Couple of Steps Closer- visa and flight

It’s been a pretty exciting week Disney-wise! Last Thursday me and my Dad got up early (4:00 am !!!) so we could catch a train down to London, as we thought London would be a bit manic to drive down to and park in! My appointment was at half 8 in the morning, so I arrived at the embassy at about 8:00am just to be on the safe side. Our train got into Euston at 7:15am, and we then bought a day tube pass and caught the tube to Oxford Circus. Despite both of us having Google maps on our phone we got a little lost, but a friendly Londoner (a rare breed) kindly walked with us to show us where to go. The embassy was in a beautiful area of London and was absolutely massive.

I first dropped Dad off at Starbucks and headed to the embassy, leaving with him everything except my paperwork as you’re not supposed to take in any electronics or anything and I wanted to play it safe. . I’d been in a bit of a flap before I went worrying about my paperwork. We’d been told to bring letters that had been sent to us via email, but I’d had only basic emails- no attachments. In retrospect its seems silly to have worried as the emails had all the information I needed, but if for some reason you don’t get your visa because of small errors ( as in not declined because they don’t want you to enter the US) you have to book another appointment- which is another $190, so I wanted to get it right. But the emails were fine when I showed them to the staff in the embassy- first they checked my appointment time, and then I was sent through security which is in a small outside the embassy. I went to another reception where they gave me my number and told me to wait to be called out, and then I sat in the waiting room to wait for my number to be called up to go to a window booth on the side of the room. I only waited for about 5 minutes before I was called up, and this interview took about 2-3 minutes. I then had to wait to be called up again for the ‘proper’ interview, but this time I was waiting AGES. Good news though was that they had a big TV screen showing cheesy videos about the US to keep me occupied. After what must have been well over an hour (I didn’t have a watch on me) I went to the next interview. This again must have taken less than 5 minutes, then she just casually slipped into the conversation that my passport would be returned within 3-5 business days! I was kind of stunned, but said thanks and quickly  left the embassy (exiting through security).

Me and Dad then had the day in London! We had a wander around, popped into Harrods to see my friends Mom who works there, had food, and visited St Paul’s Cathedral, which neither of us had seen before, but loved because it’s so beautiful.  A bit more wandering, more food and then we made or way home.

The next day I did another exciting thing…I booked my flight! I’ve had my eye on this flight for ages- it was £174 on sky scanner, flying from Manchester to Orlando Sanford. Sanford is another half an hour away from the Disney complexes, but the money I saved on the flight means it’s more than worth it. In total after adding seat reservation, food and baggage it was £211, which I was really happy as the cheapest flight I’d seen apart from this one was about £400!

So that’s two big things done now! The only thing really left to do is pay my Programme Assessment Fee, but I can’t log on for some reason to pay it. I emailed Yummy Jobs and they’ve old me to be patient, so I’m hoping it will work soon as once that’s done I’m pretty sure that’s everything!

Though having said that there are loads of ‘extra’ things I need to do. My laptop broke at the end of uni, and my camera at the end of Vietnam, so I need to find cheap but decent replacemnets. Still doing bits of clearing around the house, and I’m hoping that by the time I pack I’ll have gotten rid of all the rubbish that I never use!

Will update when I have something more to update on……6 weeks tomorrow!

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50 days to go!

I’ve been excited since I knew I was going to Disney- even since I filled in my application form- but this week it’s really stepped up a notch! A few more people who are doing the CRP from other countries have gotten in contact with me, and I’ve been chatting to them and now we have a facebook group for our arrival date which has several nationalities in which is quite cool! We’re thinking of either meeting up on the day we arrive, or if we all get in too late meeting up the next day to get to know each other.

It’s SO good that people are making the effort to talk and meet with other people. This is what I love about the Disney atmosphere so far. All the people in my application group now feel like firm friends and some of the other UKers I’ve been chatting to have been so helpful and forthcoming with advice and help when I’ve needed it. I was really nervous at one point but because everyone is so nice any fears about meeting new people have gone out of the window. I’m also happy to be talking to people from other countries, because as I’ll be working with other people from the UK a lot I want to take any opportunity I can to get to know people from different countries.

Another milestone this week is that I (finally) got round to sorting my insurance out. Talking to people that are already over there (love facebook so much!) I decided to go with a 4 month plan with STA insurance and then switch over to Disney, as you can’t have Disney insurance until after 4 months of working with them. I rang STA and the woman I spoke to was great and really seemed to know what she was on about- she emailed me different plans and me and my Dad had a look over them to see which would be best. There was a premier, standard and budget, and I went for Standard, so I have good coverage for a wide range of things. The premier had options on it that personally I thought was a little excessive, and the budget one didn’t cover everything I wanted. I guess it’s just personal choice at the end of the day though. There was the option to have the year plan, which seemed like good value, but silly as it may sound I really like the idea of being as connected to Disney as possible so want to be insured with them, and I have heard that their service is excellent.

My visa appointment is this thursday, and me and dad have our tickets to London booked and plan to spend a full day there. Once my visa is approved I’m going to book my flight- I’ve wanted to do it for ages but I think waiting a few more days won’t hurt and I’ll have the knowledge that I am definitely going! Not that I can see any reason at all why I wouldn’t get it!

I also got very excited about luggage this week. I’ve ordered a new tote bag to use as my hand luggage figuring I can use it as a weekend or night bag for any trips that may happen over there. I was thinking about getting a new suitcase, but I can only see me making one or at most 2 trips using it so it may be a waste of money. My new bag is by Jasper Conran though, a lovely dark purple and really smart looking- I found it in Debenhams but managed to get it cheaper online.

Last week a couple of the girls who applied with me and some others I’ve chatted to on facebook flew out. I was major jealous seeing them on facebook but so glad they seem to be having a good time!  I remember when I got the call from Disney and they said I didn’t have long to wait I thought I may be going out on this date, as I knew lots of people were. I was really glad it wasn’t though, because a few months ago I had booked on to do a 10km muddy obstacle course which I’ve really been looking forward to. I would have obviously given it up to go to Disney, but it was nice to do both! We did it yesterday and I am still sore and aching. Here’s how we looked before…

And here’s how we looked after…

It was such an amazing day- I did it with my brother, his girlfriend and a few of their mates. I’m really close to my brother anyway, but doing something so challenging with him was amazing. It’s a great memory to take to America with me! I certainly hope to do another one when I return home (not that I want to think about that) and some of the others will be doing it while I’m away. Even though I’ll be living it up in Disney I’ll probably be a bit jealous!

Anyway, I shall keep you updated when more Disney stuff happens! Wish me luck for my visa appointment!

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