My Apartment

As you may have read in an earlier post, I've been assigned to live in a 4-bedroom/8-person apartment in Chatham Square which I wasn't initially super stoked about.  However, I've been completely won over and I already LOVE my apartment and all seven of my roommates!!!  Anyway, I've been promising pictures for a while, so I thought that today I would give anyone who cares to know (prospective residents, maybe?) a quick picture-tour of my apartment. [NOTE: pictures were taken on an iPhone because i forgot to download the software for my camera before i left]

My half of the room!  (in case you can't tell, I <3 books…and pillows)

The bathroom that I share with three other girls (shower ruffles and blue bathmat not provided by housing).

A lovely little study area (complete with ports for ethernet cords) in the hallway.

The disappointingly small kitchen (yes i did buy a disney princess cookbook).

The main living area - nice and spacious because there're eight of us!

Our cute little corner balcony - complete with a lovely view of the rest of Chatham Square!

So, there you have it: a mini-tour of the apartment I'll be living in for the next six months!  There are definitely some downsides (looking at you, kitchen and bathroom), but on the whole I really, really love it!!  Also, I took most of the pictures last night, and everything is much prettier in the sunlight (I'm just too lazy to retake the photos).  So far, everything's been so great!

Okay.  Most everything has been great.  Actually basically everything except for the fact that the water down here tastes TERRIBLE.  Like, it's literally the worst tap water I've ever tasted.  I've half a mind to go buy a couple gallons of purified water to use for my tea because the stuff I've made so far is literally not even tea.  I don't know what it is, but it's certainly not Twinings Earl Grey.  Not.  At.  All.

EVEN THE COFFEE TASTES WEIRD THAT'S HOW BAD IT IS.

/rant over/

But, as I've said, despite a few very minor details, I'm having tons and tons of fun!  Yesterday I had the day off so I spent it running errands, hanging out with the roomies, and spending some time getting to know some of my other new friends, too.  This afternoon I'll have Traditions, which I don't technically think I'm allowed to blog about, and there I'll get my WDW Cast Member ID - meaning I can get into the parks for free!  Woohoo!!!  I'm planning to go to Hollywood Studios to ride Tower of Terror (much against my better judgment - EEK!) and watch Fantasmic this evening.  You guys probably won't get a post about it anytime soon, because by the time I get back I'm going to have to go right to bed - because I have DAKlimation (my park orientation) first thing in the morning on Friday!

I hope everyone is having (and continues to have) a magical day!!!

Drug Testing and Housing

Hey, all!  Yesterday I had a ton going on, and every second of my day was exciting!

9:30-ish was exciting because I had to get drug tested because I'll (maybe? hopefully?) be driving at DAK!  YAYYY said no-one ever!!!  Anyway, Disney finds a way to make everything engaging - even getting drug tested.  When I got there, there was a cute guy who (I think) used to be a CP and now worked for the company and who was talking to all of the CPs waiting in line so we didn't get bored or go in before it was our turn.  Then I filled out a bit of paperwork and voila!  I was done less than a half an hour after I'd gotten to Vista.

Only now am I realizing that I probably should've taken a picture this time…oh well!  I'm sure I'll be back over - one of my friends from UNC is living over there.

Which brings me to the second exciting thing about drug testing: I ran into him (my friend) on the way out!  It's kinda a smaller world that I would've expected at Disney.  We got to talking and made plans for the afternoon and evening, which I was pretty excited about.  After we'd both finished the housing meeting, I took him to get some supplies and then we hung out with his roommates and their friends for a few hours before he took me to see one of his friends from high school (who is also doing the program) and then the three of us went to Downtown Disney to window shop and get chocolate strawberries.  One of his other friends met us there - I'm just meeting new people all over the place, which I absolutely love!  The more the merrier!!!  And then when I finally got back, I played some board games for bonding with the roomies <3 and didn't end up getting to bed until 1:30 i regret nothing

Anyway, that was kind of an aside.  Directly after drug testing, I came back, had about an hour and a half to cool my heels and eat bananas, and then it was off to the Housing meeting!

If that's not too dark for you to see, this is what it looked like when we walked into the room for the Housing meeting!

Again, let me reiterate: Disney makes everything exciting.  It was about a ten minute walk to the Commons (another housing complex) for the meeting, and when they let us into the room, There was loud music and some fog and probably even a light machine - it was a surprisingly cool atmosphere!  They talked to us a lot about SafeD (a.k.a. disney's strict safety ideas) and about some of our resources and then they told us how special we all were and made us feel really wanted and magical to win us over before they saddle us all with awful shifts for the next four to six months.  Anyway, I left feeling awesome and special and super excited to be here, and then had a blast for the rest of the day!  

I hope you're all having a magical day!!!

Check-In and Casting

YOU GUYS TODAY HAS BEEN SERIOUSLY CRAZY.

Check-In this year was (as I understand) a little different than it has been in the past.  They actually gave people suggested check-in times (as you might have gleaned from my last post) and from what I understand, they're really enforcing adherence to those times.

They also said not to get there before seven but I was really eager, so dad and I got breakfast to go and ended up arriving at Vista around 6:45.  Luckily, they didn't turn us away, but we had to stand in a line for a while.  I finally got to meet my roommates, which was awesome!  They're both lovely, beautiful people, so I'm feeling really lucky to have found them!!

After waiting until a little after seven, they let us in and actually started the check-in process!  They give you a program guide with tons and tons of information about basically everything (and even a planner in the back!) and then you wait in line to get a sticker disclosing your work location.  For some people, this can be vague, such as an area, and for others, it's specific.  I happened to get a specific answer, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that I'll be working on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride in the Animal Kingdom!!!!

ACTUALLY IM DYING OF EXCITEMENT DONT TOUCH ME IM DEAD I DIDNT EVEN REQUEST IT HOW LUCKY CAN I POSSIBLY BE CAN YOU DIE FROM BEING LUCKY BECAUSE I THINK I HAVE IS THAT EVEN A THING AHHHHHHHHH

Anywho, after you get your sticker, they whisk you away to get some papers checked and then they take your picture for your housing ID.  Then, you find out where you're living.  I got placed in Chatham Square, which was my third choice, in a four-bedroom (eight person) apartment (also my third  choice but i'm not complaining i mean i got kilimanjaro safari i can't complain about anything).  Then they tell you lots of things and they give you some free stuff and then you're done!  It only took about half an hour for all of that for me, so I was done with enough time to move my stuff into my room before I went to Casting.

Casting takes place in an absolutely adorable building right across from Downtown Disney and for me, it was really painless.  You get a training schedule and then meet with someone to talk about any questions you might have, and then you do a lot of standing in lines and doing paperwork.  That being said, the process is very streamlined and everyone is very nice and it only took about an hour!  After all that, I was free for the rest of the day!!!  I dropped my dad off at a hotel, because he has an early flight and i was way more sad than i thought i would be and then I headed back to the apartment to unpack and meet the rest of the flatmates!!! They all seem absolutely wonderful, so I'm really looking forward to getting to know them a little better!!!

I hope everyone's having an amazingly magical day!!!

P.S. I know I said I would take pictures, but I forgot the software CD for my camera…so I guess I'll try to use the ol' iPhone starting tomorrow?

Last Day of Freedom (?)

whoops did i say that i mean i don't actually think this is probably going to be like indentured servitude

too much

ANYWAY, I figured I should update one last time before I check in tomorrow morning.  It took my dad and I around ten hours to drive here, including a pit stop for lunch and another for gas - but it's well worth the drive!  The weather is beautiful and we had dinner and dessert in Downtown Disney and then I dragged him around the shops, which really got me hyped up to check in tomorrow and get this show on the road!

Speaking of which, my check-in time is at 8 a.m. (yay!), so I'm planning to get to the Vista Way Welcome Center around 6:55-ish.  They're supposed to start letting people in around seven and they don't want anyone waiting around before then, but I'm just too excited and anxious to wait that long!  I'm going to find out about where I'm living, who I'm living with, and where I'll be working.  I also have to get drug tested, though, so that kinda throws a wrench in my plans for shopping and unpacking tomorrow afternoon…. But I'll get it all done in time and I'm sure it'll be wonderful!

Needless to say, you should all expect an update about check-in and moving in and WHAT MY ROLE IS AHHHH sometime within the next couple of days (I would promise tomorrow, but that might be a little ambitious…).

I hope everyone has had a magical day!!!

P.S. I have a camera in my possession and plan to start taking pictures of all the magical things Disney has to offer!

"DORMS" & "Final Reminders"

/So/ my Check-In is in four - that's right, FOUR - days!!!!  I  leave early Sunday morning and I'll drive allllll day (with my oh-so-lovely father to keep me company and a pit-stop in Savannah for lunch) from NC to Orlando!  And I COULD NOT be more excited!!! jk im a little nervous but maybe a post about that before i leave

So, lots has happened since I've last blogged (has it really been over seventy days…?).  I had the holidays and visits with my friends from school and plenty of procrastinating to do.  About a week ago, I got my DORMS email, so a little about that first:

The pre-registration for housing was actually pretty easy.  If you've found roommates, one of you needs to be the "leader" and register first and link the rest of your roommate group, who then follow the link on a subsequent email they will recieve that says "You've been linked!"  The leader is the only person who has to set preferences for your top three a) complexes and b) apartment sizes; everyone else just goes through a couple of hoops and then prints the various forms and info to make check-in a little smoother (although i still haven't been able to get mine to print whoops).  It didn't take long at all! (Though I won't find out where I'm staying until I get down there on - eek! - Monday….)

One caveat: make sure you have your license plate number handy while you're filling everything out, because this is where you'll register your car, too - I had to run to the garage to double-check on mine!

And then, finally:

THE FINAL REMINDERS AHHH IT'S REALLY JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!  Seriously, though, I'm SO stoked!  This email was basically everything I've ever wanted in the world except tom hiddleston.  I've still got to do Mission Timekeeper (which I gather is a game about continuing Disney Heritage or something but that might be a secret, so maybe you won't get a post on that...) and to pack, and then it's off to Florida I go!

Thank you all for reading, and I hope everyone is having a magical day!!