Save Money NOW, You'll Need it When You're Here

I know it isn't easy...

     It's difficult, it's not fun, but if you wanna make the most of your DCP I highly advise saving as much as possible leading up to it so you aren't restricted by financial difficulties. Now, I know everyone comes from different financial situations and this isn't the same for all, but do whatever you can...the last thing you wanna tell people when they offer up something to do is say, "I can't I have no money."

     I can almost guarantee the paychecks you will see when your doing your DCP will be the smallest you'll see for your entire life. They basically give you just enough to get by and everything else you better have saved up for. Especially since everything in the parks (primarily food) is so darn expensive, having money is even more crucial.

     My advice, don't spend unless you need to, and buy all your souvenirs toward the end. Especially if you are doing the fall program, your extra 40% merchandise discount will kick in midway thru October so buying anything before that is just silly.  Waiting also gives you time to determine if you really want or need some of these items. I basically inventoried everything I saw throughout the shops at Disney and toward the end decided what I really wanted and didn't want and bought it all selectively as I came across it again

     At the end of the day, most of the souvenirs I bought, were purchased with money I saved prior to arriving, not money I earned working with Disney. So do your best to save and you will have a much more flexible lifestyle during your DCP.

With Christmas Brings Crowds...Lots of Crowds

It can be a pain, but it is tolerable...

     With Christmas season brings tourists and I think we all know this if we are informed of Disney and it's peak seasons. That being said, it is something that we have to deal with when we are on our DCP and looking to have fun. Even with all these extra people filling the parks and resorts, do not let it thwart your will and desire to keep going to the parks and having the time of your life.

     Get to the parks early or go late, going during the middle of the day is just torture. Especially at MK, once the fireworks end, the park begins to clear out and wait times for most rides drop drastically. So you can hit a ton of rides in that short period of time until park close. If you go during the day though, make sure you have Fastpasses and once you use those enjoy the parks for what they have to offer other than the rides. Often times I found it just wasn't worth waiting an hour for rides like The Little Mermaid and Buzz Lightyear. And make sure you keep your expectations during this time of year realistic so you don't disappoint yourself. Know the wait times will be long, don't let that surprise you and this is the best time of the year to just people watch. There are so many people from so many different walks of life that can just entertain you for hours, trust me. Lastly, this is the best time to spend your days resort hopping. With all the Christmas decorations up, each resort has a different feel and some of them have unbelievable decorations. I'll say the must sees are Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge and Yacht and Beach Club, they do not hold back for the holidays. At the end of the day, the Christmas season is a double edged sword, but it's easy to thwart the negatives and enjoy the positives while you are on your DCP.

The Candlelight Processional

Another one of those "don't miss" events...

     Once the schedule of celebrity narrators was released, I looked down the list and made my decision on who I wanted to see and when pretty quickly. I passed over the A list stars since I was not looking to deal with the mass of attention they would draw and chose Chandra Wilson, an actress from one of my favorite shows, Grey's Anatomy. I got real excited when I was talking with one of my friends at work one day talking about The Candlelight Processional and the guest narrators, we hit it off when we both said we wanted to see Chandra since we were both huge fans. Right there we started planning out the day and how we would attack it from beginning to end, and right there a true friendship was created.
     When the day came, we were starting reasonably early and knew we would be going for a full day of park hopping. We started around 10 AM and kicked off at Magic Kingdom, and both started kicking ourselves when we got out of the car and it was raining and NEITHER of us had any rain gear to fend it all off, but we just did not care. This was one of those days where very little could bring us down and ruin our day so we just powered through. Kicking off our day we rolled over to Space Mountain and used our first Fastpasses, moved over to Buzz Lightyear, next headed to Fantasyland for Mickey's Philharmagic and The Little Mermaid then wrapped up with the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. It was a little after midday at this point and we still had plans of doing EPCOT for the candlelight and then going to Hollywood Studios afterwards. So we stopped at Starbucks on our way out of MK to grab some Frappuccinos for a sugar/caffeine boost and stopped to watch the Dapper Dans on our way out.
     Got back to the car and drove to EPCOT and had lunch out in World Showcase before waiting in the single rider line for Test Track. We waited long enough for Test Track that we had a little more than an hour before the candlelight began, so we went back to the amphitheater to wait in line. In retrospect, we could have wandered around a bit more before getting in line but we were not going to put that risk in play. So we were finally allowed in to be seated and the performance was incredible. This is an event at Disney that you CAN NOT miss, no matter who you see narrate or when. We LOVED it and had a blast watching it, so you will have the same experience. Between the narration and the choirs singing, it was unbelievable especially if you enjoy and appreciate excellent choir music.

     Upon the conclusion of the candlelight, we went to the International Gateway to take the Friendship Boat to the Boardwalk Resort. We grabbed some food there before walking to Hollywood Studios to round out our day. When we got into the park we went straight for the Osbourne Lights and just took our time enjoying them since we had a lot of time until Fantasmic started, which we were planning to see as well. After we finished at the lights we went single rider for Rock N Roller Coaster and then went to see Fantasmic. I have heard a lot of mixed opinions on Fantasmic, but in my opinion it is a great nighttime show to see, although the fireworks I will admit are preferable, if you are at Studios, seeing Fantasmic at night is no pushover of a performance.
     Once Fantasmic ended, we were BEAT! Both of us were struggling to function since we had been going nonstop ALL DAY. But we had no regrets, we had the time of our lives and were ready to call it a day and headed back to Chatham.

Star Wars Madness

The Force was been Awakened...

     I had the blessing of being in Disney during what is the beginning of the Star Wars takeover. It seemed, as the premiere of The Force Awakens got closer and closer, the more and more Star Wars we saw around the parks. On Main Street, you started seeing BB8, Rey, Finn and Han Solo balloons next to the Mickey balloons. Star Wars toys and tee shirts lining all of the shops, even I caved in and bought myself a Star Wars hat.

     Leading up to the premiere, Hollywood Studios started getting into the mood as a new planet was added to Star Tours and Star Wars Launch Bay opened up where the Animation Academy once was. Inside you got immersed in Star Wars fandom with props from the movies, replicas of the different vehicles even characters from the films. Jawas would roam around aimlessly, pin trading with guests and there are two meet and greets, one for Chewbacca and another for Darth Vader. At the end of the walkthrough attraction, the store they have is all Star Wars gear. I have to say the coolest piece of merchandise they had for sale was a Lightsaber umbrella where the shaft lit up at the push of a button.

     Finally the movie premiered and it essentially became a race to see the movie. If you didn't see it within the opening weekend you were the thorn in the side of everyone who had because we could not talk about it. The first thing most people asked each other when they returned to work was, "have you seen it?" so not to spoil it for anyone. But after a while we stopped caring and talked about it nonstop, regardless of who had seen it or not. To promote the movie they even gave Cast Members exclusive The Force Awakens buttons to wear during the first week the movie was out. It was a genuinely cool experience to be in Disney as all of this was happening because everyone on property was getting hyped up and excited as the movie came closer and closer.

Artist Point

Another great meal at a great resort...

     When we received our holiday celebration coupons this was another restaurant that was on my radar, eligible for the the dining discount. Once I convinced my roommate to spend a little money on the meal, I made the reservation and we made the same plans as we did for the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We arrived at Wilderness Lodge about an hour prior to our reservation to explore the resort since neither of us have seen more than their luggage room. First and foremost we were immediately blown away by the sheer size of the Christmas tree in their lobby. It rises up higher than you can imagine and is just awe inspiring. Aside from the tree, the lobby itself is incredible, its open and the ceiling rises all the way to the top floor of the resort. We wandered around for a while, headed out back to the pool area and relaxed, taking in the atmosphere until it was time for our reservation.

     The meal itself was great, the restaurant's atmosphere was wonderful. It had high ceilings, fit the theme of Wilderness Lodge perfectly and both of us nearly forgot that we were in Disney and in Florida it was so immersive. It also gave us a chance to reflect on the past 3 months we have had in Disney and everything we have done.

     When we finished eating we went off to check out the Christmas decorations at the Polynesian and Grand Floridian as well as watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly. My roommate had never seen the Christmas decorations at the resorts before so seeing his face when we got to the Grand was hilarious. Everyone is aware of the scale and class that the Grand brings, even without the massive Christmas tree and gingerbread house, but once you step foot in that lobby, see it all, hear the live band playing, it takes it to a whole new level. Even walking around exploring the stores they have inside, you just do not feel like it is Disney, it truly is something else.

     Once we finished up at Grand we walked back to the Poly to watch the fireworks at the end of the evening, Being able to see them from so far out really gives you a great perspective of them rather than straining your neck standing in front of the castle to see them. It is also great since they stream the music onto the beach as well, so you do not miss the storytelling aspect of the fireworks at all. That essentially wrapped up our night, although not as exciting as a marathon through the parks, these easier going, relaxing nights are a nice change of pace every now and then.

DCP Graduation

The one event you should not miss...

     This is the only community event I went to, I knew from the start I was going to attend this one and I am very glad I did. The event is great but can also be very bittersweet because it is a reminder that the end is near. You've been in Disney for months now and everything feels comfortable...normal...but in a few short weeks it will all be over.        
     Aside from the depressing part, depending on how you choose to enjoy the DCP graduation it can can be enjoyed for hours on end or just moments, as I did. It is held at Chatham, where nearly all the housing events are held, there is a DJ, free food, prizes to win and they bring out the staple characters in graduation outfits to take photos with. Since the event was held at Chatham, my roommate and I chose to head over only about 15 minutes prior to when the event was supposed to start and already the line was long, but as we stood in line it kept growing and growing and growing. Ultimately we were going to pick up our grad ears, our "diploma", snap a photo with Minnie and Mickey and then head out to Studios. Fortunately, after they began letting everyone into the event, we only had to wait about 30-45 minutes to see Minnie and Mickey which may seem absurd, but people who arrived later than the event start time waited HOURS. So get there early and enjoy the benefits because you can spend your remaining time either enjoying the event or enjoying the rest of your day. There was no dress code for the event but a lot of people cleaned up more than usual since they were taking photos with the characters and it was graduation so hey, why not look good. Overall don't miss the event, you get some great keepsakes to remember your DCP by and you don't want to be the person who didn't attend graduation.

Why Memory Maker is 1000% Worth It

You won't regret it...

     This was probably one of the best investments I made throughout my entire program. Even though we all have our phones that take great pictures whenever we want them. Being able to utilize all the Photopass Photographers and keep all my ride photos throughout nearly half of my program was incredible. I have nearly 400 Photopass photos that I am able to look back on and just reminisce on the best 4 months of my life.

     Memory Maker is about $170, and it is good for 30 days. Therefore from when you activate it, you can capture and download photos for 30 days and then it will expire. One nice aspect, any Photopass pictures you took and linked to your My Disney Experience before purchasing Memory Maker, you can download as well, as long as they haven't expired. So I didn't purchase mine until mid November, but all my pictures from some of my early visits to the parks and the Halloween party I was able to download which was awesome.

     I timed my purchase specifically so I could have it when my family and friends were visiting, that way we didn't have someone from our party taking the pictures and we could get the best quality pictures to remember our vacation by. I definitely recommend getting Memory Maker if you end up at the parks very consistently and want to be able to remember all of your DCP. It may be a hefty investment, but if you take full advantage of it, I promise it is well worth it.

Yachtsman Steakhouse

One of best meals in Disney...

     If you do your DCP during the holidays, you get the added benefit of the extra merchandise discount (40% off) and the holiday celebration coupons. Included in these coupons are a 30%, 40% and 50% discount to select restaurants on property. A significant number of restrictions apply to where you can use these, but for me, I was lucky that we could use them at the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort.

     My roommate who worked Bell Services at the Yacht and Beach Club had heard nothing but great things about the restaurant (other than the prices but that's we use that 50%!!!). Both of us were big time carnivores so you throw 50% off and steakhouse in the same sentence, sign us up and that's what we did. Once we made the reservation our excitement for the day to come grew larger and larger.

     The day arrived and we agreed to take a similar approach to our Cali Grill reservation and arrive to the resort early to explore the Yacht and Beach Club. Even though he worked there he wanted to show me his resorts as well as see all the Christmas decorations they had up which were incredible. We roamed around for about an hour looking at the decorations and walking through the shops finally making our way to the Yatchsman.

     As we were seated and began reading the menu, we both struggled to decide what we were going to order since we basically wanted the menu. But besides our steaks being DEEELICIOUS, the bread they serve you to start, my goodness! It's warm, it's soft and they serve it alongside a sea salt butter and a head of roasted garlic that you essentially use as butter and was absolutely perfect. We polished off our steaks, didn't finish our sides and brought those home, it was one of the best meals I had in a long time, made better by the discount we got. If you get the chance and love steak, find your way to the Yachtsman especially if you get those coupons, this was one of the best places to use it at.

My Thanksgiving Extravaganza

10 days, 5 parks...

     It only took mere hours after telling my family and friends I got accepted to my DCP for the plans to visit to start forming. Within days my family decided they were coming down for Thanksgiving and before we knew it we were getting everyone plane tickets and booked our reservation at Tusker House for Thanksgiving dinner. I was beyond excited when all of this started coming together and I was planning the days with my family out in my head for months.

     Next was friends, and one of my best friends knew she was not gonna not find a way to visit me no matter the cost. All summer she kept asking around for people to come with her so they could split a hotel room together and she managed to find two friends and before we knew it, it was time to book a room. Once I got to Disney and could book discounted rooms, I gave them the call and made sure we were all set and it all started coming together. 
     It was set, my friends were coming from November 20th to the 25th and my family from the 25th to the 29th. 10 straight days of fun and as you can imagine my immediate concern was getting the days off from work, so I put in the requests to work and prayed.

     A few days prior during a training class at Disney University during one of our breaks I went on over to Company D to purchase all the passes for my family and friends. 12 in total, a mix of park hoppers and single park passes, all for a variety of different days and then linked everything to My Disney Experience account to book everyone's Fastpasses. Contrary to popular belief, getting Fastpasses for most rides on short notice isn't that difficult, the only rides you will struggle for are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Toy Story Midway Mania and Soarin. Other than those three rides I was usually all set for most other rides, whether it was for myself or in this case my friends and family.

     My schedules came out for the days of everyone visiting. I got scheduled for a few days during that time, but managed to switch shifts around with fellow cast members to only need to work twice throughout their visit and it worked out perfectly. So I was all set, they'd be arriving soon and my excitement just kept growing and growing.

     My friends and I were staying at Coronado Springs for the duration of their visit, so they were able to take the Disney Magical Express (DME) bus from the airport to the resort. They were arriving late at night so I was able to prepare for their arrival all day and meet them at Coronado as they got off the bus. I couldn't have been happier to see familiar faces from back home, as much as I love all my friends I was living with at Disney, seeing those who matter from home and being able to share the Disney experience with them is the best feeling in the world. I brought them back to the room and called it a night, the following day we had no plans of going the parks.

     We woke up and I took them to Walmart to get food for breakfast and other various items so they wouldn't have to eat every meal at the parks and could save money on that front. It worked out beautifully, so I brought them back to Coronado to settle back in and I'd meet them at the pool a little later after I went back to my apartment for a bit. On my way back to Coronado I ended up getting a flat tire which really got me going but took a breath, threw on my spare and kept rolling along, there was no way anything in the world was stopping me from enjoying these upcoming days.

     After spending most of the day relaxing by the pool allowing them to recuperate from a long day of flying the day prior, we went to Downtown Disney for dinner and to walk around. We were downtown for probably 3 hours having dinner then going through all the stores letting them get immersed in everything Disney and get them all jazzed up for the days to come. It was nice to finally have the opportunity to share what I've been enjoying for the past two and a half months with the people who haven't had the same privilege as me and watching them enjoy it so much was awesome. The next day we were starting the marathon of getting little sleep and going hard at the parks, so we got back to Coronado reasonably early in the evening so we could all get a decent nights sleep before going to Universal the next day.

     I slept back at my apartment that evening so I could pack a bag with all the clothes I need for the next couple days to stay at Coronado, grabbed coffee on my way to pick them up and we were off. I couldn't wait to see how they'd react to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and they were just as excited. We only got the one park pass to Universal for financial reasons and general lack of energy/interest to do both parks. Once we got in the park we hit the ground running with the Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It, moved on to The Return of The Mummy and Transformers before ending up at The Simpsons Ride. At this point we had made it to the back of the park near Diagon Alley, we rode Men in Black and then finally made it to Diagon Alley and it was great to see the look on their faces. We spent plenty of time exploring the various stores they have, grabbed some Butterbeer and eventually went to ride Escape from Gringotts.

     By now we were all feeling pretty burnt out and hangry. So we finally departed Diagon Alley and headed back toward the entrance of the park to grab something to eat. Now that we were satisfied and feeling slightly re-energized we walked to ET for an easy, relaxing ride to keep us going then finished off our day with Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. This was hands down the longest, fullest day I had ever done at Universal, we left with the sun down, physically drained but ready for day 2 which would be even longer...Magic Kingdom.

     We all basically passed out once returning to Coronado, I woke up extra early to go out and grab coffee for us all, returning to everyone getting ready to head out for the day. We left Coronado as early as was humanly possible for everyone to wake up and be fully functioning since we knew MK would be packed...and it was. We got there about 30 min after opening and just the lines for the bag check were unreal, but regardless we made it in and I immediately let them know just pick what ya wanna ride and regardless of what it is we are probably gonna have to wait a decent line. Throughout their time with me I kept telling them it's your vacation I'm here to do whatever you guys want, I can do it all whenever I want.

     We immediately started with our castle Photopass picture with our ears and moved over to Tomorrowland to use our Space Mountain Fastpass, rode The People Mover and did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. We moved on to Journey Under the Sea with The Little Mermaid and Mickey's Philharmagic then moved over to Haunted Mansion, we unintentionally timed it perfectly to catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade at 3 while eating turkey legs for lunch. We watched the whole parade from the nearby Hall of Presidents and by this point it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpass. We hit that and then headed out to go back to Coronado to recuperate before heading to Hollywood Studios at night.

     After an hour or so at the room, we went to Studios so they could see the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights, since all three of them LOVE Christmas and I can say I'm no different. But seeing the look on people's face when they saw these lights for the first time was the best, just pure joy and awe...I remember the first time I saw them and felt the same way. They are so overwhelming in the best way.

     That was all we did at Studios though since wait times for everything were so long and I wanted to make sure we caught Wishes. As we were parking at MK walking toward the TTC I heard fireworks begin going off, it was only 9 pm and couldn't figure out why. But it was Wishes going off an hour earlier than I was accustom to, so rather than watch them on Main Street we saw them from the TTC which was just as magical for them having never seen them before. Once they wrapped up though we took the monorail back into MK to catch some more rides before they closed and all passed out from exhaustion. We managed to ride Buzz Lightyear, Big Thunder Mountain  Winnie the Pooh and Pirates of the Caribbean before calling it a night. All of us were ready to pass out by the time we finally made it back to Coronado. Everyone passed out once we got back and the next day we had Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to attack.

     I woke up extra early again to get coffee for all of us, returning to the room with all them just about ready to leave. Once we were ready to go we headed to Animal Kingdom arriving just after park open and having a great day ahead with Fastpasses for the major attractions. We started off big with Expedition Everest, one of my favorites, and then went straight to Dinosaur hitting them back to back. We moved on from Dinoland, trekking across the park to Africa to watch The Festival of the Lion King and then ride Kiliminjaro Safaris. We had hit everything major at this point and we were ready to head out, but snapped some obligatory pics in front of The Tree of Life first.

     This was a crazier day for me than the others since I was spending the first half with my friends, then dropping them at EPCOT so I could meet up with my family who landed that morning and then I had to work that night from 3:30 to midnight. I was up at 6 and in bed at 1, needless to say it was a long day for me but well worth it.

     The next morning my friends were taking the DME from Coronado back to the airport at 7 AM, so I woke up early again to get them coffee for their ride back as well as see them off. I gave them all a hug and told them how great a time I had with them during their visit, and went straight from Coronado to Magic Kingdom where I would be meeting my family. The park opened at 8 and I got to the main entrance just before they opened and FINALLY got to see the opening ceremony before entering the park. My family wasn't arriving for another hour or so, therefore I had a decent amount of time to myself to catch a few rides, as well as just have some alone time which was much needed. And by happenstance a previous co-worker and DCP alum was at Disney for Thanksgiving as well with her family, so I planned on meeting up with her at MK too. Being at MK so early I was able to ride Space Mountain twice in a row and then Buzz Lightyear once before walking back to the main entrance to stand atop The Main Street Train Station watching for them to enter. Just standing up there getting to look out over Main Street and see everyone entering was awesome, and finally my family came in and we were ready to get the day started. We kicked off with Buzz Lightyear, still had a short wait time as it was still early and as we got off I met up with my friend who I hadn't seen in over a year.

     At this point I split off with her and told my family to go do whatever they wished and my friend and I headed off on our own. Having the chance to do MK with another Disney fan who knows the park just as well is a blast. Both of us were smiling with elation and headed to Mickey's Philharmagic, a personal favorite of mine and hers as well. Next we hit Haunted Mansion then the Little Mermaid. My family was on there way to sit down and get lunch where I'd meet them shortly. But first we were stopped by a Photopass Photographer who snapped a great photo of us. We had to make a pit stop at Main Street to get the photos moved over to my account to download. At this point she went back to her parents and I met up with my family at Liberty Tree Tavern to eat.

It was a much needed break in the day and a great time for my family to ask me all about my time doing the program so far. I mainly had to explain what Magic Bands were and how they worked to them since I had mine on, and also got my cousin hooked on pin trading which was great. When we finished eating it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpass and we managed to pull of a killer ride photo. Following this we watched The Hall of Presidents where I promptly took a much needed nap and then got positioned for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Once the parade ended we hustled across the park to Space Mountain for our last Fastpasses of the day. On our way out we stopped for some pictures in front of the castle and finally departed for EPCOT to have dinner and round out the day.

     As we got to EPCOT we took some more photos and went directly to Mouse Gear so everyone could do a little shopping. Once everyone was geared up we headed to World Showcase for dinner, we decided on Morocco since it is my favorite place to eat in EPCOT and no one argued against it. I got my usual plate of lamb schwarma and devoured it as fast as I could. Once I finished eating I had to leave to pick up my cousin and his girlfriend from he airport since they were flying in that evening. I left my family to enjoy EPCOT the remainder of the evening and would meet them back at the hotel.

     The next day was Thanksgiving and we were doing Animal Kingdom...all day. Another early rise as we were getting to AK right around park open. A nice advantage to AK is it was much less crowded than the other parks on the holiday, so although wait times were long, none were astronomical and we had Fastpasses for the big rides. We kicked off the day with Killiminjaro Safaris and afterwards did the Pangani Forest Trail. Our grandparents were arriving a little later than us, so we headed to the entrance to meet them before going to ride Everest. Next up was Festival of the Lion King, followed by It's Tough to be a Bug and then Dinosaur. At this point we still had a few hours until our dinner reservations at Tusker House, so after we saw Finding Nemo The Musical some of us did Everest again while others went to watch Flights of Wonder. We eventually met up again at the Maharaja Jungle Trek before going to Tusker House to eat.

     Once dinner ended we made it back to the front of the park for everyone to browse some of the shops and make a few more purchases. And, since this was the final year for the Osborne Lights and no one in my family had ever seen them before, we chose to end our day at Studios. Upon arrival we immediately went to the lights and took them in, enjoying the sights and sounds. Since it wasn't too too late, we had time to catch some rides so we went and rode Tower of Terror twice and then ended with Star Tours. At this point everyone was pretty wiped out and ready to head back to the hotel. I, on the other hand, would be going to MK to meet with my friend again since I have no issue losing sleep to hit the parks. So I drove over, met my friend and managed to hit some rides; Buzz Lightyear, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Jingle Cruise and at this point we were both dead and needed sleep. We walked back out of the park, said our farewells and returned to our respective places of sleep.

     So I finally got back to my apartment, got a few hours of sleep and the next day was Universal with my family. We arrived shortly after park open, got the two park passes since we are all major Harry Potter fans and got to having fun. We started with Rip Ride Rock Rt, moved over to Transformers then headed to Springfield so I could fan girl over it with my brother while we also grabbed a bite to eat. Unfortunately the wait for The Simpsons Ride was super long so we skipped it and just made a few merchandise purchases. Then we finally dove into Diagon Alley and I just sat back and allowed them all to explore. We checked out Ollivanders, hit Escape from Gringotts and then took the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. We arrived and started with Dragon Challenge, afterwards grabbed the obligatory Butterbeer and our final ride was The Forbidden Journey. We exited the park around mid afternoon and it was much needed since I got back to the hotel and took a MUCH needed nap before dinner.

     That night was my farewell to most of my family except my one cousin and his girlfriend who arrived a day after everyone else. Therefore, they were going to EPCOT and then Magic Kingdom and I met them at MK when I was finished with work at 5. I changed and drove straight over and met up with them and we had dinner at Casey's Corner, each taking down a pulled pork hot dog. Then we finished off their evening with Mickey's Philharmagic, Splash Mountain and Wishes, concluding their vacation and mine. I brought them back to the hotel, finally returned to my apartment and with a day off the next day, I happily slept and recovered from the marathon of fun I just endured.

     At the end of all of that, it was some of the best time I had during my DCP. It was one thing getting to experience it all, day in and day out with your friends who are doing the DCP with you, but getting to see the joy and happiness it brings those who are not as fortunate is amazing. I loved having the opportunity to share it with the people who mattered most to me and had the time of my life with them!

Transition from Halloween to Christmas (What's Thanksgiving?)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

     As October ends and November begins in Disney, the atmosphere stays magical but you'll begin seeing less orange and more green and red. Although gradual over a week or two, the transition to Christmas seems like it happens overnight. And being there to see it all happen is something else.

     First off are the resorts, and from my personal experience, at Port Orleans. Now, being a moderate our decorations are not quite as hardcore as the deluxe resorts but they do their job of setting the resort in the Christmas spirit. It was fun getting to close on the night they brought in all the Christmas decorations and watch the beginning of the transformation. Big wreaths and all sorts of Christmas decorations to transform our hotel. And overnight our hotel goes from standard Port Orleans and jumps into the Christmas spirit.

     The parks of course get the royal treatment and imagining the crew of people that decorate each of the parks overnight is mind blowing. One day Magic Kingdom is full of Mickey Pumpkins, the next it's full of wreaths and lights. Each park gets its own massive Christmas tree decorated in theme with the park. The Dapper Dans and Main Street performers' outfits change from their fall colors to Christmas colors and start jamming out with Christmas songs. Best of all the castle goes from getting just the spotlights at night to drowning I'm Christmas lights, it's incredible when you see it for the first time, and seeing it for 2 months on repeat...it's just amazing and hard to imagine it without them. Let us not forgot the merchandise, you'll be swimming in it. Christmas essentially pukes all over Disney property and it was wonderful, I personally loved every second of it and as long as you aren't the grinch, you will too!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

You're Gonna Have A Good Time...

     If you do the fall or fall advantage program, you HAVE to do the Halloween and Christmas parties! I didn't know if or when I may get another opportunity to go to these events at the cast member price and I wasn't going to miss out. So even though I ended up at the Christmas party alone, I had a great time regardless.

     After doing the Halloween party, I realized that as much as I know all the rides have no waits, that's not why I'm at the party. Take advantage of all the party exclusive things, character meet and greats, free cookies and hot chocolate, exclusive merchandise and ride some rides in between, don't make them your priority. Also, plan your night around the parade, stage show and fireworks. That way you won't miss any of the fun!

     I initially planned to meet up with my roommate around 4:30-5 when the party was supposed to start because I was at MK around 2. But his phone died so I didn't see him the entire night, upsetting at first but I got over pretty quickly. I got my party map with all the character locations and show times and began planning my night.

     The exclusive characters I made it a point to meet were The Seven Dwarfs and it was the first thing I did that night. I got in line for them about half an hour before the party even started because their line gets long very quickly. Once I finished there I found my friend working who had the guide to where each character actually was rather than the map guests have that has locations but not who is there. I met Mickey all decked out for Christmas as well as Pooh and Friends and caught the parade and the fireworks. In between it all taking major advantage of the free cookies and hot chocolate because why not, sugar kept me going throughout the night.
     All in all I had a great time, even though I was on my own, it gave me the freedom to do what I wanted with no one arguing about who to meet or what to ride. So it had its perks for sure and I made the most of the night!

Making Friends During Your CP

I stressed about it and shouldn't have...

     This was hands down what I was most nervous about before starting my CP. Who and how would I make friends while in Disney. It's not like college where you can just leave your dorm room door open and meet people thru class. But like most things, it will just figure itself out thru time.

     I was incredibly fortunate that day 1 some of our neighbors from upstairs in the same building came down to our apartment to see who we were and ended up being some of my better friends throughout the program.

     The beauty of Facebook is how easily you can connect with other people doing the program. Between other people from school doing the DCP and friends of friends from other schools doing it, I met and hung out with a number of people this way. And of course you have your fellow CPs at your work location. By no means do I guarantee you'll be best buds with your co workers, but depending on where you are working, it is where you will meet the most other CPs.

     My best advice is do not stress about it and just let it happen. I freaked out more than I should've before coming to Disney and feel silly about it. Most of my friends from my DCP I will keep in touch with for quite a time after.

Epcot Food and Wine Festival

Wave goodbye to your money...

     It's that time of year where EPCOT will be the bane of your existence and will heartlessly destroy any and all financial stability you thought you had. But, your gonna love every second of it because no matter what you say or think, resisting the temptation to buy food or drink while walking through World Showcase during this month and a half is nearly impossible. I held back for as long as possible, then went HAM over 3 days.

     First off, I thought I was a big deal when I said I'd eat thru the world in 1 day. HA nope. I went with my friend from work prepared to eat....and eat......and eat. We went to the Festival Center near Ellen's Energy Adventure and perused the booths checking out everything they had and I went and threw down a couple hundred dollars on a gift card to make paying at the countries easier....in my opinion well worth it. It's about the size of a key tag and it's on a bracelet you can wear on your wrists. So every time you go to pay, just hold it up and the cashiers will just scan it, easier then whipping out your wallet for every country.

     So Day 1 I made it to about France, not too bad but jeez I was FULL. I went into this endeavor fully prepared to try at least one item from each country and I did, and I have the stamps in my passport to back it up. Oh, whatever the first country you stop at is...ask for a passport and have each country stamp it as you go thru, it's a cool little memento to have when your done. We spent a good 2 hours going from country to country eating, enjoyed every second of it.

     Day 2 was a little more tame, didn't eat nearly as much but that made Day 3 a beast. Day 3 I think I ate at about 2/3 of the countries and still had money left over on my gift card to spend, which thankfully is taken at all the shops on EPCOT so I grabbed myself a Food and Wine shirt (not gonna not) and a Mickey Mouse hoody. When all was said and done I have no regrets. This is one of the reasons I saved up before coming down, I wasn't gonna miss out on the opportunity to eat around the world. No chance.

     
     Of course the menus change every year so you will see different menu items than myself, that being said my top items from the festival:

Kahlua Pork Slider from Hawaii
Lamington from Australia 

Side note: Look up the menus online before you head out. I remember waking around World Showcase before the festival started and seeing the menus out while the countries booths were still covered so I was able to preview them. And days later I found everything online with prices so I was able to plan how much money I would need to try everything I wanted.

Rationalizing a Universal Pass

To buy or not to buy...

     Rationalizing getting a Universal pass will depend a lot on how your roommates and friends feel about it. Also how much you really, honestly expect to be going to Universal.

     For me, I knew I was going enough times for it to pay itself off so it just made sense, also having a car made it very accessible for me. I dropped a little over $300 on mine because I got the one that included parking and knew I'd be the one driving most of the time.

     Also, most of the friends I ended up making also talked about getting them so I knew I'd have people to go with. And I couldn't have been happier with my investment, I went about 6 times and had a blast, got some great merchandise and made the most of it. I'm just a theme park junkie in general and knowing how close I was to Universal, there was no way I wasn't gonna get a pass!

The DCP Lifestyle

It's weird and wonderful...

     It's a weird mix between the real world and college while at the same time not even close to either. For some, it's their first time away from home, first time in apartment style living or even first time having roommates. Not to mention some of our first time fending for ourselves financially. So there are a lot of potential firsts for everyone going down for the DCP and they all require their own adjusting.

     Once you arrive, get settled, start working, see how you get along with your roommates, etc. you will begin to get into some sort of routine. Your workplace will determine this, cause your life will revolve around your work schedule. I benefited from having a consistent work schedule throughout my entire program, always 5 days, always 40 hours, it only changed when I requested and had approved days off. Other than that, I know I would start working at 1, 2 or 3:30PM, my paychecks would almost always be the same amount each week and I learned how to work with that for essential purchases each week and that also determined what my diet would look like.

     Coming from someone who cooks, I always made the dinners I'd take to work. I saved money that way not purchasing it from Port's food court and ate much healthier. On either one of my days off, or if the first day of my work week was a 3:30 start, I'd wake up to do my grocery shopping EARLY to get it outta the way and then cook all my meals for work. So everyday I could just take a Tupperware container from the fridge, throw it in my bag and be good to go.

     Other than that meal though, I ate junk throughout a lot of my program because, well, I could. 8 hours a day I'd be standing outside walking around hauling bags, and if I wasn't doing that, I was walking miles around the parks. Not to mention the heat, making me sweat and burn even more calories, so if there was ever an acceptable time to eat poorly, it's the DCP. Lunch before work or before heading to the parks was usually either Ramen or mac n cheese, both cheap and easy. So when it came to food I spent as little as possible each week so I had money leftover for fun things.

     The mornings I'd meal prep I'd also try to do laundry and multitask. I'd want to do all the "life essential" tasks in one shot each week so I had the rest of the time to utilize having fun at the parks.

     Once all that was outta the way, mornings were either hit the parks before work or spend a few hours on the couch with my roommates. Now, having a car made the parks before work much easier, I won't lie. I'd be able to get there early, be there for 2 or 3 hours and have time to come back shower and eat lunch before work, rather than buying lunch at the parks. If I woke up later, it never hurt to just watch TV and relax, sometimes you need it.

     Days off though? I won't lie, any days I didn't have plans to go to the parks with someone I was either frustrated or disappointed because I hated wasting my days off in my apartment. But if I had to go alone, I'd go alone and make the most of it and occasionally/hopefully meet someone there. Planning can be a pain in the butt, since everyone has such different schedules and work at different places I often found myself exhausting friend after friend to see if anyone's schedule matched up with mine. Especially when the holidays started and I was the only one still getting 40 hours a week and others were getting extra hours. My best advice, never be afraid to ask anyone to do something with, I asked people I only knew for a day or two to do the parks with and those were some of the most fun I had. My first night I went with my neighbor to MK who I'd only known for 4 days, was one of the best nights I had.

     When you are at the parks, be cautious of your spending. It's easy to get carried away buying merchandise and with such a small weekly budget it's easy to run out of money. It's why I always ate before I went to the parks and ate WHAT I ate. Ramen, mac n cheese or any other carb loaded lunch kept me full and going for a long time, so I never really considered buying food while I was out and if I did, I knew I was budgeting properly to be able to do so. It's also why I can't stress enough saving before you arrive, it makes your life much more flexible financially. So even though you are budgeting and monitoring your spending, every now and then you know you can splurge and know you have a safety net of savings to fall back on.

     And that is pretty much the basics of the DCP lifestyle, at least for me. Parks, work, errands, cooking and laundry...a lot of parks and work though. Money management is going to be a key for enjoyment though, I cannot stress that one enough as you can probably tell. I was never in a situation to tell someone I can't do something because of money, which was a nice luxury to have.

Don't Be Afraid to do the Parks Alone!

You won't regret it...

     There will be times where everyone you may wanna go to the parks with is either working, doing something with other people or just being straight up lazy and boring. When this is the case, especially on your days off, don't be afraid to fly solo at the parks. And honestly sometimes you need those days to yourself just to decompress from work and not worry about being social, just keep to yourself.

     At first it can be daunting and scary, most of us are raised to be taught that going out to do things requires someone to do it with. As I got older I realized this can hinder my ability to enjoy life, and became very true during my CP. I couldn't let other people's lack of willingness to go out, stop me from having fun.

     Another beauty of going alone, you can do whatever YOU want to do without anyone judging you for it. Browse the shops, meet your favorite characters, ride your favorite ride it's all up to you. One of the best things for me to do if I was ever stressed or frustrated for some reason...I went to EPCOT and rode The Seas with Nemo and Friends and would just spend time wandering the pavilion. It's my favorite movie and I love fish & aquariums so it just helped me relax. Your version of this may be different, but find what that is for you and when you need time to yourself, do your thing.

     I felt the same way about Animal Kingdom, I loved going alone because it was my favorite park and I could just do whatever I want. I loved riding Kilimanjaro Safaris and seeing The Festival of the Lion King, both I enjoyed over and over again on my own because I was such a morning person and got to the park early. One of the best moments I witnessed when out on my own, during the end of The Festival of the Lion King, when the performers pull the kids out of the bleachers to dance around, at the end they pulled some of them toward the float with Simba on it and had them wave at him, It was mind blowing to me and just pure Disney magic for Simba to wave back at them, it may have been small and not many people may have witnessed it, but it was awesome to see!

     You can also take your time and really observe and take in the parks. There is so much to see at all the parks you could spend hours just wandering around and not ride a single ride. Don't miss these opportunities, I promise going to the parks alone can be much more fun and enjoyable than you may originally think!

Breaking the CP Stigma

You're a CP...and everyone knows it

     It's just a fact, at the start of your CP it's gonna be a little uncomfortable going into your new workplace that will most likely be temporary while you are surrounded by people who do it full time. It took me weeks to feel fully comfortable and accepted in my role at Disney. No one was super talkative toward me, my role did not have a ton of other CPs and I felt alone. But it did not last forever and it shouldn't for you either.

     Don't be lazy, prove you are trying and doing your best to learn. At the end of the day that's all anyone wants or cares about, it's when you slack off and show you don't care...then your fellow cast members will never accept you. Also be social with them, no matter their age you share a role at Disney with them. I had cast members my age and ones twice my age and managed to become great friends with all of them.

     The stigma that comes along with being a CP is not permanent. If you work hard and prove your there to learn and enjoy work, they will accept you. Some of the best people I met in Disney were the full time or part time cast members at Port Orleans.

Making the Most of your Time

If you work nights, go out in the morning...

     Whether you do your DCP for 4 months, 6 months or extend up to a year, you have a lot of time and opportunity you have to enjoy everything Disney has to offer. It's also easy to let it all slip away and it took me a few weeks to realize this.

     The mornings are not only some of the best times to be at the parks because it's usually less crowded, often times it may be your only time to go because of your work schedule. For me, my shifts started at either 1, 2, or 3:30 PM...consistently...every week. I worked 6 morning shifts out of my 4 months and 5 of those were just for training. After that, I was assigned to be a true CP (closing personnel), so the best advice I can give is expect it and don't get upset about it.

     That being said, if you are anything like me and primarily looked to be at the parks as often as possible, get used to going for 3 or 4 hours in the morning before work. Since the parks usually opened up at 9, there is plenty of time to get a few rides in. Of course, this is substantially easier when you have a car as I did, but if you are motivated enough, you can do it while riding Transtar.

     Sleep is for the weak. And I lived by this everyday I was there. I was consistently getting my body used to waking up between 8 and 9, just to get to the parks before work and I do not regret it. Some days I may have only gotten 6 hours of sleep, but that's what coffee is for.

     I was a major advocate of hitting DAK on these mornings because I could usually get my 3 major attractions done in a small period of time and it was usually the least crowded. I'd get there, hit Kilimanjaro Safaris, see the 10 o'clock or 11 o'clock Festival of the Lion King show and made sure I rode Everest either after the Safari or the Lion King depending on wait times or when I showed up. Although I only did it once (primarly cause of $$$) go to Tusker House for the character breakfast! It was about $25 with the cast member discount and it has a massive breakfast buffet to dive into. I went HAM on the Mickey Waffles as you should and its never a bad thing starting your day off with some characters!

     I did Magic Kingdom a couple of times before work but only when I worked later since getting there is so time consuming. If you drive, you almost have to account for about an hour of travel to get to the main gate since you park at the TTC and it just takes a while. But to get a ride on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear...well worth it.

     All in all, become a morning person and go have fun! Don't leave your CP regretting not going to the parks more!

     

CP Housing Options

To me, they were basically the same...

     This will be a decision everyone will need to make when completing your DORMS application. Choosing between Vista Way, Patterson, Chatham or The Commons can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. There are plenty of minutia details that can be the primary decision makers but overall, they are all pretty equal and mediocre. It's a roof over your head and you gotta pay regardless so what're ya gonna do.

     The Commons is the newest but also the most expensive of the 4. They benefit from having in unit laundry which is nice and host all the housing meetings. But your distance from Chatham to catch Transtar is the furthest.

     Chatham and Patterson  (in my opinion) are two in the same and only a stones throw away from each other. Chatham benefits from being the hub for all the Transtar buses but from what I was told Patterson had a nicer gym. The unit themselves are generally the same though.

     Vista Way lived up to every reputation it had. The people who lived there either loved it or hated it, and the ones who loved it loved to party and didn't mind the lack of quality. The others hated the partying and we're salty about how poor the apartments were.

     Pricing for all units is gonna be between $90-$140 if I'm not mistaken. And that'll all depend on how many people are in a unit and how many bedrooms.  Overall don't stress about where you'll live, if you are anything like me, you'll barely be there anyway, only to sleep and shower.

California Grill

Expensive yes...worth it...also yes

     Now first off, if you wanna go to California Grill make your reservation as soon as you know your are doing your DCP and put the money aside for it, otherwise you will likely be unable to do it when you are here. That being said the way this all worked out for me is pretty crazy but at the end of the day I could not have been happier that I went and had the opportunity to eat there because aside from Victoria & Albert's, California Grill is the next best restaurant on Disney property.

     As soon as I found out I got accepted I immediately started bringing up with family and friends, who was visiting and when. So all the way back in March, months before my arrival, I made the reservation for California Grill for myself, my brother and his girlfriend to eat at when they were planned to visit. I had been looking forward to it for months and unfortunately they could not make it for financial reasons. But there was no way I was cancelling this reservation because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

     Therefore between my arrival and the date of the reservation I had been stressing about who I would ask to come and if anyone at all would be able to afford coming. Everyone doing the CP knows how expensive this place is and not everyone is in the financial place to afford such a meal. Thankfully, I was fortunate enough that two of my roommates and one of my other friends were willing to drop the coin on this meal and were just as excited to join me.

     I was massively nervous when I got my work schedule for the week of this reservation when I saw I was scheduled on this day, but lucked out because I was out of work with enough time to get to the Contemporary. 

     We arrived at the Contemporary about 45 minutes before our reservation just to wander around and explored the hotel. None of us had ever been in the Contemporary before, other than cruising through on the monorail. So we took our time, perused the shops they had and enjoyed the atmosphere. It was a great time to just relax and enjoy the fact that we have this opportunity to be in Disney and do this kind of thing leisurely.

     We finally went to the restaurant for dinner and from the moment you get up there it is unreal the views you have. You can see over the entire Seven Seas Lagoon, inside all of Magic Kingdom with a great look into Tomorrowland and you are even able to see EPCOT from the observation deck. We took our time and enjoyed our meal just mind blown at everything they had to offer. The perk of eating at Cali Grill is you are able to come back to the restaurant to watch the fireworks in Magic Kingdom. It was great that we had the reservation on a night of MNSSHP so we got to come back later and watch Hallowishes. 

     We had about 2 hours to kill between the end of our dinner and the fireworks, so we spent time out on the observation deck taking in the views and taking pictures and then went back downstairs to roam around the resort again.Watching the fireworks from atop the Contemporary is amazing. We were so high up it felt like we were in line with the height of the fireworks and you get a great view of the all the perimeter fireworks as they pop off. End of the day, if you have the opportunity to get a reservation, DO IT! You will not regret it!