Boo to You!

"This is Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. This is Halloween, This is Halloween."

So Halloween is absolutely insane in the US. About a month and a half ago, Halloween candy, decorations and costumes started appearing all over the place - at Walmart, at Walgreens, at Disney! It is amazing though too -they really go in fo it here. And of course we already know that, but it is just very different from experiencing it for yourself.

Courtney and I decided we were going to go to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on the 23rd of September as Cast Members got a discount  on tickets but only through September - cause in October it starts getting busier and there is only a certain amount of tickets available.

This was a pretty last minute decision though, as I recall we made it on Wednesday, on Thursday I went to Hollywood Studios to buy the tickets from Company D (this is a cast exclusive shop) and then later that night we went to Walmart to buy costumes - I was Athena and Courtney was a Crayon!
Side note - the bus ride home was a nightmare we didn't end up leaving Walmart until 45 minutes after we were supposed to leave and the bus driver left us standing outside in the rain and forked lightning for half of that. Then we were supposed to stop at Vista first, but the bus driver took us to Chatham, Commons and then Vista - so much drama.

Friday I finished work at 5.45pm, but Courtney didn't finish until 7.30pm so I just hung out in our break room until she was done and then we got changed at costuming and just missed the bus to the TTC by a minnute so we took another bus to the Contemporary where we boarded the resort monorail - this was lucky actually as the express monorail was broken. I think we made pretty good time. We got to Magic Kingdom just after 8.30 so it only took us an hour to get changed and ready, and get all the way to MK.

When we got there we were just intime for the Boo to You parade, but we did miss the headless horseman, who rides the parade route first (so I need to go back to see that as Sleepy Hollow is one of my favourite scary movies - especially when I was younger! lol

We did get to see all the characters out trick or treating and the villains and the grave diggars from Haunted Mansion - it was an awesome parade - the best part of the whole night. After that we went and got a place to watch Hallo-Wishes. Which is the Halloween version of the Wishes fireworks. It was good, but I think normal Wishes is better and I was expecting so much more of them as all the other fireworks displays I have seen have blown me away!

After Hallo-Wishes we rode on Haunted Mansion - an absolute must at Halloween, It was so cool because all of the cast members had ghostly make-up on and their hair was done - it was amazing. I really wanted to work there just for the Halloween days! Then we went trick or treating around the park and ended up with a multitude of "candy". Unfortunately half of the lollies over here aren't that good so I have barely eaten any of it! Oh well it was the getting of the candy that was fun!!!

We also rode Space Mountain and Whinnie the Pooh and the Carousel and I bought my Halloween Souvenir Popcorn bucket. I have no idea how I am going to get these popcorn buckets home I now have four! The night was pretty fun, we got photos with the genie and with Terk and Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage. I was guttered as Tarzan was taking pics with Terk, so we got in line specifically to get a pic with Tarzan, but he left literally after the group in front of us - it was very dissappointing as they hadn't even told us he would be leaving!

The ride home was not pleasant - the only mode of transportation back to the TTC was the boat and it was so packed we were only allowed through onto the second boat and that was basically by inching ourselves in front of other people for 20 minutes filling in any space forward possible! Lol

Anyway that was my first experience with Halloween and I cannot wait till the real Halloween, some of my work mates said they might tae me trick or treating to the rich part of orlando, and I really want to go to Halloween Horror Nights but I am so scared it is supposed to be really scary, like people chasing you with chainsaws scary!!!

Write soon

xoxo
E

May the Force be with you!

So about 3 weeks ago I was crosstrained at the Jedi Training Academy. This means that I now get scheduled either at Indiana Jones or at Jedi. The Jedi Training Academy is a pretty cool experience for 4-12 year olds 'cause they get to learn a light saber routine and then fight the "dark side", usually they get to fight Darth Vader but sometimes they fight Darth Maul. It is pretty funny watching the kids fight. Some of them are really into it and practically smack Vader around instead of doing what the Jedi master is telling them to do and then some of the little ones barely hit anything, but they are so cute.

On Thursday that week Ashlea, Sheila, Angela and I went to Animal Kingdom which was fun we rode on Everest twice and Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids and We went on Safari which was cool, because although we didn't see many other animals we had an awesome view of the Lion which never happens! We also got our pictures taken with the characters which I haven't done in Forever!!!!

The best news came aswell, my friend Loren who left in July got a job on board the Disney Dream Cruise Ship and will be coming back on October 11th for traditions and then to start her job - so we are all very excited to see her again! Life at Disney has been less adventurous since Loren left. At the moment I am trying to find someone to take my shift on the 12th so I can hang out with her the whole day!

The last few weeks I have mostly just worked and slept as I am in the process of trying to save for my trip to New York City in tw weeks!!! aah so close!

Ashlea and I one wednesday ended up going to Florida Mall, which was fun as I hadn't been to the Mall yet while I have been here. It was massive and it wasn't even a large mall - it was tiny apparently. To give some perspective it was probably about 4 times the sie of Riccarton Mall. I was so lost but they luckily had maps! We went to Forever 21 which is now my new favourite store - I loved the clothes they had there! and so cheap you could get tops for like $5! CRAZY!! We also went to Victoria's Secret which was pretty fun - they had some really nice things there! Lol! Then we went to Macy's which looks just like Farmers except it is all brands like Ralph Lauren and GAP and everything costs like $200! We also went to American Eagle and JCPenney and a few other shops. I am going to try and go back there before my trip to NYC because I need some warmer clothes!

Well I will try and write soon about Hallowe'en

xoxo
E

Guess What? It's Fall!

So with September Disney seemed to calm down a little bit as all the Kiddlywinks had gone back to school and our park estimates suddenly went from 26K to 13K a day which is super slow. It is actually kind of boring wen it is slow and I sometimes find myself looking forward to Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas when the park will become extremely busy again - However then I remember how hectic it is when it is busy and how bitchy some of the guests can be and I decide that it is better to be bored than yelled at!

The next week on my days off I ended up hanging out with Courtney which is incredible as we went through like 6 weeks of barely seeing each other as I worked early shifts and she worked late ones - it was crazy as we actually live together! We went to Publix on Wednesday night and I finally bought an umbrella which has proved useful but just adds wood to the "umbrella ella ella" fire!
On Thursday we went to Universal Studios and I finally got to visit Harry Potter World properly after nearly 8 months of living in Orlando. We were gonna go with Ashlea my friend from work but she was unfortunately able to go so we went by ourselves!

First up we went on the Poseidon Tour which used some incredible special effects it was actually pretty amazing in some parts. Then we had a bit of a look around Harry Potter World which was super fun! We went into Zonko's and the Pygmy Puffs were so cute that we both bought one each. Courtney's is pink and is named Shrek after Shrek the sheep (cause we were talking about how it looked like a sheep), mine is Purple and somehow got named Black Sheep, like the movie cause the faces look a wee bit creepy like that creepy genetically engineered lamb in the movie. The stroe clerk who we 'adopted' them from announced that Shrek and Black Sheep were worthy of being adopted by Courtney and I to the whole store and everyone clapped - it was seriously funny!! Afterwards we had a look in the other shops and went to the Ollivanders Wand Experience - where you get to watch (and one kid gets picked out) the scene in the book where Harry's wand chooses him! It was pretty cool for the kid that gets chosen!

Then we went and watched the Sinbad Show which was okay but I found the acting very week and it was pretty boring! Not as much fun as Harry Potter World. After that we went on the Castle ride and we went through the queue which I hadn't been in before. It was awesome we saw the Mirror of Erised, the green houses, the Sorting Hat, The house points counter thingie, Dumbledore's office, the Defence Against the Dark Arts room and the mmoving and talking paintings - so amazing!
Everyone should be proud of me as I kept my eyes open during the spider part of the ride this time and those giant spiders are very scary!!
We ended up going to the three broomsticks for lunch which was fun! We both had the fish and chips which was better than the fish and chips at Epcot but not as good as the ones from home!!
I also finally got to try Butterbeer - Omg IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!! It kind of tastes like a spider mixed with I ce cream soda taste but I loved it and really want some more!! I also bought my very own wand when I was there it is so cool!!!

After that we went over to Universal Studios and rode on the Mummy ride, Men in Black and The Simpsons rides. All in All we had an awesome day and the weather was perfect in it didnt rain until we got home. Also the lines for the rides were so short coz it is the off season now which rocked!!!

Well I will write soon I swear, promise - maybe later tonight as I am going out to Walmart with Courtney to look for Halloween costume accesories and then tonight Vampire Diaries and Secret Circle are on so lots planned for this evening.

xoxo
E

Kuwa Macho Wajangili!

So folks, I know I hate that word too but I have to say it about a million times a day at work, anyway I know it has been like a month since I last updated so this post may be in two parts - it depends on how bothered I can be to write today - plus new season of America's Next Top Model is on in an hour.

So my last post finished with me heading to Animal Kingdom the next day with Sheila who is from Idaho and works at Epic with me. We had a pretty fun day - we went on Safari although we didn't get to see many animals for some reason. We also went to see the Lion King show then we rode Dinosaur - my favourite ride at Disney seen as it is the only ride that actually freaks me out. I get petrified on that ride every single time. After that we rode on Expedition Everest and then watched It is Tough to be a Bug ( I actually kept my eyes open this time during the spider scene - Last time I saw the show I was clutching my roommate, Amanda's arm and had my eyes squeezed tightly shut. Finally we finished up at Finding Nemo The Musical. It was such a fun day we travelled back in time to the late cretaceous period, visited Africa, Asia and Australia.

After Animal Kingdom Sheila and I heade back to Hollywood (Studios) to pick up Ashlea after she finished work so we could go to Downtown Disney together for Silvia's goodbye dinner at Earl of Sandwich. To get from Hollywood Studios to Downtown Disney though we have to catch a resort bus to a resort and then catch another resort bus to Downtown Disney. We ended up going to Carribbean Beach resort. There was this really cute kid who kept telling everyone which bus was coming - it was hillarious, his mum asked if Disney hired 10 year olds cause he was perfect! Lol

When we finally got to Downtown Disney we were early by about an hour so we explored a few of the shops and then met up with Richie from work who was also early. We ended up having to wait for like another 30 minutes coz everyone else missed the bus from Vista. Eventually we all arrived and we ate our Earl of Sandwiches which was very good. Silvia was pretty sad and took photo's with all of us. Afterwards we walked down to Haagen Dazs and some people got ice creams or milk shakes. It was a great last get together for Silvia with all of her work friends. It was good as Richie and Jason gave us all a ride home.

The next day Silvia and I went to a Nail Salon near The Commons and I got a manicure which was so much fun and I am now addicted to them! Silvia got acryllic nails stuck on and she was very excited as it was the first time she had ever had nails on as she bites hers. After that we went shopping at the premium outlets and Silvia nd her awesome Italian fashion knowledge helped me to choose a perfume - which was ver expensive. I really want to buy a really expensive perfume from Dulce and Gabbana before I go home!!

For Silvia's last night we went to a housing welcome event and had free pizza and just hung out and talked for a bit - we also saw some other people there who said goodbye to Silvia. It was very sad to have to say goodbye to another friend - I think that is the absolute worst part of this experience having to say goodbye to some of the best friends I've ever had.

Okay ANTM is on now so I will write very soon with the rest of my last months I promise

xoxo
E

Back to School!!

School has gone back in the United States!! It was kind of strange watching the back to school stationary ads etc in September. The Northern Hemisphere people thought it was hillarious that we have our back to school ads in January! (IDK) Because of all the kids headed back to school, the amount of people at the park hs gone down considerably so our show loads are not as hectic!! Unhectic shows are soooo much nicer than the hectic ones as the guests aren't as cranky :)

On a better note all of us Epic cast members have been hanging out! We have been to Cici's (a pizza buffet place) twice now and we have a dinner at Earl of Sandwich at Downtown Disney for Silvia's goodbye! I can't believe she is leaving - Epic will definitely not be the same without her! We have plans to meet up in Italia! when I make it to Europe and Silvia promised to take me to Vatican City even though it is like 8 hours away from where she lives, but still should be fun!!!!

Also I have people and plans to go to NYC in October apparently this is a pretty good time to go as it won't be too cold but not too hot either and not as busy as it can sometimes be. I am going with two girls from NZ who came over in July and my days off have been approved -so just need to book flights and accomodation and "Thunderbirds are Go!" Lol.

Tomorrow is my day off and seen as I did my washing and cleaned my room yesterday I am taking the day to visit Animal Kingdom with Sheila, who is a new American CP (college program) from Epic. She just came last week and we both have the day free so we thought we would hit up the Animals before saying Goodbye to Silvia =(

Next week I also have plans to finally see Harry Potter World at Universal properly with Ashlea so very excited about that -Butterbeer here I come!!!! Maybe we will eat at the Three Broomsticks???

Well I will keep you updated on whats happening in my somewhat adventurous life (basically I work and sleep!)

PS My roommate from France leaves this week as her programme is finished too so I will be getting a new roommate from goodness knowss where soon!

xoxo
E

Ups and Downs

So It has been a super long time since I last posted but basically nothing much has happened. Two weeks ago my friends left to head home. Kristen went back to Oklahoma, Rebecca went back to Iowa, Cody went back to Michigan and Kolbi went back to Texas. Plus a few of my new friends from Epic have left no too. The last day I hung out with Rebecca and Kolbi and went to Hollyood Studios and Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes. It was sad having to say goodbye to yet another friend. Later that night I met up ith Sarah and we went to hang out ith Cody at a friends house. We wathed this really stupid horror (comedy) called Killer Klowns from Outer Space. It was seriously funny. We then had to say goodbye to Cody who we met only a few days into our programme so it was very sad!

Since they have left I have only really been out twice - once was to Applebees with Kimie from NZ and Silvia from Italy - both of whom I work with and then two others from NZ who came over in July and Silvia's roommate Ezra from Turkey. It was nice getting out again and meeting new people. Then I went to Chick-fil-a with Sarah and Jill. It as good hanging out ith our 'Calderwood' family even if it has shrunk a bit.

Work has definitely had its ups and downs. Mondays in particular are horrific - I can officially say I don't like Mondays (but don't worry I don't have a gun so I'll vent by being perfectly nice to the evil guests). Somedays like yesterday and today are good though. There was this lovely family that thanked us especially which was very nice. They gave us a photo of their family with a thankyou message from them on the back as that is all we are allowed to accept. It was very strange but they also asked us to sign their autograph book as 'we are the ones who really make their vacations' we were very appreciative of their appreciation!!!

Well tomorrow is monday so fingers crossed it goes better than other mondays!

xoxo
E

Goodbyes and Hellos

so I am now settled into my new job. It has been a while since I last wrote so there is a lot to catch up on. First off there is a Kiwi working at Epic with me - so excited to have a friendly kiwi to converse with. Her name is Kimie and she is from Auckland. She is very nice and now since I have been at work a while I have had the chance to meet other nice people as well. Lindsay, Ari and Reggie are all CPs from America, then there is Richie he is really nice too but he isn't a CP. There is also Silvia from Italy - I will hopefully be able to visit her one day and Camille from Paris and Cem from Turkey. I have also met a few other people who work in my area but not at Epic but I have only chatted to them for a few minutes in the break room. It is sad and annoying though as all the CP's who work at Epic presently are leaving in the next month so I won't have the chance to hang out with them or get to know them better which is  a shame but hopefully lots of new CP's will come in to replace them.

Last Week was Sarah's last week too as her her programme finished as she headed back to England. On the Wednesday I went with Sarah, Rebecca, Kolbi, Sascha and Alyssa to Applebees after they had finished work. It was sad!! And then on the Thursday Rebecca, Sarah and I went to IHOP for brunch. That was exciting as it was something I wanted to do since I got here. IHOP is in all the movies and now I can say that I have been there. I had pancakes with maple syrup and it was sooo good!!
After that we went to this massive discount store and I found earphones for only 4 dollars and they actually work (amazing). Then Kolbi came and picked us up and we took Sarah to property control for the last time, unfortunately it didn't really have anything that good. Then Sarah went to have dinner and hang with her English buddies on their last day and Kolbi, Rebecca and I met up with them later on that night for Wishes. It was so sad saying goodbye to Sarah - I have only known her for 3 months but it feels like I have known her forever. We are really good friends and I cannot wait until I head to England to visit her!! We have so many plans for our travels around the UK and Europe - we are going to go on the Chunnel! and have tea at The Ritz and go and watch Wimbledon!!

Wednesday afternoon I also hung out with one of my other English friends - Collette as it was her birthday. I met up with her and some of her friends at Hollywood Studios and we went on Star Tours, Muppets 3D and Tower of Terror. We also had dinner at 50's Prime Time Cafe. That was the best dinner ever, it was so much fun. Basically your server acts like a parent and you are all the kids eating dinner in the 50's so they tell you to wash your hands, elbows off the table, put your napkin on your lap, ask permission to leave the table, eat all your vegetbles etc etc It was so funny cause you get yelled at and all the kids tell on their parents. HILARIOUS! So much fun and pretty decent priced as well - I definitely want to go back there!

Then Collette and her friends went to Fantasmic! I was going to go too, but it was Sarah's second to last night so I decided to hang out with her as Collette will still be here for another month so we will have heaps of time to catch up later =)

Last night I spent with Sarah and Cody and some of his friends after I had finished work - I took a bus, a monorail and a boat to get to Fort Wilderness and just as I get there It Rains!! Murphy's Law!!! So we ended up just going to Chick-fil-a for dinner and then Sarah and I walked back to Vista cause we both had work this morning and the others were headed out on the party bus!!!

Work definitely has its bad parts and its good parts. Basically work is great except for the extremely rude people. If people listen and are polite and friendly then we love them - people who don't listen and are rude and grumpy we hate. Most cast memebers will do anything for nice people but we hate it when people treat us badly and so we are less inclined to help =) If you want something - Be Nice to Us!

Well that is my little vent I will write soon

xoxo
E