One Year Later...

It feels like yesterday...

    And it truly does. It really is hard to believe that my check-in date for my DCP was exactly a year ago today. I feel like I just left and I still think about my program every day. On top of that, countless times I find myself reminiscing with the friends I made during my program, always expressing how much we wish we could go back to the magical period of time that was our DCP. I am grateful that I still have a friend who still works at Disney, doing Vacation Planning at DAK whose snap stories keep me wanting to go back for more. I have already gone back to visit once since my program ended for a vacation, am in the process of planning my first trip to Disneyland with one of my DCP friends and we are already discussing going back for Food and Wine in 2017. So needless to say, my time in Disney has had a lasting impact on my life on both a daily basis and where I see myself in the future.

     I do what I can to keep the Disney in my life at every opportunity. From using all the stuff I bought, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube videos and, of course, planning my future trips back, I will never escape it and I am 100% okay with that. I have left the closet Disney fan way behind me and will be forever shameless of my love for everything Disney. And in doing so it has sparked some new friendships in my post-DCP life. When you are able to become best friends with a new employee at work because you both came from Disney...let's just say we were both pretty pumped, and are constantly talking about the parks. What I've learned the most in the past year is no matter how far removed I become from my DCP, it is going to be a part of my life that I cherish and hold near my heart forever, and the same goes for the people I got to experience with.

Down to Earth (aka Disney)

The journey begins...

Train cars that got to carry our cars.

     So your arrival is going to begin, as far as I’m concerned, about 5 days before your check in day when you receive the email with your arrival time. I received mine on Thursday, August 27^th and my arrival time is 7:30-8:30 AM. Early, yes, but in my opinion, likely well worth it. From everything I have been told, the earlier your arrival time, the faster check-in and casting go and the quicker you have the opportunity to get fully moved into your apartment. So waking up that early is a small price to pay to enjoy the benefits that (should) come along with it.

     Last night I made sure my car was (for the most part) completely packed, minus the carry-on bags I would be taking on the train with me. I tried to be as minimalist as possible but that is because my car is pretty small, so the less stuffed in it the better. I brought a backpack with my laptop, chargers and a few mags to read. With that I have a duffle bag with my changes of clothes for the next two days rather than trying to dig through my car to get to my suitcase…just much easier.

     A few immediate recommendations if you choose the Auto Train, its hot, but bring sweatpants, a hoody and a pillow. The train can be a bit chilly at first, and especially overnight, I was frozen and it was no fun. Also consider bringing a change of comfortable clothes to wear on the train, it will make your trip much less miserable. Lastly, reach out on Facebook to see who else is taking the Auto Train, trust me, you’ll be happy you did.

     From the area of Jersey I am from, it took me about 5 hours to get to the Lorton, VA Auto Train Station with minimal traffic and a few rest stops. Overall pretty painless, I left at 8AM and arrived in VA at 1PM giving me about an hour and change until they began boarding the train that departed at 4:30PM. As I sit on the train typing this, I just wrapped a glorious game of Apples to Apples with 7 other CPs….beauty of this mode of transportation, I can almost guarantee other CPs will be with you because we all want our cars and this is an easy option if you are from the Northeast. 

The next morning....

     Sitting in the station in Sanford feels fantastic right now. If you take the Auto Train and ride coach, sleeping will be horrible, just is what it is. We got here at around 9:30 and they are unloading the cars as I type this so myself and a few other CPs are just sitting, waiting, anticipating the greatest shower of our lives when we get to our respective hotels.
     All in all it wasn't a terrible experience, sleeping was tough but when you connect with other CPs you are no longer alone and the trip is much more enjoyable. I'm now less than 24 hours away from check-in and it is still surreal!

Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride

More like an East Coast Train Ride, how I'm getting to The Most Magical Place on Earth

      A decision you'll end up having to make once you are accepted into the DCP is how am I gonna get to The Most Magical Place on Earth? Of course, for everyone this will be different because we are all from different places so I can only speak for how I am getting down there, but we all generally have the same options; driving, flying or (if possible) riding the train. Each have their pros and cons of course, and I had to do a fair amount of debating and contemplating before finally deciding on taking the train from Virginia. So I'll break down my thought process for each.

My drive from NJ to the train station in Lorton, VA.

      Flying: I almost instantly ruled out flying because, to me, it was a major inconvenience. Having lived in apartment style housing for past 2 years of school, I know what I want/need to bring with me and flying just would not allow for that to happen. On top of some stuff needing to be shipped down after I arrive to Orlando because we don't get our addresses until we are down there, so that just didn't help at all. Lastly, cost. From the ticket, to transportation to and from the airport, to (likely) a hotel room for the day prior to check in, it was just too much to handle.

      Driving: Being on the east coast and the drive only being 16/17 hours, this was heavily considered. I would've ended up driving my Honda Civic, loaded up with my stuff, with my Dad and then flying him home after check in. I could bring (for the most part) everything I needed, have my car and spend some quality time with my Dad. But once we did out the cost of driving down (from the gas to hotel rooms to Dad's plane ticket home) we discovered it would cost about the same as taking the train down, so we chose the train.

      Train (Auto-Train): Until my Mom mentioned what the "Auto-Train" was, this had never even flown across my radar. All it is is a typical train ride, but they have cars designated to load and transport passenger's cars. We had agreed that having my car with me would be a "necessity" (more like a luxury) so we wanted to explore all of our options, and the Auto-Train turned out to be the best. I could have my car, bring as much stuff as I needed and avoid the work of driving all the way down to Orlando. It costs roughly the same as driving and it just SO MUCH more convenient.

The train ride from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL.

      It's settled, I'm taking the train. Now its a little bit of a pain cause its roughly a full 36 hour journey from when I'll leave my house to when I'll arrive at my hotel the day before check-in, but it'll be well worth it. The train leaves on Aug. 29th, two days prior to my check-in but arrives in Florida Aug. 30th, so I'll only have to kill about half a day. It leaves at 4PM from Lorton, VA and arrives in Sanford, FL at 9:30 AM the following day;  about 45 minutes from Vista Weeeeey. Therefore, I'll end up leaving my house in NJ between 8-9 AM to get to Lorton around 12-1 PM because they start loading cars at 11:30 AM and stop at 2:30 PM. Once I arrive in Florida, I'll get my car off the train and drive straight to my hotel near Vista Weeeeeeeey and chill for the remainder of the day.

      For those going from the east coast looking to take their car, I'd recommend the Auto-Train because of its convenience, general affordability and ease of travel. There are no weight restrictions for how much stuff you can load into your car and then you just sit on the train overnight and (hopefully) sleep through the night. Best of luck and safe travels to all!