Bring in the New Year!

It's almost 6 pm here on the east coast. I honestly cannot wait for the new year. It's going to mean new things. I know I've said this before, but if I get in the program or not I'm going to do something new in the fall. I can't wait. I know that January entails a lot of waiting (3 WEEKS UNTIL APPLICATIONS) and then even more waiting after that to see if you got in the program or not. My mom was just asking me when I'll know if I got in or not because she and my dad were already planning on going down for the fall but now they're not sure for my/my mom's birthday or Thanksgiving. It's weird thinking that this time next year I'll have about 3 days left in Florida. I haven't even gotten in the program and I'm already thinking about how I'll feel at the end of it... jeez.

The new year also means 10 more days until my last planned trip to Disney. I booked my Keys to the Kingdom tour for Wednesday, January 13 at 8:30 am. That way I won't have to get up too early but I still get to see Main Street with no people on it. I think I'm going to bring my computer down to Florida so I might update this blog with the goings on in my trip. I'm going to try to twitpic some pictures on my twitter. It all depends on if I get a new phone in the next 10 days. I mean I can twitpic pictures but I can't add text to the tweet describing it on my phone...

So every one in the spring 2010 program just days/weeks away from their program HAVE FUN. Remember it's a great oppourtunity and just make the best of it. I've read so much about people bashing the program and cast members. Have fun and wish every guest you meet to have a magical day.

Everyone waiting for the fall 2010 apps. It's just a few weeks away. We can do it. Join the AIM Chat and the video chat (whenever we do that again). There are people out there that love Disney just as much as you!

Vacation Videos are UP!

I finished editing all my vacation videos... from July. So here are parts 2-4. (They may not all be fully uploaded at the current time, so just check back)

Vlog Trois

R.I.P

I was browsing on the DIS Boards and I caught the title of the thread stating that Roy E. Disney passed away this morning. There was an article linked Roy Edward Disney dies at 79; nephew of Walt helped revive animation. After yesterday being the 43rd anniversary of Walt's death I found it shocking that his nephew passed away today. May he rest in peace.

Finals.

Tomorrow I start my finals... eek. I have my french final at 9 am. Then Thursday I have my nutrition final at 8 am (ew). Friday my history final at 7 pm (also ew). Saturday at 8 am I have my math final. Then I'm done. I'm excited for vacation. It's Christmas. But also I put a ton of Disney books on hold at the library. On my list I have Realityland : true-life adventures at Walt Disney World by David Koenig, Since the world began : Walt Disney World, the first 25 years by Jeff Kurtti, and Be our guest : perfecting the art of customer service by the Disney Institute. I also got this book about Epcot when it first opened called Walt Disney's Epcot Center: Creating the New World of Tomorrow. I'll have to show it in a vlog.

So is it bad that I want finals to be over just so I can read about Disney? By Saturday morning around 9 o'clock (I'm good at math, and it's a wicked easy class) I will be done with my first semester. Blah. I'm scared though. Some classes I'm not doing too well in though. Mainly history and nutrition. All day Thursday and Friday I have to read the 2 chapters in my history book, it's so boring though. I thought this class would be interesting but it's not. Never take history of technology. The only thing interesting about it was learning about all the household appliances. It reminded me about Carousel of Progress. That's one of my favorite attractions.

Well, I guess I should go back to studying French. That's all I've been doing for the past 2 days. All I know is: Bonjour! Je m'appelle Molly. Au revoir.

Last Day

Today was my last day of classes!! No more french. No more nutrition. No more history of technology. No more math.. until next semester. I'm so happy. Although I do have final exams next week. But by Saturday at 11 am at the latest I will be done with my first semester of college. I'm ready for this 1 month break. I'm ready for Christmas, for New Years, for my last family trip to Disney, for APPLICATIONS FOR THE DCP!! I'm ready for 2010. It just will mean new things for me no matter what. I'm either going to Florida for the fall or going to a new school, learning something that's actually interesting to me.

So you probably won't hear from me until after finals. And then when I go home I'm working full time (hopefully). That's what I told my schedule supervisor. I'm ready to make money instead of spending it.

Vlog # 2

Here you go:

Poo.

I just recorded a vlog and went to edit it and it had no sound. Poo. It was the second time I recorded it too. Now I have to record it for a third time. But my suitemates are going crazy and they're probably going to come into my room when I'm in the middle of recording. Oh well. Maybe another day.

Nevermind.. I just recorded another one and it worked. So look for it in the next 20 minutes.

Happy Birthday!!

It's Walter Elias Disney's 108th birthday today! Without him we wouldn't all be planning to work at the most magical place on earth. So Happy Birthday Walt!

What's this?!

A vlog. Well okay. Enjoy!

Can't Sleep

Right now it's one in the morning and I can't sleep so I thought I'd post here.,,, My roommmate's snoring again. I can't stand it. She doesn't do it all the time, just when her sinuses are stuffed.... like tonight.. and last night. I HATE SNORERES. So yeah. Last night I threw my stuffed animal at her but it didn't work. But she woke up and started coughing so I was all set. So I'm just waiting it out now. I'm totally going to get here some snoring nose things tomorrow. I have an 8am class tomorrow too. I'm so pissed. On the DCP roommate questionnaire there should be a question about snoring. Cause I can't stand it... if you can't already tell.

This isn't a Disney post. Sorry. But I'll post one later... I'm not sure when.

Much Better Quality

I reuploaded the vacation video and it's much better quality. I'm still trying to figure out how my program works ha.


Here it is.... again.

Vacation Video UP

For your viewing pleasure. It's still uploading so it's not the best quality. But if you're reading this well after I posted it then I'm sure it's fine.

Lemme know if you like it!

Actually, it's really crappy quality still so I'm going to re-upload it in a little while.

Vacation Video on the Way

For the past few days I've been trying to edit my vacation videos from my trip to Disney this past July. I should have the first part out in a couple of days. So look for it. I'll post it on here as soon as it's on YouTube. It'll feature traveling, the Boardwalk, Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

It's Been a While

So I haven't posted an entry in a while and there's a reason to that. Last week was so busy. Let's start with last Friday night. I live in a dorm at school, and my roommate was home to eat dinner with her family, and my one of my suitemates went home to be with her boyfriend.. So I watched movies with my other two stuitemates. But one wasn't feeling that well. So we just let her sleep. She had a really bad cough, and a slight fever. But by the time she wanted to go to health services it was closed. So fastforward to the next morning. She comes in my room and wants to go to breakfast and health services. So we go to breakfast and she barely eats anything. Then at health services she finds out that she has the flu. Now, they're not testing for H1N1 at my school, so she could have that. So they give her a ton of medicine and tell her she has to come back in 24 hours. So all day she watches even more movies and rests. Now the next day is when her roommate, my suitemate, comes back sick as a dog. Who comes back to a college dorm sick?? So they're both sleeping all day. Their 3rd roommate and me and my roommate are freaking out about getting sick. And then I start getting a cough that night.

This was not a good week for me to get sick. I have another week of tests, exams, and quizzes. So I take some vitamins and hope for the best. Monday I'm just coughing. Tuesday morning I had class at 8 and picked my classes for next semester, and then had an essay in history to write. That's what I was stressing the most about. Then Wednesday I woke up and felt horrible and took Alka-Seltser Flu stuff. It just make me wicked tired so after math and my computer test I went back to my room and tried to sleep. I called out of dance for that night and the next night. I called my mom and she could tell I was sick because I had no voice. She told me to go to health services. But I was too tired. I just wanted to sleep.

Thursday morning I had a nutrition exam and I'm not doing the best in that class so I tried to study but I was just so exhausted. I woke up grabbed a pop-tart and went to class to take the exam. About 20 minutes into the exam I started not feeling well. I look around and everything's going dark. I try to the the TAs attention, because it's a lecture class and I'm sitting in the front, and I say I'm not feeling well. I get up to go to the bathroom. I try walking up the stairs but I couldn't really control my legs. Then once I get out of the room I just collapse and hit a wall. The TA comes running out the room, helps me up and takes me to the bathroom. I don't remember going to the bathroom, just waking up there. I had passed out for like 10 seconds. Then I got sick, thankfully not over myself of the TA, I knew enough to cover my mouth. So they called the rescue for me. And I got to go to the hospital.

At the hospital I call my mom and she leaves on work to come and visit me. I only live 30 minutes away from school so it wasn't too bad. At the hospital they hook me up to all the monitors and I get an IV. It was scary. I've never been admitted to the hospital or even fainted before. So they just tell me with the stress of the test, and being sick that I was dehydrated and just had a fainting spell. So I get to go home and drink lots of water.

So much for going to class, taking the exam, and sleeping the rest of the day because my history class had already been canceled. I got to take a side trip to the hospital.

So now I'm home, because I knew that I'm wasn't going to get better staying at a germ infested dorm building. My roommate texted me Thursday and told me that our other suitemate has been diagnosed with the Flu. So everyone but my roommate is sick. It's so sucky. And we have classes Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week. Although I'm not going Wednesday because my math class has already been canceled and I'm not staying on campus just to go to a French class that's going to be empty because it's full of upperclassmen.

So, that's my story of the past week. Sorry it's kind of long. I just wanted to catch you guys up. And if you're sick at school. Don't go to class and drink lots of fluids.

Applied today.

No, not to the spring college program. To Johnson and Wales! I filled out the application on the 25th but I wasn't sure what major I wanted. It was between Travel, Tourism, & Hospitality Management or Sports, Entertainment, Event management. I picked TTH, so hopefully I'll get the acceptance in a couple weeks, I just have to send in my college transcript and high school transcript.

Also Tuesday morning at 8:00 AM I get to pick my classes for next semester. Being a Freshman we get the latest times to pick. Like my brother's a senior here and he picked his classes weeks ago. Hopefully I'll get the times I want, but I've made a back up schedule just in case.

Only 2 months and some-odd days till we can apply for Fall '10 CP!!!

Johnson & Wales Tour

I just got back from a tour at JWU. It was really interesting. Last year when I was looking at schools, I don't know, I guess I didn't pay that much information to all the amazing things they were telling me. But at this tour, I think because now I am a college student, a lot of things stuck out to me. I got to the admissions building like half an hour early. And living only 25 minutes away from the school... that was early. I knew I'd be waiting for a little. But I'd rather be early than late. So in the building I picked up a few pamphlets about transferring, financial aid, and for parents. My parents didn't go with me to the tour, I did this all on my own. Then we went into the presentation room.

The admissions officer talked a lot about the programs on the campus and general things about the school. I asked about double majoring, which they don't offer, and I also asked about commuter parking, which is at the Harbor side campus, which they have a shuttle bus to and from. The average class size is 35 to 40 for the gen eds and 15 to 25 for your specific major courses. I really liked those numbers because I don't like my huge lecture nutrition class that I'm currently in. All the professors are industry experienced faculty and there are not Graduate assistance or TAs. Also a cool thing is that you don't have Friday classes unless you chose to take them. So you have 4 classes twice a week, because it's trimesters you don't take as many classes at one time. I liked that especially because I'm going to be commuting, I can work more. I also liked free printing. I'm surprised that at my school I can't print for free. I'll probably be taking advantage of that.

After that we went on a tour of the campus. Because it's a city campus there is a lot of walking but honestly everything is very close by and there aren't too many buildings so it's not like you're going to be walking across the city in order to get to your next class. I feel that most of my classes will be in the same building.

After the tour I talked to a transfer representative. I talked about how I want to do the DCP next fall. He said that there'd probably be no problem doing it in the fall and then going to JWU in the spring. I think that if I talk to Disney they will probably say the same thing because don't some students who do the program have to take a leave of absence from school to participate? I feel like I'll be doing the same thing, I just will be staying at URI while at the program and then after the program I'd go to JWU.

So now I just have to apply to JWU. Then in January apply for the DCP. I'm really excited. I hope this all works out.

Well.

I talked with my advisor today. I started talking about how I wanted to transfer to JWU for their hospitality program. She said that it was better that I switch to someplace where I learn something I want, rather than be forced into their general business program. So hopefully I'll be going to school there next year (at some point).

I just feel like I'm getting my hopes up too much about the Fall program. I really really really don't want to get denied. But also, if I don't end up making the Fall '10 program than I'd be going to JWU that fall, and I could always apply for Spring or next Fall. Nothing against Spring, I just think that the weather would get to me after a while. I mean I'm an Irish girl from Rhode Island. I don't tan, and it gets pretty cold her. Speaking of weather, it was in the 60s today and yesterday. Hopefully it's that nice Wednesday when I go on tour.

So I get my computer back tomorrow. I'm so excited. I'm glad that my dad was able to give me his, it's just annoying how he has this program that deletes the cookies every few hours. So I get to log into all my accounts basically every time I open Explorer.

I think once I apply to the DCP in January then I'd get more focused for what's going to happen next Fall. I hope that if I get in I can "stay" at URI for that semester, and defer my acceptance to JWU until their spring term. That's my goal. Let's hope this all works out.

It Finally Comes

Tomorrow's the day I have an appointment with my advisor! So I'll get to talk about the possiblility of doing the program, and transfering to Johnson and Wales. I'm nervous. I'm gonna go in there and be like "sorry I don't like your school... but can I do the program here to pay less tuition AND get credit for it?"

I'm not sure if I'll do it if I can't get credit for it. There are so many options for me to pick that I'm having a hard time choosing the best one. And if I do it through JWU I'd have to do Fall/Spring Quarter Advantage. I'd really just like to do it August through January.

Wednesday I'm going to JWU to tour and hopefully talk to someone cause I've got a few questions.

I'll probably post tomorrow after my appointment.

FYI, I still don't have my computer. I'm using my dad's laptop for the past week.

Worst Week Ever!

So, to start off. I have a test/exam everyday this week. (Yay MIDTERMS!) I've lost my ID twice in 3 days. I overslept 2 hours today and missed my nutrition class, the last one before the exam. And to top it off my computer broke. I dropped it on the floor, printing out JWU course catelogs. GRRR! So I've hooked it up to a moniter and and backing everything up as we speak.. or as I type. So this week has not been good. And it's probably only going to get worse.

I had my history midterm today. I studied really hard for it, so hopefully I get better than the 51 I got last time. If you don't hear from me in a while ^that's why.

What to do, what to do... UPDATE

URI, JWU, or DCP?
Those are my options.

So last year, senior year of high school, we had to do this "senior project" which involved doing fieldwork, getting a mentor, having a product, and presenting about a topic or field you're interested in. I did mine on, what else, Disney. More specifically "Planning a Walt Disney World Vacation With Your Special Needs." I worked with a travel agent, and got to research about a company I already loved. I realized that at the end of the project that I wanted to work with Disney in some way or another.. the only problem was that I didn't apply to the one school near me with a hospitality major. I know that I don't need to be in hospitality to work at disney world. But it's what I'm interested in, I just realized it too late.

So right now I'm a business major at the University of Rhode Island. And I'm thinking about transferring to Johnson and Wales Providence to be a Travel-Tourism and Hospitality major. JWU is only about 20 minutes away from my house, I wouldn't live there I'd commute. (I just need a car for that)

Now here's where it gets tricky. I really really really really really want to be in the Fall 10 college program. I also want to stay at URI for at least one more semester. Just to complete my freshman year in one place. Do I want to wait until Spring/Fall 11 to do the program? I am just so overwhelmed with options to do. I also haven't talked to my parents or advisor about this yet... So I should probably discuss this with them. But I'll talk to it with my advisor on the 2nd when I have my appointment. EDIT: My advisor emailed me that she canceled my appointment... because she thinks I just want to discuss what she's going to my class to talk about... but I don't. Now I can't make a new appointment until the third week of November.

Can I just go back to senior year and tell myself to apply to JWU? It'd make life so much easier.

Answers and Schedules

Margo, the Disney representative emailed me back a couple of days ago. So here are the questions I asked and her answers.

1. Do you recommend being a hospitality major in order to get the role of hospitality or conciege in the program?
We definitely look for students majoring in a related major or with prior experience.

2. What percent of students who apply get in the program?
I couldn’t give you that number. It is very competitive but please do not let that deter you. We take a good number of students each semester.

3. What percent of students get their number one role? Number two? Number three?
Again, I couldn’t give you that number.

4. What percent of students repeat the program?
A lot…I’ve done 5!

5. What percent of students go on to do Professional Internships?
A good majority…most of our PI’s require that you are an alumni so most students that go through the program go directly for a PI or do one right after graduation.

I also have a question about your programs specifically. You said that you did the program 3 times and did 2 professional internships. How long did it take you to complete college? I am planning to apply for the Fall '10 program which would be my first semester sophomore year. I want to do it so early in case I want to do the program again or do professional internships. I just don't want to be in college forever.

I did not take any semesters off although I would have loved to. My school did not give any credit and there was not guarantee that I would get back in if I left; you fortunately do not have that issue. When I did the program forever ago in ’98, they recruited for summer but that was the last year they did. Since I had done the program in ’98 I was eligible to continue on for summers so I did all summers and the 2 PI’s were following graduation. So I took 5 years to graduate by choice. I could have done it in 4 but chose to slow down.
Hope that helps!

Right now I'm trying to figure out my schedule for next semester. Because I'm a freshman we have to meet with our advisor to talk about what classes we will take before we can actually sign up for them. It's kind of annoying. But I do have some classes about what classes we can take. Because I'm a Business Major I have some requirements. But Freshman year is mainly about getting your gen-eds out of the way, so that's what I'm trying to do. But their are SO many choices that I can take and they don't all fit with my classes. Also I'd like to sleep past 8am everyday. This semester I've had 8 am classes on Tuesday and Thursday, and 9 am classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hopefully I'll get good times next semester. We'll find out November 17th when I can pick them.

Procrastination

So, my advisor couldn't make it to the meeting yesterday. And I couldn't reschedule until November 2nd.

I have yet to e-mail the recruiter my questions. I'm just too lazy. But I'll do it sometime.

This is a dumb post. But I need to not get all hyped up on the DCP. I have 3 months of waiting, and then applying, then more waiting. Gah. This is going to take forever.

The Campus Presentation

Today I went to the campus presentation in Fall River, Mass about an hour away from my school. I'm getting a little bit crazy about this whole college program thing. I got there 20 minutes early, wasn't the first one there, and watched that pre-show video about 5 times. I noticed a few clips from the e-presentation and hoped that the whole presentation wasn't just like the e-presentation, especially because I watched it Friday night.

The representative talked about how she started with the Disney College Program in '98, did it 3 times, and two professional internships. I meant to ask her how long it took her to complete college but I forgot, and I'm going to e-mail her my question. A lot of the information I've heard before. She showed a video about how Disney is everywhere basically in all aspects of entertainment, from the resorts, to TV and movies, to ABC and ESPN.

What I really took out of this presentation is that they're really trying to recruit for the Disneyland College Program. All the videos shown in the presentation were filmed in Disneyland, the recruiter kept mentioning Disneyland.

Also the presentation focused a lot on what you are able to do after the program. They interviewed many people who did the program when they were in college and are now head of food service or manager of merchandise. They made a point to mention the classes and professional internships which the e-presentation doesn't focus on all that much.

She didn't focus on roles specifically or housing specifically, she just breezed over them and said to check the website to get a better look at what it's all about.

At the end of the presentation she asked if we were going to continue to apply to take the paper with the code on it. I took it. Even though I'm a Fall 10 hopeful I kind of want to apply to Spring 10 just to see if I get in. I don't want to get my hopes up for going next Fall to not make it. I'd be devastated. I also don't want to not pass the new web-based interview. I fail on the first level would be humiliating. If I get in I'd turn it down, I just don't want to waste my time.

So tomorrow I'm going to talk with my advisor about applying in January to go in the Fall. Hopefully all goes well. I'll post tomorrow.

One Step Closer

I just made an appointment with my adviser to talk about the Disney College Program. I made it for next Thursday, the day after I go to the presentation. So after 2 PM next Thursday I should know if I'm able to apply for the DCP. It's kinda surrel. I remember finding out about the program around 8th or 9th grade, so that was 4-5 years ago, and now I'm able to participate in it. I'm a college student. I can work at Disney World!

I've been reading a few people's blog but people don't seem to update a lot once they're down in Florida. Hopefully I'm not like that... but I probably will be.

This is a short post but I just wanted to write. I'll probably write again Wednesday night after the presentation or Thursday afternoon after my appointment.

TTFN!

Introductions

Hey everyone. My name's Molly. Right now I'm a freshman at the University of Rhode Island. I've lived in Rhode Island my entire life, which is 17 (almost 18) years. I've been to Walt Disney World 9 times and am going on my 10th trip in January. This blog is mainly going to be about me and the Disney College Program for Walt Disney World. I am going to apply for Fall '10 so I have a bit of waiting to do. In 2 weeks I'm going to go to a DCP presentation even though it's still for the Spring applicants. This way I can ask the representatives my questions now and then once the e-presentation goes online in January-ish I can watch it ASAP with no worries or big questions. This will mean that hopefully I'll be one of the first ones to hear back about my admission in the program.

I chose to do Fall '10 instead of a Spring '10 for 3 reasons. The first reason is because I want to finish my freshman year at my school. Right now I'm about 30 minutes away from home and still I come home once a week because I still take dance lessons but that's another story for another day. So if I do Fall '10 then I'd have a full year of school done. The second reason is that I don't want to be in the Florida heat when it's crazy hot. I know that the Fall program goes from August to early January. I'd rather have my program go from really really hot to Florida "cold" than go from cold to HOT. Also I want to do it my sophomore year of college so that if I enjoy the program I'd be able to either do it again at a later point in my college career or have time to do a Professional Internship, but that's a wicked long time from now.

So the presentation that I'm going to is at Bristol Community College in Massachusetts, it's about an hour away from campus. I'm going Wednesday October 7th which is 4 days away from my 18th birthday. I've already started making a list of questions that I hope are either answered in the presentation or that I can ask some of the reps.

So hopefully I keep posting in the blog but who knows. I probably won't update all the time until it gets closer to my applying, and then all the posts about me waiting to hear about the status of my application. This will be a much more exciting blog around January but I figured I'd start it now.

So that's it for now.
Talk to you later.