So I don't seem to be updating this as much as my blogger DCP blog. I have posted a few times over there about various things while I haven't updated this in a while. That being said I will post a link to my blogger blog here and then try to add a post with a link every time I update that blog.

www.seasonswiththemouse.blogspot.com

:) Go check it out!

What is this?! 2 posts in 2 days!?

I promise I have not been abducted by aliens and replaced by a robot version of myself. Interesting concept but not reality.

So my audition was interesting. I think I did alright. As with last year it is just to hard to tell. I know my animations/characterizations were good. I worked hard on making sure my movements were big and expressive. I tried to remember to smile, which I think I managed. It was quite fun.

The process went almost exactly the same as last year. Since it was in the afternoon I had to wait all day to go to the audition. I had a butterfly filled anxious stomach all day long. I knew that it was just the wait and that proved to be true. As soon as I got there and sat down in the "waiting pin" I was fine. Unlike last time we were allowed to wait in the building inside one of the studios. I met Geoffrey who I had talked to on the facebook group. I felt like a dusche when about 45 mins into hanging out with him while waiting I realized I was pronouncing his name wrong. :o I also met a lot of other people whose names I don't remember. I did finally get to meet Lauren, a girl from the facebook group, and I saw Marina again.

-topic hijacking-
Did I ever post to mention that I had met Marina a first time? Well I did. She is another member of the facebook group who happens to live in Austin. She lives on the total opposite side of Austin from me. Sometime in September we met up at a local ice cream shop (Amy' Ice Cream for those of you who are wondering) to chat and mingle. It was very nice and I really enjoined meeting someone from the group.
-now back to the regularly scheduled topic-

So I guess I was a speedy speedster and filled out my form ridiculously fast because I was the first person to turn in my paperwork. That means I was #1 in group #1. BLAH! I am really not sure that was my best idea. However I really expected it to be fine.

The choreography for whatever reason was harder for me this time. I think it had to do with the choreographer. She didn't repeat the moves quite as much as the choreographer from my last audition. She also did use counts as much in teaching us the moves or play the music when we practiced each segment. I think that my difficulty in learning the dance could also have been influenced by not taking a dance class this semester like I did last time. Basically I kinda sucked at the dance beacuse not only did I not learn it very well but I had NO time to practice it because I was #1. I did show I could learn some stuff since I did manage to get the beginning down and that I can keep on a rhythm both of which are what they want to see.

We shall see if I pass or not. As with last year I will find out in 2-3 weeks via email. I did the best I could and if I don't make it I am still going to be a Character Attendant. I still only know of one other person who is a CA. I am sure there are more.. I just have not found them..... yet. (bahahahaha!)

One last random tidbit. Last year there were 93(or 2 can't remember) people at the audition but this year there was only 75. I was also measured at 61in which means that I was placed at my real height. That somewhat worries me. (BLERG EEEK! GASP!)

And FIN!

or not.. I have one little thing more to say. So that paper I had to write for my PR class...I stayed up literally all night to finish it. I went to sleep at 6:15 this morning and got like 3.5-4 hours of sleep. I have been surprisingly awake and peppy all day and had only one Vault at 3:30 for taste more than caffeine. Technically it was not an all nighter since I went to bed before sunrise, but only by about 30 mins. However if it was an all nighter it was my first in all of college created as a result of school work. RA incidents I do not count.

and now I am really done..

CURTAIN CLOSE!! (as I am dragged off the stage by one of those long wooden hook/cane things)

AHHH! My audition for character performer is tomorrow. I am not freaking out per say but I am anxious and am definitely thinking about it. I am worried that I will die because I am out of shape. I at least had a dance class last time to give me some endurance. Not this semester.

I have been working on my characterizations. I think I have perfected them a bit more this time around. I certainly hope they are the same situations that I was given last time. lol. I would love for them to be the same so I can worry more about the dance tomorrow. I would like to be in the second or third group. Beginning of second so I can watch the choreographer would be great however beginning of third would be equally awesome. I am coming prepped with all my mental info so I will be able to speed write and get my info card turned in quickly.

People who I know are going are arriving as early as 2:30. I am interested to see if this audition will be more or less crowded and if arriving that early is necessary. I certainly hope it isn't because I don't plan on getting there any earlier than 2:45. Most likely at 3:00. I figure if there is really a line already formed I can jump in line with some friends. lol. The pre line also doesn't really matter all that much since they sit you down first to explain how to fill out the paperwork. So speed will be my friend...and I am very speedy. BAHAHAHA!

In other random news... I am writing another paper about Disney for school. It is for my PR class and it has to be about a PR Campaign. I decided to do it on the PR aspect of the year of a million dreams campaign. It will be my third Disney paper. My First was a communication theory paper about George Herbert Mead's theory of the looking glass self and I and Me using the comparative tool of Disney Princesses and Cinderella in particular. The second paper was on the corporate culture of Pixar for my Organizational Communication class. By the time I graduate my Disney obsession will be readily apparent to all who look at my Comm Portfolio since I plan to use these papers in them since they are so awesome. I even have a professor using my Princess paper in that class as an example for other students. :D

That is all for today! I shall try to write tomorrow but that PR paper is due Thursday and I have done next to diddly squat on it. We shall see if I have the time to write.

TA-TA For now my loves!

PS: !! 68 days 9 hours 37 mins and tick tick tick seconds till 8am check in at Vista Way on Jan 11th!

Life has been so busy I can hardly stop and eat much less update this journal. But here I am again, trying to update like I know I should.

In really super awesome amazing news.... I GOT IN! :) I found out via email on Friday September 11th that I was accepted to the Spring 2010 Disney College Program as a Character Attendant. That was exactly 3 weeks after I applied and 2 weeks after I interviewed. I plan on writing a little interview tip entry soon. Totally backwards.. that's how I do. :D

I have obviously accepted my invitation and will be arriving Jan 11th. :D that is exactly 84 days from today. Yay!

I'm BAAAAAAAACCCK!
Bahahahahahah!

:D

The wonderful Walt Disney World College Program E-presentation and Application has been put up. It actually went up on the 20th when I was smack in the middle of Blackboard training for my school internship. It was quite painful to know it was up and not be able to apply because I was supposed to be paying attention.

I was so gung ho to get back into Disney mode that I joined the WDW College Program Spring 2010 facebook group back in May. It is a absolutely wonderful group and I love the people that are in it. We have a aim chat group wdwspring2010 and it is totally addicting. I love chatting with everyone! (HI D-FAM!!) I definitely think I will be better off this year going to Disney (if I do) knowing all these people.

As a result of being in the facebook group I have started making vlogs. I have made one so far which is an introduction of sorts. I will try and continue to make them throughout the application/audition process and hopefully when I am down in Florida. My youtube channel is under the same name as this blog, Frizzbird. I can't post the link right now because my school’s Internet is down…so when I can post it I will.

This year Disney added a new component to the application process. The new component is a web interview. If you don't pass this web interview you will be rejected before you really even start. While that kinda sucks, the Disneyland CP has supposedly used it for a few years. It is kind of one of those generic personality style tests that you take when you apply for a job. Gallup administers it so that just says how generic it is. It asks things like do you get more work done than others? do you smile? Would you lie to get a job? Do you consider yourself helpful?... that type thing. It is timed though so it can be a bit scary.

Interesting tidbit... it seems that my role checklist from last season was saved and when I logged in to apply it was still there! I thought that was pretty cool. I added 2 more roles to the list this time around, concierge and opening gate/ticketing (I don't remember the real title for that). Those two bring my role checklist to a grand total of 11 roles. I am actually somewhat interested in all of them. I guess that could change if I had worked there before but as of now they all still seem acceptable.

I now have to set up my interview time. I have to wait till Monday to call since I waited till like 7 on Friday to finish the web interview. Hopefully I will be able to set it up for like Friday... I want the time to look over all my complied questions again. I think This year I am going to say my top three are Character performer, Character Attendant, and Attractions followed closely by Merchandise and BB Boutique.

That is all for now. I really want to keep updating this... with blogs and vlogs and life tidbits. I have found that I actually like doing this… when I make the time to do it. So I will have to make the time! :D

So my lazy ass self never finished my audition post. Basically all 93 of us learned the dance and worked on characterizations together in one room. We practiced the dance several times and then we were sent into a hallway to line up in numerical order. We had some time to practice before they took the first group of 6 in. I was #12 so I was in the second group. I chose to work on my characterizations over the dance b/c I didn't like how they looked. I thought I did relatively well on the dace part. I am not a dancer but I went the right direction and smiled a lot. I thought I did good on the characterizations. I came out thinking positively. After a few days I began to doubt that I passed but I was ok if I didn't because I thought I would get in.

Well I ended up being rejected. I got my letter in the mail today. I am definitly sad. It never even crossed my mind that I wouldn't get in. I thought that it was a possibility that I wouldn't get character performer but I never thought I would totally flat out be rejected. But that is what happened.

I am trying to be positive about it. On the positive side I will be able to be a RA again next year. Hopefully I will get the freshmen studies/rhet & comp intern position. I woln't have to worry about coming back in the fall and having to find a place to live. I can apply again in the spring and hopefully be accepted to that. And if I do get accepted I can extend my program into the summer.

Downsides: I was really looking forward to being in Florida this fall. Really just in the fall in general. It will be cooler in the fall and I think perhaps less busy. I would get to be there for Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas which would be interesting since I have only ever been to Disney in the Summer time. I guess those could also be a positive though since I will be able to be with my family.

Quite honestly I am trying to be analytical/logical about this. I got my letter right before my afternoon class so I had some time to seperate myself from the sadness. I had my three second cry and now I am moving on. I still want to do the program and I know I will. I just have to work on shifting my focus from Disney back to my school plan.

Life goes on... and so will I.

Ahhhhh. It is now officially over. I can hardly even believe that it was this morning. It already seems like a day ago at least. I think I did pretty well. It is rather hard for me to tell though because I have nothing to compare it to. If nothing else I know I did the best that I could in the time given to me.

I figure I will talk a little bit about the structure of the audition. The sign in time was 9:30 but I decided to get there at 9. I didn't look at my watch but I actually think they might have let us in a bit earlier. Once we got in the sat us down and briefly explained how to fill out the sign in form. The recruiter then passed out the forms and some pens. After we filled out the form we lined up to sign in and get our number. I signed in and received the number 12. After we singed in we were sent to another line where we were measured. I actually found the measuring to be quite amusing. I am exactly 61 inches/5'1. I am exactly that tall to the point that others can be measured against me. Since that is one inch out of the preferred height range I had a feeling that they might measure me down. Initially the guy said "59 annnnnndd... no actually 60 and 3/4". I was amused because he really tried to measure me down 2 inches but that is a whole lot. In the end I guess it was just too much. lol

.... Hummmm so I am actually pretty pooped so I think I will finish this post tomorrow.

So I am leaving for my audition in just a little bit. I am going to get there for 9 to get in line. I am sure there will be a line.

I am not nervous yet. I keep saying little prayers asking to help me do my best. I am wavering between wanting to be confident that I will get it (positive visualization and all) and wanting to just have fun so if I don't get it I will be ok. The only hard part about that is that the longer I have waited for the audition the more I want the part. It is hard to picture doing anything else at this point but I know if I don't pass life will go on. If I am being honest the only place I really can't picture myself at next semester is school!

I will post more later this afternoon about the audition.

I met with Andrew the internship coordinator today. To say the meeting was a complete waste of my time is a huge understatement. I thought that "Oh this is an internship coordinator, he will be able to help me coordinate the internship with school." Wrooooong. Basically the whole entire point of the conversation was to cover the University's ass (excuse my french).

Kim Livingston basically directed me to this guy so he could rain on my parade a little more. Andrew brought me into his office sat me down and turned on the clouds to a nice steady mist. The kind that you don't even realize your a wet from until like 5 mins have passed. Which by the way, this meeting didn't even last that long.

Andrew asked what I wanted to ultimately get out of this program. I told him that my dream is to eventually work full time for Disney. I told him that I had already applied and interview and that I was just waiting to audition. That led to the topic of roles. I don't remember exactly what was said but basically he wanted to make sure I knew that I wouldn't be working in the marketing or advertising departments. I told him that I knew that and that I had really researched about the program to make sure it was something I was going to enjoy. He then said that was good and that is what I should have done.

Turns out that the reason he was making sure that I knew I could be making beds was because some students had gone down to Disney and didn't end up working in the advertising department like they expected. They hated it and so they called their parents. The parents were obviously pissed that the school had recommended this program and so they called Sr. Donna the Provost and complained to her. Sr. Donna then rained down the complaints asking why are we recommending this program if students end up housekeeping? So this is the reason that now all students that are interested in the program must be sat down to have it explained to them that they will not necessarily be doing anything related to their major.

** Sassy Pants Warning**

All I can say is NO SHIT SHERLOCK! Those students who complained must have been morons! How can you make it through the website, presentation, and interview without realizing what exactly each role entails? And how can you think you will be working in the advertising or marketing department when THERE IS NO ROLE LISTED FOR THAT! Did you sleep through everything it took to get down there? If that is the answer then they didn't deserve to have a spot in the CP, in my opinion. Some other person probably would have enjoyed it more and deserved it more since they ACTUALLY PAID ATTENTION!

When I was in this meeting I thought "Okay I understand they are covering their own asses. I am okay with that, I get it." I kept expecting that after this little preliminary conversation was over that he would actually start being helpful. But then he stood up and I realized that the little rain storm was the whole entire point of the meeting. In the time it took me to walk out the building (1 min tops) I worked myself into a great big ball of frustration and sass.

I don't fault the school. This world is filled with stupid people, especially young people, who will ignore, ignore, ignore- till the truth smacks them in the face. I am not one of these people. My mama didn't raise no fool. (sassy head jiggle included) I did my research and unlike others I made very sure that I only chose roles that I was completely willing to fulfill. If Disney only has a place for me in Quick Service Food and Beverage or Housekeeping, I am quite willing to turn that position down. I know myself and I know that I would be unhappy in that position. I can always wait until the next semester and apply again to get a position that I could be happy with.

Not that that is likely to happen. :D I am quite confident that I will be a Walt Disney World character performer this coming fall.

Also in case anyone is keeping track I am now up to 5 degrees of sucks-for-you-we-love-bureaucracy run around. Back to Kim to talk about classes and such. I also plan on talking to Stephanie Martinez the professor whom I plan to take my internship class with. I have hopes that she might be able to shed some light onto what I have to do within the internship class in relation to my internship with Disney. EX: Do I need to get a "contact" signed? If so by whom? and by when?

Wish me luck as I continue my large bass-ackward journey towards coordinating school with Disney.

So it has been a while since I have posted anything. Or at least it feels that way. I think the last post included a tidbit about getting the run around from St. Eds but I will elaborate.

Last fall when I first decided that I really wanted to apply for the program, I spoke to my adviser about the who I might need to talk to about having classes I take at Disney transfer back to St. Eds. He told me that I should talk to the registrar. I filed that away in my memory and when the time came to start looking into transferring classes again I pulled that bit of info out of my mental storage unit. While I absolutely love my adviser, he obviously did not really know what he was talking about. I was smart and called the Registrar before I walked all the way to their office. Whoever I spoke to decided that I needed to talk to someone in the Undergraduate Admissions Office. Let me just say that the first thing I thought was "I reaaaaallly don't think that is who I need to be talking to" but I let them transfer me anyway. I then talked to the receptionist in the Undergrad Admissions office. After a very long explanation in which I had to restate a few times that I was a current St. Ed's student, the receptionist told me that I should talk to the admissions counselor in charge of transfers, Tracy Canales.

So even though I was pretty much positive that wasn't who I needed to talk to, the next day I walked to the main building to talk to this lady. Turns out I was right, she wasn't who I needed to talk to. One point for Marion! woo! She told me I should talk to the Dean of my school (Humanities), Kim Livingston. Tracy was quite helpful and looked up all of the info I would need to contact Kim. As soon as I got out of Tracy's office I called Kim but she was not in her office. I left a message explaining what I wanted to know and asked her to call me back when she got a chance.

I think she called me back either the next day or 2 days later. She asked me how I found out about the program and then told me that they (the humanities office?) no longer recommend the program. Their reason for this is that students can end up doing things that have no relation to their major. She specifically mentioned making beds. She then said that I should talk to Andrew Harper who is the Internship Coordinator in the Career Planning office. She also said that as long as I can provide a course description or a syllabus then she is the one that will be able to let me know if credits will transfer.

Basically I got run around in a HUGE circle only to have someone rain on my Disney parade. My thought on the whole "tasks that don't relate to your major thing" is that I am a communication major and more specifically a advertising and public relations specialization. The all of roles I checked off have direct guest interaction. In any of these roles I will be the face of Disney to guest who interact with me. That is the definition of Public Relations. So Poo POO on that excuse!

I finally got around to scheduling an appointment with Andrew. I have absolutely no ideas why I am talking to him and what I will be talking to him about. However I think he might be able to help me coordinate the school/program aspect. Perhaps he will even be able to put me in touch with CP Alumni that went to St. Eds and were Comm majors.

I also ended up going to the live presentation at UT last Friday but since I feel like this post is super long I will talk about that in my next post.

I hope everyone has a super terrific day!!

Its my Birthday!! woop Woop!!

I got a letter from Disney the other day. Exciting! It was basically one of those "Thanks for your interest" letters. It also told me the time, date, and location of my audition. It did say that I am a "strong candidate" but they might say that to everyone. lol. Maybe not though, perhaps I am special. :D

I have been getting the run around with my school and possibly taking classes. However that is food for another post.

So I thought I would try and record my Disney College Program Experience. I watched the online presentation on Friday. I finished my application and role checklist on Friday too. I had to wait til today to call and set up my interview time. I ended up choosing to interview tomorrow at 7:20pm. Can we say short notice? I am wondering if that was the best choice but I can't exactly do much about it now. I really want to get that part over with anyway. I don't think I could stand the anticipation of waiting any longer.

Unfortunately I am going to have to wait anyway. I recently found out that Disney now has a character performer position for Tinkerbell. Tinkerbell has been one of my favorite Disney characters for so long. I decided that even though I am going to be so scared and nervous of auditioning if there is even a small chance that I might be able to be Tinkerbell I had to go and audition. So that is what I am going to do on April 19th at Ballet Austin. I know that it is not very likely that I will get to be Tinkerbell but maybe I will and if nothing else perhaps my short stature will help me be chosen to be a fur character.

Even if I don't get chosen to be a character performer as long as I get accepted into the program I will be happy. My wish list for roles are as follows:

• Character Performer
• Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Hostess- I hear that this is a very competitive position and that it is possible that salon expierence is preferred. :( so who knows
• Attractions
• Merchandise
• Hospitality

The last three are all ranked very closely. I also know that Attractions and Hospitality are pretty popular

Lastly I am very worried that I am going to be at a disadvantage because I am applying late and attending a late audition. I am scared that if I don't pass the audition all of the roles that I really want might be filled. I just have to to hope that in the chance I don't pass the audition  (which my positive visualizations say woln't happen-- I am going to pass my audition :D) my luck will hold out and I will get a role that I want.

So that is it for now. I am now going to send out emails to the registrar and my financial advisor so I can go talk to them about how I could work everything out with the College Program. BLAH!