Rachael's Magical Disney Year is on Instagram too!

I decided to set up a new Instagram account to A) Coincide with my blog updates so people can view my picture updates as well as text! B) So I don't bombard those already on my Instagram with never ending Disney related posts, which while some may enjoy I'm sure others would get annoyed.

So without further ado, if you're interested in following me on Instagram you can find me at @rachaelsmagicaldisneyyear

I have also set up an Instagram feed at the bottom right hand side of my blog too for those who don't have Instagram accounts!

Q1 Visa Application

The evening of the 15th May Disney sent everyone in the July 21st arrival date (the dream team) an email stating:

Congratulations! The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has notified the US Consulate in your country of the approval of the petition that allows you to participate in the Q-1 International Cultural Representative Program at the Walt Disney World® Resort.

However... in this email was a link to the site to begin your Visa application and there was also a link to your I-797 form, BUT due to a technical glitch on the site the link they had sent us to the I-797 form was not working but after a quick email to alert them of this they replied almost instantly and said thank you for the email that they are looking into this and will notify us as soon as it is available.

Then the evening of the 16th the new link arrived. Wahoo! Although I was far too sleepy by this point to start, so I waited until the next morning as I daren't risk answering a question incorrectly due to my tiredness!

So alas, the next morning I began the application which sent you to the DS-160 form to fill out, which by the way is VERY long and requires you to be on the ball, paying close attention to detail. I was grateful I waited as one of the questions asked me to state the last five visits (and state the arrival date and the duration of your stay) I had to the United States. I have only been twice but the first time was when I was 6 so obviously I was clueless what date this would have been, but many thanks to my Dad filming every second of our holidays we were able to track this date down...magic! The form also asks several security questions which checks your intentions of your stay, your criminal background amongst other checks! There is no point in me stating what else the DS-160 form covers as I'd be here all day and I'm sure you aren't all interested to know exactly what was covered.

For the DS-160 form to be complete required a photo to be uploaded but due to the strict rules for this US Visa photo I decided to visit a photobooth and an expensive £7 (and a terrifying photo of myself) later, I had a photo I could use to upload and complete the application.


THEN I could finally book and pay for my Visa appointment, which I'll be heading to on Friday 5th June at 8:30am (Yes all Q1 Visa appointments are crazy early!)

Medical Insurance!

I DID IT! Earlier this week I finally 'bit the bullet' and bought my medical insurance at long last!

*WARNING: This post is by no means a recommendation or advice page, just simply a post about who I went with and why. Please make sure to do your own research and get the best cover for you*

Brief Summary of Medical Insurance with relation to doing the Disney Cultural Representative Program:

It is worth knowing that Disney require you to be covered for the first 120 days as stated in your acceptance letter:

WALT DISNEY WORLD® Resort and its affiliated companies provide health and life insurance for employees; however, this coverage does not take effect until the first day of the month following completion of one hundred twenty (120) days of continuous service. It is mandatory that you insure yourself at least until this date and you must provide proof of insurance upon your arrival in Orlando.

As I am flying out on the 19th July 120 days from this point takes you to Nov 15th, BUT as stated above Disney will only protect you from the 1st day of the month following completion of the 120 days of continuous service. So I cannot be without cover whilst I wait for the 1st Oct so I have to get 5 months cover starting 19th July-30th November (STA also only work in whole months).

So who did I decide to go with and why?

I decided to go with the company STA Travel/Yummy Travel.

I went with them as they work in partnership with Yummy Travel (a sub company if you like from Yummy Jobs). I felt comfortable going with them for the fact that they have insured people going on my program and others similar for several years and hence they know exactly the kind of cover that is required. Plus it helps as being a Yummy Jobs participant you are also entitled to a cheeky 10% discount (and I am ALL about discounts!). PLUS, by recommendation of people who have already done the program before, once you are on Disney's Medical Insurance apparently it is alot easier to book appointments and see a Doctor than if you are not with them, so for peace of mind I'd like to be with Disney. The only slight downside is that the money will be deducted weekly from your paycheck. Whereas if you decided to never go on Disney's insurance and booked 1 years full cover you get to pay up front and won't have to see that money being taken out every week.

How did I go about sorting it?

I first contacted STA Travel via email outlining the program that I would be doing, how long I would like cover for and they replied giving me two options that best suited the cover I required.

We have 2 different Gap year Policies to choose from - our Premier blue and Standard blue. Both the Standard and Premier provide cover for cancellation (Cancellation fees for flights, experiences and anything else pre-booked if you have to cancel for reasons such as illness), medical cover, Repatriation (for reasons such as Illness or Death of a close relative), luggage, loss of passport and tickets, emergency dental treatment.

It also covers activities such as skydiving, bungee jumping, jet skiing, kayaking, elephant trekking, zip wiring, safaris, scuba diving, yachting in territorial waters, overland expeditions and mountain biking, amongst others.

The main difference between them is that Premier provides higher levels of cover, and covers some areas which Standard does not include; such as Search and Rescue (up to £5000), Cash (up to £200), Hijack and Hostage, Travel Trade Indemnity and Government travel restrictions. Also, it covers some activities standard doesn't cover such as shark cage diving, Black Water Rafting, River Kayaking, Skiing and Snowboarding, Trekking under 6000m, canyoning.

I went with the Standard Blue Policy as I'm not planning on going shark cage diving or Skiing etc. So yeah, I also better not need any search and rescue whilst I am out there and I'm praying there will be no hijack or hostage situation other than that I'm covered wahoo!

All I had to do to purchase it was contact the guy who had given me his contact number on the email, phone up confirm a few details and voilà in less than 10 minutes I was sorted!

So how much did it all cost?

So for me, 5 months Standard Blue Cover with the Yummy Jobs 10% discount PLUS I asked for the Medical Excess Waiver to be added (£14) brought my grand total to £214.70 .

What have I been doing whilst waiting to start my Magical Disney Year?

So I should start by saying I will soon have a post coming about Medical Insurance, it's something I keep putting off, because lets face it, if I'm honest I'm pretty clueless when it comes to sorting out big things like this. But I have started to finalise details now (Thanks to members of my Disney Flight Crew for asking all the relevant questions we needed to know the answers too - Mum, Dad, if you're reading this, don't worry I'll be FINE for a whole year sorting myself out I'm independent... ;P haha) and all I need to do next is call up and purchase it. I've set aside some time to sort this on a day off I've booked from work (oh don't I just know how to party ;)!) so keep your eyes peeled for that post. I'll try my best to make it a fun post because Medical Insurance is pretty dull lets be real here.

Anyway...back to the point of this post!

So whilst I'm watching my countdowns counting down until I leave, I've been filling my time (okay procrastinating from sorting out the BIG important stuff) by watching lots and lots of YouTube videos about people who have done various different Disney Programs.

I even got so addicted to one Vlogger's YouTube channel that I got my parents hooked too! So worth a special mention is Pixels and Pixie Dust YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/pixelsandpixiedust/videos. I have obviously watched every vlog on this channel. I've also noticed in the latest vlog Megan is hoping to plan a Disney trip in December so I have everything crossed this happens as I would LOVE to meet her. Her videos are so energetic, happy and enjoyable to watch that it has even inspired me to hopefully Vlog bits whilst I am out there too. I have even gone as far as purchasing Video editing software...oh yes I'm serious, picture evidence here:

All I need to do now is learn how to use it :/

Most videos that you can find on YouTube are from people who have done the DCP program which for those of you who don't know is the 'Disney College Program'. You have to a be a USA student for this program and is typically 3 months long (although you might be invited to extend your program if you're lucky). Then for internationals there is the Disney Cultural Exchange Program or the Disney Academic Exchange Program, or of course the Cultural Representative Program to name a few! 

I love watching these videos because although they aren't doing my program the only thing that is different is the job role and length of stay other than that I get to see the housing I will be in, the opportunities that are available to Disney Cast Members only and of course refreshing my memory and seeing the updated bits added since my last visit to the Disney Parks back in 2008.

I barely watch TV anymore due to this addiction but I don't see this as an issue ;)

Other things I have been doing, is talking to my wonderful Disney Flight Crew *Shout out to the July UK Arrivals, you guys rock!* we have our own private Facebook group going where we discuss all things to do with Disney, as well as share any insider knowledge we get passed on by those who are already out there on the Disney CRP, amongst planning adventures we want to do when we are there. All SUCH exciting stuff! Oh and it's only 77 days to go incase you were wondering ;)