Merry Christmas!

It has been a long time since I last posted.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers :)

No news on the Disney front. No.. still no welcome email. But I'm not worried about it at this stage. I'm not the only one waiting, and STB got annoyed at me always asking about it. So I'm content to wait.. at this stage. Haha

It's nearly January.. which means soon I will be looking at booking my flights. Exciting!

I'm planning on going into an Air New Zealand travel agent to find out more about their fares. They have a Global Flexi Fare for long-haul flights that you can change at any time without incurring fees AND they will fully refund if you cancel before you depart. Which is great because you never know what might happen. So in the next few weeks I'll look into that. I already know which flight I want over there (along with the other girls, Keri, Natalie and Ashley) and I've also gotten a quote from Pop Century resort so it pretty much just leaves actually confirming this is what we're gonna do with the other girls then actually booking it!

I can't wait to book it!

Hehe. I'll post again after I've found some more information about flights.

Until then,

xx

7 Months To Go

This week, I finally received my background check from the Ministry of Justice. Only took them 5 weeks. Anyway, got that sent off to STB yesterday, so hopefully they should receive it within a couple of days. One less thing to wait for and worry about!

In my last post I mentioned how I still hadn't received any Disney welcome email. Well, I still haven't. And I definitely should have. Karina at STB has asked Disney to re-send it to me, so I'm hoping it will arrive soon. I want to feel a part of the Disney family! Right now I feel kinda excluded haha.

Meanwhile, things are getting exciting. I know there is still soo long to go, but it's so hard not to get excited about it now! We have been designing t-shirts (and by we, I mean the talented Karina and Mitchell). They are both FAB designs! So hard to choose between!

A couple girls and I have also started semi-planning our pre-Disney adventures. Ashely, Keri, Natalie and myself are planning on flying over earlier (maybe the 13th of July) and staying at a Disney resort - like Pop Century, which looks so much fun! The two days we have spare before we have to check-in at our apartments, we thought we could spend at Universal Studios and Harry Potter World. I am SO keen on this plan, and so is Keri, so hopefully Ashley and Natalie will be as well. Otherwise, maybe just me and Keri will go haha. But we aren't booking anything until we get more information from STB, like about visas and all that jazz.

Until next time..

xx

Mini Panic

So, I am STILL waiting for my background check to come through. Come on Ministry of Justice, whats taking so long? I have nothing on my record! So send it to me already!!

I just want more information from STB. Oh, on that note, I have heard that a couple of people in my group that are going on July 16th with me have recieved their "Welcome to Disney" email, telling them about the welcome packs and such. I haven't got mine yet! So now I'm having a mini panic wondering why. Mum keeps telling me to calm down and wait until monday.. argh I just want it now! Haha. But I need to calm myself, and I'm sure it will arrive next week. I HOPE!!

Otherwise, action will be taken!

Lol

xx

Some News

So I got the email back from STB about my program...
I had emailed them asking if I could extend my 6 month program to a year.. but, unfortunately, they said I am not allowed to change my program. All I can hope for is that once I complete my 6months, I will be able to complete another 6 months. Karina at STB said this is a possibility if I keep my record clean. SO, clean record will be my main mission at Disney!

I kinda wish I had've applied for a whole year to begin with. BUT then I wouldn't be able to be a Vacation Planner, so who knows, maybe its for the best. Mum sure is happy! Haha

Anyways, that's my little update today.
Ciao dolls

xx

Killing Time

The year so far has gone so fast. Now, time is just creeping by.
I know why though. It's because I want next July to hurry up and get here already.
It seems like forever away! Doesn't help that I have to get through 3 exams in the next two weeks, not to mention a WHOLE semester at uni before I can even think about leaving the country.

So, updates. Well, I know in my last post that I said I wouldn't post again until I had some actual news. But, things seem to be going so slowly, and I just feel like posting again :)
I'm still waiting for my background check to come through, I've lost track of when I sent away for it, so I don't know when it should be arriving. It feels like it should be soon, but who knows? I hope it is soon though, so I can send it to STB and get onto the next step.

Meanwhile, I've found quite a few people who are going to the program on the 16th July, same as me. It's so exciting! There's a couple from Australia, and a couple from NZ, hmm lets see: Tom, Mitchell, Shannon, Karina, Jake, Rebecca..
It's so cool getting to know other people who are going! Hopefully STB will be able to organise a group flight for us, because I am so scared of going through LAX airport by myself, especially with all my needles, and medications. (Thats another thing I'm worried about - getting all my diabetic supplies while I'm in the states! I will have to a have a good chat with my Diabetes specialist about sorting all that out).

I've also found a couple of books about Disney world that I'm keen to read; one called 'Mousetrapped' by a previous cast member, and the one pictured below, which is all about the parks at Walt Disney World.

Both of them are available on this book website here in NZ, so I'm gonna look at buying them soon - will give me something else to do while waiting for July 16th (:

Thats enough for now! Talk soon dolls!
xx

Excited !!

So, 265 days to go (Yeah, I'm counting it down.. haha!)
AND I'm still psyching myself up by reading everything about Florida and stuff. This phase will no doubt die off soon.. perhaps.
In the meantime, I've compiled a list of some of the things I'm really excited about seeing/doing while I'm there:

- Downtown Disney:
- planet hollywood
- cirque du soleil

- Sea World:
- Shamu
- Manta rollercoaster

- Universal Studios:
- the simpsons ride!!
- Harry potter world!
- Honeydukes (real life version)

- Animal Kingdom:
- Expedition Everest
- Kilimanjaro Safari

- Magic Kingdom:
- Pirates of the Carribbean
- Space Mountain
- Cinderella's castle

- Hollywood Studios:
- Tower of Terror (I don't know though, sounds scary!)

- Blizzard Beach

- Typhoon Lagoon

- General Orlando:
- Orlando Premium Outlets (shopping galore!)
- Hard Rock Cafe!

YAY!
That's enough for now. Next time I post, I'll make sure I have actual news!

xx

Playing the Waiting Game

So, the waiting game continues.

I have sent away for my criminal record from the Ministry of Justice - It will be completely empty, so I don't know why it has to take 20 working days (that's like a month!). I want it to hurry up so I can send it off to STB already! I have, however, emailed my new passport to Ashleigh at STB and told her I will be accepting my place in the program :D The nerve-wracking part about that is not being able to know if the email actually went through or not since I haven't recieved a reply yet (this is my main paranoia at the moment!).

Anyway, while I wait for my criminal record and for more information from STB, I have been psyching myself up by reading everything I can find about the Disney Program online. This website has been incredibly helpful! Especially the forums, I can spend hours on there - which I have been doing in lieu of finishing off uni assignments.. whoops! Reading alumni blogs is also fascinating too. It just makes me want to go even more!

Ahh and I'm so excited about going to Harry Potter World!! Universal Studios looks incredible! Although, I guess perhaps I shouldn't be so excited about visiting the competition! Haha.

Also, before I go, I found my job description:
Vacation Planner
Responsibilities may include:

• Selling ticket media to Guests
• Achieving monthly sales goals and maintaining minimum sales requirements
• Working with a computerized ticket system, offering Guests tickets from a menu of over 128 different ticket configurations
• Having a strong knowledge of the Walt Disney World® Resort and its ticket media
• Handling large amounts of cash
• Understanding the Guests’ needs while helping them select the right-fit tickets for their vacations
• Being able to work under pressure and overcoming Guest objections
• Assisting with audience control, including during parades
• Standing for extended periods, working outdoors
• Working at multiple locations – potentially all four Theme Parks in any given week

Sounds fun! (Mostly.....)
That's all for now!

Acceptance!

Hi Everyone!

So I just (yesterday in fact) recieved my email from STB Pacific notifying me that I had been offered a position in the Walt Disney World International Program commencing July 16th 2011, in the role of Vacation Planner.

I was extremely excited and overwhelmed when I opened the email, so much so that I actually burst into tears! I learnt about the program through a presentation at university about a month ago. It sounded like an incredible experience, so I signed up then and there and had an interview with the American recruiter that night. However, a month had gone with no news, so I followed up with the helpful people at STB (Student Travel Bureau) in Australia. Turns out that they had my email address written down wrong, and I had been offered the position a week ago!

My next step was to request a background check from the Ministry of Justice here in New Zealand and send a copy of my brand-new passport to STB, which I did today. From there, STB will help arrange flights, insurance and visas. They're fantastic, and help with everything!

Now it's just a waiting game to get my background check certificate back and send it through to STB (it'll probably take about a month).. and then I'll learn more about what happens next!

July seems like forever away, in fact, I have another whole semester left at uni before I get to go to Florida! But I'm sure it will go super fast. I'm so excited and scared at the same time - my first time away from home, and overseas by myself! My mum keeps crying about me going haha.. I know I will miss everyone so much, but it's the opportunity of a lifetime!

This blog will be my outlet, and my way of documenting the whole process. I found reading blogs helpful, so hopefully this will one day help someone else!