DCP Alumni Survey (Vlog)

Found this fun survey from Kaela's vlog, and decided to share my answers with you!

Survey Questions:

1. Name/age on the program/when you did the program
2. Did you live in Vista Way, Chatham Square, Patterson Court or The Commons?
3. Did you get along with all of your roommates?
4. Where did you work?
5. What was the best thing about working there?
6. What was the worst thing about working there?
7. Who was your favorite manager?
8. Were you friends with your coworkers?
9. Was there anyone you would have liked to hook up with/date?
10. How did you meet your best friends on the program?
11. Did you ever have a guest get mad at you?
12. Did you ever get a reprimand?

YOUR FAVORITES
Park:
Parade:
Hollywood Studios show:
Nighttime show:
Land in MK:
Country in World Showcase:
Top 5 favorite attractions: (Woops forgot to do this one)

DID YOU EVER...
Eat at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre?
Go on Carousel of Progress?
Ride Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover?
Take any Disney classes?
Take the bus?
Do anything you're not supposed to on a ride?

Would you ever consider moving to Orlando?
Would you ever do another college program?
Would you ever do a professional internship?
Are you glad you did the program?

Happy new year everyone!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

I hope everyone has a magical and safe Christmas! This weekend I was able to visit a lot of my relatives on both sides of my family, which was really nice since I'm going to be leaving in exactly two weeks! It's always nice to reconnect with everyone, even if it's only for a short period of time. I'm glad I got to see everyone before this huge adventure waiting for me in Florida! I was even able to make my packing list during the drive home, which is making the DCP even more real! I still can't believe it's arriving so soon!

I'll be posting about packing and other pre-DCP information soon, but until then, Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

Disney Challenge Day 30: Favorite Theme Park Attraction/Ride

50 Day Disney Challenge

Day Thirty: Favorite Theme Park Attraction/Ride

Rockin' Roller Coaster is my all time favorite ride, not just including Disney parks. I love the concept and how it speeds from zero to sixty miles per hour in 2.8 seconds. Waiting in line for this ride actually sparked my interest in Aerosmith's music, which I'm sure was the original intent of the ride. Their music is so fun to listen to during those long waiting times, it definitely makes the process more fun! The ride is so fast and so fun, I'm so excited to get to ride it again when the Disney College Program starts! I've already decided with my friend and roommate that Hollywood Studios and this ride are going to be the first stops as soon as we get our free passes into the parks.

(Full 50 Day Challenge List)

Make sure to like and follow The Disney Den on Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter! :)

Weekly Disney Park Surprises in 2013!

Cinderella in front of the ice castle in  Time Square

Disney has recently announced that in 2013 they will be using social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to spread news about random and impromptu theme weeks in Disneyland and Walt Disney World! This idea is called "Limited Time Magic," and will include sudden dance parties, rare meet-and-greets, new menu and merchandise items, and different decorations with colored lighting.

The company gave a little taste of the unexpected magic by erecting a three-story castle made of ice in New York's Time Square on October 17 of this year. Future "Limited Time Magic" ideas include week-long celebrations of Valentines day and the Fourth of July, "Pirate Week," 3-D chalk art, and "Long Lost Friends Week," where rare costumed characters come out of the safe and meet with guests.

I'm personally super excited for this announcement, especially since I'll be working there in 2013! It'll be fun to see a different and random themed week without real notice...unless I'm notified beforehand since I'll be a cast member. I hope the "Long Lost Friends" week is while I'm there, it'll be cool to see some old rare characters walking around the park again!

What are you excited most for the "Limited Time Magic"?

For fun updates on all things Disney, subscribe to The Disney Den now!

Make sure to check us out on Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter! :)

Walkthrough of Gaston's Tavern

Many avid Disney fans know about the new Fantasyland Expansion in Walt Disney World, which will include two new castles, various restaurants, and a few new rides. The first section that has been opened for a preview is Belle's castle, which includes a Be Our Guest restaurant, story time with Belle, and Gaston's Tavern.

I recently have discovered a walkthrough video of Gaston's Tavern from the Youtube Channel "Inside the Magic." This will be a quick service food and beverage location. I'm secretly hoping to get assigned there for the college program (since QSFB is my role), but I have no control over that...so we'll just have to wait and see!

Aren't the cast members' costumes adorable?!

I'll be posting more about the Fantasyland Expansion in the near future! Stay tuned!

For fun updates on all things Disney, subscribe to The Disney Den now!

Make sure to check us out on Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter! :)

Splash Mountain Refurbishment in 2013

Looks like Br'er Rabbit is going to be busy next year! It was recently brought to my attention that Splash Mountain is going to be closed in Disney World for three months of refurbishment from January 2nd to March 19, and reopening March 20 in 2013.

Splash Mountain usually goes under about a month of refurbishment in the early part of the year, but it looks like Disney is going to take more time to smooth out some of the performance issues the ride usually experiences. I remember the log cars were backed up and jammed when I visited Disney World a few years ago. From what I've heard from other people, the ride still has similar problems.

Even though I'm a little sad that I won't be able to ride it during the first part of my DCP, I'm excited to be able to experience the newly polished Splash Mountain as soon as it opens again!

See you soon!

For more Disney updates, subscribe to The Disney Den now!

Be sure to check The Disney Den out on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter!

Source

My Disney Bucket List

Before I was even accepted into the Disney College Program, I decided I needed to make a bucket list of things I wanted to do during my DCP adventure. I've seen quite a few bucket lists online on Tumblr and in random video blogs, so those gave me a few new ideas I had never really thought of before.

Today during my physical geography class, I got so bored I noticed that in the back of my assignment book there were these little "To Do" lists. I thought, hmm...this can be perfect to start brainstorming my bucket list! So to pass the time, I started to write down the first activities that came to mind that I have wanted to do for an extremely long time.

I'll share with you what I have written so far, and I'll continue to add more when new goals come to mind!

1. Meet all the Disney princesses. (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Belle, Jasmine, Ariel, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida)
2. Meet as many characters as possible, but especially: Flynn Ryder, Rafiki and The Incredibles. (Also Megara if she somehow makes her way to the parks.)
3. Conquer the "Kitchen Sink."
4. Take Haunted Mansion backstage tour.
5. Learn how to surf in Typhoon Lagoon.
6. Visit both water parks. (Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach)
7. Eat at every country in EPCOT. (Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Japan, Italy, America, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, Canada)
8. See all the shows offered in the parks, especially Wishes, Fantasmic, Indiana Jones Stunt Show and The Lion King.
9. Buy a pair of Mickey/Minnie ears.
10. Play "Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom"
11. Show my best friend Holly EVERYTHING if she visits.
12. Spend as much time with my family when they visit.
13. Be there during the opening and kiss goodnight in the Magic Kingdom
14. Visit Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 
15. Visit DisneyQuest.
16. Hang out at Mickey's Retreat.
17. Eat at Ohana.
18. Have dinner at Be Our Guest.

Obviously, this list is going to grow as time goes by and ideas come to mind. But these are the first ones that I've always wanted to do!

Do you have a Disney bucket list? Maybe some recommendations for my time in the program?

Be sure to check The Disney Den out on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter!

Happy Birthday EPCOT!

Today marks EPCOT's 30th anniversary! 

EPCOT poster!

If you've never been to EPCOT, you're truly missing out an amazing experience! You can tour different cultures and parts of the world, as well as explore many aspects of the future, technology and space! My favorite ride is definitely Test Track.

To learn more about this amazing Disney park, check out Disney's official EPCOT website here :)

On a side note, today also marks Magic Kingdom's 41st anniversary! It's just a fantastic day of celebration in Walt Disney World Resort!!

EPCOT and Magic Kingdom!

Have a magical day!

ACCEPTED!!!!!

I would like to announce, that I am officially a Disney College Program cast member in Walt Disney World!!! I got the email yesterday afternoon notifying me that I'm officially a Quick Service Food and Beverage cast member from January to May! I'm so excited!!!!

QSFB wasn't my first choice, but it wasn't my last so I'm perfectly fine with it! I'm excited to have a lot of guest interaction and (most likely) work in the parks! My best friend and I have the same type of job, so that makes things exciting as well!

We're thinking about having our arrival date at the beginning of January. We want to be there ASAP! :)

I'm just so happy!!! I didn't think I was going to get my email yesterday, because the day before they were sending emails much earlier in the morning. My friend texted me saying some people were getting accepted, so I used my friend's laptop at school and found out I was in!

Since I am officially going to be a part of the DCP, this blog will contain details about me getting prepared in the next few months, and then my journey throughout the program! Don't worry, this blog was originally started as a tool to keep in touch and inform my family, friends, and followers about the program if I got accepted (which I did!!). There is no way I'm going to forget to inform you guys about everything!!

Now comes the agonizing part....having to go through my last semester at school :P Concentration isn't really at its finest moment right now...I'll just have to keep moving forward, because at the end of the road, my dream is waiting for me!!

To follow my DCP journey and many other Disney updates, subscribe to The Disney Den now!

Make sure you check us out on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook!

Dole Whip Dreams

One of my favorite blogs, DCP Dreams Come True, recently wrote a post about how she unexpectedly got placed to work the Dole Whip station in Adventureland when usually she's in Frontierland. I read this post right before I went to sleep last night, so I had a very interesting dream that involved working at the Dole Whip booth that I thought it'd be interesting to share with you.

(My dreams are usually extremely detailed and bizarre...one reason why I get all of my story ideas from my dreams. So just warning you...it gets random lol)

I dreamt that I was working quick service food and beverage at the Disney College Program, and I was assigned to work the Dole Whip booth (obviously). The entire time I was absolutely horrible with making the Dole Whips look good and presentable (like the picture)! To make matters worse, just as I was getting the hang of it, we started running out of the Dole Whip itself! The line was piling up, and I could see people I knew like my cousins and classmates from high school getting really aggravated with me for not getting their order filled on time. I found a new station, but someone lied to me and said it was working when it really wasn't! To make matters even more stressful, everyone had to stop what they were doing and listen to the national anthem for like five minutes.....

Yeah. I'm really weird.

What's really weird is that I've never had Dole Whip before...I didn't even know about it until I went to Disneyland last year!! I heard it's absolutely amazing. Next time I make a trip/go to the College Program, I'll be sure to try one!

Confessions & Revenge of a Disney Employee

One day I was kind of browsing through Youtube and I decided to search Disney stuff. Usually I look up songs and whatnot, but the other day I just searched "Disney" to see what would come up.

The search brought me to some of the most entertaining and funny two Disney videos I've seen.

The thing is, they aren't about the movies or anything. They're about this ex cast member that used to work in Disney World's Hollywood Studios (I think back then it was still MGM).  The first video talks about his experiences in general as a cast member, and his love for free food (you'll understand once you watch the video). The second video shows the events that led up to his last days working as a cast member, which is equally as hilarious. (Vista Waaaaayyyy bahahaha.)

Enjoy!

Confessions of a Disney Employee

Revenge of the Disney Employee

Ohh man. My brother and I quote the first one (QUICK!! I just stole this bread because I'm poor, and you're poor too!!) all the time. Our little town actually has a Vista Lane...which definitely made us laugh last time we drove by it.

Which video is your favorite? If you worked at Disney, have you had some crazy experiences like this ex cast member?

Love Disney? Subscribe to The Disney Den right now for more!!

Check us out on Tumblr, Facebook, and Twitter!