Sunnys Days Of Disney

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Guys. GUYS. G-U-Y-S this is it. We're really doing this! I got my final email today and I think I might go through the roof! Okay, deep breath... here we go.

SO! I got my arrival time email today! I'll be checking in at 8AM, which is the first check in time. 4 out of my 5 roommates also have the 8AM time slot, with my in room roommate checking in 10-11. The rest of us all have to be drug tested, and three of us has to take a swim test, so we have to have the earliest time slot. I am so over the top excited and ready to be there. One of my roommates is already on the road! Besides getting my final email today, I also did a ton of PACKING!

Okay, so maybe I brought to much stuff. Oops? Crazy enough, most of it isn't clothes. I managed to get everything in my trunk, along with all of my sisters stuff. She brought about half the stuff I did, and I still wasn't sure it was going to work. I'm not sure how it happened, except that my mom is crazy good at Tetris. Three days until I leave, five days until I check in. I can't wait to meet you all!

Last week my roommates and I (in fact, everyone who has a January 11 arrival) got the email we've all been waiting for: our DORMS registration! DORMS is the online system Disney uses for placing people in their desired housing with their desired roommates. Two weeks before you are scheduled to check in, Disney will email you instructions to filling out these forms. This email will tell you how many roommates you'll be allowed to link with (up to 7 other people), and when you'll be able to begin filling out this paperwork. This email will also contain your very important roommate number! You'll use this number to link up with your desired roommates!

Before you get this email you and your roommates need to get together to decide which of you is going to be the "group leader" All this means is this person will be the one to fill out the paperwork first and link everyone together. This person should be available when registration opens, so that you have the greatest chance of getting the housing options you want. Make sure they have everyone's roommate numbers and know the exact order of your housing preferences. We had several choices, way more than the 3 we had discussed and our group leader had to guess her way through the last few.

A few things to note:

The earlier your arrival date is in the Spring, the more likely you are to get the housing and roommate preference you want. Most fall CP's leave before you arrive, so housing will be virtually empty.
The earlier your arrival date for Fall Advantage, the LESS likely you are to receive the roommates/housing preference you want. Most spring CP's haven't left yet, so housing is full and space is limited.
Make sure you give your group leader your roommate ID number as soon as you get it, so they are ready as soon as registration opens.
You can fill out your per-registration the day you get the first email, but you can also fill it out at the same time as regular registration. For me these were two separate days, but for my sister they were the same day!
Have the make, model, year, and license plate number of your car ready, as these will be needed.

Registration was quick and painless. It only took a couple minutes to confirm that yes, I want to live with these wonderful people! This will be your penultimate email. Saturday or Sunday you'll receive your final email with your target arrival time. Just two more days until I leave for the happiest place on earth. It's so hard to believe this day has finally come. I can't wait to meet you all!

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Well, I've done it. I've dyed my hair to follow the Disney Look guidelines.I forgot how dark my hair is naturally, it's been so long since I had one color hair!

For those of you who don't know, Disney requires it's cast members to have one color hair. You can have highlights/lowlights but they can only be one shade lighter or darker than the rest of your hair and you have to keep up with the roots. I decided to go ahead and dye my hair back to it's natural shade, since I'll be lifeguarding and won't be able to keep up with the roots without risking having to get in a pool the next day. I've heard of people leaving their hair ombre'd and trying to hide it by putting it in a bun all the time, but that only works if all of the hair that shows in your bun matches your roots. If you go to check in and your roots don't match your ends, they give you 2 days to dye it one color. Having so many different shades of red in my hair from the sun, that was never going to work for me.

The Disney Look is pretty strict, and they expect you to follow it. They go over and over it with you time and again, so they expect you to know it. One piercing in your earlobe only, no visible tattoos, no pixie cuts, neutral colored nail polish only. They talk to you about it during your interview, you have to review it during your application, your acceptance, over and over they will email you to make sure you understand what they expect from the Disney look. Because they've reminded you so many times, they expect you to be within the look by day one. I've heard stories of people being made to hold their ends against their roots at check in, being told to take out piercings, and even of people being sent home for refusing to comply. One of my roommates has done the program, and during her Traditions last time around a girl had pink nail polish on her nails. They handed her cotton swabs, nail polish remover, and sent her into the hall until it was gone. They're serious about following the Disney Look. I certainly don't want to miss any of Traditions!

Morale of the story? Be honest about your tattoos, take out your extra piercings and dye your hair. No matter how many people tell you their coordinators never cared, you don't want to be the one that gets termed for breaking the rules.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from my family to yours! We're getting close! 17 days until check in and 15 days until I leave for Florida. Life has been absolutely crazy around here. I've been attempting to finish up my pre-Florida shopping, finished my Christmas shopping, gave my notice, and have started packing! I feel like the last couple weeks have been a constant go-go-go. I am so ready for a little break before I jump straight into being a lifeguard! The kids I nanny are out of school for winter break and life has been crazy in their household...

I finally found my Traditions dress! I have several business casual clothes for classes, but I wanted something different and new for Traditions. I ended up falling in love with this dress in a dark red color (they call it "tawny port") at this little store called Dry Goods USA [DGU]. I had gone to a bigger mall than the one we have locally (I hate shopping in Indiana, I'm telling you) and at first we walked right by DGU, because their display was all flannels and comfy scarves, and not exactly what I need for Florida! After a couple hours and countless stores, I was beginning to give up hope. I don't have the greatest body shape, and it's hard to find clothes, especially dresses and shirts, that fit me. They're never long enough, the chest area is always to tight, and the neckline to high. It's a mess. But for once I walked in and had a hard time deciding what to buy because I loved everything I tried on! All of the sales associates were great and crazy helpful! I'm sad that there isn't a DGU in Florida!!! This dress is perfect for work with a blazer or for going out (which isn't something I usually buy into... BUT IT IS!)

The one good thing about walking into five million and two stores before finding the right dress is that we went into H&M right away, and I was able to pick up this blazer. I was able to try dresses on with the blazer to see if I liked it or not. It was $20, though they don't have it on the US website, which is a crazy good deal for a blazer!

I also finished most of my shopping. In the last couple weeks I've managed to buy towels, bed risers, white lights, a toaster, carabiners, a coffee pot, shower curtain, and to be honest I've lost count of what else. I still have a very few more things to buy (mainly black ballet flats and work shoes) but I'm waiting until after Christmas for the sales to hit. I've managed to save all of the money I budgeted for myself and then some, which is a huge relief. I was worried about my first couple weeks but now I feel okay!

I also started packing! Or... putting the big stuff in the trunk of my car to get it out of the way and out of the house! I've started sorting my stuff into piles as I'm washing it: pack for Florida, things I'm going to use before Florida but also in Florida, and things I'm leaving home. The clothes I'm not using before Florida are being shuttled into space bags, but a lot of that stuff is still sitting in my drawers, since I haven't worn it recently. Thankfully I have all of next week off of work, so I'll be able to take the time to sort and pack then. I'm starting to get a little teeny tiny bit nervous about having to bring all of my sisters stuff and all of my stuff, as well as all of my mom and sisters stuff for the week they'll be down there... but it'll work. My mom is the master of car tetris.

Giving notice was so nerve wracking I nearly had a panic attack (...that wasn't a joke about mental disorders, I have anxiety, and honestly almost had a panic attack.). I feel bad for the family I nanny for, because they are having such a hard time finding a replacement, since we live in such a small town. The baby I nanny is not going to be happy when I'm gone...

The next two weeks before I leave are going to be insane. I am going to visit my dad for a couple days, I have to visit my grandma, I need to get my hair dyed to one shade, go swimming a few more times, pack, work, a quick trip to Detroit, and pack up my bedroom. I'm not sure when I'm going to find time to sleep, but I'll get there. In the mean time I'll be enjoying the next few days of relaxing with my family before life gets crazy! Feel free to message me with any questions you might have or just to say hey! I can't wait to meet you guys in a couple weeks!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

I'm so excited to share some news with you guys! I received an email today inviting me to write for The Odyssey, which has recently become affiliated with the DCP! Rest assured I will still be writing and posting both here and on tumblr. The Odyssey is encouraging us not to write about Disney, limiting us to one Disney related article a month (which I have mixed feelings about...) so I will still be using this to write all about my DCP, Disney, and pretty much anything I can think of. I'll let you know when I post my first article (Monday)!

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Something I've found a lot of people headed into the program struggle with is the idea of having to give notice at work. Weather you love your job or hate it, the idea of having to tell your boss you're leaving can be daunting. As long as you go about it in a professional manor you should be fine, but often times people react negatively to surprises. So how do you give notice?

Notice should be given two weeks before your last intended day of work. Some people choose to give notice early, but know that there is a good chance you will not be kept on for as long as you might hope. Always be sure to give at least two weeks notice, however, to give your boss time to find a replacement.
Ask to speak to your boss privately during a quiet time. While you are on the clock or during a rush is not the time to have this discussion. Come in early, stay late, or go in during your break, and make sure you let them know you can work around their schedule to talk.
Have a letter of resignation. Even though you are already talking to your boss, you should also hand them a letter of resignation. This should say how sorry you are to be leaving the company, when your last day of work can be, and offer to help train a replacement if applicable.
Be sure to let your boss know how sorry you are to be leaving and how much you will miss working there. Even if it isn't true, it's what you need to say. Let them know you are leaving because you've been presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity, not because of anything that happened at work.
Don't talk about why your leaving. Don't talk about what has pushed you to take this internship. You're leaving, and this conversation, weather you like your job or not, will just lead to back lash. You are moving on, there is no need to look back.
Shut down any negative talk. If things start going south, let your boss know you're happy to have had this talk, you'll be happy to talk about it latter, but you have something you need to do. You do not have to take any grief over leaving, nor should you. But it's important that you don't get caught up in an argument with your boss before leaving.
Don't burn bridges. All of these points lead to the same thing; never burn bridges. You never know when you're going to need a reference or help from an old boss or colleague. It's important to not cut anyone out of your life, no matter how upset you might be at them at the moment.

Whatever happens, just know that you've got something great waiting on the other side. I gave my boss notice Monday, three and a half weeks before my last available day to work. This is a hard time of year to find nannies, and they're going to be on vacation for a week of what would be my two week notice, but I'm also completely ready to be done. I wont' be desperate for work if I'm let go early. I can't wait to see you all in Florida! Have a magical day!

Sunday, December 13, 2015

This is it! For those of us with a January 11 check in date, we are now under a month! So much to do, what feels so much time to do it. I've been shopping, creating lists, packing, and just generally trying to keep myself busy! Friday was one month until my arrival date, and my new hire paperwork came in! I received an email very early in the morning, as did most of my roommates. One of my roommates didn't get her email until early afternoon though, so don't panic if you don't wake up to yours!

If you are not an alumni of the program, and you've not worked for the Disney Company in any other capacity, follow the link for New Users to create a password. Once that is done, sign in to continue the process. Make sure you set aside a significant amount of time to fill out the paperwork.You start out with a few documents to fill out and then when they're all filled out it adds more, and then again. Before you get started, make sure you have the following information ready: Social Security number, bank routing number, and bank account number. You can find your bank account and routing numbers on your bank statements or on the bottom of your checks.

Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of information I can share with you. Disney likes to keep it's trade secrets close to the chest, and no one wants to risk getting termed before they've even started. So here's what I can tell you:

This is your chance to change your preferred name. For most people, this probably isn't a big deal. But for those of you, like me, who put their legal name in the area for their preferred name during the application process, this is when you have the chance to put the right name for your name tag. YAY! (Okay, I was excited, I know most people won't be)
In the past, you had to bring a blank check to check in day to set up a direct deposit for your paycheck. Now you set it up online before hand, which is super convenient. Make sure you have your banking information on hand. If you attempt to fill it out later, it can take a couple of weeks to set up the direct deposit.
Every document you fill out can be downloaded to save for your own reference. Always make sure to read any document you sign, and save a copy for later.
When filling out your W-4, there is a deductions calculator. Use it. The more deductions you take, the less they take out each month, but also the less you get back in April. Most people doing the DCP can take 2 deductions: 1 for being single and 1 for only having one job. Use the deductions calculator to figure out how many you should take.

Make sure you fill out your paperwork as soon as possible, so Disney has the most time to process it as they need. You don't want anything delaying you once you get to Disney! Let me know if you have any questions about your new hire paperwork, or if you need any help! Have a magical day!