VISA APPLICATION

Yummy Jobs will semd you out your VISA pack at the end of March/beginning of April. In the pack there's step by step instructions on how to apply and book your VISA interview and your all important DS-2019!

Once you have completed the DS-160 application, booked your US Embassy appointment ($160) and paid the SEVIS Fee ($35), the next step is to actually go to your interview!

For UK participants, you'll either be heading to London or Belfast, I went to London and made it another long weekend away! There area few things you must bring with you.

1. YOUR PASSPORT
2. DS-160 confirmation
3. Appointment confirmation 
4. DS-2019
5. A 5x5cm colour passport style photo taken within the last six months (if you haven't already uploaded one on the DS-160)

AT THE EMBASSY

The first queue you wait in they just check you have all the correct forms with you and are actually supposed to be there.

The second queue is to go through security and they check your form again.

Once you walk round to the queue at reception, forms are checked AGAIN and you are given a ticket number and wait in a big hall for your number to come up. Basically Argos.

When your numbers comes up on the screen, you got to the window number that comes up. Your form are, guess what, checked and fingerprints taken.

The last queue is for your actual interview and forms and finger prints. My interview consisted of "I see your advertising where you're going! Where did you get that hoodie? What you going to be doing?" and thatw as it! VISA APPROVED! (ps. I was wearing my Cast Memeber hoodie)

Overall the whole process took 30 mins - 1 hour (if I brought a recent passport picture which was a hassle and another story -_-) andthe interview itself is over in seconds... Not as terrifying as I though it would be!

Time For An Update? Probably.

So after you've been accepted into the program you're faced with a whole lot of waiting....

But first things first FLIGHTS! 

I would say it's best to book your flights a soon as you can for cheapness, I booked my flights in the January sale. When your program finishes, your VISA allows you to stay and travel within the states for a further 30 days. My program finished August 8th and I'll be flying home on September 3rd from New York after I.ve been to Vegas and California. If you're not too sure if you can or will travel after STA Travel offer flight tickets where you can change your flight home for a wee extra charge!

The next step is MANDATORY MEDICAL INSURANCE!

At some point in March, Disney will email you with the details of the medical insurance that you must specifically get from HTH Worldwide.

"As part of the United States government visa regulations you are required to have, at minimum, medical insurance coverage from June 3rd - August 8th. Should you arrive or depart outside your program dates your insurance policy must cover this additional time. You must purchase your insurance policy prior to your arrival in the United States from HTH Worldwide."

There are 3 options of health insurance with prices this year at: 74.30 USD, 117.25 USD and 99.55 USD. Some people just went for the cheapest (such as myself) and others went for the more  expensive one just to be on the safe side. So look at what each price offers and chose which best suits you personally.

After this it'll be time for your VISA application!!!

I'M GOING TO DISNEY!

On December 3rd I received this magical email! I was standing at a bus station on my way to work and shed a little tear and phoned everyone! I read through my contract and I was going to be a merchandise cast member in Walt Disney World, Florida!!!!!!!!!!

Within 30 days you had to:

• Accept your offer (on Disney's website and Yummy Jobs)
• Submit your program fees ($100 + $4.50 processing fee)
• Upload any outstanding DOC information

Once all this was done, Yummy send you out a CRB form to check you're a good guy - once you've paid them £60 for it.

So we're pretty much up to date now, I've just booked my flights for £571 GLA > LGW > MCO and returning from JFK as I plan to travel to California and New York after as your visa allows you to travel the USA for 1 month after!

SO YES!!! I'm starting to get excited now as it takes forever to sink in and it's time to focus on exams (boo).

I think the next blog will be the VISA appointment unless events unfold before hand... SEE YA THEN 

The Final Interview

After what seemed like the longest 2 days an email from YJ came through when I was working and I was too terrified to open it! 

I accepted my offer on my Yummy Jobs profile and over the next couple of days we received an email directly from Walt Disney World Resort telling us to complete an online application for the program - basically so they can hold our information on the Disney Careers website and we can go through Dashboard.  Once we'd completed this we then got another email from Disney allowing us to schedule our interview date and time (very handy and another reason why you should fill everything out quick because the best slots go!). Anotheer  email sent out was the role checklist - for this we were to put the possible roles into categories; High Interest, Moderate Interest; Low Interest; No Interest.

Lastly, we had to upload our information to our Disney Onboarding Central (DOC) profile that was emailed to us. For this we needed: Photocopy of your passport Proof of Student Status Form (or approved letter) Emergency Contact Info Address Visa Appointment Details (where you would go i.e. London or Belfast) I WAS GOING TO DISNEY HQ!!!!1! The dress code was professional / business attire so I opted for the ol' suit that hadn't seen the light of day since prom. We were also asked to bring our passport (or another form of photo ID), Birth Certificate (or certified copy) and proof of home address (e.g. a bank statement). Train and accommodation sorted again I headed down on the 7th so I was reasonably fresh for the morning and people from the Facebook group had arranged to meet at Costa beforehand so I met even more  lovely folk there! Disney HQ is just something else. I cant even begin to describe how amazing it was. We met with the YJ team and handed them the info they needed and we were taken into the HQ private cinema yeah where we met the 3 Disney recruiters and watched a presentation which got you all excited and just uggggh yes!! We were then asked to go and come back for our interview slots, so again we were off to Costa for a bit until a few of us headed for Harrods because DISNEY STORE AND DISNEY CAFE AND PUPPIES! I headed back to HQ and we were taken to the waiting area where we were all talking and discussing things to calm our nerves! Louis and James also joined us and were helping calm us a bit. Each of the recruiters then called a name and were taken to the interview station for a one-to-one interview. I  was the last of our group to go and I was interviewed by Jill.  Questions here were based a lot on previous experience (if you have any) and why you want to do the program. They also through in a couple of questions regarding room-mate situations.Other questions included explaining a difficult situation you were in and handled and another that caught me way off guard .. "Having worked at the Disney Store before, what new experiences and skills would you like to gain from working on this program" .. I have no idea what I said and at this point I thought I'd blew it. She also asked if the Disney Store I worked at got closed down because I started working there ....... she said she was joking. Better be. The interview lasted about 10 minutes And that was it. My fate was sealed. We were told we would hear back after the Thanks Giving holidays. And the waiting started AGAIN. So with no idea how it went I was ready for another fab weekend in London! Iron Man Selfie  DISNEY LIFTS PLAY DISNEY MUSIC

The Pre-Screen Interview

"Tell everybody I'm on my way" - Brother Bear

After 2 very long months of waiting I finally received the e-mail - after receiving a few glitchy ones beforehand.

Dear Callum,

Greetings from the Yummy Jobs Team!

...

After a review of your application the Yummy Jobs Team is delighted to inform you that you have been successful through to the next stage of the interview process.

The next stage of the interview process will be a regional recruitment event.  During this event you will view a presentation showcasing the program and have a group interview session. 

·         Your recruitment event will take place on Saturday 19^th October 2013

·         Your recruitment event will be held at the South Place Hotel, 3 South Place, London, EC2M 2AF

·         Your recruitment event will start at 13:30.  Please arrive by 13:15 for registration

·         The dress code for this event is business casual

·         Please note you must be available for the following dates in order to participate on the program:

1.       June 3^rd 2014 to August 8^th 2014

2.       June 10^th 2014 to August 15^th 2014

After a quick Google map look about I spotted a Starbucks just around the corner from the hotel, so arranged on the Yummy Social and Facebook group (which I highly recommend you find) for all of us to meet up before hand to have a chit chat and calm the nerves!

So I was off to LANDAAAAAAN with my Yummy Passport in hand!!! I decided to get the train down because 8 hours on a bus from Glasgow to London did not appeal to me at all. Also, luckily I have a very good friend of mine who lives in London so that was my accommodation sorted!

As the dress code was business casual - a change from smart casual -  i opted for shirt, waistcoat, black trouser and my all black leather cons. 

The morning of the interview I have to say I was pretty calm and ready for a Starbs in my belly! Most people had made it to our meeting place without getting lost and everyone was lovely and we put each other at ease. We headed over to the hotel where we met some more people and we were taken into one of the function suits.

The Yummy Jobs team were there to give us our presentation which basically gets you really excited about the possibility of going and gives you all the information you need to know!

We were then told our interview groups which were given team names - #TeamPrinceEric - and were given our times to come back. I didn't have that long to wait, but meanwhile a few of us went and got a mini lunch from the shops. When the time came, me and a girl from the Facebook group who was also in my 'team' headed back to the hotel. 

I had James who was lovely and there was about 10 people, to start off we had to find out information about the person beside us and then introduce them to the group. We were then asked the usual questions plus one or two new ones - James mentioned that he put these in because he knows blogs such as this one gives out all the questions ... so for now my lips are sealed ... only for now ;)

The interview didn't actually seem too short or too long, I felt that we all did well and all had our bit to say so I was quietly confident. There was some confusion as to when we'd hear back as everyone had been told different days, so the next wait began and I was ready for a wee weekend in London with my friend!

Note: There were four dates for the pre-screen interviews, 2 in Manchester and 2 in London. There were no interviews in Scotland and you couldn't swap your interview date or location.

Applying For A Disney International College Program

 "Begin at the beginning, and go on till you come to the end: then stop" - The King, Alice in Wonderland.

So I figured the best place to start this blog ball rolling would be to give you some insight into actually applying! So we shall start at the beginning. Note: This will be UK specific, but its pretty much the same if you're not being recruited from here.

Now the chances are that if you're reading this you are already clued up, but lets cover all our bases here.

• Is this program for you? This is the experience of a life time, not to be confused with a holiday or a way of making $$$dollaaaaaaas$$$. Familiarise yourself with the program options (Cultural Exchange, Cultural Representative and Academic Exchange), what one is right for you? 

• If you decide 100% this program is for you, you are ready, super pumped, your body is ready, let's do this!: UK applicants will be applying through Yummy Jobs, so find out when applications open, this year it was August 1st, and how long you have to complete the application, usually it's 2 months - do it ASAP!

• Applications on the Yummy Jobs site has completely changed this year and their website was treated to a little facelift. You will now need to include: 
• A photocopy of your valid passport plus any previous visas
• Separate Cover Letter and CV files
• A passport style picture of yourself
• Your qualifications and current university course information
• Current and previous work experience including your skills
• Your motivation for doing the program
• Why you value cultural exchange

Make sure that when you're applying that you really take the time to make sure your application is perfect and shows your personality as much as it can. Once you're completely happy with it then its time to submit it and the first wait begins!

Helpful Hint: Your Cover Letter and CV should be top notch, I really recommend speaking to a careers adviser in your university to have read over it and give you pointers (or if you're lucky like I was and your place of work offers employability courses I really recommend these and/or if know anyone in recruitment just ask them nicely)

Helpful Hint: Due to Yummy's launch of their new website there was a few bugs and issues regarding applications. If you need anything fixed or have any questions just send them an email. The Yummy Jobs team are super friendly and helpful.

Helpful Hint: Mention how the program is going to benefit your course and/or future career in your motivation.

IMPORTANT CHANGE: you will have to have completed at least one semester at University before you apply. There has been a change in Disney's immigration compliance recently that has warranted this change. 

Introducing Me

So it's that time of year where all the new Disney ICP blogs start popping up - AND I'M ONE OF THEM!

So I thought I'd just start this thing off by saying hello......... 

HELLO!!

My name is Callum, I've graced this planet with my presence for 19 years (20 in February) and I'm from just outside Glasgow in Scotland! Och aye

I'm currently studying Social Sciences at The University of the West of Scotland and I work for an undisclosed location (if you have me on Facebook then this is not so disclosed) and also ex Disney Store cast member - RIP store #750. 

[#SPOILER ALERT] I found out on the 3rd of December 2013 that I will be spending summer 2014 working for the most magical place on earth... WALT DISNEY WORLD AS A MERCHANDISE CAST MEMBER!

This blog is intended as a little diary for myself, for friends and family to see what I'm up to and for future applicants to have a read through! (Because I started reading these things when I was 13 and found them super helpful)

So that's all I can think of for now, feel free to follow, add, befriend and subscribe to me on ALL the social networking platforms and I'll see ya real soon!!

Ps. I may start vlogging, so that'll be an experience for you all.