#dcp fall 2018

[rushingby-slowly]

I found a photo of myself from 2018.

One I didn’t even know was taken, I know the night in question. I had my photos of the night, it was a good one. Nothing dramatic or negative to report. Fun, happy.

My final semester had just started. I was getting ready for what was coming next- except I really had no clue what was next. I had applied for the DCP, started student teaching, been cast in Antigone. I had lost my best friend, I had met someone I was going to fall head over heels for. Most of my close friends had graduated except for one. I wasn’t going to university theatre meetings anymore because it stopped feeling like home. I was in Swing Dance. I was working at South Campus. We had trespassed on a lavender farm.

But so much hadn’t happened yet. I couldn’t have predicted all that was still coming. I’m not sure if I had told this version of myself what was next if I would have believed it, if I would have laughed or run screaming.

It’s just a black & white photo from the roof of the parking garage. I’m looking off, at the street below. You can’t see my face but I imagine it’s calm. I always liked the parking garage.

Maybe I’m feeling a little sad- that had been a spot of a lot of nostalgia. Maybe I was already missing the moment I was in (very me thing to do).

Maybe I was happy. Maybe I was feeling excited and anticipating the future for once and feeling positive.

Maybe I was trying to just be in that moment. With my friends on the roof of that parking garage. In a place I loved. With people I loved who loved me.

I can’t know for sure. But I think of that 22 year old and how she expected life to turn out. Or maybe more accurately how she didn’t really expect it to- she was shocked we made it to 22 at all. I think she’d be floored that we’re inching closer to 27.

There’s so much I would say to her, or maybe I wouldn’t. Maybe that’s the control freak in me thinking of how I could have changed things.

Mainly I think if I could go back, I would just want to take more moments to appreciate it all. I wish I had stopped more often and soaked it in. I wish I had held moments like it more closely.

Sure there are things I would change, things I wouldn’t have focused so heavily on, things I would have let go of sooner, things I should have done sooner. But if I’m honest- I don’t have many regrets about college. And even the ones I do regret I think I can chalk up to experience and learning.

That 22 year old feels really far away anymore. I’m okay not being her anymore but I wish I felt her a little more often. She’s a different piece of me, bruised up & broken in a different way, but she was still standing, on that ledge.

[aestheticwanderluster-blog]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx7p-H3n7Ta/ The best meet and greet is meeting the chipmunks 💁🏻‍♀️

[randomfandomblabdom]

I’m really bored so let’s discuss something.

If you have any questions about the Disney College Program (because you’re either interested in doing it or out of plain curiosity) hit me up, ask away!

I did the Fall 2018 Program in Florida and I worked in Quick Service Food & Beverage. 

[bonnieandclydethemusical]

Remember when I worked at Disney World (in Magic Kingdom) and wore a costume and everything? WILD.

[felis-hydrophilic]

I’m sitting here dazed as if I had just finished an enthralling book. I can’t believe this incredible journey has ended. I miss the characters and the adventures we had together. I feel empty, yet, full, for my memories will illuminate the pages ahead.

[alostghostsong]

If you dont like Festival of the Lion King

You either haven't seen it or we can't be friends.

[the-magic-sets-us-all-aglow]

I am HERE! Ready for check in and casting tomorrow!

[empidonax]

well folks it sure is 1 am and I sure am crying over leaving my coworkers at wdw

[and-slow-jog]

Just another couple months hanging out on the mountain all day 🤗

[gendervoyd]

I have just met you and I love you 🐾

[flynnerider]

Day in The Life AND Special Announcement!

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.”- Steve Jobs

Hi everyone!

Sorry it’s been so long since my last update! It really is true what they say- no news is good news! I still LOVE my job, and that’s what I’m here to talk about today! A lot of people ask me what exactly I do, and when I was looking into the DCP I had the same kinds of questions, so I’m here to walk you through a day in the life of a Slide Operator at Blizzard Beach!

First, hours. I usually work five or six days in a row, then have two days off- rarely the same days each week. Blizzard Beach is open from 10AM-5PM every day, so when I work I always get off at 5:30 PM. There’s four possible Slide Op shift start times: 8AM, 9AM, 9:45AM, and 11AM. 8’s and 9’s are assigned “morning jobs” like filling water coolers, cleaning sand areas, and occasionally slide testing to help get the park ready for guests. 11’s are “breakers” (more on this later), and 9:45 is a “normal” start where you clock in, go to our morning meeting, or “breakout”, and head to your first stand. I started at 9:45 this morning!

Every morning I get up, get dressed in my swimsuit, Disney Parks polo, and blue shorts:

Then I eat breakfast and pack my backpack. Here’s what’s in my bag:

From left to right: My lunch (today, Trader Joe’s pepperoni pizza mac and cheese; usually, salad or a sandwich) and a snack (tortilla chips today), my wallet, my hip pack and water bottle (we don’t say “fanny pack” at Disney; my hip pack always has sunscreen, a towel and rubber gloves, and a tiny rubber ducky to bestow upon a kid who needs it), my sunscreen AND backup sunscreen (I’m loyal to the Trader Joe’s brand but I just ran out yesterday), my whistle, my nametag, a padlock for my locker, my keys, and my hat. As you can see, I have a lot of little accessories that I need for my role! Not pictured: my watch, which I wear out the door, and my sunglasses, which I keep in my car.

At Disney, starting at 9:45 doesn’t mean clocking in at 9:45; you have to be in the park, in uniform, ready to work at EXACTLY 9:45. I leave my apartment 40 minutes before my shift start time each day. It takes me about 20 minutes to drive to Blizzard. Once I’m there I can clock in 15 minutes before my shift and pick up my assignment 10 minutes before my shift.

Your assignment is the rotation you are on for the day. There are six Slide Op “rotations”; each one has three “stands”, or positions. You rotate through these 3 positions in order throughout the day. When we open at 10, the 9:45 starts on the first stand, the 9 starts on the second, and the 8 starts on the third. When the breaker comes in at 11, they go to stand one and “bump” the 9:45 to stand two, the 9:45 bumps the 9 to stand three, and the 8 takes their first break. Then, when the 8 comes back from break, they go to stand one and bump the rotation through and the 9 gets their break, so on and so forth. Make sense?

Today, I was on Tike’s- my favorite rotation! The Tike’s rotation is Summit Plummet/Slush Gusher bottom, Tike Solo Top, and Tike Tube top, so at 10 after morning breakout I went to Summit/Slush bottom to start my day.

My job is to sit there between the slides, welcome riders when they reach the bottom, make sure they exit the catch areas, and push the green “dispatch” buttons to let the Slide Ops up top know it’s safe to send down the next person. It’s fairly easy- watching two slides at once takes a little getting used to, but I got the hang of it pretty quick and I don’t mind Summit Bottom at all!

Now to the place that gives Tike’s its name- Tike’s Peak! Tike’s Peak is our play area for little ones 48 inches and under and their families. There’s a very shallow wading pool with fountains, a play structure with some teeny tiny slides for our smallest skiers, a racing slide for guests of all heights, and two slides for folks 48 inches and under only. 

When the breaker comes to Summit bottom and bumps me off I go to Tike Solo, the first of the two slides.

Tike Solo is so easy it’s criminal- I sit in a chair, check heights (no big kids or parents allowed!), make sure kids go down on their backs or bottoms, and watch to see that they’re clear of the slide before I let the next kid go. It’s a really relaxing stand and you get to have so many cute interactions with kids.

When the next bump comes through, I go to Tike Tube. This one is also 48 inches and under only. I stand in the pool at the top of the slide (about two and a half feet deep). Kids bring their tube up and hand it to me, and I help them get seated the right way- legs out in front, handles facing in. The tube may be a circle, but contrary to popular belief, it does matter which way they sit! Then, when the lifeguard at the bottom gives me the all clear signal, I guide the kid’s tube into the slide and watch them go! Good, clean, cute fun. My lovely friend Aimee was kind enough to take a picture of me on Tike Tube today- here I am in all my fully-uniformed Slide Op glory!

(My whistle is backwards because otherwise when I bend over to help kids into tubes it hits them in the face, but I promise it’s there!)

Then I took my first break, a glorious half hour, at about 12:45, and did it all over again! I took my second break, a fifteen, around four. I ended my day out on Summit bottom. After we close at 5, we do “closing jobs”: my closing job today was cleaning the bottom of Summit Plummet with magic erasers. Living the dream. Then we have our evening breakout and I go home!

In the evenings, I’ll either go home and relax in front of the TV or go out with my friends or roommates! We obviously love going to the parks (I go two to four times a week at least), but we also love going to dinner (the staff at our regular Pei Wei recognize us; one time they gave us free donuts!) and shopping at Trader Joe’s. Tonight I went into Downtown Orlando with my roommates Misty and Georgia!

We went to the library and got frozen yogurt!

Speaking of fun and parks, I have a big announcement! Blizzard Beach closes for refurbishment every winter, and this year, when we close on October 27th, all of the Blizzard CP’s will get sent to new roles and locations! We’ve all been very anxious to find out where we’re headed, and the wait is finally over!

Yours truly (and a couple amazing coworkers) are moving to Main Street to bring a little extra magic to the holiday season! Main Street Daily Ops is an umbrella term that covers a number of locations; Cast Members are responsible for Parade Audience Control (PAC) for the fireworks and parades throughout the day, running the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game, checking FastPasses at Town Square Theatre for guests meeting Tinker Bell and Mickey, and operating the Magic Kingdom Railroad! Because we’re arriving so late in the season, we’re expecting to just be PAC, but my friends and I are SO excited to be in the most magical place on earth during the most magical time of the year! I start in Magic Kingdom in late October- come see me in my new digs!

Thanks for your continued support, everyone! I appreciate all of your encouragement and interest in my life. Coming soon (for real this time): my Disney do’s and do nots! This is something I’m very excited to share- should be coming about two or three weeks from today!

See ya real soon,

FR

[kawaiiikiittennn]

YOOOooo ADD ME! 💋I’m going to be blogging my experience on the DCP 🎀♡ in Florida

[dreamin-of-disney]

Traditions!

Today was the day that I became a cast member!

That was super exciting! There were definitely some tears shed, especially when I realized that I'd be able to make magic for the next five months. I won't talk about what went on during traditions since that's already all over the internet, even though it's supposed to be confidential. It is what it is. Moving on!

After traditions I went right over to the magic kingdom with a friend that I actually made through tumblr!

That was very fun, but exhausting. I had a Mickey pretzel for the first time(i didn't like the cheese sauce though. Fight me), ate at columbia harbor house and also went on the people mover, its a small world, and saw philharmagic.

All of that was amazing, but what wasn't amazong was that the haunted mansion broke down right before I got to ride! At least I still have time to try ridng it again. I didn't stay for the fireworks since I have to be up at 4:30am tomorrow for Welcome to Ops. That's about it for this little update. Until next time...

See ya real soon!

[heart-of-the-morningstar]

I start the Disney College Program in exactly 2 months and I’m so excited!!!

[marissalopezpsm]

Fun Ways to Document Your DCP

The Disney College Program is a once in a lifetime opportunity. A lot of participants want to share their experience with friends, family members, or just the general public. If you are looking for a way to share your experience but don’t know what is right for you, take a look at the list below! 

Ways to document your DCP: 

Vlog: Create a YouTube channel if you don’t already have one, grab a camera, and start recording! DCP vloggers have become very popular over the last few years. I plan to start a vlog for my program, and will let you know after I set up my YouTube channel! (so you can give a girl a follow) 

Instagram: While some people just post on their normal Instagram during the program, others create an Instagram specifically for Disney/DCP content! This is a great option if you don’t want to take time to edit and upload vlogs. You will already mostly likely be taking a bunch of pictures while you’re on your program, so why not create an Instagram to feature those photos?

Blog: Do you think you have some good advice for future DCPers? Maybe start a blog to share your experiences. Blogging is also a great option if you would rather write than take photos or video!

You don’t have to share your experiences, but if you are looking for a way to share here are some suggestions! 

[hollydoesdisney]

My First Week in Anaheim

It’s been a little rough, to be completely honest. Sure, I’ve done a program before but this one has been an emotional rollercoaster for some reason. At times I really miss home, my parents, my friends & family, and other times, when I’m at the parks or at work, I remember why I wanted to come back to this company. My roommates are great, and although I’m in the 3 person bedroom, it’s been going really well! Sharing a bathroom can be tough but we’re managing.

Anyway, I had Traditions a week ago (8/15) and then Step Into the Magic the next day (8/16) and by Saturday the 18th I had started my role/location training! It’s a lot of work, but also a lot of fun so I’m excited to see what these next few months have to offer me. 

I’ve also had some park days here and there: one day last week with my mom (her first time at Disneyland!!) and a couple with my roommates. I’m doing my best to go as much as possible, but I also needed some time to relax as I’ve been going nonstop for over a week! I need to make time for editing videos, too. I have so much footage and no idea what to do with it!

If you’re reading this, thanks!! I think I’m going to use this blog as a bit of a diary, so when I’m feeling down, I can get my emotions out or when I have something fun to share I have an outlet. See ya next time!