My new View on Vista Way

Duffy and I ( randomness)

Sooooooooo.. it's been a while, Been busy with ALOT OF Class assignments, group work.. online assignments for my advisor back at college and working OF course. I finally found some time to put this wonderful writing together about how things can Change. Well.. Remember my post regarding Vista vs Chatham vs Patterson!

I noticed that I could not just make judgement without looking deeper into it. I absolutely Love the activeness of Vista Way. It's really not like what people say it is, It's not dangerous or wild, well it may be wild but in a good way and I haven't seen nothing but friendly people around there. I must say.. one thing though... WHY IS VISTA WAY THE ONLY HOUSING COMPLEX WITH A HOT TUBS AND A computer LAB with movies to rent/watch and opened till midnight?!?!?! I am soo in love with the hot tub.. People use to say many negatives to me about going to the Hot tub at Vista Way such as getting pregnant, people doing some inappropriate things in there but it's really NOT true, there is nothing going on there but all friendly people trying to get to know more people. Sometimes you get crazy people there but I mean crazy as in crazy happy people. There are two hot tubs located on Vista way. one at the front pool by the bus stop, that one is questionable so if you want to be safe, go to the one in the back. The hot tub closes by midnight, if you are not out by then, the security will kick you back to your apartments. There is a pool and a gym right next to it, NOTHING IS going to happen to you so just sit back relax and enjoy the relaxing bubbles.. HOT TUBS ARE SOO meant for a busy days after work.

Another thing I really love about Vista Way is the Midnight computer labs with fast internet and a large screen TV for DVDs. This is also the only place YOU CAN BORROW movies and books, 2 can be taken out at once with your Disney ID. The clubhouse/front desk for chatham, patterson, commons all close at 5:00 so by the time I get off work, I cant borrow anything like vaccum or sports stuff or even use the computer lab to print hw. I hate how Vista and Chatham are soo far apart, getting there can be a pain, it's annoying if I just want to go over there to borrow a dvd or return dvds, hottub and internet that I actually game with.,, and then having to travel all the way back to Chatham.. If Only i lived at Vista, I mean ALL THE buses take their breaks there so if your working bus takes you home around their breaks hours, like mine, you'll have to wait till they are finished their break to go back to Chatham which is like another 10- 15 longer.. You can take another bus but its common for all the buses to be taking the same breaks at the same time. BUT, If i lived at Vista I would be home earlier like all those people who get off at VISTA, damnit!! Vista is like the bus base and the main base for everything. As much as I am loving stuff about Vista, I alway hear people at vista complaining about their apartments how stuff is so worn out and breaking. I would not like that for living.

Oh yes and I love ALL the active, friendly, nice people I've met at Vista.

Chatham oh Chatham, when will you become the complex that I had hoped for?

ahaha

HAVE A MAGICAL DAY GUYS !

Disney College Program Grocery Bingo!!!

BINGO board.. I am alway soo close to winning!!
FREE LAPTOP BAG if you're good at catching them

My goodies


So as a CP, you know that we have different events almost every week, ranging from pool parties (FREE FOOD) to cool beans cafe ( FREE COFFEE) to... other events but those are the ones i enjoy the most cuz you know... I am a food lover and which College student doesn't like FREE FOOD!

You also do not want to miss out these events because, not only do you get stuff out of them but the assessment fee that you pay before you even start the program ( 105 dollars) is paying for all those events, so if you dont go, you're money is going to waste. SO GO!!!

Now, let's get to the point, GROCERY BINGO has got to be the funniest event!! I love itttttttttttt, not only because you can get a chance to WIN 3 bags of goodies but it's fun and the people who host those events are good entertainers. I never get bored there... well maybe sometimes I get mad when I am sooo close to winning and they make us "clear our boards"

So here's how it works for those of you interested.

First rule!! Makes sure you arrive early, the first grocery bingo hosted at Vista was super packed, if they dont have room for you then sorry you will be able to participate, so try to arrive there earlyy, so you can stay on line with the rest of the free food craving people. I was there 3o minutes and the line was already warpped around the building, however, they try to stuff as many people in as possible.

Next, you will receive your bingo board upon entering, take a seat and get ready to SCREAM BINGO if you win!!

Dont worry if you haven't ever played bingo before, they will explain as well as show pictures to you. It's fun and easy!

You'll be able to play different types of bingo from: regular bingo, stinko bingo(the person who won this last time also got a free ipod shuffle), t bingo, + bingo, box bingo, etc ( i really have no idea what they are called so yea.. you get the point)

so yea.. the more people there playing with you, the less chance you get to win. Like the grocery bingo they had at the common, not many showed up, there were still seats available and guess who came home with bags of free stuff!!! =============>ME<==============lol

Here's another thing when there are too many bingo winners, they will make you have a dance off but they are always fun to watch but NOT to do.....!! lol

That's all i can think of now.. been so busy and tired HAVE A MAGICAL DAY!!

Towels, special touches. For gabby's eyes only!!

Here's a few of the easy ones that i have made xD

Bus? Cars? Florida MALL

Zara 8.00$
My favorite!!! H&M 35$
Hollister 16.00$
16.00$

Having no car here at Florida with the Disney College Program is livable! You'll just have to make sure to either room with a person with a car or make friends with people with cars ONLY. JK xD

You always have the bus service here that takes you to work, disney parks, walmart, walgreen, publix, etc. You can request a time for the bus to come as well, like if you have an early shift and you need a bus, they will come for you. Getting use to the bus system is another thing, you should remember which bus you take to work or that takes you back to your place, OR you can be like myself and carry the bus transportation paper with you everywhere. It cant get better than that, you also have to remember to bring your ID, without ID, you are out!! Arriving early before a bus schedule time is also useful, there are nice bus drivers that will stop for you if you're running late but most of the time, just try to be on time. The bus will usually be there on time and they will even wait for the perfect time to leave. I love meeting bus drivers with attitude.. we pay for this service and they treat us like they are giving us free rides.. which is kind of true. Good news? you can always contact a number to report them as long as you have their name and bus number.

Now, you also get special bus rides to special places like that Tradition bus you had on your second day. You also have a Florida Mall bus that takes you toooooooooo the Florida Mall. It comes once every week and rotates between days of the month so dont worry about not being able to have those days off for that month, shifts will change usually every month. You also have bus that take you to an "Asian Market" that you have to sign up for. I hear it's expensive, I have yet to sign up for it tho.

Lucky for me I had already gone to the Florida Mall twice! its the month of February so it's Tuesday Florida Mall day! I like it there, theres alot of shopping you can do there, however with your paycheck.. I'm not too sure you can shop as much as you wanted. SAVE YOUR MONEY FOR WALMART FOOD GUYS!!! but if you have the money, go right ahead and shop your lungs out! Theres almost every single store there. Much better than the outlet near the commons that has NOTHING really...

So I went with my 40 dollar paycheck last week to spend on some goodies that I couldn't help.

So yea now you know the benefits of Bus!! It's always better to have car, you can drive to target, costco, walmart, the mall yourself as well as work. so you dont have to wake up early just so you can catch that bus that take you to work an hour earlier. But either or, you can survive!

Disney College Program: Collegiate Courses!

The folder that you will receive. Front and back!

Before I had begun my Disney College experience I made sure that I would also get credit by taking some Collegiate Courses offered by Disney to help students stay on top of their school credits. So, I believe it works differently for each school and it depends on your school if they want to give you credits or not, most of the time they would allow it as electives so that's what I have saved up for. You could also speak to your Disney advisors or email Disney representatives. about the Collegiate Courses and see what they can do about it. Anyway, by taking two classes at disney around 4 hours for each class a week, I will be receiving 12 credits towards 4 of my electives. WOOHOO! The downfall? Well you only get two days off from work, so those two classes will be on those two days UNLESS you decide to sqeeze them into 1 day.. which isn't a bad idea since you can go ahead and sleep in the other day off (but most likey you might end up going to the parks!)

I am taking Human resources and Expeiential learning and all I can say is....... HAVING 2 class in 1 day is going to feel like a work day. BUT HEY I have the whole day off tomorrow!!! I also had like 2 hour break in between.. You dont have a choice in time btw... so I am in class every monday from 8:30 to 5:30( feels like longer than work!) These courses are offered in the class rooms like VistaWay, chatham, patterson, you dont get to choose, the classes can be all over the area (WHY COULDN"T THEY GIVE ME CHATHAM) ANYWAY... I actually found Experiential Learning more interesting than Human Resources, maybe because I have taken a human resource class before so it was boring for me. The professor for both classes had so much Disney in them, my experiential professor Debi is funny, she cracks jokes all the time. On the other hand, that class is suppose to be hard and a pain in the ass, the syllabus she spoke about didn't seem tooo bad. I dont think Anyone should have any trouble besides the timing and remembering when everything is due. Human resource can put me to sleep, there's too much going on and theres alot of talking in the clasee, trust.. If everyone would just let the teacher talk.. the class would end alot quicker. Joyce is a sweetheart, she's always smiling and kind.

Here are the other choices you have if you're going to get credit... If you're not I suggest you dont take these classes, take the funn ones that require you no textbooks or money that they deduct from your paycheck for the binder, paper, and some other things... I really think they like to steal our money as much as they can. Before you decide upon a class, take a look at their course syllabus because they list the required text and the course material charges so you might as well look at those when working for disney.

Advanced Studies in Hospitality Management

Corporate Analysis

Corporate Communication

Creativity & Innovation: Gaining the Edge

Experiential Learning

Marketing You: Personal and Career Development Strategies

Organizational Leadership

Experiential learning does not require a textbook,however you will have to pay 30 dollars that will deducted from your check.. that money goes to your binder and a chapter book that is assigned for you to read. Debi believes theres no need to buy a textbook.

Human Resource on the other hand wants you to buy the textbook that cost around 50- 60 dollars on amazon, but you can choose not to buy it.. just take alot of notes or make friends with people in the class that has the book.

Some of these like Marketing you is on a easier lvl that my professor didn't let me take because I am a senior but if you can I heard that Marketing you and HR is very easy.

Disney College Program Packing re-announced

I decided to remake a list in detail for people coming around the seasons of January.. things may range from when you're starting the program to how long you plan to stay. As for me, my program began around early January and ends May 19th. However, I might have plans to extend but as of right now. Heres what I feel most important about packing. Oh yeaaa, also keep in mind that I may choose my items differently from people who will be driving there. I have limited amount of space only!

I also want to go over things that I did not happen to need.

Going back to my old list as posted earlier. I still do recommend packing in advance, repacking, packing and repacking. That may not make sense but that's what I did. First I dumped everything I wanted to bring with me in a corner.. then slowly I started to arrange them as my pile got bigger. The hardest part will be arranging them into the big luggage but take your time to weigh it and look through everything again. DONT WORRY I went through my luggages many times!!!

First and most importantly.. BRING YOUR LAPTOP!!! and charger (even though the internet sucks here!

You also should bring a modem. OR put in money together with the amount of roommates you have to purchase one... Because If you do not have one~ You will NOT HAVE WIRELESS!! yea.. that's mee being trapped infront of the desk outside and connected by wire. ( this works too! if you only have 1 roommate like myself, we just sit by the desk together) Either way.. You wont be on the internet MUCH.. But you will need it.~! for school work, the HUB, FACEBOOK!!!

-Phone/charger - Obvious one but I forgot my charger on the way to the car ( luckily my sister reminded me)

-Camera, charger, usb blah blah.. I cant LIVE WITHOUT MY CAMERA!!

- Skin care, lotion (face, feet, body)

- Nail products (polish/filers/clipper)

- Beach towel - For the beach that I have no access to because I have no car and the buses dont take you everywhere.

- Bathing suits - Yay pool parties and free pizza

- Professional attire (pants, shirts) - You will need to wear them for your traditions, and if you're taking classes at Disney like myself. You are also required to wear them for training days so just be prepared

- Warm clothes for January/February - I did not bring enough! Bring hoodies! jeans. It's usually cold in the mornings and at late night

- Socks ( full black and whites ones ) - At old key west. We were required to wear white shoes but you can find them at walmart for cheap.. ( it feels like they know we will need them!!) Some places require you to wear the same color socks as your shoes, however I am free to wear whatver color I wanted.

- Slippers for the house - YES YOU NEED SLIPPERS FOR YOUR Apartment unless you want to step on the first carpets that no one wants to vaccum cuz the front desk closes so early and no one want to carry it to the 2nd floor.....

- Professional dress shoes - BRING FLATS. comfy shoes. I also have a heel with me that I plan to wear to class

- Sandals - for convenience!!

- Comfortable shoes (sneakers, flats) Bring some sneakers if you plan to jog or work out in the gym!

- Bring 1 full set of Dishes ( fork, knife, spoon, bowl and cup)= I bought my own set of bowl and cups. The ones in my apartment was in ok condition.. i ended up boiling some of them and using it. Always good to sanitize!

- 1 roll of toliet paper - No need you will probably have fun to go to walmart after the whole meeting.

- little Toothpaste, tooth brush ( for the first few nights)

- shower curtains ( or buy them there)

- Towel ( bath, face, hand)

- Bring some extra towels for your kitchen, bathroom to clean and wipe.

- Blanket,pillows linens, sheets

- Medicines

- health insurance information

- Writing utensils ( papers, envelops, folders, staplers, pencil, pens, highlighters)

- master lock

- laundry bag and basket

- Personal information

- hair clips, pins, rubberbands, combs, etc

- Hair dryer!! I highly recommend for girls.. especially when you dont want to wait for your hair to dry and you have work tomorrow!!

OVERALL I FEEL that EVERYONE SHOULD MAKE ROOM FOR CLOTHING.. that's one thing I do regret not bringing enough of.. You really dont have time to go shopping and even if you wanted to. The shopping mall bus comes once a week and you might not even have that day off from work.

Many items can be bought at Walmart. HOWEVER, carrying the items back to your place is the problem. You want to leave the space to carry food. YES STOCK Up on food with you get to walmart because Florida makes you eat.

Heres my advice CLOTHES, SHOES, ANYTHING YOU CANT FIND AT WALMART! Everything else you might consider just shopping out at walmart or walgreens or Publix.

GOOD NIGHT and Have a magical DAY

Disney College Program Magic Kingdom Fun

We all know that one of the best things about being a Disney Cast member or College Program student is being able to go into all the Disney parks for free!! That includes:

Magic Kingdom

Epcot

Animal Kingdom

Hollywood Studios

All you have to do is get your White Disney ID on the day of your traditions! Slide the card in with the scan of your finger and that's it!

I must say that to explore all these 4 areas WILL TAKE A LONG TIME!! because I try to take advantage of it and TRY EVERY SINGLE RIDE! Sometimes the lines can be ridiculously long... however that's where fastpass come in play! yay! CPs also get FASTPASS!!!