Summer in the City!

I'm kind of insane. It's something I've come to terms with in the past 19 years and realized cannot be changed. I'm comfortable with it. You should be too. 


In all of my cray glory, I went into Manhattan the other day (May 25) for the sole purpose of seeing the Disney Magic docked on the West Side for the first time ever. She'll make her home port here for the summer. I watched her sail into NY harbor that morning on a webcam because I couldn't get my lazy self out of bed that early. 


But I walked (and dragged my friend with me... sorry) all the way from 7th avenue to the West Side Highway (which, if you don't know NYC, is a reasonably substantial distance) only to see my ship (and it is mine. MINE  and no one else's) and stare at it for a grand total of 10 minutes before being dragged away to accomplish more productive things, such as Starbucks. 

From the webcam

My boat came to see me!

It's also Fleet Week, so... yeah. Productive trip. 

And we finish off the afternoon with some lounging by the river. 

I currently do not have a trip booked on the magic for this summer, which is unspeakable cruelty and it is casting intense shame and first world problems upon my family. I don't wanna talk about it. 

But I'm putting out some serious subliminal messages to the fam to book something for July... those 5-nights to Canada look sweet. I'm totally willing to sleep in the brig at night if I have to. Whatever it takes. 

Only a little over two months until I get my CM discount. Lalalalalaaaaa. 

It's summer already? No, can't be!

It is though. And people started arriving in Walt Disney World for Fall Advantage last week and they're all training and working and happy and I'm sitting in my house stalking everyone relentlessly and completely shamelessly. 


My sophomore year (or the first semester of my junior year, if you want to get technical) of college ended last Friday. I'm home for the summer. I'm doing an internship in production/PR/marketing for a theater production company in Manhattan and working basically remotely from home. And then I'm doing tech work for a theater festival in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn on the side. And it's all unpaid. Which is really fun for the five cents that is currently in my checking account... especially when I have to commute to the city twice per week. But it's all an adventure and I'm living and it's fun.


I'm not working tomorrow. Instead, I'm wrangling up a few of my friends and going to see the Disney Magic as it docks for the very first time in New York. And I'm just gonna stare at it. No shame. Ever. 


This year is going to change things so much. This summer is opening me up to so many opportunities and connections, and then in three months, I'll be living and working and playing in Disney World. And then in January, I'll be off to spend a semester in London. And then who knows what will happen? It's all so exciting. 


But three months. Disney. Three months. I haven't even unpacked from moving out of my dorm yet, but I feel the need to start piling stuff up for my Disney apartment, or at the very least, start making lists. I like lists. 


Oh, and we have a full apartment! I'll be living with five awesome girls, hopefully, in an apartment in Chatham and I am so so so excited for it. Really excited that we got that all squared away. We're affectionately referring to our apartment as the Princess Palace and we have planned a dinner at Ohana for the night before check-in. I hope everything works out the way we're planning!


Other than that, nothing much is up. I'm trying to see my way clear of a bunch of dorm stuff and clothes everywhere. I'm spending my days writing press releases and stringing lights for plays, and I have a summer full of beach trips and city excursions and concerts ahead and three months from right now, I want to be in the Magic Kingdom watching Wishes. Or sleeping... whichever seems more appropriate at that point in time. 

Mid-April Musings...

I'm still going to talk about my cruise. A lot. I promise I will. Because it was a spectacular week and a spectacular vacation and I met some amazing people (Hint: Bob Iger, Tom Staggs, Karl Holz, Tom Wolber, John Lasseter, etc.) and it completely changed my perspective on life and my future and my career and I also got a really nice tan. 


BUT... I came home and immediately slipped back into school-is-trying-to-brutally-murder-me mode. And for the past week and a half, I have been trying really hard not to succumb to the dirty, dirty ploys of my professors and their grade books. 


As of today, I am happy to say that:
1) There are four weeks left of the semester.
2) I got an A on the midterm paper that I thought I bombed. My professor spent the entire class about how he was horrified that he was going to have to give his 300-level class full of English majors a lesson on grammatical structure, and then I got my paper back and it was an A, and I'm pretty sure my professor and I are soulmates and I finally have the courage I need to ask him for my recommendation to study abroad next spring, so that's getting done on Thursday. 
3) I've been having some major issues with my school's academic advising office about the CP. They basically look at me as if I have three and a half heads whenever I venture into the office to talk to them about it, and they've become convinced that there is no possible way that I could do the program and remain enrolled in school full-time. So in their view, I would have to withdraw for a semester and lose my financial aid and my health insurance and all that fun stuff. But because it would be an absolute novelty if any departments in my school communicated with each other at all, the office of advising did not know about the career development center's off-campus internship program, which will get me an entire semester's worth of credits. So I'm going to their office and getting all that squared away tomorrow and it will be fabulous. 
4) I applied for about 15 summer internships today. Let's backtrack a bit... I was all but promised a summer internship in development at a rather large network based in Manhattan... I, stupidly, stopped my search, convinced that I already had a position for the summer, when... HAHAH JUST KIDDING, THERE IS NO INTERNSHIP FOR ME. So, all of the major network internships are already filled. Great. But I applied to a few at some production companies in the city. Within a half hour of filling out an application, I was already e-mailed by the hiring manager of a pretty major international theatrical production company based in the Village. Not counting my chickens before they're hatched again, but this is looking good... 
5) Finally... I FOUND ROOMMATES! Well, a roommate and an apartment mate, and I don't want to say too much about it yet, because it was literally finalized about an hour ago, but I think we will get along very, amazingly, extremely nicely. We're going for Chatham, methinks. And that's fine and dandy by me. I have a group of D-fam friends who are over 21 and going non-wellness who will be aiming to live in building 27 in Chatham, and it's my goal to be their neighbors. If all goes as planned, I will be surrounded by spectacular people at all times. Even if all doesn't go as planned, how could I not be surrounded by spectacular people always? I'll be in Disney! 


Anyway, I have a term paper to write. I promise there will be cruise details soon. And also cute CP preparation things. As soon as I can inch my head from outside of this pile of books and breathe again. 

Coming at you LIVE from the Disney Fantasy!

This ship is amazing. The cast members are amazing. The entire experience of being on a maiden voyage is completely amazing. I'm in love. I'm obsessed. I never want to leave.

More than all of that, this cruise has completely solidified my NEED to work for Disney, in any capacity. It was wavering of late, but I've realized that the CP is something I need to do like I need oxygen. Also equivalent to the need for oxygen: a job onboard Disney Cruise Line... but that will come with time. (2014 casting office... get ready.)

Posting a full trip report when I get home because I'm cool. I'll be home on Saturday. Tears.

Oh. School.

I haven't posted in a LONG time. I've been drowning in school stuff and sorority stuff to the point that I don't have anything in my life in order, let alone Disney stuff. I know I have __ days to go before I move in on August 20! I'm flying down with my mother in my aunt on August 18 and staying at the Holiday Inn Sunspree until check-in.

I don't have a roommate or apartmentmates yet. Sadface. Haven't had much time to look. I'm considering going random, but I really want to find people to live with before I go down. I have met some incredible people on Facebook and I CANNOT wait to meet them.

If I go down. I'm in the midst of a huge brawl with my advisors and my school's financial aid office. They initially told me I would be able to remain a full time student while on the program. Now they're telling me I'll have to temporarily withdraw from school in order to do the program for a semester, which is absolute BS. My next effort is to find a professor who can sign on with me for an independent study. Which may or may not be totally plausible. I don't know. I only know that I won't be giving up so easily. I WILL be in Florida in August! (right? right?)

But in any case, I am currently 71 hours away from going home for spring break. And that makes me five days out from boarding the Disney Fantasy for its maiden voyage!!!!!!!!! WOOOO!!!! So my energy is focused on that. And the ridiculous amount of work I'll have to do within the next three days, but mostly on that. I think I'm going to post a full trip report on here when I get back, because it's my blog and I can.

Until then, I thought I'd organize my thoughts (because there are way too many of them) and get myself organized. Out loud. In blog form. Bear with me. Here's my to-do list... For before August 17, 2012.

1. Travel on the maiden voyage of the Disney Fantasy and have the best vacation ever. Get advice from crew members about CM life, going from DCP to DCL, etc.
2. Buy and send my DCP Secret Easter Bunny gift
3. Continue vlogging.
4. Book a trip on the Disney Magic for when it's based in Manhattan over the summer.
5. Make a paper countdown chain or something. Be cute like that.
6. Apply and be accepted to the Semester in London program for Spring 2013.
7. Be accepted to an internship for summer 2012.
8. Find a Disney roommate.
9. Make a packing list.
10. Shop for apartment stuff.
11. Start my vinylmation collection once and for all.
12. Reread all of the Harry Potter books in preparation for my season passes to Harry Potter world.

And other stuff. I'll figure it out later.

Six Months From Today

I will be checking in at Vista Way...

This is absofrigginglutely surreal. There's so much I have to do. I need to make a countdown chain. I need a roommate. I need a packing list. I need to see my advisor and register for courses. I need to actually survive this semester...

But six months... SIX MONTHS. SSSSSSIIIIIIXXXXXX MMMMMMOOOOOONNNNNNTTTTTTHHHHHHSSSSSS!!!!!!

ACCEPTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHH!. WALT WAS RIGHT. DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE. #corny

All day today, everyone was posting about their acceptances in the Facebook group. And my e-mail inbox was empty. Concentrating in class was impossible. Concentrating on homework was impossible. Concentrating on drinking a cup of coffee was impossible. But no one had been accepted for BBB or character attendant yet, so I was hoping they were doing everything by role.

Then, sitting in the coffee shop in my school's library with my friend, at 4:08 p.m., the light on my Blackberry began to flash. And then the RIGHT e-mail inbox was highlighted on my display. And then I opened my inbox to see an e-mail from wdw.college.recruiting and it said "Congratulations" in the subject line and right there... right in the middle of the coffee shop in the middle of my university's library, I screamed.

My friend grabbed my phone from me and read the e-mail before I did. I logged onto my computer and opened it on a full screen. It was so beautiful. It was all purple and pretty and amazing.



Looooook! Isn't it cutteeeeeeeeeeeeeee?


So there it was... on the first day of Fall 2012 acceptances, exactly two weeks from my phone interview date, I was accepted to the Disney College Program.

What's wrong with this picture, though? There's no role here. Disney is doing things differently this year. They're putting a link to your role offer/session offer/pay in the bottom of your e-mail. You have to log in through your new hire portal in order to retrieve all that information.

But in grand Emily fashion, my new hire portal is not functioning. So I'm in! I am! I am! But I don't know when I'm going... or what I'm doing... yet. I spent about a half hour on the phone with recruiting and they told me they were going to fix the issue (it was a glitch in my dashboard... new system, new problems) and resend my acceptance e-mail within 48 hours. I'm going to wait 24, and then I'm going to go crazy.

UPDATE: FEBRUARY 9, 2012, 9:30 AM:

I woke up to my second congratulations e-mail this morning. I HAVE A ROLE! I'll be a CHARACTER ATTENDANT cast member for the FALL 2012 Walt Disney World College Program season! I COULD NOT BE MORE ECSTATIC!



It's TRUE!



While BBB was my first role choice, as a character attendant, I am now in the entertainment division of the company. More so, I'm making the entertainment happen, meaning I'm in production. I'll be able to put Entertainment Production Intern for the Walt Disney Company on my resume, which will help me exponentially in my career. I'll also get to be in the parks, moving around, having interaction with guests of all types from all over the world and introducing children to their heros. My recruiter knew what she was doing, and if I ever get to meet her, I will thank her forever.

This is going to be the experience of a lifetime. I know I will make lifelong friends. I know I will gain valuable work experience. And I know, without a doubt, that I will discover so much about myself and have the time of my life.

I'll be arriving on August 20, 2012 and departing on January 4, 2013. My family is more excited than I am. My mother already booked the Sunspree across the street from Vista Way and our flights to Orlando (yeah, we're flying) for check-in. I'll be arriving in Orlando on August 18.

I can't believe this is actually happening! I can't believe it's FINALLY MY TURN! And of course, I'll be keeping you all updated every step of the way.