Twas the night before Christmas...

Just thought I would give a small update as to what's happening CRP wise at the moment :) 

I was sent an invoice through PayPal to pay for my CRB check and I was sent through the paperwork in the post. The envelope had little Mickey heads over the i's in my name which was a really cute touch that I think Louise from Yummy Jobs had something to do with! I have never been so excited to receive/fill in a form to be honest which is pretty sad but I am so eager to do anything CRP related at the moment to make it feel real because it still feels like it's not actually going to happen!

Me and my friend Talie who was from my round of applications and also on the wait list got the same date so we are hoping to be roomies. You can now choose your roommate and preferred complex for Disney Housing (however theres no guarantees) and I think we are going to apply to be in Commons :) There's a few reasons for this on my part; I already have a few friends in that complex and you get a washer and dryer in the apartment which sounds like a god send to me! But at the end of the day I'm going to be living in Disney so would sleep on a bench if I needed to :) I am very excited about sharing with Talie too :) We got on really well during the interviews and I stayed with her when me, Talie, Ashleigh and Jamie met up in July! Me and Talie both brought our boyfriends to the meet up so it's nice that we have all met each other and I'm sure that puts the boys minds at rest a bit too! The fact Talie has a boyfriend as well is amazing because it means when we have down days the other will understand and hopefully eat copious amounts of crap food with the other :)

The guys from the most recent round of applications have also found out when they are going out which is good! :) I love seeing even more excited Disney status' on twitter and Facebook ! So far though I have only heard of me and Talie going on the 29th April from the UK (I know of 1 person who turned down their place and one girl who was moved dates) which seems a very small arrival group so I'll probably email Yummy when they are back in the office to see if there's any one else I don't know of going on this date :)

Anyway, I hope everyone has an amazing Christmas and Happy New Year! I'm planning on making this one very special with my family, boyfriend and his family as I will not be here next year!

Merry Christmas !

How cute !

My sister & brother-in-law got me this amazing present for getting the job ! I love him ❤️

Not Disney Related but...

Something very exciting has happened in the Rose/McCullough household this week, my sister-in-law won a Millie Award (Military Awards hosted by The Sun Newspaper)! She won the Most Outstanding Sailor or Marine award which is amazing and even more amazing is the fact they flew my brother from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where he is currently serving, to surprise her during the awards ceremony! The reason this was so special for her is because despite being married 18 months, they have only spent 5 weeks together due to their commitment to the Navy and they last saw each other in August :( Ronnie Wood presented her with the award and it will be televised on ITV at 9pm Monday 16th December :) We are all very proud of her and she truly deserves to be recognised for the amazing work she does. You can find out more about the award here: Link

Dreams really do come true....

So I know I've been a bit quiet recently but I've been really busy working loads of overtime and sorting out bits and pieces for my sisters baby shower etc but I have some news!

I GOT THE CALL!!!!!

As you can tell I'm pretty excited right now ! I'm going on April 29th 2014 and will be in Food and Beverage!!! YAYYYYYY !

So basically I had completely given up hope on Disney because I had emailed Louise a few weeks ago to see where current waitlisters stood compared to the new applicants and she had said that Yummy were not expecting Disney to give out anymore dates for our application round :( I took it as an official no and started to think about reapplying in Spring and just started living life as if Disney was not going to happen, I was gutted but at least I knew not to get my hopes up anymore. I let the other waitlisters know too so everyone was at least pre-warned that we would probably be receiving a rejection email soon.

On Thursday 28th November I was having the WORST morning and had even been in tears with frustration about what to do with my life. I had just come back to my desk from our daily team 'huddle' and checked my phone quickly (a habit from waiting for the call for 8 months which had stuck even when I wasn't expecting the call!) and saw that I had a missed call and voicemail from Yummy Jobs (I had saved the number after almost having numerous heart attacks over unknown numbers calling me in the past). I swung round in my chair and said to my friend "Oh my god I have a missed call from Disney" and asked my manager if I could run around the corner and call them. As I walking off of the office floor I listened to the voicemail which was Louise asking me to call her! I was freaking out & shaking loads when I called and was very relieved it was Louise who answered. We started speaking about a picture of Nick during his CRP that YJ had tweeted me after I said they should tweet pictures of them on their programs and I said how happy he looked in it which is when Louise said 'Well how would you like to be that happy and work for Disney?'

All I can really remember saying was 'oh my god yes!' I was so so so happy and felt so overwhelmed I thought I was going to cry and was totally freaking out. Louise told me my date and said I had a really good arrival group and would be sending out an offer letter to me. When I got off of the phone I tried calling my mum, my boyfriend and both my sisters none of which answered their phones!!! I sent a really excited text to my boyfriend with my date etc but really wanted to tell my mum over the phone so text her asking her to call me on my work number ASAP as it was really important. I went back to my desk where my team all started congratulating me etc which was really lovely, I am very lucky to have such supportive colleagues and manager. My manager was just joking about how she was going to tell my mum before I got a chance when the phone rung and it was her! 

The phone call went a bit like this:

Me: "Mum guess who's moving to Disney World?"

Mum: "Who?" (seriously mother?! How many people do you know that have applied?!)

Me: "ME! I just got the call from Yummy Jobs and I go on the 29th April AND I got food and beverage!!!"

Mum: "No! No way! No! *SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM, MORE SCREAMING AND THEN EVEN MORE SCREAMING*"

Then she started crying which naturally made me cry (please bear in mind that at this point I was on the phone on our desk in the middle of the office haha). Telling my mum was probably one of the best moments of my life so far. 

The rest of the day was spent getting lots of congratulations, hugs, cards and even a cute little Minnie key ring! Needless to say my mind was definitely not at work that day! When I got home me, mum, John (the boy) and my little brother Brett got takeaway and toasted my new job with some champagne- Mum made a toast but started crying during the first sentence, bless! I think all of the family will be going for a meal this weekend or early next week to celebrate which will be nice :)

I am so happy that this finally happened and I love my start date :) only 5 months to go!!!! It's actually the day after my sisters birthday but 3 days before my sisters baby is due which is a bit rubbish but we are going to ask the baby very nicely to make an early appearance by about 4 days so hopefully they listen to us :) 

I just can't believe it happened when I least expected it and had given up all hope. I am actually so thankful to have been on the waitlist now because I appreciate having a date even more now and dare I say it has actually taught me to be more patient? I am the happiest girl in the world right now <3

Is it really time for Pre-Screens again ?!

So I'll start off with some wonderful news ! I don't know if you remember from my previous posts but I mentioned my friend Erin who was also on the wait list from the previous application round? Well any way to cut a long story short- she was on the wait list for 7 months when she got an email to say that Disney were no longer considering her for a position :( So reapplied this time and got a no originally but then about a week later received a phone call inviting her to Pre-Screen :D YAY ! Very happy for her as she's been a massive help for me whilst I've been waiting :)

So anyhoo, back to the real reason behind this post- Pre-Screens ! Manchester Pre-Screens were on Friday (which Erin attended) and London Pre-Screens are today ! Very exciting but also scary because that means I'm having to prepare myself for a no because it won't be long until the wait list will fill up again.

I cannot believe it's been almost 8 months since my Pre-Screen and was 6 months on Friday since I found out I was on the wait list- time actually flies ! Friday (the 4th) actually signified another important date for me- it has been 11 months since my Dad passed away which means this time next month it would have been a whole year. Looking back on this year it has definitely been the hardest time of my life and there's been so many times where I've just wanted to wallow in self pity but I'm hoping this year has been sent to test me and make me a stronger and better person at the end of it. Plus a wise man once said:

"You may not realise it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." 

-Walt Disney

Waiting, waiting and waiting some more.

It’s almost been six months and there’s only a few (that I know of) that are still on the waitlist L as positive as I’m trying to be it is so hard because I’m going through a stage where I just don’t think it is going to happen anymore. Waiting sucks when you don't know what you are waiting for.

A girl from the wait list emailed Yummy to enquire when we would get an update regarding places etc and she was told that Disney normally give out dates in June. June came and went so someone else emailed and was told end of August so I've been trying to think positive by using milestones in this year as check points, for example first it was 'I will have a date by my birthday' (25th August) and that passed so then I was like 'Well maybe by John's birthday' (7th September) and then I said to myself 'Right it's going to happen by the time I go back to work after my two weeks mandatory A/L' but as that is technically tomorrow now (can't sleep so have ended up very late night blogging) I think there is more chance of Mickey actually coming and piggy packing me all the way to Florida haha! The thing is I get that it's hard for Yummy too because they rely on Disney to give them timeframes so they have no control if that timeframe is kept to or not, so I've not wanted to email and keep on at them & am trying to wait patiently :)

There has been some very good news though :) on Monday 2 girls were offered dates starting in January and April 2014- they both really deserve it and I'm so happy for them :) Being on the waitlist is so hard and you can't help but wonder if it ever will happen but at the same time I realise how lucky I am to even be in this position. 

People tell you not to put your life on hold but I can't help but do that as I don't want to spend any of my savings in case I do get that special call but this doesn't mean I've quite got over the fact I've missed out on a trip to Disney this year because of saving so I'm feeling a bit Sebastian toward the CRP right now ;) 

The new applications....

The new applications opened on the 1st August 2013 and closed on the 16th September 2013. I've been in a lot of contact with the new applicants and they are all so lovely! It's so nice to see them all get excited about the apps because I remembered how I felt when I was applying and how enjoyable the process was :)

Yummy have recently launched their new website and apparently the application is a lot more in depth this time round, or so I've been told by my trusted sources ;) There have also been a few bugs with the site but yummy have been pretty on top of things in that department so if you do have any trouble at all don't hesitate to contact them :)

The results came late on 20th September with the results, I had publicly predicted on the facebook group it would be that day they would hear and everyone started to doubt me (and I started to doubt myself) when around 10pm the results started to come through. I was in the pub with my friends but was a bit anti-social on my phone (sorry guys!) congratulating/commiserating everyone. I was so happy for those who got through but gutted for those who didn't especially my close friends :( I hope they all reapply.

But let this be a lesson to you all not to doubt me in future as I seem to have some psychic tendencies ;)

My sister and brother-in-law...

Got married 2 years ago today, which means 2 years ago today I was n Disney at the Wedding Pavilion being a Bridesmaid for my wonderful sister. It was magical and I thought I would share some pictures :)

<3

Yummy Social and the new website

Yummy have launched their new website today!

It's really different to the old one but I really like it and am loving Yummy Social ! It is such a good idea and wish it had been around when I applied (although Facebook and WDWIP Forums treated me well). There's a lot of glitches with it at the moment as it is so new but I'm sure these will be sorted out soonish :) I'm currently trying not to take to heart the fact every time I change my gender to female it changes back to male *cry*

If I get a date I'm just gonna be like....

Jersey!

Shortly after finding out the result’s I went on a Disney meet up in Chloé’s natural habitat ;) When we arrived in Jersey we made our way to Chloé’s where we had a catch up before we went for some delicious steak and cocktails :) We went on to a club which I was amazed was free entry on a Saturday !!! (being from Essex/London area this is totally unheard of) it was really crowded so we went back to Chloé's and talked until we fell asleep.

The next day we all headed out for a group breakfast before we departed back to our homelands. There was a lot of Disney talk and I spoke to Erin and Ryan a lot because they are also on the wait list so gave me some advice and spoke about the people on their waitlist who had already got dates etc which was really helpful :) 

It was a really nice trip and made me feel a bit better about the whole wait list thing and what was even more amazing is the day after we came home I got a text from Ryan saying he got a date !!! He's heading off in February 2014 and I couldn't be happier for him :) 

The Result

We were told that we should hear the result by Mid-April so we spent the following few weeks on our Facebook group discussing our interviews, stressing over stuff we didn’t say which we wished we did and talking about all things Disney. I spent every day trying not to think about it but constantly thinking about what I could have done better and trying to figure out if Sue actually liked me or not, which I was pretty sure I had totally messed up my interview.

On the 5^th April (not quite so Mid-April) I had just got out of the bath when I read a text from Courtney which asked if I had a call from Yummy so I text her back super quick saying no and checked Facebook to see a few people had received calls, my heart sank as I realised that this was it and I hadn’t received the calls. The page was filling up quick with people excitedly posting their dates when someone posted they had got an email about the opportunity list. I checked my emails and my stomach dropped when I saw an email from James- I was convinced it was a no. I reluctantly opened it and read:

Dear Roisin,

Greetings from Yummy Jobs!

On behalf of the Yummy Jobs Team thank you for attending the recent interviews for Disney’s Cultural Representative Program.

We would like to thank you for the time and effort you put into your application and very much enjoyed meeting you and spending time speaking with you in London.

As you are aware the Cultural Representative Program is a highly sought after experience and the quality of applications from applicants in the United Kingdom was very high.

The Walt Disney World International Recruitment Team has reviewed all applications from the interview sessions in London and has now extended its first wave of offers for the Cultural Representative Program with start dates in 2013.

At this time we would like to inform you that you are currently being considered for the additional offers that Disney will be making for arrivals in 2013/2014.  Disney was impressed with your application and will be bringing you further news in the coming months.

In the meantime please do not hesitate to contact a member of the Yummy Jobs Team if you have any questions on your application.

Once again I would like to thank you personally for all of your efforts so far and we will be delivering you further information on your interview results as soon as the information becomes available.

Thanks and kindest regards

So my first reaction was to cry as I had some close friends who had been waitlisted from the previous application round and I had seen how hard it was for them but then after speaking to my mum and boyfriend I realised that I was very lucky to even be on the waitlist and that this wasn’t a ‘no’ which meant I still had a very good chance of getting my dream job.  Around half of us were waitlisted and the other half got dates, some people didn’t post on Facebook and left the group so we weren’t sure was result they got. I was so happy for the guys that got dates and hopeful for us on the waitlist that we would all get dates eventually.

I’ve made a Facebook group for the Waitlistee’s so we could all discuss our feelings about being on the waitlist without ruining the guys who got dates excitement and to support each other.

And so the wait begins….

F2F

I didn’t get a hotel this time as there was no Kandi and Vicki plus I only live 40 minutes outside London so I got up super early. The first thing I did? Threw up. I didn’t even realise I was that nervous but I was obviously a lot more anxious than I thought! I couldn’t eat after that so got ready and headed off to the train.  I cannot explain to you how rough I felt on the journey there (especially the tube) but decided to put the bad start behind me and ignore how rubbish I was feeling. I was starting to feel more positive as I reached Waterloo when I was confronted with the worst scene possible- clowns, clowns everywhere. Anyone who knows me knows how ridiculous my phobia is and it was just my luck that the day of our face to face interviews was also comic relief which meant I practically ran to Starbucks to meet the others with my headphones in and my head down. It really wasn’t getting off to a good start.

I met up with the others and it was a lot more relaxed as we all pretty much knew each other quite well at this point from Pre-Screens and Facebook etc. At around half 8 we headed off to the restaurant and after a short wait outside we ushered in to watch another presentation but this time held by Sue the Disney recruiter. This one was much more in depth and went into more detail about housing, fees and the opportunities on the program.  We were then given our time slots for the day and I think mine was 13:45, which I was happy about- not too much waiting around which meant I wouldn’t be by myself waiting to be seen.

Some people had their interviews straight away but the rest of us were taken to the London Eye to have our pictures taken doing the ‘Yummy Jobs Jump’ (see below picture of our 'attempt' haha) which I can assure you is not the easiest thing to in a pencil skirt but I would have happily acted out a routine from Cirque Du Soleil if it meant getting the job! Afterwards we all headed to burger king to grab something to eat before the interviews and anxiously waited our time slot.

Rebecca and me headed down together as our interviews were straight after each other. When we went in Louise from Yummy Jobs was there to fill in our paperwork and check she had the correct documents for us, this was more exciting than you may think as we got to pick what we wanted on our name badges, maybe I’m just easily pleased but this was the moment it all seemed to become real for me! I chose Roisin (but I know some chose nicknames instead) and Benfleet, England as I was hoping it would be a conversation starter as not many people would have heard of my hometown.

Sue called me into my interview and to be honest it was pretty much a blur, I can’t really remember what I was asked and what I answered, all I remember is thinking how quickly it went and that I could not read Sue at all! She was really friendly and always smiling but had the best poker face I’ve ever encountered. After my interview I headed to Las Iguanas, which was just around the corner and we all had cocktails (well everyone who had already had their interviews, the others soon started after theirs were over though!) and we all had the best time! We spoke about what it would be like if we all made it to Florida together, who could room with who, what British items we would have to take with us- naturally I said Yorkshire tea and real chocolate but I also discovered they don’t sell dry shampoo over there so that is now also on my list J. We also spoke about our ‘Disney Bucket Lists’ and before long it felt like we had all known each other for ages and I can honestly say it was one of the best days with the best people <3