Showing posts with label experience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label experience. Show all posts
Monday, 10 June 2013
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Disney Dorms
Yesterday we received our Disney Dorms emails, which meant that we could select our housing and roommate preferences :)
Becky filled in our form, if you want to room with people then on person from the group fills in the form and links you in using your roommate number which you receive in the Dorms email. They choose apartment and size, then each person gets sent an email with a link, you have to virtually sign some housing forms about alcohol and behaviour, then you confirm that you want to share with the people you have been linked to and that you are happy with what's been put. Then you're done.
Disney do their best to accommodate your preferences, a lot of the Canadian ICP's were successful with roommates and apartment complex, but didn't always get the size they wanted, however 2/3 ain't bad ;)
We chose our apartment complex choices as:
1) Chatham
2) Patterson
3) Commons
And our apartment size as:
1) 3 bedroom
2) 4 bedroom
3) 2 bedroom
After accepting all the info, you receive an email to tell you that you're done :)
I will let you know in 11 days time (or around that time) how successful my Dorms experience has been :D
Becky filled in our form, if you want to room with people then on person from the group fills in the form and links you in using your roommate number which you receive in the Dorms email. They choose apartment and size, then each person gets sent an email with a link, you have to virtually sign some housing forms about alcohol and behaviour, then you confirm that you want to share with the people you have been linked to and that you are happy with what's been put. Then you're done.
Disney do their best to accommodate your preferences, a lot of the Canadian ICP's were successful with roommates and apartment complex, but didn't always get the size they wanted, however 2/3 ain't bad ;)
We chose our apartment complex choices as:
1) Chatham
2) Patterson
3) Commons
And our apartment size as:
1) 3 bedroom
2) 4 bedroom
3) 2 bedroom
I will let you know in 11 days time (or around that time) how successful my Dorms experience has been :D
Sunday, 12 May 2013
May Update
So I haven't posted much recently, that's cause I've been super busy, moving out from uni and moving back home. I've finished working at the Costa I was at which was quite sad, but I'm back home now which means one thing... It's nearly time to go to Disney :D
I still have quite a lot of bits and bobs I need to get, plus need to get some major things as well, like my suitcase :']
I still have quite a lot of bits and bobs I need to get, plus need to get some major things as well, like my suitcase :']
So excited now, 22 days to go now, will do a haul video at some point this week to show you some of the other things I've bought to take with me to America :D :D
Friday, 19 April 2013
Sunday, 14 April 2013
50 days to go :D
ARGH it's getting so close now :D
I have my Visa appointment on Tuesday, so just praying I don't slice my fingers open tomorrow at work. Also need to go and get a letter off uni to let the American government know I will be returning to the UK and book my taxi to the airport for 5:15am on Tuesday morning :(
I will try to Vlog as much of the trip as I possibly can and will probably post it on Wednesday or Friday :)
I have my Visa appointment on Tuesday, so just praying I don't slice my fingers open tomorrow at work. Also need to go and get a letter off uni to let the American government know I will be returning to the UK and book my taxi to the airport for 5:15am on Tuesday morning :(
I will try to Vlog as much of the trip as I possibly can and will probably post it on Wednesday or Friday :)
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Saturday, 6 April 2013
ICP costs
So we all know the ICP is a life changing experience and the summer of a lifetime, but what exactly does this experience cost you? Well I'm going to break that down for you now, hopefully in a nice easy way that everyone can understand.
Interviews
I was quite lucky when it came to interviews as I never had to travel anywhere that far or pay for hotels, but some people had to so keep that in mind. If you live in London, Manchester or Liverpool then you will have the easiest time by far, probably only having to get public transport to the city centre for both interviews. If you are from Edinburgh then you will be okay for the group interviews as they hold a session in Edinburgh, however if you get through to the Individual interviews you will need to be prepared to travel to one of the other cities I mentioned. If you live anywhere else then you will definitely need to travel.
For my group interview I had to travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh, I took the train which cost me about £21 return due to the fact I had to travel there during peak time.
For my individual interview I had to travel from Glasgow to Manchester, now I come from Manchester and my Dad works in Glasgow in the week, so I managed to nab a lift home to Manchester off him on the Sunday night and I had free accommodation at home. I did however have to pay for my train back to Glasgow at the end of the week which set me back about £15.
Running Total - £36
Getting there
After finding out you've got into the programme the first thing you are going to want to book is you flights, now these are the biggest single expense you are going to face in the build up to the programme so be prepared for this, extend your overdraft, borrow money from your parents, rob a bank, whatever you do to get money (don't actually rob a bank). My flights set me back £583 *ouch* but remember to book them in advance, I booked mine in November for June, since then the price has fluctuated a fair amount, they were actually about £20 cheaper in the January sales, so if I did it again I may wait until that point. I wanted direct flights which meant they cost a bit more as well, indirect can cost as little as £360 return.
Running Total - £619
Visa
The Visa is another cost you cannot avoid, Disney support your Visa for you which dramatically reduces the cost for you, however you are still required to pay the SEVIS fee which is $35, £23, And the appointment fee which is $160, £105. There is also the scary matter or calling the embassy for your appointment, this sets you back £1.23 per minute from a B.T landline so expect to spend about £5 if there are no problems. When at the embassy you will also be required to pay a courier fee, this is so that the embassy can send your passport back to you once they have put the visa in it, this will cost you another £14(ish) if you go to the Belfast embassy you will need to take a prepaid and addressed special delivery envelope with you instead.
There is also the matter of travel to and from the embassy, I will be flying to and from Belfast for my visa which will set me back about £60 when you include taxi's and busses.
Running Total - £826
Programme Fees
The first programme related fee you will be expected to pay is the cost of a CRB check, this is done via Yummy Jobs so that Disney know you have no criminal background, the check costs £60 and this needs to be paid a few weeks after acceptance. There is also a Program Assessment Fee that you will need to pay to Disney before you depart, this pays for activities at the housing complexes during your stay, this comes in at $100 so about £65.
The last thing you are required to purchase before leaving for America is medical insurance. You have to purchase this through a company that Disney have partnered with and it costs $70 a month, the programme lasts for just over 2 months, which means you have to fork out $210 in medical insurance (which you will probably never even need) this is to comply with visa regualtions. So it will cost about £137. You can choose to take out travel insurance to cover bags and cancelled flights if you wish but this is not a compulsory thing.
Running Total - £1088
Pre-departure costs = £1088
In country
Obviously when you actually arrive in America you will finally start earning some money back, Hooray! However don't forget that you will still have some necessary expenses to think about.
Rent - This varies from apartment to apartment, but you can expect to fork out about $80-$110 per week. Included with the apartment, you also get free transport to and from the parks for work and for leisure, and transport to local supermarkets and malls, internet and bills, access to swimming pools and gym and of course Mickey's Retreat. This amount gets taken out of your weekly pay before it reaches your pocket, so there's no need to worry about paying it out as it will be done for you.
Bedding - Disney don't supply you with bedding, so you can either take this with you in your case, taking up vital clothes and shoes space, or you can purchase it on arrival from Walmart (which is what I plan to do) A bedding set plus pillows will set you back about $50.
Laundry - Unless you have packed enough clothes and underwear to last you 10 weeks you are going to need to do some laundry. There are laundry rooms in easy reach of all apartments and will cost you $1 per wash and $1 per dry.
Food - Don't forget you will need to eat when in america, You also don't get paid until week 2, so you will need take money to last you the first few weeks, I plan to take about $300 to get me through this (not just for food I might add).
But don't forget you do get paid when out there :)
Optional costs
Spending money - I am taking about $700 spending money with me (not including the $300 for the first 2 weeks) this is mainly for travelling afterwards so that I have about $50 a day to do fun things and eat. I will hopefully manage to save up some money throughout the programme as well to put towards this :)
Travel - After the programme I am travelling to LA and NY for a week each. The additional flights are costing about £220 and accommodation about £250 so another £470 in total but that's not bad considering where I am going. Most people would be looking at spending that for a few nights for a hotel in NY :)
Disney hotels - After the programme before travelling I plan to spend 3 nights in a Disney hotel (hopefully animal kingdom lodge) using my cast member discount, I expect this will set me back about £150 but well worth it to experience a top hotel in a magical place for a few nights.
Park tickets - You get free entry into the Disney parks during your programme, but there are other parks in Orlando. I plan to buy myself a universal annual pass for about $180 so that I can attend whenever I want during my programme plus when I have finished the programme. We are also planning to go to Disneyland in California when in LA, so will be buying a 2 day ticket for the parks which will set me back about $160. I will be buying these out of spending money or earnings so are not included in my total below :)
Total cost of my summer = £2308
Wow! Who knew I was so good at saving, the fact I have already paid £1588 of this is amazing, all I have left to pay is my programme assessment and medical insurance and save up my spending money.
If you want a summer job to save up money then this is not for you, but if you want an amazing summer for the price of a decent 2 week holiday then this is for you :) The programme is an experience of a lifetime so expect to pay for it. But if you take off my travelling and optional extras then it will set you back about £1283, the only reason my total is so high is due to extra spending money and travelling.
So there you have it, the costs of the ICP explained to you, I hope this helps future applicants and current applicants alike :)
If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Interviews
I was quite lucky when it came to interviews as I never had to travel anywhere that far or pay for hotels, but some people had to so keep that in mind. If you live in London, Manchester or Liverpool then you will have the easiest time by far, probably only having to get public transport to the city centre for both interviews. If you are from Edinburgh then you will be okay for the group interviews as they hold a session in Edinburgh, however if you get through to the Individual interviews you will need to be prepared to travel to one of the other cities I mentioned. If you live anywhere else then you will definitely need to travel.
For my group interview I had to travel from Glasgow to Edinburgh, I took the train which cost me about £21 return due to the fact I had to travel there during peak time.
For my individual interview I had to travel from Glasgow to Manchester, now I come from Manchester and my Dad works in Glasgow in the week, so I managed to nab a lift home to Manchester off him on the Sunday night and I had free accommodation at home. I did however have to pay for my train back to Glasgow at the end of the week which set me back about £15.
Running Total - £36
Getting there
After finding out you've got into the programme the first thing you are going to want to book is you flights, now these are the biggest single expense you are going to face in the build up to the programme so be prepared for this, extend your overdraft, borrow money from your parents, rob a bank, whatever you do to get money (don't actually rob a bank). My flights set me back £583 *ouch* but remember to book them in advance, I booked mine in November for June, since then the price has fluctuated a fair amount, they were actually about £20 cheaper in the January sales, so if I did it again I may wait until that point. I wanted direct flights which meant they cost a bit more as well, indirect can cost as little as £360 return.
Running Total - £619
Visa
The Visa is another cost you cannot avoid, Disney support your Visa for you which dramatically reduces the cost for you, however you are still required to pay the SEVIS fee which is $35, £23, And the appointment fee which is $160, £105. There is also the scary matter or calling the embassy for your appointment, this sets you back £1.23 per minute from a B.T landline so expect to spend about £5 if there are no problems. When at the embassy you will also be required to pay a courier fee, this is so that the embassy can send your passport back to you once they have put the visa in it, this will cost you another £14(ish) if you go to the Belfast embassy you will need to take a prepaid and addressed special delivery envelope with you instead.
There is also the matter of travel to and from the embassy, I will be flying to and from Belfast for my visa which will set me back about £60 when you include taxi's and busses.
Running Total - £826
Programme Fees
The first programme related fee you will be expected to pay is the cost of a CRB check, this is done via Yummy Jobs so that Disney know you have no criminal background, the check costs £60 and this needs to be paid a few weeks after acceptance. There is also a Program Assessment Fee that you will need to pay to Disney before you depart, this pays for activities at the housing complexes during your stay, this comes in at $100 so about £65.
The last thing you are required to purchase before leaving for America is medical insurance. You have to purchase this through a company that Disney have partnered with and it costs $70 a month, the programme lasts for just over 2 months, which means you have to fork out $210 in medical insurance (which you will probably never even need) this is to comply with visa regualtions. So it will cost about £137. You can choose to take out travel insurance to cover bags and cancelled flights if you wish but this is not a compulsory thing.
Running Total - £1088
Pre-departure costs = £1088
In country
Obviously when you actually arrive in America you will finally start earning some money back, Hooray! However don't forget that you will still have some necessary expenses to think about.
Rent - This varies from apartment to apartment, but you can expect to fork out about $80-$110 per week. Included with the apartment, you also get free transport to and from the parks for work and for leisure, and transport to local supermarkets and malls, internet and bills, access to swimming pools and gym and of course Mickey's Retreat. This amount gets taken out of your weekly pay before it reaches your pocket, so there's no need to worry about paying it out as it will be done for you.
Bedding - Disney don't supply you with bedding, so you can either take this with you in your case, taking up vital clothes and shoes space, or you can purchase it on arrival from Walmart (which is what I plan to do) A bedding set plus pillows will set you back about $50.
Laundry - Unless you have packed enough clothes and underwear to last you 10 weeks you are going to need to do some laundry. There are laundry rooms in easy reach of all apartments and will cost you $1 per wash and $1 per dry.
Food - Don't forget you will need to eat when in america, You also don't get paid until week 2, so you will need take money to last you the first few weeks, I plan to take about $300 to get me through this (not just for food I might add).
But don't forget you do get paid when out there :)
Optional costs
Spending money - I am taking about $700 spending money with me (not including the $300 for the first 2 weeks) this is mainly for travelling afterwards so that I have about $50 a day to do fun things and eat. I will hopefully manage to save up some money throughout the programme as well to put towards this :)
Travel - After the programme I am travelling to LA and NY for a week each. The additional flights are costing about £220 and accommodation about £250 so another £470 in total but that's not bad considering where I am going. Most people would be looking at spending that for a few nights for a hotel in NY :)
Disney hotels - After the programme before travelling I plan to spend 3 nights in a Disney hotel (hopefully animal kingdom lodge) using my cast member discount, I expect this will set me back about £150 but well worth it to experience a top hotel in a magical place for a few nights.
Park tickets - You get free entry into the Disney parks during your programme, but there are other parks in Orlando. I plan to buy myself a universal annual pass for about $180 so that I can attend whenever I want during my programme plus when I have finished the programme. We are also planning to go to Disneyland in California when in LA, so will be buying a 2 day ticket for the parks which will set me back about $160. I will be buying these out of spending money or earnings so are not included in my total below :)
Total cost of my summer = £2308
Wow! Who knew I was so good at saving, the fact I have already paid £1588 of this is amazing, all I have left to pay is my programme assessment and medical insurance and save up my spending money.
If you want a summer job to save up money then this is not for you, but if you want an amazing summer for the price of a decent 2 week holiday then this is for you :) The programme is an experience of a lifetime so expect to pay for it. But if you take off my travelling and optional extras then it will set you back about £1283, the only reason my total is so high is due to extra spending money and travelling.
So there you have it, the costs of the ICP explained to you, I hope this helps future applicants and current applicants alike :)
If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
69 days to go :']
hahahaha
anyway I finally got my Disney pack yesterday :D YAY haha
Receiving the pack meant that I could get round to booking my visa appointment, good times? no more like extremely stressful times. First thing I did was pay my SEVIS fee, this is the fee we have to pay to the government . This was a pretty simple process, and I managed to get that done and have my confirmation printed in about 10 minutes. Next up was the online visa application form, this turned out to be a lot more hassle, and I was filling it in on and off for well over 2 hours. It contains a lot of pointless questions and is more like a job application form than anything at time filling in my job experience and school information. After what felt like an eternity I completed the application but it was already past the 9pm closing time to ring up for an appointment so I needed to wait till today.
So I woke up this morning and tried to ring up, to find that I couldn’t ring up from my mobile. ANNOYING. I had to then relay ALL the information I had received and filled out to my mum so that she could ring up and book the appointment. After a few headaches and getting stressed she managed to book it for me using the landline at home. So on the 16th April I will be flying to Belfast for my visa appointment :)
Have to leave for the airport at 5am which makes me slightly sad, but at least I have a few nice short flights to ease me in to my summer of travelling. Total of 7 flights this year now, definitely the most times I have flown in a year.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
Seats booked :D
So today it is officially 90 days to go :D and that means that we can now book our seats :) I have booked 36K :) we have booked up the majority of rows 35-40
I'm sat next to Becky who I am going travelling with after the programme, plane buddies :D can't believe it's less than 3 months to go, not long till I can justify going America shopping
We also received an email off Louise from YummyJobs, saying that we should have our Disney packs by the 22nd of this month, which means we can then book our visa appointments :)
eeeeh it's all happening :D
I'm sat next to Becky who I am going travelling with after the programme, plane buddies :D can't believe it's less than 3 months to go, not long till I can justify going America shopping
We also received an email off Louise from YummyJobs, saying that we should have our Disney packs by the 22nd of this month, which means we can then book our visa appointments :)
eeeeh it's all happening :D
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
Plane outfit
Starting my shopping list for America, and my first thing to buy is my suitcase and outfit for going on the plane, so far I'm going for...
So the blazer and leggings can be removed when I arrive so I'm not too hot, but will keep me warm in England and on the plane. I am also taking some slipper socks on the plane to keep my feet warm and so I don't have to wear shoes that might not be all that comfy :']]
REALLY want to be able to afford that bag before I go, but probably won't be able to afford it unless we manage to sell my Grandad's flat, then my mum is giving me and my brother a bit of money from that so might use it to buy the bag, plus then the bag will always remind me of my Grandad :) will see how my finances are nearer the time, I have been in love with that bag for like 2 years so it wouldn't be a waste...
REALLY want to be able to afford that bag before I go, but probably won't be able to afford it unless we manage to sell my Grandad's flat, then my mum is giving me and my brother a bit of money from that so might use it to buy the bag, plus then the bag will always remind me of my Grandad :) will see how my finances are nearer the time, I have been in love with that bag for like 2 years so it wouldn't be a waste...
Sunday, 24 February 2013
100 days to go :D
Well 99 days and 9 hours if we're being pedantic but yeah :D the last 100 days have gone pretty fast, hope the next 100 days follow suit. Bring on June 3rd :D well bring on May 3rd cause then I will have finished work and uni and will have 4 weeks of shopping and going to get my visa and seeing my family and friends before I head to America which will be nice :)
Just need to get through the next 69 days of uni and work and exams then it will be plain sailing.
Tuesday, 22 January 2013
Travel update :D
So we are finally getting stuff booked for travelling after the programme, today we got the hotel in LA and the hotel in Anaheim booked :) getting flights booked tomorrow and then booking the apartment in NY on Thursday :D, so glad it has all come together. Once all this is booked I feel like I can finally relax, even though I still have 3 months of uni, exams and a lot of other america related things to sort out.
The majority of the expense has been sorted and now I can concentrate on saving up some spending money :)
The majority of the expense has been sorted and now I can concentrate on saving up some spending money :)
Tuesday, 8 January 2013
Vlog #5 - Finally :']
I have finally got around to recording and posting my 3rd Vlog about the application process all about the final interview :)
Check it out on the Vlogs page :D
Check it out on the Vlogs page :D
Thursday, 3 January 2013
5 months to go :D :D
The last month went quite quickly, just hope the next 5 go as quickly :)
We have another Glasgow meet up planned for next week which will be good cause the last one was so fun :D
Also been discussing booking internal flights and hotels with the girls I'm going travelling with after the program finishes, New York and LA, so EXCITED :D :D :D
I head back up to Glasgow for my 2nd semester tomorrow and have a few days so will do my 3rd and final Vlog about the application process then all about the final interview stage, will try and make this one under 10 minutes but I'm not promising anything :']
We have another Glasgow meet up planned for next week which will be good cause the last one was so fun :D
Also been discussing booking internal flights and hotels with the girls I'm going travelling with after the program finishes, New York and LA, so EXCITED :D :D :D
I head back up to Glasgow for my 2nd semester tomorrow and have a few days so will do my 3rd and final Vlog about the application process then all about the final interview stage, will try and make this one under 10 minutes but I'm not promising anything :']
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Hoodie arrival and Christmas
So I arrived home from Glasgow on Christmas eve and my hoodie had arrived :D
I got the medium size kelly green hoodie with the design on the back :) I'm at size 12 and the hoodie is super baggy on me, so if you haven't ordered yours yet and are wondering about sizes then they are very generous, I love baggy hoodies so I'm glad I chose the medium, but I would say a medium would fit a size 16 well not a 12 like the website suggests.
On the front of the hoodie is my name, role and dates that I am on the programme :)
The next day was christmas and I got a few Disney related gifts :) I asked for mainly money to help me pay for flights and travelling but I still got some bits and bobs off my mum and people who refused to give me money :']
I got a minnie mouse note pad and pen :'], some dollars, brave and 101 dalmations on DVD. I also got a 1000 piece Disney jigsaw which kept me occupied for most of boxing day :) With all the money I got for my birthday, christmas and working, I now have enough for my internal flights and booking hotels which is good :D
The next day was christmas and I got a few Disney related gifts :) I asked for mainly money to help me pay for flights and travelling but I still got some bits and bobs off my mum and people who refused to give me money :']
I got a minnie mouse note pad and pen :'], some dollars, brave and 101 dalmations on DVD. I also got a 1000 piece Disney jigsaw which kept me occupied for most of boxing day :) With all the money I got for my birthday, christmas and working, I now have enough for my internal flights and booking hotels which is good :D
157 days to go :)
Catch up :)
So I haven't done a blog since my birthday at the beginning of the month so I though I would do a quick catch up with what's happened over December :)
It was really good and the costumes were amazing :D the little boy who played young simba was slightly tone deaf so that kinda messed up the first act for me, but the second act was amazing :'] I spent the rest of that week at home before heading back up to Glasgow for work.
Just after my birthday I went to see the Lion King musical with my mum in Manchester :D
So yeah the next 2 weeks of December i was just up in Glasgow to work as I'd finished uni at the end of November, but I needed the money for Disney :D
On the 17th we had a Disney meet up in Edinburgh :) we met up in Costa and then went to the Christmas markets and for some tea :) was nice to meet some more people doing the programme and arrange another night out in Glasgow :']
I also finally sent off my crb form so that's all done now too :D
And that's pretty much it, except for what I have to say in my next post :']
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Vlog 3 :D
My 3rd Vlog is now up on the Vlogs page, it is the first of 3 videos about the application process, if you have any other questions about the process itself then just let me know by either commenting somewhere on this blog or on any of my videos :)
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