Curious about how your first week in the Disney College Program will go? Today I'm recapping my first week in the DCP along with what to expect on your arrival date, castings, welcome session, and traditions! The week is full of meeting new people and of course, lots of Disney themed events!
Happy Friday friends!
I can't believe it's almost been two weeks since I moved into my apartment here in Florida! The days are flying by, but at the same time, I feel like I've been here for a month already. I had asked if you all would like to see a recap of my experience so far in the Disney College Program and the majority of you had said yes! I'm so excited to share my journey with you all on here as well as document it for myself to look back on once it's over. I have also included some tips for you all down below in case any of you are going /planning to go into the college program!
Also, if you haven't already, be sure to read up on my announcement to getting into the Disney College Program and why I'm doing it post-graduation!
ARRIVAL DAY
My arrival date was on January 22nd and my parents and I had gotten up bright and early to eat breakfast together before we head over to move me in. Check-in was super quick and easy (took less than 10 minutes!) and I was also given my housing ID. I also met my very first friend at check-in too!
We were told to make sure we had the "Disney Look" from the shoulders up for our photo which pretty much meant to have your hair done (in a natural cut/color), no piercings except your ears (and only 1 stud in each ear!), natural makeup and shoulders covered. For those of you who are going into the program, I just wore a t-shirt and Lilly Leggings for move in and was fine!
After check-in, I headed over to my new home for the next 4 months! With the DCP, you won't know who your roommates are / what kind of apartment you have until the day of move-in so that was a bit nerve-racking for me, especially since I went randomly! Thankfully I got assigned some great roommates and we all get along really well!
After we did one too many trips to the car to move my things in, I said my goodbyes to my parents and begin settling into my new place.
Move-in day - what to expect:
- Quick check-in time (less than 10 minutes!)
- Don't arrive more than 15 minutes earlier than your arrival time, they won't let you in
- Limited parking
- AVOID THE CLOSES WAL-MART AT AL TIMES - it's chaos
CASTING
The next day I attended casting which is where you fill out all of the fun legal stuff for your I-9. It only took about an hour-hour and a half, but it's a good opportunity to meet new people in your program. I actually had my car here, but for things such as castings, traditions, the housing event, etc. I had taken the bus just so I'm able to meet new people / make new friends in the first few days here, and I highly recommend doing so!
Casting - what to expect
- Lots of waiting in lines and standing on your feet - wear comfy shoes!
- Casual attire - I actually wore this outfit + my white converse!
After Castings, some of my roommates and I headed off to explore Disney Springs (my home location!) and to grab a bite to eat at D-Lux Burger! I highly recommend trying their veggie burger, super yummy!
HOUSING WELCOME SESSION
On Wednesday, we had our housing welcome session which basically goes over the basics of safety and goes more in-depth with your housing book on what to / not to do. The session was maybe 2 hours.
Thursday we had our Welcome Event for new arrivals and it was Peter Pan themed! They offered free pizza, meet and greets with characters, and had a DJ! It was really fun and highly recommend attending to meet new people/bond with your roommates. Originally my roommates and I had planned to only go just for the pizza, but end up staying almost the whole time to dance with everyone!
TRADITIONS
And lastly, traditions. We were all excited to finally have traditions because this is the day we FINALLY get our Blue Id's to enter the parks! Prior to this date, we weren't allowed to enter the parks so we spent most of our days chilling on the couch watching Disney Movies.
So on Saturday my roommates and I woke up bright and early to get dressed to head out to Traditions at Disney University. For traditions, we are required to dress in business casual, and I do recommend bringing 3 - 4 sets of business casual clothes for the program for training and maybe more if you're taking classes. I can do a whole DCP packing list, later on, to help you all out too!
I can't really go too much in detail with traditions / don't want to ruin most of the surprise for you all that are going into the program, but I can say it is about 4 hours long and to wear comfortable walking shoes! You will receive your Cast Member pin, blue ID and meet a special guest!
Traditions - what to expect
- Approx 4 hours long
- Dress in business casual (Ripped jeans, shorts, and low cut shirts are NOT business casual!)
- Bring a snack/lunch!
- Wear comfy shoes/flats
- They recommend taking the bus because parking is limited, but if you have a morning session it should be fine! Just type in Disney University into your GPS and you get to leave immediately afterward to enjoy the parks!
It was really exciting to learn more about the company and afterward my roommates and headed over to EPCOT to play in the parks for the first time as Cast Members! Epcot is probably my favorite park at Disney World so I was so excited to visit it as my first park as a CM. Also, may or may not have been the only park I've been to since I got my ID... whoops.
And that was it for my first week at the DCP! It's been so fun meeting so many new people this past week and bonding with my roommates. I'm so excited for these next 4 months and all the memories to be made here. If you are/thinking about applying to the program please do not hesitate to reach out to me with questions!! Also please send me any requests you all have for post ideas about the DCP, I'd love to help you out! I hope you all have a wonderful day and as always, thank you for reading!
*ps. be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with my adventures! I'll be posting a lot on those two platforms!
*ps. be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with my adventures! I'll be posting a lot on those two platforms!
xoxo,
Amy
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