Here is my second chance.
But how do I approach this? Do I try to re-work my essays that I used last time successfully in the first round? Do I take another angle? Ugh. Last year there was very little notice between me finding out about it and submitting my essays. This year it was about two weeks for me to stress over strategy.
But wait - the questions are a little different!
In 100 words or less tell us:
1. About you and your family (we got 100 words EACH last year)
2. What makes you a great vacation planner?
3. What is your favorite vacation planning tip?
In the end, I was just direct. They already had some "dirt" on me, so I didn't want to just say again what I said before. It was stressful, not to mention the fact that you could NOT cut and paste from a word document. What?! Talk about stress, no spell checker! One nice feature this year was that once you submitted your essays, you were given a view of what it was they received. Within minutes I receive an email confirming that they received my submission.
Now I wait
and wait
and wait
again.
The stress was well worth it because on October 7, 2008 - I got that email with the heading WALT DISNEY WORLD MOMS PANEL UPDATE
Why on earth couldn't they just put a Congratulations in there...the suspense was to much!
Ah, but no matter where they put the text, it reads just as sweet!
We would like to congratulate you on making it to the next phase of the selection process for the 2009 Walt Disney World® Moms Panel!
Wow - I've done it again...made it to the second round! Now in my mind, I am assuming that since they doubled the number of entrants this year to 20,000 I am sure they have doubled the number of round 2 potentials, 250 of us..give or take a few?
But now in a way, I'm actually feeling a little bit calmer. So it wasn't just a fluke that I made it so far last year? Maybe I really am cut out for this? I told myself the entire 6 months after my ((rejection)), that if it came down to a TIE between me and anyone based on essays, my interview was my deal breaker. It wouldn't have taken much to give a better interview than I did last year!
So now what? You guessed it...three more essays!
1. What or how do you Celebrate at Walt Disney World (in October Disney announced it's 2009 promotion of "What will you Celebrate" so this correlated nicely).
2. What is your best memory of your last Disney Vacation.
3. How do you help others plan Disney Vacations.
I can handle this. We had until October 15, 2008 to submit them.
The kicker this time is that we were leaving on October 18 for our Disney Cruise. They had explained in an email that they would be conducting interviews the week of the 27th. So that means....the UPDATE FROM THE WALT DISNEY WORLD MOMS PANEL would probably come some time while I'm on vacation. Uh oh.
I admittedly am one of those people that kinda snarked at the "vacationers" I would seen huddled quietly in the Internet lounge on our previous Disney Cruises. It is vacation what could be so darn important that you waste precious vacation time and hard earned $$$ to log on to the Internet for. Now I know, and I apologize to any of you that have had equally (in your eyes) important business to tend to while on vacation.
Unfortunately my hard earned $$ I spent on horrendously slow satellite Internet service didn't pan out as I had hoped. I diligently checked my email once a day...and there was never an update. I was one of "those vacationers" for nothing.
So we were off to Disney World for a few days. This should be a bit easier to check the emails, I hoped! We arrived on Thursday and were staying at POR for the night. I wasn't able to get internet access there on my iTouch, so it would have to wait until we checked in at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort the next day.
I will say now, that I really have the most wonderful, supportive husband and kids. We ate, and then I wanted to go to the main lobby to pick up the wifi there. Again, the iTouch it is slower than my laptop, and being it's the size of a phone...a bit harder to work with quickly. My children were so patient waiting, thanks guys!
And there it was...
MOMS PANEL UPDATE
On behalf of Walt Disney World® Resort, we would like to congratulate you on making it to the final phase of the selection process for the 2009 Walt Disney World® Moms Panel!
As you know, we received thousands of applications, and you are among the top candidates whose knowledge of – and passion for – Walt Disney World® continues to make a lasting impression on the judging panel. Your expertise and willingness to share the Disney magic is inspirational!
I'm getting a do-over.
Thank you Amy, Duncan & Leanne!
I was contacted by the public relations firm to schedule my interview. It will be on Thursday October 30, 2008.
I wasn't as worried as I thought I would be. I had gone over what I "wished" I had said last year a million times...so I must be better prepared this year, right? I was a bit smarter this year, and actually had my sister Kelsey take the kids to HER house during my interview. Last year I was in my closet trying to keep the commotion of the kiddos muffled. The other thing I did different was made myself note cards. I put lots of random thoughts down to hopefully help trigger some coherent answers when applicable!
The interview was a bit tougher than I had anticipated, but I think I did okay. It is VERY hard to have a conference call interview. You feel as though you have to yell because there is the echo of the room due to their speakerphone. Also since you can't actually see their faces and reactions it's hard to judge when to keep going, or if you are anywhere close to being on target. I was picturing them laughing silently, or rolling their eyes...I'll have to ask them about it later! Anyhow, the interview was certainly better than last year...but still I had some "wish I had said...." moments. It was over, what's done is done.
Now it's just time to
Wait
and
wait
and
wait one last time.
Initially they had given us a week time frame that we would here. Nothing more specific than that. Then we unexpectedly got this email:
We know that you are just as anxious as we are to find out who the 2009 Walt Disney World Moms Panelists are! We will be calling you all tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov 5, to let you know the news.
Yea! I think, I HOPE.
It was sometime around 4PM that day, the phone call came in from a Celebration 407 number. I took the portable phone and ran into my bedroom, and tried to compose myself. I knew the MOMENT I answered the phone, my second chance attempt was worth it. CONGRATULATIONS! Leanne, Laura & Michelle were on the phone, and honestly....I haven't a clue what any of us said!
So after exactly one month after getting the GREAT news, a month that was filled with planning, preparation, emails, faxes & fedex documents - I heading down to Orlando for our training session.
How lucky am I?
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