Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, it's off to work we go...

I decided to put in a few requests of my own. At first glance, I figured I'd want to work at Animal Kingdom the most, followed by Disney's Hollywood Studios. I didn't want to work at Magic Kingdom simply because I knew the hours were atrocious, and EPCOT didn't have any stores that appealed to me. Now that I've thoroughly done my research on the merchandise locations on Disney property, I've truly figured out the places I can see myself enjoying and having a blast at, places I thought originally I would like, and some I never thought I'd like that look very promising. So here we go, my top whatever dream locations as a Merchandise CM!

Places I DO NOT want to work:

• Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach; I'd rather not work at a water park... it's a lot harder to make magical moments happen here.
• Downtown Disney; Now, don't get me wrong, I enjoy Downtown Disney. However, it lacks the 'magic' the parks have... must be the McDonald's that throws it off...
• Disney Resorts; Although I'm sure I'd get tons of guest interaction, I don't know if I could handle a resort being the backdrop of my work 24/7. At least at the parks I'd get to hear a parade, fireworks, etc.
• stand-alone carts at Animal Kingdom; It always seems 100 degrees hotter at Animal Kingdom and just the thought of standing out in the desert heat with no A/C gives me the willies.

Places where it wouldn't be the end of the world working:

• Mousegears [Future World, EPCOT]
• The Emporium [Main Street U.S.A., MK]
• Agrabah Bazaar [Adventureland, MK]
• Pirates Bazaar [Adventureland, MK]
• Frontier Trading Post [Frontierland, MK]
• Briar Patch [Frontierland, MK]
• The Dark Room [Hollywood Blvd., DHS]
• Cover Story [Hollywood Blvd., DHS]
• Sorcerer Hat Shop [Sorcerer Hat]
• Animation Courtyard Shops [Animation Courtyard, DHS]
• Mickey's of Hollywood [Hollywood Blvd., DHS]
• Disney Outfitters [Discovery Island, AK]
• Islands Mercantile [Discovery Island, AK]
• The Outpost Shop [Outside the turnstiles, AK]

Places I WOULD LOVE to work:

• The Writer's Stop [Streets of America, DHS]
• Villains in Vogue [Sunset Blvd., DHS]
• Tinker Bell's Treasures [Fantasyland, MK]
• The Chapeau [Main Street U.S.A., MK]
• Sir Mickey's [Fantasyland, MK]
• Main Street Confectionary [Main Street U.S.A., MK]
• Sweet Spells [Sunset Blvd., DHS]
• In Character [Animation Courtyard, DHS]
• Fantasy Faire [Fantasyland, MK]
• Stage 1 Co. Store [Streets of America, DHS]
• Studio Store [Animation Courtyard, DHS]
• glow carts at any of the parks.

Quick Service Food & Bev!

So you're officially in the Disney College Program. You've accepted your role: QSFB, chosen an arrival date, and are now super pumped about coming to Disney! You look at the Disney College Program Fall 2010 Facebook group page every so often (or if you're me, ever 10 seconds) and you are seeing that a lot of people are requesting locations to work. Now you've become worried because one of two things have happened to you: you've never been to Disney World, or Disney is so huge that you can't possibly think of anywhere to request! Never fear! I've come to save the day by providing you with a list of most QSFB choices in each of the four parks-- Magic Kingdom, Disney's Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Animal Kingdom.

MAGIC KINGDOM

Aloha Isle: Dole whip, pineapple spears, juice, floats. Adventureland.

Aunt Polly's Dockside Inn: Desserts. Frontierland.

Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies: Soft-serve ice cream, smoothies. Tomorrowland.

Casey's Corner: 11A-park close. Hot dogs. Main Street U.S.A.

Columbia Harbour House: 10:30A-park close. Sandwiches, fish, chicken, veggie chili. Liberty Square.

Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe: 10:30A-park close. Chicken, burgers, ribs, kosher. Tomorrowland.

Diamond Horseshoe: Open seasonally. Sandwiches. Frontierland.

El Pirate y el Perico Restaurante: Open seasonally. Tacos, taco salads. Adventureland.

*Note that if you work at Pecos Bill's you may get moved to work here.

Enchanted Grove: Swirls, slushes, orange juice. Fantasyland.

Friars Nook: Hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, salads, fries. Fantasyland.

Liberty Square Market: Corn on the cob, baked potatoes, fresh fruit. Liberty Square.

The Lunching Pad: Turkey legs, frozen drinks, pretzels. Tomorrowland.

Main Street Bakery: park open-park close. Bagels, pastry, yogurt, parfaits, quiche. Main Street U.S.A.

Mrs. Potts' Cupboard: Soft-serve ice cream. Fantasyland.

Pecos Bill Cafe: 10A-park close. Burgers, wraps, salads. Frontierland.

Pinocchio Village Haus: 10:30A-park close. Pizza, chicken, salads. Fantasyland.

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor: Hand-dipped ice cream. Main Street U.S.A.

Scuttle's Landing: Muffins, pretzels, coffee. Fantasyland.

Sleepy Hollow: Funnel cakes, caramel corn, soft-serve ice cream. Liberty Square.

Sunshine Tree Terrace: Frozen orange juice swirled w/ vanilla soft-serve, slushes, floats. Adventureland.

Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station: Seasonal. Menu varies. Tomorrowland.

Toontown Farmer's Market: Yogurt, fresh fruit. Toontown.

EPCOT

*please note that I am only putting up those in Future World because I have heard that the QSFB that are in the World Showcase may only go to International CPs. If anyone knows if regular CPs can work there, let me know and I will include the World Showcase in this section.

Electric Umbrella: 11A-9P. Burgers, salads, sandwiches. Innoventions Plaza.

Fountainview Ice Cream Shop: 10:30A-9P. Hand-dipped ice cream. Innoventions Plaza.

Sunshine Seasons: 9A-9P Quality salads, soups, sandwiches, noodle dishes, grilled meats, bakery, breakfast egg dishes, oatmeal, cereals. The Land.

DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

ABC Commissary: 11A-park close. Burgers, chicken, fish. Commissary Lane.

Backlot Express: 11A-8P. Burgers, hot dogs, grilled sandwiches, salads. Echo Lake.

Min & Bill's Dockside Diner. 10A-8P. Shakes, beers, pretzels, frozen lemonades. Echo Lake.

Peevy's Polar Pipeline: Flavorful frozen drinks. Echo Lake.

Starring Roles Cafe: 9A-4P. Pastries, sandwiches, coffee. Sunset Blvd.

Studio Catering Co.: 11:30A-7P. Sandwiches, chili dogs, salads, dessert. Streets of America.

Sunset Ranch Market: park open-park close. Food court. Bagels, burgers, fresh fruit, hot dogs, pizza, salads, sandwiches, turkey legs, hand-dipped ice cream. Sunset Blvd.

Toy Story Pizza Planet Arcade. 11A-7:30P. Individual pizzas, salads. Streets of America.

The Writer's Stop: Coffee, baked goods, frozen drinks. Echo Lake.

ANIMAL KINGDOM

Flame Tree BBQ: BBQ meats, baked beans, corn on the cob. Discovery Island.

Pizzafari: 9A-park close. Individual pizzas, salads, sandwiches. Discovery Island.

Restaurantosaurus: 11A-park close. Burgers, chicken, hot dogs. DinoLand U.S.A.

These are just the main QSFB locals and does not include the different carts that are prominent throughout the parks. As for requesting, nothing is a guarantee, but it doesn't hurt to try. They don't choose where you're going to work until they have a good idea of what they have to work with, so I'd say you still have a window to request. I know that it's hard to request during your interview because depending on what role you chose would change where you'd want to work! I hope this list helped some of you!

Have a Magical Day!

A Mouse's Life For Me!

So I have finally accepted my invitation!

I paid the $104 fee and selected my dates.

Here’s the rundown:

Name: Jazmine

Program: Fall 2010

Arrival: August 9, 2010

Departure: January 7, 2011

Role: Merchandise

I wanted to talk a little about the role I’ve been selected for and what I’m most excited about. As a merchandise cast member it is possible for me to work the standalone carts, the pin trading booths, and in of the shops in the parks, resorts, and Downtown Disney. You may be thinking being a merchandise CM is just like any other retail job-- in a sense, yes, but there is so much more. Even though merchandise was my third choice, there are a lot of things I’m excited about. For starters, there is the direct guest interaction. I love being around people so getting to talk to guests about their Disney experience and Disney in general is awesome. I’m also excited about the costumes. I know some are a little funky, but where else can you find a job where you look completely ridiculous and get paid for it? Next: Pin trading. I’m not into this myself, but when I went to Disneyland with my ASB I saw my advisor’s young daughter trading with CMs and random guests and it was sort of exciting. I want to be apart of something like that. I’m super excited about working with a large team. I can’t wait to meet all of my fellow cast members! I really wouldn’t like to do a cart only because I don’t want to stand all by myself for an 8 hour shift, but I wouldn’t mind doing a glow cart or something at night.

Personally, there are four spots I wouldn’t mind working.

One. Tink’s Treasures - Magic Kingdom. This is my number one request as of right now. When the park opens, the first guest that comes to the store has the opportunity to “wake Tinkerbell”. I would just love to see the happiness on the faces of these kids when they see her wake up and hear the music play.

Two. Main Street Shops - Magic Kingdom. Who doesn’t love the Main Street Shops?! I love the ambiance and the overall feeling of Main Street. Since it’s such a high traffic area, I’m bound to get a lot of guest interaction! The downside with one and two-- Magic Kingdom is generally open the latest. This could mean shifts going into the AM.

Three. Anywhere in Disney’s Hollywood Studios - (except that one store that sells Jonas Bros and Hannah Montana stuff). Though it’s not my favorite park, DHS has some of the coolest stores all around.

Four. Anywhere in Animal Kingdom. This is for selfish reasons, but AK is one of my favorite parks (right along with Epcot). Animal Kingdom closes at the latest 8pm, and it would be nice to have evenings to myself to explore Florida.

Five. I would love to do glow carts if I got MK or DHS!

I’m going to have to send Disney Recruiting an email. For anyone thinking of requesting a location, just keep in mind that it is a request not a guarentee. It’s generally better to give them a general idea on where you’d like to be placed, not a “do-or-die” spot (i.e. I have to work at Mousegears!) that way you won’t be mega disappointed or stuck somewhere you absolutely hate.

To pass the time, here are my Top Five Books About Disney:

1. Frommer’s Walt Disney World & Orlando 2010 - Has some great information about Universal Studios as well as Walt Disney World.

2. Birnbaum Guides 2010 Walt Disney World - Gives examples on the best places to eat, drink, shop, and stay on the Disney property & has color maps of the parks.

3. The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2010 - Has a complete dining guide of WDW restaurants and an Attractions guide. It really gives you an overall, in-depth picture of what WDW has to offer.

4. Fodor’s Walt Disney World 2010 Plus Universal Orlando and Sea World - Title says it all. Gives you an in-depth look at all the attractions and some ideas of other cool things to do besides the typical day at the parks.

5. The Walt Disney World Trivia Book Vol. 2 - Get to know about the ins and outs, secrets, history, and fun facts behind the magic.

Here's the February 23rd edition of I REMEMBER THAT!

Jett Jackson is a tv star who in pursuit of a relatively normal life succeeds in getting the production of his show Silverstone (about a spy who works for Mission Omega Matrix in order to save the world from villains like Dr. Hypnoto and the Rat) moved to his hometown of Wilsted, NC. There he lives with his father, Sheriff Wood Jackson, and his great-grandmother, Miz Coretta while getting into sticky situations with his best friend, B.J. and his not-quite girlfriend Kayla. I was in love with Jett Jackson. So gorgeous! (: "It's the famous Jett Jackson!"

Once Upon a Dream...

Quick Update! -- Or not so quick…
Still waiting for my purple email. However, my awesome friend Alyssa received her email for Quick Service Food and Beverage for Fall 2010! Congradulations to her and everyone else who’s been accepted into the program!

Meanwhile I’ve been trying to piece together a pattern with the acceptances. The top three roles people have been getting accepted into are Merchandise, Attractions, and Quick-Service Food and Beverage (QSFB). There have been a couple of people getting Full-Service Food and Beverage (FSFB), and a very few amount of the other roles, such as Concierge, Custodial, BBB Hostess, and Vacation Planners. This, along with the different recruiters and locations of people, I have come up with this theory: A person’s acceptance letter is based on the role they get, the region they live in, the date they interviewed on, and the person that interviewed them. So far no one from my interview date--February 9th-- has gotten accepted. I’ll take this as a good sign for now!

I also had my first Disney purple dream. I dreamed I opened up my email and kept getting all these ones from Disney Recruiting that had headlines like ‘About Housing’, ‘Choosing a Work Location’, etc. but none of them said anything about acceptance. I kept getting more and more until finally I saw one that said ‘Your Invitation’. I opened it and the date said February 20th… mind you I am horrible with dates let alone remember what date it was in my dream… and it said I was accepted for the role of Merchandise. I hope this dream means my purple email is coming soon! I’m just so anxious and could use the pick me up!

Here’s today's I REMEMBER THAT!

The Color of Friendship is a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie based on actual events about the friendship between two girls; Mahree & Piper, one from the United States and the other from apartheid South Africa, who learn about tolerance and friendship. If you watched the Disney Channel at all you’ve seen this movie. Thanks to Disney, we see a well-off African American family which surprises Mahree since from her country, blacks are still slaves. It’s a good movie with a great message that teaches a little history as well. It’s amazing yet frightening that life was really like this in South Africa-- years after America had already given blacks equal rights.

I won’t be posting another blog until I get my purple email since if I don’t get in it won’t seem like such an epic fail. In the meantime, leave me some questions at formspring.me and I will get back to you!

That's all for now, time to finish watching Pocahontas.
Have a Magical Day!