MY SPACE!! AUSTRALIAN COMING TO DISNEY SEP 10TH - MAY 2007

hey cassie,

don't stress about the weather. it was pretty mild. the mornings and nights could get pretty cold, so bring a coat or jacket just in case. or else, just buy one when u get there. as tristan said, theres an awesome factory outlet centre across the road from one of the complexes. and when i say awesome, i mean awesome! u will never look at myer stocktale sales or dfo the same again! lol

anyway, back to talking about the weather, before i got sidetracked about retail therapy...yeh, its pretty mild. kinda like spring weather. i know that when i was there, sydney was experiencing 40 degrees + for christmas! lol. i'm glad i missed out on that one!

you will need an adaptor coz the plugs there are different. but the electricals seemed to work ok, even though it was at a different voltage. except, my roommate was from South Australia and she had brought a hair straightener with her. but because the voltage was so different, her hair straightener would heat up more than usual, which wasn't such a bad thing though coz it meant taking less time to get ready! hehehe

omg, i am sooo jealous! i wish i was going back for 9 months! hehe. hey, would you mind if you gave me the contact details of whoever it is that organises the program? if given the chance to return to WDW, i would pack my bags right now! lol

btw, sorry for the long post. i'm just sooo totally excited for you! i'm sure you will have a great experience!

 

hey tristan thanx for the tip regarding the direct outlet, you know me already, ;D *laughs*.. i'm a shopoholic and i'm sure i will be spending most of my time shopping :hehehehehee, oh and in regards to being in a f&b postion, not too sure really what position i'm doing... :-\ that not too smart of me.. but ah wells 8)

*laughs* i'm so excited to soon be able to experience my long awaited retail therapy ;D ;D, and the fact that they will be better than myer stocktake sale ... boo yah ;D , it sounds so good...
well i kinda like our 40 degree weather.. well at times.. well now that i'm just getting over winter weather, but thanks so much for filling me on on all the weather goss, thats heaps helpful

umm the contact details for the people who hooked us up with the positions is www.dkinternational.com.au <- i think thats their website, let me know if that link doesn't work.

oh and how was it living with everyone, any advice, fill me in on everything.. you are my gold ticket to knowledge at the moment
and look at me now rambling on, this post is going to be huge but hahaha you read it

catcha, x x Cassie signing off

 

thanks for the details cassie! they are actually the same company i went through with in the summer. is the contact person gavin dadswell? man, i wish they could've offered me a 9 month stint! *sigh*

disney was the best time of my life! i would return in a heartbeat. it was such a learning experience, with work, the people you live with, the guests you meet etc. i loved how you could meet so many different people from so many different countries and even from different US states.

i guess that one word of advice is to be really open minded. know that you are there to work, coz some people think that its all just fun. don't get me wrong, coz i did have heaps of fun at work, but just keep that in mind just in case

also, be prepared to experience a bit of poverty! hehe. coz disney pay isn't fab, and then you're gonna wanna shop and party and see stuff etc. it all adds up!

if you have any other questions, just let me know! i'm more than happy to help out!

ps: the americans love us aussies! but they really reckon that we're just like steve irwin, croc dundee...

also, they don't use phrases like "reckon" or "heaps"

 

Ohhh Crikey!!! She'sa snapper!

hahaha yes the steve irwin, croc dundee thing, i'm not so sure i'll be able to live up to those high expectations

yeah Gavin is doing all the organising for our program, they didn't actually offer the 9 months program, it was just because we have to have nine months (well i think its actually 8) we need it for our course requirements, approx 1200 hours, we needed the 8 months or so and they hooked it up, pretty sweet

open minded? in that fact that its not all just fun and games.

btw whats the thing about lockers
and explain the whole linen issues etc. i was reading on other posts that bed sizes may not be the same, is that true for the USA compared to Australia, and walmart is the place to get most of the bedding..
how much luggage did you take over?
is shopping over there cheaper than here? if so is it on everything or only on certain things
did you do the program with other Aussies, or was it just yourself?
did you guys get accomodation near each other or spread out, cause i checked it out, the accomodation village is like a town, there must be heaps of people living there

 

well, just stay open minded and realise that you are there to work. some people thought that it was gonna be a holiday and all fun. but ofcourse, waking up to catch the 6am bus to work isn't necessarily fun!

re: lockers
when i was at wdw, i worked in a resort and we didn't have lockers. but if you are working at epcot, you get lockers there (i think) from costuming. i'm sure they will tell you everything about it when you arrive. there are also lockers in your apartment to put your valuables in, but you need to bring your own lock for it. kinda like those school lockers.

re: linen
the beds are a different size. i brought flat sheets with me from oz, but my roommates just bought them from walmart. walmart is dirt cheap (and it sells everything!!! ) but, in the beginning when they are deducting your rent, program fee, and when you are buying all your groceries, and coz u don't start work straight away, mini poverty sets in! hehe. nah, its not so bad. part of the experience!

re: luggage
i didnt bring much luggage coz i was only there for 2 months. but my roommate from SA brought all her assets! lol. she had sooo many bags (and probably 10 pairs of shoes), i wondered how she managed to carry them out of the airport!

re: shopping
shopping for clothes, shoes, handbags etc is really really REALLY cheap at the outlets. junky food shopping is also dirt cheap. BUT, if you want fresh food and vegies, those are expensive! i bought 8 oranges for US$8, and i'm like, errr...i thought florida grew oranges??!! why the heck are they that expensive?!! considering that its always australia that faces drought shortages and hence higher prices! try to eat well...much easier said than done. after the summer, i gained 2kg! which i still cant shed off! :'(

re: summer international college program
there were supposedly 80 aussies, but i probably only met 10 or so. it was really funny, coz there were one batch of aussies that i never saw at vista way, never saw at work, and ONLY ever saw at PI (pleasure island...where the nightclubs are)! i thought it was hilarious!

re: accomodation
all the aussies were placed in vista way. in my apartment there were originally 3 aussies + 1 american, then later we got another american, then later we lost both americans but gained another aussie and a brazilian, then we lost the aussie and got another brazilian....yeh...lol. it gets kinda hectic when u arrive home late one night and ur like, err...who the heck are u and why are u in my living room? hehe. living with other people can be challenging.

vista way is big enough, but not that big that u cant meet up with other ppl.

and finally, i know alot of ppl felt homesick. one girl from SA returned home before the program. and i was only there for 2 months. so yeh, just be prepared that it *might* happen to you. personally, i was having too much fun andlearning too much to feel homesick. and i knew that i was returning home in two short months anyway.

 

Mobile Phone & Bank

oh my gosh you are the coolest, as i said before you are my golden ticket, the treasure at the end of the rainbow ;D

your insight into everything is so reassuring, thanx you rock

i was chattin with one of my girlfriends who is also heading over and she brought up some more concerning issues as well. what is your insight and advice regarding

• mobiles and phone calling back to australia
  
• banking options, parents transfering money, disney payments
  
• clubs, most of us will be 18/19 do we still get into the good clubs ie. pleasure island etc. [fake ids]

thank you sooo soooo sooo much for all your helpful replies, i hope you'll be able to experience disney once again, it sounds like it was great

cheers

Cassie

 

Hey True Blue

I've got some friends that did the program last year as well, Emma and Emily? Did you know them or were they the ones you never saw

 

re: mobiles
believe it or not, i survived two months without using my mobile! lol. in america, they dont have sim cards, coz originally i was thinking of getting a prepaid sim card but they dont have any!!!! grrr... so i couldnt be bothered getting a new phone just for those two months. but since u are gonna be there for much longer, u can get prepaid phones from vwalmart. else, i guess u could go on international roaming with your aussie mobile, but thats gonna be expensive. maybe just use it for emergencies?

u can get calling cards from vista way, but the call rates were pretty expensive. my room mate made two calls to SA and used up the entire $10 card! but since there are calling cards around, there must be a cheaper deal...u just gotta hunt it down! sorry i cant be of more help

re. bank
during the orientation period, the people from vista credit union will get you to fill out forms to join. if u join, ur pay goes straight to your account, which you can withdraw with ur keycard from various atms on disney property. if you don't join (although i think most people do) then u have to go to either the credit union or the supermarket every single week to cash in your paycheck. that would be such a pain! joining the credit union does cost money, i think $5 a month. but for the convenience, its probably worth it. ofcourse, its up to you. just know that u have a choice, coz i think the ppl at the credit union kinda make it out that u HAVE to join (when you dont)

re: clubs
i know that u can get into all the clubs even though ur under 21, so thats not a problem. the ONLY problem is drinking. coz if u are caught, u could be terminated, and that wouldnt be fun. luckily for me, i turned 21 whilst i was there, so i only endured 2 weeks without alcohol! hehehe. but i know for other aussies, they engaged in under age drinking. its risky though. if you are caught drinking in vista, u will get terminated, and if u get caught drinking at PI, you will also get terminated if you dont have a wristband (they wristband u if u are over 21 at the entrance of PI). a fake id might work, coz i doubt the PI people are experts in aussie ids. but, its risky all the same if you are caught. whilst i was there, i know of aussies that were warned about drinking, and they were sooo lucky not to be terminated. then, i also knew of a chunk of brazilians who did get terminated. sooo... yeh, each to their own.

you know, i think i'm gonna have to live through the disney experience again vicariously through you guys! lol

@ tristan: i *think* i met an emma from SA. is she blonde, not particularly tall and did she work in f&b at PI (even though she applied for merchandise or something)? if that was her, then she was one of the aussies i met on the bus to PI! lol

 

Hi everybody here's my myspace url:

myspace.com/cocalightburger

++

 

Nah that wasn't her, she was a character performer (thats what I wanted oh well attractions should be just as awesome!!!)

Just a question, I'm getting really worried about how much this flight will cost me did DK Australia get a good discount, or should I go organise my own flight.

 

hey tristan,

it depends on how much shopping around you want to do. from memory, the cost of the flights organised by dk australia was ok, but i still got a better deal elsewhere. i eventually went to student flights. they were really good! but i dunno if that exists in SA...

 

Hey again
More questions for ya!
On the topic of internet access, I don't have a laptop to take over and the internet will be my connection home. How is the facilites they have their and is it easy to access or are the computers they have there always taken?

Cheers
Tristan

 

hey tristan!

apologies for the late reply! been busy prepping for vacation work interviews

there are computer labs in the housing complexes, but they are usually very busy and you dont get to spend all that much time on them coz the ppl will boot u out after 1/2 hr. for me, it was hard to deal with coz i am a computer junkie and i obssessively compulsively need to check my emails all day every day! lol.

at one stage one of my roommates had a laptop, and omg, that was like heaven! lol

funnily enough, i managed to survive over there without much net access and without a mobile phone... but that itsy bit of independence has since deserted me...once again a slave to technology

so i guess in the end, its definitely do-able and thats what most ppl endure anyway

hope that helps!

 

I'm at Disney

Hi to any Aussies and myspacers,
i've arrived at disney and its pretty cool. it is really amazing over here.
if you have any questions, i'll be happy to help, i know i had heaps before i came here..

BY THE WAY...
to all the aussies.. you need to bring aussie stuff with you, to show everyone
eg. Aussie play money
Tim Tams
Smarties
etc. etc.
oh and as much money as you can, cause at the moment, i have 8 dollars.. povo

best way to contact me is through adding me as a friend on myspace and messaging me to let me know who you are, friends are friends not randoms..

all the best, if you have any questions, feel free
btw I HATE LOVEBUGS!!!
peace and love,
Cass

 

Hey! I'm very much a myspacer =D .. but I'm Norwegian (f, 18), not Australian + I'm still waiting for my f2f interview 22 Oct. Would love to talk and get to know anyone who's applying, got the job, or who's already there... so add me on myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/gul_seigdame =)

EDIT: ..obs, sorry. Realised this was the accepted participants forum.. (hopefully I'll be one soon!!)

 

hey! a question for you aussies..particularly those who did the summer college program!

did you post your cv to the address they give you on the official site...since australia doesnt have its own address...and also is there any way you can email it? it doesnt give you an email address..

and since we dont have a representative in australia does that mean we only have a phone interview not a face to face?

thanks!

 

Hey Hey!

Aussiegal: The way we did it was an email was sent out from our university's employment people that outlined the program. From here we signed up to an information session where people from Disney came and told us about the program and we had the interview with them then (But it seemed it was a turn up and your in kinda dealy as a month later we got an email saying they were looking for more people). If the university you're going to doesn't do the program, you can try posting your CV and seeing what happens. At the moment, the Aussie program is really in its infancy (this is the 2nd year they have done it) so they might expand it in future years, I'm not too sure. Hope that helped.

Cassie: Hows it going over there!? I bet your having a great time . I'll be there soon woo! Had my visa interview last friday and just booked my flights. You got any tips for me getting ready? Anything you forgot or should have brought that they told you not to? I'm sure as it gets closer to me leaving I'll probabally bombard you with more questions . Have a good one!

-=Tristan=-

 

thanks! theres a big chance ill be going to uts next year.. university of technology, sydney so i hope they can help me out with it!

what uni do you go to?

 

I go the the University of South Australia in Adelaide. When I'm over I'll see with some of the Sydney people and see if any of them are from UTS for ya

 

aw thanks!