ages to get all the paperwork together for this appointment as most were a complete nightmare to fill in. However, it was finally all completed and the 4th of April I made my way to Belfast with my mum. I thought Belfast was a nice city but it had the coldest wind ever that day! I arrived at the embassy for about 9.30am that day as my appointment was at 10am. First of all I had to sign in, then I went through security which was very similar to what they have at airports. Once inside the embassy I took a seat and waited for my number to be called whilst watching american TV. The embassy is like a giant argos. There are rows of seats, you sit down and wait for your number to be called. I got called to the first window to hand over all my documents then sat back down. I was then called again to give my fingerprints. Finally I was called through to the interview room where I think I pretty much only got asked one question: "Why to you want an american visa today?". To which I replied "because I'm going to work at Walt Disney World for the summer" and that was that. I was inside the embassy for about an hour and a half. In this time my mum was outside in the freezing cold. As the embassy is placed randomly in the middle of a housing estate there no cafes or anything. Sorry mum. The rest of the day was then spent sightseeing and shopping in Belfast.

2 days later my visa arrived through the post!

Also, I have now paid my programme assessment fee ($100) and my medical insurance ($100). I think all I now have to pay for is travel insurance.

Today I went for lunch with 3 other girls from Aberdeen who are also doing the programme. It was nice to finally put faces to the names/ pictures which I had previously spoken to on facebook. One of the girls is even on my flight so we will be sure to book seats together.

There is one thing standing between me and Disney at the moment: EXAMS. So I should probably stop putting off studying by writing this blog and get my head in the books.

Ciao for now.

My First Post

So I've finally bit the bullet and started up a blog. This will keep my family and friends up to date with all my adventures when working in Walt Disney World this summer for 3 months. I'll start this blog from when I got accepted...
After a fairly long and tough application process and then an agonising wait, I finally received this email:



I had got it! I WAS GOING TO WORK IN DISNEY FOR 3 WHOLE MONTHS! I then spent most of that night screaming and jumping around with excitement. The first thing I did was call my parents back home to tell them the good news and obviously they were thrilled for me too! I don't know who was more excited me or my mum! I literally couldn't wipe the smirk off my face for several days. It took me a long time to realise that this was actually happening, maybe it still hasn't quite sunk in.


A few weeks later I then received another email from yummy jobs (the British recruitment agency which partners with Disney) once again congratulating me on my position and informing me that I now had to complete a criminal background check. This is when the costs began and I realised everything else in this process was only gonna be more and more expensive. I don't think its necessary to pay £60 for this background check as I reckon my word that i'm not a criminal should be enough but I guess Disney think otherwise. However, This opportunity is a bit of a dream come true so whenever Disney shout "Jump" I'll shout "How high?!"

Next thing to do was book my flights. After continuously searching for flights to Orlando I have eventually booked mine! I will be flying Edinburgh-Gatwick-Orlando on June 10th and returning Orlando-Miami-Heathrow-Edinburgh on 31st August/1st September. It feels so good to have flights booked. I feel that its now definite. I will be spending my summer with Mickey Mouse and co! I'm glad to have these flights too as I know (due to the Disney ICP facebook group) that there are quite a few other people on these flights who are doing the programme.

Next on the list of things to do is to find insurance I think but on a brighter note I will receive my Disney Welcome pack in Feb!

TTFN


PS. 130 days to go!