Four Weeks to Check In and Tying Up Loose Ends

Well today, December 10th, marks the 4 weeks to go mark on my DCP countdown. Keep in mind that this started at 108 days, and I'm now at 28! I'm starting to slowly get things ready to go and I have started packing up some of my clothes and shoes in order to be able to focus on my family and friends my last couple of weeks at home.

It's getting really real now, as today is also the two week mark from my last day at Payless Shoes, where I have been for close to two years. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than ready to be out of that awful corporation (I will miss my boss and some of the wonderful people I've worked with), but I'm ready to go. I won't be mourning this separation, but my last day at my other job is gonna be tough.

I started working for the Everett Silvertips in 2008, and I've spent four and a half happy seasons as a Sales Associate in their team store. If I wasn't leaving this year, I would have hit my five year mark which is half the time the team has actually been around. This job was my first serious job, and boy will I miss it. I've made some wonderful friends in the Store, and I honestly don't think anywhere will ever come close to how much I enjoy the people at that job.

I'm 100% sure I'm going to cry on Sunday while I'm working, as I'm going to be mourning leaving so many people that I love behind. Not that I would change the fact that I'm leaving for the world, but I'm going to miss a lot. This move means no more Silvertips Hockey, no more weekend games with some of my best friends, and no more boss to listen to me and give me advice and reassurance when I need it. It's going to be tough, but they keep reminding me that it will be worth it, and that's what I'm trying to keep in mind!

Other than that, my final for my last class I will EVER take at EVCC is complete, and I'm just awaiting my grade to be posted. I think I did okay, and now I'm going to spend my last two weeks at Payless not slacking as bad as I want to, and enjoy my last month at home. Come December 24th, I will be free from my slavery at Payless, and free to spend time at home getting ready to go!

Next up should be about my adventures in packing my entire life into 5 suitcases and a backpack and saying goodbye to friends and family.

Watch out DCP! Here I come!

Kelci

Disney Is Taking Over My Life

So while Disney has always been my life (Disney trips once or twice a year/half my closet has something Disney on it), Disney has absolutely taken over my life. I mention that I'm leaving for Disney in a month at work, I talk about it at home, I watch Disney movies over and over and sing along to all my favorite Disney songs in the car.

I cannot WAIT to get to Florida. (Esp with my grandmother, aunt and sister in Disneyland right now WITHOUT ME!) It's going to be a whole new world for me, as I've only been there once! It is going to be a huge change from what I'm used to, but I'm looking forward to it!!

Right now I'm at the 38 day mark till I check in to the DCP, and I'm at 34 days till I fly out of dreary Seattle and into my new home at Disney World! It's starting to get surreal, and starting to really hit me that I am a Cast Member! :) It's also starting to sink in that I only have about 30 more nights of snuggling with my dogs, 20 days of work left, about 5 hockey games to work and only 33 days left with my family. I really am going to miss them, but I think this is a good opportunity and I for sure am NOT passing it up!

I started packing the other day, if you can call shoving most of my summery clothes into my ruck and putting a few pairs of shoes I wont be wearing in this nasty rain into another bag. I figure if I have stuff ready now, when it gets to my last week at home my bestie and I will have a little bit less to do when packing and cleaning and getting everything ready. So far I'm only taking my blow dryer, straightener, make-up, shoes and some bathroom things with me. I'm sure that list will grow by leaps and bounds in the next few weeks!

Next update will probably be about the on boarding paperwork, if I ever get it.

See ya real soon!
Kelci

Bucket List Pt 2

Alright well I don't know what else I can put that's not in the parks, but I guess I'm going to try it anyways. :) I guess there ARE things I can do outside the parks (hard to believe, right??) Here goes my bucket list Pt 2!

Everywhere Else

1. Go diving at least 10 times while in Florida.
2. Complete my Advanced Open Water diver cert.
3. Buy myself a Cressi Big Eyes mask.
4. Visit with the Manatees!
5. Go to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse.
6. Celebrate my 21st Birthday at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (On July 31st! No, really.. That's my brithday!)
7. Go to Gatorland.
8. Give blood. (Apparently Disney does blood drives!)
9. Watch some Hockey (NHL or whatever, I don't care!)
10. Spend a day at Discovery Cove.
11. See La Nouba.
12. Go indoor skydiving at iFly Orlando.
13. Visit the Space Center.
14. Go to the Orlando Science Center. (I love museums, and Science Centers are my favorite!)
15. Explore the Disney Boardwalk.
16. Fireworks on the Poly beach with the girls!
17. Be a VoluntEar
18. Visit the Holocaust Memorial.
19. See the march of the Peabody Ducks
20. If I can get a good fare, fly up to NYC for a few days.
21. Go Jet Skiing
22. SeaWorld!
23. Visit Celebration, Florida
24. Visit Spook Hill to see if the Legend is true (and to see if Katie's car rolls up hill)

There are many more, but these are some I really want to do! Especially the march of the Peabody ducks. Oh my gosh. Little ducks in a hotel that march from their elevator to their little fountain? OMG PLEEEASE!

Until next time,

Kelci

My DCP Bucket List Pt 1 (In The Parks!)

So, as promised, here is the first part of my Spring 2013 WDW bucketlist. This is open to change and revision, so if you have an idea for me be sure to let me know!

I'm going to section it out into different posts with the first being in the parks! Here we go!


In The Parks!

1. Take photos with at least 100 different characters!
2. Be in a parade.
3. Tour the Castle Suite.
4. Do the Segway tour of EPCOT
5. Do the Behind the Steam Trains Tour with my Grandfather
6. Do EPCOT DiveQuest
7. Ride every ride in each park.
8. Go people watching with my roomies.
9. Be the rebel spy on Star Tours.
10. Take a weekend off for Star Wars Weekend.
11. Take the roomies and finish the Kitchen Sink.
12. Drink around the world on my 21st Birthday!
13. Ride Space Mountain with the lights on.
14. Find as many hidden mickeys as possible.
15. Picture with the Boss in each park.
16. Get my graduation ears embroidered! 
17. All 4 parks in one day.
18. Work in each park. (Is this possible? I am Merch..)
19. Start an autograph book.
20. Get t-shirts signed by the characters.
21. Meet someone from each state.
22. Run (well, walk!) one of the Disney marathons.
23. Group photos with the girls in front of the Castle.
24. Eat at each restaurant.
25. Eat around the world.
26. Get my silhouette done on Main Street.

There will be more to come, but these are my basic in the parks want to do! I think next up will be out of the parks, like at the resorts and what not. :)

Have a good one!
Kelci

58 Day Mark & I'm Bad At This Blogging Stuff!

Woow.. Okay, well, sorry for the fact it's been a month. I've been working 6-7 days a week and I have school and I've been crazy busy. Thanks to my wisdom teeth being extracted, I do however have a few days off and I thought I would get on and update.

I know I said my bucket list would be next, but I'm thinking I'm actually going to talk about the expenses of the program, which is something I wish I would have known before I actually applied and was accepted. (Please excuse any spelling errors, I'm on a heavy dose of Percocet and I'm trying to keep my head on straight!)

So during the process of applying to the DCP, I knew there would be fees (And the fees are one reason I'm making the 3500 mile move from Seattle to Orlando, instead of going to Disneyland.) For the Orlando DCp, you pay $300 up front after being accepted. Now, what this goes to is your first two weeks of rent, and various activities that Disney puts on during your program. For California, you pay (I believe) $860 up front, and that covers about the same thing.

Now, as a college student that works two minimum wage jobs, I don't have the money for the Cali DCP, but when I added it all up, that's about what I'm spending. My flight to Orlando is costing me just over $200, which is a pretty good deal considering I'm flying down right after New Years. We are also going to stay at Art of Animation for three days before my check in (I don't know the cost, my grandma is paying for that, but last I looked it was pretty expensive!) and then the night before check in I'm staying with the girls in a suite near the hotel which is costing the 6 of us about $25 each. This doesn't even count my 3 day park hopper for while I'm down there.

Yeah, so while the DW DCP is cheaper in the fees, make sure you think about the gas you will have to buy driving, or the plane ticket to fly down, extra baggage fees, shipping extra stuff down once you get there, your hotel for the night before, or couple days before if you and some loved ones are coming down, and your park tickets! The more I think about it, the more I wonder if I could be paying the same as I would have to go to Disneyland. (Not that I wanted to, I'd rather spend my DCP in DW with my awesome roomies!)

Anyways, I have 58 or so days left till I check into my DCP with my wonderful Suietmates! I can't wait to meet Katie, Kira, Gisselle, Rachel and Ashley in person! We're going to have one of the craziest, most fun times ever!
Until next time,
Kelci

My Roomies!

So I thought I'd make a late night post about my roommates and talk about my process in finding them, which is probably the easiest thing I've done since applying for the DCP lol. I am going to be sharing a 3 bedroom in (hopefully!) Chatham Square with five wonderful ladies! We've got Giselle, Rachel, Katie, Kira, Ashley and myself! Two of us are Merch, two are Attractions, one is Photopass and one is Character Attendant and we're all absolutely nuts.

I found them on the DCP 2013 page after finding their survey and I read it and I was convinced that we were related. We all enjoy similar things and most importantly we have similar sleep habits! This is important cause I am a weird sleeper. I have to have a fan on, the lights off all the way and at least two blankets so I can sleep. I'm very picky.

I'm really looking forward to getting to know them all! We've already been talking, and it seems like we should get along really well, which is very important to me. We're planning movie marathons, dinners and just general shenanigans and I couldn't be happier about it! :D I'm pretty sure the DCP is going to be the best 6 months of my life so far. And I think these ladies are what will make it amazing.

Edit: You can find their Vlogs here!

Up next, my DCP bucketlist!

Kelci

Guess What!

I WAS ACCEPTED!

I haven't posted in a week or so because I really had nothing to say about the wait. Now that it's over, I have one thing to say about it.

IT WAS AWFUL.

It was long and terrifying, and seeing people get accepted every day made me so nervous that something had gone wrong with mine and I was going to be denied! But, at 10:46AM on 9/24/12 I got a "Congratulations!" Email from Disney and the world fell into place.

To be honest I screamed and started to cry hysterically when I read it, and then proceeded to call everyone and tell them my wonderful news! I paid fees, picked my dates AND to top off my wonderful day, I found a group of ladies looking for a few more roomies, and we completed our group of 6! I am already excited, we're al; quite fun and interesting! I think this is going to be wonderful!

Alright well this was just a quick update before bed, so I'll be back in the next few weeks to talk about some other stuff! :)

Kelci



I AM MERCHANDISING!

Interview is COMPLETE

And now the waiting begins!

So for my interview I had a lovely woman named Sarah and I honestly don't even understand why I was so nervous to begin with. She was so polite and sweet and upbeat, she made me feel as comfortable as possible! She started out with the typical "Why DCP?" and I replied with my answer which was along the lines of how during my family vacations every year to Disney, remarkable castmembers made my days as magical as they could and that ever since I was small I wanted to help make magic.

She went onto a few situation questions 1) How would you handle an emergency? (What make you sure? Describe an emergency and how you handled it.) 2) What would you tell a child who was frightened of a character/ getting her hair and make-up done at the boutique? 3) What would you do if you had a disagreement with a roommate? I said my answers and she moved onto a few other general questions about living away from home, driving and if I had any other comments. Then she closed with questions, and I asked two.

All in all I think I did a decent job, and I think that with my merch experience I will most likely get placed in merch somewhere. I am 100% okay with this, tbh.

Now all I can do is cross my fingers and wish on the second star to the left that Sarah saw something in me that she liked, and that my dreams of being a castmember will come true!

Here Goes Everything!

Well in about 30 minutes I will be on the phone with my interviewer and doing my DCP interview. And boy am I NERVOUS. I know that everyone says to not be nervous, that you've got it, but how can I not be nervous when the rest of my life is basically riding on this phone call?

I want to work for Disney for a good, long time and this is the best way to get my foot in the door. I'll have to work hard and do my best, but what else is new? I already know how to give that above and beyond service. Payless expects it too.

I'm not strong on interviews, and I'm not great at talking on the phone either, so this is gonna be a trial for me. I'm thinking I'll come out stronger in the end, but I'm still worried and freaked out.

Alright well I think I'm going to go pace for a few minutes and see if I can't calm myself down.

I'll be back with an update as soon as it's over!

Kelci

Let's talk about school.

So this post will be more of an informational post about what I am currently going through with my school in preparation for hopefully getting accepted for Spring Advantage 2013 DCP at WDW.

This morning I went down to my community college and waited in line to speak with a Financial Aid rep. I took the general information about the DCP, as well as the information about classes offered and what the ACE (the American Council on Education) recommended the DCP program for. After going through the boring details that made sure I was a student, I asked my rep some questions about the Financial Aid situation while I was doing the DCP. She told me that as long as I was partially enrolled at my college for anywhere from 2-5 credits I would continue to receive my financial aid. This is important to me because while I'm down there I can take a few easy general ed classes, explain to my professor what I'm doing and where I am and also keep my enrollment at my school.

After having a good long conversation and getting a lot of paperwork filled out and information given to me, I was sent down to enrollment services where I pulled a number and waited. After being called, I explained my information to the registrar and asked if there was someone I could speak to about the credits I might be able to get. She had a woman come and speak to me who gave me some not so great news.

She said that our college doesn't affiliate with Disney, which I knew (and hope to change) and that they might be able to award me credit based on these classes, but that there was a like $300 fee per class I wanted reviewed, and no guarantee that I would be awarded the credits. Grr, this annoys me big time.

I do have one last idea before I start looking into duel enrollment at another college, which is a consortium agreement. I'm not 100% sure what this entitles, but looking on the web I came across this:

A Consortium Agreement is a contract between two colleges/universities that recognize the registration of a student at each site for financial aid purposes. The consortium agreement also certifies that only one of the two colleges/universities will administer Title IV financial aid for the student. The Consortium Agreement refers to the two colleges/universities as the “Home Campus” and the “Host Campus”. The “Home Campus” is the school where the student is fully admitted and from which he/she will get a degree. The “Host Campus” is where the student temporarily takes courses, whose credits will be transferred back to his/her “Home Campus”.

Found Here

Now I don't know if this will work, but I'm hoping that I can work it out with school to get those credits!

Kelci

Why I didn't finish my application for Fall 2012

So like the title says, I applied for Fall 2012 and did the online portion, scheduled my phone interview and was all ready to go. The night before my interview I found out that if I did this program, and didn't take over 12 credits at my home school during the quarters I would be missing I would not be able to continue working on something I'd been working on for the last year or so.

So, I cancelled my interview.

I regret that a lot, actually. I wish I would have been strong enough in myself to say that I could forget the thing requiring me to have 12 credits or more, and would have gone and done my phone. Oh how I wish I would have, I might have been in WDW now with Kelsey and getting ready to begin!

So over the summer I kept it in the back of my mind, but then when Kelsey started her super close countdown, I started really thinking about it. And then, I brought it up at home and at work and I've decided that I'm going to actually go for it this time.

I'm thinking that waiting might have been a better option for me in the long run, though. I've grown up quite a lot in the last 6 months, and I've been stronger for it!

I also think the suspense has helped because I am now super excited to get this Disney ball rolling! :)

Kelci

This is the beginning!

Hello there! My name is Kelci and you've somehow stumbled across this blog which I will be keeping during my application process and hopefully into the Spring 2013 DCP at Walt Disney World Resort! Applications haven't even dropped yet for Spring, but with my good friend doing Fall 2012 DCP, I've been getting excited! So, I'm going to keep this blog over the course of the applications in order to perhaps keep myself partially sane!

Now, onto a bit about me!

I am 20 years old, born and raised in Washington State, USA. I'm a former camp counselor, I've worked retail for the past four years and I am a PADI certified scuba diver. I enjoy reading and swimming, diving and hanging out on my computer watching Disney movies and Doctor Who.

As far as I can remember I've been a Disney girl. My first trip to Disneyland was at two weeks old, and ever since then I've gone back at least once or twice a year! I've always had a soft spot for Minnie & Mickey Mouse, at least after I got over being terrified of the furry costumes!

Ever since I was little I've wanted to work for Disney. I've met many a DCP cast member over my meanderings in Disneyland, but one that stands out the most is a girl who worked at Star Traders. She stood and talked to me about the DCP when I was about 14. She told me about living in the apartments and working at Disneyland and how she loved it. She encouraged me to do it when I got old enough, and here I am! Thanks, Amanda! :)

Kelci