What happens next? ... part 2

As well as the email with the check list, there is another email with important information that talks about some of the conditions, etc. The most important points are:

•  Roles cannot be changed after acceptance.
•   You may purchase medical insurance for either the full duration of the program (12 months) or for the first four months. After four months you will be eligible to obtain your insurance through the Disney Medical Plan.
• You must arrive and depart company sponsored housing on designated program arrival and departure dates. We are not able to accommodate an earlier arrival date to company sponsored housing or arrange for housing past the program end date – You must arrive in the USA on your scheduled arrival date and not before this.
• Your passport must be valid for 6 months following your program end date – if your passport expires before this period then please begin the process of renewal now.

I had to wait a few days until I could send off my CRB form as I needed to fix my paypal account as I had new bank details. I also emailed Becky as one of the forms of ID required (photocopies for the CRB) said driving license or National Insurance card. I only have my provisional license and lost my NI card a lonnnnnnnnnng time ago so I asked if a P60 or something with my NI number on it would be of use. However, Becky said that just a copy of my provisional license was fine so that was one less worry!

Its also exciting as my Yummy Jobs profile now has stuff on it haha! Before it just said something along the lines of "you have not yet been accepted for any program" ... but now there's copies of stuff from the emails as well as info about travel/flights/housing/arrival.... Yay!!! :) Now that all the CRB stuff is out the way, I just need to wait on hearing good news back from that! The next very exciting step is to receive the Disney Information Pack! This takes around 5 weeks so I'm hoping the postman is on good form and gets it here soon!

So what happens next.. part 1

After freaking out for a bit and letting the whole wide world know that I got the job :) ... I went back and read the email properly. Near the bottom it says 

"In order to accept your position please reply directly to this email by no later than ****"

So I sent back a very enthusiastic and happy yes and thank you!!!!!


Becky then sent back a short email to say that there would be step by step instructions to follow emailed to me (and the other successful applicants) on the 2nd July. So until then it was just a matter of celebrating and being in a bit of a daze. I'm not sure yet if its hit me or not??


It also says in the congratulations email, that actual dates are still subject to change so not to book flights yet. Its worthwhile reading these emails a few times to make sure you know what to do/expect!


On the 2nd July, sure enough a big email came through from Yummy Jobs. Included with this is some instructions and a big check list. It mentioned that the CRB forms would be sent out to us in the post and we should send them back with all the necessary documents, ASAP. The CRB form is basically a criminal check that is carried out by Yummy Jobs. If they deem the results to be satisfactory then its a yes, otherwise its a no. They then tell Disney if its a yes or no. The results are then destroyed, unless you want a copy. Disney doesn't find out any of the details on it, just if Yummy have approved or not. This is a really important process and you can't continue without it. They give really clear instructions on how to fill it in and tell you how to pay by paypal. 


Once you receive the form, you fill it in as instructed (and its really not difficult!) and then include photocopies of the required documents (as YJ would have seen the originals at the interviews). You also need to include a print out of the paypal receipt to show that you have paid the £60. Then you put it all in an envelope, put YJ's address on it and send it by recorded delivery (just for safety, seeing as all your lifes information is basically in that envelope!). 

Best email EVER!!!!

On Monday 25th June, around lunchtime, there was some sudden activity in the Facebook group for those waiting to hear from Disney. People were all talking about an email that they got but I had no idea what it said and was refreshing my email like crazy trying to find out! Elle sent me a PM as she had more details through someone and it basically said the same thing as the 9th March email but that people had to wait until August! 


I didn't know what to make of this yet (still having no email) and wondering if this would be a good thing so went downstairs to talk to my mum. Came back up about 5-10mins later and there in my email was a mail from Becky at Yummy Jobs.  Opened the email and it said....

"Dear Jennifer,  

Greetings from the Yummy Jobs Team and the Walt Disney World Resort!

We very much enjoyed meeting with you during our recruitment trip throughout the UK.  We met many fantastic candidates during the trip and Disney was very impressed with the quality of all applications.

 After reviewing your application and interview we are delighted to be the first to say 

 Congratulations

You have been offered a place on Disney’s Cultural Representative Program.

 Your role in the show will be in Food and Beverage.

 Your program with Disney will commence on April 9th 2013 and conclude on April 4th 2014."

Now this email looks pretty easy to read... the big red letters in the middle are a bit of a giveaway. But for the life of me, I couldn't focus my eyes and take any of it in! I was in a completely weird place and my eyes went blurry as I was shaking and the first words I could make out were "Food and Beverage", "show" and "April".... kinda trigged in my brain that this was a good thing so tried reading it again before screaming for my mum, running down the stairs (no easy feat when you can't walk without limping) and hysterically crying lol!

I was shaking pretty badly and couldn't wait to share it with everyone but could barely type. Eventually I managed to leave a message on my Facebook and on the FB groups and then sent a completely maniac text to the few people I have a number for to tell them to get checking their email PRONTO!!


As time went by, everyone posted their results on FB and it was looking like a lot more people were told to wait than got a date. Those that were given dates are from January 2013 - end of June 2013. I was extremely happy about a certain few people that also got dates but was genuinely a bit gutted for a few that didn't. Made me feel like our wee group had been torn in two again but with so few people with dates in 2013, I know that more people will get through!

Waiting, waiting......

As the waiting continued there were a few people (myself included) that were really going a bit stir crazy. After the email on the 9th March, a few more people had been given dates for 2012, and you can't help but think that while you're happy for them - why not me? I was happy not to be going until 2013 (more time to save and generally get my life in order) but I just really wanted some sort of confirmation that it was all going to work out! Throughout June I tried to be more positive by changing my fb background pictures to those of Disney photos or Disney related stuff to make me smile every time I looked at them. And not break down and cry haha! By this point I was really wound up and was becoming more and more convinced that we wouldn't hear until the last possible day.


My sisters baby was due on the 18th June and he wasn't ready to make his appearance yet either, so I tried to put it all to the back of my mind..... and to stop going onnnnnnn and onnnnnnn about it to people! I had told so many people however, that everyone kept asking me if I'd heard yet and I every time I said no I'm still waiting, I could feel judgement. Like they didn't believe it was real, or that I would ever get it. Annoying!

When everyone else thinks my dream is crazy...

How to keep yourself sane while waiting!

The waiting between the email on the 9th March and the end of June was a really hard, trying experience. In an effort to make the best of things and keep myself motivated there was quite a few things I did to keep myself motivated, and here's a list (in no particular order)

• Random trips to the Disney Store - gives a warm feeling in my tummy every time lol!
• Building on my Disney DVD collection - I have a HUGE  collection of DVDs and so I decided to buy more Disney ones and catch up with Disney films that I haven't seen yet.
• DMR points - when building up the DVD collection, I really got into Disney Movie Reward points. Save them up and get more free DVDs!
• Buying lots of Disney themed baby presents - my sister was also due her baby in late June so I had two big things to look forward to! Once I found out she was having a boy, I was mega excited to buy lots of cute little outfits for him.
• Speaking to my Disney Facebook pals. Could never have got through all that waiting on my own, and it's weird how close you can to people that you may only have briefly met once if at all!
• Reading lots of CRP blogs. I've read countless blogs, and then re-read some of them. Have noticed that a lot of them focus on what they have eaten, for every meal, every day! There's also a couple where it seems that they didn't make the most of their time there. I am determined to never becoming one of those people!
• Getting bikini ready! I know I won't be happy unless I loose a good amount of weight and so I started off by getting out more and doing long walks when I wasn't working. I have a really painful foot condition called Plantar Fasciitis but I was determined to see it through! A little later I joined my local slimming club. I used them once before and did manage to loose a fairly decent amount but I am determined not to give up this time!

Waiting to wait some more...

Every day of waiting for news from the interviews was pretty awful. I really didn't like how the interview had gone and was really beating myself up about it. The waiting went on and on and on.... eventually we got word on the 9th March that we would find out that day for defo! I had gone straight from college to work which wasn't a great situation as I was checking my phone for emails even more than normal, and just feeling pretty awful.


Then notifications started coming through about people receiving dates. Most of the people that got dates I knew of and had expected good things for them. But time was ticking and still no email! Eventually I got an email through, however it wasn't from Becky (who normally contacts us) but from someone called Michele. And then my heart totally sunk....

"We hope you enjoyed the recent interviews for the Disney International Programs – Cultural Representative Program.

 The Walt Disney World International Recruiters would like to thank you for the time and effort you put into your application and they very much enjoyed meeting you and spending time speaking with you.

 As you are aware the Cultural Representative Program is a highly sought after experience, and the Walt Disney World International Recruitment Team is currently considering you for a role on the program. 

 At this time Disney has extended offers to candidates for arrivals through until December 2012. 

 You are currently being considered for positions starting in 2013 and will receive further information on your application towards the end of June 2012.

 If your availability for the program changes please contact *******

 Once arrival numbers for 2013 have been confirmed we will be communicating with successful candidates.

 We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for all your efforts so far and will be in touch shortly."

Pretty heartbreaking. Between the mood swings I was having, it was difficult to make sense of it all. The gist of it is that they gave out dates for people up to the end of December. They would be giving out more dates for 2012 and early 2013, once Disney got back to them with their requirements. Which meant waiting until the end of June!


 Unless you have gone through all this yourself then it is quite difficult to understand how horrible it is to put your life on hold... and hold... and hold... when theres a big chance you might not get there in the end. Some days I would be feeling really positive, and other days I would be literally kicking myself about my interview and thinking there would be no way of getting the job. I literally don't know what I would have done without the support of all the other Disney wait-ees on facebook. Was so good to be able to rant away to them, knowing they felt the same as I think my friends and family, etc were all getting sick of hearing me talk about it. I would talk to anyone, and I mean ANYONE about Disney lol, I think it helped to keep my sanity just a teeny bit! Then I kept having all sorts of dreams about Disney, or stressy things like all my teeth falling out!