*ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN AND NOT OF THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY OR YUMMY JOBS*
Hey there, pals!
Alright, so you've just received an email from Disney informing you that you've been successful at the final interview... what's next? If you're reading this post right now with that same question running through your head, don't worry I had exactly the same thought process! First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on making it all the way! No seriously, you should be very proud of yourself.
Since I received my offer, there were a number of stages that I had to complete before I arrived at the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. I know that sounds very daunting, but that's what this two-part series is for. Whether you're preparing for jetting off on a Disney program or are just generally interested in the acceptance process, I have mapped out everything that I did, month by month.
November 2018
On November 27th, 2018, I officially found out that I had been selected to participate in the Disney Academic Exchange Program (DAEP)! I was in total disbelief; I couldn't believe it! However, the acceptance process for my program began pretty much imminently...
After receiving my offer letter from Disney through the Disney Portal Candidate Zone - Application Documents & Forms, the very first requirement was to decide whether I wanted to accept or decline the offer, which I obviously accepted. In addition to accepting my offer, I had to pay an acceptance fee of $375.00* (non-refundable) via the Disney Onsite Resident Management System (DORMS), which I needed to create an account to process the payment. The last requirement I had to complete was to upload a valid passport (and proof of student status form, if required) to Disney Onboarding Central (DOC), which I already had an account from the final interview preparation. I had to apply for a new passport, as the existing passport I presented at my final interview was due to expire during my program, making it not valid. Disney do give you plenty of time to make the decision to accept or decline the offer and fulfil the remaining requirements, so do not feel that you have to rush this decision, as I certainly took my time!
December 2018
Once Disney had sent out all their offerings to the successful candidates, Yummy Jobs contacted in mid-December congratulating all of us for being selected for the program, as well as restating the requirements required from Disney. I had to inform Yummy Jobs that I would like to move on with the pre-arrival process, so the coordinators at Yummy Jobs can contact via email about the next stages of arriving at Disney.
January 2019
Around January, Yummy Jobs sent out an invoice to pay $400* towards my tuition with Central Michigan University (CMU). This commitment fee was to secure my place on CMU's program that they have in partnership with Disney.
Additionally, Yummy Jobs began to process the Criminal Background Check**, which included a hyperlink for paying a £90.00* background check fee and sending my most up-to-date address to Yummy Jobs. This enabled Yummy Jobs to post the DBS application form to my address. For this, I had the application form sent to my home address and took photocopies of the form just in case anything happened to the application forms in transit to my university address.
During this period, I began to consider flights options for travelling to Orlando. Yummy Jobs and Disney stated that I have to be in Orlando at least 24 hours before my move into housing date. Yummy Jobs are partnered with STA Travel to assist participants on Disney programs about booking their flights to Florida. I know that several participants have successfully booked their flights with STA Travel, but I used a local travel agent in my hometown. The choice is completely up to you on how you book your flights.
My advice: book your flights early, so you can access the cheapest prices.
February 2019
So, the time had come where I was notified by Disney of the job roles I'll be working in during my placement year. I was over the moon when I found out that I had been allocated the roles of a Merchandise and Attraction Operations Cast Member! Once again, I had to secure my position by re-accepting my offer on the DAEP.
Next was looking at accommodation options for the first night. Just like the flight options, accommodation options are very wide open too! Some choose to stay at one of the Walt Disney World Resort hotels and others stay in a local hotel near to the resort. On my program, the successful candidates together made a group chat on Facebook, so we could all be excited about our Disney adventure! From this group chat, a few people were staying at Disney's All-Stars Music hotel and it made sense to stay here with other program participants. Some of the benefits from this include taking advantage of the Disney's Magical Express service from Orlando International Airport to the hotel directly, reduce taxi costs from the hotel to the housing complexes and being able to meet fellow participants on the same program as me!
March 2019
A few weeks into March, I was contacted by Yummy Jobs about processing my J-1 visa**. I was required to fill out some financial support documents to show that I could fully pay the outstanding tuition fee for CMU ($4010.00*). In turn, CMU could print out and send the supporting documents needed to obtain my visa. Once these visa documents had arrived, I was then able to go to the US Embassy in London to get my J-1 visa ready for the start of my program!
So, the main question some of my readers have asked me is how did I balance my university studies alongside my preparations for Disney?
In hindsight, as soon as I was contacted about the next stages of the preparation process, I pretty much completed these straight away! Yummy Jobs and Disney do spread the steps out across the period from making the offer to the program start date, so I found that there was plenty of time to get everything ready. And, if you're stuck, Yummy Jobs are reliable when it comes to answering your queries, as they know how much you want to participate on the program and are willing to help out! Also, many of the requirements from Yummy Jobs and Disney recruitment had a very tight deadline attached to them. Therefore, I knew that it would better to get the stage over and done with before I got distracted/tied-up with my academic studies! In some cases, if the requirement wasn't completed by the deadline, you would lose your place on the DAEP, as Yummy Jobs and Disney would assume that you’re no longer interested in the program... And, this was an adventure I didn't want to miss out on!
I do still have A LOT of stages left to complete before I prepare myself to board the plane to Florida for the most magical year of my life! However, I am very fortunate that my family have been able to use local services on my behalf and their American contacts for additional advice, which has really helped with the Florida preparations!
I hope you enjoyed reading the first half of my Disney preparations. If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me via the homepage or leave a comment on this post. But most importantly, keep your eyes (and ears!) peeled for Part 2 of my Disney preparations!
Have a magical day!
-Hannah
* Costs are accurate as of 2019
** Requirement is part of the UK acceptance process and maybe different/non-compulsory for other countries
DISCLAIMER: this blog is my personal experience on the Disney Academic Exchange Program and in no way reflects everyone's experience! Other programs and future participants on the DAEP may have slight adjustments which may not be reflected in my posts. That being said, if you do leave any questions, I will try to answer them as best I can or cover topics in blogposts :)
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