Stupid Guest Tricks

Have fun at WDW with the college program. It should be allot of fun. Watch out for the nice palmetto bugs. ;)

Thanks everyone :D: .

I don't get relocation assistance to Florida, unfortunately (and I'd be a little scared if Disney did provide it so I could move between Hourly Frontline positions, lol). There is CP transportation available so I could go to the market and whatnot, as well as to the Parks and to work. If I decide to stay, I'll probably scour the market for a cheap (<$1000) junker so I can maintain some mobility.

I do have some questions.

Hurricanes
I'll be in Florida during the Hurricane Season. What exactly does that entail? For reasons of geography, I've never experienced one before.

I know WDW does have ride-out crews. Can CPs volunteer for those? What exactly do they do?

What do I do if I stay at home? Are there community evacaution centres nearby? How do you Floridians protect your personal property?

Parking
Also, does anyone know if I can get a Parking Permit for CP housing after check in. If I decide to stay in Florida, I'll probably get a junker, and would need to park it somewhere for the remainder of my programme.

Mailing

I'm going to send some stuff ahead. Does anyone know if there is a Post Office in the Orlando area that accepts Poste Restante? (I believe it's called General Delivery here in the US)

Crime/Quality of Life
Finally, how is crime in the Central Florida community?

Reading the Orlando Sentinel makes it seem like I'll be fighting off muggers in the aisles as a normal part of my routine in purchasing groceries.

Also, how's the cultural life? I realise that I shouldn't expect the same variety that is available here in Los Angeles, but I would like to get out every once in a while and do something enjoyable that doesn't involve Mickey ears, lol.

Hurricanes
WDW is so far from the coast that by the time any hurricane gets here it has severely weakened and isn't much of a threat.

Ride-out crews get the parks and resorts ready for the storm. I don't know about foods but merchandise CMs clear the carts of merchandise and wrap the carts in pallet wrap, move items away from the windows, that kind of thing. I assume that ride-out crews will help in other areas if they finish their area ahead of time. I do not know if CPs can sign up to be on ride-out crews.

Parking
As there are CPs that drive I assume that there is some way to get a parking permit if they are required at the housing complexes.

Mailing
No idea. That would probably be a good thing to ask your contact (I assume you have one) about.

Crime/Quality of Life
The Sentinel, like most papers, only reports the bad news and not the good news. Crime around here varies, like most places crime is higher in some parts of town than in others. I don't know what crime is like in the area around CP housing but the housing does have 24 hour security.

I'm a quiet person who doesn't go out much so I'm no expert on what there is to do. I know that there are some clubs in town. There are also movie theaters and the like around.

Congratulations on getting accepted!

I don't think you should have a problem getting a parking permit at your housing complex if you buy a car later in the program. A lot of CPs drive, but a lot don't....so I wouldn't imagine this being an issue.

Definitely ask around re: mailing to a local post office. Due to the volume of CPs and the logistics of housing assignments, the program wouldn't allow you to send things ahead to housing. However, should you not be able to send packages ahead to a local post office - another alternative might be to have someone ship them for you from CA once you arrive in FL and know/have your exact mailing address. Once you're there, you of course can receive packages which would be delivered to the complex club house and they would notify you when it arrives.

I was on the CP for Fall 2004 - arrived just after Hurricane Charlie, and was there for Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Ivan and Jeanne really didn't do much of anything to central FL, but I was on ride-out crew for Frances. I was front desk so I can't speak to the experience of park ride out crews - but I was scheduled to work the day the weather started getting bad and was basically told I'd be scheduled to work ride out and worked from Friday afternoon through Monday night (as many Cast Members understandably couldn't get to work afterwards)...and slept part of the time backstage in makeshift sleeping arrangements and part of the time sharing a hotel room with another CM when it was safe to be outside (ie traveling to and from front desk to rooms/buildings).

It was definitely an interesting experience - a lot of down time after we closed the front desk - and then crazy busy when we opened the front desk back up...I had only been there a short time and not finished my front desk training so it was a bit of baptism by fire because everyone was needed to help as many guests were stranded and stressed....but many were understanding - I met a lot of interesting people on the first day of the storm as I was on the team that went out room to room delivering memos/letters/hurricane updates. I also had great CMs working with me who were very supportive of yours truly who has never truly experienced any bad weather outside of a New England blizzard :)

Congrats! We will def. have to meet up as I don't live far from the CP complexes at all!

Hurricanes are like earthquakes except you get some warning they're coming and they last longer. :D:

Congratulations on realizing your dream! Looks like we'll still be able to catch you at DL some time between April 27-29th and then at WDW between November 12-18.
I'll PM you when our trip gets closer and will bring you some WDW park maps so you can learn your way around before you get there.

glendalais wrote: Mailing

I'm going to send some stuff ahead. Does anyone know if there is a Post Office in the Orlando area that accepts Poste Restante? (I believe it's called General Delivery here in the US)

Wallaby-office?

As for the hurricanes, meh. It rains. The wind blows. It rains more. Over there in concrete land your power is probably a whole lot more stable than mine.
As for the crime, with any city there are lousy areas. Down towards Disney you are perfectly fine. The worst area is roughly between Universal and the east-west expressway.

kurtisnelson wrote:The worst area is roughly between Universal and the east-west expressway.

Figures. :D:

glendalais wrote:I do have some questions.

Most have already been answered, so I'll just hit the ones that haven't.

Mailing

I'm going to send some stuff ahead. Does anyone know if there is a Post Office in the Orlando area that accepts Poste Restante? (I believe it's called General Delivery here in the US)

Might work (and it is called "General Delivery" here), but I don't recommend it. There's so little General Delivery done here that most Post Offices just return it.

I suggest you drag your stuff to a local UPS Store, pay for shipping to zip code 90230, but ask them to hold the box until you can supply a specific address. Call when you get here and have a complete address. Cost you a few days, but less chance of loss.

Second option, depending on when you'll arrive, is to ask some nice SGTer to take receipt of your box and meet you with it once you arrive. PM me if you'd like to try this option.

Crime/Quality of Life
Finally, how is crime in the Central Florida community?

Just fine. What sort did you want?

Seriously, I grew up in the South Bay, and find the part of Florida around the Parks to be quite calm and safe by comparison. Better than Santa Ana, anyway.

Also, how's the cultural life?

Depends how you like your culture.

Theater is big here. There's a cast theatrical group, STAGE, which puts on performances on property. If you get wheels, there are a number of little theaters around, some of which are quite good.

There's also a lively art community, though it's mostly in the Downtown Orlando-Winter Park area, about 20 miles away. Much avant garde stuff.

A good number of museums in town, Orlando Regional History Museum, Morse Museum of Art (lots of Tiffany), couple of sculpture gardens, etc. Again, a 20-mile drive.

Big music scene, including classical, but mostly clubs. For Broadway, go to Tampa -- the big theater in Orlando is a big concrete box with the acoustics of a big concrete box.

Tell what you're looking for and we can be more specific.