What a journey it has been...

Tomorrow marks four weeks after completion of the Character Performer Audition for the Walt Disney World College Program in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

I have read several other people's blogs and have found them all very helpful in my journey throughout the 'CP' process thusfar, therefore I would like to think that this will one day help others who are in my shoes.

My journey really began when I visited Walt Disney World for the second time in my life for Christmas with my family in 2006. I spoke with a cast member working for DVC and she told me all about the program. I knew instantly that this is what I wanted to do. I had been considering working for Disney for several years now and I have applied for the program for the second time this past August. I had previously applied last year for the Fall 2009 season and was unable to do it because they did not give me an answer in time (I had already told my boss that I would be staying and she promoted me to a supervisor). I am glad now that I made this decision. It broke my heart to decline the opportunity, but there was no way that I could do the Fall Advantage program (it would be a SERIOUS pay cut, not to mention the promotion thing). So, I looked over my schedule for the rest of my 5-year intense program and realized that I could apply for Spring 2010! It actually turns out that this works better for my schedule than Fall 09 would have. So I applied as soon as the E-Presentation was available (August 26th) and was accepted via email on September 18th! This was a very exciting time for me, as I had been waiting so long to do the program!!! I was accepted for Quick Service Food and Beverage (as I figured I would be do to the nature of the phone interview- I will speak more about this later). I went to my school's Internship Office to figure out how to receive credit for the program. To my dismay, URI does not under any circumstance give credit for this program (which is ridiculous seeing as impressive schools like Perdue give credit!). I went back to that office to present my case several times, even showing them the courses that I could take that were ACE accredited, etc. It seemed that my only option would be to take online courses through URI to receive credit. I spoke with my Adviser about this problem and she worked really hard with me and everyone else involved to find out my options. Seeing as I am a planner, I had already looked into everything she did, so nothing new came about. I need to maintain concurrent enrollment to keep my scholarship at URI, which I NEED. So, I will be taking 4 online courses to keep it. My adviser found Professional Internships on the Disney Website (which I have applied for before and had no success). I told her it was near impossible to get a professional internship without doing the CP and she insisted that I try anyway. I applied for 3 professional internships on October 20th (one day before my 20th birthday!): Labor Analyst Internship, Industrial Engineer Internship (this is one of my two majors), and the Costuming Project Analyst Internship (this was my top choice). I received an email from the Labor Analyst Internship on October 28th (only 5 days after the application deadline) notifying me that I have been rejected. I have still yet to hear from the other two internships and I called to find out if I was still being considered last week. They told me that everyone would find out by the 28th (yesterday) of November. I have not heard yet, so I will give them a call on Monday to find out what the story is. Unfortunatly, I have already paid my housing deposit for the CP and this would not be refunded if I did receive a PI, but I would still be super excited (especially since I would likely be eligible for college credit and wouldn't have to take bogus onlines).

I forgot to mention that during my time of trying to get credit for the program, I was told by my adviser that participating in attractions would make me eligible for credit, so I emailed the recruiting team and they were able to move me to Attractions :)

This is wonderful because I have been in the F&B industry my entire life (my family owns a small restaurant, which is why they thought that I was so qualified for the position). So, I am really happy with Attractions and I am still trying to figure out what rides I should request...

On with my journey (sorry this is so long!!! I should have started this a while ago).

Once my role was changed to attractions I again tried to get credit for this internship. My adviser told me that she could get me credit for basically letting people on and off rides so no luck once again. Well, this was OK with me because I REALLY wanted to audition to be a Character Performer (what? you don't think Engineers can act? lol) I did NOT tell my adviser this because she is anti anything that does not involve engineering, lol. But a dream is a dream and when else would I get this opportunity?

Since I had applied for this program last year, I knew how the process went. You apply for Character, audition, and then when you are rejected, they will put you in another role with what space they have left. Well, as it turns out, they changed things this year!!! This is actually a really good thing for people who want to do the CP no matter what, because you are guaranteed a role (if you are accepted), then you audition for Character Performer and your role will be changed if you pass. (I'm really sorry if anyone is reading this who doesn't know anything about the CP, because it is all out of order and confusing!!!)

So, back to the beginning.

8/26/09- Watched E-Presentation, applied online, passed online interview
9/1/09- Had phone interview with Tiffany (same name as my sister, what fate!)
9/4/09- Received a "Thank You For Interviewing" Email stating that I will hear within 2-3 weeks
9/18/09- Receive my Invitation via Email
9/?/09- Got my purple folder for the second time in my life :-D
9/19/09- Received my email confirming the dates that I chose and confirming that I paid my Program Assessment Fee
9/21/09- Realized that I needed to take summer classes! Called Recruiting office, they were able to change my dates!!! Received a confirmation email for the date change.
10/?/09- Attempted to get credit several times, changed roles to Attractions, etc. Once I found out that I would not receive credit for Attractions, I called back to ask to be put back in the Rochester, NY Auditions.
10/8/09- Received my first Disney College Program Newsletter!!!
10/20/09- Reserved a hotel for the night of my audition in Rochester, NY. Also, applied for 3 PIs and took assessment for Costuming Analyst Internship
10/21/09- My birthday! Mike (my boyfriend of nearly 3 years) decides that he wants to apply for the WDWCP!!!! I am so happy! He later does his phone interview and passes with flying colors!
10/27/09- Received an email reminder for my upcoming Audition in Rochester, NY!
10/28/09- Mike receives his invitation via email!!! He is doing transportation, I am so happy! He is accepted into Spring Advantage (I am spring) :( He calls recruiting and they change him to Spring!!! My dates are no longer available, so we decide it is best to move in on the same day and he will leave two weeks after me. :-( Maybe this can be sorted out when we get there?
11/2/09- Drove to Rochester, NY (a 6-7 hour drive!) with my wonderful boyfriend, Mike. We spend the night, met some friends who are also from RI and went out with them. We each received a "Next Steps" sheet indicating that we would hear the results of our audition via email within 2-3 weeks (which was last week, still nothing!)
11/3/09- Roommate Notification. (I later found someone else who was a better match for me)
11/4/09- Found out that my dates were changed (this is great because they are now the same dates as Mike's!)
11/23/09- Emailed Christ Marciari (the contact listed on my "Next Steps" sheet) because I hadn't heard within the 3 week period. Received an "out of office" automatic email saying that she will not be back until 11/30
11/25/09- Received an email (almost died because I thought it was my audition results) from recruiting saying that my audition results are still being processed (no answer yet, Grr)
11/29/09- Decide to finally have my own BLOG about my DCP experience.

Now, I decided that I would talk about my interview, and I will also talk about my audition experience. But I will do it in separate entries since this one is already ridiculously long!

That's all for now!

-Tabitha