Butterflies fly away...

I am about to leave everyone and everything I've ever known for five months.  FIVE months.  This is nuts.Tomorrow I start the most spontaneous adventure of my life (so far!).  I've been waiting on this since January.  I am SO excited for this amazing adventure... but I won't lie, I'm getting nervous.  I've got a case of the butterflies.  I'm nervous that I may forget something; I'm nervous that I may get homesick; I'm nervous that something will go wrong. I have to be optimistic though! This is the chance of a lifetime for me.  I'm ready!  Roxanne (my car) is all packed up with some stuff in my mom's car too since Roxanne is so small.  Our plan is to leave around 7:30 a.m. tomorrow morning to pick up Shawn, my mom's BFF.  Then we're off to Jacksonville, FL where Shawn's son and grandkids live.  Jacksonville is 10 hours from my house with stops and stuff, and it's only two hours from Orlando.  So, we're staying in Jacksonville tomorrow night and Shawn's son is going to show us around the navy base on Saturday (he's in the navy... obviously).  We're also going to eat on the beach in Jacksonville!  Then, we're leaving Shawn there to spend time with her family, and we are off to Orlando!  We don't really have any set plans for Sunday, but we know we want to meet up with Ricky who's been at Disney since May.  We dooo know that we're going to eat supper at the Rainforrest Cafe with my roommate, Logan and her dad and brother.  We all totally cannot wait for the vooolllllllcanoooo! haha!  After that we're going to the Polynesian Resort to watch the Wishes firework show because it's supposed to be an awesome view of it there! Plus, it's free!


Well I have a long drive tomorrow, so I need to get my rest! Goodnight! :)


ps. When I say "we" I mean my mom, my sister alyssa, and I! My stepdad Kevin and my boyfriend Larry both just got new jobs, so unfortunately they couldn't come along for the trip. :(

My adventure to WDW begins in just 10 days!

So many thoughts on my mind and so many feelings in my heart right now.  On one hand, I'm about to live at one  of my most favorite places on earth, but on the other hand, I'm about to be away from the people I love most for five months.  It's so bittersweet.  I'm going to miss so many people.  I know that it's going to be hard for me to be away from home.  This is by far the most spontaneous thing I've ever done in my life.  I know I won't regret this.  I'm ready for it. 


My going away get together is this Saturday!  I'm just having some of my closest friends and family over to swim and eat(of course!).  My best friend Adele is a super talented baker and she's going to make me a Mickey cake! We're going shopping for the ingredients/supplies tomorrow.  I am super excited.


Also, I had my last day at Coach last Saturday! So, that means the next time I walk into work, I'll be working for MICKEY! And my last summer final exam is tomorrow. No school for me until January! ;)


Want to see what else I've been up to? Watch Cody and I's Vlog(video blog)! 
Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/user/CodyWDWCP




Suffering from lack of sleep due to anxiety,
Danielle

What's been going on in my Disney life:

First of all, I never got to post that... MY BEST FRIEND, CODY, GOT ACCEPTED! I've been chatting with my lovely roomie a lot.

I had to move all of my dorm into my room at home so I started up boxing up some things that I will need in my Disney apartment. Some things include... Toaster oven, coffee pot, picture frames, tupperware, MICKEY MOUSE WAFFLE MAKER, Cinderella Christmas stocking, and some other things that I can't think of off the top of my head.
I've been making my Disney bucket list (I'll post it when I finish it).
I watched a documentary on Disney World/Disneyland.
And of course just dreaming of all the magical memories I'll begin making in August!

5, 6, 7, 8

I haven't been able to post a blog in while because I've been swarmed with schoolwork! But I wanted to tell everyone about my Disney audition. :)

The audition was scheduled for 11 on Saturday March 26, and we left the Friday before.  Me and Codison made 3 Disney CDs to listen to on the way there so we started off the morning by singing Selena Gomez's Cruella Deville.  My poor mom who drove us had to listen to us haha. We picked up Ricky in Hammond on the way, and his friend Candace and her mom followed us.  It was definitely a fun 9 hour ride to Franklin, TN (not too far from Nashville). 

When we finally arrived at our hotel... I mean motel, we grab our bags and start walking to our room.  We barely get 10 feet out the car and Ricky finds a $50 bill! Wer're pretty sure it was left for some drug dealer or something, but it was ours now. :) He treated us all to some snacks at a gas station! 

We went to bed finally and woke up super early so that we could all shower. I, of course, was the only morning person and had to chipper everyone up! We then realized that the continental breakfast ended at 8 and it was like 7:56 at the moment, so me and Codison RAN to the front for breakfast.  We partially ran because we didn't want to miss breakfast (you don't want to see me without breakfast, not a good sight ;) but also because it was FREEZING in TN.  We were just getting used to the hot weather here in Louisiana! We did make it to breakfast in time though, so did Mom and Ricky.  The foreign girl started picking up everything as we ate haha.    

So then we headed to DC Dance Factory, which is the most amazing dance studio I have ever been in.  We pulled up and happened to park right next to two of my Disney friends on Facebook, Kristen and Evan! They were both so sweet, and it was cool to meet them in person! We didn't have to wait too long for the audition to start.

First we had to fill out a paper and get in line.  Then, we gave Gina, our Disney recruiter, our headshot and resume, and she took our picture.  Then we got measured.  My Disney height was 5'4 and 1/6 (pretty dang accurate). While we waited for everyone to get this done we stretched.  Then I found my Disney friend Abby from UL!

Now it was time for some annimations!  We had to act like we were planting a tree and then act like we were washing a dog.  It was so much fun!  Then, she taught us a dance.  It was really simple for me, but I've also danced my entire life haha.  She taught it really slow to make sure everyone got it.

When it was time to actually audition, they took us in number order and 6 at a time. I was number 17, and I got to audition with Kristen!  We had to plant our tree then do the dance, then wash our dog and do the dance again.  After you did that, they were either done with you or asked to see more from you.  Me and none of my friends got asked to see anything else, but they took Evan's picture again, so we're thinking they want him for a face character, how exciting!

After the audition, we went eat some Mexican food! Candace and her mom and Abby and her friend came too! We all had fun chit-chatting about our audition.
Then, Me, Mom, Cody, and Ricky went shopping, which was really fun.
And after a long day, we went to sleep at the hotel and left the beautiful Franklin, TN in the morning.


I wanted to write this before I got my results back, but I never had time to with school!

Results:
Me- Unfortunately not picked as a character performer.
Cody- Unfortunately not picked as a character performer.
Ricky- Still waiting to hear.
Abby- CHARACTER PERFORMER!
Evan- CHARACTER PERFORMER!
Kristen- Not sure...?
Candace- Unfortunately not picked as a character performer.

I was definitely bummed that I didn't get it again, but my roomie Logan made a pact with me that we're going to try out every two weeks once we're at Disney and we are DETERMINED that we will get this! I'm not giving up! You will see me as Cinderella or Rapunzel one day!

Sorry this was so long! The trip was definitely worth it, and I had such an amazing time!

Still Dreaming,
Cinderella

Hopin, Wishin, Prayin

Something very exciting is coming up... my character audition! My mom is bringing my friends Cody and Ricky and I to Nashville(actually Fanklin), TN.  We're leaving sometime Friday and we're going to stay in a hotel that night.  Saturday is our audition at 11 and then we'll probably meet up with some other Louisiana Disney people from UL for dinner! I can't wait for the audition and I can't wait to meet some of my new friends! I'll be praying and wishing all week long that I do good at this audition.  This is truely a dream of mine to do this. It's a must have to check off of my bucket list! And if all else fails and I don't get picked to be a character, I'll be fine.  I'll still be working in the happiest place on earth and I will be able to audition again a few more times once I'm there!

About my friends (:
Cody: Or as I call him, Codison. Codison is one of my best friends! He is pending though. ): He's going to do great at the audition and he would make the perfect Peter Pan!
Ricky: Accepted for food and beverage in only SIX days... crazyyyyy.

Good Luck to every one auditioning!
Pray for me and all my friends :)

<3 Danielle

You've got a friend in me

Yesterday was a very exciting day for me. I found a Disney roomie! I don't know too too much about her yet, but her name is Logan and she's a dancer(like me!) and she's from Iowa. I already know we're going to be great friends! We plan in living in Chatham Square with probably 4 or 6 other roommates. Also, we will be in a wellness apartment because we are under 21.  

For the Disney apartments you share a bedroom and bathroom with one other person. The more roommates, the cheaper your rent is. Also, the apartments come fully furnished(thank goodness)!

I can't wait to go on adventures with her and become awesome friends! I hope she doesn't mind my weird habits like dancing around 24-7 and taking too many pictures. haha :)

leave me comments/questions!

ta ta for now!

Dreams really do come true :)

I wanted to start this blog so that I can let everyone know all about this Disney program that I am doing next fall and so that my family and friends can keep up with my magical experiences there.

First of all, I applied last semester for the Walt Disney World Spring 2011 program.  I was pended a week after my phone interview(which is kinda like a maybe).  I also attended the Atlanta character performer audtions.  After them pretty much just see me skip, I was cut.  I'm not sure what went wrong, but it's all good now.  I ended up being rejected on December 10th after waiting 3 months.  At first, I was devistated, but I now know where I went wrong.  I only applied for character performer and photopass photographer.  So, after being cut at the auditions, character performer was out of the question.  And I probably didn't get picked for photopass because I'm really not that qualified for it.

I applied again for the fall 2011 program the first day the applications came out (January 19th I believe).  Then, I scheduled my phone interview with a Disney college recruiter for three days later on the 22nd.  I was so prepared for it!  I had all the possible questions they could've asked me printed out and answered in front of me. Oh, and I wore my Minnie Mouse ears while I was being interviewed ;)
For 11 days, I stalked my email hoping for an acceptance email from Disney.  On the 12th day, we ended up not having classes because of "icy roads" and I was heading home for the day. As I was getting on to the interstate, my phone dinged the email noitification ding and I just could not wait 45 minutes to get home and read it.  So, like a bad driver, I hurried to read my email. The first thing I saw was Disney and Your Invita... so I HAD to open it up. "Dear Danielle, Congratulations! You have been selected to participate as a Merchandise Cast Member on the Disney College Program in the Fall 2011 Season." I screamed. Can you say BEST email I have ever gotten? YES.  The first person I called was my momma. She was so happy for me but told me to get off the phone because the roads were supposed to be bad.  Of course I called Larry afterwards though and then posted it on facebook when I got home. ;)

I am SO excited to start this adventure of a lifetime.

This is getting long so I will post another blog soon telling you even more about all of this!