Being the overly–anxious, over-achiever that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to get to check-in at Vista Way this morning at least an hour early. So my mom and I pull in at 8:00, ready to chill for an hour before check-in actually started, and ready to get in line if anyone else was there yet. When we pulled onto the street for the Vista Way complex, there was already a line of cars going inside. There were already people everywhere, and there were already people filing through the check-in area. Before I even got to the main registration area, complexes were already beginning to fill up, people were already heading out with their new address, and even though I was an hour early, it felt like I was an hour late. If I have any advice for future College Program participants, it would be to get to check-in as early as possible!
Eventually I got through it all, though, and even ended up with the apartment I wanted (3 bedrooms in Chatham Square). I met one of my roommates at the apartment, and then we went together to our two big meetings for the day: Casting and a Housing Welcome Session. These took forever, but it was worth it because Casting was where I found out my work location, which is…drumroll…Animal Kingdom! I’ll be working in the Discovery Island area, where there are four shops: Beastly Bazaar, Wonders of the Wild, Island Mercantile, and Creature Comforts. Animal Kingdom’s hours are great for me. I’d mostly be working mornings, since this park usually closes around dark. My only concern is getting enough hours. But I’ll cross that bridge when (if) I come to it.
I did decide to take a class, Exploring Marketing, which will begin mid-October. This surprised me. I had gotten the impression that the classes would all take place at the beginning of the semester, but in reality they’re sort of scattered throughout, though it does seem that most of them finish up before Thanksgiving.
Another piece of advice for future CPs–you probably won’t have much time to really move on “move-in” day. We had so many meetings that there was little time to get settled in. After I’ve finished unpacking, I’ll be posting some pictures of the apartment (which is super awesome), but right now there’s just stuff everywhere. But at least there’s plenty of space for the stuff: our apartment is HUGE! And each bedroom has its own bathroom, which is a definite bonus. I think Chatham is the only complex like this, but that’s just one more plus for Chatham. We also have the coolest pool, and are just all-around awesome. 🙂
It’s been a super long day, and tomorrow’s supposed to be much more relaxed. The only event tomorrow is a “Toy Story Poolooza” Welcome Party at the Chatham Pool. Otherwise, I’m going to be spending the day with my Mom. It’s so sad to think she’ll be leaving in just a couple of days, and I’ll be all on my own! But I really think I’m going to have a great time. I’ve already made some friends, and we have plans to go to the parks as sooh as we have or Cast IDs. One Disney Day down, only about 9,000 more to go.