Animal Kingdom Adventure!

Sara, Liz and I had a day off yesterday from work, so we decided to have an adventure in Animal Kingdom!

Today I'm going to Epcot with Liz and my friend from Tumblr Christine, so I'll probably video tape that as well! I'm finally getting back into the groove of vlogging, so you guys can see how life is doing with the DCP!

I've been working on my own ever since I finished training last week, and it's been pretty good! I've even been impressing one of my managers whenever I work counter (putting the meals together and then giving them to the guests). It's a lot of hard work and long hours, but my coworkers are fun and it definitely keeps me busy!

What would you like to see in future vlogs or posts? Let me know!

Five Days of Training

As of Tuesday, I have finally finished training at Captain Cook's! Like the title says, it lasted five days in total. I'll give you guys a brief overview about what I did each day and how it went!

Day One (Stocker): I was kind of happy I got placed as a stocker for my first day of on the job training (OJT) because it eased me into everything in the restaurant and gave me an idea for behind the scenes before being thrown into helping customers. I mainly spent time in the cooler restocking drinks and whatnot. It was so cold in there! I even had my jacket and I still felt chilled. My trainer showed me around where the main kitchens are and where they keep all the stored food and drinks in case we run out at our location. The best part about training, free food! Each day I was able to have two entrées for lunch or dinner (depending on when I worked), and the first day I had the chicken sandwich and caesar salad. It was way too much food I couldn't finish! After my break I returned to the cooler and kept stocking the shelves. My trainer showed me where all of the chemicals and emergency exits were and whatnot, and I finished the last bit of my e-learning online (thank goodness).

Day Two (Kitchen/Counter): I really enjoy this role. I'm constantly busy doing something and time just flies by. Here I prepare the orders for the customers by looking at their receipt, grabbing the food made by the culinary team, adding any necessary sides such as fries, and then paging the customer to have them pick up their food. I quickly learned that Captain Cook's is BUSY in the morning, especially on a Saturday during a three day weekend. We got a little backed up in the morning but by the afternoon the crowd flow was much more steady and easier to manage.

Day Three (Morning Cashier): I've never worked with an actual cash register, so it took me a little while to get the hang of this role. I shadowed my trainer for a few hours, observing how she interacted with guests and how to use the computer system. When I finally stepped in, the hardest part was understanding the Disney dining plan and remembering to designate a pager to every order BEFORE I push total. If I don't put a pager number in, the kitchen won't know what number to page, so they'll have to call me or vice versa and to let them know what number goes with what meal order. After a while I got a better hang of the position, and it was getting easier to give back change.

Day Four (Afternoon Cashier): This was a much better day than the previous because I already had a basic idea on how to do the role. The only difference was the food because we switch from breakfast to lunch/dinner at 11 o'clock, so the computer switches menu options. Once again I was having a difficult time remembering to add pagers to orders, but by the end of the day I was making sure that was the first thing I did when someone came to pay for their food so I didn't forget. I really like afternoon shifts more than morning. Not only because I don't have to wake up at 4 or 5:30 in the morning to be ready in time to catch the bus, but the restaurant isn't as crowded and crazy. A couple days ago I went to Magic Kingdom with a couple of my roommates and we ate at Casey's Corner. Let me tell you, I'm SO happy I didn't get a QSR in MK or any other busy park. Casey's is ridiculously CRAZY busy!! I would probably stress way too much in a situation like that. It really makes me appreciate my location. At the end of my afternoon cashier shift, my trainer showed me how to take the money from the cash register to put it in the bank and counting to see if we came out even or not from the beginning of the day.

Day Five (AmBUSSador): This was the longest shift of my life. The job was really easy, and we actually had one more person than usual doing the job because I was training and needed a trainer with me to help. However, the scheduling somehow got funky and my trainer actually started work two hours before me, leaving our breaks at different times. I was basically on my own during a majority of the job, which was totally fine because it's a super easy one. All I have to do is make sure everything is stocked on the condiments bar (napkins, untensils, etc.) and clean tables and keep the dining room area clean. If I get the beverage side of the job, I also have to clean the drink machines. It's not hard, but it was a nice change of pace because we were SLOW that day. Oh, did I mention my shift lasted until 1:30 in the morning? Yeah...Captain Cook's is a 24 hour location for snacks and drinks, so I had to see what they did to prepare for the morning after and the graveyard shift before I was able to go home. I actually ended up not doing much besides restocking napkins and bussing a few tables for the last two hours of my shift because hardly anyone was coming in. A few of my roommates surprised me at work while I was cleaning the drink machines, which was nice. By the end of my shift I was the only one on the bus back home, which is a long 40 or so minute drive thanks to all the stops we have to make before we actually head back to the Chatham bus stop. I was definitely exhausted by the time I got back to my apartment.

That concluded my on the job training! I had two days off and then yesterday I had a work class for about three hours in the morning so technically I count that as another day off. Today is going to be my first day of work without a trainer, but I still have to take my assessment to officially "earn my ears." I honestly have no idea when that's going to happen because another CP that works with me finished her training on Saturday, and still hasn't taken her assessment even though she's been working on her own ever since. We'll just have to wait and see!

Patterson Apartment Tour Vlog!

I know I posted some pictures of my apartment at Patterson Court earlier, but I made a video blog with Sara to show you guys first hand our entire apartment!

Video blogs are going to be pretty hard to make on a regular basis due to our work schedule, but we'll still do the best we can to make some and keep you guys updated :) But like I mentioned before, this blog is definitely the best place for updates and news for what's going on during our DCP!

Resort Hopping and Traditions!

I am SO sorry for not posting lately!! Training has started and it's been absolutely all over the place. However today is my last day of training and I have the night shift so I have some free time this morning to share with all of you what's been going on! I'll start with the first week after I left off with a tour of my new apartment in Patterson.

At the Polynesian Resort beach with Sarah and Sara!

After checking in and a few days off to use for shopping and getting settled, we had our housing meeting at The Commons (the international apartment complex). A lot of people were warning us that it was boring, but it really wasn't that bad. They mainly just went over the policies with what items you can't you can't have in your apartment, if you want to bring guests into your apartment, etc. After this, my roommates and I decided to go resort hopping for our first adventure together! We really wanted to check out where we were working (for those of us not in the parks like me), so we hopped on a bus and made our first stop at my work location, the Polynesian Resort. Let me just say, my resort is breathtaking! It's like the people who placed me there saw all of my tropical photos on my tumblr and decided "Let's put her somewhere like that." Okay, maybe not, but still it's really a perfect location for me. After we spent time on the beach and exploring the location more, we hopped on the monorail and went to the Contemporary, where my roommate Briana is working in merchandise. We spent so much time in the gift shop! After the Contemporary, we needed to somehow find a way to the Wilderness Lodge, where Sara is working. It's kind of awkwardly in a different area without a monorail, but still close to Magic Kingdom so we decided to just take a stop at MK and go on a bus to the Wilderness Lodge. I am absolutely obsessed with Sara's resort. My family would go camping at least once or twice a year during the summer, so it really reminded me of home. It also reminded me of Lake Tahoe, where my grandparents live and where I've been able to visit many many times.

Where I work!

The Wilderness Lodge was the end of our visiting journey for exploring our work locations for the night, so we decided to head back to the Polynesian and eat dinner at my work location, Captain Cook's. I don't know if it was this day exactly, but this was where I had my first ever Dole Whip! SO good! After dinner we needed to head to the bus stop and go back home because Briana and Sara had early morning Traditions the next day.

Which brings me to my next important event: Traditions!!

Traditions is the ever-famous Disney orientation where you finally become an official Disney cast member. I'm honestly not going to explain too much about it because most of it needs to be kept a secret for future cast members, but I'll tell you a brief bit of what to expect.

Many CPs are pretty nervous about being able to dress appropriate to "The Disney Look" for traditions, but honestly just make sure you're presentable and wearing clothes that are conservative and business like with closed toed shoes and you'll be fine. I just wore one of my few outfits I would wear to scholarship interviews when I was in high school. I don't have a picture right now but it was just a nice shirt and black slacks with flats. Pretty simple! I would NOT recommend wearing heels to Traditions because you will be doing a lot of walking. Traditions lasts around four hours, and yes there were some boring moments where a lot of people almost fell asleep, but overall it was a good experience and we finally got our Disney IDs and name tags!! (I might actually order a new ID with my hometown on it, since I don't technically go to the college on my name tag anymore.)

Many people know that after you go to Traditions, you can officially access the Disney parks for free whenever you'd like. Since our class was in the afternoon and finished after six and the park closed at around eight, we decided to just go back to the apartment and relax to get ready for going to the parks the next day. Some people rushed home and rushed to MK within the same day as Traditions, but honestly we weren't in any hurry because we knew we had five more months to visit them whenever we felt like it!

If you have any more questions about Traditions or the like, let me know. I'll do my best to answer them!

Happy Birthday The Disney Den!!!

I can't believe I missed it!

The Disney Den's blogoversary!!!

Actually, I can believe that I missed it because life has been pretty crazy out here in Florida, but as of three days ago The Disney Den turned one!

I can't believe I've been running this blog for a full year. I remember I made those original posts about how I wanted to apply to the DCP and use this to keep my family and friends updated if I got accepted...and here I am one year later doing exactly just that! Amazing how dreams come true :)

Within this year The Disney Den has expanded to different websites such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook. Goodness, how we've grown!!

Here are some stats about this past year (everything started at zero):

Posts: 188
Page Views: 26,505
Blogger Followers: 38
Youtube Subscribers: 52
Facebook Likes: 64
Twitter Followers: 213
Tumblr Followers: 1,807

I just want to take this time to thank everyone who's stuck with me, who's supported me, and even those who are just joining in on my adventure! You're all amazing and this blog wouldn't be possible without you. I promise to keep you all updated as much as I can with what's going on during this DCP. Life is getting really busy now that I started working but I will not forget any of you!

The only part that's going to be pretty hard to do is making video blogs. Those take a lot of time and Sara and I would have to be home at the same time (work schedules are crazy too). But we will definitely try our best to make videos every once in a while, but the main information will be directly from this blog :)

Thanks again! You guys are amazing!

My Patterson Apartment

I'm currently waiting to leave for our housing meeting at the Commons, so I decided to show you guys some pictures of our new apartment!

As I stated earlier, my roommates and I ended up being placed in a three bedroom apartment in Patterson Court. It was our second choice because the bus stop is a little bit of a walk away, but honestly I couldn't be happier here! Patterson is so beautiful, and the inside is really nice. Our location is pretty much perfect. It's near the front corner kind of close to security, about ten steps from laundry, right next to the pool and clubhouse (which includes the gym) and the dumpster is just around the corner. Also, some of my friends I made on Facebook live on the floor below us! So awesome!

Front view of our apartment!

Patterson is actually the same exact price for rent as Chatham. Personally I think the only con about Patterson is the fact that we don't have a bus stop. But honestly the walk to the Chatham bus stop is like 4 minutes. You get used to leaving just a tiny bit earlier to make it on time. The only other negative about Patterson (that can only apply to some people) is that I registered for classes and the classrooms are in Chatham...pretty much on the other side of the world compared to where I actually live now. It's okay, I'll get used to it and they don't last very long.

My bed (left) and Sara's (right)! :)

By the way, if you can bring a car or if you can find a roommate/friend that has one, do it. The first couple days when you have to do grocery shopping and get every day supplies at Walmart or Target, it will be AMAZING to have someone with a car. I couldn't imagine having to take everything on the bus afterwards. So thankful one of my roommates has a car!

Sink!

Bathroom! 

WALK IN closet!!!

I've read in some blogs and comments from past CPs and some of them complain about the rooms being too small, the closet being tiny...blah blah blah. Honestly at Patterson, everything is really nice and a very reasonable size compared to some college dorms I've seen. It's even bigger and nicer than most apartments from where I'm from! The closet is MUCH bigger than I thought it would be, thank goodness.

I haven't taken any pictures of the living room and kitchen, but if you want to see them click here for the living room and here for the kitchen (photos from other websites, so they're a little different from my apartment). My living room and kitchen actually look bigger than the ones shown in those photos.

So that's where I live! If you have any questions about the apartments, feel free to ask!

My roommates and I went to Traditions yesterday, so we finally have our passes to the parks! Going to Hollywood Studios today (my favorite)!!!!

Crazy Crazy Check-In!

Yesterday was probably the longest day of my life!

Monday, Sara and I woke up around 4:45 am to drive to the airport in Sacramento and catch our flight at 8:30. We had a layover in Vegas for an hour or so and then flew for four and a half hours to Orlando! We met up with our roommate Briana at the baggage claim and then took a SuperShuttle to the Holiday Inn Sunspree right across from Vista Way. We met with the rest of the roommates in Applebee's inside of the hotel. We all get along really well!

After dinner we went back to our rooms, showered, and went to bed at around 1:30 am. Two hours later, we woke back up and got ready for check-in!

Roommates! (From left: Sarah, Sara, me, Bethany, Briana, and Liz!)

Since Vista Way was so close to our hotel, the six of us just walked down the street at 4 am and waited in line. There was about 20 people ahead of us, so we weren't too worried about not getting what we wanted. However, as time went by we realized a lot of people were actually saving spots in line for the rest of their roommates, so the amount of people ahead of us grew dramatically.

At about 6:30 three of us went to Walgreens to get some food and water. When you're waiting in line for over three hours...you get thirsty and hungry. There's a lot of places for food and water around Vista so you can easily walk while your roommates are waiting in line. Near 7:00 or so they let us move up to the stop sign more on the Vista property, and then around 7:30 they actually started check-in.

The people running check-in lead us to this building area with some canopies. There you wait in line just for a little bit, and then they check you in and make sure you have your correct phone number and email before you continue. Then, you go to the line that has the correct letter to your last name, and you get a label to put on your new DCP planner book about where you're working! I was freaking out. I was waiting with Sara, Bethany and Liz, and Sara went first. She's working in the Roaring Fork in Fort Wilderness Lodge! I was next. I was thinking I was getting Magic Kingdom because of the random pay increase I have compared to Sara, but I was wrong! I'm going to be working in Captain Cook's in the Polynesian Resort!

Check-in canopies!

Not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed I didn't get a park at first. But then I did some research on the location and the resort (I've never been!) and I'm really excited! This way I'll be exploring somewhere I've never been before, AND it's one of the only places that serves Dole Whips! I'm already in love with the idea of working in a Hawaiian themed resort. I LOVE tropical getaways and beaches, so I feel like this was a perfect place for me.

My other roommates got their positions after me. Bethany will be working in FoodQuest (in DisneyQuest) in Downtown Disney, Liz is working on Main Street USA in MK for merchandise, Briana is working as Merchandise in the Contemporary Resort, and Sarah is going to be a tour guide/driver on the safaris in Animal Kingdom!

After you find out your work location, it's paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. I recommend bringing a folder to keep everything together because I was starting to get a little scattered with all of my papers I had to keep with me. After beginning the paperwork process outside, we walked inside the building and requested a living location. We were hoping for a three bedroom in Chatham, but all they had available for us was either a three bedroom in Patterson or a four bedroom in Chatham (which is exactly the same rent price). We decided to go to Patterson, and my gosh it's SO nice!! We're literally ten steps away from the laundry, near the front of the entrance (so not too much walking to the bus stop), near the pool, gym, and clubhouse! The only thing that's a little far away is the mailroom, but that's okay.

Back to check-in!

One of our roommates has a car, so if you have a car you're going to be filling out the insurance information and whatnot after you find out where you're living. Following this process comes your picture for your ID. Man, mine looks beautiful. Just kidding I look like a serial killer. Buuuut I can't expect much from two hours of sleep and gross hair from the humidity.

Once we took our picture we went outside again to sign more papers and talk to people about classes and networking. This was the last part of the official check-in, so we were able to take a quick break and grab an apple or granola bar from the little snack area. (It's VERY minimal for snacks, I recommend bringing your own.) Then, we boarded the bus for casting.

Casting was honestly mainly just exhausting. The bus ride over was fun, there was some Disney trivia and we finally got to see the entry sign to Walt Disney World. The casting building was pretty cool. The doorknobs were from Alice in Wonderland and the inside had a lot of historical Disney photos and statues of the characters. I didn't get a picture of the doorknobs but I filmed a little bit of the inside which I'll put in a video blog later.

Casting is mainly just an immense amount of paperwork and background checks/fingerprinting. You'll learn more about where you're working and what they expect of you for Traditions. There was a lot of standing and waiting, so make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes that day. Your feet WILL hurt by the end of the day.

After casting, we took the bus back to Vista, checked out of the hotel and drove to Patterson! Sara and I immediately took a nap. We were so exhausted. Later we started unpacking and got most of our supplies we needed at Walmart. Now our room looks like someone actually lives there!

That's the majority of what happened yesterday. Gosh it feels like forever ago though. Check-in day is literally the longest and most exhausting day of my life. We don't have anything planned for today except to finish grocery shopping. We might even visit the resorts we're going to be working at! Tomorrow we have our housing meeting, and Friday is Traditions! I don't have training until bright and early Monday morning, which is nice because that means we have the weekend to explore and have fun in the parks!