The past month

So yesterday was my one month anniversary of being here in Florida. I have been super busy but having lots of fun. I guess I will try to pick up from where I left off....and try to continue writing in this thing.

Tuesday August 4 - I had my first day of training at Epcot. The first thing we did was go and get my costume! The oh so beautiful culottes! We then went over to Canada. It was a lot of web based learning (aka boring) but I spend some time on stage. I was really nervous having to interact with guests. Mainly because I was being watched and didn't want to do anything wrong.

Wednesday August 5 - I had merchantainment at Disney University. This is basically a Disney word mixing merchandise and entertainment. Because Disney is first and foremost and entertainment company. We got to play around with the cash registers trying different transactions. There were only 4 people in my class and I was the only international person. The other 3 were just new cast members. Two of the people were older guys and really annoying! I got an earful of all of the annoying Canadian jokes. I think I got more in those few hours then I have gotten at work since then. After lunch we had to do more web based learning. There was a HUGE thunderstorm going on, but luckily it stopped just before I had to leave.

Thursday August 6 - More training at Canada. I got to do some actual transactions and spent more time with guests.

Friday August 7 - Basically the same again. But this shift I was closing. As most people know Illuminations (the fireworks at Epcot) are my favourite. It really sucks closing though because as soon as the fireworks start we hurry to put the flaps down on the cart and get inside. I was really bummed because I could hear the fireworks but couldn't watch them.

Saturday August 8 - I had my Discovery Day at Epcot. This is a day that all new cast members have to do. There is a little bit of info in a class room then we headed out to walk around the park and learn more. We walked around future world a bit and rode Spaceship Earth. We then got on a boat to get the quick tour of World Showcase. I love finding out all of the info about the park. There are so many little details that most people don't know about or even notice. That ended at noon so I headed back home for a little bit. I then went back to Epcot to meet Alex after she finished work. We wandered around a little bit. Stopped in the American Adventure to get a funnel cake! Yum! Then got a spot to watch Illuminations. Since I had heard the beginning the night before I really wanted to watch it and luckily Alex agreed. We were in Germany to watch it and spoke to some guests while we were waiting for it to start. I've never watched Illuminations from that side of World Showcase but I really enjoyed it. We had a really pretty view of Spaceship Earth and Canada. Of course I bawled my eyes out while watching them.

Sunday August 9 - The first half of the day I finished my training. The second half I was on my own and in rotation. I loved finally being on my own because it meant there wasn't anyone watching my every move.

Monday August 10 - I worked 4 - 10. I can't remember what I did in the morning.

Tuesday August 11 - I was off!! Jo and I had enrolled in Mickey's Magical Milestones tour at the Magic Kingdom. It was an adventure getting there because the bus to MK doesn't come to the commons (the complex I live in) so we took a bus to another complex but when the bus came there it wasn't labelled right so we didn't get on it. We caught the next bus and made our way to guest relations as fast as we could. Luckily the tour was still outside so we didn't miss it! It was a really fun tour talking about how walt and Mickey have similarities and some of the different backround stories that are a part of Disney World. It was lots of fun and I would do it again because the differnt tour guides probably have different information to give. Also it is Free!! After our tour Jo and I played in Magic Kingdom. I finally got to do Jungle Cruise! I love that ride! We also watched the parade. We sat on the curb waiting for it to start and I seriously thought I was going to burn my bumb. It was so hot! That night a few of us went to Downtown Disney.

Wednesday August 12 - I had another day off so a bunch of us went to Animal Kingdom. It is such a fun park. We did everest, festival of the lion king, some people did tough to be a bug, lunch, dinosaur, everest again, finding nemo the musical and the safari. It was crazy hot outside but lots of fun. We also met a bunch of different characters when we first got to the park. Riding Dinosaur was lots of fun. We had a car to ourself and planned to all do the Disney Point for the picture. It came out really funny because of some people's reactions to the ride. My favourite was Sian who was practically in my lap. About half of us left the park early because we were so tired and they all worked early the next morning. On our way out I stopped and got some popcorn. The best popcorn in the world!

Thursday August 13 - I worked at 7 pm so it felt like I had another day off. I went to property control in the morning. For people who don't know, property control is where damaged or lost items go and cast members can buy for really cheap. I bought a cook book that is normally $40 but it had a rip on the cover so I paid $10. Next to property control is cast connection where they have discontinued items for really cheap. I bought some pins there and 4 lithographs (1 for each park) for $1!!! Jo and I got a ride to Epcot where we did Test Track! And Maelstrom, a boat ride in the Norway Pavilion. I didn't do much else, just lounged around the pool. It was extra magic hours so I finished at 1am. It was really late but I enjoyed it because it was a relaxing close, not frantic as soon as the fireworks started. I could also pay a little bit of attention to the fireworks as they were on.

August 14, 15, 16, 17 - I worked until 9:30-10ish all three nights. I can't remember what else I did. I know Friday I went to Bennigans with some of the UK people. That's about it.

Tuesday August 18 - I had an early shift and finished work at 4. I think I went over to Jo's that night and we watched a League of Their Own. It is such a good movie! I then went to a throw out after that. I got a book about Disney World because I am the coolest person ever. We also had new people arrive that day so I am no longer the newbie!!

Wednesday August 19 - This was Becky's 21st Birthday!! We went to Hollywood Studios! We missed the bus *cough* Jo *cought* So we took the bus to Epcot and then the boat to Studios. I sat next to a girl and her mom on the boat and we talked about pin trading. We did Tower of Terror, had some lunch, watched the block party bash parade (which is lots of fun!) did the back lot tour. We were going to trick Becky into doing it since it was her birthday and her first time at studios but she knew something was going on and wouldn't do it. So Jess, Michelle, Jo and I did it instead. It was lots of fun. I never get tired of doing it. We then left Studios because we were going to Outback for Becky's birthday dinner. After we got a cab to the Boardwalk to go to Jellyrolls. A dueling piano bar that is tons of fun. As we were walking on the boardwalk to get there some random guy started talking to us going on and on about how much he loves people from the UK. I said I was Canadian and he went on and on about how much he loves Canada. It was really creepy and I'm pretty sure he was a little drunk. We then went into Jellyrolls where I asked them to play any classic disney song for Becky's birthday. The guys brought her and 3 people (me, Sian, and Alex) to sing and dance to a song. The one that keeps adding things to a tree and the tree was in the hole and the green grass grew around. If that makes any sense. I knew the song from camp but it was pretty funny to watch the others who had no idea what was going on. They then played When You Wish Apon a Star for Becky. Tear. We had lots of fun and I can't wait to go back to Jellyrolls. The only thing that sucked about that night was that we had gotten new people and their throw in was that night.

Wednesday August 20 - I had the day off again and Karri, Louisa and I went to Hollywood Studios. We got there nice and early to get fast passes to Toy Story Mania!! We had some breakfast before going over to Tower of Terror, which was too funny listening to Karri screaming and holding on for dear life. We were then going to muppets but our time came for our fastpasses so we did that. That was my first time doing Toy Story Mania and it was amazing!!! I don't know how imagineers come up with these rides. I can't wait until it isn't as busy and I can do it again. We then planned on going to the animation class where you learn to draw a character but as we got there I saw that the characters from Up were there so we waited in line to meet them. we then headed over to Epcot where they were having a cast appreciation thing going on. They had free food, including some that will be at the food and wine festival. There were characters, people giving out free stuff. And the best part was they had an area with cheap merchandise!! I spent $50 but saved over $120!!!! And some of the stuff I bought is still in stores! It was lots of fun. I also won a basket of organic vegetables from the land for going up on stage and being the happiest vegetarian. They were really good veggie, and a nice backet too! That night Matt, Fiona, Jo, Becky and I headed back to Studios to watch Fantasmic. We managed to do Rockin' Roller Coaster before! I was good and didn't cry while watching this show! I was proud of myself. (Even though it was touch and go at some points)

August 21 and 22 - I just worked. Nothing too exciting that I can remember.

Sunday August 23 - I finished work at 7:15 so I met people at Magic Kingdom where we did Philharmagic, met Ariel, and saw the Hall of Presidents. That finished just as Wishes started so we made our way through the crown (and got some mean comments) up to the top of Main Street where we watched the ending. As soon as they were over we hightailed it out of there and managed to catch the earlier bus.

Monday August 24 - Jo and I went to do the behind the scenes tour of the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom!! The tour started at 7am and since there isn't a bus from the commons we left at 5:45ish to walk to Chatham to take the bus from there. We then had to go through the tunnels to come up by Liberty Square. I'd been in the tunnels before and knew that they are labeled pretty well so I wasn't too worried but it was kind of nice because there were some other people just ahead of us that we followed. The tour was the most amazing thing that I have done here so far! We walked through the ride with the lights on. The lady who was taking us through has work there since 1983! So she definetly knows what she is talking about. She told us some really neat things and we got to touch some of the props or part of the building. It was really cool and I will enjoy the ride even more now. After we walked the whole ride we went outside and then back into the basement, through the control room and into.... the ballroom!!! I knew how it worked but it was still really neat to actually be in the room to see everything. We then got to ride the ride with the lights off. I would definetly do that tour again. It was supposed to go from 7-8:30 but it went until nearly 9 (I didn't complain). When we came out Liberty Square was empty. I've never seen Magic Kingdom like that so it was kind of creepy. But at the same time I loved it. We saw the crowd of people waiting to get in, and as soon as 9 hit they swarmed in. Jo and I made our way against the crowd to the front of the park to catch the monorail to the contemporary. From there we got the bus to Typhoon Lagoon to meet Uncle Mike, Auntie Mary, Lisa and Jennifer. We went in and stayed for about half an hour. From there Jo and I tried to make out way to Epcot since I worked at 12:15 and she worked at 12:30. It was very difficult and we had to take a bus to downtown Disney, then to Riverside and finally to Epcot. We had time to run to Oddesy to grab something to eat before heading off to work.

Tuesday August 25 - I made my way to be at Magic Kingdom for 8:30 to meet the family and play for a bit. It was fun since I have only done bits and pieces of MK. It was weird because on the monorail I always look at the train station as we get to MK. This time it looked different because over night they had added orange and brown banners to the station and all along main street. There was also a big crane putting stuff on the castle. Halloween in coming soon! The first thing we did when we got in the park was go on Pirate of the Carribean. Then we went to Splash Mountain (my first time doing it since I've gotten here). We then did Haunted Mansion where I pointed things out to Lisa and Jennifer. Then Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh. We went to tomorrowland and did the race cars. Then back to Liberty Square for some lunch. We did Jungle cruise somewhere in there. I think that may be it. We left the park as they wanted to go back to the hotel for a bit and I had to be at work for 4. I got to Epcot fairly early so I did the Finding Nemo ride and wandered around Innoventions for a bit.

Wednesday August 26 - I went to Epcot early. I went straight to the break trailer to drop off my work stuff then went to the front of the park to meet the family again. As soon as the park opened Lisa and I went to Test Track to get fast passes, we then met the others at Soarin' and rode that. We rode Test Track then did Mission Space. That was my 2nd time doing that on the green level and I think I may be brave enough to try the orange level. We then went for lunch at the Seasons Cafe in the land. I think that may have been all we did. We left Epcot around 1 and went back to their hotel where we rented a boat for an hour. It was relaxing to sit in the boat and go to Downtown Disney and back. After getting a snack and some drinks in the cafeteria Uncle Mike drove me to Epcot where I had to work at 4 (surprise, surprise). It was a good shift, even though it was pretty constant rain.

Thursday August 27 - We had a merch meeting with all of France, UK and Canada at 8:30 (yuck!) Some security people came and spoke to us, including the K-9 unit!! We got to pet one of the dogs during a break, he was so cute I could have played with him forever. There were then little skits with themed greetings and conversations for each of the countries. The meeting was over at 10:30 and I took the bus home. Our locks had been changed on Tuesday but since I was out of the house from before 8 until nearly 11 I hadn't been able to get knew keys til Thursday. I threw my costumes in the wash before having a nap. I then had to go to work for 4. It was a pain to close that night because the machine we use to deposit the money broke so we had to manually count every single bill.

Friday August 28 - I got to sleep in!!! It was my day off and Uncle Mike, Auntie Mary, Lisa and Jennifer were taking me to Target to go grocery shopping! It was definetly needed. They dropped me off and I put my groceries away, cleaned a little bit and then went to sleep for a few hours. I have had a huge lack of sleep the last few days and definetly needed that. I got up and made some dinner, talked to mum on Skype (who I hadn't talked to for nearly 2 weeks), looked at a few things online, talked to Alex for a bit and went to bed.

Saturday August 29 (today) - I'm off again so I slept in until nearly 11, I read for a little bit, had something to eat and have been typing out this super long blog. I promise I will try to stay on top of this more often. It is such a pain to add pictures to this thing so go to my facebook to look at them. bye!

The first week

So after we did the airboat tour we went back to the hotel and I got things organized to check into Vista Way. I headed over at around 1:30 and was probably out of there by 2. They just gave me my room key, a welcome bag of fun treats, and a packet full of information for the first few days. I then headed over to The Commons where I emptied the car of all of my junk. There were a few empty beds (in an apartment of 8 people!) that I had to choose from so I picked the other Canadian. We share the bedroom and the bathroom is shared between 4 of us! So far there haven't been any problems with 4 girls sharing one bathroom. Luckily each room has a sink which makes things a little bit better. The kitchen has 2 fridges, a dishwasher (which I love!) and all of the pots and pans, utensils and dishes. They aren't in the greatest condition but oh well. The counters in the kitchen are pretty gross, there are burn marks from where pots have been put on them. And there isn't a whole ton of cupboard space, but I got some tubs that I have in my closet for some extra food.

On Wednesday and Thursday we had some meetings and filling out paperwork. For the most part it was pretty boring but the guy who told us about things we aren't allowed to have (weapons) and the top 10 reasons why people get terminated was pretty funny. On Wednesday night I had my throw in. I was so nervous for it, but it actually wasn't too bad. I will be glad to be on the other side for the next throw in. Thursday we finished pretty early so Mum, Sarah and David picked me up and we went for dinner at Downtown Disney. Then Saarah, David and I went into Typhoon Lagoon. Unfortunately, in Florida this time of year it likes to have HUGE thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. So we had barely gotten into the wave pool when a storm started and we had to leave. On the way out I upgraded the day ticket into a season's pass. On Friday we had the day off so we were going to go to a water park but everyone decided to save their money and we walked around Downtown Disney for a while. We also went to Walmart that day.

Saturday we had to get up bright and early for Traditions. This is a day long class where we learn about the company, some of it's policies and what it means to be cast members. I had been really looking forward to this day! Mainly because it's the day where we got our name tags and ID to go into the parks! I had a really good table so that made it even more fun. During the day if you answered a question or gave any kind of input you would get a little Disney Critter. All I wanted to get was 1 of them (I got 5, lol!) One little activity we did was as a group write down as many animated characters as possible. I was voted group leader (thanks Fiona!). It was hard to write everything down because everyone was talking at once and I couldn't write as fast as they were talking. If I were to go back and look at that paper it probably wouldn't make sense because I didn't write out the whole character's name, just enough for me at the time to know what it was. We one the little game, by 10 or 11 characters! So we got a critter for that, and I got an extra one for being the team leader. Just before lunch we got our ID badges and hopped on a bus to go to the Magic Kingdom mouseketeria. This was lots of fun because it is right at the entrance of the tunnels! We saw lots of different people while we were there. Once being a wicked stepsister from Cinderella! On our way out after lunch some people were unloading different costumes from a truck. There were quite a few princess dresses. We then finished up our day at traditions and headed back home to change.

We all went back home and relaxed for a few hours before meeting up and going to the Magic Kingdom!!! It was so painful that I was in Florida for nearly a week before I went into a park. The first thing we did was go get our first visit and celebrating pins. I liked going with people who have never been to Disney before. It was so exciting. We did a few rides; Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Mickey's Philharmagic, It's a Small World, and The Haunted Mansion. Then people went to get something to eat and we got a spot to watch Wishes. I love fireworks so much! I am also not afraid to admit that I cried while watching them. I am so happy to be here and can't believe that I get to work for Walt Disney World! We then had to go with all of the crowds to get the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center to get our bus back to The Commons.


Sunday and Monday I had off. Everyone else was working so I hung out around the apartment, went to the outlet mall to buy hiking boots for my costume and went to multiple stores to find money to put on my cell phone. On Sunday night we walked around Downtown Disney for a bit. We got a really good brownie sunday from Ghiradelli's to share between 3 of us. We then went to House of Blues for a bit. I wasn't a big fan of the music they were playing so I don't think I will be heading back there anytime soon. On Monday night I went to Games Night. All of the pavilions have drinking teams that party with other countries. Canada also has a games night where people play board games. I had fun and it was good to know to get to know some other Canadians.

Road Trip to Florida

Ok so I have been here for nearly 2 weeks. I have been a huge slacker and not updated this thing. I'll try to do as much as I can remember and get into the groove of updating more often. Mum, Sarah, David and I left home on Thursday July 23. We drove for a few hours then stayed the night in a hotel. On Friday we didn't really have anything planned but as we were driving decided to stop at the Louisville Slugger museum. They have been making baseball bats for professional players for years. It was fun to see and we all got a mini bat as a souvenir. My favourite part was that they had some signed bats inside the museum. One was of Geena Davis who was in my favourite movie, A League of Their Own. And the other was from Julie Andrews, who needs no description.

<-- Julie Andrews <-- Geena Davis

After we left the museum we drove for a bit and David wanted to see some Bourbon distillery or something so we got off the highway to go towards the Jim Beam distillery. It was closed so he just took some pictures of the Jim Beam statue.

The next day (Saturday) we got up bright and early to drive to Lynchburg, Tennessee to go to the Jack Daniels distillery. It was a really neat tour. One thing they showed us was the big vats that the whiskey is actually distilled in to make it more pure. Our tour guide told us to put our faces near the top of the vat and then he moved the lid up and down to let us smell it. I thought it was really gross, but David enjoyed it. I can't even describe how strong the smell was. I wouldn't be surprised if you could get drunk off of it. After the tour we walked to downtown Lynchburg where we went to lunch a Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House. It was a family style meal with 8 or so people at each table in separate dining rooms. We ate in the basement which was neat to see. The food was good but definitely NOT vegetarian friendly. I thought I would be safe with the veggies but apparently they like to put some kind of bacon fat in everything. The mac and cheese was really good though (and hopefully without hidden ingredients) Even the dessert had lard in it. I feel sorry for people in the south who was to be vegetarian. It is not easy! We then got back in the car and headed towards Chattanooga.

We were going to go see some waterfall thing in Chattanooga but at our lunch the people at our table said not to. So we looked in the CAA book and decided to go to the aquarium. I'm glad we did because it was the nicest aquarium I have ever seen. It was separated into 2 buildings. One for the rivers and one for the seas. It wasn't just fish. They had other animals found in and near the water. So, the rivers also had otters and the seas had penguins and butterflies. Also the set up of the whole aquarium was really neat. You would go all the way to the top floor then slowly go down while seeing all of the exhibits. If anyone is ever near Chattanooga then I think you should go to the aquarium.

The next day (Sunday) we went to Atlanta to see the home of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his neighbourhood. It wasn't overly exciting, but it was still good to see. After we finished in Atlanta we drove about an hour away to go on a zip line tour!!! This was the thing I was most looking forward to. But as the time got closer I got more and more nervous. It was a little different from what I had thought it was going to be. There were about 20 people going at a time so there was a lot of sitting and waiting. But it was really fun to do and I would do it again.

Here are videos of Sarah, Mum and David on their last zip line.

<-- Sarah<--Mum<-- David

After we finished the zip line we went to Plains Georgia where Jimmy Carter is from. Mum wanted to go there because they have the second largest peanut there. It took ages to go there (thanks to the wonderful GPS) and it wasn't nearly as impressive as I thought it was going to be. But we drove past where Jimmy Carter lives and I got a picture of the secret service hut. woot woot!!! While driving to our hotel that night we found some fresh Georgia peaches. Yum! and some boiled peanuts that I thought tasted like peas.

Monday all we had planned was to drive to Florida. But I think the best part of our trip (note the sarcasm) was that as we pulled out of the hotel Mum saw a sign about some peanut something or other. (I can't think of the word). So of course we went down the road that this was supposed to be on. We drove for a little but didn't see anything so decided to turn around. Ironically when we turned onto a road we saw a big peanut on a tall base. That was the largest peanut, I feel so lucky to have seen both the largest and second largest peanuts. I know that everyone is jealous. We then drove for a little bit longer. When we got to Florida we stopped at the welcome station and I had my first cup of fresh Florida orange juice.

We then drove to our hotel in Disney World checked in and did some random things like swimming and walking around Downtown Disney. We were up bright and early Tuesday morning to go do an airboat tour! Mum and I searched long and hard to decide on what company to go with. I'm happy with the decision we made. Most of the tours fit around 15-20 people on a boat but the one with went with had a max of 6 and it was only us on the boat. It was a really good tour. We saw tons of birds and quite a few gators. Even a gator nest!!

Our first gator that our captain thinks must have been between 10

and 11 feet!

A cute baby! On a little break

Mama guarding her nest.

Our captain also had a little bit of fun out on the water. It was going really fast so I missed the first part of his little trick.

Then after our air boat tour (which was longer than the 2 hours we were told about!) we went back to the hotel where I got my things organized and checked into Vista Way! I have more pictures of our trip on facebook, but I don't want to upload them all. If you are interested go ahead and have a look at them. I promise I will update about Disney soon.