My DCP Bucket List!

This post contains a lot of writing, just a warning now! I've wanted to write my Disney College Program bucket list for awhile now, but just now got around to it! 

I leave in less than 2 weeks to travel down to Florida, oh my gosh! Once I'm down there, I can start accomplishing things on the very long list that follows! This list is a big compilation of goals to strive toward while on my program. If I can accomplish just a small fraction of these, I'll be one happy girl! 

A lot of these ideas were pulled from other bucket lists I've seen and tweaked to have a little commentary of my own! Enjoy!

Just a little picture before loads of text :)

General Stuff

1. Go on every ride in each park at least once. Yes, this includes Dinosaur, which I have always conveniently avoided, and I need to go on Journey Into Imagination With Figment again for the sake of my reputation and dignity. Let’s just say last time I went on it, I was terrified, and everyone around me knew it.
2. See every show! I love shows, and have seen almost all of them to my knowledge, but I am looking to see them all!
3. Find Hidden Mickeys and take pictures of them! I’d put a goal number on this, but I just want to find as many as I can without the help from a book.
4. Go to all 4 parks in the same day.
5. Go to Rope Drop at each park at least once
6. Go to a park by myself.
7. Go to a park one day and not ride any attraction, but rather take pictures and look for things I haven’t seen before.
8. See every parade!
9. Take a picture in front of each park’s landmark.
10. Watch custodian paint a water picture! This is the best when you catch them in the process!
11. Watch every nighttime show!
12. Go to the water parks  If I can’t go to both, at least one of them! I’ve surprisingly never been to either!

Magic Kingdom

1. Become a Galactic Hero on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. This has only happened once before for me, I’m hoping to get that 999,999 again :)
2. Dance in the Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!
3. Buy a balloon on Main Street!
4. Find all of the hidden Pascals near Rapunzel’s tower!
5. Go to the park early, and get a picture on Main Street, as empty as possible.
6. Have a part in Enchanted Tales with Belle. I’ve been an audience member quite a few times, I’m ready to take the stage!
7. Learn the choreography to a parade. I’ve done this before for Dream Along With Mickey, the castle show, so I’m prepared to take on this challenge!
8. Listen to the Dapper Dans.
9. Make a wish in the wishing well.
10. Picture with the Partners statue, of course.
11. Take a picture with Jim, the piano man! I have pictures of him, but I am going to try and throw myself in one with him!
12. Ride all 3 mountains in one day.
13. Stay all the way until park closing and see the Kiss Goodnight. I’ve never seen this myself because I have parents who want to beat the crowds as much as possible to get back to our car! :)
14. Try pulling the sword from the stone in Fantasyland.

Epcot

1. Call and answer the phone booths in the World Showcase. I have called people that were visiting the Canada pavilion on several occasions. People get such a kick out of it, and I have talked to people, complete strangers, for 5 minutes at a time!
2. Get a passport from Guest Relations and visit every country at World Showcase to get it stamped
3. Pick a pearl in Japan
4. Sit in the very front and middle seat of Soarin’
5. Take a picture inside of Bruce’s mouth at The Seas with Nemo and Friends
6. Take a picture in every country!

Hollywood Studios

1. Be the Rebel Spy on Star Tours. This one is just something I hope happens to me, I can’t affect it in any way! I really want to be it though!
2. Do the Animation Class. It is so much fun, and you leave with a “free” souvenir, and it actually looks like the character. Bonus, you can take your drawing of a character to that character, and get them to sign it!
3. Experience Character Palooza.
4. Get picked as a volunteer at Indiana Jones Stunt Show Spectacular. I have done this once before, it is so much stinking fun!
5. Get the highest score in my car on Toy Story Mania!
6. Go on Tower of Terror in the day, night, and while it’s raining! (I’ve done day and night, but raining would be an interesting experience)
7. See both Fantasmic shows in the same night, because why not?
8. Volunteer to be that person on the Backlot Tour. Last time I went, they didn’t do this part with volunteers, but I hope it was just because of the weather or something.
9. Walk through One Man’s Dream
10. Win the instructor’s drawing at the animation class.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

1. Become a Wilderness Explorer
2. Find DeVine between Africa and Asia…tricky one.
3. Get picked to be part of the show at Festival of the Lion King. I feel like I heard it will be closed, but if it is open during any part of my program, I’m going!
4. Go on Kali River Rapids, and get soaked, inevitably.
5. Go to the petting zoo at Rafiki’s Planet Watch
6. Ride Expedition Everest a bunch of times in a row

Downtown Disney

1. Fill up a box of Mr. Potato Head parts at Once Upon a Toy
2. Get ice cream at Ghirardelli
3. Go bowling at Splitsville
4. Look at the beautiful artwork in Art of Disney
5. See a movie at the dine-in theatre
6. Buy Vinylmations at DStreet
7. Visit Basin and wash your hands with the “delicious smelling scrubs” as said by a past CP.

Resorts

1. Archery at Fort Wilderness
2. Campfire & singalong with Chip and Dale at Fort Wilderness
3. Explore the Boardwalk at night
4. Get leis from the Polynesian
5. Learn to hula at the Polynesian
6. Visit the Wedding Pavilion

Other

1. Play mini golf at Fantasia Gardens or Winter Summerland
2. Witness a proposal! (I’m thinking my chances are good for witnessing one because I’ll be there during Valentine’s Day!)
3. Get a glimpse of a celebrity, if I met one that would be okay too! :)
4. Star Wars Weekend
5. Visit my friends at work!
6. Order personalized maps with favorites highlighted

Food

1. 50s Prime Time Café- milkshake…yum!
2. Be Our Guest
3. Cinderella’s Royal Table—It’s magical!
4. Dole Whip. This is a big one you guys, I have never had one!!
5. Finish the Kitchen Sink at Beaches & Cream! (with friends!)
6. Go to a different restaurant every time you go somewhere
7. Have lunch with an Imagineer. This seriously sounds amazing, but not sure I’m going to be able to fork out the cash.
8. Hot dog at Casey’s Corner
9. LeFou’s Brew from Gaston’s Tavern
10. Make an early-morning dining reservation for someplace inside the park, and get to enter the park before it opens!
11. Mickey-shaped pretzel
12. Mickey waffle
13. Sci-Fi Drive In Theatre - ask for a car table!
14. T-Rex and Rainforest Café
15. Take pictures of all the delicious food you eat!
16. Try something from every pavilion at Epcot
17. Turkey leg. Another big one for me because I’ve always been confused by people’s desires to eat this in public. I’m going to join the club!
18. Chef Mickey’s!

Characters

1. Devote an entire day to character hunting!
2. Do a character meal.
3. Fill an autograph book!
4. Meet Mickey and Minnie in as many of their awesome costumes as I can! They have quite the wardrobe!
5. Meet talking Mickey at Town Square Theatre
6. Take a picture with every Disney Princess

Cast Member/CP things

1. Go to Night of Stars Talent Show
2. CP Graduation
3. Get a GSF
4. Give GSFs to other CMs!
5. Go to an audition for Disney Entertainment
6. Go to Grocery Bingo
7. Go to housing events!
8. Make a magical moment for a guest!
9. Do a PAC shift!
10. Shop at Company D
11. Shop at Property Control and Cast Connection
12. Visit Mickey’s Retreat
13. VoluntEAR

Collect...

1. FastPasses from every ride that has them! 
2. Maps
3. Pressed pennies
4. Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards
5. The buttons they give out at the front of the park
6. Vinylmations

I know there are a lot of things on my list, and if you read all the way through, you are a trooper! I'll update this throughout my program to see which things I've accomplished! Thanks for reading! Have a magical day!

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The Greatest Time of Year

It is December! In case you were unaware…there’s that for you!

I know that I’ve only posted about Disney related things so far with my upcoming program in mind, but I will be adding little blurbs from life every so often, so enjoy or ignore, but I’d rather you enjoy!

I love Christmastime. It is my absolute favorite time of year! The bitter cold weather can be miserable, but the overall time is the best.

My sister and I each got our own advent calendar this year and they are Cars themed! Oh yeah! The little chocolates I’ve had so far have had characters like Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Sally (I think!) on them! It is hard to tell on these little chocolates! I just want to draw some extra special attention to Mater's hat...um..that is awesome! I'll take one!

Just my advent calendar casually hanging in our Christmas tree! 

So festive, and not staged at all! :)

Apparently there is a right and wrong way to open an advent calendar? I didn’t know this and am now opening mine backwards! I thought it was a countdown to Christmas (I mean, come on, it even says that at the top of mine) so I opened 24 first, then 23, and so on. I thought it could be like “Oh look! It’s 24 days until Christmas!” Well according to the results from my Google search, I was wrong. I am not letting that rain on my parade though, because I think my way is very logical, and I quite like it. :)

Advent calendars are just fun and festive! But you know what really makes this time of year special? Christmas music!

Now that I am listening to more Christmas music on the radio, I have been reminded of a few lyrics I used to sing incorrectly. When I was younger I was a little confused about some of the lyrics and the meanings of the songs were consequently changed quite a bit!

In the song, "Winter Wonderland", wonderful song by the way, when it says:

Later on, we'll conspire,

As we dream by the fire

To face unafraid,

The plans that we've made,

Walking in a winter wonderland

I used to sing and genuinely thought the lyrics were:

Later on, we'll perspire,

As we dream by the fire

To face unafraid,

The plans that we've made,

Walking in a winter wonderland.

You know what though? Looking back at that now, I was being pretty realistic…if you are sitting by a fire for a while, you are probably going to perspire, people!!

So that lyric change may not have drastically changed the meaning of the song, but when I used to sing "White Christmas", another great song, I was majorly mistaken.

The song goes like this…

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright,

And may all your Christmases be white.

What a lovely sentiment! A lot lovelier than what I thought it was! The version I sung out went a little something like this:

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas,

With every Christmas card I write

May your days be numbered and bright,

And may all your Christmases be white.

MAY YOUR DAYS BE NUMBERED?! What was I thinking? What sort of Christmas song goes like that? Sad ones, that’s what! Oh man, I didn’t even know I was singing this wrong until someone else pointed it out to me back then! Unbelievable!

I know that was all very random, but I felt like sharing!

Christmastime is something special, and I hope that you reading this have a blessed time! This time of year is busy, and it can be stressful, but don’t let the time just pass you by!

If you need a good laugh to relieve a moment of stress, just remember that I used to sing about sweating and numbering your days in a Christmas song! Oh boy, so embarrassing! 

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Happy Birthday Walt!

Today would have been Walt Disney's 112th birthday! 

Whenever people ask "If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?" my answer is always Walt Disney. I have been fascinated with him as a person for so long now.

I did my book reports on him when I was in middle school, and I just gained such a respect and sense of admiration for the visionary that he is. Disney has been such a big part of my life and has definitely been a part of the shaping of who I am in a way. I wrote a little about this in a previous post, if you haven't read that one yet, check it out here! It includes pictures of little me!

My sister gave me the book, Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas almost a year ago now, and I have enjoyed reading more about Walt! There was so much I didn't know before. Reading about how he came to be the person he was, and the challenges and obstacles he overcome is inspiring. It sort of lights a creative spark in you!

I could go on for awhile about all of the things I love about Walt Disney, but that could become lengthy and repetitive as I tend to talk in circles! 

I will always be grateful for the work and dedication of Walt, a man I have never met, but whose life has impacted mine! Thank you Walt, and Happy Birthday, my friend! 

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Get Connected!

Since starting my blog, it has been very fun to see that people are viewing and reading what I’ve posted. I know that I am not talking to a mass of hundreds here, but I just think it is very cool that anyone is reading this to begin with!

I wanted to point out a few ways for you to stay connected with me, and this blog. (If you are a family member who is coming here for updates while I’m on my program with Disney, this info will help you know when I’ve posted!)

First off, I have linked my social media sites to this blog with the icons on the right! I had to learn some basic coding to know how to do that, and I felt incredibly accomplished after completing it… it’s the little things, folks! I know that in addition to blogging and hopefully vlogging once I actually get down to Florida, I will be tweeting, Facebooking, and Instagraming my time as well!

Secondly, my blog is on bloglovin.com. If you are unfamiliar with that site, it is a place where you can add blogs that you wish to follow, and you have the convenience of all of them in one place! Super handy! On your home feed appears new posts from any blogs you choose to follow! If you want to get in on that action, click on the + icon on the right. You will need to create an account yourself, just a heads up! It is not hard to do though, so carry on! (Bonus- there is a Bloglovin app that you can download if you want to have my blog and others right within your reach!)

You can also keep up with my blog by following via email! You just have to enter your email in the box on the right side of the page, and then confirm you actually want to subscribe when a confirmation email comes to your inbox! Then whenever I post, it goes straight to your inbox!

Finally, you can follow on Blogger somehow. I know that that piece of information was not helpful in the slightest bit, but I am not actually sure how to do it! I should know more about it considering this is the platform I chose to create my blog on in the first place, but that is something for me to learn! I know it is possible because I see that some kind souls are already following me this way! If any of you can explain to me how following on Blogger works, please enlighten me! I am assuming that you will probably need to create an account yourself first before you can follow my blog, and if that is an inconvenience to you, this may not be the option for you, so please see above possibilities!

Eventually I might learn all of this Google+ stuff as well, but that is another whole ballgame that I am not quite ready to master!

I am really very curious to see who has read my blog, so if you are reading this, send me a quick message via any of my social media sites, email, text message (if you know my phone number :D), or just leave a comment below! Also, if you are reading this because you have followed a link from the DCP Facebook page, and you too have a blog you are using to document your journey, send me a link! I would love to check it out, and follow your adventures while you follow mine!

Whatever way you may come to read my blog and hopefully choose to keep up with it, I am extremely grateful for your time and investment on this little page! I cannot wait to start posting about exciting things that happen and all of the little things I learn along the way!

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Why Disney?

This will be a longer post, but it’s about a great topic (ahem Disney) and I think the length is well deserved, plus you’ve been warned! 

Writing about why I love Disney and what it means to me is a large task, let alone trying to do it in a blog post! I thought I’d include some pictures to help break it up! Yay, pictures! This only scratches the surface as I can't possibly put into words everything Disney has meant to me.

Let me just say, I wish I was listening to classic Disney music or a Disney film in the background while writing this! That would be quite the mood-setter!

Okay, all set! Let the reminiscing begin!

As long as I remember, Disney has been apart of my life. I know that many people have strong views either for or against Disney or somewhere in-between, but I am extremely grateful that my parents made Disney part of my life from a very young age. 

Disney and me through the years :)

I didn’t dress up for Halloween a lot, frankly I’ve never been a fan of the so-called holiday, but I was always willing to be a Disney character when need be. I received Disney-related gifts, like a stuffed Mickey Mouse in one of my first Easter baskets when I was very young, and our bookshelves were filled with all sorts of Disney VHS tapes. (Oh yeah, I remember rewinding those babies like it was yesterday!) I’m sure countless hours were spent watching the Sing-Along-Songs videos. I can still hear the music from all of those movies. If you never experienced that series or you don’t know what I’m talking about, go discover it now and feel enlightened. It’s amazing. I can still hear… ♫I’m Walkin’ Right Down The Middle Of Main Street, U.S.A.♫ Good stuff. We took regular trips to the Disney store, and family vacations to the theme parks! Disney was infused into our lives.

One of my favorites from the series. These videos are a true treasure, a national treasure, I tell you!

I couldn’t be happier about that infusion. Disney has always been nothing but positive for me. I felt no shame watching the Disney Channel as a teenager because I was watching wholesome, positive television, when others were watching programs that I know would have been a negative-influence on me, personally.

Growing up, I learned quickly about loss, and pain, and the idea that life isn’t easy. As corny as this sounds, throughout all of that suffering, Disney was always there. Something I’ve always appreciated about Disney is that it doesn’t shy away from hard topics and darker concepts that people encounter all the time. Seriously, pick any Disney movie and I bet you will find that there is more to it than appears on the surface. What I mean is, they aren’t all fairytales with perfect endings; they have real struggles intertwined that make a character’s triumph mean so much more. For me, this was and still is an incredibly comforting thing.

Any time I spend in a Disney park or even just on Disney property is unlike anything else. It’s crazy how the stress and frustration in my life melts away as soon as I find myself at Disney. If you’ve been a guest at Disney, I hope that you can say you experienced the same!

Every day I spend at Disney is a happy day. Every moment spent experiencing something Disney related is a happy moment, and all of those become happy memories. This is something I value so much because I can’t say the same about other things.

I watch countless videos on YouTube of parents surprising their kids with trips to one of the Disney parks, or someone proposing to their soon-to-be fiancé in front of Cinderella’s castle or after a well thought out and planned scavenger hunt (because, what else would you watch on YouTube?). The genuine joy and excitement these people experience and then share with the world is beautiful. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never teared up watching one of those videos! I’ll have to share a few of my favorites on this blog sometime!

That sort of genuine joy is something that I get to experience when I am a guest at the parks. While at Disney, I feel happy and I feel like I get to have the childhood I dreamt of and oftentimes felt robbed of. The inspiring message that dreams really do come true, and anything is possible is the anthem throughout your entire day spent at Disney. I’ve seen people’s days made, heck my day is made every single time I go!

I was at Magic Kingdom in July, and while watching the Dream Along with Mickey castle show, which I have known the lyrics to backwards and forwards for a few years now, I was still swept up in the magic of it all. It was the strangest and yet coolest thing for me. I am telling you, I know that show, I really know it. I knew what lyrics were going to be sung, and yet while I was singing away in a crowd of hundreds, when we reached a certain line, completely unprepared for it, I cried. There, I said it! You think that’s embarrassing? I think it’s awesome! (Side note: I let my little sister read through this post before publishing, and she said she is judging me because first of all I cried, but second I wrote about it! I'm just going to let her keep on judging! This was just one example of a time when I was once again swept up by the magic of Disney. I think it's safe to say that no matter what your age and how many times you have been to the parks, there is still something more to be discovered, and still something waiting to touch your life in a beautiful and memorable way!)

Walt had such a strong vision for what would become his legacy, and all of the cast members today are doing Walt proud. There really is nothing else like it. If you haven’t been able to visit Walt Disney World or Disneyland, or any of the other parks around the world, I really and truly hope you will be able to.

One of my favorite aspects of visiting Disney is the concept of celebration. People all around you are celebrating something. Disney celebrates everything! There is a reason to celebrate every day! It doesn't have to be something big, just the mere celebration of life is a worthy reason!

I cannot wait to be around the magic of Disney everyday. Just the thought that I might be a part of making someone’s day a memorable experience to be cherished for a lifetime makes me so extremely happy because I know how much it has affected me. I am so extremely thankful for the man who started it all, and in his own words: “I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney.

From my Instagram

Not the best quality, I'm aware, but the sentiment is there nonetheless!

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