Work: Day 1

Today was my first day of work - and I, in outdoor foods, somehow scored an air-conditioned pavilion (awwwwwwe yeaahhhhhh). I will be moved around every day, so it's not my permanent home, but next week, at least 4/5 days at work are in air conditioning! :)

Today I was up and at 'em by 7am, needing to leave the house by 7:55. I caught the bus no problem and had time to drop off my lunch in my locker at Cast Service before making my way to the ODF Base backstage. There I met my trainer for the day, Alex. He was wonderful to work with. The other trainee on our team, Sharon, was actually a transfer from a fast food restaurant in Epcot, so already knows what she's doing. She just technically needs to be trained for ODF, even though she's done it all before.

We got to our home for the day by 10am, and didn't open up until 11. We spent that hour putting the ice cream machine together and getting popcorn ready to go. We put out condiments and made sure we had enough cups - anyone who has ever worked in fast food knows what I'm talking about. It poured rain at one point in the morning and it was wonderful to be under cover. I'll have to pick up rain gear for tomorrow. I was using the register for most of the day, since that's the most important thing to be comfortable with right off the bat. It was pretty easy to pick up though, because I've been on cash at different retail locations before.

The worst part, however, was those stupid 1$ bills!! I lost count of the number of times I went looking for loonies or toonies for change. My first instinct was "oh no! I'm out of those coins!" But no, I just need to get used to having a bill for those. Silly Americans.

For break we sat outside, and I was hungry, because my break wasn't long enough to go back and get what I'd brought to eat... but my shift was a shorter than normal shift so I knew I could just wait it out. Both Alex and Sharon were great and answered little questions about working at Epcot for me :)

After break we went back to the air conditioning, and I was practically chilled. In Florida. In almost June. I think I'm getting used to this heat thing. At 3:30pm, we were done for the day, and Alex showed me how to bank out, and put my money in the right spot and receipts given to the right people. Then we clocked out and I was done my first shift!

I was going to meet Natalie for an evening at Epcot so I had brought a change of clothes with me and left them in my locker. But when I got back to the Cast Services building and back into a wifi zone, I had a message saying she'd gone to MK instead. So, I took my time eating the lunch I'd brought and shopping at Company D (the cast discount store backstage). I also signed out a few more costumes - the one that I had signed out originally had been 'okayed' by Franceso; and was wayyyyy too big. A size 16ish. And the belt, which he had measured to fit at my waist, was too small. It fit around my waist, but I have a high waist, and so where the belt fit comfortable, the shorts didn't go up that high! So, I got different sizes today for tomorrow and next week. I also found out that my red Staples outfit is only for training! I'll have something more exciting when I'm done after next week :)

I left my back back and costumes in the locker, got changed and went out into the park for a few minutes. I have a new app on my iPod that is maps of the Disney parks and that also gives you ride wait-times. It's very handy, and showed me that the test track wait for single riders was only 20 minutes. I knew i wanted to try it before my family came, so I hopped in line :) While in line, I met two other CPs, Dakota and Chole. Once they found out I was from Canada they immediately wanted to know how I was handling the heat, and why I didn't have an accent. The folks I had been working with earlier had commented on my lack of accent as well, and I guess I'm just not very exciting. But then I said 'eh' in conversation with the CPs and redeemed my Canadian self ;) I also told them I played hockey and frequented Tim Hortons; it was very exciting to them to have met a real live Canadian ;)

Once I got on the ride, I was split from Dakota and Chloe and ended up beside a very nice man from North Carolina. He's at Disney with his daughter, but she didn't want to ride Test Track and he wanted to try it out. He asked me how long I was here for, and I told him all summer and that I was a Cast Member from Canada. He thought that was awesome! He asked me a bunch of questions bout the program and how I found out about it, and was very impressed I came all the way to Florida by myself :) It was a fun ride, and again my favorite part was there fast bit, just like last time we were here :)

After the Test Track, I walked through MouseGear (the big merchandise store in Epcot) and Facetimed Mom and Dad for a quick second. up until then I had been debating waiting and watching the fireworks, but I wanted to get home and talk to them without internet glitches :) So, I hopped the cast bus (which was sitting there outside as I arrived!) and came home! I just finished talking with them and I think I'll call it an early night tonight.

All in all, my first day of work went very well! Hopefully my trainer tomorrow will be just as nice. I won't be air conditioned tomorrow, so hopefully I won't find it too hot!! Now I'm off to play some video games and call it a night :)

Double parks, double exhaustion.

Another day gone by, another park, but this is the first day when I have felt exhausted. I was tired after my long MK stretch, and I was tired on the late nights and early mornings. But this evening, I am just exhausted.

Right down to my bones. I thought I was dehydrated at first, but after half a bottle of water I had to pee. After another half I had to pee again. So I thought maybe I was hungry. But I threw out half the meal I bought. Maybe I'm just tired... But I've had nine+ hours of sleep the past two nights.

I think I just miss home. I haven't been homesick in a while, and I thought the facetiming my family would make it stay away longer than a week and a half. Sigh.

But today I saw the Beach Club. And not having them here really sucks.

I slept in this morning until 11am or so, which was wonderful :) I got up and got ready for the day: I had a plan! I picked up my main gate passes (to let my family into the parks) from the service desk and caught a bus to Hollywood Studios. I jumped into the single riders line at the Rockin' Roller Coaster and was on the thing in less than 5 minutes. The regular line was over an hour wait time! It was a much shorter ride than I remember, but I was terrified last time ;)

The upside down and corkscrews were so much fun I jumped right back into single riders line as soon as I was done. 10 minutes later, I was done again :) single riders are put into seats on a need-spaces-filled basis, and the second time around I was placed next to a girl whose mom and brother were in the seats in front of us. Her mom does not like roller coasters, and just as we were about to take off, the girl told me she hadn't told her mom that it went upside down ;) She was not impressed with her daughter when it finished!

The second time was more fun than the first, and I would have gone again, but the Beauty and the Beast play was about to start :) I ran to the theatre and quickly found a seat. The place was packed, but I found a spot on the end only three rows back :) it's a very well done show!! There were some key pieces missing, which we would expect from a 25 minute summary stage production of a movie, but it was still wonderful. (And by key pieces I mean only the pieces a fan would really care about... The ballroom scene was done after the transformation, for example. It was still very good though.)

After the play, I left HS and took a boat towards the Yacht and Beach Clubs. I got off at the Swan and Dolphin was walked to the Boardwalk, seeing the Beach Club across the water :) I window shopped for a bit as I made my way over the bridge and to our resort :) I got a milkshake at the ice cream cafe-thing by the pool and stuck my head into Cape May. It was weird to not have my family with me, again.

Now THAT's a milkshake.

I followed the pathway to Epcot and entered through the back gates. Epcot is the only park with two sets of gates and the back gates are usually what my family uses to enter the park :) I wanted to check out the line for Soarin' and maybe grab a fast pass while I waited for Natalie to finish work and meet me for Illuminations. But, when I got there, the fast passes were already gone for the day, and the wait was 90 minutes. Yeah, I don't think so.

So, I dallied for a few minutes, went on Living with the Land, the Seas with Nemo, and hung around the aquarium for a while. The aquarium at Epcot is actually one of the biggest in North America. So big, you can put the Epcot ball in it with room to spare! I watch the dolphins for a while and took some pictures of the manatees. But the exhaustion jut hit me like a wave. And I knew that illuminations wasn't for another three hours.

I decided it wasn't worth it. Going home, talking to my family and getting to bed early was a better idea.

So, I messaged Natalie (I hope she got it in time!!) and headed home. I hit a snag though, I don't know how to get home from Epcot when I'm there at a guest!! I'm not allowed backstage, which is where my bus leaves from! There must be a door I'm allowed to use, but I don't know where it is.

So, I hopped on the monorail (chosen because it was arriving as I was deciding between it and a bus) and went to the MK parking lot, also known as the TTC, or Ticket and Transportation Center. I knew there was a cast bus that left from there, but I didn't know where from. So after lots of help from friendly Disney employees and asking a random stranger who was sitting where I was told to wait if they were a College Programmer, I got on a bus home. The nice thing was that my complex was the first stop after the TTC so it was an uneventful trip home. I wrote most of this post while waiting at the bus stop, actually ;)

So now I will try to contact my family, and hit the sack early. I have to wok tomorrow, so hopefully that goes well. Emily's sister is here for two weeks, so I will be able to go to sleep and wake up when I please without worrying about disturbing someone else :) hopefully I can kick this exhaustion before it gets out if hand! Goodnight :)

Relaxing Disney.

Today I got to sleep in! YAY! And I cleaned up my room, so now it doesn't look like a hurricane went through here. Yay! And I cleaned the kitchen, so now it's done for another week! Yay! And I went to Downtown Disney to get my fix for the day! YAY!

It was a wonderfully relaxing day. Emily, Sam and Natalie all had work in the morning and so I wasn't feeling like I was missing out on anything by sleeping in (and, it was pouring rain when I woke up so I didn't feel the need to rush anywhere!) Emily came home around noon and declined my invite to come with me to DTD, which was perfectly okay. I don't mind aimless wandering by myself!

I tidied up my room before I left, and Emily vacuumed while I was gone, so now it's all clean :) We set up a cleaning schedule for the housemates, and I will be cleaning the kitchen every week. This was actually a strategic decision on my part: even though it might mean more work in the long run, it's a weekly event and so I don't have to worry about whether or not it's my turn. The other 5 roommates are taking turns each week vacuuming and mopping the floors and making sure the rest of the common areas are clean. So, even though I have to do my job every week, it's slightly less work and it's on a regular schedule so that I won't forget! It also means I don't have to carry a vacuum and mop from the front desk to our apartment on my week ;) My brain gets much less stressed out when I know exactly what is expected of me and exactly when it is expected. Clean the kitchen every week: gotcha. No stress :)

I set off for DTD around 3:30pm, just to walk around and take a look. The first store I went into had both a life-size version of Belle and a human-sized version of Lumiere! It was wonderful :) The store is called World of Disney and it's absolutely huge - it has three or four different entrances and there's a guide map of the store by each entrance. Craziness.

I want it. I don't think they'll let it on the plane somehow.

I wandered through the streets, in and out of several stores; jewelry, chocolate, glass-making, sports, clothes. I bought my first Disney souvenir: a flowing, purple Belle t-shirt :) I had seen the pink Aurora, the teal Cinderella, the blue Snow White and had been very upset that there was no Belle... but there is! And I found it!

 Don't worry, Mom! The Mr. Potato Head store is still in business! I checked especially for you. And even made sure I had photographic evidence. This has been a huge hit with my family ever since we discovered it :)

I almost bought rice krispie treats in Goofy's candy store but managed to resist even though it was close to supper time. I was able to try the Coca-cola slushie though. It was sooooo good. A little odd without the fizz, but beautiful on the hot day.

Yummmm.

Next, I visited the Days of Christmas store, because I've been missing the Disney Christmas decor so much!! It made me feel better almost immediately when I walked inside to hear Disney Christmas music. (Honestly, when my family comes to Disney it's basically perfect. My three favorite things on the entire planet: my family, Christmas and Disney. All in one place. Yup.)

The Lego store was next! Every time I'm here I love seeing the new creations they have on display; every one is made with thousands and thousands of normally sized Lego pieces!! This year there is Woody and Buzz and the Hulk inside the store, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Woody and Buzz strapped to the rocket with RC, and the most impressive of all, prince Philip on his horse fighting Maleficent as the dragon. So cool!

I wandered through the stores of both the Rainforest Cafe and the T-Rex restaurant, but didn't buy anything. There was an animatronic T-rex in the front entrance which was very cool. There wasn't a velociraptor model though, which was highly disappointing. There was however a build-a-dino section of the store where I could make my own velociraptor plushie (think build-a-bear style)! He wasn't very cute though, which is too bad. But I might go back anyway! (There's a 2013 grad teddy bear I have my eye on though, so we'll see!) As I was about to leave though, it began to pour. I decided to wait out the rain inside the store, and so did everyone else. It became very crowded very fast, and I found my way into a corner with internet as I messaged dad and waited for the rain to stop.

He had a big head, and little arms!

When I got home, I skyped Mom, which turned out to be a whole family affair! We talked Disney, work, home, and everything in between :) I miss you guys!!!!

All in all, a very successful day. Got my Disney fix, slept in, did some cleaning up. I actually just got back from a late night trip to the grocery store with my roommates - I've been out of milk for several days and couldn't take it any longer! But now I'm home again and ready for bed. Another full day ahead, but I plan to sleep in again :)

Days are getting cooler and shorter.

Well, not really. The days are still 24 hours, and the weather is still hot. But I'm adjusting, and today I was home before 11pm. So, shorter and cooler!

Today I had training from 8-2:30, which made another 5:30am wake up call for me. The last three days in a row have been 5:30 and the day before that was 6:30. Too early for this night owl. Getting into the cast entrance is like trying to enter a prison! Big thick bars and needing to swipe the key card to get in.

Training was done with Franceso, a very Italian man with a smile for everyone and advice for the newbies: make connections. Get to know everyone. If you don't know them, get to. If you do, find out something new. All the connections you make can only ever be helpful. He knew all the ladies in costuming and greeted them all in their native language. He conversed in English, Italian and Spanish, whichever the other person was comfortable with. He joked and laughed and said hello to everyone walking by.

I've heard of the importance of networking before, but this was the first time I saw it in action. Part of my costume is a white baseball cap (yay!), but all the ones in the drawer were yellowed with sweat and bent from the washer. Franceso told us to stay put, and he went over and started chatting up two of the costuming cast members. Before I knew it, he was coming back with six brand new white hats; one for each of us. As he handing them to us, he looked each of us in the eye and said one word: "Networking". Having connections and being polite to people gets you things. Welcome to the team, Stephanie. Start networking asap.

I also found out that instead of just the boring red polo, I actually have four different costumes! The red shirted "Staples outfit", a blue shirt with colored shapes, a brown shirt with more of a safari striped feel, and the classic Epcot flags shirt. All with khaki or white shorts, my white sneakers, and the white hat. I'm very happy with the mix; keeps it interesting but there's nothing embarrassing to wear ;) 

After we picked up our costumes, we stuck them in our new lockers and spent several hours on the computer with e-courses. While important for us to know how to check IDs and use the registers, etc. it was very boring. I got to know my fellow ODF's - Jess, Kirstie, Deanna, Carlos and Eduardo. They were all lovely! A mix of Americans and Mexicans, we talked about our cultures and they were all very interested in Canada. The Mexican boys wanted to know if all girls up here were as polite as what they had seen so far. A girl holding a door or refusing an offered bus seat is unheard of in Mexico, apparently. The women there expect the boys to do all that. Even small differences can seem huge when you are thrust into another world entirely.

Our other coordinator, Maribi, then showed us around the park and pointed out a few of our snack kiosks! They all look wonderfully shaded and pick up a nice breeze. That and the baseball hat, and I think I'll be just fine! :)


After training, I came home and was able to facetime with Dad for a few minutes before getting ready to go to Hollywood Studios (HS) with Sam and Natalie! We grabbed the bus and were there in no time. We passed by the Beach club and I tried to get a picture of the sign from the bus, but I don't know if it turned out well ;)

This was Sam's first real trip to HS (the rush to and from Fantasmic last time doesn't really count!) and she was floored again. Everything Disney does is wonderful, so I'm not surprised! We made out way up the stores and over to the Rockin' Roller Coaster. When we lined up, the wait said 40 minutes, but it soon changed to 2 hours, so we ducked back out of line and made out way to the Tower of Terror.

For those who don't know, I've been stuck in an elevator before. And I watch a lot of action movies where the elevators actually does crash and burn. So, a ride where the elevator falls and rises and falls again does not appeal to me. I made it about halfway up the line before I had to duck out and leave. I waited for Sam and Natalie at the exit. They came out all excited and pumped full of adrenaline... but I bought a brownie cupcake while I waited for them, so I was happy :)

We sat in and watched the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which is a show comprised of real actors, puppets, and pieces of the film. It's a 15 minute summary of the movie, and it's very well done. It has hardly changed at all in over a decade :) Sam bought her first Mickey Bar! It was a momentous occasion and called for leisurely strolling while they were munched on.

Natalie and Sam

When they were finished, we got in line for Star Tours! No one was in line and we practically walked right onto the ride! I didn't realize that Sam was a huge Star Wars fan until tonight! (Natalie too, but Sam especially!) She was in awe of everything; the ATAT that towers over you, the R2 units beside the queue. The ride itself is an adventure trying to escape from the Empire and has been redone since my last trip to Disney; I quite enjoyed it. I think it would make me very dizzy with more than one round though.

3D space glasses. Super awesome.

After Star tours and a photo-op on the pod racer, we found a little store tucked away in a corned call the Writer's Stop; a store of cooking supplies, books, and coffee. It smelled divine and was completely empty. Sam bought a Disney guide and hasn't unglued her eyes from it since we got home :) I can't wait to go back and try their carrot-cake-cookie-cream-cheese-frosting-sandwich. Yummmm.

I'd been craving movie popcorn for days and finally got some on the way to Fantasmic :) It was a little cold, but delicious! We reached the seating area, and the cast member attempted to direct us alllllll the way to the far end of the amphitheater. I asked politely if we could instead sit on the near end, since I knew we'd be rushing for the bus at the end of the show, and it seemed just as empty as the far end. He kindly explained that the view would be similar from either side. I looked at him and told him that was fine, but, sighhh, I'd just prefer to sit on this side. *Insert subtle eyelash flutter here*. Poor guy didn't stand a chance ;)

Just kidding, it probably had nothing to do with me. But, I got a "you have family waiting for you down there? Yes, I bet you do. Go right ahead!" and a smile :) Sam and Natalie both wanted to know "what did you say to him?!" Clearly I need to keep that dangerous eyelash flutter in check ;)

Fantasmic was wonderful, again! Natalie hadn't seen it in years and years and I love her reactions to all things Disney! Very awed-five-year-old type reactions. We're very similar that way, I think! We got out of the park in good time (thanks to that lovely guy who let us sit on the close end!) and made it to the bus stop just as the bus was pulling up. We got on no problem, and it was SO much nicer than having to wait two hours for enough space on a bus. From now on I think we'll do the earlier Fantasmic show of the night!!

And so, now I'm home! I have the day off tomorrow and it's supposed to pour rain, so I plan to sleep in!!!! Yay! I'll also clean my room, get some groceries, blog the few days I've missed, and perhaps go to Downtown Disney (DTD) if the sun comes out :) Goodnight all, I miss you!

Balancing work and play!

Today, I was up stupid early (again) and off to Epcot for my 'Discovery Day'! I learned a lot about Epcot and how it was imagined at first. It was Walt's dream, and unfortunately, he never got to see that dream come true as he passed away soon after he started planning it. The Experimental Prototype Community Of Tomorrow (EPCOT) was meant to be a place where all the newest technologies could be displayed and all the not-yet-invented-ideas could be thought up. However, Walt also wanted a World Showcase. And there wasn't enough money to do both. So, now we have Epcot (no longer an acronym) which is both in one park! We went as a group around Epcot so they could show us around, some other great fact about Epcot were shared, we rode Spaceship Earth as a tour group (the ride inside the Epcot ball), and the secret thing happened. I had to swear on Mickey Mouse not to tell anyone, so I won't say another word, but now I will remember that it happened :)

Instead of having to walk around the World Showcase, we were blessed ot be able to take a boat! It is not a normal tour they do, but there was an extra boat and the captain very kindly allowed us on board before he officially opened for the day :) We learned some things about each showcase location and were back around the lagoon before we knew it!

After the tour and orientation was finished, I got my piece of paper with my costume look on it! I was both relieved and disappointed that my costume is not wacky - it's a red polo, beige shorts and white shoes and baseball cap. Staples has followed me to Disney! It's a good thing I look good in red ;) ! I met some new friends who are also working ODF, Kirstie and Jess, and took the bus home with them.

When I got home, I worked on this blog a little bit, and got ready to go back to MK again! Even though I had just spent 14 hours there, I couldn't wait to go back :) Sam and I went together, and other than our quick see Wishes rush the night before, she had never been! We went to the long store on Main Street and I was able to Facetime my dad for a few minutes before the internet (and sound quality) went wonky. As we made out way up the street, there was a character show going on in front of the castle that we stopped to watch. My family doesn't usually stop for these kinds of things, so it was fun to see :) I messaged Natalie to tell her where we were, as she was coming to meet us. She arrived just as the parade on Main Street started, and the three of us had a perfect seat on the curb to watch the characters and dancers go by. Sam was over the moon about being able to see a parade and a show on her first day in MK!

The three of us went into the shops on the other side of Main Street and found the hat store! We had a great time trying on hats and ears until we decided to go to Tomorrowland for supper, and eat at Cosmic Rays. On the way to Tomorrowland, I got a message form Emily saying she was also on her way over! So the three of us too a small detour and got on the PeopleMover; a slow moving ride above Tomorrowland. It was Sam's first ride, and it gave her a great view of all the rides and such in that part of MK. Halfway through Space Mountain though, the ride suddenly stopped and you could hear all the scream from people on the roller coaster... Sam says, "I want to do that one!" Natalie and I have no problem with that! But we decide to wait for Emily before we get fast passes so that all four of us can do it together :)

We were starving so when we got off the PeopleMover and get to Cosmic Rays, we didn't wait for Emily to order dinner. I had another bacon cheeseburger (yummmmmm) and when Emily finally got there, we let her eat and left her with Sam while Natalie and I took all four of our park passes and when to get fast passes for Space Mountain. Natalie and I think very much alike and knew as soon as I started suggesting that Sam wait at the table that the next thing I was goingt o suggest would be splitting up and getting fast passes; turns out both of our moms commonly say, "Alright everyone, go get in line and I'll go get fast passes" on Disney trips. Thanks Momma!

After dinner we still had a while to wait before our fast passes were valid, so we wandered up towards Fantasyland. We took our picture by the Merida character spot and realized that, while visiting a foreign country, we somehow found all Canadians to hang out with!

The first ride you see as you enter Fantasyland from our angle is the Teapots! The line wasn't very long and so we had a time and a half trying to fit four grown women into one teacup! We made it though, and I think one of us has a picture of all four of us shoved into it!

Found it! Sam's camera :)

Natalie loves spinning, Emily; not so much ;)

After the teacups, Natalie and I showed Sam New Fantasyland; Emily waited outside because she wanted to wait to see it with her sister! So as we hurried through, I found Gaston's chair! A fixture I hadn't noticed when I went through Gaston's tavern the last time. I had to get a picture, and I wanted so badly for the song to be playing - but alas, it was not. Next time, maybe! ;)

We took a very quick stroll by Ariel's castle but didn't stay long because we knew Emily was waiting. When we reached her again, we decided that Sam needed to see an original Disney World ride - Small World. It has hilariously bad animatronics, and almost scratchy record quality; but it is a classic, and you only have to do it once :) Sam actually loved it and I'm glad we showed it to her!

After Small World, I was anxious to do Mickey's Philhar Magic again! It's in the same area, doesn't take long and our fast pass time was still about a half hour away. I was very hyper and excited and so was Natalie. We both decided that dinosaurs is the best way to be, especially in 3D. The actual show was just as fabulous as I remember, and I could still see the 3D stuff, which was even more awesome this time around. Natalie loves the show any way and both Sam and Emily thought it was cute so it was a good choice for all of us :)

MnNah.

When we got out it was time for Space Mountain! The fast pass lane was moving quickly and we were ready to get into our seats before we knew it. I got the front seat, which was very exciting for me - the front seat on Space is my favorite place to be! We decided that we'd play dead for the camera, and the picture turned out fabulously! Both Sam and Emily's first roller coaster of the trip was a success!

We got off Space Mountain just as the Electric Parade was going to start - and Natalie and I knew that this would be the best time to see the wait times for Thunder and Splash. Sam and Emily however, wanted to watch the parade and make sure we had good seats for the fireworks. The beauty of having four people, is you can split up and still have everyone with a buddy... so that's what we did. Natalie and I knew we were going to have to cross the parade route in order to get to Thunder, so we raced to the other side of the castle plaza to get to the road before the parade got there. We made it just as the lights were going out and the ropes were going up! We ran almost all the way to Thunder, and when we got there the line was next to nothing. We only waited 10 minutes to get on a train! When the ride was over, we looked up as we were getting off and realized that we would be able to just walk on the ride if we lined up again... so we did! We still had a half hour before fireworks, and that was plenty of time!

Even in winter, the ride lineup isn't this good!

When we got off though, Natalie wanted to do Splash, and the line was only a 25 minute wait. So we jumped in that line too, hoping we'd be done before the show. A text from Sam told us where they had gotten firework-watching space, but we got on the ride anyway. The first little dip in Splash Mountain is hardly a dip at all - and you don't really get wet on this ride until the very end hill. Unless, of course, your boat happens to be timed exactly with the sprayer that is at the bottom of the first tiny hill.

Yup, you guessed it. One minute into our eleven minute ride, and we were soaked. We laughed until our sides hurt, and didn't even get that much more water on us at the giant hill at the end. As we rounded the last corned though, we saw the fireworks that we were missing through the Splash Mountain peaks. Oops. We're here all summer, we'll see them again!

We made our way through the crowds, soaking wet, to the main gates. We met Sam and Emily at the bus stop, and giggled the entire way home. These girls are my family here. It feels so good to have them with me. Thank you ladies, for making me laugh until I'm blue in the face. Much appreciated :) <3

Up and at 'em!

Again with the early - I am not a morning person. Getting up at 5:25am in not my idea of a good time. But you know what is?! Working at Disney! This morning I have to be at the Cast building at Epcot for 8am. Normally the park doesn't open until 9am, and I don't think food vendors open up until 10 or 10:30; so hopefully this is the last earl morning for a while!

Today after work, I think Sam and I are going to MK again! Third night in a row, to shop, ride rides and, of course, watch the fireworks. So excited!

Another long day ahead of me with another too short night. I can pull this pace for ten weeks, right? Right?! ;)

Craziness continues!

Another full day, and it doesn't look like they'll be stopping anytime soon. I was on the bus to Disney University at 6:30am, and was at DU by 7:15, which meant I had time to take pictures of some of the murals and decorations :)

Beauty and the Beast wall! Love.

Today I had my first real day of training, where they teach us all the boring things that they have to legally teach you - like how to check the temperature of food, and that we have to throw it out when it's sitting at a certain temperature that's neither hot nor cold enough. A lot of it doesn't actually apply to me, since I'm not preparing any food. But, I was getting paid to sit there, so I was okay with it ;) And then I was finished! Our trainers got us set up on the Hub, our go-to for everything work related! It shows me what discounts I have, my schedule, and any block-out dates for the parks. When both Sam and I had finished some e-training, we went down to Magic Kingdom costuming which is right across the street from DU to pick up my shoes! Most cast members have to buy their own, but some roles get assigned shoes, like Food & Beverage and Custodial roles, to make sure they're no-slip. I was a little worried about the ugly factor, but they are just comfy white sneakers, which are really nice! (Expensive shoes too, I probably saved about 100$).

When I got home, I was able to facetime with Dad and say hi :) And tell him all about my day yesterday at the MK. It is so nice to be able to talk and see family faces from here! :) I even got to say hi to Daniel because he was home :)

Sam and I got changed and smothered ourselves in sunscreen to go to the pool for a couple hours! We've got one specifically for our complex, and we hadn't been yet. It was a perfect day for it - bright and sunny but a bit of a breeze. There's a lot of shaded and sunny spots, and the water was such a nice temperature :) It was nice to be able to talk to Sam one-on-one for a bit too and get to know her :)

While at the pool, she and I decided that we wanted to go to Epcot! I hadn't been yet, and I knew I would be working there and couldn't wait to see it again, and Sam has never been. We took our time eating dinner and before we knew it, it was getting late. We made it to Epcot around 8, after going through the cast entrance, taking a second bus to the guest entrance and going through the turnstiles. And right in front of us was the iconic Epcot ball!

We didn't really go into either side of Future World, but instead headed right for the World Showcase. Seeing the totem poles at Canada made us both laugh, but when I pointed out Quebec's Château Frontenac, Sam got a little more excited. We were home! (Ish). Even though the pavillion is mostly based off stereotypes, it was so much fun to know we were surrounded by Canadians (only cultural representatives work in the pavilions) and to see familiar things. The maple syrup and maples leaves and moose and hockey shirts were all so comforting :) Sam, who was only so-so impressed by Epcot when we walked through the front gates, thinks the World Showcase is one of the coolest things she's seen, and she decided she wanted to see the rest of it. That was okay by me, but I had an early morning the next day (another 5:30am!) and figured we should watch Illuminations (the Epcot fireworks) from the side of the lagoon closest to the buses for an easier trip home.

Oh Canada!

 So, as we left the Canadian pavilion at 8:15pm, I knew we only had 45 minutes to make it all the way around the lagoon; normally a full-day adventure. We booked it around the World Showcase so fast! We limited ourselves to three pictures per pavilion, but I took a picture of every single one! Canada, UK, France, Morocco, Japan, America, Italy, Germany, China, Norway and Mexico. We even stopped for a German pretzel, which was delicious!

Between the UK and France, though, I had to stop and get my picture taken on this bridge. While the bridge took us to the rest of the World Showcase, the other pathway would have taken us to the boardwalk and to the Beach Club, which is the resort my family has stayed at both of the last two trips to Disney and all of the Disney trips we've taken as a group of five. It felt weird to enter Epcot from the main entrance and not these gates. I miss the Beach Club. And my family.

Sam and I made it back to the Epcot-ball side of the lagoon with15 minutes to spare. That's ride, World Showcase in 30 minutes. I'm so proud of that accomplishment. Sam called her family to say hello and to etll them how cool Epcot was! She spoke to each family member and told them all that they have to come here when they come visit in July :)

When Illuminations started, we didn't have as good a view as I had expected we would have, and Sam suggested we come back when we can claim a better spot more than 10 minutes in advance.

So it was about 5 minutes past 9 when we decided we'd rather see Wishes. At the Magic Kingdom. Which starts at 10. And I knew that the projection show started at 9:45. We ran.

We booked it to the monorails. And when I say booked it, I mean we ran flat out. We made it to the monorail platform just in time - the monorail was on it's way and they were about to shut the gates. The gates shut when there are enough people already lined up that the monorail will be full, and anyone behind the gates must wait for the next one.

We literally reached them just as the cast member was saying, "Okay, can the next party please stop and wait for the next one!" But we squeezed through anyway, making it look like we were with the family in front of us. We made it through just as the monorail pulled up, and Sam had a window view of her first monorail ride. During the ride, I overheard a small conversation from the couple beside me about switching monorails. So I asked them if the monorail we were on went directly to MK. It didn't. The Epcot monorail only goes to the MK parking lot. From there, another two monorail loops are available - one from MK parking lot to MK and back, and one that does the MK and the nearby resorts.

So, when the monorail pulled up, Sam and I started running again. Down from one platform, over to the next, and up to the monorail level. Just as we got there, this beauty was pulling up:

And we got to get in it! We jumped in and it took off for the Magic Kingdom :) When we got off, the entire mad dash had taken us about a half hour, so we had 10 minutes to find a good spot for the light show and fireworks. We got up to the gates and saw the 'Let the Memories Begin' sign before I realized Sam had never been to MK before. She had seen the fireworks from the Polynesian Resort during the week we arrived, before we had our passes, but she had never passed through the gates. I took her picture by the sign and we walked through the gates into a beautifully lit up Main Street USA.

Even I was in awe, and I have been there before :) And the castle loomed at the end of the street, and we decided that a 'good' spot wasn't good enough. We wanted to get as close as we could. So we wormed through and excused ourselves and a little bit of pushing through the crowds. All of a sudden, we were stopped by a cast member who told us that if we wanted to watch, we needed to be behind the tape line we were standing on. And even though we weren't at the very front, we were at the front of a section and I realized all the people in front of us were going to have to move. And once the cast members started to clear people out, we were at the very front of a section with a pathway in front of us, ten feet of free space. No one's heads were blocking our cameras, no one with children on their shoulders. It was amazing! Sam and I just started clicking away on our cameras, iPods, phones, anything where we wanted a background or photos. It was beautiful. When the light show began, I had enough camera battery to film the whole 10 minutes! Then I sat and enjoyed the fireworks :) Sam had tears in her eyes by the time it was done :) It was the perfect way for her to spend her first moments at MK :)

We held hands and fought our way out of the park when they were over, squeezing through small spaces in between strollers and people and lampposts. We made it to the gate and we walked to the Contemporary resort, a five minute walk with a cast member bus stop :)

With sore feet we waited for the bus with huge smile on our faces. The shoes I had worn were brand new, and I had worn them to break them in on a leisurely stroll through Epcot. Good to know they can handle mad dashes as well ;)

Thanks Grandma!

And now we're home! Another long but wonderful day behind us, with weeks more of them ahead :)

14 hours at MK - and loving every minute.

I just got home from spending fourteen hours at the Magic Kingdom. Yes, fourteen. Sixteen hours door to door. I wanted to be there when it opened, and I wanted to see the fireworks ("Wishes"). So why go home in between?

I had made plans to go with a friend together since we both had the day off; but I really wanted to see MK by myself and have all my feelings in check by the time someone else got there. So I asked her to meet me mid-morning instead. I left the house at 7:20am and arrived at MK perfectly at 8:30, in time to line up, get goosebumps at the countdown, and rush through the gates with everyone else at 9:00.

My first view down Main Street to see the castle was very emotional for me; every other time I have ever been to Disney, my family has been with me. I was so frantic to share the experience with them that I tried to FaceTime my dad; when it wouldn't connect I made a video of myself to send him later, telling them that I missed them and wished they were there with me. I was very happy, however, when my internet connected just a few minutes later in Tomorrowland and I was able to send dad the video. As I was getting my very first Space Mountain FastPass, Dad messaged me back. Knowing my internet was good (at least for the moment) I tried FaceTime again, and was able to get through! I only talked to dad for a few minutes, but I almost cried; how do I do Magic Kingdom, let alone all of Disney without my family?!

I got over the emotional bit pretty quickly after hanging up - even though I still wished they were there more than anything, there was too much to do and see; specifically, the new Fantasyland which has been based off of Beauty and the Beast (AHHH!) and The Little Mermaid. I stopped by the Be Our Guest restaurant and learned that it would open at 10:30 for lunch, and just past that is Gaston's Tavern and a small village shop with BatB merchandise. I think I want to buy everything in the store! A set of dishes caught my eye that I especially might have to go back for.

I'd never use them. And getting them home might be a challenge.

Just past that is Ariel's area and I jumped right on the Little Mermaid ride, marveling at Disney and thinking of my sister the whole time. There wasn't a line at all, and so I was able to get right on. It was very well done and I have made a mental note to make sure Becca goes on it! Right beside the ride was Ariel's castle, which was straight from the movie. While not nearly as big as the Cinderella Castle, still beautiful.

Knowing I was quickly approaching my Space Mountain Fastpass time, I made my way back down to Tomorrowland. Just as I was about to get in the Fastpass lane, Stitch came out! I was over to his area in a flash and was second person in line. He licked the back of my hand, and we posed for a photo, and voila! My first solo character picture!!

High on life and Disney, I ran all the way up the Fastpass lane of Space Mountain and had a two minute wait for a seat, instead of the 50 minutes in the stand by line! It was just as much fin as I remember, and was not the only time I went on it!!!

I met Keshia on Main Street around 10am, and after some castle pictures and grabbing Space Mountain Fastpasses, we made our way back up to Fantasyland and the Be Our Guest Restaurant. On the way there, we saw Merida from Brave! We didn't get a picture with her, but we stopped and took a few from behind the line. I can't wait to meet her!

Even though dinner reservations are next to impossible to get for Be Our Guest, lunch is a first come first served basis (literally!). The line begins to form usually around 10:20am, and the restaurant opens its doors at 10:30. However, they will only allow as many people through as there are tables, so it's important to line up early! Keshia left for the washroom for a few minutes and so I got into line by myself. As you enter, you are directed to the right where you walk down a hallway lined with suits of armor, with menus on monitors as you go. When you reach the end, a host is there to greet you. He'll ask how many are in your party and hand you a red disk with a rose on it! The next room is the ordering process. You tell the cashier what you'd like to order, and you pay for it. He'll scan your rose and give you a receipt and tell you to find a table.

And you walk out into this:

It is stunning. Absolutely gorgeous. I took a million photos of the same thing. The ceiling is perfect, there is fake snow falling behind the windows. All that's missing is the balcony and the song "Tale As Old As Time"... oh no, wait. They played the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack. Sometimes you'd hear "Be Our Guest" and when "Tale As Old As Time" came on, I teared up a little.

You place your rose and receipt on the table you choose, and they find you and bring you your meal. My turkey sandwich and chocolate cupcake were delicious!! It was amazing. I asked to 'try the grey stuff', but it turns out that it's only a dinner thing. It's okay though, because it just makes me more determined to go there for dinner!

I had heard that Belle's library was also a room you could eat in, but it turned out to just be a room with large framed photos on the wall and a rotating life-size dancing Belle and Beast. Still cool, but certainly not the iconic library. The West Wing, however, was awesome. A ripped picture of the Beast as a human, and a rose under a glass bell jar. The rose was holographic and so every once in a while, a petal would fall. It was perfect. More pictures of the ballroom later, and I was ready to leave (for now, at least)!

And because Disney leaves no detail out, this was on the way out.

When we were done, We walked outside and Gaston was standing by the tavern!! The line was huge though, and so I vowed to meet him sometime before I went home (I think I'll have to make a list)! Keshia wanted to ride Space Mountain (and like I was going to say no... pfft), so we went back down to Tomorrowland and jumped in the Fastpass lane. It's even more fun the second time around! And as we got off, we saw Buzz Lightyear! Again, the line was huge (added to the list!) so we didn't stay but made out way to the train station instead! We hopped on a train at Storybook Circus and rode it past Main Street Station all the way to Frontierland :)

Because I was planning to stay the whole day and didn't want to get soaked, we skipped Splash Mountain and headed straight for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad instead. We grabbed some fastpasses and then stood in the stand-by line up. The wait was almost an hour, but it was still interesting! They've revamped some of the slow lines with simple interactive activities. I was very interested, but I have no idea if they're new or not... my family goes to Disney in December, when even if we don't have fastpasses, lines are rarely long enough to have to wait for very long!

During the hour wait I was able to get an internet signal and FaceTime Dad and Daniel! It was bittersweet because they weren't there with me, but I couldn't think of a better way to spend my wait time :) !! It is so great to be able to share this experience with my family however I can. I miss you guys!!!!!

We finally got on a train (led to our car by another Stephanie!) and had a blast going around. Then we jumped right back into the fastpass lane and were on another train not five minutes later! I love doing rides twice in a row!! Stephanie gave us the funniest look the second time, "Fastpasses?! Even so, that timing was impressive!"

Adrenaline pumping, we made our way through Frontierland and Adventureland back to Main Street, with the intention to shop and spend some time in the air conditioning. One side of the stores on Main Street has them all connected, so you can walk from one end to the other without going into the heat. We worked our way form the castle end to the gates end of the stores, and just as we came out, a parade was starting! Main Street sidewalks were full, but right by the parade gates (where the parade comes out) was nearly empty! Prime spots! Keshia wanted to be father up the street, but I stayed in the shade ;) Lots of costumed characters were the first out of the gate, and Woody even came over and kissed my hand! :)

Of course, seeing Belle and Beast was my favorite part - this was my first look at the new Belle dress that has recently been released (a much less harsh color than the old one) and I love it!

The entire length of the parade, I ended up standing by a woman who was super excited to be there. She was yelling "WOO!" at everything. "WOO GO GENIE! GO SNOW WHITE WOOO! YEAH DANCERS! GO SIGN CARRIERS! WOO!" She was absolutely hilarious, and snapping pictures with her iPhone! And so I turned to her halfway through and I told her that I had picked the best parade spot, and that she was making my day! She laughed aand kept wooing! When the princesses came out, I heard her go "WOO GO SLEEPING BEAUTY WOO... oh crap! My phone flipped and has been taking pictures of me wooing!!!!!!!" I laughed so hard, it was awesome! As the parade ended, her enthusiasm was infectious and I started woo-ing as well!

As the parade rounded the corner away from us, I saw that her daughter had a graduate badge! So I told her congratulations. Turns out she's just graduated from college as well! The two of them had come from Wisconsin to visit an uncle who works at Disney for Memorial Day weekend! We bonded for a few minutes over the brutality of the hot weather and I introduced myself. Keshia returned just as the uncle arrived. He asked us right away if we were cast members... I think cast have an aura that other cast members can recognize ;) We explained we were here for the International College Program (ICP) and where we were from. We kept bonding over the weather and I found out their names: Susan and her daughter MacKenzie, and David! David told us to make sure we had sunscreen and lots of water - turns out that he's a character attendant for Merida! So I might see him again when I go to meet her! :) He also gave me the inside scoppon Be Our Guest reservations - ask at the window on the night of; cancellations are not advertised, but if you ask they can give you any open spots!! Also, not only can I try the grey stuff (it's delicious!) at dinner, but the Beast is there every night!! As if I didn't have enough motivation to go already!!!!

Meeting them was one of the best parts of the whole day, and I can't believe that it's my job to meet awesome families like them :)

We said goodbye and walked up the other side of Main Street; where the most memorable shop was a glass shop, with someone actually melting glass for castles there. A 37,500$ castle caught our eye, but I think I'll have to leave that one behind ;) Keshia decided to go home and so I sat in Tomorrowland Terrace for a bit, just soaking everything in :) :)

After a few minutes I decided that checking out the Beauty and the Beast store would be a good idea, so I wandered back up to Fanatsyland, taking my time and enjoying all the sights, sounds, and smells of Disney World. I got to the store and after taking a good time to look around I ran into Natalie! She's from Nova Scotia as well (Saint Anne's area) and we get along wonderfully :) We were both there alone and decided to hang out! We spent some more time in the shop and talked to the cast members there for a bit about how it was to work for Disney and at the newest area of the park. When we left, Gaston was back!!!!! Natalie and I just looked at each other and started frantically nodding and raced to the relatively short line up like a pair of 5 year-olds in a candy store! He was hilarious! He asked me where I was from, and when I told him Canada, he asked if I spoke any french. I don't really, but Natalie does! She started prattling off and he answers the basic french questions, but then says, "Woah! All you really need to know is Ooh la la, voila and magnifique! All of which I am!" He told Natalie she was awfully mouthy when she said he wasn't very muscly, and he was all around straight out of the movie. It was brilliant!!!! Definitely my favorite so far, and going to be hard to beat!!

The 'we just met Gaston' face!!!

Natalie only had two requests: that we go on Space Mountain (which we had both independently gotten fastpasses for... for the same time slot!) and that we see Mickey's Philhar Magic. I don't ever remember doing it with my family, but I'm willing to do pretty much anything Disney and so of course I said yes! When we walked in though, we had to pick up 3D glasses. Unfortunatley, my eyes work in such a way that I can't see the 3D technology used in movies and such. I can usually tell what is supposed to be in 3D, but it still all looks flat. I explained this to Natalie, (she felt badly, worried I wouldn't like it after all) but also expected to still have a good time, because it's still Disney!

Well, let me tell you, Disney is magic. There is pixie dust in every air particle and magic in every breath. I saw 3D!! I felt like I could reach out and grab some of Ariel's treasures. I swear, Aladdin and Jasmine were flying on Carpet right above people's heads in front of me. I know that cork from the bottle shot right by my head!! (Disney even adds a puff of air to that one. Crazy.) And I would bet you anything that Donald Duck actually flew right out of the screen into the wall behind me. Now I know why people love 3D movies... they're amazing! Disney magic, I'm telling you. Magic.

I teared up on the way out, I was so overwhelmed by the magic.

After we left, We kept walking up Fantasyland and found Rapunzel's tower! It's up the the distance, but still very cool to see :)The little area devoted to Tangled is decked out with lanterns and the purple flags from the movie! There's wanted posters and such for all the ruffians from the bar as well! It was all very cute! Even the bathrooms were painted like her tower. We started to get hungry, but on our way to dinner, we stopped in a little store where one of the cast members was Pixie-dusting! Natalie got pixie-dusted (and I think will be washing sparkles out of her hair for the rest of the summer!) and was very excited about it. I took pictures for her, but I'm not a fan of glitter on my head ;) We headed for dinner, and I almost got to meet Merida, but the line was very long. Soon!

Then we went to get dinner at Starlight Cafe! It's also called Cosmic Rays and it sits connecting Tomorrowland to Fanasyland. I also found out that it is the second busiest fast food restauant in the world. The only one busier is the McDonald's in Hong Kong. Which is insane, because it never seems super busy when I go! Their bacon cheeseburgers are incredible though - and they have that fake nacho cheese sause stuff at the condiment bar. I dip all my fries in it instead of ketchup :) So yummy! When we were done, our Fastpass time had arrived! We went over to tomorrow land and got into the Fastpass lane for Space Mountain! It was Natalie's first real ride of the trip at all, and we both LOVE this roller coaster :) We scream and laughed and had a great time :)

After Space, we grabbed another fastpass for it for later, and we went all the way up to Frontierland to check out the wait time for Thunder. The sign said it was going to be a 90 minute wait, and so we asked the cast member standing there if she thought the time would be accurate. She told us that, unfortunately, even though the line doesn't look long form here, the huge group just moving into the Fastpass lane now would get to go through first, while the stand-by line went party by party. So unless we had fastpasses, we should be prepared to wait. Of course, we had just gotten a Space FP, and so we didn't have any for Thunder. We stood there discussing what we should do next, and had decided we didn't really have time to do either Thunder or Splash when suddenly the cast member asked us if it was just the two of us in our party. We said yes, and she pulls these out of her pocket!!

It is a general fastpass for any ride at any time! And good until May 31! We were so excited :) We've decided we probably won't end up using them though... it was Natalie's first 'magical moment', and I've decided to collect fastpasses over the summer: this is the crown jewel of any fastpass collection! The only way to get one is a cast member taking pity on you! ;)

My iPod beeped with a message from Emily saying that she was on her way to the park! We took a stroll through Frontierland and Adventureland, and jumped on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride while we waited for her. It's a lot darker than I remember, but still fun to do with a friend! We met up with Emily at Starlight Cafe (Cosmic Rays) because she hadn't eaten yet. We sat out on the terrace with a beautiful view of the castle :) We meandered through the park some more (Emily refusing to look into New Fantasyland, because she's waiting for her sister!) and eventually all headed up to see if Thunder or Splash wait times were any shorter, but they weren't. It was about 9pm, with the fireworks due to start at 10, and we found ourselves once again in Tomorrowland (I should have started a pedometer when I got here, I go back and forth from one end of the park to the other so often!). Emily said she wouldn't mind holding a spot for fireworks for us if we wanted to use our FPs for Space before they expired :) Natalie and I raced to the ride and hurried into line. We decided that since now we knew where the ride takes our picture, we can anticipate and make faces! We decided to go with a dinosaur theme ;) We all know I'm a good velociraptor, but Natalie is a naturally born T-rex. The ride was awesome, but the pictures at the end had us both laughing so hard we could barely move. I'm so sad we didn't take a picture of the screens!!

We found Emily on the bridge between Tomorrowland and Main Street, and found a good viewing spot from a small path that would allow us to get a head start on the mass exodus when the fireworks were done. When my family and I go to Disney, we go in the second week of December. Not only is it one of the least busy weeks of the year, it's also much less hot. Not only that, but Disney decks itself out for Christmas! (It's been very odd, and a little depressing, to not see wreaths on all the lamp posts and lights on all the streets and characters not in Christmas outfits!) But the Castle, at Christmas, is always lighted to look like it has icicles all over it. It's beautiful, but what I didn't know is that when the castle does not have icicles, they play a projection show on the castle before the fireworks. Apparently this has been going on for a few years - so they may even have a Christmas version by now! The version I saw is a special 'Limited Time Magic' that is only playing for the summer :) My camera had no battery left, so I took hardly any pictures, but it was amazing!!!! I found a video on youtube of the whole thing, so I can watch it whenever I want! (I will put the link to the video in this post after my family comes to Disney, but I don't want to ruin it for you guys!)

The whole thing was beautiful, and again, I was emotional; mostly because I missed my family so much. I hate being here without them - nothing feels quite right! It's all wonderful, and all Disney, and all perfect, but I miss you guys like crazy! Natalie and Emily were giggling at how in awe I was. Wishes (the MK fireworks show) came on about five minutes after the end of the light show. I learned from Natalie that the little girl's voice you hear singing pieces of the song form Wishes was actually a Make-A-Wish child who's wish was to sing in a Disney song. So they put her in Wishes. To sing for thousands of people every night. Tear-jerker, that's what that is.

 

My 14 hours at the Magic Kingdom were over. I was still sad to leave! But I had to be up at 5:30am the next day, and so a short walk to a resort brought us to the bus stop. Hudson and Eleanor were there, and the five of us took the bus home together. I made a list so I wouldn't forget anything that happened, and then I went to sleep. I can't wait to go back! :) I love Disney World!