So today I worked 12 hours at Jedi - which is a pretty normal Jedi shift me and it also helped me get my hours up this week to over 45 - which is super good. Tomorrow I am back to Epic, but now thanks to my manager and my friends Romulo and Ashlea I only have to work at Epic once next week yay!!! And my hours have been upped yay!!!
Okay so after work tomorrow I am going to a workmate Jenny's house for an "Icon" (that is the area at Hollywood Studios where I work in attractions) christmas party to watch christmas movies etc. So that should be fun.
On the second day of our New York trip we got up pretty early but we had actually slept for about 11 hours the night before so we were pretty well rested. We had breakfast in our little hotel and I made my first waffle for breakfast although the waffle iron did bring back dreadfull memories of my deployment to Epcot when I spent hours and hours making waffle bowls for ice creams - I never ever want to see a waffle bowl again as long as I live!!!!
Then we caught the Subway into Times Square again cause we were going to buy tickets to a broadway show, but on that particular day the ticket box office didnt open until 3pm so we ended up subwaying down to the bottom of Manhattan and buying tickets to Lliberty Island to see the Statue of Liberty. Seeing the Statue of Liberty in the distance was very exciting - it made me feel like I really was in New York City! We bought tickets and ended up having to wait for nearly an hour and a half just to get into security so we could board a ferry to Liberty Island. Security was almost as bad as the airport but at least we didn't have to take our shoes off.
This was where I had my very first New York vending hotdog and also a pizza pretzel. Both were very delicious.
Once we got on to the boat we got a spot on the top deck so that we could see the Statue of Liberty - it was like in Titanic when they sail past only it wasn't raining. When we got to Liberty Island we decided to look in the gift shop and I bought a new york pin for my pin collection and a statue of liberty charm for my charm bracelet. Then we had lunch at the restaurant on the island. It was very crowded inside but outside there didnt seem to be too many people about, but it was very cold and windy the day we went which most liekly drove a lot of people inside. We didnt end up buying a ticket to go inside the statue but we took pictures of it - it is massive!!! and we also took pictures of manhattan from the island which were also very cool pics. When we were trying to head back to Manhattan the line was cut literally right in front of us, which was ironic as we had prophesised that happening on the way over (and it hadn't). The boat ride back was extremely windy and so we sat inside. It was very choppy and almost scary when we were trying to get off and the shihp kept rocking up and down - I always have bad luck when it comes to rough weather and boats.
Once back in Manhattan we subwayed back to Times Square to get in yet another line for tickets to see a broadway show. It was kind of difficult to decide on a show as we all wanted to see different ones. In the end the only show we all could agree on was Mary Poppins so we bought tickets to that show at the New Amsterdam theatre, which was absolutely gorgeous although not very big compared to theatres in New Zealand. It is similar to theatre in Chrsitchurch in that the reception area is very small and it is more impressive vertically than horizontally. Mary Poppins itself was a mixture of the books and the movie. It was very good and the woman playing Mrs Banks was fantastic. The kids in the show were kind of annoying thouugh and far less likeaable and pitiable as in the movies - but the overall show was excellent and the songs were amazing.
Continuing on our day of eating New York food we decided to have New York Cheesecake for dessert. It is vanilla flavoured and was actually delicious and I do not even like cheesecake - but I liked that cheesecake.
Anyway I will leave of here as after that we just made our way back to Queens lol even though it was extremely late (or early) and we were a tiny bit worried - we were fine.
Write Soon
xoxo
E
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
And all that is in between
So I know it has been a super long time since I updated but I have been so busy since then I will attempt to update as much as I can tonight while I actually have time. First of all I only have 3 and a half weeks left of my programme and then I am finished. Aaaaaahhhhh. It is so crazy that almost a whole year has gone since I came to America and Walt Disney World. At the moment we are gearing up for the busiest time of the year. Our park estimates for christmas are at 47,000+ which is basically at capacity for Hollywood Studios. So far I have never worked when it has been higher than 40,000.
At Jedi Training Academy we are going to have two teired shows (which means we have two stages for each show and can accommodate twice the kids for each show) usually the kids get to fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul when we have two tiers up. We had this during the week of Thanksgiving which was also busy but no where near as busy as Christmas is expected to be. During Thanksgiving we had 5 shows of 1 tier and 8 shows of two tiers and that is what we will have next week leading up to Christmas. However, the week of Christmas Day to New Years we are going to have all thirteen shows at two tier so we will be signing up 400 kids a day for Jedi Training that week.
Indiana Jones (Epic) is the consistently busiest show in Walt Disney World so they are having up to 9 shows a day instead of our usual 5. So at Epic we will be having super long shifts too. I am working a mix of Epic and Jedi next week cause I swapped my epic shifts for jedi ones as I really like Jedi. I like Epic too, but I am at the point where I am ready to come home so sometimes dealing with annoying and angry guests is the last thing I want to do.
Allrighty - enough about my work rambles let's talk about NYC. OMG I loved going to New York. First of all it was super cold, even though the temperatures were only like mid teens, that is super freezing when you have been used to 35+ degree heat and humidity. We were actually very lucky to have gone when we did as the next weekend it snowed and we would have died from frostbite I am sure - even in New Zealand it doesn't get that cold in the winter. I went with two Kiwi's Hannah and Brittany and we flew out super early on the wednesday, I didn't even get to sleep at all the night before. We arrived at JFK and were lucky enough to be able to check straight into our hotel. Lol we stayed in a nice enough hotel it was kind of like a backpakers as in we got free breakfast in the wee breakie nook which was very cute but the rooms were like a hotel. The hotel was actually in Queens so we weren't sure what to expect once we were there. We didn't know if we were in a safe neighbourhood or not, but nothing even remotely bad happened so it was all good. We had a pretty good location - close to the Subway and to fast food which we utilised when we came home from the city extremely late.
The first day we took the subway to Times Square and had fun even though it was cold and raining. It took us a little bit to get our bearings but we sorted ourselves. We had fun taking in all the sights and then dropped Brittany off with a few of her rellies from NZ who were visiting at the same time. Hannah and I then went to lunch at TGI Fridays in Times Square which was okay but not the best ever our local applebees in Orlando is 10x better. Then we managed to get ourselves to Rockeffeller centre using the best map ever that I left at TGI Fridays and we were never able to find a good enough map to replace it (It really was very sad). Anyway we found Rockefeller Centre and we saw the Ice Skating rink that is in all the movies and we walked around for a bit inside where it was warm. It was very crowded with New Yorkers. We eventually got a hot chocolate from starbucks and were lucky enough to find a seat by the ice skating rink. It was very beautiful. After that we tried to find Grand Central station but without a map we got a bit lost as we couldn't remember what street it was on. It is very difficult to get lost in NYC though as all the streets go north and all the avenues go west and they are mostly in number order) so we eventually found our way back to Times Square via 5th Avenue - and saw Sacs 5th avenue and Michael Kors - it was very exciting. Once we got to Times Square we got a new crappy map from the visitors centre and after talking to Brittany decided to head to her in SoHo via Grand Central - this time though we took the Subway. Grand Central Station is absolutely beautiful - the ceiling has star consellations painted on it and the architecture makes you feel as if you are in a palace. We found the whispering wall as well - I can't remember where I first heard about it but it really works I swear. If you and a friend stand in opposite corners of this particular intersection you can actually hear the other person whisper into the wall. It is amazing - it sounds as if the other person is directly behind you and they are really across the room. Once we met up with Brittany we checked out some of the shops in SoHo and then decided to head back to the Hotel as we were all very tired from lack of sleep and it was about an hour back to Queens. That was the night we stopped at Maccas and then we watched tv from bed until we fell asleep.
Well, it is getting late now so I promise I will finish this soon,
Merry Christmas
xoxo
E
At Jedi Training Academy we are going to have two teired shows (which means we have two stages for each show and can accommodate twice the kids for each show) usually the kids get to fight either Darth Vader or Darth Maul when we have two tiers up. We had this during the week of Thanksgiving which was also busy but no where near as busy as Christmas is expected to be. During Thanksgiving we had 5 shows of 1 tier and 8 shows of two tiers and that is what we will have next week leading up to Christmas. However, the week of Christmas Day to New Years we are going to have all thirteen shows at two tier so we will be signing up 400 kids a day for Jedi Training that week.
Indiana Jones (Epic) is the consistently busiest show in Walt Disney World so they are having up to 9 shows a day instead of our usual 5. So at Epic we will be having super long shifts too. I am working a mix of Epic and Jedi next week cause I swapped my epic shifts for jedi ones as I really like Jedi. I like Epic too, but I am at the point where I am ready to come home so sometimes dealing with annoying and angry guests is the last thing I want to do.
Allrighty - enough about my work rambles let's talk about NYC. OMG I loved going to New York. First of all it was super cold, even though the temperatures were only like mid teens, that is super freezing when you have been used to 35+ degree heat and humidity. We were actually very lucky to have gone when we did as the next weekend it snowed and we would have died from frostbite I am sure - even in New Zealand it doesn't get that cold in the winter. I went with two Kiwi's Hannah and Brittany and we flew out super early on the wednesday, I didn't even get to sleep at all the night before. We arrived at JFK and were lucky enough to be able to check straight into our hotel. Lol we stayed in a nice enough hotel it was kind of like a backpakers as in we got free breakfast in the wee breakie nook which was very cute but the rooms were like a hotel. The hotel was actually in Queens so we weren't sure what to expect once we were there. We didn't know if we were in a safe neighbourhood or not, but nothing even remotely bad happened so it was all good. We had a pretty good location - close to the Subway and to fast food which we utilised when we came home from the city extremely late.
The first day we took the subway to Times Square and had fun even though it was cold and raining. It took us a little bit to get our bearings but we sorted ourselves. We had fun taking in all the sights and then dropped Brittany off with a few of her rellies from NZ who were visiting at the same time. Hannah and I then went to lunch at TGI Fridays in Times Square which was okay but not the best ever our local applebees in Orlando is 10x better. Then we managed to get ourselves to Rockeffeller centre using the best map ever that I left at TGI Fridays and we were never able to find a good enough map to replace it (It really was very sad). Anyway we found Rockefeller Centre and we saw the Ice Skating rink that is in all the movies and we walked around for a bit inside where it was warm. It was very crowded with New Yorkers. We eventually got a hot chocolate from starbucks and were lucky enough to find a seat by the ice skating rink. It was very beautiful. After that we tried to find Grand Central station but without a map we got a bit lost as we couldn't remember what street it was on. It is very difficult to get lost in NYC though as all the streets go north and all the avenues go west and they are mostly in number order) so we eventually found our way back to Times Square via 5th Avenue - and saw Sacs 5th avenue and Michael Kors - it was very exciting. Once we got to Times Square we got a new crappy map from the visitors centre and after talking to Brittany decided to head to her in SoHo via Grand Central - this time though we took the Subway. Grand Central Station is absolutely beautiful - the ceiling has star consellations painted on it and the architecture makes you feel as if you are in a palace. We found the whispering wall as well - I can't remember where I first heard about it but it really works I swear. If you and a friend stand in opposite corners of this particular intersection you can actually hear the other person whisper into the wall. It is amazing - it sounds as if the other person is directly behind you and they are really across the room. Once we met up with Brittany we checked out some of the shops in SoHo and then decided to head back to the Hotel as we were all very tired from lack of sleep and it was about an hour back to Queens. That was the night we stopped at Maccas and then we watched tv from bed until we fell asleep.
Well, it is getting late now so I promise I will finish this soon,
Merry Christmas
xoxo
E
Friday, October 14, 2011
Up till now
OMG so October has fully been the best month ever and hopefully will continue to be awesome! I am not sure if I posted this but my trip to New York City is all booked for next week I am going with Brittany and Hannah who are both from New Zealand too - so it is kinda cool that I actually have Kiwi friends now seen as for my first 6 months I hung out with mostly Aussies Lol! Anyway I am super excited about that and I have been busy working heaps which is kinda hard to do where I work because the hours are so limited at Epic a full day -open to close is 8.30am-6.30pm and at Jedi a full day is usually 8.00am-8/9pm, so I have been trying to work full days lately. This week I worked over 50 hours which is good because this weeks paycheck goes in the day after I go to NYC so I can used my allready saved money for the first day and the my paycheck for the rest of the days. I really hope to be able to see Museum of Natural History, The Met, Rockerfeller Centre, Tiffany's, Ground Zero, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square and like a million broadway shows!!!
Anyway I am trying to update with everything that has happened up till now. So what has happened?
Well the Epcot Food and Wine Festival started at the beginning of October. I went last week with Sarah. It was pretty neat, but we spent so much money trying all the food. It is really cool because they have a New Zealand Stall which sells Scallops with a Kumara (yes they actually used the word!!) and red curry paste and then they had 'Lamb Sliders' - sliders is a word Americans use for a very small burger - do not get me started with this though because first of all we don't have "sliders" in New Zealand and second of all it is practically blasphemous to use Lamb mince in a burger! That is what beef is for! Lamb is premium meat it should be used for chops!! Which is ironic because at the Australian stall they have Lamb chops - Where do these people get there information??? I did have some Mohua Savignon Blanc from NZ though it was very nice!! We also had lamingtons at Australian (fully English!) they were okay they just tasted kindof hard like they had been frozen and then unfrozen. The Apple Strudel from Germany was amazing and I cannot wait to try some more!!! Yummy!!! The most dissappointing part was the raviolli from Italy; while it was good it just tasted like something you could buy frozen at the supermarket and I was expecting so much more. The best thing however was les escargots from France. It was delicious I am converted. It was my first time eating snails but I just tried not to think abbout it when I ate the first one and I actually really enjoyed - I even have pictures which I will put on facebook lol!
This week has been so much fun - yesterday my Aussie friend Loren came back. She has a job on the Disney Dream Cruise ship which is the new Disney Cruise ship that just launched in January. She starts on Sunday morning and is at Disney World for Traditions etc. It was so amazing to catch up with her - we met up yesterday morning at Magic Kingdom and we were supposed to meet by security but she surprised me by meeting me off the cast bus at TTC and I fully didn't see her untill she walked right up too me I was so surprised and excited lol! We spent a beautiful morning at Magic Kingdom, we went on Space Mountain and I finally went to the Enchanted Tiki room which was hillarious with all these crazy sining birds it was so weird. We also watched PhilharMagic which I haven't seen in forever. I haven't really been to any of the parks much since Loren left in July actually. After that we met up with Jill and Sarah and after talking with the Mayor of Magic Kingdom for a while we went to the Laugh Floor which was cool because they had changed the first part of the show so I had never seen that bit before. Then we had lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus. After Lunch Jill had work but Loren, Sarah and I went to Hollywood Studios where we rode Star Tours and I was able to use my awesome influence to get VIP seats for Indiana Jones - a show that Loren never saw before she left. She had always wanted to be an extra in the show too - so we made that happen. Aaah so nice to know people in the right places.
After that we neede to head home to get our passports as our ids and tehn we went to Epcot where we watched Billy Ocean - so exciting!!! He sang When the going gets tough! Loved it way better than this weird middle aged Latino singer who none knew, and obviously hadnt made it big, that Sarah and I saw when we went the first time. I also had the snails again!!
After Illuminations I met up with Kimie and Angela from work and we went to Jellyrolls it was fun but not as rocking as it usually is -so we ended up heading home at 1130pm -pretty early for a night out lol!! I also do not know wat I was drinking but wen I got home I felt really sick and I had only had one drink - I know there was vodka in it but it tasted kinda licorice-y.
Today I picked up a shift at Epic and had the best day of work ever - this Make A Wish family came in and I found them and seated them in VIP and then we got the little boy a Mickey Mouse dressed as Indiana Jones plushie (soft toy) and got them to meet Indiana Jones and he gave the boy a signed hat and they had photos and I orchestrated it all, with help of course. We were so happy after work that we had made Magic for the family and tehy were so happy about it too. It was funny cause this other lady was watching and she was all teary and taking pictures of it and was like 'i don't even know these people and I am so happy about it' lol! Was best day! especially cause Kimie, Courtney and I also booked a cruise for Bahamas on Disney Dream from Nov 6-9. It is gonna be so much fun I can't wait!!
Have a Magical Day
xoxo
E
Anyway I am trying to update with everything that has happened up till now. So what has happened?
Well the Epcot Food and Wine Festival started at the beginning of October. I went last week with Sarah. It was pretty neat, but we spent so much money trying all the food. It is really cool because they have a New Zealand Stall which sells Scallops with a Kumara (yes they actually used the word!!) and red curry paste and then they had 'Lamb Sliders' - sliders is a word Americans use for a very small burger - do not get me started with this though because first of all we don't have "sliders" in New Zealand and second of all it is practically blasphemous to use Lamb mince in a burger! That is what beef is for! Lamb is premium meat it should be used for chops!! Which is ironic because at the Australian stall they have Lamb chops - Where do these people get there information??? I did have some Mohua Savignon Blanc from NZ though it was very nice!! We also had lamingtons at Australian (fully English!) they were okay they just tasted kindof hard like they had been frozen and then unfrozen. The Apple Strudel from Germany was amazing and I cannot wait to try some more!!! Yummy!!! The most dissappointing part was the raviolli from Italy; while it was good it just tasted like something you could buy frozen at the supermarket and I was expecting so much more. The best thing however was les escargots from France. It was delicious I am converted. It was my first time eating snails but I just tried not to think abbout it when I ate the first one and I actually really enjoyed - I even have pictures which I will put on facebook lol!
This week has been so much fun - yesterday my Aussie friend Loren came back. She has a job on the Disney Dream Cruise ship which is the new Disney Cruise ship that just launched in January. She starts on Sunday morning and is at Disney World for Traditions etc. It was so amazing to catch up with her - we met up yesterday morning at Magic Kingdom and we were supposed to meet by security but she surprised me by meeting me off the cast bus at TTC and I fully didn't see her untill she walked right up too me I was so surprised and excited lol! We spent a beautiful morning at Magic Kingdom, we went on Space Mountain and I finally went to the Enchanted Tiki room which was hillarious with all these crazy sining birds it was so weird. We also watched PhilharMagic which I haven't seen in forever. I haven't really been to any of the parks much since Loren left in July actually. After that we met up with Jill and Sarah and after talking with the Mayor of Magic Kingdom for a while we went to the Laugh Floor which was cool because they had changed the first part of the show so I had never seen that bit before. Then we had lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus. After Lunch Jill had work but Loren, Sarah and I went to Hollywood Studios where we rode Star Tours and I was able to use my awesome influence to get VIP seats for Indiana Jones - a show that Loren never saw before she left. She had always wanted to be an extra in the show too - so we made that happen. Aaah so nice to know people in the right places.
After that we neede to head home to get our passports as our ids and tehn we went to Epcot where we watched Billy Ocean - so exciting!!! He sang When the going gets tough! Loved it way better than this weird middle aged Latino singer who none knew, and obviously hadnt made it big, that Sarah and I saw when we went the first time. I also had the snails again!!
After Illuminations I met up with Kimie and Angela from work and we went to Jellyrolls it was fun but not as rocking as it usually is -so we ended up heading home at 1130pm -pretty early for a night out lol!! I also do not know wat I was drinking but wen I got home I felt really sick and I had only had one drink - I know there was vodka in it but it tasted kinda licorice-y.
Today I picked up a shift at Epic and had the best day of work ever - this Make A Wish family came in and I found them and seated them in VIP and then we got the little boy a Mickey Mouse dressed as Indiana Jones plushie (soft toy) and got them to meet Indiana Jones and he gave the boy a signed hat and they had photos and I orchestrated it all, with help of course. We were so happy after work that we had made Magic for the family and tehy were so happy about it too. It was funny cause this other lady was watching and she was all teary and taking pictures of it and was like 'i don't even know these people and I am so happy about it' lol! Was best day! especially cause Kimie, Courtney and I also booked a cruise for Bahamas on Disney Dream from Nov 6-9. It is gonna be so much fun I can't wait!!
Have a Magical Day
xoxo
E
Friday, October 7, 2011
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
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
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
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
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
Friday, September 23, 2011
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
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
Thursday, September 22, 2011
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
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)