I'm Singing in the Parks...

It was July 8th.  I had to work at 8:45 pm.  What’s there to do in the meantime?  Go to the Magic Kingdom of course!  So off to MK for opening with two of my roommates.  We went on Space Mountain, met Tiana, got some sorcerer cards, and had a waffle sandwich from Sleepy Hollow.  One roommate left for work, so the two of us then went on Pirates of the Caribbean, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Peter Pan’s Flight, Small World, Winnie the Pooh, and Prince Charming’s Regal Carousel.  Since we were in Fantasyland we decided to have some ice cream from Storybook Treats (great lunch, don’t you think?).  With a chocolate soft serve cone in hand we headed to Main Street and danced in the Move It!  Shake It!  Celebrate It!  Street Party.  Some other attractions we went on were the PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Dumbo.  A few weeks ago the Casey Junior Splash area opened, so we decided to walk through…  Dang, you get soaked.  So smart of Disney to sell towels right nearby!  A few days ago Dumbo started using Fastpass and the inside of the tent opened up.  The play area inside is legit – I haven’t looked around too much yet, but it seems pretty awesome.  My roommate and I stopped at Cosmic Ray’s for a bite to eat before heading back to POTC to buy a few things…

We split up after this because my other roommate had to go to work.  I took the monorail back to the Grand Floridian to do some more shopping… 

I love this resort and could literally spend all day in here.  Once my credit card had been significantly abused I grabbed a bus home, got ready for work, and turned right back around to the Magic Kingdom for work until 2:45 am!  A tiring, but fantastic day.   

On the 11th my roommate and I went to the Orlando Premium Outlets nearby.  It is pretty close to our apartment; only about a 15 minute walk and it’s right across from Publix.  There are a ton of nice stores there – Nautica, Ralph Lauren, Coach, Juicy Couture, etc… Here is the link: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=17
I went to American Eagle and bought 3 shirts for $14 – love the clearance section. 

Afterward we went to Animal Kingdom and rode Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl and watched Finding Nemo:  The Musical.  We also went on Expedition Everest twice; once in the front, once in the back… boy you can really feel that force when you’re in the back seat – such a great attraction.  By this point there was only one hour left before the park closed, so we decided to grab some food.  Luckily Yak and Yeti was still open and had plenty of available seating.  I have always wanted to eat here and was not disappointed!  The food was absolutely delicious, although the service lacked a bit; still a great experience nonetheless.  Once dinner was over we hopped on a bus to the TTC and went to MK to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade.  In the meantime we went on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer twice.  We each had a sundae from the Plaza and enjoyed it while watching the parade on Main Street.  What an ending to a wonderful day!

My last day off for this week was the 12th.  This was a very special day because we had lunch reservations for Restaurant Marrakesh in Morocco; there were 6 of us total; me and three roommates and a girl from France who works with one of my roommates, along with her friend.  The girl from France is also part Moroccan, so she speaks fluent Arabic and could talk right along with our servers.  As the 6 of us walked into Epcot it began to pour… thank goodness none of us brought ponchos and were too cheap to buy some.  So we decided to walk all the way there in the pouring rain so we wouldn’t miss our reservation.  Let’s just say we were a little bit wet by the time we got to Morocco… we tried to dry off as best we could and made ourselves presentable before checking in.  We were seated in a nearly empty restaurant, close to the stage where the belly dancer performs – she was insane!  I have no clue how anyone can move like that.  Anyway, the reason we came to Marrakesh… the food.  I had the chef’s lunch special and it was delicious!  I would definitely come back here because the food was divine and the service was fantastic.      

We had finally just started to dry off, until it began raining again.  We stopped at the store in Japan (no purchases for me!), where my roommates and I split up from our other two friends.  We then proceeded to create our own rollercoaster at the Sum of all Thrills and ride Spaceship Earth.  On the way out we made the spontaneous decision to go to the Magic Kingdom.  We got off at the TTC, decided we were getting very tired, and went to Property Control instead.  I spent a whopping 1 dollar and 34 cents!  Once we were back home, I heated up leftovers from Yak and Yeti, made potato soup, picked up my room, and entered all the money I’ve spent into my budget. 

And that brings us to the 13th…  Since I didn’t work until 5:45 I decided to go to the Magic Kingdom!  I went and got my sorcerer cards for the day and defeated Cruella on Main Street.  Luckily I also ran into the Dapper Dans and Citizens of Main Street!  Some of my favorites were working, so I was really excited to see them.  How I love knowing Dapper Dans….  I then went to Adventureland and watched Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial.  At the end when everyone is singing he totally came over to the side where I was standing and propped his foot up on the barrel next to me.  He starred into my eyes and sang, while I about passed out….

I then had lunch at Pecos Bill (yay for kid’s meals), walked through Swiss Family Treehouse, and then got chocolate cake from the Main Street Bakery.  As I was eating my cake in the alley way on Main Street, the Philharmonic came out and decided to play Zip-a-Dee-Do-Dah (quite fitting, if I do say so myself). 

I then hopped on a bus from the Grand Floridian to costuming.  I went and got milk and bananas from Cast Connections, returned a costume and got two new ones, and made it just in time for the bus back home.  The bus came at 4:20, so I still had plenty of time before I had to leave for work.

Speaking of work, I’m working straight through until next Wednesday… yay for working 45 hours – can’t wait for that paycheck!  Hope you all have a magical night and enjoyed reading about my days at the parks.  :)

The King Has Returned

Sorry for the lack of updates!  I’ve been working quite a bit lately and yesterday I had my first 12 hour shift.  Luckily it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be.  Work goes by very quickly, especially when you are in rotation.  Over the past week I’ve gotten to talk to some very nice folks.  I met a family while I was standing at the exit; the grandparents had brought their granddaughter for her first time (well technically it was her second time, but she was very little when she first visited so it doesn’t really count)!  She just finished her freshman year at college, so I told her about the college program and that she should look into it.  The grandmother was SO excited and definitely wants her granddaughter to do it.  Their whole family are Disney fanatics, so they were so happy to learn more about the program.  I have also had the pleasure of talking to families from England and Ireland.  I just love their accents and could listen to them all day!

I had the 4th and 5th of July off this past week.  Definitely a much needed break!  My roommates and I spent the majority of the 4th cleaning because inspections were the following day (I’ll let you know about that in another post).  I made a cake for us and four of us ordered pizza and had a “family” dinner in the living room. 

Later that night, three of us went to the Magic Kingdom!  Kind of a poor decision because it was PACKED.  You literally couldn’t walk through Fantasyland right before the fireworks.  And speaking of fireworks… they were amazing!  I was lucky enough to watch them on the 3rd from Splash Mountain; 360 degree fireworks… absolutely stunning.  We also went to a Pirate Tutorial because they were having them in the evening.  So in love… 

Afterward we tried to leave and go to Epcot to see their fireworks.  Since the park was packed, everyone decided to leave at the same time.  We were going to take the monorail or ferry over to the TTC, but the lines were insane.  Instead we took a bus to the Boardwalk, but didn’t arrive until 10:15.  No worries though, we ended up getting ice cream so it was worth it.  Worth it until the bus never arrived to take us home… there were four buses that passed us, so we ended up waiting almost two hours to get home.  Gotta love the bus system.

On the 5th I went to the Magic Kingdom with a roommate. 

We watched the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade, played the Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game (I got some ridiculous cards… Flynn Rider’s frying pans, Tiana’s hot sauce, Pocahontas’ colors of the wind, Aladdin’s magic lamp – so awesome), saw the Dapper Dans (love them),

watched Philarmagic and went on Jungle Cruise, and had an ice cream cookie sandwich.  We then caught a bus from the Contemporary, dropped off some costumes at Costuming, and went to Property Control (but that’s another post folks).  Once we were back home we went to Walmart and made a fabulous dinner of pork chops, baked potatoes with bacon, scallions, and cheddar cheese, and spinach dip with Italian bread.     

Yup, so those were my days off.  They were a lot of fun and surprisingly productive.  I’m working today from 4:45 – 10:45 (love it when MK closes early), so I’m going to sign off, fold laundry, and get ready for work.  Have a magical day everyone!

Earned My Ears

Watch out Frontierland…  I have officially earned my ears!  That’s right folks; I can now operate and perform all the roles at Splash Mountain.  Quite exciting if you ask me!  Even though the “earning my ears” badge is a bit of a safety net, I’m glad that I’m finally able to remove it and start working on my own.  Training was fun and all, but I’d like to get into a normal routine. 

Oh, and something funny I forgot to mention.  Yesterday in the middle of my assessment Splash Mountain decided to breakdown (what luck!  Haha).  Due to technical difficulties the entire attraction had to be reset, but since it was taking too long the managers actually made the final decision to evacuate the guests.  So, breakdown, ride reset, and evacuation… all during my assessment.  Made for an interesting morning let me tell you. 

Once I had passed my assessment and met with a manager I actually started my first rotation.  I ended up grouping guests into boats for 30 minutes and it went very well.  :D

Park Time

Since I’ve had some time off, I have finally been able to spend some time in the parks!  On Friday I went to the Magic Kingdom in the afternoon.  I tried to catch a bus around 2:00 so I could watch the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade; this however didn’t quite work out.  You see, President Obama decided to come to a conference at the Contemporary and when he was ready to leave they actually closed I-4 so he could get to the airport, naturally causing a huge delay in traffic.  After waiting an hour for three buses that never showed up, I jumped on a bus to the Caribbean Beach Resort.  As we made our way over there it began to pour…  Once we arrived I took the internal shuttle to one of the bus stops and only waited about a minute for a Magic Kingdom bus to arrive.  Yay!  I finally arrived around 4:00, 2 hours late… No worries though! 

The rain had let up a little, but I still donned my poncho.  I entered the park through the Cast Member entrance (so legit) and browsed through some shops on Main Street.  Unfortunately I had missed the parade and since it was raining I figured there wouldn’t be any pirate tutorials or the flag retreat.  I headed over to Adventureland and went to the Enchanted Tiki Room; I am really glad they restored this to its original version (let’s all sing like the birdies sing – so good!).  Afterwards I went to Pirates of the Caribbean, but was deterred by the 30 minute wait.  Instead I walked back through Main Street and went to the Carousel of Progress.  Since I was in Tomorrowland, I also went on the Peoplemover – a great attraction to get out of the rain or to just take a break from the park.  Once I had gotten off I went over to Space Mountain and got a Fastpass for later.  It was almost 6:00 at this point, so I declared it time for dinner. 

Columbia Harbour House it is!  This is one of my favorite quick service restaurants because the whole place is nautical themed and you really feel like you’re inside a ship.  My favorite place to sit is on the second floor above the walkway from Fantasy to Liberty Square.  I ordered the Lobster Roll here:

It was after dinner that I finally got to go on Pirates!  The wait was listed as 25 minutes but I walked on.  I then headed back to Main Street, stopped for a shortened version of Dream Along with Mickey,

and went to Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor.  This show is full of puns, so I loved it!  Afterwards I took the back walkway to Fantasyland and rode the WDW Railroad all the way around while I waited for my Fastpass time to roll around.  After riding Space Mountain it was time for dessert.  What better place than the Plaza Ice Cream Parlour?

Once I had finished devouring this luscious sundae it was time for the Main Street Electric Parade.  I love this parade, especially since Pete and Elliot are in it!

Then it was time to head home.  I hopped on the monorail and caught a bus from the Polynesian.  I was pretty tired by the time I reached my apartment, so I went to bed immediately because I had an exciting day coming up.

Alrighty, onto Saturday!  I woke up early, along with two of my roommates.  Why would we get up early on a day off?  Because we had reservations for Kouzzina at The Boardwalk!  This was my first time dining here, so I was very excited.  This restaurant is amazing – the food is absolutely delicious!    

After a filling breakfast, we hopped on a Friendship boat to Epcot.  My roommates had never been here before, so this was very exciting for both of them. 

Our first attraction of the day:  Mission Space. 

Since we had just eaten we went on the more mild Green version.  Once we were strapped in, we all took our roles very seriously.  I’m happy to report that we made it to Mars safe and sound.  We then went to The Seas with Nemo and Friends, rode the clammobile, saw Turtle Talk with Crush (adorable), and watched the fish swimming around. 

Then it was time to go around the World – 11 countries in only a few hours.  While in Italy we met the Ziti Sisters.  Guess who got dragged into the show.  Yup, this guy!   

And yes, we may have gotten a Duffy and stopped to have it stamped at all the Kidcot stops…

No big deal, Duffy is awesome. 

Once we had reached our final country, we headed back to The Boardwalk and caught a bus home.  After a bit I went to Walmart, had some dinner (tomato soup and a sandwich!), and then went to Downtown Disney with another roommate.  We both bought some pins and then had some ice cream before coming home for the night.  Productive day wouldn’t you say?

Unfortunately there is a tropical storm headed our way, so it has been raining all day long.  That ruled out the parks for me.  So I caught up on sleep, cleaned the kitchen, made a chicken broccoli braid and chocolate pie, and uploaded my pictures.  I have to work at 9 am tomorrow, so I’ll probably head to bed soon.  Have a magical night!

Training: Check!

Yesterday was my last day of training!  I’ve gone through all the positions required for this attraction and feel very comfortable with all of them and I know the majority of show scenes, doors, and staircases in case of emergency.  I have my assessment on Monday, so hopefully I’ll be fine with a bit of extra studying. 

Life in the Disney College Program is tiring!  I have worked for the past 7 days straight (usually 8 hours per day), mostly starting before 7 am…  I go to work, come home, surf on the internet for a bit, make dinner, and go to sleep.  Wake up and repeat, multiply by 7 and you have my life for the past week.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it here; I just don’t want anyone to come here and think they are just going to play in the parks all the time.  In fact, I’ve only been to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios once, for a few hours each.  Before I started working, I figured I would be going to the parks whenever I had a chance; but in reality it just isn’t feasible.  Thankfully I have today, tomorrow, and the next day off – Sweet!  I slept in today and plan on going to the Magic Kingdom later; even though I work here, I love this park!  Tomorrow I’m going to Kouzzina at the Boardwalk with 2 of my roommates, so I’m very excited about that:  hello cast member dining discount! 

That’s all for now folks.  Have a Splashtastic day…couldn’t resist ;)

More and More Training...

Howdy there partners!  Hope y’all are having a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah day !  (Did you see what I did there?  Definitely in character, wouldn’t you say?) 

For the past two days I’ve been having my Splash Mountain Training… gosh, that’s weird now that I think about it – it definitely feels like I’ve been there for a week at least.  Anyway, my Frontierland group was split up, so now there are only two of us in our group.  We have learned how to greet people, how to maintain the Fastpass line, how to load and unload guests, the basics of wheelchair assistance, where strollers go, proper attire for riding the attraction, and the height requirement (40 inches).  Yesterday we learned the opening procedures and today we took a walkthrough of the attraction.  We need to know all the scenes, the drops, stairwells, and exits for the safety of our guests and for ourselves, especially when powering up the attraction.  I wouldn’t want to be in the way of an incoming log, would you?  All in all there is a ton of information to learn, but I still have a few days of training left to master it all.  I’ve got a pretty good idea of the layout, so that’s good.  Tomorrow I have training at 6:30 followed by a 5:30 shift, so I definitely need some sleep.  Working at WDW is a tiring job; tiring, but satisfying.  Once I’m done training I’ll have worked for 7 straight days, but thankfully I have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.  Then I can finally go to the parks!  Well, that’s all for now folks, have a magical evening!