Learning to take a Leap of Faith

So if you've talked to me at all during the past 5 months, you know what I'm up to for this next phase of my life.

I'm going to Disney World!!! Also, if you've been in my life recently, you know this is not at all what I thought was in store for me but God has big plans and I'm not about to mess those up!  

Randomly one night 10 years ago, I was an awkward 7th grader surfing the net (as irmohottie25 of course) and somehow I stumbled upon the Disney College Program.  I'm still so unbelievably unsure of how I found the Disney College Program but I'm so glad I did.  Again, I found this website as a 12-year-old who was no where near going to college, in fact I found out about the Disney College Program before I even heard of Presbyterian College!  From my night of surfing the net, I wanted to learn every single thing I could about the Disney College Program.  I researched what they offered, the housing arrangements, the education aspect, and every single thing I could possibly learn!  I knew they offered a Spring, Summer, and Fall program at Walt Disney World in Florida.  My plan for the next 5 years was as soon as I could apply in college, I would and Disney would be where I would spend every summer during college.  That was my plan, without a doubt!  I even remember saying my goodbyes before leaving for PC and telling people that would be my last summer at home because I'd be at Disney from there on out.  I hadn't been planning on anything else.  So my first semester of college came and went and I stalked that DCP website like nobody's business!  Not to mention I was also subscribed to receiving Disney's emails about the program but I thought maybe they would forget to email me when the applications were out.  Anyways, when the applications came out, DCP was no longer offering a summer term.  I felt like my dream had just been taken out of my hands.  I had no idea how I'd make my dream of working at Disney come true anymore.  I still checked every year for a summer term, but it hasn't ever come back and I couldn't ever take a semester off during college to do the program.

How in the world did I get here?  So I was in my last week of full-time teaching and I got an email from the Office of Career Programs saying it was my last chance to apply for the Disney College Program!!!! I freaked out and emailed Heather Rush ASAP asking if I could apply even though I was graduating.  The answer was "of course!!!!"  I completed the application that night, found out the next day I had to complete an online interview, and found out a couple hours later I got a phone interview!!  I had my phone interview 2 days later and the rest is history!! After my phone interview I was told that it could be 2-4 weeks before I knew anything and a week and a half later, I was offered a job with the Walt Disney Company!!! 

For the past four months now, I've been getting ready for a journey that I had no idea what would unfold.  I didn't know where I would live, where I would work, or how the experience would play out.  My mom named this my "Leap of Faith!"  I figured that was an appropriate title for this journey.  For the first time ever, I don't really know what the future holds.  I know I'm at Disney until January 3 and for now, I have no idea what the future holds after that point!  I packed up last weekend and drove down to Orlando Sunday, checked in at Disney on Monday morning, and the adventure began!  By the way, I totally planned on finishing this post before I actually started but finding wifi on my trip down to Orlando was a struggle so you get it a couple days late with a little more information...

At check-in, I found out where I'm living, what my job is, and lots lots more!  I found 5 roommates on Facebook back in March and we all requested to be together and we got it!!!!  We actually got our second choice for an apartment but we are SOOOOO happy we got it!  Its the newest apartment complex of the four that DCPers can live in.  Our apartment has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms and we even have a cute little patio!  After I got my housing figured out, I took my first ID picture.  This ID is for our housing and later this week, I'll get my official Cast Member ID (which helps me get loads of discounts!!!)  After the ID, I got to wait in line for my job!!! This was the most exciting part, I'd only been waiting since March to find out where I would be working.  We made some new friends in line and I finally got to the front of the line to hear a very nice man say, 

"Congratulations Rachel!  You'll be working in Magic Kingdom at the Columbia Harbour House!"

YAYYYY!!!! I was so relieved to finally know where I would be working for the next 5 months.  I knew one of the first things I would have to do would be to Google the costume when I got out of Check-In.  After we got our role, we got our program itinerary for the next couple days.  I found out that I had Casting at 11:30 (just an hour or so away).  After we got our itineraries, we got to talk to a Cast Member to explain our schedule and answer any questions we had.  We went over what to wear, where to go, all that stuff!  We finished up by signing lots of paperwork before I had about an hour to be back for Casting.  I found my mom, who had been meeting lots of other parents while I was checking in for two hours!  We decided to go to Chick-Fil-A at like 10:45 to make sure we got lunch before leaving since we were told Casting could take 2-4 hours.  After lunch, my mom and I had to try to figure out how the rest of the afternoon would go.  My mom's flight home was at 3:30 and needed to go to the airport around 2:00.  We said our goodbyes in case I didn't see her again and I jumped on the bus for Casting!

Casting was super awesome!!! There were lots of "Welcome to the team!" and "Have a magical day!"  I signed more forms than I ever knew I could and finished up in about two hours.  I walked outside and realized I had just missed a bus but I frantically called my mom hoping I'd get to see her again before she flew out.  Thankfully, the bus showed up at the same time as her taxi was driving up and she decided to wait on me!!!  I quickly drove my mom to the airport, we said our (real) goodbyes and she was on her way back home.  On my drive back, it finally hit me that I'm not leaving Orlando!!!  I tucked my tears away and finally went to check out my new apartment!  Like I said, we're in the newest apartment complex and couldn't be any happier here.  I had help from my roommate and spent the rest of the afternoon getting settled in!  

It's been a crazy couple of days but we are staying busy!  I had another meeting today and tomorrow I don't have anything!  I promise to try really hard to keep updating this throughout my program!!