As we go on, we'll remember all the times we've had together!

 

Officially on July 19 I graduated from the Disney College Program! I know it may seem early, but they do it then because some of the International Programs end at the end of July so they just have it early to make sure everyone can go. I still work at Pecos until Aug 10 and my last class is Aug 4. We all got dressed up and walked over to the field outside our apartment where it was being held. There were tents, a free BBQ and many of our beloved Disney characters in their cap and gowns.  We lined up to get our diplomas, Mickey ears grad caps and a poster with the castle and inside jokes within the Disney College Program :)

Here I am with my boss! Gotta love Mickey and Minnie :)

Emily, Kim, Shay, Goofy, Lindsay, me and Marnie chillin with Goofy!

 Two of my coworkers Cijia and Amber and Goofy! Love my Pecos friends!

After we enjoyed everything at graduation and took pics with everyone we decided we'd show off our grad ears at Magic Kingdom that night! So Kim, Linds, Shay, Marnie and I hopped on the bus to enjoy a wonderful night at MK! We got our names embroidered for free on the back of the ears which was a nice touch. There is nothing like Magic Kingdom at sunset and we took advantage of that with many pictures.

 Shay, Linds, Kim, Marnie and Me :) love these girls so much! Def my best friends here.

At this point we have been so many times that going on rides isn't a mandatory thing to do. Walking around the park is just as wonderful, although we did go on Haunted Mansion, Magic Carpets and Jungle Cruise! I dragged my friends to Pecos to say hi to my other friends working and to get some free water (which is a quite useful secret many guests dont realize they can get big cups of water for free instead of paying $3 for a bottle!). We also went to Town Square Theatre where you can meet the Aurora, Belle and Cinderella!

Here we are with my fave, Cindy <3

We ended the night in front of the castle talking and taking many many pictures :) We were there well after the park closed so it was fun to have it all to ourselves!

Core Four on Main Street USA.

3 More Weeks!!!

In exactly 3 weeks I'll be home in my bed hopefully petting my kitty and getting some much needed sleep, I plan on sleeping as little as possible these next few weeks so I can accomplish everything I need to get done before I leave! Thank goodness my roomies (who as you've probably noticed I do everything with and are my absolute best friends!) are planners just like me! We have everything mapped out for these last last weeks!

I had to say bye to my good friend Lupi from Mexico last week :( Goodbyes here are unlike most, as in most of them are "well this is goodbye forever because you live wayyy too far away from me, but I will never ever forget you". Sad right?! Well back in May she made a joke asking me if I would cry when she leaves and I didn't really know her that well so I played along and said i would and from then on out we were officially best friends!! Every time I would see her at work my face would light up and we would run to eachother shouting BEST FRIEND!!! I can even hear in my head how she would say it! So imagine when I had to say goodbye. She lives in Mexico City and I honestly dont know if I'll ever be in that area again in my life (I've been to Cabo once and that's it). So it truly was a goodbye forever. We said goodbye backstage and I got so teary eyed it was embarassing so I held it back. Lupi is such an amazing person with such zest for life!! I will miss her dearly, thank goodness for facebook!

 Me and Lupi pinky promising we'll be best friends forever!!!!

It pains me to even write about this now but I have to think about my goodbyes to my other coworkers who I've grown to be very fond of and who always bring a huge smile to my face!!! Especially Morgan and Laura! They were very good friends to me at Pecos and unfortunately they are here for a year and their program is half over so now they've switched to Adventureland Merchandise :( It was even sad at our last day working together at Pecos! Laura is from Australia and Morgan New Zealand. They truly bring out the best in me and love when I act my normal silly self. Saying goodbye to them is hands down going to kill me! This is one of the negatives of the program! Make us all love eachother then tear us apart! But I have SOOO many amazing memories that I'll just think of those instead and cherish each and every one!

 Kiwi (my nickname for Morgan) and I backstage at work!

 Laura, Me, Morgan and Lupi on our last day at work together! Work isn't the same without them!

 Our other dear friend Peter who keeps me sane at work!

Sorry this post was sad but it's reality and these last 3 weeks are going to be hard but I plan to enjoy them to the fullest!!

Parentals in Disney World!!

Before Miami my wonderful parents came to visit me here from June 27-July 2!! I have to say we had a BLAST! I've missed them so much and really appreciate everything the do for me and how they both know how to have a great time and find joy in everything! On the 27th I worked until 9 then changed out of my work clothes and traipsed through the Magic Kingdom and hopped on the monorail to the Contemporary Hotel where they were staying. I ran into my mom's arms! It was magical! I arrived right as the fireworks Wishes was starting, so that was a great way to start off the trip! It was sooo nice spending the nights in a huge comfy bed at one of Disney's best resorts. We explored Magic Kingdom and Epcot together over the next couple of days..

 My mom and I on Main Street USA :)

 Dad and I in front of the Castle!

Mom and I chillin with Roy Disney and Minnie!

My parents loved Epcot as I knew they would! The World Showcase is right up their alley and we had to drag my dad out of the Japan store before he bought every little Japanese bowl haha And my mom finally got a picture with Donald Duck, her favorite (which I feel she had a big moment when she came to this realization)! Disney will do that to you, I found my inner princess while I've been here. Before I never really had a favorite princess (shocking I know) but now I'm known as Baby Cindy by my roomies because Cinderella is my all time favorite :)

One of my favorite memories with my parents was our dinner the last night at the California Grill on top of the Contemporary! It was a very swanky restaurant that has a view overlooking the 7 Seas Lagoon in front of the Magic Kingdom! The food was absolutely fabulous and they even were nice about me being Vegan and the chef made me a special dish that he hand crafted! And we even got to watch the sunset over the Magic Kingdom and end the night watching Wishes! from our table :) Absolutely perfect evening with my perfect parents!

The view from the Contemporary!! :)

We're in Miami, Bitch!!

22 more days....I'm in shock at how little time I have left here :( Let me update you on my life the past month!



On July 6th my roomies Shaleen, Lindsay, Kim, Jackie and our friend (unofficial roomie) Marnie went to Miami!!! I was so happy to be able to go there, its about a 4 hour drive from Orlando. There is a guy who runs party buses and offers these random trips to Miami every few weeks and we even got a free shirt out of it! The buses picked us up at 4am...such a struggle!!! And we all slept on the way there haha We arrived around 11am and unfortunately it was overcast and rainy. But we didn't let that bother us! We got to see the Kardashian's store Dash and the gelato store the Jersey Shore cast worked at. I met up with my coworker Laura who was also on the trip and we took a Duck tour of Miami and got to see famous people's houses like P Diddy, Rosie O'Donnell, Gloria Estefan and a couple others.

Then I met back up with my roomies and we went shopping on Collins Ave, a popular street in Miami. I could tell it would be full of life at night because of the many many night clubs that even Paris Hilton and her crew frequent. The bus ride back home was a huge struggle. The man running the party bus was anything but professional (we didn't really care as long as we got back safe) and lets just say sobriety wasn't the first thing on his mind. So he and his cronies were blasting music and felt the need to show us their dumb pranking youtube videos, and lets just say what happens on the bus ride home from Miami stays on the bus ride! haha Also our bus driver got pulled over for speeding when we were almost home to top off the entire day! It took us almost 6 hours to get home.

 Jackie, Shay, Kim, Marnie, Linds and Me on the beach!

My best friends Shay, Linds and Kimmmy! One of my favorite pics of all time.

Celebrating in Celebration!!

Hi Friends! So one of my goals when I was here in Florida was to visit Celebration, Florida. It is a town outside of Walt Disney World that was designed and controlled by the Walt Disney Company itself. They planned everything out and lets just say it is a picturesque, white picket fence small town. My friend Marnie drove with me, Shay, Kim and Lindsay in tow :) As soon as we pulled into the town we were all in awe!!

A typical house in Celebration...soooo fabulous!!!

This is in downtown Celebration, where there are cute little boutiques and cafes

Me and Marnie super excited to be there!!!

The whole crew in front of the main hotel there, the Bohemian!

This was right out front the little movie theatre and ice cream parlor. Such a clear, perfect day!

 Celebration Bear!! <3


A lot of people come to Celebration to retire, so I could see how it could get a little sleepy. But with Disney World 20 min away what could be better than that?! This is a perfect place to raise a family!! Anyone down to move here with me and have a perfect life?!

Deployment Adventures!

Hi hi! It's been a crazy couple of weeks which means I have lots of stories to share!!

So let me recap my fun 2 weeks of deployment at Pinocchio's and Tomorrowland Terrace. So for those of you who don't understand the fun Disney lingo, let me enlighten you. Deployment means on my schedule for the week I am assigned to work at another location. This happens randomly to CPs (college programers...i really hope you know what this means by now haha) and can last from 1 week to maybe 4 or 5. I didn't even notice that it said Pinocchio's instead of Pecos on my schedule until my friend Peter pointed it out! I LOVED working at Pinocchio's. Fantasyland is very different from Frontierland. I had to bite my tongue to not say Howdy to all the guests. All the people there were very friendly and a lot more relaxed than at Pecos. Pinocchio's was dead compared to Pecos, probably 3 times less busy. Their lunch rush was our slow period. So I got to know a lot of the people that worked there and had many fun conversations. Because I was deployed I don't have to go through training yet they throw me into any task. Thank goodness they were nice there and I had lots of people show me what to do. They even set up a coloring table around 4 o'clock and one day I sat there for 30 min just coloring and talking to some dad and his shy kids. fabulous! My favorite thing to do there was trays. That means you collect the trays from the dining room and at Pinocchio's you're in charge of sending them through the giant dishwasher. It's a physically demanding and sweaty job which is why I liked it and I even told Edgardo, one of my new friends there, that and he said I'm the first girl he's talked to that likes doing trays! I was very sad to leave after only a week :( but they all said for me to come back and visit!

Last week I was scheduled at Tomorrowland Terrace (or TLT as the snazzy Disney peeps call it). WOWZA Tomorrowland is soooo different!! Even the underground tunnels are just unfriendly. The costume I had to wear was HEINOUS. I felt to unattractive it was ridic. No one should ever be forced to wear pleated pants. Such a crime. Stacy and Clinton would be very disappointed with Disney. Anywho...coming from Pinocchio's were there were many cute boys, I was working with mostly girls at TLT, which wasn't a bad thing because they were all very nice and chatty, but it was just different. It was kinda annoying because there they didn't rotate you on your assignment so you would be bussing tables for literally 5 hours, or filling orders.

But TLT was also VERY VERY slow!! I was greeter one day...literally all day, but it was an easy job that consisted of saying "Hi there welcome! Would you like to see a menu up close?" (...then handing them a menu and herding them to the nearest cashier...). And one of the managers came up to me and explained how to get ready for the lunch rush. And let me tell you, at Pecos we get SLAMMED during lunch, so i was ready for anything....however, the mintutes go by and it gets kinda busy but not anything too bad then after an hour or 2 its empty again. I was like "was THAT the lunch rush???". So moral of story...Pecos is in a league of its own when it comes to quick service. One of the friends I made there was Naomi who was super interesting and is now seasonal (which means she only has to work a certain number of hours a year but still gets all the benfits). She was a CP last year and worked at the main gate at EPCOT. Also ZoeAnn was fun to talk to! We bonded over being vegetarians and she even decided to try being Vegan after hearing my story! yay!

As of a couple days ago I'm officially back at Pecos! My first day back was crazyyyy!! Lets just say I didn't miss the unfreindly Haitians in the kitchen and insanely busy lunch and dinner rushes. But it was nice finally knowing everything and not feeling lost. Also, getting to see my favorite work friends like Morgan, Laura, Peter, Sabrina, Emily, Amber, Lupi, Cijia, Michelle plus a couple others and finding ways to avoid work with them is fun :)

 Morgan and Lupi!! Mejor Amigas!! <3

Hello Fantasyland!

Hello friends! I'm so sorry I havent updated in a while, things were pretty much the same here and it's quite a lot of effort to blog. So I will treat you with a fun new update!

Every Wednesday my roomie and a couple friends have been going to Buffalo Wild Wings (B Dubs as we call it here) which is a restaurant/bar type place where you can do karaoke and dance and meet
 other CPs

My roomies Shaleen and Lindsay and our two friend Marnie and Sarah before going to B Dubs! It's been really fun to get dressed up because during the week all we do is work in our costumes then come home and change into sweats, not gonna lie.

Us at B Dubs in the karaoke room!


Sadly we had to say bye to the last batch of CPs that were already here when we arrived, which means there have been TONS of new CPs! It's weird being the veterans and showing all the newbies what to do at work. I secretly like it though :) The past couple weeks I have become very comfortable at Pecos and find ways to avoid working and instead use the time to have fun conversations with my coworkers (sorry Disney pretend you don't know this, I swear I have good work ethic). Because of this I have become very close with a couple of my coworkers! I even tried sweet tea for the first time with my friend Seth and Nathan and will forever think of them whenever I have sweet tea! We want to plan a reunion at Pecos when we're all married and have children haha that should be interesting!! I even invited my friend Morgan from New Zealand to my house for Thanksgiving (yes mom this is my way of telling you haha) and my friend Peter wants to meet in Disneyland next summer!

However though, Disney does this thing called 'deployment' where you are assigned to work a different location for a certain amount of time. So when I looked at my schedule last week instead of it saying Pecos, it said Pinocchios! I didn't even notice it until Peter pointed it out. So for 5 days this week I am in Fantasyland working at another quick service place called Pinocchio's Village Haus. First off the costumes is cuter and it's wayyy slower than Pecos so everyone is more calm and laid back. Also the coordinators are very nice as well as the managers, which makes for a more pleasant experience. I was SO nervous for my first day on Sunday, because I HATE change and crave routine. But I can tell I have changed a lot with the experience because it didn't really bother me that much, I just sucked it up and went in with a huge smile! Everyone I encountered was so helpful, because I am not trained in the ways of Pinocchios (they do things slightly different than at Pecos). People were going out of their way to make sure I knew what I was doing. I can't get over how nice people here are and open to conversation. It will be interesting to come back home and not be surround by Disney happiness. I miss my Pecos family a lot :( and next week I'll be at Tomorrowland Terrace. I have to wait until next Sunday to find out if I'm back at Pecos after that.

I love my Fantasyland costume!!


I have been here 2 months and 23 days already!! And only 1 month and 29 days until home. Can you believe that?! Time flies when you're having fun! I know I will miss EVERYTHING about being here so I am embracing literally every moment I have here. This has been the best decision of my entire life and made me a better and happier person! :)

Passion!

Hello friends!! It sure has been a while but so much has happened! Many of the fun people who arrived here in january are leaving this week :( it's so weird to make friends with certain people, then have them leave and go back home (most likely to a far away state) these past couple days I am so happy that I am here for another 3 months! Of course I really truly wish I was home with my family, best friends and kitty. But for now, it is my time to explore and grow as a person and create memories that will last a lifetime and that I can learn from. Tonight I was with Morgan, my fellow Gamma Phi sister from San Diego State University, as it was her last night here!! :( We went to Magic Kingdom of course with her roommates (one of them I happened to work with at Pecos!) And as we watched the fireworks show Wishes, I got chills as I do everytime. My roommate Lindsay said it best in her blog. So please read this quote from her,,,,


"Everytime I see Wishes I get that incredible feeling, That one where you get chills up and down your spine, the good kind of chills. Where you feel like your inner child is beaming, and you really can stay young forever. When you feel like all your dreams and hopes and wishes built up inside really can come true if you believe with all of your heart and entire being. You remember growing up with all these amazing songs and stories that have made you laugh and made you cry that you hope to be able to make into your own fairy tale some day. And standing there under the breathtaking castle and brilliantly colored fireworks, surrounded by amazing friends and familiar music pulling on your heartstrings, I feel like I’ve never felt before. And that is the sole reason why I came here, and that is why I will stay and do as much as I possibly can to have the time of my life and fulfill my dreams, because “If you can dream it, you can do it.” -Walt Disney

I couldn't have said it better!!! Now onto what I originally wanted to say in the post...I finally started classes this wednesday!! The class I am taking is called Marketing You, and it's exactly how it sounds. We are going to learn to how to sell ourselves in a professional interview and to find our dream career! Our teacher...Penny Hightower...is FABULOUS!! She reminds me of Oprah, but skinnier. Even though our class was 4 hours long, she made it fly by. Her charisma and ability to connect with each of us really was inspiring and I know I will be ready for the big scary real world after this class! The first activity we were given a blank piece of paper and were told to draw (yes she gave us crayons!) what our dream job was when we were little, then share with the class and say what our dream job was now. I drew myself as a princess and actress in Hollywood! (and of course I was so excited I spelled Hollywood wrong and my roommate Shaleen laughed her booty off at me, as would Shannon I know!). And my dream job now would either be to work for Disney, a teacher or even a nutritionist or life coach (yes that is a real job) :)

As of now, and as I mentioned in a previous post, I have a couple options for my future. I don't want to make any decisions now, but it feels amazing to have a couple ideas of what I could do and what my passions are. The word of the day in class was PASSION. As I thought about that I realized whatever I end up doing, I want to make sure I am passionate about it, or else life will become boring. It never hurts to live everyday with passion and find what makes you happy!

I have also started a personal blog with fun pictures and quotes (not quite of me or this journey) but just for fun :) the link is http://wishuponastar103.tumblr.com/ 

Wishes!

Last night was another successful grad night!! Attendance was down from 15,000 to 6,000 so the park was pretty empty. I was closing counter which means I was scheduled to be there until 4:30 am! wooof, but being the ninja I am, I closed counter in 30 min (not 1.5 hours) and was home and in bed at 4:45. Thank goshhh I have today off (some people were scheduled to work at 9 or 10 this morning after being there until 4) ohhhh Disney, you are secretly out to get us! Just Kidding, you're magical!! :) I am now sitting in the living room with my fabulous roomie Emily and we are singing along to the Wishes! soundtrack (which is the infamous fireworks show everynight in Magic Kingdom) that I bought a couple days ago. I know I'm going to miss seeing the fireworks every night once I go home so I am treasuring every moment already!

This past week was amazing because the park closed no later than 10! Which means I was out by at least 9:30 or 10 every night and I could hang out with my roomies when I got home! On Thursday night I went out with Emily and some of her coworkers and we went to Qdoba (the southern version of Chipotle!) and I got a bitchin', well overdue burrito...yummmm! Then we went to the Polynesian to watch Wishes! from the beach. You can see the castle off in the distance and the fireworks and magical at a distance and the music was playing in the background :)

On Friday Lindsday and I ventured to Downtown Disney and we both agreed that it is so visually pleasing and full of life, and that is one thing we're going to miss most about being here. Everything has so much attention to detail and theming. It was a treat to just walk around Downtown Disney, there are so many restaurants, shops, bakeries, clubs and more! We went to the movie theatre to see Water for Elephants which was AMAZING!! I forgot how much I love going to the movies and becoming immersed in a whole new world (no Disney reference intended :p)

A whole wave of CPs (college programers) are getting ready to leave at the end of May, which is sad! Many friends I've made here will be gone, only to be replaced by more CPs! There is a new girl at work from BYU named Jen who is so sweet and full of energy, I can tell we are going to be great friends! I also had a fabulous chat with my manager last night (who is the youngest manager at Magic Kingdom, she is 24) about how she became a manager and she told me all the ins of professional internships, the college program at DisneyLAND (which I'm not considering doing soon), and how to get noticed in the company. It was the first time I could visualize a career here at Disney and maybe come back here after college to do a profession internship, if I'm offered one. BUT those are just ideas for now!

And finally....CHECK OUT MY BROTHER'S BLOG!! He is having quite the experience in Alaska at the northernmost truck stop! His blog is very enjoyable to read due to his witty nature. :)
http://www.thelasttruckstop.com/

Cause Baby You're a Firework!

So I just have to say last night was unbelievably fun :) Mostly because it was like nothing I have ever experienced before! It was grad night at Magic Kingdom, so high schoolers from all over Florida got to explore the park until 4am (luckily I got off at 1am, not 5am). The atmosphere was buzzing with energy and youthfulness, as opposed to the usual family vibe. The park closed to regular guests at 7pm, and opened to special grads with tickets from 8-10, then all the other grads from 10-4am. So we all had an hour to spare from 7-8, and the whole Pecos staff gathered in the lobby for a pep talk from our manager! Izzy, the manager gave a really positive speech which reminded me why I'm here and how much of a show we put on everyday and create magical moments for guests but celebrating their birthdays, anniversaries, engagements and much more depending on what pins they are wearing. After the meeting my friends Morgan and Laura (from New Zealand and Australia) went out the back entrance to Adventureland which was deserted in preparation for grad night and we explored and made our way back to Frontierland. The park was SOO different when it's empty. It is almost more magical because you can really see every detail and appreciate the archetecture plus so much more! We joked about buying out the park for a day and how amazing that would be! :)

We then got to the front of Pecos where all the other CPs (college programers) were, and instead of the corny Frontierland music playing there was a DJ that was playing all the hot songs now! It was such a great change of pace! So, being the crazy college kids we are, we all started a huge dance party out front waiting for the grads to come around the corner from liberty square. People didn't show up for a good 30 min so we entertained ourselves with dancing and conga lines and the like. When the first grads came we made a huge tunnel and screamed with excitement while we welcomed the grads! They got so into it and it was a great moment :) The rest of the night a bunch of us stayed out front and danced to the music, we dougied, jerked and snapped our fingers to Lil Jon! The grads always ate up our energy and most joined in on the dancing! Pecos wasn't busy at all which was nice and gave a lot of us the freedom to interact with the kids (on a side note there were tons of cute guys! but they were all jailbait unfortunately :( some of them looked like they could be in college though!)

I also got to chat a lot with my friend Morgan from New Zealand! I can't say enough how amazing this program has been for me, and a lot of it has to do with the people I've met from all over the world! To give you a taste I'll list the places my friends are from: USA (Washington, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Ohio, New York, Texas, plus more), Puerto Rico, Brazil, Thailand, Honduras, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand. Morgan is so funny, she makes fun of my California accent and how I say my Rs harder, like MiRANda...and she pronounces my name Mirinda...if that makes sense :) And also how I sound like a valley girl OMG! haha

Last but not least, I must discuss the AMAZING fireworks! They were at midnight and to some of the top songs and finally ended with Katy Perry's Firework :) There was all kinds of fireworks that took up the whole sky with hundreds of colors and shapes! My favorite was the heart! Best firework show I've seen since the ones in Washington DC on the 4th of July 10 years ago. I can't wait to see the firworks in Disney World on the 4th!!

Bacon Buddies!

So today was just one of those days that left me feeling very happy and lucky to be here!! I'm really starting to absolutely love it here and can feel every experience I have effect me in a positive way. I am really starting to accept Florida as my new home. This may sound all corny, but honestly it's so true! Pecos is now my second home and I love all the CPs (college programers) that work there, they really make it a fun place to be and understand all the frustrations of the job. For example today, we were over staffed so I was told to just help at counter....however, they didn't need any help. So I ran into Sabrina who was also given a random job of taking the bacon out of the packaging and putting it onto sheets. I ditched my counter job and started to help her! Next thing I know it's 2 hours later and we are done! We had the time of our lives doing that bacon, we were in the hallway so almost everyone who was working would stop by and chat with us and we just gossiped and exhanged stories, it was fabulous! We are now officially "Bacon Buddies" :)

Not going to lie, I was so concerned about making friends here because I am terrible with first impressions. Most people think I'm a shy girl with little personality. As all of you know I love to make people laugh and can be very crazy (in a good way i hope) at times. So finally having the freedom at Pecos to strike up conversations and bond with new people each day makes me feel so happy and accomplished! I also went outside to watch the 11 o'clock Electrical Parade with Sabrina, Emily and Meg and we chatted the whole time and bonded over our undying love for Aladdin and Flynn Rider from Tangled :) I also was lucky enough to stand on the front porch of Pecos and see the fireworks!! It was magical and I tear up everytime! I feel my attitude has become even more positive since I've been here which is something I am also very happy about! Most people say Disneyworld loses the magic and blah blah blah but NO that will never happen to me I can guarantee it!!

Not to mention the day started out wonderful! I got to spend time with my wonderful roomie Emily, which was fabulous because our schedules are usually opposite. She is such a great person and I am so happy I met her! We always have the best time and find anything and everything to laugh about.  Emily and I both got to sleep in then we drove to Publix to get groceries and on our way out we saw a kid with a Chatham ID (aka in the College Program) who was stuffing his groceries into a suitcase getting ready to walk all the way back! Which is about a 20 min walk in the heat and humidity.  So we decided to be good people and offer him a ride back! He was so thankful and it was just a happy moment :) you can never go wrong in doing a favor for someone! Speaking of that, to end my fabulously happy day my friend Meg offered to give me a ride home from work so I got home at 1:40 instead of 2:30ish like I usually do if I'm taking the bus.

Because of my late arrival date I get last priority when schedules come out so I always get closing shifts. So tonight I was assigned to close Topping Bar (which consists of spoiling the food, cleaning the stoves and counters, rinsing the ketchup/mustard/mayo pumps, cleaning all 4 hot cheese pumps, sweeping, wiping out the coolers plus a couple other random jobs) and Meg was assigned with me. However, Meg had never closed so I was basically in charged and showed her how to do everything. It felt awesome to be in charge and finally master all the tasks at Pecos. So much stress of mine is gone because I can do all the jobs on my own and not be a lost puppy who needs help with everything. I'm shifting from a rookie to a veteran. I love it!

 I still get really sad when thinking about my dear friends and family I left back in CA, but it helps to not dwell on the sadness and just know I will be back soon enough and I'm not forgotten about! As the saying goes..."Distance makes the heart grow fonder", which I fully believe. Some of my friendships have strengthened immensely and I know who I can't go a day without speaking too, while other have faded a bit which is expected but makes me sad nonetheless.

I hope whoever is reading this is having a great day and remember a smile goes a long way!! ♥

Just Dance!

Hello Everyone!! So within the past 6 days I have so many stories to tell! I may write 2 new posts so I dont bore my readers with tons of writing. First off, I am having a wonderful time here!! I encounter new people and experiences everyday that can only happen here in Disney World. My job is not ideal, but I am definitely making the most of it, and the people at Pecos make it so fun sometimes! Sometimes I honestly feel like Cinderella sweeping the floor and washing the counters, but I take that situation and have some fun with it, instead of complain and hate life like some people I've met, Staying positive and happy and key here and you can never go wrong with a smile :)

Here are some things that stood out to me in the past couple of days...

♥ I have been lucky enough to be put on Greeter 1 three times (You stand out front the main door and welcome people to Pecos). I wrote about it before and how I had the Mickey hand and giving high fours! In this past week I was given a horse puppet we have and had to improvise and talk to kids with it. It was so embarrassing at first, but after a couple minutes I just said what the heck and went all out! It was way more fun when I was giving it my all, I even had a full on game of peek-a-boo with a little boy and another girl just wanted little kisses from the horse. So cute!! Then yesterday, I was out there with PJ (one of my super fun coworkers) and we decided to create an arch with our arms when people walk in and shout woooooooooooo! Like they got their own special entrance! All the guests LOVED it and some even kept coming back. Just another reason why I love my job and help create magical moments. I was even asked to be in a picture with a family haha


♥ The crowd in Pecos dies down after 9 o'clock and about an hour before closing (either 11 or 12) it usually just turns into a Pecos party and we try to find way to entertain ourselves. The other night a couple of us from behind counter went out into the lobby and did the hokey pokey! So great :) 

♥ One of the highlights of my life I would have to say is seeing LADY GAGA in Fantasyland. My roommate Shay and I didn't work until 7:30 on Saturday so we were just at our apt waiting to go to work, when our other roomie Kim told us Lady Gaga was in Magic Kingdom! So Shay and I scramble and decided to go play in the park before work and try to find her. Neither of us actually thought it would happen, but who knows?! So Shay just got food and we are walking in fantasyland and I really want to go on the Peter Pan ride, but Shay wants to finish her food first so we plop down on a bench right outside. Then, we see a kid race by us and go tell something to his family, and we assume he just saw Lady Gaga!! So we run in that direction and we see the mob of people (mostly big burly men who are surrounding her) then I see her platinum blonde hair and she is holding a princess balloon (everytime i see that balloon in the park now I think of her!). And she literally walks right by me, I probably could have reached out and tried to talk to her but her guards probably would have kicked my butt! hahaha She then went into Peter Pan, the ride I WANTED to go on! :) I was so excited after that I was shaking and immediately called Ellen who is her biggest fan by far! Hopefully I'll see more celebrities. So far I've heard of Cameron Diaz, Brad and Angelina, Vanessa Hudgens, Travis Barker (who I saw) and a couple others in the parks recently!

 


♥ Yesterday I was on break hanging out in the back listening to conversations around me and then 2 men from the Jamaica who work in the kitchen sat down and started sharing stories! They were talking about how in Jamaica if you have real dreads you can claim a woman and call her your "Empress" and everyone will know she's yours, and you can also call women your "African Queen" if you are a man. I could tell it was a male dominated society. Another girl from Barbados chimed in and said how her best friends dad is a big drug dealer, so when they go out if they hear gun shots they're not afraid because they are with a very important man. So scary! But it's amazing to hear other people's stories!

The Kitchen Sink!

Hi there!
So work was very slow this week because the parks were empty! Although Christina Aguilera, Michael Buble, Courtney Cox and David Arquette visited the parks! I didn't see them but Christina rode the ride my roomie works on so she saw her! I had Thursday and today off, and I decided to take it easy these days because I've constantly been out and about going to all the parks and resorts I needed a break and to prepare for my mandatory overtime work week next week :o

Thursday Shay and I went on an adventure to the Boardwalk hotel but it didn't last long because it was sooo hot and humid and I was getting a migrane, so we returned home and some advil and yummy lunch cured me! Emily was at the parks with her friend from home who plays the white rabbit and different dwarves in the electrical parade and we quizzed her about character auditions which was super interesting! We learned there were certain categories they put you in depending on your height. So...there is Mouse height which is people who are around 5'2 and under i believe. Then there's Munk height (chipmunk), then Pooh height, and Puppy height (like Pluto). She said I would be puppy height! So now my goal is to play Pluto which I was discussing on the phone with my friend Cassie :) Maybe I'll try out for character auditions at Disneyland in a few years! Emily's friend also told us about princess auditions, and for one of the rounds they literally stare at your face for 20 min! Awkward haha

Today I hung out with Morgan and another fellow Gamma Phi from SDSU, which cheered me up! I've been missing my best friends from santa cruz a lot especially because I would literally spend 24 hours a day with them, specifically Ellen and it's just SO weird to not have that rock in my life! (even though we talk on the phone everyday, it still doesn't make up for the fact that she's here). Morgan took us to Chick-Fil-A which is a fast food place that basically only sells chicken, which was difficult for me because I've been a vegetarian for Lent, and I probably will continue because I like it so much. But anyways I also finally watched Tangled which was a PHENOMENAL movie and I recommend it to EVERYONE!! Rapunzel is a big deal here at the parks and she really sells! Also her prince Flynn is such a cutie!!! He is the only prince here who does not look gay!

To end this post I want to include this video of a dish called 'The Kitchen Sink' which they sell at Beaches and Cream at the Yacht Club. My roomies and I are determined to get this before we leave (in fact we almost did tonight, but opted for Chinese food instead). It is 8 scoops of ice cream, with a WHOLE CAN of whipped cream, every topping possible and finally topped with not just one cherry but a huge handful! PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO! So epic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDwczHMhJFs

PS....I just wanted to thank Maria and Carolyn for sending me mail! It is always so exciting to get mail here and it means a lot to me to know they are thinking about me! :) It can get lonely out here on the east coast!

Magical Memories ♥

These past couple days have been crazy fun! I really wanted to take advantage of my 2 days off and I was very successful :) However, I finally felt it click that I am here and this is going to be my life for the next 4 months! It is weird balancing 2 lives and trying to keep up with everything in Santa Cruz. I'm starting to feel comfortable here and develop routines and new friendships. I feel the shift between how I lived and felt in Santa Cruz and how I'm adjusting to my new life here. This makes me sad because I don't want to leave behind everything in Santa Cruz even though I hear about everything that is happening and I'm not there to experience it :( I miss my best friends so much that it hurts, and sometimes talking to them makes me miss them more! I would pay big bucks to have myself cloned so I could be in CA as well as here!! But on a happy note I am absolutely loving it here despite missing everyone and there are so many opportunities to have fun and explore all that is here!!

In order to make this more interesting to read I will highlight some of the best moments these past couple days:

♥ I am so lucky to be able to see the Main Street Electrical Parade outside Pecos EVERY night I'm working in the dining room. The last parade is at 11, and at that point we're usually waiting for the guests to leave so we can start closing the dining room, so a couple of us head outside and just watch! Last night my coworker Bryan and I stood along the fence and watched. A couple of the characters weren't on their A game but it was still entertaining. Mickey even looked directly at my and pretended to write down his phone number then blew me a kiss!! SO precious! Def made my night hahaha


♥ On Saturday my friend Marnie invited me to one of the waterparks because we still get in for free up until June, so we went to Typhoon Lagoon and had a very relaxing first part of the day! The lazy river was out best friend haha I haven't been to a waterpark since middle school, so it for sure brought back many Bowditch Middle School memories :) There were so many families from England it was exciting to hear their accents!

♥ Then we attempted to look our best after being at the waterpark for a couple hours and hopped on a bus to the Swan and Dolphin Resort to take a boat to Epcot! I was impressed by the Resort, it was gorgeous!!! There was even a wedding going on (hmmm I'm taking note for the future hehe) and then we got on a watertaxi like boat that they have in Paris and went by the Boardwalk Hotel (which looked like its own city, I was blown away!) and finally arrived at Epcot! I am obssessed with Epcot, being a world traveler (thanks to my amazing parents) I could relate with most of the countries and Disney has a deal with each country (there was Canada, UK, France, Morrocco, Japan, Italy, Germany, China, Mexico and Norway) that the people that work there are ACTUALLY from that country! So the cute German man that sold us our amazing pretzels had a fun accent! I also got a phenomenal rice krispie treat with chocolate an carmel from the German bakery! Oh and THE BEST guacamole from Mexico :)

                                              Marnie and I at Epcot!!



♥ Then we left the countries and went to Future World! Marnie's friend Jordan works at Mission Space so he took us through VIP cast member only doors to the control room where we met the other CPs running the ride and we were treated like VIPs! The line for the actual ride goes right by the control room and all the guests were looking in probably thinking who the heck were we?! It was great. The ride Mission to Space was EPIC! There are 4 people in a compartment and it literally is like we were in a rocket on our way to Mars! We also went on Test Track and the Finding Nemo ride! So cute! It was one of my favorite days here and made me realize how lucky I am to have this experience.

                                           VIP status with Jordan!



♥ Yesterday my roomies Lindsay and Shaleen went to the Orlando Magic game! Lindsay's dad had bought the tickets before and we were 4th row club level! I love basketball so it was really fun! We even bought matching shirts :) Yet again, I can't get over how amazing my roommates are!

♥ When I got home from my long day at Typhoon Lagoon and Epcot, my roomies had a guy named Alex over, who Emily met on the bus. He plays the Beast, Sully and Goofy! So fun! He is from Russia and probably though we were crazy because we all were in a weird mood and acting like our crazy fun selves haha He had a fever though so Emily ended up driving him to Walgreens to get meds and we frolicked around Walgreens waiting for him, and he ended up buying us candy for being so nice and driving him! (he was going to walk!) Then Alex, Emily and I did laundry and Alex fell asleep on our couch for about 30 min...super sketch haha But he is hilarious and he left for a trip to DisneyLAND today, so we won't see him for a week a two. It's fun making new friends!  


Next week is the week before Easter and then the next week we have Grad nights.......SOOO I have to work 50 hours for next week and probably more the week after! I'm going to be uber busy/tired! One of my roomies has a 60 hour week!! So some of the fun and games will be put on hold unfortunately. It's easy to forget we aren't here to just play in the parks haha At least I will be making $$$$

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

High Four!

Today was a very fun day! I went into work at 2 and was assigned to dining room, so I wiped tables and helped seat guests which was fun because you get to see all the types of people and interact with the guests! It was almost 90 degrees today so I was def sweating, however I found where the AC vent was and I just happened to clean the tables directly under it many times hehehe Then I had to trek through the MK tunnels to a training room to complete the SIM (safety in motion) class, where we learned how to lift boxes correctly and other stuff because Disney wants us to not have back/wrist/shoulder problems! I sat with 2 other girls who worked at Pecos and we struck up an interesting conversation about roller coasters! I only tell you this because having random conversations with strangers is very common here because people are so friendly and nice! I'm definitely improving my small talk and first impression skills!

My favorite part of the day was being assigned Greeter out front, which means I stand on the porch of Pecos with a bell and a Mickey glove that looks like his hand and I smile, wave and welcome the guests! I also am the first person they go to for questions. oh lordy I was asked the same questions over and over...like "where's the nearest restroom?"...."Where can I find pizza/ice cream/frozen lemonade/chicken nuggets?",,,"Can you tell me about the different places to eat here?" (which I then launch into my spiel I've perfected about each restaurant, quick service and table service, in the entire park)...and my favorite statement..."Please tell me there is a place to buy beer around here". Which I sadly have to inform them that the Magic Kingdom does not sell alcohol! But greeter was so special because I got to look out into Frotierland for 2 hours with a nonstop smile and wave at each and every guest! Travis Barker from Blink 182 even walked by at one point! The little kids were just the cutest too!! I would ask for a 'high four' because the Mickey glove only has 4 fingers, soooo precious!

I though I got off at 10pm but I read my schedule wrong because Disney goes by military time, and I struggle sometimes and get the numbers confused! My schedule said 2000 which I mixed up thinking it was 10...but that actually means 8! But I can't complain so I went home early to hear about my roomie's days! Emily had her assessment today for the Great Movie Ride and Hollywood Studios and she has one of the hardest jobs on property I must say. I have never been on the ride but from what I hear it is this whole tour on a car thing that goes through rooms from distinct movies. She had pages of stuff to memorize and specific machinery, including the car to operate. In the end she passed her assessment and I am so proud of her!!!!!
She also has a blog going so here is the link to it if you're interested!!.... http://ebdoesdisney.blogspot.com/

I have Friday and Saturday off finally so I can't wait to explore the parks more!! That's all for now friends!! <3

Pecos Party!

Hello world! So yesterday marked 2 weeks until I have been in Florida, and I must say it feels like 2 months! These past couple days have been really fun because I dont go into work until around 5 or 6 so I've been hanging out with at least one of my roomies in the daytime and going to the pool/grocery shopping. Also I'm starting to feel comfortable at Pecos and become friends with the other CPs :)

Over the past couple days I have done filler (handing the guests their food and making sure they get everything the ordered) A LOT, so I'm getting pretty good at that haha and yesterday I was stationed in the lobby sweeping and wiping tables outside which was actually really fun because you get maximum interaction with the guests and they ask entertaining questions and I get the SAME questions asked over and over. Such as ..."Where can I get pizza around here?"..."Where are the napkins? I've looked everwhere!" (and to their surprise they are standing right in front of them). But I've perfected my answers to the those questions.

I also have closed the dining room 2 nights in a row which is pretty easy. We just wait for all the guests to leave and wipe the tables, organize the chairs and clean the trash cans (which isn't as gross as it sounds). The BEST part about this is, while we're waiting for the last guests to leave the 11pm Electrical Parade goes right by Pecos, so we stand outside and are literally 6 feet away from the parade!! I got to experience this for the first time on Tuesday and it was one of my favorite moments of the program so far :)

Also, last night I was talking to 3 other CPs Peter, Nathan and Kristin while we were closing and waiting to clock out and then they were nice enough to offer me a ride home! This was a real treat because the buses take FOREVER. I absolutely love how nice the CPs are and it makes me life so much easier, plus it's amazing to talk to people from all over the country!

Money Manor $$$

Sooo as of today I have completed 2 full days of work, I quickly realized my 4 days of training was nothing compared to what I've done these past 2 days! On saturday I had my assessment which was scary because my trainer literally asked me 200 questions about everything I was taught the past 3 days and some of the things I was only told/showed once. Then one of the managers asked me even more questions but he was super nice and understanding and told me good info about the parks! Such as this is the last year for grad nights (thank gosh!! they go until 5am in the Magic Kingdom !) Also that Disney is getting rid of a lot of their special events because the attendance of normal people is so high they dont want to deny the general public, so no more park closures for special people!

I still can't get over the fact that I work in the happiest place in the world and being at work reminds me everyday! For example today I was getting people there food and 2 separate times these 2 dads didn't have enough hands to carry the trays of food so, as Disney taught me, I offered to help them and they were SO grateful! In Traditions we were taught that our main goal is "to create happiness" which is what my roommates and I say to eachother everyday jokingly as we head of to work! And it was honestly just really fun to realize I could make a whole family happy by doing one simple thing. My hours are usually 6pm-12am or even 7:30pm-1am some nights which I actually love because I can sleep in and hang out with my roomies during the day and enjoy the beautiful Florida sunshine! Yesterday Emily and I went to the beautiful Chatham pool and tanned. Well...I kinda burned because I failed at applying sunscreen so I now have a square of red on my left arm and hand prints on my thighs...whoops. Also people don't really do much at night and I quite enjoy the closing shifts because the hustle and bustle of the busy restaurant is over and you can go at your own pace when closing the counter/topping bar or dining room and you can focus on the guests more when it isn't busy.

Yesterday I started out behind the counter in the 'counter stocker' role which is basically where I make sure all the ice is filled in the drink machines, the cups/lids are stocked, the food in the fridge is stocked, the cakes and cookies are full and the little coolers are stocked with water and milk! I am sore from shoveling ice and lifting boxes! Overall a lot to remember but eventually you get the hang of it and automatically know where to go for new stuff. For the first 3 hours I was literally sweating and running around because everything runs out quickly at peak hours. Then I moved to filler at the counter where you take the food from the kitchen read the recipt and go to the right window and give the guest their food. It can get complicated if the guest decides to change their order last minute or they are down right rude and when it gets busy and the kitchen gets backed up that is rough! The guests just stand there and look impatient and there's nothing we can do about it! But other than that it is really fun to talk to the guest and hear where their from and stories from the day! I met a family from Scotland today and they were all just SO happy to be there! And I talked to numerous kids about their favorite rides and who their favorite princess is!

Today I worked a 10 hour shift which is unusually long but it went by SOO fast because we were freakin busy! I was counter filler for the first 5 hours which was exhausting but honestly I was constantly moving it only seemed like an hour! I also made more friends today, all the CPs (college programers) are friendly and super helpful! This girl Sabrina from Brazil helped me with counter stocking and answered all my questions and another girl named Sarah was super friendly Some of the people that work in the kitchen have big fat mickey shaped sticks up their butts!! They just have no patience or sympathy when it's busy and whatnot, but there's only 1 or 2 so it's not a big deal. I just brush it off, but can't help wondering why they bother to even be here if they're going to be debbie downers?? Why make someone feel bad if you could make them happy instead?!

Also, I have to say I am soooo lucky I LOVE my roomies!! There are 8 of us total which usually equals major disaster and drama...but not in 9104!! We nicknamed our apartment the money manor (I have no idea whyyy, I think it has to do with the fact that we live on Manor Ct. and we have no money haha) They are all really fun girls and we always have a blast when we hang out! We bond over random trips to Walmart, adventures to find Chinese food, bus rides back from Downtown Disney where we get stuck at Vista for an hour and of course the new A2. We laugh at everything and finding humor in life is very important! Laughing makes you live longer yay! Earlier tonight I struggled to make a hard boiled egg and it didnt cook so I called it a "rard boiled egg" which was a combination of Raw and Hard Boiled hahaha and my roomie Jaqui stepped in to help me try again! So nice!

But even after all the fun I'm having in Florida I miss everyone back home so much it hurts :(( I haven't gone a day with out talking to a handful of my friends and I usually talk to Ellen at least twice on the phone a day which makes me very happy!! But I would pay millions to have myself cloned so I could be in Santa Cruz with my SC family (you know who you are!) and Foster City with my family and Bestie! Especially because rush is this week so I wish I could be there with everyone recruiting girls! There is always next fall :) Everyone has been so great at keeping in touch which means the world to me and I hope it continues!!!

Deuces!!  <3

Howdy Folks!

Oh myyy goodness! I don't know where to begin after my first day of training yesterday, so warning this may be a super long post! :)

Because of the shady bus system here they recommend you leave super early for your shift to gurantee you wont be late. So...I had to be at work at 3:15 so my roomie Shaleen and I took the 1:33 bus (they change bus drivers at Vista Way so you have to sit there for 30 min) and we got to the cast drop off area at Magic Kingdom at 2:40. Shaleen also had work that day but she got there a little early to hang out with me! I told you there were fantastic people here :) I was super nervous so we walked around the tunnels underground the MK. She showed me where the locker rooms were and which direction to go towards Frontierland (it is quite easy to get lost in those tunnels, but there are handy dandy cute signs pointing you in the right directions and inspirational quotes on the walls).

Let me digress for a bit...I was thinking about my job as I was falling asleep last night and I concluded it is like a show. Disney encourages that by calling us Cast Members, and our uniforms costumes and we have onstage and backstage. But this mentality will help me get through my job everyday, especially because this mindset is familiar to me coming from a theatre background! I put my costume on, do my make up, get ready back stage and walk the tunnels to my location and then WHAM I'm onstage behind the counter or the greeter outside Pecos Bills and I put on a smile for the guests and try my absolute best to make sure each and every guest is happy and their questions are answered! Just like in theatre, if I'm not on my A-game the guests/audience can tell and it effects their experience. After work yesterday, as I was walking back through the tunnels, I felt like the show was over and I was on my way home, it was such a satisfying feeling knowing I completed my task for the day and created happiness for maybe not every guest that came into our restaurant, but at least some. Ok, now back to my day...!

I was training with this girl from Thailand named Ratchadporn, or Beau as she likes to be called and she was about 4'10, definite Snooki size, although I'm pretty sure she has no idea who that is haha We met our trainer Ray, who is 20 from Puerto Rico. He was fun and knew what he was doing but he moved fast! Although with the business of Pecos Bills (the 2nd busiest on Disney property!) he would run off to do something and Beau and I would be so lost! I felt like a lost puppy following him around all day. He showed us how to be filler at the counter, be counter stock and fill drink orders. When Pecos is at its busiest times flies so freakin fast! Which is good, I would rather be busy then bored out of my mind herding people into an attraction. We learned where they stock all the food and how to read the recipts to give the guests their food in a smooth fashion. We also learned how to close down Pecos and clean the soda machine, the coffee machine, hot chocolate machine, wipe EVERY nook and cranny down, restock the cups and lids and put all the food back in the coolers plus more I already forget...whoops!

It is nerve racking being the filler (the one who gives the guests their food) because when it's busy there are 30+ pairs of eyes watching you and waiting for their food. BUT....yesterday there were particular guests that stood out to me and put a smile on my face, even in this busy time. They were kind and patient which can go a long way. One man called my name (which I still have to get used to because my first reaction is "omg how do the know my name!! creeepy!" but then I realize I have the awesome Disney nametag, and all he wanted was to let me know he recognized his food. That's another thing is the guests just stand there waiting for their food and easily recognize their order and are not afraid to let you know, which in the end is helpful! It is almost like a game...get the right food to the right person! It's crazy, a definite challenge, fun and problem solving at its finest!

This job is going to keep me very very busy, but it's a good change of pace for me and out of my comfort zone, which will help build character hopefully! Although I work late nights (until 1:30 tonight!) I get to sleep in and hang out with my awesome roomies in the morning/afternoon :) And I can call/text my beyond amazing friends from back home, who I miss way to much to put into words or I will tear up, on my way home from work because it's only 11 back in Cali!

Oh my gosh how could I forget! I work with a bunch of fun Puerto Ricans who all speak Spanish and of course I forget all the spanish I learned in my life except how to say elbow and and lettuce...not helpful! But my goal is to be muy bueno at espanol!

I know I have more to say, but I'm drawing a blank, but keep checking back for more updates!!

Straight to the Dome!

Yesterday was such a magical day! I know that may sound cheesy but I even ended my day getting pixie dust from cast members on Main Street! I got to sleep in and then I walked over to Patterson Court where Morgan lives. Here's a great story....So Morgan went to high school with my big, Ashley, and she is also a Gamma Phi at San Diego State! We befriended eachother on facebook and have kept in touch since I want to say October. She arrived here in January and is my go to girl if I need advice on anything. We ordered match GPhi Disney shirt to wear when we explored the parks, like that fine day yesterday. As soon as I got to her room I felt very welcomed and not out of place at all. That is one thing I've noticed since arriving, so many people are way more friendly and open to conversations with others. Her roommate Shelbi, Morgan and I then hopped in Shelbi's car and drove to the Disney Wedding Pavillion!! This was literally my dream come true, I want to get married here so badly it hurts! The setting was absolutely gorgeous and you could smell the fresh flowers!

Here Morgan and I are at the entrance to the stunning Wedding Pavillion!

This is the altar where all the vow exchanges happen, soo special! It is hard to tell in this picture, but in between our heads you can see Cinderella's Castle and the Grand Floridian at its finest! :)

Now, back to our day...After this we walked the grounds of the regale Grand Floridian and walked along the white sandy beach in the 80degree weather with huge smiles on our faces, saying "Oh mylanta" and "Oh my goodness!" at every turn. From there we drove to Hollywood Studios with the main goal of seeing Fantasmic. Our tummys were calling out for food so we stopped by the Primetime Cafe, which is 50's family themed so when your table is ready the servers call out "Bob it's dinner time come to the table!!". Super creative! We ended up sitting at the bar, which I was surprised because they were serving alcohol, but I didn't complain. I had THE BEST smoothie ever and vegetables and ravioli! Food coma for sure! I told Morgan how back in Santa Cruz we named our food babies after the American Girl dolls :) Another part of being in Florida is bringing a slice of Santa Cruz and sharing the fun stories from college and all the quirky things my friends and I do and say. Such as "rougghhhh" or even  saying "jaggggged" when a situation is that bad. I also learned "straight to the dome!" as Morgan says when someone gets hit in the face.

 Morgan, Shelbi and I at Hollywood Studios!


We walked all around the park and finally up to the Fantasmic Arena which was HUGE! I'm used to Disneyland where you sit on the sidewalk where you can, but no...everything is more epic here. The show was FANTASTIC!! Seeing all the characters on the boat at the end was so special and the whole thing reminded me why I love Disney. After that we drove to Magic Kingdom and ran to watch Wishes the firework show. Even from far down Main Street it was everything I ever dreamed!! I could watch that show every night of my life and never get bored. The way the music, lights, fireworks and overall magical setting worked together brought chills. Next time I plan on sitting right in front of the castle to get the full effect!

We ended a perfect day with a picture in front of the glorious caslte! <3

 Me, Kim and Lindsay in front of Cinderella's Castle!!! Such a happy day!

This is where I will be working! Apparently it's the 3rd busiest restaurant in WDW......so hopefully I can survive the next 5 months!

Jungle Speed!

 Yesterday was a very very good day! I FINALLY  got to sleep in, which is a big deal because we have had to get up super early every day this week. Then around 11, my roomie Shaleen and I hoped on the bus and went to Disney University, but we stopped by the cast member discount store first! It was in a little warehouse behind the enormous cast parking lot. I have to say I was in Disney merchandise heaven!!! I bought I cute mickey mouse sweatshirt for $8 and a fabulous castle picture frame for $5! Both of these items were originally at least $20 each! I am for sure going back there as much as possible! Then we had training from 1-4:30 and we got ER (which means early released as I just learned yesterday).

When we got home we heard about Lindsay’s day because she is the only one of us to go through a full day a training on the job in her costume! She is working at Hollywood Studios at the Indiana Jones show…I’m not too sure what it is because I haven’t been there yet haha overall she said it was a really tiring day and there were many different jobs within the attraction to perfect. This upcoming week should be interesting because we all start training at our workplace, and we get to see what it really is like to work at WDW! We planned to go out to park tonight but we were having too much fun lounging around, talking and laughing that we ended up going on an adventure to find Chinese food!! Then our Puerto Rican roomie had her friends over who introduced us to this French game called jungle speed. It reminded me of Uno but there were shapes. So here we are…2 girls from Washington, 1 from Illinois, 1 from California, 2 girls and one guy from Puerto Rico bonding over this silly game. I never would have imagined myself in this situation but I think its wonderful how the college program unites people who never would have come together to have fun! It’s so great to think about!

Magic in the air!!

 

A huge part of working for Disney is passing on the traditions that have been established in the many years the company has been around. So each new cast member (as the employees are called, there are many more fun Disney terms that I will explain!) has to go through a Traditions class before beginning work. So early on Friday morning my roommates and I boarded a bus even before the sun came up and headed over to Disney University! I have to say this class was so inspirational and very useful even in the real world. It taught me to handle any types of situations with guests and how to create happiness for the guests.

Now to explain a little about my day: We were split up into 2 groups and herded down the exciting halls of Disney University that were adorned with numerous pictures of every Disney movie ever made...including James and the Giant Peach and the Mighty Ducks. I found myself instantly bonding with people around me by exclaiming “OMG I love that movie!” or “I was obsessed with that movie as a child…and I still am now!”. I was discussing this with a girl I met today named Tara, we agreed that before this program we felt the need to hide the extremities of our passion and obsession for Disney but here we are free to express all our Disney knowledge without being judged. I’m not ashamed to admit I know part of Walt Disney’s dedication speech of Disneyland or that I listen to the attraction soundtracks from Disneyland! 

Anyways, I’m digressing…In Traditions we had 2 leaders who were more like comedians named Matt and Sean who explained and taught to us in a very comedic but memorable way the expectations of the Disney Company, what they stand for and how they make each moment for every guest magical, or at least the best it possibly can be. We watched some interviews and fun movies about WDW (Walt Disney World) and the last one made almost everyone in the room cry because it was so inspirational and exuberated pure happiness! One very important thing I learned was a smile goes a long long way! And I will remember that forever :) We then got a tour of the Magic Kingdom and seeing the castle for the first time, not going to lie, made me tear up because of how much it represents and the sheer joy it can bring to any face whilst entering the park. After that Mickey came to visit us and he handed out prizes while Matt and Sean asked us questions!! I ended up getting 3 little Disney figurines! Yay!

After Traditions my roomies and I crashed at the apartment and took wonderful naps (which I figured out are going to help me survive my 5 months here) and then Lindsay, Kim and I ventured back to the Magic Kingdom to explore! I have to say the Magic Kingdom threw me off a bit because it is SO similar to Disneyland, but also very differently laid out which confused the heck out of me! Lindsay and I were constantly comparing it to Disneyland, but I know I will get used to the Florida layout eventually. We went on a couple rides and ate at Pecos Bills, which is where I will be working! I’m thankful to say it was actually really good food, thank gosh.

3/26: My roommate Shaleen and I had training WAYY early which required us to catch the 6:05 bus. We got to Disney University at 7 on the dot and soon were shuffled off to take another tour of our workplace, the Magic Kingdom, which is THE MOST visited theme park in the world!! We got to see the opening of the park at 8am and I have to say it was a moment I will never forget, because we heard the countdown until the park opened and got to see children running towards main street with so much excitement and happiness it was contagious! We then proceed to learn about what our roles would be and our costumes. This training lasted from 7am-3pm and I have to say if it wasn’t for my roomie Shaleen I would have not survived! We also visited the costume warehouse and were issued our costumes!! There were hundreds upon hundreds of different kids of costumes there it was so intriguing!!

I can’t wait to explore the other parks!! My roomies Emily and Lindsay are working attractions at Hollywood Studios, Kim is a lifeguard at blizzard beach, Shawna is working in the parking lot of Animal Kingdom, Shaleen is working the food stands in Magic Kingdom and Jaclyn and Marieli are working at EPCOT. This is just an example of how many jobs there are at WDW! My favorite thing to do is look at the other cast member’s costumes and try to guess where they work! I see a new costume each day, so it is quite fun! :)

I officially begin training on Wednesday and I have some late hours, like 1 or 2 am. But I am excited to learn new things and make the most of my experience here and not be a Debbie downer.

TTFN!! (tata for now as Tigger says!)