I CREATED A CHANNEL

I decided a long time ago that if I was ever accepted into the Disney International Program that I would vlog and document my whole Disney experience. The purpose behind this is for my friends and family to keep up to date with all my adventures and for future applicants and participants to find out more about the program from a cast members point of view. I made my first video just a few days ago. The link for my channel is below and I hope you all enjoy my vlogs :D 

My Channel

Jodie :)
Have a magical day ºOº 

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Well folks.... guess what? IM MOVIN TO DISNEY :D 
EARLY this morning (23rd September), I received an email from Disney recruiting congratulating me on my acceptance into the Disney International Program for January 2015. 
As I was half asleep, I had to make sure I was actually awake and not dreaming. After finally waking up, I opened up the email, then the Acceptance letter and saw that I had been accepted into the role of QSFB. As much as I was hoping for Merchandise, I am still excited for Quick Service Food and Beverage. I'm guessing I was given this role as I have quite a bit of experience working in Fast Food. 

I had a few technical issues with the Disney Careers site as i'm guessing every AU/NZ applicant who were accepted, got their offer at the same time and we're trying to log on at the same time. That aside, I accepted my role and confirmed my arrival details. 

ITS OFFICIAL!!!!!
I will be checking into Vista Way on Tuesday 13th January. 
Congratulations to all the Australian and New Zealand participants who have been accepted :) 

VLOGS, BLOGS AND WHAT NOT

Warning.. this post will probably be all over the place :P
If your reading this, i'm guessing you have either applied, thinking about applying or just wondering what the Disney International Program consists of. There is a lot of information out there that is based around this program. A number of current and previous participants have either vlogged or blogged about their Disney experience. 

Blog- A personal website or webpage on which an individual records their opinions and experiences.
Vlog- Basically the same a blogging but the postings are generally always in video form. 

I personally think it's a great for your family to see all the fun your having. It is also a great way for potentially participants to see a glimpse of what life in the program is like. It's kind of like a research tool in a way. 

If you are interested in watching some amazing vlogger's, I have listed some of my favourites below:
- https://www.youtube.com/user/pixelsandpixiedust/videos (Megan)
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp6GLTo9J6-t-_xJMkwPptA/videos (Sarah)
- https://www.youtube.com/user/amypuddlesDCP/videos (Amy)
- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDgCPRQYeus65t8vUTq0zUw/videos (Annie)
- https://www.youtube.com/user/rayli81/videos (Rachel)

Enjoy :)

That's about it for know :) 
17 days till my interview :D

Jodie

T-Minus 4 Weeks

Today marks 4 weeks until my interview with the international recruiters :) Excited to say the least.  

One Step Closer

This morning I woke up to a magical email from Disney Recruiting, inviting me to one of their presentations in Australia. I then received a 2nd email from recruiting asking me to complete the role checklist. 

I first logged into my Disney Dashboard on the international recruiting website. That blue bar pictured below said "action required". I clicked on the link on the dashboard that allowed me to fill out my role checklist. For each role listed, there was a short video attached, and then we had to choose whether we had a high interest, moderate interest, low interest or no interest at all for that particular role. You have to do this for each and every role that is listed on the checklist. 
Once you filled all that out we had to electronically sign the checklist. What I mean by this is that you basically type your name and agree to what was written. (from memory as I have edited this post)

The second step was to choose your presentation and interview location. For each presentation there are numerous time slots available for the interview. These time slots are 1 hour in length. This means you must arrive at least 15 minutes before the start of the time slot. The interviewers will call you for your interview anywhere between the start and finish time. This also means that you must be available for the full 1 hr. (if that makes sense). 

You should then receive a confirmation email from recruiting confirming your interview location, date and time. Don't panic if your dashboard still says 'ACTION REQUIRED' because mine said that for about half an hour after I finished all the required steps and was slightly confused. But it fixed itself in the end.

Now my dashboard says INTERVIEW STAGE!! :D :D YAYYY!! 
As my presentation date and interview is towards the end of the recruiters trip (2nd last day) ... GOOD LUCK TO ALL AUSSIES AND NEW ZEALANDERS THAT ARE INTERVIEWING BEFORE ME :D  

The Waiting Game

Its been about 14 weeks since I applied on the Disney International Programs website. The waiting game is never fun. We should hopefully hear from the recruiters in the next 2 weeks regarding the interviews for Australia. At this stage the recruiters are only heading to Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Melbourne. Disney is still confirming the locations, so I hear this is the reason why the wait has been so long.

The recruiters are currently running presentations and doing interviews in New Zealand at the moment. Good Luck to all the New Zealanders who have interviews in the next couple of weeks :D

For now, all i can do is WAIT :\ 

Jodie ºOº

DORMS

I mentioned in the last post about DORMS and that I would elaborate more on that in a separate post. Well here I am to talk about DORMS. What is that you may ask. 

DORMS stands for Disney Onsite Resident Management System. Its a software system that decides where you are placed for housing based on your age, arrival date and your gender, before you arrive in Orlando. Previously before DORMS, you would be placed into an apartment with whoever you were standing with in line. 

Participants under 21 are automatically placed into wellness which means no alcohol under any circumstances. Disney are pretty strict about this rule. Everyone you wish to room with must all have the same arrival and departure date to be eligible to room together. 

About 10 days before your arrival date, you should receive an email from Disney which lists all the steps and instructions on how to use DORMS correctly. 
In DORMS you can place a preference for which apartment complex you wish to reside in, the size of the unit that you would prefer and which roommates you would like to live with.

For more in depth information about DORMS you can check out the disneyprogramsblog website. 

Have a magical day ºOº 

All About Disney Housing

Disney offer all program participants the option of living in Disney housing. During DORMS (i'll explain that in a separate post), you can either opt in or out of housing. Be aware that if you are opting out of housing that you must provide proof of where you will be staying, during your program. If you opt out of housing, you will not have access to all the facilities that Disney offer to all participants including the use of the busses. This means you will have to find our own transport to work. 

Disney recently installed bunk beds into the 1 and 2 bedroom apartments in Chatham, Patterson and The Commons. This is probably to allow more participants into the program and a way for participants to save some extra money. 

Disney offer 4 different housing properties for participants to live in whilst you are undertaking your program. The 4 housing properties that are on offer are; Vista Way, Chatham Square, Patterson Court and The Commons. 

Vista Way:

Vista Way is the oldest apartment complex on Disney property. According to majority of participants, it is fairly run down and needs some TLC. It is known to many as the party complex. Vista Way is the main hub for the busses. It is in close vicinity to fast food outlets (handy if you don't really know how to cook or can't be bothered cooking) and Walgreens. Facilities at Vista include:

• Sand volleyball court, tennis courts, basketball courts and 2 pools
• Disney learning centre with a computer lab
• Clubhouse with free wifi and lounge area
• Laundry facilities
• Fitness centre

Housing Prices: 

2 BR 4 Person $98

3 BR 6 Person $89

Chatham Square:

Many of the housing events are held at Chatham. There is a bus stop located at Chatham.  Chatham tends to be the most popular apartment complex as the apartments are in good condition, look quite nice and not to expensive. Facilities at Chatham Square include: 

• Volleyball courts, tennis courts and a pool
• Mickeys Retreat which is located between Chatham and The Commons
• Classrooms
• Clubhouse lobby
• Laundry facilities
• Fitness centre

Housing Prices:

1 BR 2 Person - $105

1 BR 3 Person $85

2 BR 6 Person $78

3 BR 6 Person $92

4 BR 8 Person $91

Patterson Court:

Patterson Court is the newest apartment complex. Patterson doesn't have its own bus stop but is only a short walk away from Chatham. Facilities at Patterson Court include: 

• Swimming pool
• Clubhouse lobby
• Classrooms
• Laundry facilities
• Fitness centre

Housing Prices:

1 BR 2 Person - $105

1 BR 3 Person $85

2 BR 4 Person $103

2 BR 5 Person $80

3 BR 6 Person $92

The Commons:

Previously The Commons used to only be available for International Program participants but Disney recently changed this so that all participants including CPers, are allowed to reside in the complex. Although The Commons does have a bus stop, not all busses stop there. The Commons is located across the road from the outlet shops which is great if you love a bit of a shopping spree. It is also close (walking distance) to Publix and Walgreens. According to previous participants, there are laundry facilities in each apartment. 

Facilities at The Commons include:

• Volleyball courts, tennis courts and a swimming pool
• Fitness centre
• Mickeys retreat which is located between Chatham and The Commons
• Clubroom
• Clubhouse lobby
• Laundry facilities in each apartment

Housing Prices: 

1 BR 2 Person - $109

1 BR 3 Person - $89

2 BR 4 Person - $107

2 BR 5 Person $82

3 BR 6 Person $95

4 BR 8 Person $94 

Have a magical day ºOº 

What Is The Disney International Program

The Disney Australia/NZ Cultural Exchange Program is a program run by Disney that allows  students or recent graduates from Australia and New Zealand to work for 5 to 12 months at WALT DISNEY WORLD IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA! :) 

To be eligible for this amazing program you must meet these requirements:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Be a citizen of Australia or New Zealand
• Be a current student at an accredited post-secondary university or at a tertiary-level accredited educational (TAFE)/Polytechnic institution and have completed the first full year of study prior to application
• Recent graduates of a university or TAFE/Polytechnic may also apply but must start work at WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT within 12 months of their graduation date
• Per Visa regulations, you may not study via correspondence

Roles on offer during the Disney program include:

• Operations which include either Main Entrance or Attractions
• Character Performer
• Concierge
• Costuming
• Custodial
• Front Desk
• Full Service Food and Beverage (FSFB)
• Lifeguard
• Merchandise
• Recreation
• Quick Service Food and Beverage (QSFB)
• Vacation Planner

Disney also provides the opportunity for participants to take classes or attend seminars at Disney University. 

Have a magical day ºOº

Just A Bit Of An Introduction

Why hello there and welcome to my tumblr blog page thing :) My name is Jodie and i’m 19 years young from good ol’ Melbourne, Australia (pronounced Mel-ben) :) 

On April 22nd 2015, I submitted my resume, cover letter and application for the January 2015 Disney Australia/NZ Cultural Exchange Program.

Me with Buzz Lightyear at Disneyland in 2000

Roughly a week later I got an email back from Disney recruiting, requesting that I submit documents to them via DOCS within a week. 

Those documents that I had to submit were:

• Proof of Student Status form
• Copy of my Passport Information Page
• Input passport information
• Emergency contact details
• Current address information
• Visa Appointment Location (not actual appointment but closest U.S Embassy that you would plan to do the visa interview at if you were accepted)

Not everyone is sent a request to submit documents to DOCS at once. Apparently this is to prevent the system from crashing. Now for the waiting game.

Have a magical day ºOº