What I've been up to.... the Halloween Parade!

Sorry I've been absolutely horrible about updating.
I know how interested I was in reading everyone elses blogs, and how there weren't more posts…. I can completely understand now, haha

I've been really busy lately. So far I'm on day 4 of 8 days working in a row, 2 of those are Halloween Parade shifts!

I was selected to work on the Mickey's Boo To You Halloween Parade which goes out during the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Parties. To work costuming for the parade i had to be chosen by my leaders, which means that they believe in me, which is definitely a good thing.

I also found out that I will be working on the atmosphere team for the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parties! That means that I will be working to make sure that every character that you can meet and greet with during the Christmas events is looking their best!

The Halloween parade shifts are 10 hours each, and I get off work at 2am, getting home around 3am… and 2 of my 8 days in a row are Halloween. I'm already exhausted, and I have 4 more shifts ahead of me until my boyfriend will be here to visit me!

We're going to the Halloween party on Friday, and I'm going to yell at all my friends in the parade. The Hyenas are pretty awesome, as well as a certain cowgirl and a gravedigger… along with Chip and Goofy! All the characters are very nice, especially Ed, haha ;) I'm sure they'll all do their best to come visit me while they are on parade route before they go rest for the night…

I've also decided that I want to extend my college program. I love costuming so much. I feel like I have the most interesting job out of everyone I've met. The dancer and characters don't even have this much fun I think. I've learned a lot about how things are made, just from observing, as well as how the costumes function. I'm really excited at the thought of staying here, and hopefully moving on up within the company. I'm going o try for a professional internship as a costuming workroom assistant. We'll see how that goes :)

Well, I'm going to got  bed now since it's 5am and I have to be up at 11 to get ready and catch the bus. Hopefully I won't have to work downstairs and I will be on ELP tonight :)

I'll post more in detail about Halloween later on, I promise ;)

Sorry for the break!

Hi again! Sorry it's been like a month since I posted.

So far I've only been working on the Disney Electrical Parade (ELP for short). The shifts are 10 and a half hours long, so on the days that I have ELP shifts basically I get up, take the bus to go to work, work, go home and sleep. Then I repeat as scheduled.
That kind of makes it sound bad, but I love it! The parade is a lot of fun, and I have learned a lot.

It still feels surreal working here. On the parade especially. As a guest I am not sure if anyone ever thinks about how many people go into putting on a single parade. I never thought about it until I was seeing the backstage craziness, either. Things like that are ways that Disney really does make magic. (I also learned that Disney puts up its Christmas decorations in TWO DAYS. For the ENTIRE park, all 22 resorts, even counting Downtown Disney. Now THAT is magical.)

Speaking of a crazy amount of crew, on just ELP there are:
9 costuming crew
82 performers
15 drivers
3 costume techs (for the lights)
spotters for the floats
techs for the floats
and mant more people that I see but don't know all that they do
which is a total of over 110 people! Crazy, I know.

The Halloween and Christmas Parades have EVEN more performers and costumers working at once, so I'm sure it's well over 200 people on a single night, easy.

I've gotten to know some people who have been there at the parade frequently, which is cool. But it sucks because the people that I have gotten to know on the parade are really the only people I have seen to hang out with....and we are all always working or ahve different shifts off from work.

Now for the negatives about my job:
I really love the shift, but since it is SO much longer than all of my roommates' shifts, I really don't get to see them much. I pretty much don't get to see ANYONE. I get home after most normal people are in bed, and I get up after most people have left for work.
It's a 10 hour shift, so I'm pretty pooped after 5 or 6 days straight. 50 hours in 5 days is a lot of work.
I can't do anything before or after my shift because of the hours, either. I'm gone from the apartment 12 or more hours in the day with taking the bus, and sometimes eating food that's terrible for me after work with friends, which has been really fun! (I really have grown to love Steak and Shake, lol)

Other than that, I'm beginning training in the character room today. The shifts for training are completely backward from the shifts for ELP. I usually don't go to bed until 4 am, but I had to get up at 4 am in order to get ready to catch the bus at 5am.  The training lasts a week or so, and after that I'll usually be on fly team. Character room is where all the performers can pick up whatever they need to perform their sets for the day. Fly team is where I'll be on call in case anyone calls in sick for ELP.

When I get around to it, I will finally post a picture of me in my costume, haha. I'm not sure that most people know what the Costuming costume looks like.

The first week and a half of being in Orlando

So I've been really busy in my first week and a half here. I'll break it down day by day :)

Monday 6/6: Check - in
Tuesday: free day to get settled
Wednesday: Traditions and Magic Kingdom
Thursday: free day ( I went to Typhoon Lagoon and Hollywood Studios)
Friday: training
Saturday: Training and Hollywood Studios
Sunday:  Training and Hollywood Studios
Monday: free day and Epcot
Tuesday: park orientation and Magic Kingdom

I've had several different classes on many different things about Disney and costuming. I've learned a lot, and I start training on my assignment tonight, which is the Main Street Electrical Parade at Magic Kingdom! I'm really excited, but the shifts are 10.5 hours long each night. The good thing is that I get 3 days off each week as long as my shifts are that long :)

Let me explain some of the tinges I mentioned:
Traditions is a class about Disney, and traditions we are expected to uphold as new cast members. We learned the basic values and ideas of the park.

I had training on what we will do as costumers, and how to work the computer system that will check out costumes to cast members. I also had basic character training.

The park orientation was a more in depth day dedicated to Magic Kingdom alone, and we learned a bit about the history and ideas behind several parts of the park. We all went on rides together as well. It was a pretty fun day, actually :)

I spent so much time in Hollywood Studios because it was the last weekend of Star Wars Weekends, and I'm a huge geek, haha. It was awesome!

So that was my week. I'm starting on training tonight for the Electric Light Parade. My shifts are basically second shift, and I'll be getting home around 3 or so every night.

Last day before leaving!

Here I am, the night before leaving. I don't know when I'll update this again, but hopefully it won't be too long!

I spent today being mostly lazy, then one of my best friends came over. We've been good friends since elementary school. We haven't had a lot of time to hang out in our last few years in college. We went to different universities, and she spent a year in Japan…now we're all back, and she's about to head out to Kansas for grad school, and I'm avoiding real life at Disney for half a year. So really, it was the last time we'll be able to spend time together.

She "helped" me pack, which led to a lot of not-packing, and a good time was had by all, haha Another good friend stopped by not too long after my first buddy showed up, and we really got to not-packing, haha

This post isn't much, just to let everyone know that I got all my junk pared down to 1) things I'm taking down and weights under 50 pounds (it was at 70…which is way overweight), 2) things I need mailed to me ASAP that I can't fit in my suitcase, and 3) things I need later in the fall like long-sleeved shirts, pants, and jackets. Everything else will stay here for the 7 months I'll be away.

Well… I'm not 100% done packing. I need to wash a  load of clothes and pack that up, but I'm done, pretty much, Which is a big accomplishment for me. I won't be running around trying to pack Sunday morning (which really wouldn't have been a surprise, knowing me, haha)

I guess I'll see everyone in the CP soon, and I'll see all my old buddies soon enough! Ill miss you all, and hope everyone who is planning on coming to visit can come soon! :) 

Love and Kisses,
Katie

(….Sabi you should get that reference, lol <3 you!)

My last few days on campus

I've worked in my university's library since I was a freshman, and today is the last day I'll ever be able to work there. It's been a good, and long, five years.

Graduation didn't really sink in the fact that I would be leaving this place like it seems to have done for most people. I still had 3 weeks of working left to do, to try to earn as much money as possible before going down to florida. I still had to clean out my studio space in the art building, and turn in my keys. I wasn't finished yet.

Now, I've cleaned out my studio, turned in the the keys to my studio, and today is the last day of working at the job I've had for the pst 5 years. I love my job. Its mainly scanning and archiving the special collections held by the University. I get to see things from the collections that many people will never get to see, that is, until we scan them for the Digital Archives. It's amazing to me. Last year there was a special project in which our department scanned negatives of the local newspaper from the 1940s until the 1960s or so. I believe there were something like 15,000 of them, or some other ridiculously high number of negatives. I learned so much about local history in going through the process of scanning the items, putting them online, and checking the information and descriptions with the items.

I'm really going to miss this job. My boss has been a good friend to me, even he helped me decide where to take my stint in art school. I couldn't decide what major I wanted to be, but he helped me see that I should be in textiles, as I've loved textiles since high school… I'm not sure why I couldn't see that you could make a career out of something that you loved like that. Now I see it, and my ultimate goal is working in costuming for films or other entertainment.

 I guess you could say it's the only University related thing that I will miss. I definitely won't miss the system here, or even necessarily the campus. But I will miss my job.

I went into the art building for the last time yesterday. I have no other reason to go now. I've turned in everything that I need to turn in.
Today will be the last day i ride my beautiful bike around these neighborhoods and on campus. It will actually be the last time I ride my bike for a long time. That is very sad. I love my bike more than people generally love bikes.

On a Disney related-note: I saw Pirates of the Carribean with my boyfriend, and nearly cried when I saw the castle. It's not because I absolutely love Disney THAT MUCH, it's because I am pretty sad to be leaving my boyfriend. I was never a huge Disney-phile, as a lot of people on the CP seem to be... I rather think it would be amazing to do costuming for a huge entertainment company.

Did I make the right decision on the CP? Should I have accepted it, even thought I'm leaving him behind? I feel pretty bad/sad about it actually. :(

My Email!!

Guess what I got last night?

I can't tell you how excited I am! I got my first choice!
I seriously went "WOOOOOOOO!" Several times (and very loud), as my friend and boyfriend looked at me like I was crazy, before I told them I was accepted to the College Program, haha

When I first read the email, I just saw the purple, and didn't even read it for what role, or if I Fall Advantage or Fall 2011. They asked what I got, and I didn't even know for a couple of minutes of WOOOOO-ing...

I'm going to accept the June 13th check in date, if it's not full by the time I can pay the $305 and get to a Windows computer (I'm a Mac girl...)

My family and friends seem really excited for me, which I wasn't really expecting from everyone. There are a few people I expected to get some negativity from, so I kept it a secret that I was applying to the program until I knew either way if I got in or not.

Now that everyone knows, they seem pretty happy for me :)
My boyfriend says he's happy, but I'm not sure how he really feels. I know that I will miss him a lot, I've lived with him for the past 2 years, so it will be a lot of adjusting to roommates and being away from him again. I'll especially miss our cat. My boyfriend can come visit, but my cat can't, which will be hard for me. I'm used to sleeping with my kitty, and I can imagine it will hard to get used to sleeping without him again ):

Now that I know that I am accepted into the program, I can start planning on how I'll be moving my things back home that I'm not taking to WDW, and figuring out out how I'll be getting to Florida in June with my junk....

Interview!

So I was really nervous about my interview for nothing! I was nervous up until the moment I answered the phone, and as soon as the recruiter (Karen) started talking to me, it all melted away!

I had prepared by typing up some responses to some questions that others have said that they were asked, and I was asked several of them as well. I also printed out the the list of roles and the descriptions. I found an empty studio in the art building and locked the door as I anxious awaited the call.

I spread out all of my notes and the role descriptions to have ready to look at in case I flubbed or panicked.
In the end I don't think that I ever said anything directly from my notes, but I think it was good to have thought about the process and questions as before hand. At least that is how my mind works, and how I will feel at ease about it.

Interview...

I may have jumped the gun on making this blog. I don't even know if I'll get in....

So tomorrow at 3:30, I'll have my interview.
I've been reading a lot of blogs about other peoples' experiences and the tips that they provided.

I'm still nervous as all get out though.
This is what will make or break the recruiters' decision on if I'm accepted to the program. I really wish I knew more about how they choose who gets in and how they assign roles.
Is it really just luck of the draw? Do they look at who is a senior, and this is the last time they could participate? Do they look at your major and future interests?

I just hope I don't get the dreaded QSFB question. I think I'll say that I would honestly do Housekeeping  over QSFB or Custodial, but if that is my only chance to participate, I would gladly take the opportunity.
I don't even have any experience in Food Prep, either, so I'm not even sure if I would be much of a help if I were cast in that role...

I just hope I get accepted for something! At this point the College Program is the only plan that I have for the upcoming future. I missed all of the deadlines of the grad schools I was looking at, back in January. If I don't get in, I plan on going back to my hometown and working through a temp agency to make some money before moving.

My dream is to work in costuming for movies. I want to move to either NYC or LA to try for my goal.
I would be happy just working in the shops, I have no desire to be billed as "Costume Designer" and I will leave that title to those who care about the glory. Going through the Disney College Program in costuming would help me in so many ways to reach my goal, it isn't even funny. To say that I have worked in wardrobe  for a company as prominent and HUGE as Disney will make me look awesome.

AAAAHHHHHHH only 15 hours!

The beginning of my journey! I really hope it happens!

Ok, I'm keeping this on the down-low, but I applied to the Disney College Program at Walt Disney World.
 I just don't want to get everyone's hopes up that I'll be working for Disney, or hear the negative opinions of a few people that I know will try to rain on my parade until I can shove it in their faces! :)
I just needed to tell someone, even if no one ever sees this. I have an interview on Monday. I never really looked into as much as I should have, and after someone from my class mentioned it, I decided to make the jump and apply.

My top choices are:
1. Costuming, which is more like wardrobe. I won't be making any costumes, but it will be killer to have on applications that I worked in costuming at Disney! 8D
2. Character attendant, which is following and helping out the furry characters around the park.
3. PhotoPass Photographer,  which would have me being one of those people who kind of make you buy photos, lol I would love to take photos all day though!
4. Merchandising,  I wouldn't mind working in the shops, and I basically applied for this position to kind of make sure that I would have a chance at the program.

Honestly, I think I'd even be up for Mousekeeping, if it were a last resort, so that I can participate with minimal guest interaction... I think there's a lot I could learn doing that as well :)

I think I will learn a lot working there, no matter where I end up!

I'm really excited, and I hope I get the internship. I've talked with Brian, and he'd live with his brother and stay in our hometown, while I move to Orlando for a semester. I'd be back soon, and it will give him a chance to save a lot so we can move to California sooner!

The program runs from either June - January or August - January, depending on position availibility and what I have preference in.  I would be living in dorm styled apartments, with all bills included, fully furnished, even with kitchenwares! It comes out to about $380 a month, and it's down the road from Disney. Transportation would be provided for the participants from the apartments to the parks in the form of busses. It's a paid internship, so I'd be making some money while I am there, although not too much.... but that's OK! I'd be having an awesome time, and can get my friends and family to come to Disney World! :D

I think it's an awesome oppurtunity, and I really want to be able to go!

As soon as I know if I am accepted, I will make a blog just for posts related to thr program and my trip there, as well as tell everyone that needs to know, haha.

The latest I'll know if I'm Accepted, Rejected, or Pending will be April 4. If it comes back pending, the lates I can find out will be April 30 ):

Here's to me getting accepted! :D