Tips and Tricks: Magic Kingdom

After living and working in Walt Disney World for 7 months I was able to accumulate some tips and tricks for each park on property. I am going to start with Magic Kingdom because I feel it is the common favorite for everyone.

FOOD

• Columbia Harbor House- This is my favorite hidden gem. There is always seating available upstairs,and they have the best fish and chips on property. Large dishes=sharing!

•The Plaza- If you want to sit down somewhere and be waited on, The Plaza is the place to go. You can get sandwiches and yummy dessert here
right off main street for a very reasonable price

•Pecos Bills- Omg the toppings bar is amazing. If you order something simple like chili or french fries you can fill it high with "fixins", I used to get chili and top it with mushrooms,cheese, sour cream, and onions. Great $4 small meal. 

•Casey's Corner- This quick service location off main street also has a toppings bar. They serve hot dogs, so if you order a plain hot dog you can top it with wonderful things (sauerkraut was my fav!)

•Dole Whip- This is the best snack on property. Located in Adventureland

ATTRACTIONS/ SHOWS

•The Laugh Floor- There is never much of a line for this show, and if you sit in the middle on the edge of a row you are more likely to get selected for the show.

•Any attraction- always take the left line when the line breaks. Everyone instinctively goes to the right.

•Disney's Electrical Parade- Best viewing location is in Liberty Square.

•Teacups- This one always has a fairly short line, and is one of my favorites!

•Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin- Rumor has it you can get the picture printed for free if you get a perfect score! Don't forget to grab an I'm Celebrating button when you get 999,999

Chatham Square

I know part of the excitement for the Disney College Program is selecting your housing complex. I am not too familiar with all of the complexes, but I thought I would share my insight about Chatham Square. On my college program in 2012 I lived in a 3 bedroom apartment in Chatham Square. The process back then was a little bit different. You went and waited in line at check in with your roommates that you wanted. The earlier you got there the better your chances were of receiving your first choice. My group arrived at 3:30am, and we were the first group to select our housing.

Roomies: L-R Top: Chelsea, Julia, Andrea Bottom: Morgan, Demi, Me

We got our first choice of a 3bedroom in Chatham Square. We were even able to request ground floor and a good location. Unfortunately with the system being all online now it is harder to make specific requests.

So about our unit!

When you walk in the unit you have the kitchen on your left and the den on your right. Right past the den was mine and Morgan's room. I loved our spot because we could keep our door open and still feel part of the action in the kitchen even if we were in our rooms. Our room was about the same size as the others, but a bit smaller than one of the rooms. Our closet had two stacked hanging racks (one up high and one down low) and then one long rack for dresses and longer things. We each took one of the stacked racks and shared the long one. Our Bathroom was decent sized. There was a medicine cabinet for extra storage. The shower/tub are standard size. 

Moving in my room

Outside of our bedroom was the nook with the kitchen table. Then down the hall there was another nook with a desk. On the right of the hall was one bedroom and facing the back of the hall was the additional bedroom. Something interesting about the other two bedrooms was the layout. The largest room had two bathroom doors. One led to the hallway and the other led to the bedroom. The additional bedroom was unique because the closet was in the restroom. 

My Room

For kitchen space we had a decent amount. We were each able to have one shelf in the pantry. The only area that was a struggle was the fridge. Most of my roommates enjoyed cooking so the fridge was always crammed. I would recommend a 2 bedroom unit if you enjoy cooking alot. 

Our Kitchen

The nice thing about Chatham is that you are convenient to the bus stop, classrooms, and housing events. We were right across from the building that had laundry. We were also next to the pool and mailboxes. I loved our location so much! (27103!)

My only downside to Chatham was the new ness. Our apartment was fine, but then when I saw Patterson I was bummed. My friends in Patterson appeared to have more of a "luxury apartment" feel. Their carpets and furnishings were much newer, simply because Patterson IS newer. The only downside to Patterson is their sinks aren't behind the restroom doors.

Overall, I loved Chatham and plan to return there for my upcoming DCP!

CONCIERGE SPRING 2015!!!

I DID IT!!! I got accepted for Concierge for the Spring 2015 Disney College Program!! It is a pretty funny story how I found out. I woke up on Friday thinking today was the day. I just had a weird gut feeling about it. The DCP seems to accept lots of people on Fridays. I checked my email almost every 5 minutes hoping to get in. Around 2-3pm I started ignoring my email because I was busy with other things. Side note- My grandparents are having a garage sale and my mom is in town from out of state to help them with the garage sale. So at 3:35pm I got an email ding noise. I didn't even think twice, and I clicked on my inbox. All I saw was WDW college recruiting: Congratulations!

 I started screaming and crying in the middle of my grandmas drive way in the middle of the garage sale. My mom was sitting right there with me and kept saying. Are you SURE its a yes are you SURE. I think she was worried I had misread the email. So once I confirmed that I was for sure in I was SOO happy. The next step was to click on my offer and find out my role. I was certain that I would be back in the BBB since I am a BBB alum. I was shaking and scared to death to view my role. I was worried I would have been placed in one of my no interest roles. To top it all off. My dashboard wasn't letting me log in. My computer has the password automatically saved and it was Still saying it was wrong. So I had to submit for a new password. In the mean time I am all frazzled and shaking and so nervous/excited. My mom reminded me that last time it took me about 20 minutes to get the courage to read my offer. So FINALLY I get my password fixed and view my offer. It was for concierge! At first I was like what?! I think I was in shock because I had such a feeling I would be back in the BBB. Concierge was my number 2 choice, and I am so excited. 

The next step was to pick my dates. I was freaking out because my lease ends Jan 18th and I have a BIG trip planned in early Jan. I was reallly hoping I could get a mid/late day in Jan. I was able to select Jan 19th which I was SO excited about. I didn't want to have to wait till Feb, and endure the cold (Ha, Georgia isn't even cold compared to most). Then I wanted to tell my grandparents in a super creative way. I decided to print out my acceptance letter for them. I told them they both needed to get their glasses and I turned off the TV so they could focus. I told them the piece of paper was for an IQ riddle test and they needed to start reading it at the same moment so it is fair. So they open it up and my grandma looks at me with a big grin within about 10 seconds. Then my grandpa is reading and reading and reading, and he just looks up and says Ok now what? He was truly looking for an IQ riddle test. I was like uhm read it again!! He had missed the top sentence that says Congrats Nicole. He was really searching for a riddle, and there wasn't one. I am SO mad at myself for not filming this moment. 

But that is my story. My dash is in a lovely place now :)

NLIC- No Longer In Consideration

Got my first dreaded No Longer in Consideration status update. It was for the Creative Entertainment Production Assistant PI. I Received the email around 11:30 am, and my heart skipped a beat because I thought it was to schedule an interview. I will say Disney words their rejection letters very nicely! I had to scrutinize it to make sure it was a rejection. Luckily I am still in the running for the other ones I applied to. I have 2 "in progress" and 1 "in submission". Wish me luck!