#checkinday

My mom drove me to Vista Way and hung out at the nearby pavilion they had set up for family and friends who were waiting. Vista Way has an entire building dedicated to the check-in process towards the back of the complex. Everybody checks in here, regardless of where they’ll actually be living. 

I managed to meet up with Molly and Chelsea right when I arrived, two of my potential roommates. Come to find out, Joy was not far behind us. 

                                Met up with Chelsea, Molly & Joy! 

We stood in line and got temporary nametags. While we waited for that we wound up seeing Shearly and Brielle leaving check-in. Shearly told us that we would all be living together and living in Patterson Court! It wasn’t our first choice apartment, but it ended up being my personal favorite. 

                                                   Meeting Shearly! 

We didn’t manage to get a picture all together with Brielle that day, but it was only because we were so close to finding out where we would be working!  Finding Out Your Work Location The first thing you do when you check-in is receive your program guide. On the back of your program guide there is a sticker that tells you your work location. When the Cast Members present you with your program guide they will announce your work location to you. Molly was right next to me when she found out she’d be working at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, a salon for little girls where they could be transformed into their favorite princesses. She was screaming and crying from joy because it was pretty much her dream location. Me? I was thrilled because I was told I’d be working in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Of course, after I read the sticker I saw that I’d be working at strollers. I was less-than thrilled about that, but didn’t really care because I was excited to be working in the park I had explored the least on my last vacation. I also thought this meant I’d get the best hours of all my roommates, allowing me to go to the most housing events because I’d get off of work so early. It helped that everybody around me was really excited because it brought the overall energy up. 

Getting Your Housing Information After you get your program guide you walk inside the building and find out where you’ll be living. Of course, we already knew that we’d all be linked together and living in Patterson because Shearly and Brielle had told us. At the desk I was told who I would be living with, the complex I’d be living in, and my unit number. Patterson Court, Building 5, 5102. I was given a map of the complex with my building circled on it and my housing key. They tape the key to your program guide. Slowly but surely your program guide becomes the most important tool to your first week. 

Receiving Your Housing ID Check-In Day is also where you’ll receive your Housing ID so for those of you who are looking for check-in information, be ready for a picture. **You must be in “Disney Look” from the shoulders up, but you don’t have to be in business casual. In fact, I recommend wearing something comfortable because you’ll be moving in that day.** Your ID is printed on the spot and everybody needs that ID to get into their housing complex. **It’s also expensive to replace, so don’t lose it.** 

Knowing the Rest of Your Day Before you move on to the next step you receive an itinerary spelling out how the rest of your week will go. Although now I hear they changed this so people actually get to know how their first week will be beforehand (lucky them!). This sheet tells you when your Casting, Drug Test, Language Test, and Traditions will be. **If you do not need a Drug Test or Language Test, this form will specify that for you.** Molly, Chelsea, and I all had the same Casting day. Some people had Casting the next day, but we had it right after check-in. 

Finishing up with Check-In After you receive your itinerary, you receive a brief overview of the Disney Look. You learn about how the rest of your week is going to go (a verbal explanation of everything on your itinerary) and what to wear to each. Traditions, for example, requires being in business casual that follows the Disney Look guidelines. Casting, however, only requires following the Disney Look. Next they’ll troubleshoot any problems they may have had with your documents, whether it be trouble with Direct Deposit or an issue with your location placement. They will attempt to resolve all issues that day. When you go back outside you are given a small welcome gift and are told that if you don’t have Casting, you can go directly to your new apartment. 

After Check-In My roommates and I made the mistake of deciding to race to our apartment before Casting, despite having Casting right after check-in. We were told we could because there were two bus options. The first would arrive at Vista Way and second would arrive at Chatham. We figured we could go to the apartment and catch the Chatham bus. We didn’t have much time though, so we basically got to dump a few things at the apartment and get to the bus stop. When we got there, we learned that the bus stopping at Chatham was a regular Transtar bus. Everybody else who boarded the bus at Vista Way got the fancy bus with a Cast Member welcoming them to the program. They were the ones you see on the vlogs counting down as they approached the Walt Disney World sign. We were the ones sitting on the bus wondering if we were even going to the right place. As sad as we were about having missed out on something we had seen in the videos, we were excited to finally be at Casting.

Casting! Casting is nothing exceptionally exciting. If anything, the building is just really freaking cool. 

You will first be shown a little bit about the building before being given some information about Traditions. They’ll tell you what time your Traditions is scheduled and what to expect if you don’t already know. Then you get your fingerprints taken. Once that’s done, you are sent to different cubicles to discuss your training schedule one-on-one with a Casting CM. You are given a form that has all your job information (costume, pieces you need to provide, names of trainers and leaders, important contact information, transportation information, etc.) printed out in one place. It also includes your first week or two of trainings. You’ll know if you need to be in Business Casual for training “courses” or if you will be completing on the job training in the parks in costume. They explain the bus system to you, and recommend you utilize it the first few days so you don’t get lost, resulting in delays in training. This is also your chance to ask the Cast Member any questions about your upcoming week. You can ask for more details about anything you discussed, or any concerns you have about your role, and they will do everything they can to answer them for you. Remember, all Cast Members are trained to find answers for guests, so if they don’t know, they’ll do what they can to find out. At the end of Casting, a bus will escort you back to Vista Way.

That Night I still had my mom in town so I wanted to be sure to spend time with her. Some roommates do roommate gifts that night and have their first big roommate dinner. We decided to put that off for another night so that we could spend time with our families. One of my roommates, Joy, didn’t have family in town with her so my mom and I invited her to come along with us for dinner. At the time, I wasn’t really paying attention to where we were driving but it turns out that was my first time eating at the Crossroads (more on that later).