Thursday, May 26, 2011

Spooky! but oh so fun!

Okay so I actually forgot to include some things that happened in my last blog namely my trip to Magic Kingdom with Loren and my behind the scenes tour of the Haunted Mansion.

Okay so the Haunted Mansion tour happened on Mothers day. I had to get up at 5am as my friends were picking me up at 5.30am so we could get to Hollywood Studios before 6am which was when we were meeting everyone else. The tour was a special trip for Sunset Ranch Market cast members and there had been more people that had put their names down but obviously would rather sleep, so in the end there was only about 9 of us that went. It was so much fun though, that I would have been guttered if I had missedd it. We all piled into a van and one of our managers took us to Magic Kingdom where we headed to Haunted Mansion. As we were all Hollywood cast we weren't quite sure where to go to get to Haunted Mansion from the tunnels but we eventually found our way there. We firstly got to walk through the ride with the lightd on and touch, observe and learn about how everythings works and we were also made aware of backstorys and the locations of the hidden mickeys as well as hidden jacks (as in Jack skelington from Nightmare before christmas) that are hidden in the ride. Then we got to go downstairs into the ballroom which is a the first room where you actually see ghosts. We got to see how the peppers ghost effect works and got to hang out in the ballroom with the ghosts! lol!! Then we were taken into the stretching room where the walls stretch and we were told to lie on the floor and we got to experience the "shrinking" room. It is like the ceiling is closing in on you - it was really fun. Afterwards we rode the ride before any of the guests had come and so we could take photos - it was a really good tour - so I am pleased that I got to experience that!

Two weeks ago I also went with Loren to Magic Kingdom at night after work. We watched Wishes from Fantasyland which is cool because you can see where the fireworks come from, but you have to keep turning your head to see them all. We ate at Pinocchios Haus again and rode on the Carousel twice. Then we went on Tomorrowland Speedway and I saw my friend Natsuko from Japan who used to work with me but changed jobs in the middle of her programme like I will be doing.

This last weekend has been long - I went with Rebecca and Kristen to see Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - It was pretty good so much better than Pirates 2 and 3. Then Saturday and Sunday I worked. Saturday was very hot and long I had a 10.75 hour shift. I started at 1.45pm and I didn't get a break until 10.20pm - so I was standing up for over 8.5 hours. I was so tired, but I did only have to close register and all you have to do for that it take out the 'trash' and put the covers on - it usually only takes 15minutes. I also got to be greeter for 3 hours so I got to stand in the sun and say hello and have a great day to people with my Mickey hand on - was fun and a got a slight tan!! It did make me tired though being out in the heat.

It is basically always in the mid 30's now. And we are almost into Hurricane Season. Apparently they expect 3-6 massive hurricanes in Orlando and like 10 other tropical storms. Last year apparently they didn't have any and the weather doesn't want people to get lulled into a false sense of security.

Monday I went in the morning to Magic Kingdom with Rebecca - we basically just went to see characters - I finally saw Fairy Godmother and Peter Pan. We also saw Mickey, Minnie and Princess Tiana. I wanted to see Ariel and Eric but the line was massive so I will have to go back another day. We also rode on the Carousel - I love that ride and Pirates of the Caribbean as they have changed it to include Blackbeard! We also watched the parade whic I hadn't properly seen since I first got here.

Today and Tomorrow I have off and so this morning I went with Beasley (Sarah has now become this as I now know two Sarah's) and Narelle to Blizzard Beach It was pretty fun, but I did not even attempt to go down the two massive slides - they looked way scary and I really didn't want a massive wedgie! lol!! But we went on all the other slides and they were all fun! On the last one I came off and Narelle and Beasley are like running up to me asking if I was okay and what happened and I was totally oblivious until they told me I had a bleeing nose. I have no idea how it happened so it must have been either the fast and steep drop or the fact that I got a nosefull of water at the end??? Anyway I was fine, but since that was the last slide to go on we just went and had lunch before leaving anyway. Blizzard is very strange it is themed out with snow everywhere and the sun bounces off it so it is very bright.

Tonight I am going to go and watch Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios as I haven't seen that since I first arrived either and Tomorrow I am going to Epcot tomorrow probably!!

Off to Walgreens now to buy those essentials that you just can't live without

xoxo
E

Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Celler - and So Long Friends

So I know it has been an extremely super long time since I last updated but I have been pretty busy just working and the one time I had the timae and inclination to write bloggerwas down forsome reason. But today I am hopefully going to update til today.

I left off at the beginning of May after I had been deployed to Magic Kingdom. That Sunday I was back woorking at Sunset and since I was scheduled to work the next day on Monday and it was the Spring Formal I was aasking everyone if they would take my shift or knew someone who would take my shift. I had basically given up on ever finding anyone to swap shifts with so I was kind of depressed by mid afternoon. All my friends had managed to get the night off and I was going to have to work. At that moment I honestly knew how Cinderella felt when she couldn't go to the ball. Lol!! Anyway seen as I had had asked everyone that I knew one of the people I worked with saw this other girl and asked her and she said she would take my shift! I do not think I have ever been so happy as I was at that moment. We had to get it approved by our managers and I pleaded with them so hard to let her take my shift. And finally they said they would take care of it. Was rather ironic as it was the manager that I don't really like that sorted it for me!! Anyway after that I was so so so happy I was dancing around backstage. Was so much fun!!! Once I finished work I texted my friends to let them know that I was able to go and they were so excited!!!

Monday I met up with Loren in the afternoon at Studios as she finished work at 3pm. We had decided that we were going to get our faces painted for the formal. The face painting at Disney is amazing. Some of the designs are really spectacular. Anyway since my dress was black and purple I had a purple designs with black stars and glitter. It was really pretty. After that we went back to Loren's and got ready. Sarah then came over and we went to Cody's where we took photos and had a drink before heading to Coronado Springs Resort where the formal was to take place. The decorations were set up as if we were in a basement I suppose. The event was called "The Celler - A Lavish Formal Affair presented by the Disney Villains" and many of the Disney Villains were there. It was so much fun lining up to get photos with some Disney Villains that you don't normally get to see. The ones I got photos with were Hades from Hercules, Cruella de Vil from One Hundred and One Dalmations and Malificent from Sleeping Beauty. We also saw Lady Tremaine from Cinderella, Jafar from Aladdin and the Evil Queen from Snow White, but we didn't get a photo with them as there was just not enough time to get all the photos. There were so many people there that we had to wait sometimes nearly an hour to get a photo, but it was worth it. Hades was so scary and Cruella was very good - it was almost like she was drunk or high, but she was so funny!! The strangest thing was that the dance had chaperones - which was so ridiculous as everyone there was over 18. All of us from NZ and Oz thought it was really crazy.

Once the characters had left we decided that it wasn't the greatest music - so we leftand went to Magic Kingdom as it was only llike 10 pm. We thought it would be fun to get photos with the princesses as normally we feel really underdressed when standing next to them. Sarah and her friend from work Kim and I went and it was so much fun. After seeing the princesses we got a photo in front of the castle and tehn went on the carousel which was so much fun. Since as we had dresses on we had to sit side saddle which was actually fun! lol!! After that we went to one of the merchandise shops in fantasyland which I had not previously been to. One of the cast members sprinkled us with loads of pixie dust - I loved it!! Then we spent an hour in Emporium just looking at all the stuff that we wanted to buy before we left!!
All in all the night was really fun. Loved it!!!

After that I haven't really done all that much except work for the past two weeks. All the friends I had made at work have been leaving and it is so sad as some of them I probably won't ever see again. Of course I have issued an open invitation to anyone who comes to NZ that they are welcome to stay with me and I have now got friends in many states in America that I can stay with if I ever happen to be in those cities. Not to mention Thailand, China, Brazil, India and Japan. It will be good next week as the new CPs from America will be arriving and there are also people from England coming and other places in Europe so hopefully some of them come to work at Sunset so that I can make friends with them!! Yay!! There is three new girls at Sunset that started last week and I have talked to two of them so far. They are really nice so I hope that we will be good friends. Joanne is from Canada and Sarah is from England. It is really nice to have someone to talk to who knows about Rugby and Cricket and Netball etc and who understands me when I talk. I have decided that of all English speaking countries, New Zealand obviously has the hardest to understand accent. Every time I open my mouth I feel like I have to repeat myself. Apparently our I's and E's sound exactly the same and they can't distinguish between d and z, and t and d. It is very strange.

Last weekend I went to Pixar Weekend at Epcot and got to meet characters from A Bugs Life, Ratatouille, Up, Monster Inc and Toy Story 3. I loved it!!! I only wish that I had more time as it didnt start until 11am and I had to leave for work at about 1pm as I started at 2.15pm. I also went to the Studios Cast exclusive preview of the new Star Tours ride - which is the ride based on Star Wars. It was really cool we saw Darth Vader and Yoda - yay!!! For the next month at Studios we will be entertaining Star Wars fanatics every weekend due to the Star Wars weekends. It kicked off today and people were lining up since last night to get in. They had heaps of tv crews coming as it was the official opening of star tours and George Lucas was there. Studios was supposed to have like 50000 people there today and usually a busy day is over 26000. So glad I didn't have to work today.

Tonight I am going to Pirrates of The Carribean as It came out at Midnight yesterday. Very excited - hopefully it is better than the last two they were terrible, but at least Keira Knightly isn't in this one!!

Well better go I am now up to date so will try and update agin soon. Back to work tomorrow.

xoxo
E

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Deployed to the Most Magical Place on Earth!!!

Saturday and Sunday I was working all day, except on Sunday it was my first day being deployed to Magic Kingdom. It was very different than working at Hollywood Studios. Firstly costuming is not on the way to work so I made sure I was there an hour before I was due to start. The Tomorrowland Costume was black pants and a grey (supposedly) futuristic looking top. It is pretty horrible really!! Do not know what the costumers at Disney are thinking sometimes!! At least my pants fit better than they did at Epcot!!

 After getting my costume I had to get on another bus to take me to the Utilidors - these are tunnels that run underneath the Magic Kingdom so that Cast members can get around without having to walk onstage. At Magic Kingdom you cannot go anywhere on stage unless you are in your 'land'. So if you are dressed in Fantasyland garb you cannot venture into Liberty Square etc. At Hollywood Studios the theme is a working ste so we are allowed to be anywhere in our costumes on stage!

The tunnels are quite difficult to navigate at first and I kept having to look at the maps to figure out where I was - even so I still managed to get lost and end up in an area where there where no other people around in. However finally I manged to find a helpfull cast member who showed me where to go, unfortunately I was 3 minutes late so I recieved a half point for being late. Guttered!! Anyway the people at Tomorrowland Terrace were really nice and since I was deployed with so many people from Sunset it was pretty fun and exciting to be working at Magic Kingdom. We could see the castle from where we worked and could see the parade. It was a lot of fun. Only bad thing was that it was so slow. I managed to get an ER after 10 hours as I was supposed to be working 12!! So glad that I could go home a little bit earlier and go to bed!!

Monday I spent the day with Loren, Sarah, Cody and his family. It was a lot of fun. We sunbathed and played Monopoly. It was a pretty fun day. Afterwards Sarah went to work and Cody and his family had reservations for dinner at Ohana, so Loren and I decided to go to the Grand Floridian for dinner. We could never afford to eat at Victoria and Albert's which is like one of the most exclusive restaurants at Disney, but we ate al fredo at the quick service restaurant there. After that we were going to watch the fireworks but then we got the idea to take a boat back to Polynesian and watch them from the beach. However after we got on the boat we thought we would just stay on the boat until the fireworks started. People pay like $300 dollars to watch the fireworks from a private boat, but we got the same view for free as our boat driver drove really slow bck to Magic Kingdom so that we could watch the whole show from the boat - it was amazing!!!

After our fireworks display we got off at Polynesian and heade home - it was pretty late and while I didn't start work until later in the evening I was going with Sarah and Loren to Magic Kingdom in the morning before work.

Tuesday morning, Loren and I, first went to Walmart as I really badly needed to buy new work shoes as I honestly did not believe the ones that I had would last me another day! After that we met up with Sarah and got a bus to Magic Kingdom where we went on the Laugh Floor and then met Pinocchio and had lunch at Pinocchio's which was pretty cute! Then we were going to go on Big Thunder Mountain but it was closed! So we headed over to Tom Sawyer Island which none of us had been to yet and were all a bit skeptical of. However it was pretty fun. They had these mines and undergreound tunnels and Loren had fun hiding behind corners and jumping out to scare me. It was funny though. We also found the fort and got to shoot guns which made a real gun shot noise when you pulled the trigger and we walked on the barrel bridge which was really fun, but I swear I almost fell off at one point as it is really unstable to walk on! lol!

After that it was time to go to work so I went into the tunnel sand got changed and luckily this time I wasn't late! It was a pretty fun night working with Tori and Kayla, but then Tori got her ER and Kayla and I were too scared to ask if ours had been approved so we eede up staying until 10.30pm that night. However because we were there late we got to watch Memories and Wishes at work!! So Awesome!!

Wednesday I worked in the kitchen which was especially boring and never have I been so glad of an ER except perhaps for Thursday when everyone else I knew had been ERd and I was stuck bussing tables in the hot and very humid weather. The only upside of this was that I got to watch the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade and Dream Along With Mickey show from where I was working. Yay!!!

Friday and Saturday were my days off last week and Friday could not have been more boring! Loren, Cody and Sarah were working so I just amused myself in my flat all day =(. Saturday I went with Sarah to Hollywood Studios in the morning. We drew Jiminy Cricket at animation drawing class and I bought a crossstich of Cinderella Castle. It is massive and will most definitely take my like a year to complete, but it will be awesome. It is very intricate - demonstrated by my idiocy when I miscounted and had to unpick quite a few stitches today, losing my needle in the process. I just cannot fathom where it went as it seems to just had vanished into thin air.

We also saw Sully and Mike from Monster Inc. We had previously seen Mike the day before my birthday, but hadn't seen Sully before. Then we explored Streets of America and browsed through Writers block. I found pleny in there that I wanted to buy. We were going to go to American Idol, but Loren had texted us to meet up with her so we decided to go again another day. We had a spot of lunch before the bus came and then met Loren at my apartment and watched funny videos all afternoon. After they both had left for work I watched lots of movies and started my crossstitch.

oskay so I am almost up to date - my next post will be back at Sunset yay!! and the downs and ups of Sunday and Monday!!!! aka my true life fairytale!!

xoxo
E

...or forgotten!

Thursday I had the day off so I went with Loren to meet Cody's family. They are really awesome! So nice and loads of fun! We had trouble getting a hold of Cody once we had got to Epcot so we caught one of the friendships across to Germany and we finally found them there. After the introductions were made we walked around to check out China and Norway. China was pretty cool. I hadn't really explored it before so it was fun to see what they had there. In the garden there was statues of all the chinese astrological signs.. So I got a photo with Cody and the snake as that is 1989. Loren got a photo with the dragon (1988). Then we talked to this Chinese girl for a little while she was trying to make us watch a video about China but the others didnt want to watch it so we kind of snuck out. I felt so bad!'

Then we visited Norway because Cody wanted to show all his friends from Norway , his family and viceversa. We got to see the princesses talking with the guests at the character lunch and then we went on the Maelstrom - it was so much fun! After that we headed to Canada and I bought a little soft toy - a black bear. It was only $5 and it was so so so soft and cute!!! We also went to UK to see our friends from there and for Cody's family to meet them. I went into one of the shops where our friend Riyad works and they had so much Paddington Bear stuff there I was so excited and Cody and his family were all staring at me blankly as they had no idea who Paddington Bear was. I lol'd!!!

Then Cody had to head off for work and Loren had already gone to work back after we left China so it was just me with Cody's family. They invited me to go on Test Track with them and as I am never one to give up the opportunity to ride any ride I went on it. W e had to wait like two hours in line!! Longest line I have ever waited in at Disney! Never to be done again!! Usually we hate waiting more than 30 minutes for a ride and unless it is a really good ride or we hadn't been on it before we would 9 times out of 10 pass it up for another day! After that I went home as I needed to get a few groceries.

Friday I worked in the morning but then met up with Cody and his family at Magic Kingdom at night. I waited for them to get off Splash Mountain and then we went and got a good spot to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade. While everyone else was waiting I went and looked at the pin trading store in frontieland and added an Earth Day 2011 pin to my collection and I also traded a pin for an eeyore one which is very cute! After the parade we hurried to get a good spot for Memories. I just love that show so so so so so much!! It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen and you can always tell first time watchers because the always gasp everytime something new happens! Sometimes I wish that everyone from back home could come over just to watch memories and wishes because videos just do no do the shows any justice. After memories we found a better spot further away from the castle as if you stand too close, the castle blocks the fireworks. Thankfully Tinkerbell was there that night, so I finally got to see her again!

After Wishes, Cody's family wanted to go on the People Mover so we went against most of the crowd to get there. It is a very relaxing ride through Tomorrowland - perfect if you have sore feet and just need a rest!!
Afterwards we went to Emporium, the biggest shop at Magic Kingdom to find Sarah who was working. It took us a llittle while but we managed to find someone who went and got her for us. She had never met Cody's fam before. After we said goodnight to Sarah, I took the monorail back to the bus and Cody and his family went back to the Polynesian where they were satying for the week.

xoxo
E