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Magic Kingdom!

So since I have nothing interesting to write about until I go to Disney I figured I would write about my experiences and my favorite rides, parades etc. etc.

Starting with...

MAGIC KINGDOM 

Excluding New Fantasyland because unfortunately I haven't been there yet :( 

Top 5 Favorite Rides: 

1. It's A Small World
2. Peter Pan's Flight
3. Carousel of Progress
4. Splash Mountain
5. Jungle Cruise
These probably change everyday adding in Pirates of the Caribbean and Space Mountain.

Top 5 Favorite Table Service Restaurants:
1. Be Our Guest -- I've never been but I can only imagine how AMAZING it must be
2. Cinderella's Royal Table -- It's in the castle, is there any reason this wouldn't be on my top 5? I have only eaten here once and it was breakfast normally I hate breakfast foods but it was delicious
3. Tony's -- I love italian foods to begin with but when it's the theming of the restaurant being Lady and the Tramp is awesome and so cute!
4. Crystal Palace -- If you love Winnie the Pooh and friends obviously go here because it's a meet and greet and the buffet is one of those buffets that gives you everything you can imagine and it's delicious!
5. Liberty Tree Tavern -- I ate there while it was still a character meal for dinner but it was delicious, if you like Thanksgiving you'll love this meal because it's all traditional

Top 5 Favorite Quick Service Restaurants: 
1. Be Our Guest -- Once again, haven't eaten here but I can only assume good things!
2. Columbia Harbour House -- Seafood, seafood, seafood. If you don't like seafood don't eat here! but if you do it is delicious!
3. Pinocchio's Village Haus -- Not only is it delicious but anywhere Walt Disney World sells pizza is amazing, not too filling but so delicious
4. Peco's Bill -- I am HUGE on condiments and they have the biggest condiment bar that makes my mouth water
5. Cosmic Ray's -- They have EVERYTHING, and a great topping bar!!!


Top 5 Kiosks and Snacks: 
1. Aloha Isle -- DOLE WHIPS, I've only ever had a bite of one but I can't wait for my own
2. Cinnamon Covered Almonds -- I know they are in Adventureland not sure if they are anywhere else and I also don't know the name of the kiosk but they are sooo delicious, they taste a lot like beer nuts
3. Main Street Bakery -- Almost anything here including the Cinnamon Buns are considered snacks.. mmm tasty pastries
4. Cheshire Cafe (formerly Enchanted Grove) -- Lemonade slush!! They are hard to come by sometimes because when you look for frozen lemonade you normally get the minute maid ones but the slushies are the best!
5. Maurice's Amazing Popping Machine -- (Never been) I have seen pictures and it is the cutest idea I have ever seen, I am not a popcorn fan but there is more than just popcorn


My typical day at Magic Kingdom is: 
We arrive probably an hour early whether we stay on or off resort. If we are staying off of the resort it really depends on the buses and we're not it's awesome because we can take the monorail!! We then watch the Good Morning/Welcome show which always brings  tears to my eyes... but not as much as walking through the train station and seeing the castle for the first time. 

Once we are in there my family goes straight to Peter Pan's Flight while I run to Space Mountain with everybody's tickets to grab Fastpasses. We then ride Peter Pan's Flight and go from there to Liberty Square to ride Haunted Mansion before it gets busy because we are there early we do everything we can while the park is dead. It's different if it's your first time and you don't want t rush your vacation but for us it's different because we have visited so many times and we want to make sure we do everything before the parks get busy. Once the parks get busy we take our time to walk around and enjoy ourselves. From Haunted Mansion we move through Frontierland and Adventureland and make our way back to Space Mountain for our fastpasses. All before the 3 o'clock parade we finish up with all the lands. We normally grab our seats an hour before the parade which is normal for Disney World if you haven't been before. While my parents save the seats my brother, sister and I go grab snacks!! Funnel cakes, cinnamon buns, cinnamon covered almonds and popcorn is normally the case! After the parade we stick around for the castle show (sometimes we watch it before the parade) and then we enjoy our afternoon doing anything we missed or double doing what we loved until SpectroMagic/Main Street Electrical Parade depending on which nighttime parade it is, either way we get a good enough seat that we can watch the fireworks! After the fireworks comes the shopping (unless there's extra magic hours) and shopping is the best part of the night.
One year I went to Walt Disney World I had an obsession with pillows and I found the cutest pillow at Hollywood Studios but my mom told me to wait until the end of our vacation incase we saw something better, we didn't. When I went looking for the pillow again I found out not only is it only offered at Hollywood Studios but they were sold out! :( Every year since then we buy things very impulsively which is so much fun!!!

That my friends is the Haas's typical day at the Magic Kingdom. 

So after watching tons and tons of videos from people's ICP adventure I have to write down some ideas so I don't forget them when I got to make mine. These are things I need to remember to film or take pictures of for my video!!

1. Kitchen Sink
2. Dole Whips
3. Rides 
4. Wizarding World of Harry Potter
5. Videos with Characters
6. Videos on Monorail 
7. Parades and Shows 
8. Balloon Ride 
9. Music Video 
10. Hoedown Throwdown in a park 
11. Party buses/Clubs
12. Club Cool (Beverley) 
13. Housing events 
14. Movie on the Beach
15. Camp Fire with Chip'n'Dale 
16. Throwing Graduation Ears 

TO BE CONTINUED 

time goes by so slowly

I sit here in class staring at my countdown which counts down the seconds and it made me think...

omg... with every second that goes by, that's one second closer to being in Florida 

IT'S GETTING CLOSER

I can not begin to explain how excited I am. I have been reading blogs and watching videos and I think I'm about to go crazy. 
There is no place I'd rather be right now then at the program.

COME FASTER. 

ROOMMATE SURVEY

NAME: Caitlyn

AGE: 18

COUNTRY: Canada

MAJOR/MINOR: Sexuality, Marriage and Family Studies 

CURRENT JOB: Justice Tween Brands 

FLYING IN OR DRIVING: I’m driving down early with my parents for a pre-vacation vacation.

ROLE: Merchandising 

HOUSING PREFERENCES

BUILDING: I would like a cheap one but I am hoping for anything but Patterson because I hear it isn’t as close to the bus. Definitely one that is close to everything!

NUMBER OF ROOMMATES: Doesn’t matter! I’m just hoping I’ll get along with all of them!

Wellness or Non-Wellness: Wellness, not that I have a choice drinking at Disney would be sick 

I COULD NOT LIVE WITH A ROOMMATE THAT: Who isn’t enthusiastic about the program and doesn’t want to make the most of it! Who steals or is messy and who is just annoying hahaha

LIFESTYLE STUFF

DO YOU DRINK? ABSOLUTELY… but this summer I guess I’ll have to hold off :’(

DO YOU SMOKE? No.

DO YOU LIKE TO PARTY? DUUUUUH

MEDICAL CONDITIONS? Nope!

MESSY OR TIDY? I get messy but clean once a day to make sure it doesn’t grow from that, I can’t sleep in a messy room. 

DO YOU LIKE TO COOK? Depends on my mood and what I am cooking. 

NIGHT PERSON OR MORNING PERSON? Night person, I stay up until like 5am and wake up at 2pm… it kinda sucks

ROOMMATE STUFF

FAVORITE CHORE? Probably just tidying things up…

LEAST FAVORITE CHORE? DISHES GROSS ME OUT 

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT SHARING? I don’t mind it at all. I am a sharer no matter what, it is just awkward if I am the only one who is… 

DO YOU SNORE? Not that I know of 

WHAT TIME DO YOU USUALLY GO TO BED? like 4 am on average 

WHAT TIME DO YOU WAKE UP ON FREE DAYS? I hate waking up past 1 but it happens 

I PREFER TO SLEEP IN A ROOM THAT: COOOOOOLD 

PERSONALITY STUFF

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU: Friendly, Perfectionist, Obsessive 

ONE GOOD QUALITY: I’m very easy to get a long with especially because I love making new friends 

ONE BAD QUALITY: I am a perfectionist… it really sucks most of the time 

5 FAVORITE BANDS/SINGERS: Jonas Brothers (FOREVER), Fun. (missing their concerts this summer ): ) One Direction, Hannah Montana (FOREVER)/Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber … I guess I am a typical TWEEN … oops 

5 FAVORITE TV SHOWS: Once Upon A Time, Pretty Little Liars, Grey’s Anatomy, Vampire Diaries, Honey Boo Boo 

5 FAVORITE MOVIES: Hunger Games, Titanic, Hannah Montana, Peter Pan, pretty much anything Disney … 

5 FAVORITE BOOKS: Hunger Games (all 3) , Fifty Shades of Grey (all 3), Thoughtless + Effortless, Bared to You + Reflected in You, 

HOBBIES: Planning fake Disney Vacations.. :$, Drinking games, Reading, Watching TV shows 

DISNEY STUFF

FAVOURITE MOVIE: Peter Pan and Tangled are always number one but after that my favorites constantly change 

FAVOURITE CHARACTER: Peter Pan

FAVOURITE PRINCESS: Rapunzel or Ariel <3  

FAVOURITE VILLAIN: Hades 

FAVORITE PARK: MAGIC KINGDOM <3 

FAVORITE RIDE: You expect me to pick one… Well Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain, Its a Small World, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Carousel of Progress, Great Movie Ride, 

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU BEEN TO DISNEY? Every year sometimes twice a year since I was 8 

WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT AT DISNEY? EVERYTHING, I want to voluntEAR, go to the parks for free, meet new friends, really take in the atmosphere and be at Disney as much as possible, making guest’s days <3 

Taking Shifts

So we are 85 days out and there is so much preparing that needs to be done still. I have already been added to the 2013 Shift Exchange group for Walt Disney World. I have a guilty pleasure of looking at all the shifts that are being given away because I soon enough I am going to be able to take those shifts.

It sucks for some other roles whose shifts are restricted. For example, Operations you must be trained on how to operate that ride so if you are placed in Fantasyland you pretty much stay in Fantasyland (so I have heard at least). For me with merchandise I can work absolutely anywhere because Disney has the same system in all their parks and resorts. I hope to work at as many different shops as possible while I am there.

There seem to be a ton of shifts being given away at Frontierland and it kind of frightens me. What's wrong with Frontierland? Maybe it is coincidental (I hope so) but I would be fine taking all of those shifts because it's still Magic Kingdom. I keep seeing people giving away shifts on Main Street too, I'LL TAKE 'EM, I'LL TAKE 'EM. I am so excited to be able to start working in Walt Disney World I would take any shifts at this point.

Face to Face Interviews

It was an early start on January 29th 2013. I woke up at 5am to get ready for my face to face interview and we left my house in Burlington at 6am to get to Toronto. Needless to say we were pretty early because the presentation didn't start until 8:30 but we needed to beat rush hour traffic. We found parking got some breakfast and waited around for interviews to start. It's a good thing we were early because there were different signs telling us where to go everywhere. It was very confusing but we finally found it. There was a few girls waiting around and more and more started coming. My parents left me there to mingle and that's exactly what I did.

MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE 

I met some amazing people just waiting around for presentations and interviews and it is definitely more fun to have someone to talk to. We got checked in and went into the presentation room and waited for everything to get going. While we were waiting there were muted videos in the background of Walt Disney parks.. it took everything in me not to cry. My friends and I kept turning to each other and saying how big our goosebumps were getting.

To warm you up they start with some trivia (maybe they end with some trivia I don't remember :P) but either way they do some trivia. It seemed that the group the day before us had some easier questions that everyone knew the answers to so they tried to make ours a little harder. And that they did. I like to think of myself as a Disney freak but I guess I really don't know the more professional side of things. They asked questions about directors and Disney presidents and I was like DAMMIT. They asked questions about Limited Time Magic (but I didn't get my hand up in time), and DVC. If you got the question right you win a pin, so no pin for Caitlyn. During the presentation they showed us a bunch of videos about what it is going to be like if you get accepted. It was amazing, it made you think that if you didn't get accepted it would be the most depressing day of your life.  They showed us videos about housing and residence events which sound AMAZING because there are pool parties, grocery bingo, and just so much to do all the time. We are living right beside my favorite outlet mall which will not be good for my credit card considering I will be beside my favorite stores on my off time and I will be spending my entire days window shopping pretty much... I am going to be poor. They showed us videos of our roles and a bunch of different things.

Once the presentation was over (about an hour later) we got our times to come back and be ready for the interview. It was 10am and I had to wait until 2pm. The interviews took place directly beside the Eaton Centre so my parents and I grabbed some lunch, did some shopping and then just waited in the lobby for the rest of the time. All day all I wanted to do was nap but at the same time I was too nervous and too excited for my interview. At 2 I went up and handed in all my paperwork and was told my interview would be around 3:30... more waiting. There was a lot of people waiting around for their interviews so once again...

MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE MINGLE 

It's awesome to be around so many different people who love Disney because it's all anyone wants to talk about and normally people don't give me the time of day when I want to talk about Disney. Before my interview there was alumni waiting at the door who was talking to people so I joined in on the conversation. He asked me a bunch of questions which really calmed my nerves. He asked things like What roles are you interested in and why? How does that relate to your major? What work experience do you have? Pretty much all the questions they would be asking me in the interview.

There are two different interviewers, Jill and Steve (I think that was his name) and I got Jill. She was super super nice and I loved her. She was so easy to talk to, normally in interviews I stutter and shake a lot because of my nerves but this time I just kept talking and talking. She started off by looking at through all my papers and the first thing she noticed was that I work at Justice. If you don't know what Justice is it is a SUPER busy tween story for girls and it is very very popular! She seemed very delighted to know how well I handle crowds and groups of customers. I have also opened up stores around the country which she was very pleased to know. I have head that people who have the most experience work at the bigger stores like Emporium, it is a slim chance but I am really hoping I get to work in Emporium or anywhere in Magic Kingdom really!!! Next she asked me about school what I was taking and where I hoped to go with it and why working at Disney this summer would benefit me. I want to work at Walt Disney World in my future or at least live in Florida so I have multiple doors I am looking at going through. I told her that I hope to work children and obviously Walt Disney World is a great place to get experience with that! Oh yes, and she asked me the obvious question "Why do you want to work at Walt Disney World?" Well that was an easy one because they asked me the same question in my phone interview (see posts below for more information on that!). She had worked for the Dream Squad and was laughing and smiling and recalling memories of her working with that when I told her that that was the reason I want to work at Disney she seemed glad to see it because she was apart of that. Once again please
DO NOT FORGET TO TALK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE PROGRAM 
if you want to work at Disney go do it, if you want to participate in this program tell them why! Because my interview was a few weeks ago I can't really remember much about it. I do remember that when she asked me about roles I gave her my top three and told her I knew the responsibilities of each role and why I had experience to partake in that role. At the end I told her I didn't really have questions for her because I had been searching up this program for years and she told me that I seemed very knowledgeable and she knew exactly why I had no questions. I felt like that was a good sign. If you want to be a character performer they measure you before you go and while I was being measured Steve had mentioned how crazy Justice is because he overheard us talking about it because he has daughters and I felt like that gave Jill an even more insider look at how much it takes to work there!

Overall, it was a great day and I am glad I mingled because it really does pay off to know people going into the program and to have people to talk about everything with. The good thing about technology today is that there are so many different facebook groups we are all apart of that we all get to know each other before we even get there! I am so happy I got in, especially after the presentation they showed and the hype from facebook!

Goodluck if you plan on applying, just be yourself and SMILE :D

Why can't I just leave now?

I AM SO EXCITED FOR DISNEY!

I keep asking myself why I can't just go now... and then I realize it's because I don't look good in a bikini yet. I can not participate in all these pool parties, water parks, and even wearing crop tops in the park UNTIL I AM SKINNY!

Disney Bucket List

Well while I am as excited as I am I promised myself that I would make a bucket list.
Here it goes, all the things I haven't done and want to do and all the things I've done and want to do again.

 Buy/Try something from every country in Epcot

• Frushi from China!
• Ketchup Chips from Canada
• Slushie from America
• Margarita from Mexico
• 
  

Disneybound!!
Watch wishes from Polynesian
Do EVERYTHING in Fantasyland
Eat our Be Our Guest 
Have a jalapeño pretzel 
Eat a DoleWhip 
Finish a Kitchen Sink 
Downtown Disney balloon
Get a turkey leg
Ask a little girl dressed as a princess for her autograph
VBlog!!!!!
Swim in different resorts

• Polynesian
• Grand Floridian

Get a Fastpass from every Disney ride

• Kilimanjaro Safari
• Everest 
• Peter Pan
• Meet the Princesses at MK
• Meet Mickey at MK
• Tower of Terror

Meet as many characters as possible

• Perry the Platypus
• Woody and Buzz 
• Fairy Godmother
• Aladdin and Jasmine
• Rapunzel
• Beast 
• Aurora 
• Cinderella 

Check out every resort

• Polynesian
• Contemporary 
• Port Orleans Riverside
• Grand Floridian 
• Bay Lake Tower 
• Wilderness Lodge 

Buy a Mickey balloon
Meet Mickey at every park

• Magic Kingdom

Sing "Jack Sparrow"by Lonely Island on Pirates of the Caribbean
Meet someone famous
Go to a movie on the beach at the Beach Club
Watch the Electrical Water Pageant
Campfire with Chip'n'Dale at Wilderness Lodge
Have a picnic at Polynesian before Wishes
Buy a Hidden Mickey's book and go hunting
See a movie at Celebration AMC and Downtown Disney
Check out the barns in Fort Wilderness
 Get a picture infront of every ride sign
Summit Plummit 
Beverley
 Hooters 
Cici's Pizza Buffet 
Titanic Experience

TO BE CONTINUED... 

Phone Interview

I guess I am a little behind on blogging considering I started it today and I have officially been accepted into the program.
I have been looking into the Walt Disney International College Program ever since I can remember. I finally turned 18 which meant I could actually apply this year. It started out simple enough, just submitting your resume to YummyJobs. From there they give you a few months to wait as they go over all of the other applications they have received  If they seem impressed by the resume you provided them you will get an email saying you will be receiving a phone interview.

When I got the email saying I was moving on to the phone interview I cried.

I had never been so excited. 

I assumed that this being the first time I had applied that I wasn't going to get past that. I told myself I wasn't going to get too excited for it because I didn't know what to expect of the phone interviews. Luckily for me I found a ton of youtube videos about Disney phone interviews. I will be posting my own advice video in a little while. These calmed my nerves because in the videos they say how easy it is and they just want to get to know you.
Preparing for my phone interview I think I went crazy. I had an idea of what questions they would ask based on the youtube videos so I had typed up responses to each question, highlighted them, made cue cards and had post it notes all around my desk saying things like: "Confidence," "Smile," "Be Yourself." Yeah... I went all out. I have never wanted anything more then how much I wanted to take part in this program. So, I had my computer out open to the Disney ICP webpage and was ready to go. I was told they would call me around 2:30 so I was ready by 2 incase they called earlier.

2:30... still no call

2:45... still no call

3:00... still no call

By this time I thought she had changed her mind about me and was going crazy. I finally decided to check my email about the phone interview to make sure I had given her the right phone number and everything. Yeeep, I gave her all the right information... except the interview wasn't going to happen until a week later. I had gotten so worked up that she wasn't going to call me but really I got the dates mixed up.
Next week I did the same thing, I had all my supplies around me and was ready to go. Kristen (the representative from YummyJobs) called me at 2:40. She started out just asking me questions about school, my passport and just some formality stuff.
From there the first question she asked me was why I want to work at Walt Disney World?
I answered her saying:
Ever since I was little my family and I had gone on trips to Walt Disney World and ever since that very frist trip I have been in love. I remember the amazing customer service I received  all the smiles the kids had on their faces from being starstruck by their favorite characters and I loved it. I remember we were vacationing during the Year of a Million Dreams and I saw so many people getting magical moments and I knew I wanted to bring those magical moments to people.
DO NOT FORGET TO SAY WHY YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE PROGRAM AND NOT JUST WHY YOU WANT TO WORK AT WALT DISNEY WORLD.
It's easy enough to get a job working for Walt Disney World. You go to Florida and apply. To take part in this program you need something extra. You want this because it is a youth program that would look great to any future employers, you want this because you want to network with different professionals, you want this because you like meeting new people from around the world. You want this for so many more reasons then just the working at Disney aspect. With this program you get extra opportunities like residence functions, voluntEARing, and more!

That is probably the most important question they are going to ask you. From then on they ask you want kinds of roles you are interested in and why. What I did for this was explain to them I had knowledge of the roles I was applying for and why I would suit it. They ask you if you would be okay living with a roommate and if yes, would you be okay living with a roommate from a different country.
My phone interview was a few months ago so I can't quite remember the details too well but that is what I do remember and that is what is important.

ACCEPTED

Well,  it will be a week tomorrow since I have been accepted to the

Walt Disney World International College Program :D 

I got accepted when it was 100 days out and I already feel like I have been waiting way too long. I heard some people who leave in June found out in September that they were going to be working there. How could you wait that long !? 

I am looking forward it to SO much! I have been planning like crazy this last week. Going over what I should bring, what I should buy, what I am going to do on my days off, 

IT'S ALL TOO EXCITING!!