So, to start this journey, let's go over my preparation during the last couple months. I'll describe for you my application process, acceptance, and what I've been doing to keep myself sane through all of this.
Application process
I decided to officially apply for the Disney College Program in August, about a month before apps came out. I know people have dreamed about applying to the DCP for years, but my experience was more of a last minute decision. I decided that it was a perfect time for me to apply: I will be done with school in December, and I'm graduating in May. What better way to spend my time in between than to work for Disney? Yep, so my mind was set, and I was going to do everything I possibly could to get into this program.I had heard that the application process was intense. There was three parts: a simple application, a web interview, and a phone interview. I breezed through the application and web interview on the day apps came out, September 5th. I then scheduled my phone interview for September 9th. I had researched that the phone interview was the hardest part of this process, so I literally studied day and night for 4 days. I prepared so many notes beforehand on all of the roles, the top 3 roles I had wanted, and possible questions that may have been asked during the interview. I've got to say, waiting for that phone to ring on the day of my interview was one of the most stressful moments of my life. I didn't want to screw up this amazing opportunity by letting my nerves get the best of me. About a half hour before my scheduled interview time (8pm) I made inspirational messages to myself, and I laid out all of my notes in front of me. I was ready, and when my phone rang at 8:09pm, my heart stopped beating as I answered the phone. The interview actually went quite well. I couldn't stop smiling while I was on the phone, which they tell you to do anyway. I was too excited, and my emotions were high enough as it was. I was prepared for every question the interviewer asked, and I remembered to ask a couple questions at the end of my interview to let her know how interested I was in the program. The phone interview lasted a total of 19 minutes, and I finally started to breathe normal again once the interview was over. Although, waiting to hear back from Disney seemed to take years. But it happened!!
Acceptance
I waited an antagonizing 11 days to hear my results. On the day I got my confirmation email, September 20th, I was in absolute shock. It didn't hit me until hours later that I was accepted into the Disney College Program. I WAS GOING TO DISNEY. I was offered the role of Character Attendant, which was my number one choice! With this role I will be working with the characters (obviously), and I will be introducing families to them. So in a nutshell, I will get to experience kids meeting their favorite characters of all time, and I will get to be apart of making this magic come true for kids! I could not stop smiling/ laughing/ crying of joy once I sifted through all the pages attached to the acceptance email. That day is pretty much a blur because of all the emotions running through me. I was somehow able to pick my arrival date and fill out any information they needed from me. And that was it. I confirmed my acceptance. I am now on my way to Disney, arriving January 12th and checking in on the 13th. These dates work perfectly because I depart on May 16th, and my graduation date is on the 17th. Talk about fate.
Keeping sane
So what have I been doing since my acceptance? I'm in my last semester of school, and I'm student teaching in an amazing school district. This takes up most of my life at the moment, and it's a pretty good distraction from the DCP. I'm constantly busy, so I don't have much time to dwell on the program too much. Once I'm done with student teaching in December though, my life will be consumed by preparing for my take off to the most magical place on Earth. I'm happy that I get to spend the holidays at home with my family before I go off to Disney. It's an all around perfect opportunity.And that's it!! If you've gotten to this part of my post, thanks for spending the time reading about my experiences with the Disney College Program thus far. You're awesome. I might start a vlog about my DCP experience too, but for now let's see if I can at least stick to this blog.
My next post: Packing list? Disney bucket list? We'll see.
Have a magical day!
