Packing, Packing and more Packing

Hello friends!

So I woke up this morning to find my countdown to my flight to Florida at 7 days so you could say I am extremely excited! ONLY ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL DISNEY!

Since my time at home is getting short, I decided that it's time for me to start packing for my big adventure! The only large packing experience I have is for school, but that doesn't really help me much because it's a 45 minute car ride away, so I can basically pack whatever and however I want.  With Florida, I have SO much more to pack, but I'm limited to suitcases since I'm flying.  Luckily enough, I'm flying Southwest, which allows each passenger to have 2 free checked bags (yippee, money saver right here!), plus a carry on and a personal item, and since my boyfriend is only bringing a carry on I have the ability to use 4 suitcases!

I've been searching through DCP blogs and vlogs to compile different packing lists to make one that seems to make the most sense for me.  If you're wondering, my two favorite packing lists come from blogger Kaela and vlogger Amy.  You can find their packing lists here and here, respectively.

The good thing about packing is that a lot of things on my list can be shared apartment wide, and some of my roommates are already bringing things!  I highly suggest to discuss with your roommates shared items ahead of time so you don't bring duplicates of anything and waste space! My roommates and I created a Google Doc so we could freely edit and share what we were bringing that everyone could use!

For anyone who's interested, here's my whole packing list! There'll probably be some things I end up adding or removing as I go, but this is what I'm starting with! Also, a lot of the things on this list, especially those that are being bought there can be shared!

My DCP Packing List

* - buy in Florida

** - roommates are bringing

BEDROOM

Bedding

• sheets 
• blankets - probably 2, I like blankets!
• comforter
• egg crate
• mattress pad
• pillows - praying I can fit 2 in my suitcases
• pillowcases
• stuffed animals - cause everyone needs their best buds with them when they move 1,000+ miles from home

Storage

• space bags  -- use to pack
• accessory storage?
• closet organizers - the cloth hanging ones if I have space

Clothing/Closet/Laundry

• shirts 
• tank tops
• shorts
• skirts/dresses
• jeans - only one pair
• sweatshirts - one or two
• a rain coat
• socks
• shoes - sneakers, flip flops, work shoes and dressy shoes
• swimsuits
• bathrobe?
• lots of underwear
• pajama tops and bottoms
• sweatpants/yoga pants
• professional clothes
• belt
• clothes hangers (I have no idea how I'm going to pack these)
• iron/ironing board (hopefully someone brings this)
• laundry bag/basket
• laundry detergent *
• dryer sheets **

Mousellaneous (this is a fun word and I blame Kaela and her blog post for getting me into it)

• alarm clock
• camera and batteries/charger, extra SD card
• ethernet cord if you don’t have a router
• extension cords **
• headphones
• ihome/speakers?
• laptop & charger
• lock for your locker
• phone charger
• photos/decor from home
• picture frames
• surge protector(S) **
• pushpins
• pens
• notebook
• agenda
• post its
• park backpack
• purse

BATHROOM

Shower, Toilet & Sink

• bath/beach towels
• hand soap **
• hand towels 
• face cloths
• shower curtain & liner *
• shower organizer? *
• toilet brush *
• toilet cleaner *
• toilet paper *
• toilet plunger  *

Toiletries

• aloe vera gel *
• bug spray *
• chapstick
• glasses
• deodorant
• face wash
• hair stuff - brush, bobby pins, hair ties, headbands, hair dryer, straightener
• makeup
• makeup remover/wipes
• nail clippers
• body spray
• razors/shaving cream 
• shampoo/conditioner
• soap/body wash
• sunscreen
• tampons/pads
• tissues *
• toothbrush/toothpaste
• band-aids **
• ibuprofen
• meds

Mousellaneous

• air freshener *
• bath mat/rug **
• over-the-door hooks for towels and stuff **

KITCHEN

Appliances and Utilities - You obviously don’t necessarily need all of this, it’s just what I found in other packing lists, plus it totally depends on how much you think you'll want! Since I'm flying, I can't pack any of this, so if we need it and no one else is bringing it, most of it will be bought there!

• baking sheets
• toaster **
• blender **
• extra bowls
• coffee maker **
• crock pot **
• muffin tin
• cups and mugs **
• silverware **
• measuring cups **
• mixing bowls **
• napkins **
• oven mitts **
• place mats
• extra plates **
• extra pots and pans
• sharp knives
• wooden spoon
• spatula
• waffle iron (hopefully getting this shipped down)

Storage, Cleaning and Other Supplies

• all-purpose cleaner *
• dish soap *
• dish towels **
• dishwasher soap *
• Clorox/Lysol wipes **
• paper towels *
• sponges/dish scrubbers **
• Swiffer? *
• trash bags **
• Windex *

Mousellaneous

• tinfoil *
• saran wrap *
• wax paper *
• magnetic calendar for fridge **
• other magnets
• tupperware **
• ziplock bags **
• Pyrex baking/storage dishes **

LIVING ROOM

• TV (apparently it must be digital) **
• DVD/blue ray player
• MOVIES!
• coasters
• coaxial cable (so you can get cable) **
• a Roku ** (my roomie is bringing this; I have no idea what is is but it seems AWESOME)
• wireless router
• throw pillows (gonna make some of these yeahh)
• throw blankets **

So that's my list! There's a LOT of stuff and it would definitely be easier if I were driving, but I'll make it work! I can't wait to be in FLORIDAAAAA!!! I'll be sure to post a final pic/outline of what I ended up packing to take with me on the plane, and what I'll be having shipped down!

xo Sarah

All About DORMS

Hello friends!

I have exciting news! Today, my roommates and I all received our housing email to pre-register with DORMS! We weren't expecting it for a few more days, so it really threw us for a loop! One of our roommates is actually currently in Israel, so we were worried we wouldn't be able to get in touch with her, but all is well! Basically, one of our roommates sent out the message "HOUSING EMAIL" and we all started freaking out at once.

I tweeted this and it basically sums up how we were all feeling at the time. 

We officially got through the process (though with some minor kinks and meltdowns) and now we are all pre-registered and ready for check-in on January 13th!!!

_________________________________________________________________________


For those of you who are interested, I'll talk about the DORMS experience.  Keep in mind that it's still relatively new!

DORMS stands for Disney Onsite Resident Management System.  Basically, it's a new online system where College Program participants can log on and request roommates, housing preferences, etc.  Not too long ago, in order to get the apartment you wanted, you had to get in the check-in line MAJORLY early (I'm talking CRAZY early - people I know got their around 2 a.m.) and you had to be with all of the people you wanted to live in. Essentially, Disney realized that this was an insane process and created DORMS!  With DORMS, you can now indicate preference for apartment complex, unit size, and roommates!

To start off the process, I got an email that looked like this:

This email tells you your user name to log in to DORMS, as well as your roommate #, which you'll need to give to whatever roommate is inputting everyones information so you can all be linked! Something important to note is that while you might be eager to log-in, wait until all your roommates can be communicating at one time, because only one of you can log-in first, otherwise you might not be able to choose each other.  That sounds kind of confusing, so here's the excerpt from the actual email:

If you are choosing to select roommates, please select one person in your group to login and register for housing first. This person will need to know each person(s) roommate # (yours is listed above) as well as the complex and unit size preferences.

Please note that if multiple persons wishing to link to each other log in at the same time you may not be eligible to link with each other once you progress to the roommate matching page. The leader must complete registration prior to any other potential links logging in.  Once the leader has established the links, all other links in the match may proceed with pre-registration.

 In the mean time, in order to log in to DORMS, you'll need a password! You'll get a second email from Disney that looks something like this:

The "temporary access" is your password.  I had a bit of trouble at this part, oddly enough.  I was not the leader of the group, so I had to wait for the email that said "You've Been Linked!" in the subject line.  From there, I was finally allowed to log in! However, I had received two different emails with two different passwords and neither were working.  Eventually, I tried so many times that I was locked out and I had a message pop up that told me I could no longer access my account.  I went into minor panic mode, but I waited a half hour and after receiving a THIRD email (geez Disney, get more organized, will ya?!) I was able to log in!

Now for the steps of DORMS! (I know this post is crazy long, and I'M SORRY)

First, you'll come to the participant profile page!

Clearly this is really basic.  The only thing I have no clue about is what happens when you check "yes" next to "bringing a vehicle?" because I don't have a car to bring! So you fill out all this information, and move on to ROOMMATE PREFERENCES!!

This is the fun part! You only need to fill this out if you are the designated "leader" of your roommate group.  Basically everyone you want to room with gives you their roommate number, and you fill them all in! For each arrival date, there might be a different number of slots you can fill with roommates.  For example, for our arrival date we could only pick up to 5 other roommates (which is good, because we wanted a 6-man apartment!) You also have the option here to tell Disney to choose your roommates for you! If you aren't the designated leader, then you'll be able to skip this step! (Instead, you'll get that "You've Been Linked!" email I mentioned before. Otherwise the process is the same).

If you're the group leader who filled out everyone's roommate #s, you'll then move on to housing preferences!!

Here, you get to rank your preferences for apartment complex and for apartment unit size (aka number of people in your apartment, i.e. a 3 bedroom = 6 person apartment). Again, if you aren't the group leader, you'll be able to bypass this step!

Next come more forms.  Disney loves forms.  The forms you'll be dealing with are the Community Codes Form, the Payroll Form, and the Alcohol Policy Form.  The screen at this point will look something like this:

All you have to do on these is check a box saying you agree and put in your birth date! Super easy!
After that, you review all your info, and SUBMIT! Hurray! You've successfully completed the DORMS process and are now officially registered for Disney housing! Upon completion, you'll receive your onboarding pass for check-in day!  That will look something like this:

YOU NEED TO BRING THIS, AS WELL AS THE OTHER FORMS WITH YOU ON THE DAY OF YOUR CHECK-IN.  If you don't have access to a printer right away, click on the printer symbol (the one in the bottom right hand corner) and there'll be an option to view as a PDF, from where you can save all the documents together! The forms will also be sent to you via email, but I think saving them is smart, just in case.


So that is basically the whole DORMS process! I know this was really long, but I wanted to be as informative as possible, since this is still new! Overall, I think this process is a lot smoother than the way check-in and housing used to be, but clearly there are still some kinks.  My biggest tips for completing DORMS are:

1. Make sure you and all your roommates can sit down and either text/Facebook message/ do SOMETHING that will allow you all to go through the process at the same time.
2. Choose ONE person to log-in. DON'T ALL LOG IN AT ONCE. This is why you should all be talking while you do it.
3. Make sure you've discussed with your roommates your apartment preferences beforehand!
4. If for some reason you're having trouble logging in, DON'T FREAK OUT.  I couldn't log in and I thought for sure I had done something wrong and that all was lost, which was clearly an overreaction.  Just wait a half hour or so before trying again.  Like I said, Disney is still working things out on their end, too.

If you want any more information about DORMS, you can check out Disney's blog post about it here. And that's it! I hope this helps any of you who are going through this process right now! Best of luck to all of you!! We're almost in Disney!

xo Sarah

Restaurant Reviews - Plan for my Disney College Program

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to write a quick update about an idea I had for my Spring program! Since I love food and I want to try as many of the restaurants on property as I can (both quick service and full service), I thought I'd do a restaurant-review series! Every time I eat somewhere, I'll do a quick post reviewing the atmosphere, quality of service, and quality of food! It'll be something fun for me to do beyond general DCP posts!
You'll be able to find these posts under the tab "Restaurant Reviews"!


While I'm at it, if you have any suggestions of restaurants I should eat at, please let me know! :)

ONE MORE MONTH!!

Hello friends!

If you can believe it, I have less than a month until I pack up my life and move myself down to Florida!

It's crazy to me just how fast the time has flown by since I applied for the program (and even since before apps!).  It still feels like I was just counting down the months until applications were released!
However, the time has come! There are 25 days until my check-in date (January 13th!) and only 23 days until I leave for Florida with my boyfriend!

I'm officially moving out of my dorm in Boston today (sad face) but I'm extremely excited about the journey ahead!  The next few weeks are going to be spent with family and friends, and before I know it, the day will be here!  I'm still somewhat in disbelief that I actually get to live out my biggest dream of working in Walt Disney World, and honestly, it's probably not going to start sinking in until I start packing (late, probably).

I can't wait to share all of my experience with you all!
Have a magical day everyone!!