2 in one Day?? Have I lose my mind???

And the answer is yes ladies and gentlemen. I may have just lost my mind. Okay, not really. I just felt like posting again. I wanted to talk to you about going seasonal. You may be asking what's seasonal? Well, seasonal is what you can become after your program ends. If you go seasonal, you must work 40 hours within one year to keep all your benefits. It's a really sweet deal actually.

To go seasonal, you must have a clean record card! (Look at my post about it!) Keeping your record card clean is a big deal. If you're within the point range to stay around, then you can talk to a manager about going seasonal. Then you come back & work from time to time & play in the parks too!

Well, that's about all there is to becoming seasonal. I'd reccomend it if you wanna stay a part of the Disney family! Have a magical day (again!)

What Do I Wear?

This time last year, I was beginning to pack for this amazing adventure that you willl soon be experiencing. I am so excitied for each of you! Well, real quick, you're probably thinking, what clothes do I need? Well, I'm going to break it down for yall! First off, you need to decide how much time you're willing to spend doing laundry. If you KNOW you aren't going to do it once a week, I'd advise packing more, if you don't mind doing laundry, pack less. (This list is going off of what I wore as a girl from Texas where 60 degrees means I need a jacket, but hopefully it will still help).
Since you're going in the Spring, you'll need a mixture of winter/spring/summer clothes. In January, expect a lot of wind, and temperature anywhere from 40 degrees up to 75 degrees. February is the same way. The average for March is 60-75, and by the end of March expect the 80s. April and May are almost exactly like summertime (80+ almost every day). If you're Spring Advantage, it only gets hotter from there. If you extend, it starts getting colder in October at the earliest (and by colder I mean 60s). After October expect the "winter" of Florida, but at any given moment, it could spring right back up to the 80s.
As I said, you'll need a variety of clothes.
Nothing too heavy, mostly hoodies and light jackets or sweaters will work for the "winter" days. A wind breaker would be great, but you won't typically need anything for the cold.
You'll need a mixture of pants and shorts. In Florida one day may be shorts weather, and the next pants weather. For you girls, I'd suggest bringing a sun dress/skirt or two, if you're into those things. I loved wearing sun dresses when it was nice out.
As for tops, again, a mixture of summer/winter shirts will work nicely. For you girls, make sure to bring some tanks and bring cute sweaters too!
As for shoes, I'd bring sneakers and flip flops. For girls, bring a couple of pairs of going out shoes as well. Whatever you do, don't overpack on the heels. I love wearing heels, but I honestly only wore heels once the 5 months I was down there.
Don't forget your bathing suit! Bring a few if you have them. I lived in my bathing suit, and you the beach is not too far away. Make sure to make a trip to see the beaches of Florida! (Just not in March. Spring break crowds are CRAZY)
Now, don't forget the typical underwear/socks/bras that kind of thing. If you're into bright colorful socks, make sure to bring some plain black/white socks for work. They won't let you wear the neon ones. Oh and ladies, make sure you have a white bra for work. Multiple times I forgot this, and let's just say I prayed it didn't rain that day. Yes, you may wear white and yes, if your bra is brightly colored, they can see your bra through it rain or shine.
As for work shoes, you'll need nonslip soles, but they'll tell you the color when you get there. You can buy work shoes at Walmart, just make sure you bring the money for it.

Also, don't forget your Disney Look clothes for Traditions and class days (if you're taking any).

Have a magical day!

I'm back, until yall get there at least.

I had decided I wasn't posting anymore blogs, but when I looked at my blog today, I realized I was letting quite a few followers down. So, I'm going to post a few more, at least until yall arive at Disney. Then you'll be living the experience and you won't need my help anymore. For those of you who don't know, I decided not to do the program this spring. I decided to wait because I didn't want to miss my sister's senior year of high school (we are extremely close and I want to be a part of everything... prom, graduation, you know). But anyways, we are going to talk about the amazing ICP's you'll meet there. I know I have at least one ICP following this blog. He'll actually be going to Disney in 3 days!

ICP's are International College Program students. You'll meet them from all over. Argentina will be getting there in the next week or so, students from China and Japan will be ariving the same time as you, Thailand people will be getting there in March, and Mexico students in May. You'll also meet people from Australia, Korea, France, and Brazil to name a few. Get to know the ICP's! It's so interesting meeting people from across the world! I now have friends in Thailand, Japan, Mexico, China, and Australia! We keep in contact through facebook and it's amazing to learn about their culture. They want to learn ours too! It's an amazing experience meeting these people.

Take advantage of these friendships. If they're close enough, you may go to visit them in their country one day!

I know this one is short, but I'm just getting back into the swing of things. I'll post again when I can (hopefully soon, but finals are this week so we'll see!)

As always hav a magical day!

Bucket List!

What's new with Amber? Well, I'm going to a big football game this Saturday. SFA vs. SHSU! Go Lumberjacks! I'm really excited about going. I made a shirt for it that says Bearkat + Football = Sucks! I'm so ready for this game. And I got great seats too! But anyways, thanks to Frank, here's the new blog! So everyone has a list of must-dos while at Disney! A Disney Bucket List! I actually had this conversation with my friend, Frank last night, and it inspired me to write a blog about it. So first, I'm going to put some things that I think everyone should have on their bucket list that I've already done (but will probably do again):

-Festival of the Lion King
-Fantasmic
-Character Dining Experiences... MULTIPLE!! (Cinderella's Royal Table?? Yes Please! and Cape May Cafe are on my lists for this program)
-Big Thunder Mountain during Wishes
-Find a paint brush on Tom Sawyer's Island
-Finish the Kitchen Sink at Disney's Boardwalk! Make sure you bring friends!-Prime Time Cafe
-Enchanted Tiki Room
-The Maelstrom (Norway)
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-Have a Dole Whip
-Draw a Character in the Animation Courtyard at Hollywood Studios
-Picture on a Speederbike (Star Wars) at Hollywood studiosMagic Kingdom Opening Ceremony-Try the Drinks at Club Cool in Epcot
-Ride the roller coaster simulator inside Innoventions
Now here are some things I want to do this program!-Cirque du Soleil
-Disney Quest
-Get Character Autographs... not an autograph book though! (backpack or vinylmation)
-Caricature with Mickey Ears on-Scifi Drive-In
-Ellen's Universe of Energy
-Driving Experience at the Disney World Speedway
-The Spirit of Aloha Polynesian Luau
-The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
-Disney Cruise
-Hot Air Balloon at Downtown Disney
-Experience Main Street at Opening
-Frontierland Hoedown (I've seen it multiple times, but I've never experienced it as a guest)
-Babbling Water Fountains Outside of MouseGear in Epcot
-Meet Characters on the World Showcase
-Swahili Showers in Animal Kingdom
-Tony's Town Square Restaurant
-Maze garden in the UK pavillion in Epcot
-Find R2D2 on the Great Movie Ride
-Meet Herb and Flora at Camp Minnie Mickey
-Look up at the end of It's Tough to be a Bug
-Rafiki's Planet Watch
-Hidden Mickey's!
-Visit the Animal Kingdom Lodge
-Fulton's Crab House
-Campfire at Boardwalk/Fort Wilderness
-Pastry at French pavillion
-Boma!
-Dole Whips at the Polynesian
-Writer's Shop at Hollywood Studios
-Port Orleans Resort
-Rose & Crown during Illuminations
Also I want to spend a whole day at a park and enjoy the park, not worry about the rides. I want to experience the shows and the magic throughout the parks.

The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers... Housing Stuff!

So let's see, I have auditions on Sunday that I'm super excited about. I actually practiced last week a few times. I pretty much danced and acted like a fool all around the living room while my family laughed at me and told me what to do. "Act like a princess", "a cowboy!" "Peter Pan" "Tinkerbell" "Eeyore!" This lasted for a while, but I actually feel like it helped. I plan on doing it again one day this week and then possibly learning some crazy Hannah Montana Dance routines or something like that. YouTube can ver very helpful with that stuff lol =D. Besides that, I had a very busy weekend! I'm not usually a party girl, but that's exactly what I did all weekend. I spent Friday with my best friend at her house and Saturday up at my old college with one of my besties there! I want to go back soon, but probably with less partying lol. But anyways, to the blog!

Today we're gonna talk about the dreaded... HOUSING RULES and INSPECTIONS!!!

I'm not gonna lie. This part of the program sucks. Housing Rules can really get on people's nerves, same with the inspections. The housing rules are for our safety and blah, blah, blah, but they do get annoying. My parents however, loved the rules because they felt I was really safe in housing. First we'll start with

CARS!!
-If you bring a car, you must get a parking decal the first day you're there. You must show a valid driver's license, vehicle registration (it's okay if the car is in your parent's names, you just need the registration), and proof of insurance on the car (if your name isn't on the insurance card, you need to bring a copy of the policy that has your name on it so they can tell you are an insured driver). Everytime you come into the complex in your car, you must roll down your window and if someone is in the back seat, roll down their window too. They'll check for the decal and check your housing ID's. If you are going into a complex that you don't live in, you and the car must be out by 1AM! At the end of your program you'll return the decals.
ID'S!!
-Since I already mentioned them once, I might as well tell you about them next. You will get your ID at check in. It will have your picture on it along with VW (for Vista) CS (for Chatham) or PC (for Patterson). You must show your ID every time you go into a housing complex. Before 9PM this ID will get you into any complex. After that, you can only get into your complex, or you must be signed in at the front if you don't live at the complex. Keep your ID with you while you're at a friend's apartment (even if you live in the same complex) just in case they think you don't belong there.
SIGNING PEOPLE IN!!
-Since I mentioned this too, I'll tell you how signing people in works. Pretty much, when your friend who isn't CP comes at any time or lives in a different complex after 9PM, you must sign them in. You'll go up to the front and fill out a paper. Then security will make a copy of your friend's ID, and they're in! Not too hard. Just make sure they're out by 1AM or you can get termed, and everyone in your apartment too! (I had a roommate who got termed because she tried to sneak a guy in after 1AM. My whole apartment could've gotten termed, but only she did since we were all sleeping and had no clue what was going on!)
SLEEPOVERS!!
-Sleepovers can be fun, but you can only have sleepovers with people who live in the same complex as you. (Oh, and make sure your roommate is okay with it, out of common courtesy) No friends or family who do not live in your apartment complex can stay the night!! No exceptions!! It isn't against the rules however, to have sleepovers with people in your complex!
ALCOHOL!!
-Alcohol is fun, if you're over 21. If you aren't, don't get caught drinking on property! If you live in non-wellness, you can have alcohol, but if you supply it to minors, you and the minors may get termed. If you are a minor, don't bring the alcohol into your apartment. I'm not telling you not to have it or not to drink, that's up to you. Just be responsible and don't get caught with it! Oh and if you come into the complex drunk one night, as long as you have your ID, they won't say anything to you.
INSPECTIONS!!
-Inspections suck! About once a month (sometimes more, but usually less), they will inspect the rooms. For inspection, your apartment needs to be SPOTLESS! No dirty dishes, vacuum/sweep/mop the floors, wipe the counters. Nothing on the floors, bathrooms must be clean. Anything against the rules must not be seen at this time. They can and may look under your bed if they think something illegal is in there, and they can ask you to open your locker if you are there. If your apartment is too dirty, they will fail you, and each roommate will have to pay $25.00 for a cleaning service to come in and clean the apartment! Doesn't matter if it's one roommate's fault. You all pay! We never had any problems with this on my last program. We just cleaned really well right before the inspection. They post something right by the entrance about when inspections will be. They can have surprise inspections, but I only heard of them having one and that was because someone told there was alcohol in a wellness apartment. If you pass every part of the inspection, you get a white glove award! That means you get free chocolate/candy and your picture taken for the wall. We never got one, but I want to try this time!

Those are pretty much all the big rules I remember. But then again, Price Management (the people in charge of housing) have a few rules that really make no sense. So here are the ones I remember!
-No weapons, pretty obvious. But Nerf Guns, Water Guns and play Light Sabers are weapons! Be aware!
-No candles, not too dumb
-No pets, not too dumb either (yes, fish count as pets!)
-No rollerblades, for safety? I guess?
-"2 holes per wall rule" Each roommate can put up a bulliten board in their room. That's the only holes they want. (You can put more up, just have the stuff down for inspections. I did this for one month, then realized I didn't want to have to pull down my posters and pictures once a month. I reccomend you not doing it)
-No signs on the outside of doors, another dumb rule. We did this for a roommate's birthday and got a warning that told us to take it down
-No towels hanging over balcony, friends did this to air out their towels from the pool. Got another one of those warnings!
-No locking deadbolt before shutting door so you can come in and out as you please without unlocking door. We did this all the time! Got in trouble twice for it! The door locks back everytime you shut it, so bring your key!
I think that's all I got right now. If I think of more, I'll let you know. Also, let me know if I missed something or if you have questions.

TTFN Ta Ta For Now!

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e-mail questions to amber.wdwcp.blog@gmail.com

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Something Happy & Some Help From you!

So today, I'm going to do something different. I want yall to help me with the next blog I post. E-mail me or comment your most memorable Magical Moment! Then, hopefully on Thursday or Friday, I want to post a blog with my favorite Magical Moments and yours too!!! So please guys, e-mail/coment your favorite Magical Moment you experienced. Nothing is too small!

Now, to today's blog. I promised something happy for yall in this blog since the last one was so serious. I honestly can't think of any advice to give right now, but I just felt like blogging today. So let's do some Random Useless Disney Trivia!!! I used to love doing this while I played in the parks my last program. If you have any you would like to share, please e-mail/comment them, and I'll add it to my next blog.

Did you know...

that the 2 books Belle refers to in the opening song ("Belle") from Beauty and the Beast are Jack and the Bean Stalk and Sleeping Beauty?

Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy?

that the sign above Pooh's house is for Mr. Sanders? He is the person who lived in Winnie the Pooh's house before Pooh moved in. They just forgot to take the sign down!

Topolino is the Italian name of Mickey Mouse.

The 10/6 on the The Mad Hatter's Hat is the price tag -- it's 10 shillings, and six pence!

There are no lost children in the Magic Kingdom? There are only lost parents. The reason for this distintion is because when a child becomes seperated from their parents, they are often afraid that their parents will be upset at them. When you tell them that it is not they who are lost, rather their parents, it shifts the "blame" to the parent.

That each costumed cast member had to stay in their own land and was not allowed to go into other lands while in costume. The only time this was allowed is when the cast members were asked to help with PAC (Parade Audience Control). There were 2 - 3 cast members from each land that would help with the 3 o'clock parade every day. This rule was to keep the themeing of each land consistent.


There's some to start you off. Have a magical day everyone! New blog up soon (maybe tomorrow???)

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e-mail questions to amber.wdwcp.blog@gmail.com

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Rough Night, Rough Morning, Time to Blog!

So the amazing boyfriend I told yall about? Yeah, he told me he needed a break last night (well this was last week sometime, I never got around to posting this blog). He's going through a lot right now, so maybe he really just wanted a break, but I've heard that line before. A break usually means a break up, so I'm not keeping my hopes up. I already decided I'm too strong to cry anymore about a guy, so I'm just going to take a deep breath and plunge head first into school, work, blogging, and getting ready for Disney. Enough with the sadness... Good news! I found my roommate! I'm very excited to be rooming with her and can't wait to finally meet her! Other good news, now that my ex won't be coming down to see me that weekend, I can go to the character audition! So let's see, what to tell yall about today... I don't really have any questions to go off of, so I'm going to tell  you a bit about the points system.

The point system and your record card is your life at Disney. If you want to go seasonal, you need a good record card, if you want to change roles (after your program), you need a good record card. Your record card is based on a point system. Here's a basic break down of the point system (at least what I can remember of it).
Late (even by 1 minute) -1/2 point on your record card
Late over 2 hours- 1 point on your record card
No Show- 1 point on your record card
Call out*-1 point on your record card.
Don't clock out -1/2 point on your record card
Don't clock out on time -1/2 point on your record card.

*Calling out with for any reason will give you this point. Unless you are given an ADO (authorized day off), calling out will cost you 1 point.

See how these can really rack up??? So be careful not to get too many. I was recently told that in order to extend or go seasonal, you need to have LESS than 4 points on your record card (they just changed this from 7). So be careful!!

Also, you can get reprimands. They have safety reprimands and attendance reprimands among others. I'm not sure how safety reprimands work, but attendance reprimands work like this. (unless they changed it) If you have 3 points during your program, you will get a reprimand. At 6 and 9 you should get additional ones. Your managers will be notified that you have too many attendance points the day you go over 3 points (that means the next time you are late or get any number of points in another way). When you get a reprimand, it isn't good. At 3 reprimands you can (and most likely will) be terminated.

Just remember, your record card is your life. Keep track of your points, and work to never get any. If you are late for a reason out of your control (like if your bus breaks down), you need to talk to your manager IMMEDIATELY! If it's possible, talk to them before you clock in. They may be able to help you out. Managers are there to help you.

I feel like this blog is very down, so I want to let you know that although record cards suck, there aren't many other things that do! Next blog, I promise will be about a much happier subject. If you have suggestions, questions, or comments. Either e-mail me or comment below. Have an amazingly wonderful day!

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e-mail questions to amber.wdwcp.blog@gmail.com

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