Finally Visited ALL 4 Parks and THE KITCHEN SINK

ALOHAAA!

THE PARKS! 

So I finally did it! I have officially visited all four parks and it has only taken me 2 and a half weeks to do it. Sad, huh? It's so hard with work and the glow of Wishes calling your name every night. I've visited Magic Kingdom, well, I'm not exactly sure how many times...but it has been such an adventure these past two weeks!

Yesterday we went to Animal Kingdom, and we rode my FAVORITE Expedition Everest. It is by far my favorite roller coaster. Yes, it's better than Rock n' Roller Coaster. I was also able to watch Festival of the Lion King for the first time yesterday. I don't know how I've missed that in the years I've been to Disney. It is tucked away a bit, but after watching it yesterday, MY GOODNESS, it is now a must on my list. It was breathtaking. It gave me cold chills. The acrobats and dancers were beautiful. The music was spot on. It was entertainment at its finest. If you only have a few hours to do Animal Kingdom ride Expedition Everest, see Festival of the Lion King, and if you have time go to It's Tough To Be A Bug. And you've practically done it all. Animal Kingdom is a great park, you can get a ton done there in a short amount of time. There is a ton of animals and foliage to look at, too!

We explored a little yesterday and went on a trail where there were meerkats, zebras, birds, and our favorite gorillas. And to our surprise there were BABIES!!!! They were adorable!! We watched them for a solid 5 minutes before having to rush to see our showing of The Lion King, but we will definitely be going back soon to stare at the baby gorillas.

Fun fact: I have now gotten stuck on a ride! On Monday I was at Magic Kingdom with a friend, and we were both trying to cross small rides off our long list of rides we need to ride before the program ends. It was a terribly busy day for Magic Kingdom (so busy they extended park hours), so we fast passed "it's a small world"...unfortunately there are some things you just can't fast pass. Like exiting the ride! There were so many guests trying to ride "it's a small world" that there were probably fifteen boats or more backed up bumper to bumper trying to exit the ride. And guess where we were stuck? Right in the final scene where it is blaring "IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL, IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL, IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALL....IT'S A SMALL WORLD AFTER ALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!" Oh my goodness. It was almost like a bad dream.

Additionally, we were in Animal Kingdom yesterday, like I said earlier, and were watching Finding Nemo The Musical when the show was about three quarters of the way through, the sound cut off and Marlin "swam" off stage quickly. The show was cancelled and we weren't given news on what happened; we just had to leave. I hope Marlin is okay!

THE KITCHEN SINK!

Disclaimer: I HATE when my foods mix. I think it's nasty, disgusting, repulsive, just plain gross. So this was a challenge in and of itself for me. 

Chocolate, Strawberry, Vanilla, Cookies and Cream, and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream covered by a whole can of whip cream (A WHOLE CAN), I think a jar of cherries, sprinkles, cake, brownies, orange candy slices, bananas, peanut butter syrup, strawberry syrup, chocolate syrup, maybe some peanut butter and chocolate chips sprinkled on there too. 

We tried and tried and tried, but failed, nevertheless. I think it was the whole can of whip cream and the nasty Strawberry ice cream. If it was all Mint Chocolate Chip and no whip cream I am pretty sure we could have done it. (PLUS 4 MORE PEOPLE)! :) We couldn't eat it fast enough, so it all just melted. 

We tried to make it a game where everyone took a big spoonful from the bottom and had to eat whatever they pulled up, but after a near throw up incident, we stopped! :) Caryn and Bethanie took the straw challenge and dunked their straws into the goop. Their reactions were priceless. I kept digging up Strawberry slime (syrup), and after my third spoonful of it, I had to quit. 

I felt like we did a decent job, and we were all confident we ate half of it...that was until our waitress came over and said we let her down...she scolded us and said there was no way we finished half of it. We were sad. We didn't care though, we just wanted her to take it away. 

Aloha Day and Training for Merchandise at the Polynesian

Alohaaa! 

 

It has been pretty swell here on my little Polynesian island. I've been here for two weeks already, and it is flying by! So far I've gone through my Aloha Day at the Polynesian (which is a "Welcome to our 'Ohana" class where we are acclimated to the resort and what it has to offer), and I have also done a couple of days of training in the merchandise stores: Moana Mercantile and BouTiki. I think my favorite store to work at is going to be Moana Mercantile, because so many things take place up there. 'Ohana (table-service dining), Tambu Lounge (bar), Kona Cafe and Kona Island, and the monorail are all located on the second floor of the Polynesian Village Resort. It gets a lot of foot traffic and business, whereas BouTiki's customers are 'just looking' and picking up packages. PLUS...all of the kid's toys and plushes are upstairs in Moana Mercantile AND the pin cart! 

Aloha Day

Aloha Day was a short day, but we learned a lot about the resort and what types of rooms and services the Polynesian has to offer. Once we listened to our speaker introduce us to the resort, we took a tour (in the 100 degree heat) of the resort. It is one of my favorite resorts on Disney property. It's just beautiful, but I prefer to look at it when it's not sweltering outside. :) Then we went into the Great Ceremonial House, also known as the lobby, and were given leis by Auntie Kaowi. She is the grandmother of the Polynesian. You can find her to the right of the Polynesian lobby making leis and authentic flower headbands (for cheap compared to Disney prices!) or if you catch her at the right time (I think between 1:30-2:30) she'll be passing out warm, fresh cookies to guests in the lobby. Back to my story, though, she gave us all leis and welcomed us with a traditional kiss on the cheek or if you were lucky you got an eskimo kiss! I was not one of the lucky ones. :( She did call us all beautiful, though! Afterwards another woman came over along with quite a few leaders and instructed us on how to hula dance. It was extremely fun and a great way to welcome us in to the Polynesian 'Ohana. 

Big shout out to Blake's Nana for the Mickey bar! What a great way to end my week!:) 

Training 

I have a total of three days of training. I have already completed two of them, and today is my last day of training and it's a closing shift. Yuck! My first two days went alright. It keeps getting better, though, so I'm happy about that. I am just excited to start doing things on my own! My first day of training was very basic. We walked around a lot and did a lot of nothing I felt like. We stood around the shops and awkwardly welcomed guests to our store. It was awkward because there were four of us trying to say "ALOHA!" all at the same time. It was a mess. We also did a lot of pin trading, and I did my best to stand out to my leaders...because you know me, GO ABOVE AND BEYOND, and I would bend down to the little kids and show them my pins (because that's what we were told to do), but no one else did that. I'll keep doing it though...it gives me a chance to stretch my legs out and rest my feet, because we stand a lot and never get to sit down. My legs hurt so bad at the end of the day. On the bright side, my calves are getting really toned from all this walking! :) Day two's training went more smoothly than day one's, in that, we were on the register for the majority of the day. This was just a refresher from the training I had previously gotten in my Merchantainment class, but actually putting it all together was a whole new ball game. After the first 5 customers I think I started to catch on, but it will eventually become second nature. It's just figuring out where all the buttons are located at and under which heading. It's confusing...but I enjoy it! Today is a closing shift, and from what my trainer told me yesterday, we are going to learn how to close down the shop, how to stock, possible more register training, and who knows what else. And then tomorrow I'm on my own! No trainer! No body to tell me where to go or what to do every second. SCARY! The cast members at each merchandise location are super friendly, though, I've already met them and I know that they will help me out if I need something. 

Homesickness 

So here's something that my pictures might not show. Homesickness! Yes. It's so tough being so many states away from my family, my boyfriend, and my friends. I wish they would all just pack up and move here. I think what I've been struggling the most with is trying to find something to do during my free time. WARNING: RANT ALERT. It sounds silly, because the most logical thing to do would be to go to the park, but after working 8.5 hour shifts or all of your friends work the opposite shift you do, that's really the last thing you want to do. My focus is to try and enjoy being by myself. This is a big chunk of the reason as to why I wanted to come down here and do the program in the first place. I need to gain some independence. I hate being by myself, but I am hoping that this will help me learn to love it. I really think it's teaching me that I will never be a housewife or a stay at home mom, but that too!! :) 

This feeling comes in waves, though, and I am so thankful that the waves are getting more spread out. Hopefully they will disappear! 

MY BIRTHDAY IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM! 

For my birthday we got reservations to Be Our Guest! I was THRILLED! Some people have to wait months for those reservations and we got them the night before! We all dressed up and looked super cute! I wore my mini princess tiara and the girls wore their mouse ears. Cinderella made some reference to me that I was the princess and brought all my mice with me today to MK. We met a ton of princesses, Minnie and Daisy, Gaston (what a hunk and kind of creepy), and even Princess Tiana and Naveen to top the night off. We rode The Magic Carpets, Dumbo, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, the Carousel, Barnstormer, and probably more I just forgot. It was such a magical night, and Belle and the Beast even gave me a birthday card and complimentary grey stuff. If you don't know what that is...go listen to "Be Our Guest" on youtube. It was delicious. 

A look ahead

In the next few days Natalie and I will be heading to Typhoon Lagoon to play at the water park and splash around before it gets too chilly. We also plan on snorkeling there! Neither one of us has ever done it before, and so we are super excited to swim across the sand shark lagoon and see what it's like! I've never been to either water park at Disney, so I'm so excited to suit up and test them out! 

The Mousekateers, as my mom has named us, have decided to OFFICIALLY tackle the kitchen sink for sure this time! We plan to go one night early this week and eat it up! I hope it's on a night that I don't have work the next day just incase it makes me sick! :) 

I also hope to be voluntEARing at one of Disney's voluntEAR events for Give The Kids The World. I haven't heard back yet, so that's still up in the air, but these events are for kids who are terminally ill and we, as students, go and make a little magic for them and their families. 

Resort Hopping, Traditions, and First Trip to Magic Kingdom!!!!

Aloha!

I feel like I have packed so many things into the last few days. From visiting 6 resorts (7 if you include the Polynesian which we have been to twice already and haven't even started training yet!), watching Wishes fireworks two nights in a row (that's a 10 o'clock show, people), to grocery shopping for the first time by myself, to going to Traditions (squee!), and our first trip to MK as cast members. It has been late nights, early mornings up until today where I have gotten to sleep in and take a break from all the hustle and bustle. Tomorrow is my first day of training, and I am so excited. I do not really know what to expect (or where to go) I just know to take the A or B bus  to Disney University and hopefully someone will be there to assist me.

So far all has been well. Homesickness comes in waves. I feel great and say to myself "this is nothing, I can totally do this for four months" and then 3 hours later I feel like I'm on the verge of tears. But that is totally normal and I think once I get in the swing of things, that will go away. I'm so happy that I have decided to go on this adventure, and I am excited to see to how God pushes me out of my comfort zone (because my bubble is small).

Resort Hopping!!!

As for resort hopping, it was a long, long, long, long, longggg day. Earlier that day we made a list of the resorts we wanted to see. The Grand Floridian, Beach and Yacht Club, Port Orleans French Quarter, and the Art of Animation. We drove to the Polynesian (go figure!), parked there, and rode the monorail to The Grand. The hotel is spectacular...a little fancy for my taste, but absolutely gorgeous. My favorite part is the elevator (if you look to the right of the picture you can see the glass elevator that runs to the top).

Next we took the monorail to Magic Kingdom to catch a bus to Beach and Yacht. Beach Club is Blake's favorite, and I love the beach access and how they overlook the water to the Boardwalk. The girls and I had to cancel our reservation to Beaches and Cream for last Wednesday, because it was at 10:00 at night and we all had Traditions the next day at 8:00 (but had to wake up at 5:30). We will definitely be going back to take on the challenge! Natalie and I stopped by the soda shop and snapped a pic...we were too tempted by the hot weather to step inside, but the rootbeer float was calling my name. Since we were baking in the sun we decided it was too long to walk all the way over to the Boardwalk, so we slowly walked through the lobby of Beach Club soaking in as much air conditioning as possible and waited 30 minutes for a bus to Magic Kingdom to catch a bus to Port Orleans from there.

Once we finally got to Port Orleans French Quarter, we realized our wait had been entirely worth it. It was exactly what we had imagined it would look like. I felt like we were in the heart of New Orleans during Mardi Gras. There was a little old man at the door with a fancy costume on who looked like he was ready to party. We took our picture with him, because we couldn't stand his cuteness. The Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory is a MUST if you are ever close enough. I got a milkshake that hit the spot on that 98 degree+ day. They also had fresh beignets and po-boys  that fit right in to their theme! This was such a fun little moderate resort...plus they even had one one of the better gift shops I've seen at a resort (some really unique stuff). Port Orleans French Quarter is definitely one of my favorites! 

We caught the first bus to a park, because we didn't want to be stranded in the heat, which so happened to be Hollywood Studios. From there we caught another bus to Art of Animation. The Art of Animation is the cutest value resort. It is perfect for youngsters and adults (like me!) who enjoy the Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Cars, and Finding Nemo. Here you can find larger than life-sized statues of characters from the movies scattered all around the resort. 

We figured out that the majority of our time spent that day was on Disney bus transportation, since we had to keep hopping from resort to park to resort. We estimated that about 2 hours were spent riding around. It was all worth it, though! 

Traditions!                                                             5:30 a.m. Shower, get dressed, hair, makeup, breakfast

6:35 Headed to the buses. *Word to the wise: get there early! If the buses say they are leaving at 6:55, THEY ARE. Be there early. Like earlier than we were if you want to sit with your friends.

7:40? We are dropped off at Disney University, you get split up into groups based on the number you are given at Check-In. Then you go to your classroom, and that is all the information I am sharing online :) It is lots of Disney heritage and information and LOTS of fun! 

Bring: snacks, water bottle, tissues, band-aids (I got blisters and I needed some bad), WEAR comfy shoes, sunglasses 

My class let out around 12:45, but some went until 1:30...I think it all just depends! I will share that you get Mickey ears and your name tag, because you probably already knew that if you are a snoop like me!

FIRST TRIP TO MK AS CAST MEMBERS!

So after Traditions I went home, took a power nap, grabbed a bite to eat, and then Natalie, Bethanie, and I headed to, none other than, Magic Kingdom. We had hopes that Caryn, who unfortunately for background check issues was placed in the afternoon Traditions, would be able to meet up with us for Wishes (inside the park this time), but she was not issued her blue ID today, so we ended up going home early. No worries, we have 4 months to catch them, and I am sure we will see them multiple times! As soon as we got there we saw "Dream Along with Mickey" on the Castle stage...not my favorite show, but it was super exciting to see as soon as we walked through the gates. We then B-lined it for the Fast Pass kiosk to make reservations for Space Mountain and Buzz Space Ranger Spin. The lines were not terribly long (for example Seven Dwarf's Mine Train was only 40 minutes...that's MK's newest ride!), but we wanted to be able to walk on rides to make the evening go by faster. We were able to ride Space Mountain, Seven Dwarf's Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Ranger Spin, The People Mover, and The Laugh Floor. My goal is to ride every single ride and watch every single parade and show at every single park before my program is over. Honestly I thought it would be a simple goal before I got down here, but after going to the park last night...it may be a bit tougher than I thought! Here's an (ugly) selfie from Magic Kingdom yesterday...we stayed until dark and had trouble finding where we parked, but all in all it was a GREAT day! 

                           

I'm having so much fun and am enjoying this more than I thought! My first day of training is tomorrow. As for today, I think it's going to be a pool day. I miss everyone back home...today is my boyfriend's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him! 

Until next time, aloha!                   

See Ya Real Soon AND Check-In

Aloha!

I am proud to announce that I will soon be working merchandise at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort.

I could potentially be working in one of two stores (or both) located in this tropical paradise inside of Walt Disney World's property: Moana (named after the recently named "Disney's newest princess") or BouTiki.

It has been pretty busy and crazy these past few days from checking in, moving in, and buying groceries and extras for the apartment. But before I get into those details, let me rewind and take you back to last Wednesday where my lovely friends at Campbellsville University threw the best surprise "See Ya Later" party for me.

Blake and I had gone to spend the evening at Green River, we were going to put up our Enos and watch the sunset on the lake. By the time we got out to the lake the bugs had eaten us up, so we hardly even sat down before we packed up and headed back to the car. My attention was focused solely on my throbbing bug bites, but I did feel like car sway to the right rather than the left...I knew something was up. And then before I knew it, all of my friends were gathered under the pavilion with a cookie cake and s'mores. Blake set out to do what he does best at our friendly functions (make fire), and I hugged my way around my circle of friends. It was such a sweet night of fellowship. I am forever thankful for the memories I have made and will make at Campbellsville University; God knew what He was doing, let me tell ya. The next day Blake and I spent the day back at the lake hanging from the trees, eating Milk Duds, and sharing lots of laughs. LOTS. Then Abby and I went to the Tiger Football game that night to watch cute little cheerleaders beside us giggle over the Tiger Mascot giving them a hug.

Friday was moving day, and my boys from school (Blake, Paul, Matthew, and John) came up to take me to one last dinner in Kentucky. I bet you can guess what it was. Guadalajara. My favorite Mexican restaurant of all time. Nothing beats it. Chick-Fil-A might tie on a good day, but it's close. My cousins finally got their new pup, and I was able to get a good puppy snuggle in before I left. I told Gen goodbye and hugged her and her response was a pouty "Don't have too much fun without me." Blake's goodbye was a bit more of a quick hug, kiss on the cheek, and hurry up or I'm going to cry...but I loved every bit of it. Then off we went. ETA Saturday 3PM.

Saturday we checked into our hotel took a quick nap and headed for Downtown Disney. We ate at a favorite of mine, Wolfgang Puck Express, and then hit the shops! For a birthday present my parents bought me an Alex and Ani! I found so many things I wanted to buy like the stuffed animal Flower from Bambi. It's so fluffy and it's tail is sooooooooo long. I need her! 

Sunday we went shopping at the Outlet Malls and I got acclimated with the Orlando/Disney area a bit more. Later that night I went to dinner with the friends I met on FaceBook. We had such a fun time getting to know each other and talking about what to expect and where we might be working.


Monday morning I woke up bright and early to grab a quick breakfast at Chick-Fil-A. Looking back, I am really thankful I chose to eat breakfast beforehand, because I did not have time to go eat anywhere between my check-in and casting meeting. I was out of casting at 12:00, but at that point I wanted to get my stuff in my room. I think we ended up eating lunch around 2:30, so if you are reading this in preparation for your future check-in, EAT BREAKFAST!!! We decided to all meet up at Caryn's hotel, because she lives right across the street from where we needed to go for Check-In. We all piled-in my car and drove over. The was short compared the videos I have seen on vlogs of other DCPers. The whole process took about an hour. I first found out my work location: merchandise at Polynesian Village Resort. Then I got my apartment assignment: Chatham Square with Natalie and 4 other girls in a 2 bedroom. You also take your housing ID picture, get your key to your apartment, fill out some I9 documents, go over your itinerary for the next couple of days, get a talk about Education opportunities, and talk about CP life (and get some free snacks)!

Then we waited for our Casting meeting which was at 10:30...at Casting we filled out I9 documents, fingerprints, and got training schedules...some other important stuff, too. (I don't want to give too much away!) Here is a short clip of us driving under the Walt Disney World gate before Casting!

 

My parents picked me up from Casting and we drove to Chatham Square and gazed upon my living quarters for the next 4 months. I love my apartment and the girls living here with me. Once I got the majority of things moved in, Natalie, her parents, my parents, and I went to grab a quick lunch and to the Walmart to grocery shop and grab some essentials. It was a mad house. Next time I'll be going to Target. We then unloaded everything, got cleaned up, and headed to the Polynesian for dinner at Kona Cafe and Magic Kingdom fireworks on the beach while eating Dole Whips from Pineapple Lanai. It was a perfect night.

Today I have a housing meeting, and us girls are exchanging gifts we brought for each other and are  headed to Downtown Disney!

 Until next time, aloha.