DISNEY: THE FIRST FEW DAYS - DAY #1

Greetings from Orlando, FL! After weeks of waiting and preparing, along with more than your normal amount of leaving do's, I am finally here at the Happiest Place on Earth! 

The past 3 days have been jam packed but as I've woken up early today I'm able to sit down and take some time to tell you all what's been going on here. 

Tuesday, 29th April 2014

My start date was a long and stressful one indeed, far more than I had anticipated. I woke up at 6am, got ready and threw my last few bits into my suitcases. Mum drove me to the airport and I was through security and into the departure lounge by around 8.30am. Grabbed a quick bacon, egg and hash brown breakfast then replied to some well-wishing texts until I was able to meet up with two of my fellow April 29thers, Talie and Roisin. 

Our flight was delayed from 11.15am to midday but fortunately we only landed about 20 minutes later than scheduled. It was a very smooth and pleasant flight and if you can get seats upstairs on a Virgin flight I highly recommend it, we were right behind Premium Economy and it felt like we were on a private plane! During the flight I watched About Time, which I absolutely fell in love with, and Dallas Buyers Club, as I'm still trying to get all this year's Oscar noms under my belt. 

When we landed at Orlando International we found another April 29ther, Sam, in the queue for immigration. Once we'd gotten past that and picked up our luggage we began the long pilgrimage to the Mears Shuttle Stop. By 6pm, local time the four of us where on our way to Housing, with our driver Chester at the wheel. 

To our dismay it began POURING with rain after about 15 minutes, which is not ideal when you've been on a flight for 9 hours and have to move three bags weighing a total of over 35kg to a new home! Chester took us to Vista Way to get checked in with Housing. Here we received our Disney Housing ID, which is used to access all of the four Housing Complexes (The Commons, Vista Way, Patterson Court and Chatham Square), as well as to get us on the free buses to the parks/Walmart etc. I also received my apartment key and I am living in The Commons! I didn't know very much at all about the apartments when I filled out my Housing form, but the girls were very excited to be in TC as it was their first choice. It is useful being here because a lot of the meetings are held in The Clubhouse at The Commons which is literally two seconds walk round the corner from my apartment.

Unfortunately, arriving at the apartment didn't mean it was time to rest, even though by this point I'd been awake and travelling for over 17 hours. I dropped my luggage off and met my awesome Canadian roomies, Amanda and Hana, who welcomed me with open arms. Then my roommate Susan, who I'l be sharing with for the next year, came home and the first time she met me I'm afraid to say I was crying - great first impression! Emotions run high on the first day and I think I was a bit overwhelmed. Fortunately she's not easily shaken and before long we'd all bundled into her hench American car and driven to the next stop - Walmart!

Here we bought bedding and towels so we'd be able to sleep comfortably and have a shower in the morning. I should really have bought some food too but my brain was just not functioning properly by this point from tiredness and hunger, so we grabbed a Subway for dinner and just got the basics.

By the time we got back to our apartment, it was 11pm local time, meaning 4am back home in London - I'd been awake for 22 hours! No energy left for making my bed properly, let alone unpacking, I threw my new comforter over me and fell immediately asleep. 

Days #2 and #3 on the way...

Disney Preparations - 5 Weeks To Go!

So yesterday marked 5 weeks until I fly away from London town to the Happiest Place on Earth. It's starting to get very real! I haven't blogged all month so I thought I'd update you on what I've been up to.... 

The answer is not a lot besides working! Paying for all the CRP costs has pretty much killed my social life, but I've finally finished forking out for everything I need. Below is a list of all the things I had to pay for and how much they cost:

• Program Assessment Fee - The first thing you have to pay for when you find out you've got the job. This is paid directly to Disney at a cost of $104.50, which worked out as £63.81 on my credit card bill (plus a Foreign Exchange fee of £1.75). It covers all the fun events and activities that will be arranged for you as a Cast Member, such as Grocery Bingo.

• CRB - Because you'll be around children a lot, you need to have a criminal background check. Yummy Jobs send you a form which you fill out and return to them as well as paying £60 so it can be officially declared that you are not a criminal! Phew, I'm glad they cleared that up for me because I still haven't paid my library fine.

• Flight - First thing I did when I found out I had the job (besides freak out) was book my flight. I used Yummy Travel on Louise's advice and they got me a real bargain - a one-way flight with Virgin for £370.87. I chose one-way because you are given a month after you finish work to travel in the US and as a travel agent I am already aware that flights cannot be picked up more than a year in advance. Plus, Disney give you some dosh for the flight home so best to hold out until nearer the time.

• Travel Insurance - This is one of the most important things you buy before you fly. A lot of people tend to buy 4 months of insurance from Yummy Travel and then get on the Disney Insurance once they're out there, I have a special condition so I had to shop around and I bought the whole year so I knew I was definitely covered. We all know how funny Americans can be about health insurance! I used Essential Travel who were super helpful and pretty reasonable too - £383.18 for over a year and that was with Excess Waiver. They also cover a number of pre-existing conditions at no extra cost which was perfect for me.

• Visa - Sweet Baby Jesus in the Manger, this was the scariest and most stressful part of my CRP prep so far. Fortunately it was also pretty much the last step! Yummy Jobs send you a pack in the post with instructions to log on to the US Visa Application website. You fill in a very lengthy questionnaire which asks you all kinds of stuff. Be sure to have a camera on hand to take numerous selfies, because their photo requirements are seriously strict. It took me 4 hours to get my Visa form sorted and at least one of those hours was dedicated solely to getting an appropriate snap of my face. Once the form is complete, you make your appointment at the Embassy. The Visa itself costs £118.75.

• US Embassy Appointment - At any time from 8am you may find yourself queuing outside the US Embassy, nervously rummaging through your paperwork. They will check your documents and Passport, put your keys and phone in a little plastic bag (yes, they let you take phones in now!) and then you sit and wait until your number is called. You go to a window, they scan your fingerprints (no paper cuts allowed as I learnt from my buddies - they had really researched this much more than me haha) and ask you some questions about why you need a Visa. The lady who interviewed me was super nice, she knew from my application I was going to work at Disney and asked me why I was a good representative for the UK and what I planned to do when I returned home. You're approved on the spot and then your passport is returned to you within a week. You can pay to have it couriered to you which I did, at a cost of $30 or you can pick it up at a designated point for free.

Looking forward to payday on Monday and all the fun that April will bring - 34 days to go!!

WDW CRP: Interview Questions

Here's a list of all the questions I used to prep for my interviews. 

As I've said, I can't really remember which ones were asked in Pre-Screen and which in F2F, but as long as you have an idea of what you'd say for all of them, you'll be solid. 

(If you've got limited time, I've highlight in bold the questions that I think are most important/that I definitely remember being asked)

• Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
• Give me three buzzwords to describe yourself.
• How did you hear about the Program?
• How do you feel about living with people from other countries?
• How will being around people from other countries/cultures help you in the future?
• How will you cope with being away from your family?
• How will you find living away from home?
• How will you use your previous experience in this job?
• How would you describe your hometown to a guest at the park?
• How would you greet a child if you were working in Kidcot?
• If you could take one item from the UK to the States, what would it be?
• Realistically, what job would you like to do and unrealistically, what is your dream job?
• Tell me a bit about yourself.
• Tell me about a time when you've dealt with a difficult customer.
• Tell me about your job as ...?
• What brand, other than Disney, do you admire and why?
• What challenges might you face living and working in Florida?
• What do you like about the Disney brand?
• What do you think the program can offer you?
• What item did you bring to your first interview and why?
• What motivates you?
• What skills and attributes do you think you have?
• What would you hope to gain from the program?
• What would you like to achieve on the program?
• What would you like to do after the program?
• What's one part of American culture that you'll enjoy?
• Which Disney character are you most like/do you most relate to and why?
• Which role (Food & Beverage/Merchandise) would you prefer to go into?
• Why are you better for this job than anyone else out there?
• Why do you want to do the Cultural Representative Program?
• Why do you want to work for Disney?

Walt Disney World CRP: The Pre-Screen Interview

Greetings Mouseketeers and welcome to another Disney CRP related post. 

Being a member of the WDW CRP Applicants Facebook Page means I've been kept in the loop for the next round of applications, which just as well as I will be working with some of these people in the near future! Word on the street is the Pre-Screen Interviews are tomorrow, so here is a record of my experience as well as a few pointers:

When did you find out you were through to the next stage? 
I received an email from Yummy Jobs on Friday 20th September inviting me to the next stage of the application process, the Pre-Screen Interview. On the CRP Application Timeline, this was about a month and a half after applications had opened (August 1st) and a mere 4 days after they'd closed (September 16th).

When is the Pre-Screen Interview?
My interview took place on Sunday 6th October, so two weeks after I received the email. This, to me, was more than enough time to prep especially since I'd been scouring blogs and the International Program message boards since March.

What exactly happens?
The interview is held at the Brasserie Blanc Restaurant, Southbank, London. Mine didn't start until 2pm but they can also start at 9am. The first hour is dedicated to showing you a very exciting video presentation all about life on the CRP; where you work, where you live, what you do for fun. It makes you practically bounce up and down in your seat - and if you didn't want this job badly enough already, you sure as heck do now. 

Once the presentation is over and there's been time for questions you will be split into groups of around 8 people. Group interviews will then commence and they last an hour. 

In addition to general questions, part of my interview included picking a couple of 'typically British' items off the menu from the Rose & Crown Pub (situated in the UK Pavilion, EPCOT) and selling them to my interviewer, who became the 'customer'. So try to do some research into why Bubble and Squeak is so called, or how best to describe a Yorkshire Pudding (two questions I genuinely had to tackle during this process).

Also, you will have been asked to bring an item with you that you feel best represents either your country, your hometown or both. Get up, show it to the group and tell them why you picked it and what it means to you. After that, you're all done! You can go home and breathe.

Tips

• Make a Facebook event for your interview so you can meet up with your fellow applicants beforehand. As our interview was in the afternoon, my batch all grabbed a bite at the Pizza Express next door. This is makes you so much more relaxed, gives you a support system and shows Yummy Jobs you're great with new people. Plus you end up making a load of news friends and everyone is really interesting. I'm still in touch with girls I met at the Pre-Screen who didn't make it through and keeping track of their other adventures via Facebook is inspiring (Disney IP applicants are always going places!)
• When you first enter the room, don't be shy. Say hello, be enthusiastic, converse with those around you. Look happy and comfortable.
• It's a good idea to memorise a few factoids if you wanna be in for winning a little prize. YJ usually do a mini pop-quiz during the presentation to see how well you know your stuff. Questions normally include: when did Walt Disney World Florida open (Magic Kingdom, the first of the parks, opened on October 1st 1971, EPCOT followed on the same date in 1982) and which countries are included in the World Showcase (bonus points if you get them in order).
• Group interview questions will be fired at all of you at once, then you take it in turns to answer. There is no system to this, so I always tried to answer first or second. You want to show enthusiasm and assertiveness without being pushy. When you're not talking, be interested in other people's answers.
• Let your personality shine through. They're interested in finding out about who you are.
• Everyone is really nice so don't panic! Nick, Jason and Louise from Yummy Jobs interviewed us and they were all absolutely lovely people. Remember, interviewers aren't against you or trying to catch you out - they want you to do well.
• Questions! I know you guys are going to want to know about questions. I have a list as long as my arm of the ones I used for my interview prep, which I found on various blogs. I think only about 50% of them came up but I can't remember which were asked in Pre-Screen and which in Face to Face, so I'm just going to follow this with a Questions Master Post. 
• Smile! Smile, smile, smile. You're going to need to be good at that if you wanna work for Disney.
• Remember to thank your interviewers for their time before you leave.
• Finally, display good knowledge of Disney and the Program and show how much you love your country. 

Walt Disney World Cultural Representative Program: Application Advice

Hey guys! 

So ever since I announced to the world that I'm going to work for the Mouse at Walt Disney World in Florida, I've been bombarded with questions, one of the most frequent being
"How did you manage that?!" 

For that reason I've decided to do a series of blog posts to help those of you who, like myself, fancy earning and learning at the Happiest Place on Earth.

My Disney journey started when applications for the program opened on August 1st 2013. They were supposed to open a month later on 1st September, so I was freaking out a bit that what I planned to write hadn't been as obsessively drafted and re-drafted as I had envisioned in my head in all the time leading up to the applications. However I'd had plenty of time to stew over what I was going to say and do my research, as I'd decided to apply in March soon after I'd broken up with my boyfriend.

My first BIG tip is - read CRP blogs! They are an invaluable tool and a fountain of knowledge. I must've spent hours scouring the web for information and writing down the important bits. I found it truly strengthened my application and made things so much easier. So if you're reading this, you're already doing one thing right :) I'll link to some other useful blogs at the bottom of the page.

A selection of the notes I made

UK applications are made through a recruitment company called Yummy Jobs, who work on behalf of Disney to select appropriate applicants. First things first, create an account and start filling out your form. 

Most of the stuff they ask is pretty standard; personal and contact information, about your education and previous work experience. Always try to be concise and keep it relevant. Think about which aspects of your previous experience would help you if you were to work at Disney and then make sure to highlight these. 

The jobs available to UK applicants are Merchandise, Food & Beverage or working at the Historical Research Centre. Merch means working in the shops selling things like tea and Beatles memorabilia, Food & Beverage entails serving fish and chips or being a barmaid at the Rose & Crown pub and the HRC is involved in looking at a guest's family tree and providing them with coats of arms, specially made swords and the like (usually you need a degree in History or similar to have a good chance here). 

If you know which of these you want to go for, that can also help with your application. A large percentage of applicants get placed in F&B as this is where they need the most people, plus the wages can be very good once you get into a tipped position (after you're about 3 months into your program) so I geared my application towards an F&B role.

The MOST IMPORTANT part of the online application is the Additional Questions section. "Why do you value cultural exchange and interaction?" and "What is your motivation for this program?" are the two boxes that can make you stand out. Focus especially on love of culture - both your own and other peoples. 

Covering Letters never used to be compulsory though now they are. I would have recommended writing one regardless as I think they give you extra brownie points.

We're almost done. Last but not least you will be required to upload a photograph of yourself. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, get one taken especially. Disney don't want to see a cropped Facebook photo, it looks like you've made no effort. I got all freshened up and went to a photo booth myself. 

So that's all you need to know for Stage 1! 

Applications for dates leaving in Autumn/Winter 2014 and Spring 2015 opened on Friday 24th January so get yours in now - you've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. Even the application stage is a great experience in itself. I met loads of cool people during my interviews and on the Facebook group, some of whom will be joining me in the Sunshine State and while others will be going on to different adventures. Follow Yummy Jobs on Facebook so you know when applications will be opening and closing for their programs - and good luck!

Useful Links

• WDWIP - The International Program forums, where you can talk with other applicants.
• Working the Magic - Harriet has such a gorgeous blog and has done both the ICP and CRP.
• Dan @ Disney - I was lucky enough to meet Dan at my F2F Interview. He is one of the experts and is extremely knowledgable about all things Disney IP.
• Hattan Times Does Disney - "Hello you lovely lot!" Adam was famous amongst applicants at my interviews, such is his standing in the CRP world, plus his vlogs are stellar.
• Catherine's Magical Year - Catherine has done the ICP twice, CRP and just finished working for Disney Cruises.
• Disney IP YouTube Channel - Lots of informative videos about the programs.
• Jen & The Disney CRP - Jen is great because she has kept up her blog well into her time in Florida - I hope to do the same!

2014: My horoscope was right

A belated Happy New Year to you!

Life has been so busy for me since Big Ben struck midnight. I dove head first into my New Year's Resolutions with even more enthusiasm than usual (I'm a sucker for self improvement as well as lists). Things were going pretty well and I was progressing at a steady pace, until the night of Wednesday 15th January. Just as I was about to tuck myself up in bed with my hot water bottle, I quickly checked my emails on my iPhone after setting my alarm for work the next day. And what did I find there?

The word "CONGRATULATIONS" in enormous letters! It was a job offer from Disney!!!

As you may remember from my posts last year, I had applied to work at the UK Pavilion in EPCOT, one of the parks that make up Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. So my blog is about to become a whole lot more interesting!

My leaving date is Tuesday 29th April 2014 and I will be living, working and playing in the USA for a whole year. I guess my ELLE horoscope was right when it said that 2014 might just be one of the best I'd had in years.

I'm going to splash out on a decent camera before I go so I'll be able to treat you to lots of colourful, good quality photographs of my adventures. So far I've already booked my flight with Yummy Travel (a branch of STA Travel affiliated with Yummy Jobs, who are the middle man between applicants and Disney) and paid my Program Assessment Fee which covers all of the special events that Disney run for Cast Members while we're out there. This means things like pool parties, pizza parties etc.

There's still so much to do, but this blog is about to become one of my top priorities now as I actually have things to write about! However it looks like I'm going to have to extend the date for completion of my 23 Things until my 25th birthday, as I'll be out of the country for so long. Plus I'll have to add two more things to it, to make it 25 Things Before 25 instead :)

I am going for my tour of Big Ben on April 15th, not long before I go, but the Houses of Parliament and Prime Minister's Question Time has been rescheduled for my return in 2015.

Now I've updated you, it's time to get back to my ever-growing to-do list. Enjoy the week ahead! 

I Love Lists

So, October is over and finally my life is going to start settling down again. October was a mad rush of meeting international friends (be they American, Irish or Australian), preparing for and attending Disney interviews, Halloween, work and of course a little ol' place called New York City.

I'm sad to say that New York didn't drive me wild with excitement like I hoped that it would. I don't know whether this was due to the particular circumstances of my trip, but I would definitely return to find out. I did manage to do almost everything I wanted to do, except for the Brooklyn Bridge and the Metropolitan Museum so next time I'll have to catch those. To be fair, I should never reign supreme on the Met steps without my girl, M. I may even add New York to my list of places I want to live for a year.

Speaking of lists, I sure do love to make 'em and now I need one more than ever. I had my Final Face To Face interview with Disney yesterday and as the results won't be emailed out until the first week of December at the earliest, I need lots to keep me distracted. Therefore I present to you:

November's To-Do List

• Watch Season 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Catch up with my reading, I'm currently 7 books behind on Goodreads. SEVEN!
• Blog
• Work on my 23 Things list
• Go shopping at Bentalls Annual 20% Evening
• Start preparations for the festive season - Christmas is coming!!
• Continue to be glued to my new favourite blog, The Londoner
• Catch up with M & H at Starbucks, then go and see Catching Fire together
• Cook some new recipes
• Attend my Work Christmas meal on 29th

That should keep me busy for the next four weeks, plus I'll be back to work the day after tomorrow, sob sob. As for today, I have finally unpacked my suitcase, done my usual Sunday chores and now it's only one hour until roast dinner and the Downton Abbey series finale! Enjoy your Sundays everyone. xo

Exciting Times!

October has arrived, and with it has brought not only my favourite holiday (sorry Christmas) but also lots of exciting news to tell you.

First of all, in accordance with Thing #17 of my 23 Things, I have got myself a ticket to a music festival for the first time in 5 years. And not just any festival but the big cheese itself, Glastonbury! I feel very lucky as a lot of people missed out, I didn't even manage to book the tickets myself and must give all credit to my amazing friend Ellie for having three laptops open at once and paying my deposit for me without hesitation. She is a babe. Now just got to cross my fingers for a good line-up.

The next piece of news, relating to Thing #15, I have landed myself an acting job. The best thing was, I didn't even go looking for it, it came to me! 

I was sitting at home on my day off when I received a text from the extras agency that had employed me for Les Miserables, Universal Extras. They were wondering if I could do some filming for the upcoming Stephen Hawking movie The Theory of Everything. Could I?! Considering that only my favourite actor of all time (and dream man) Eddie Redmayne was playing the lead role, I think I could squeeze it in to my busy schedule! Miraculously, the three days that they wanted me all fell on my days off, which was a relief as no way would work ever give me the time off and I'm too much of a good two-shoes (read: coward) to call in sick. So I will be filming in London on 20th October and my costume fitting is this coming Thursday. My scene is set in the 80s so I'm interested to see how they're going to make me look haha. I will take pictures. 

QT PIE

And finally, my Pre-Screen Interview for the Walt Disney World Cultural Representative Programme was yesterday. It was a really fun day and I met loads of interesting and lovely people. 

We met at 11.30 at London Waterloo and spent ages walking around the Southbank area hunting for Brasserie Blanc where the interview was being held. About 40 minutes after initially setting out we finally found it, then had a quick and delicious lunch in Pizza Express next door. 

The Pre-Screen event started with a presentation given by the three Yummy Jobs representatives; Nick, Louise and Jason. They told us about the kind of work we would be doing, told us all the perks being a Disney employee (and my goodness there are a lot) and did a general knowledge quiz. I learnt a lot of interesting facts about Disney World - for example it would take you 67 years to stay in every hotel room in all the Disney hotels if you stayed in a different one every night. Crazy! The presentation made me want a place on the programme even more than before, which in turn made me a touch nervous for the interviews because suddenly I realised how much was riding on them.

However, I genuinely wasn't very nervous. I luckily got the interviewer and the slot that I wanted which was great. During the interview (which was conducted in a group of 8) we were asked the following questions:

• Tell me one interesting fact about yourself
• What brand/company besides Disney do you admire and why?
• Tell me about a time when you've given really good customer service
• Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
• Which role would you prefer?
• Give me one word that you think best describes your personality
• Tell me about the item you brought with you (we had to bring an item with us that we felt represented our hometown or England in general)

I'm sure there were more questions but my memory of them isn't so great, I was concentrating to hard on my answers! It was a really nice interview and although we were in there for nearly an hour, the time flew by and it was more like having a chat. Though of course I think we were all still conscious of saying the right thing and making a good impression.

I will find out in two weeks time whether I am through to the Face to Face Interview which is the final stage of the process. Fortunately my mind has been put at ease as the date for final interview is 9th November which is one of my days off work and it's the day after I get back from New York so I'll definitely be able to go.

So now all there is to do is to keep busy and try not to think about it too much. I am so nervous about the results because I'll be crushed if I don't get a place, but I've done my best and I have a good feeling. Feels like all my prayers are being answered lately :)

I can't make soup

Just a little update blog post tonight. I have good news and I have bad news. Let's start with the bad news:

You may recall that goal #7 of 23 Things was to cook dinner at least once a week, using recipes from recipe books. Well, not only have I not been cooking once a week (nowhere near) but last night when I did attempt to cook from a recipe book, I crashed and burned. The thing is, when I actually set aside some time to cook, I'm usually really good at it.

I have a real thing for Jamie Oliver (in an entirely non-crush way, he's not my type at all) so when I saw a copy of his first ever cookery book, The Naked Chef, peeking out at me from a British Heart Foundation window, I had to have it. I was going to cook my way through it! I would become Julie Powell, of Julie and Julia fame! It would be Olivia cooks Oliver or something equally poorly titled!

Julie and Julia - The Original French Chef Theme

I fell at the first hurdle. Minestrone soup became thick mush with too much cabbage. Who puts a whole cabbage in a soup?! Even if it is supposed to be for 6 people. "Isn't it supposed to be red?" said my poor mother, who lovingly sat and ate two bowls of the stuff afterwards. Feast your eyes on the disheartening mess below:

Looks none to appetising, doesn't it? I'll have to try something a bit easier than soup to boost my morale and then return to defeat my gloopy enemy.

Okay, that's enough of culinary disasters. My GOOD news has been something of a secret up until now. In August, I applied for a job. The job was to work at Walt Disney World in Florida for a year, in the United Kingdom pavilion at EPCOT, as part of a programme called the Cultural Representative Program. I would get to go out to America, live there for a year and represent my country at the happiest place on Earth! As a huge Disney fan and one heck of a patriotic Brit, it seemed like the perfect job for me.

I am proud to share with you that my application was well received, enough for Yummy Jobs (the recruitment company in charge of hiring us) to invite me to a Pre-Screen Interview in London on 6th October!!

This would be my first of many forays into living abroad. I will keep you posted with my progress. I have, of course, a back-up plan. If not Disney then I plan to go to Australia for a year, leaving in July after I complete the academic year in my extra-curricular French class and go to Glastonbury with my friends. Ironically, tickets for Glastonbury go on sale the same day as my Pre-Screen interview. At least I know that either way, there's a light at the end of the tunnel and fun is in the not-so-far future. Something to bear in mind while I'm dragging myself to work each day!

PS - Dear readers, if you're out there and enjoying my blog, I'd really love for you to leave me a comment. I'm happy to keep this blog just for me, but I'm always up for conversation and making friends :)