Monday equaled my first day of Training for Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! Which everyone just calls Epic. I had to be at work at 8.30am so I had to catch a bus at 7am to get there in time to try on costumes and figure out where I was supposed to go. The costuming cast members are very unhelpful though so it took me a while to get sorted - as well as all the sizing over here is weird so you have to try on like 5 different sizes before you can find one that fits but still looks good on as well as Disney has the worst fashion sense!!!!!
I finally managed to get a costume sorted but then I had no idea where I was supposed to go - so with only like 5 minutes before I was meant to start work I just went around to the front of the theatre and luckily there was someone there who directed me where to go and I was only like 2 minutes late - but I really hope that I won't get a half point because of that!
I was training with a girl I knew from Australia who had come over in January aswell. Her name is Ashlea so it was good to have someone to talk to while training. Our trainer on Monday was Kathleen and she was really nice. We learnt all the positions and it was a little bit overwhelming at first as it felt like there was so much to remember and so many things happening at once but by that afternoon I was pretty much set.
We started off "pushing water" which happens every morning as the theatre is hosed down every night and we have to squeegie all the benches and make sure that the all the water is pushed down to the bottom and there are no puddles of water anywhere. It really sucks and is very boring!! But hopefully we don't have to do that very often as apparently CPs don't normally get given the opening shift. Then we leart all of the positions there are "House - Left, Right & Centre" they direct the people to seats and take car of the quests in weelchairs. Then "packer" gets everyone to "fill up all available space" and "slide to the centre of the theatre". "Photocell" is the person who lets people into the theatre and directs the weelchairs to a cast member to be taken care of. "Greeter" lets people know when the next show is, when to come back for the show, pulls people in to watch the show and gets to pick a kid for each show to be the junior director! Everyone has to help clean up the theatre after every show - that is the worst bit!!
My training days were pretty easy and this job is 100% easier than Quick Food and Beverage. Only issue with this job is that it sucks having to mass pack - this is where you stand down the front and yell to 400 people to move towards the centre of the theatre and you have to do it all fun cause it is Disney! I am going to have so much confidence after 6 months of doing this several times a day. The other part that sucks is the mean guests that get angry cause they can't sit down or the show is sold out or they can't see - I hate guests sometomes they are so nasty sometimes and 99% of the time it is their own fault for coming late!!!
On Wednesday I was supposed to have the day off but my training schedule and CDS (cast deployment service) which is responsible for everyones shifts were different and so my schedule got all mucked up but it was sorted in the end it just meant that my days off this week were Fiday and Saturday instead of Wednesday and Thursday. It also meant I had 3 days off this week as I already had Sunday off. Days off are good and all, but your paycheck is always very small which sucks!!! I have found that due to my early finishes every day I have so much time for my chores such as laundry, walmart trips etc and I do not need two days off anymore except for socialising. And due to most of my friends leaving in the next 3 weeks I will have plenty of time to pick up extra shifts and I will try to get scheduled for 6 days a week! Every extra penny helps when you have so many things on your American Bucket List to get done and now only 6 months left to do it!!!!
Thursday was my assessment so I am now officially an Epic Cast member! Yay! So much better than training as they do tend to treat you like an idiot or a baby sometimes. The assessment consisted of a written test (and by written I mean multi-choice) which I got all right!! Yay Me!!! Then we walked around with our assesor and she asked us questions and then observed us doing all the different jobs. Was a wee bit scary but went well. After that was finished I was put into rotation which meant that I was given jobs to do all by myself. Unfortunately I got House Right three times, but I got a greeter posistion for a little bit as well - which was fun!! I have decided I like greeter and photocell (when it isn't too hectic) the best!!
For the last show I saw my friends Sarah, Rebecca and Victor who all came to watch - it was very fun seeing them and getting to tell them where to go - highlight of my day!! Oh the other day we picked the Junior Directors for a show and when we asked the family if they were having a good day they told us that they were having a horrible day and when we asked them if the kids wanted to do the Junior Director thing and that they would get to meet Indiana Jones afterwards and get VIP seating they were so happy and told us it just made their day!!!! I was so happy that we had made some magic!!!
After work on Thursday I hung out with Sarah and Rebecca and we went to Lone Star for dinner. The meals were very filling and it was nice to hang out with my friends while they are still here. On Friday Rebecca and I made a deal - I would go shopping with her in the morning if she came with me to see Harry Potter. So I finally saw Harry Potter 7 pt 2! I thought it was okay definitely not the worst of the adaptations, and overall a pretty good movie, but only as a second parter as there wasn't really a beginning or a middle! I was glad Neville got to kill the snake as that was a part of the book I would have been so mad to have been changed. The ending was just idiotic though and really cheesy even worse than in the book.
In the evening Sarah and I went to Rebecca's after she had finished work and watched A walk to Remember and Mary Poppins - It was nice and relaxing!
Today I didnt really do anything except Laundry and go to Walmart where I bought a watch as my new job requires me to know the time and a new MP3 player as mine broke.
Well It is back to work tomorrow - now that I am not training I will have to see what the day offers me!
xoxo
E
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
A new Job!
So Saturday rolled around and we finally got sent an email telling us the location of our new job. My email said Hollywood Studios Icon Attractions - so of course I was like wat is Icon Attractions??? Anyway after a wee bit of asking around I finally found out that Icon Attractions are: Star Tours, Muppets 3D, Indiana Jones, American Idol, Jedi Training Academy and Great Movie Ride. So I would be at one of these attractions. I was just so excited that I wouldn't be working at The Honey I shrunk The Kids Playground - It is very boring there apparently you just yell at kids to go down the slide feet first and tell people they cant bring food into the playground (yawn) But Yay!!! cause I don't have to work there!! So of course I wanted to know exactly where I would be working but unfortunately I would have to wait until my training schedule was sent to my managers at Sunset and that wasm't until Thursday.
My last week of work at Sunset I had aweful shifts 3 of which were closing Dishes. Luckily I am so seasoned at Dishes now that I can get through with pretty much lightening speed, especially if I have good people to close with!!
On Wednesday I basically had a lazy day but I did get to Walmart and my awesomely brilliant mum gave me some money to buy clothes so I got four pieces of clothing for like $45 bucks was v good!!! The rest of the day I just lazy bummed around watching tv shows.
Thursday was Loren's last day as a cast member so we went to Property Control - but unfortunately there wasn't anything good there on that day which sometimes happens. Some days are crap and other days are brilliant for good finds!! I did buy some pins for my collection from Cast Connection though.
After that we went to Hollywood Studios with Cody, Sarah and another friend of Loren's and we got to watch Beauty and the Beast from the VIP section which was really cool - plus we had the good singer!!! I also got my training schedlue and found out I would be working at Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! not my first choice but anything is better than the playground!!!!! So, excited that I finally knew where I was going to be working. We then met up with Ruth and rode on Toy Story twice and I finally got to the Beaver - yay!! Both times I was a Beaver but I did improve on the second time so aiming to just keep getting better every time I go!
After that we went home for a wee bit (ie a shower cause we were all sweating pretty bad (eeeeewww) I know it is gross but it is so hot and humid here - cannot wait until October hits and the humidity dies down a wee bit). Then Ruth, Loren and I headed to Epcot as the others were going to ditch us to see the Harry Potter midnight showing! Losers!!! lol
We had dinner at China and went on Test Track - I love that ride. We were going to go on Soaring but Loren didnt want to miss her last showing of Illuminations which was very good I just love the music that accompanies the fireworks it makes them spectacular. I think Timaru should have music to the New Years Fireworks as they use many of the same fireworks that disney use lol!!!
Once Epcot closed we went to Jelly Rolls which was alot of fun. I love that place!!! And we even went to the Dance Hall and all did the cupid shuffle!! lol!! Later at like 3am we went to Dennys and I had Pancakes for $2 and Bacon but the bacon is weird here it is fully hard not just crisp like it is back home so I didnt really like that - but the pancakes were really good!!! I did feel pretty sick though. I think it was most likely a mixture of the alcohol, sun, lack of sleep and probably dehydration - but once I got to bed I was fine. Friday though I had to get up early to go with Loren to the hotel as I had reserved the room and needed to show my cast ID for the discount before I started work!! It was very weird being back at Pop Century as that was where our whole Disney journey started!!
Because all my friends are leaving I kindof feel a bit sad that I am not going home as well. Not because I don't like it but because all of the absolutely amazing and lifelong friends I have made here are all going to leave me and I am needing to make new friends again. But then I think of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and I am glad that I will get to experience all of those events both in America and at Disney!!!
On Saturday I got up early and made Afghans for all my work friends to sample. I was quite surprised noone knew what an Afghan was even the Brits and Aussies , as I didnt realise they were a NZ invention. My last teo days were sad - but was good knowing I could come back and see some of my friends who will still be at Sunset. I took loads of pictures with everyone so I won't forget them!!
Sunday was the last day to spend with Lorena and Narelle ever until we go to Australia or they come to see us. I met up with Loren in themorning at Downtown Disney and we decided to go on the Balloon - it is a hot air balloon that goes up 400m and you can see almost all of Disney from the air. It was a pretty windy day so we only just managed to get on but we had both wanted to do it from the start of our programme so we were glad to get it ticked off!! We went with three of Loren's friends from work and we all ate at Earl of Sandwich together afterwards.
After that we went back to Pop Century and I burned Festival of the Lion King, Illuminations, Wishes and Disney Wishes! (CDs which Loren bought at Property Control) to my external hard drive - I love the music and am so excited to have it yay!!! Then we went to Hollywood Studios and I got them in on my Main Gate Pass which means I aonly have 2 days left on it now =( Then I had to go clean my apartment and go to Walmart to get more phone credit cause I had run out so I met up with them again at Magic Kingdom for fireworks - but we also went on Laugh Floor and for some unbelievable reason we also went on It's a Small World. We watched the Fireworks for Loren's last time - and I had a great spot but due to unforeseen circumstances involving food, Haunted Mansion, pins, a phone not working, bridges, people and confusion I managed to get separated from the others - but I just met up with them at the train station later and we took pictures with our old ganag from Pop Century again!! lol
Then we had to say goodbye and tears were shed - they never told us we would have to say goodbye to so many great friends and great people!!!!!!!
Well this is the end of the first half or my programme let's hope the next 6 months are just as fun-filled and rewarding as the first =) !!!!!!!
Write Soon
xoxo
E
My last week of work at Sunset I had aweful shifts 3 of which were closing Dishes. Luckily I am so seasoned at Dishes now that I can get through with pretty much lightening speed, especially if I have good people to close with!!
On Wednesday I basically had a lazy day but I did get to Walmart and my awesomely brilliant mum gave me some money to buy clothes so I got four pieces of clothing for like $45 bucks was v good!!! The rest of the day I just lazy bummed around watching tv shows.
Thursday was Loren's last day as a cast member so we went to Property Control - but unfortunately there wasn't anything good there on that day which sometimes happens. Some days are crap and other days are brilliant for good finds!! I did buy some pins for my collection from Cast Connection though.
After that we went to Hollywood Studios with Cody, Sarah and another friend of Loren's and we got to watch Beauty and the Beast from the VIP section which was really cool - plus we had the good singer!!! I also got my training schedlue and found out I would be working at Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! not my first choice but anything is better than the playground!!!!! So, excited that I finally knew where I was going to be working. We then met up with Ruth and rode on Toy Story twice and I finally got to the Beaver - yay!! Both times I was a Beaver but I did improve on the second time so aiming to just keep getting better every time I go!
After that we went home for a wee bit (ie a shower cause we were all sweating pretty bad (eeeeewww) I know it is gross but it is so hot and humid here - cannot wait until October hits and the humidity dies down a wee bit). Then Ruth, Loren and I headed to Epcot as the others were going to ditch us to see the Harry Potter midnight showing! Losers!!! lol
We had dinner at China and went on Test Track - I love that ride. We were going to go on Soaring but Loren didnt want to miss her last showing of Illuminations which was very good I just love the music that accompanies the fireworks it makes them spectacular. I think Timaru should have music to the New Years Fireworks as they use many of the same fireworks that disney use lol!!!
Once Epcot closed we went to Jelly Rolls which was alot of fun. I love that place!!! And we even went to the Dance Hall and all did the cupid shuffle!! lol!! Later at like 3am we went to Dennys and I had Pancakes for $2 and Bacon but the bacon is weird here it is fully hard not just crisp like it is back home so I didnt really like that - but the pancakes were really good!!! I did feel pretty sick though. I think it was most likely a mixture of the alcohol, sun, lack of sleep and probably dehydration - but once I got to bed I was fine. Friday though I had to get up early to go with Loren to the hotel as I had reserved the room and needed to show my cast ID for the discount before I started work!! It was very weird being back at Pop Century as that was where our whole Disney journey started!!
Because all my friends are leaving I kindof feel a bit sad that I am not going home as well. Not because I don't like it but because all of the absolutely amazing and lifelong friends I have made here are all going to leave me and I am needing to make new friends again. But then I think of Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years and I am glad that I will get to experience all of those events both in America and at Disney!!!
On Saturday I got up early and made Afghans for all my work friends to sample. I was quite surprised noone knew what an Afghan was even the Brits and Aussies , as I didnt realise they were a NZ invention. My last teo days were sad - but was good knowing I could come back and see some of my friends who will still be at Sunset. I took loads of pictures with everyone so I won't forget them!!
Sunday was the last day to spend with Lorena and Narelle ever until we go to Australia or they come to see us. I met up with Loren in themorning at Downtown Disney and we decided to go on the Balloon - it is a hot air balloon that goes up 400m and you can see almost all of Disney from the air. It was a pretty windy day so we only just managed to get on but we had both wanted to do it from the start of our programme so we were glad to get it ticked off!! We went with three of Loren's friends from work and we all ate at Earl of Sandwich together afterwards.
After that we went back to Pop Century and I burned Festival of the Lion King, Illuminations, Wishes and Disney Wishes! (CDs which Loren bought at Property Control) to my external hard drive - I love the music and am so excited to have it yay!!! Then we went to Hollywood Studios and I got them in on my Main Gate Pass which means I aonly have 2 days left on it now =( Then I had to go clean my apartment and go to Walmart to get more phone credit cause I had run out so I met up with them again at Magic Kingdom for fireworks - but we also went on Laugh Floor and for some unbelievable reason we also went on It's a Small World. We watched the Fireworks for Loren's last time - and I had a great spot but due to unforeseen circumstances involving food, Haunted Mansion, pins, a phone not working, bridges, people and confusion I managed to get separated from the others - but I just met up with them at the train station later and we took pictures with our old ganag from Pop Century again!! lol
Then we had to say goodbye and tears were shed - they never told us we would have to say goodbye to so many great friends and great people!!!!!!!
Well this is the end of the first half or my programme let's hope the next 6 months are just as fun-filled and rewarding as the first =) !!!!!!!
Write Soon
xoxo
E
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Well...It has been a while....
Okay so It has been quite a while since I last wrote but the truth is I have just been so busy the last two weeks that I haven't been able to find time to write. Okay so after Independence Day work was pretty much back to normal and although I was sad to leave I felt pretty stifled in the job. I was definitely ready for a change and was definitely counting down the days until I changed jobs. For those of you that don't know the Australia / New Zealand 12 moth programme entitles you to two jobs -each 6 months long. So for the first 6 months of my programme I worked Quick Service Food and Beverage and for the second 5 months I get to work Attractions.
That Wednesday was one of Loren's last days off before she (on the 6 month programme) goes back home so I spent the day with her. We firstly went to Animal Kingdom in the am. It was amazingly fun - we rode Dinosaur (my favourite thrill ride at Disney) and watched Festival of the Lion King - I love that show!!!!! We were going to go on Kli River Rapids but the line was like 80 minutes and honestly ythe length of the ride does not constitute a wait time of over 10 minutes! So we skipped that one!
After Lion King we were getting a picture with Donald and this guy calls out for people to volunteer to have a song made up about them and Loren in her infinite "meanness" volunteers myself!! It was very embarressing at first but the song was actually amaazing and afterwards Loren got a song written about her too! Best Magical Moment of the day (or eva) but I still have 6 months to go so maybe something even better will happen!!!!
After AK we headed to Magic Kingdom where we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (my favourite Rollar Coaster at Disney) and we got to eat dinner at Casey's which is this food joint themed for a baseball concession stand so they sell hotdogs aka "american hot dogs" and cracker jacks and candy floss etc it was pretty cool. Then we watched the fireworks from the train station. It has an amazing view but someone had the bright idea to build a giant flag pole right in the middle of the view of the castle so it sucked for taking pictures or videoing the show!!!
Thursday was official Lazy Thursday with Sarah and Rebecca my buddies from work. W e watched movies all day and enjoyed junk food and Pizza as well! Such a fun day and we didn't even do anything. In the early afternoon this massive storm blew over top us and some massively close and massive lightning and thunder right above us caused the power to go out for like an hour right in the middle of our movie watching. We couldn't even get the dvd out of the dvd player to watch on the computer. The annoying thing was that after about an hour the power came back on for like 10 seconds and then died again and this kept happening for like another 20 minutes!!!!We didnt even have internet so we had to just sit around staring out the window and talking - was kindof exciting though!
That is the thing they don't tell you about Florida though - they said it would be hot and that it would be humid and that it would rain for an hour or so every afternoon. They did not tell us that there would be massive thunderstorms every other day or that it would down pour for hours at a time some days - the amount of rain they get here is crazy!!!!
Anyway I promise to write soon this time
xoxo
E
That Wednesday was one of Loren's last days off before she (on the 6 month programme) goes back home so I spent the day with her. We firstly went to Animal Kingdom in the am. It was amazingly fun - we rode Dinosaur (my favourite thrill ride at Disney) and watched Festival of the Lion King - I love that show!!!!! We were going to go on Kli River Rapids but the line was like 80 minutes and honestly ythe length of the ride does not constitute a wait time of over 10 minutes! So we skipped that one!
After Lion King we were getting a picture with Donald and this guy calls out for people to volunteer to have a song made up about them and Loren in her infinite "meanness" volunteers myself!! It was very embarressing at first but the song was actually amaazing and afterwards Loren got a song written about her too! Best Magical Moment of the day (or eva) but I still have 6 months to go so maybe something even better will happen!!!!
After AK we headed to Magic Kingdom where we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (my favourite Rollar Coaster at Disney) and we got to eat dinner at Casey's which is this food joint themed for a baseball concession stand so they sell hotdogs aka "american hot dogs" and cracker jacks and candy floss etc it was pretty cool. Then we watched the fireworks from the train station. It has an amazing view but someone had the bright idea to build a giant flag pole right in the middle of the view of the castle so it sucked for taking pictures or videoing the show!!!
Thursday was official Lazy Thursday with Sarah and Rebecca my buddies from work. W e watched movies all day and enjoyed junk food and Pizza as well! Such a fun day and we didn't even do anything. In the early afternoon this massive storm blew over top us and some massively close and massive lightning and thunder right above us caused the power to go out for like an hour right in the middle of our movie watching. We couldn't even get the dvd out of the dvd player to watch on the computer. The annoying thing was that after about an hour the power came back on for like 10 seconds and then died again and this kept happening for like another 20 minutes!!!!We didnt even have internet so we had to just sit around staring out the window and talking - was kindof exciting though!
That is the thing they don't tell you about Florida though - they said it would be hot and that it would be humid and that it would rain for an hour or so every afternoon. They did not tell us that there would be massive thunderstorms every other day or that it would down pour for hours at a time some days - the amount of rain they get here is crazy!!!!
Anyway I promise to write soon this time
xoxo
E
Friday, July 8, 2011
Indendence Day
So this is my 50th post! Wow I cannot believe I have actually been writing this for so long - I am never able to keep up a diary or journal so I am quite proud of my 50 post accomplishment!!
Last Saturday I didn't start work until 4.45pm so I went to Hollywood Studios with Loren. She finally made it to Toy Story and we both made it into the 90,000's with our score as on this ride you sit in little carts and have to shoot at 3D virtual things like plates or balloons or ring toss etc. It is very fun but definitely not worth the wait of over an hour that some people wait. The other day it was a 2 1/2 hour wait - Crazy!!! Anyway If you are just in a two when you go on the ride you get to skip half the queue - which is so brilliant!! I have almost made it to beaver!!!
We also went to American Idol and Star Tours. After Loren went to work I went to drawing class and got to draw piglet!!! I think my piglet is pretty cute =)
Work that day kind of sucked - but it wasn't as bad as the day before where I got soaked walking to work and then had to change my costume after an hour of condiment bar and had wet shoes all day!! We had to get new shoes which would be fine but they were too small, but my other shoes were wet so I wore them however it was entirely uncomfortable!
Sunday I gave away my shift so I was able to go and see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom!!!!!! This was amazing as they were the same fireworks that would be shown at Magic Kingdom on July 4th for Independence day!! They were so cool! I spent the afternoon at MK by myself of course. I went to property control in the morning with Loren. I also took my shoes back and managed to swap them for a size bigger they are so much better now that my pinky toes aren't cramped. It amazes me how small american's feet are - in NZ I wear about a size 8 which is just below average but here I wear a size 9 1/2 and the average is like a 7-8. So strange!!
I bought at property control a photo album, some pins, Disney playing cards, a Hollywood Studios T-shirt and the cutest little outfits for my dog and cat - so excited for them to try them on! Liddy you must send me a pic of Abbs and Precious dressed up!!
After dropping my neew stuff off at home I headed to MK and hung out all day by myself. I watched the 3pm Parade and the Mickey float broke in front of me - I was a wee bit worried for those people that are friends with Characters in the parade casue it was ridiculously hot outside, but they finally got a little cart to tow the float for the rest of the parade.
I also went to see PhilharMagic (Love it!), Carousel of Progress, and since it was independence day - Hall of Presidents (I was almost falling asleep in that one!) I also visited Beasley at work, pin traded, ate dinner and window shopped!! Was a very long, busy day!! People were lined up at like 5pm for the 9pm fireworks - I got a position at like 8pm and my friend Collette from England arrived just before they started she had been working. I filmed the fireworks and they were just magnificent - they completely surrounded us!!
After the fireworks we watched the electrical Parade and then Memories show as Leroy who also is from England and works with us and who had met up at with us after the fireworks, hadn't seen them before. It was mental when they were over as everyone was trying to leave the park at the same time! Crazy!!!
Then it was back to work for the fourth! I was lucky enough to be able to watch the last 5 minutes of the fourth or July Fireworks at Hollywood Studios from outside my work. They were incredibly pretty and I really want to see if I can find them on Youtube so I can watch the whole thing!
Well I will write soon,
xoxo
E
Last Saturday I didn't start work until 4.45pm so I went to Hollywood Studios with Loren. She finally made it to Toy Story and we both made it into the 90,000's with our score as on this ride you sit in little carts and have to shoot at 3D virtual things like plates or balloons or ring toss etc. It is very fun but definitely not worth the wait of over an hour that some people wait. The other day it was a 2 1/2 hour wait - Crazy!!! Anyway If you are just in a two when you go on the ride you get to skip half the queue - which is so brilliant!! I have almost made it to beaver!!!
We also went to American Idol and Star Tours. After Loren went to work I went to drawing class and got to draw piglet!!! I think my piglet is pretty cute =)
Work that day kind of sucked - but it wasn't as bad as the day before where I got soaked walking to work and then had to change my costume after an hour of condiment bar and had wet shoes all day!! We had to get new shoes which would be fine but they were too small, but my other shoes were wet so I wore them however it was entirely uncomfortable!
Sunday I gave away my shift so I was able to go and see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom!!!!!! This was amazing as they were the same fireworks that would be shown at Magic Kingdom on July 4th for Independence day!! They were so cool! I spent the afternoon at MK by myself of course. I went to property control in the morning with Loren. I also took my shoes back and managed to swap them for a size bigger they are so much better now that my pinky toes aren't cramped. It amazes me how small american's feet are - in NZ I wear about a size 8 which is just below average but here I wear a size 9 1/2 and the average is like a 7-8. So strange!!
I bought at property control a photo album, some pins, Disney playing cards, a Hollywood Studios T-shirt and the cutest little outfits for my dog and cat - so excited for them to try them on! Liddy you must send me a pic of Abbs and Precious dressed up!!
After dropping my neew stuff off at home I headed to MK and hung out all day by myself. I watched the 3pm Parade and the Mickey float broke in front of me - I was a wee bit worried for those people that are friends with Characters in the parade casue it was ridiculously hot outside, but they finally got a little cart to tow the float for the rest of the parade.
I also went to see PhilharMagic (Love it!), Carousel of Progress, and since it was independence day - Hall of Presidents (I was almost falling asleep in that one!) I also visited Beasley at work, pin traded, ate dinner and window shopped!! Was a very long, busy day!! People were lined up at like 5pm for the 9pm fireworks - I got a position at like 8pm and my friend Collette from England arrived just before they started she had been working. I filmed the fireworks and they were just magnificent - they completely surrounded us!!
After the fireworks we watched the electrical Parade and then Memories show as Leroy who also is from England and works with us and who had met up at with us after the fireworks, hadn't seen them before. It was mental when they were over as everyone was trying to leave the park at the same time! Crazy!!!
Then it was back to work for the fourth! I was lucky enough to be able to watch the last 5 minutes of the fourth or July Fireworks at Hollywood Studios from outside my work. They were incredibly pretty and I really want to see if I can find them on Youtube so I can watch the whole thing!
Well I will write soon,
xoxo
E
More Goodbyes
Work has become very monotonous and boring as of late. It really drives me insane when I am working with people that I do not like and I have to remind myself that I only have a few days left; as of now I only have 7 more days of work. So excited about the change, but also a wee bit nervous especially about which job I will have. I still do not know, but on Sunday we will be getting our schedules for that week so if I do not know before then, I will on Sunday! I really hope there are lots of nice people to make friends with at my new job as come August basically all my friends will have gone home. Lisa left last week and Loren and Narelle leave next week. Sarah and Victor leave two weeks after that and Kolbi, Kristen and Rebecca all leave in the first couple of weeks of August. People I have been friends with since January will suddenly no longer be here which officially sucks!!!
Anyway since Lisa was leaving last week we had a fun day at Hollywood Studios last Thursday and then dinner at Applebees on Friday. Thursday was fun! Sarah and I went early and saw the rope drop at Studios and then went to get a fast pass for Toy Story. It was crazy!!! Everybody was basically shepherded to Toy Story but the line for both fast pass and the ride's were massive, so we went and rode the Backlot Tour. When it was over like 35 minutes later there was no queue for fast pass so we got one but it was for 3pm already. Then we went see Beauty and the Beast while we waited for Lisa to arrive. She fully called us just as we finished Beauty and the Beast and asked us to meet her at Beauty and the Beast for the next show - so we ended up watching the show twice in a row. But I really love that show!!!!
Then we met up with Rebecca and went on the Great Movie Ride, Art of Animation and Muppets. Since as Lisa used to work as Disney Junior Live on Stage we watched that also. Unfortunately Lisa didn't tell us that you had to sit on the floor. It has been a very long time since I have sat on the floor for a long period of time. Luckily the people in front of us left so we were able to stretch our legs out. But we got to see Handy Manny, Little Einsteins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates as well as all our favorite Disney Gang. Lol!!! (Kim and Sarah - Reminded me of our Banana's in Pyjamas excursion!!!!)
We ended up having lunch at work - Lisa and Rebecca had Rosie's and me and Sarah had Eddie's. Then we got Ice cream from Scoops. At 3 pm Sarah and I went on Toy Story and Lisa and Rebecca went on Rock 'n Roller Coaster. It was so much fun but I still only got a rabbit as a prize which is like the fourth lowest prize I am trying to get the next one up which is a beaver. Then we went and watched Indiana Jones and then American Idol. Rebecca and I did Tower of Terror while Sarah drank her Hot Chocolate. After that as Lisa had gone home to pack, we all got Popcorn and watched the finale of American Idol from outside. The girl we voted for didn't win though, but the guy that did was pretty good.
After Studios we came back to Rebecca's and Lisa came over and we watched Tangled as Sarah and Lisa hadn't seen it. We decided that we should have Lazy Thursday this week and just eat junk food and watch videos all day.
I also had a very good night on the Wednesday as we watched Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. It was fantastic!! I went with Sarah and two of her friends - Katie and Becky, from England. I ended up buying a program of the show as you couldn't take photos. These little girls were absolutely amazing on the diabolos. It was such a good show and I really want to go again before I leave. I even managed to pick up a souvenir Popcorn Bucket that someone had left on the ground after the show!
On Friday after work we all headed to Applebees which was a lot of fun and a great send off for Lisa. Unfortunately we had some annoying people from work who turned up that I really do not like so we sat down one end of the table to them since as they weren't even there to say goodbye to Lisa! Work fully isn't the same without her now and we all miss Lisa so much!! =)
Write Soon
xoxo
E
Anyway since Lisa was leaving last week we had a fun day at Hollywood Studios last Thursday and then dinner at Applebees on Friday. Thursday was fun! Sarah and I went early and saw the rope drop at Studios and then went to get a fast pass for Toy Story. It was crazy!!! Everybody was basically shepherded to Toy Story but the line for both fast pass and the ride's were massive, so we went and rode the Backlot Tour. When it was over like 35 minutes later there was no queue for fast pass so we got one but it was for 3pm already. Then we went see Beauty and the Beast while we waited for Lisa to arrive. She fully called us just as we finished Beauty and the Beast and asked us to meet her at Beauty and the Beast for the next show - so we ended up watching the show twice in a row. But I really love that show!!!!
Then we met up with Rebecca and went on the Great Movie Ride, Art of Animation and Muppets. Since as Lisa used to work as Disney Junior Live on Stage we watched that also. Unfortunately Lisa didn't tell us that you had to sit on the floor. It has been a very long time since I have sat on the floor for a long period of time. Luckily the people in front of us left so we were able to stretch our legs out. But we got to see Handy Manny, Little Einsteins and Jake and the Neverland Pirates as well as all our favorite Disney Gang. Lol!!! (Kim and Sarah - Reminded me of our Banana's in Pyjamas excursion!!!!)
We ended up having lunch at work - Lisa and Rebecca had Rosie's and me and Sarah had Eddie's. Then we got Ice cream from Scoops. At 3 pm Sarah and I went on Toy Story and Lisa and Rebecca went on Rock 'n Roller Coaster. It was so much fun but I still only got a rabbit as a prize which is like the fourth lowest prize I am trying to get the next one up which is a beaver. Then we went and watched Indiana Jones and then American Idol. Rebecca and I did Tower of Terror while Sarah drank her Hot Chocolate. After that as Lisa had gone home to pack, we all got Popcorn and watched the finale of American Idol from outside. The girl we voted for didn't win though, but the guy that did was pretty good.
After Studios we came back to Rebecca's and Lisa came over and we watched Tangled as Sarah and Lisa hadn't seen it. We decided that we should have Lazy Thursday this week and just eat junk food and watch videos all day.
I also had a very good night on the Wednesday as we watched Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba. It was fantastic!! I went with Sarah and two of her friends - Katie and Becky, from England. I ended up buying a program of the show as you couldn't take photos. These little girls were absolutely amazing on the diabolos. It was such a good show and I really want to go again before I leave. I even managed to pick up a souvenir Popcorn Bucket that someone had left on the ground after the show!
On Friday after work we all headed to Applebees which was a lot of fun and a great send off for Lisa. Unfortunately we had some annoying people from work who turned up that I really do not like so we sat down one end of the table to them since as they weren't even there to say goodbye to Lisa! Work fully isn't the same without her now and we all miss Lisa so much!! =)
Write Soon
xoxo
E
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Best Day
So I finally got to talk to Kimberley and Sarah, my friends from back home - it was nice to be able to catch up as it is very difficult to keep up with everything that is going on back home. The time goes so quickly and there is so much to do!
Monday was a very long day I was supposed to work 11.15am -11.00pm but I got extended untill 1.00am as we had extra magic hours for the Disney Resort Guests. I was exhausted by the time I got home but I managed the shift fine. It is funny because when we first start working we can barely manage a 7 or 8 hour shift without having sore feet and being exhausted but now a 14 hour shift is not too bad. I guess your body just gets used to standing up for long periods of time without being able to sit down or rest. My long shift did mean that I got over 5 hours of overtime pay so that is defintely a bonus!!
Tuesday I was planning on extending again but we were pretty quiet at work so they weren't giving extensions out. I was also kind of glad I couldn't extend as I was very tired. It meant I just had a short 7 hour shift.
On Wednesday we had an awesome day. Since as Lisa (my friend from Sunset) is leaving this week to go back to China we decided to have a sort of goodbye party/day to hang out with her. In the am I went with Sarah, Kolbi and Lisa (all friends from work) to Property Control and Cast Connection. I really love that store - I bought a new handbag for $8 down from $46 and it only has a couple of scratches in the paintwork so still in very good condition. I also bought a headband with mickey heads on it. At cast connection I bought some cheap $1 pins to trade (I am getting quite a good collection of pins now and need to buy a pin book as I have way too many for my lanyard and still 6 months to go) and a coat. Now I know that it is summer, but I will need a coat eventually and it was only $27 down from $99 so huge bargain. It is very nice - double breasted buttons with fur on the hood and so cozy and warm. I love it and wore it at Kolbi's flat later that day in the air conditioning. Lol!!
After that we ended up going to this massive store called Sams - it is like Trents or Foodstuffs. It is just a massive warehouse where you can buy everything in bulk - you should see the size of things like pizza etc. It was crazy!! We just went there to buy meat as it was cheaper there than at Walmart. As we hadn't eaten anything yet we ended up eating lunch there as all supermarkets etc have food places attatched to them (I guess cause people get hungry when shopping??).
We then met up with Holly (another friend from Sunset - but she is a part timer at work and not in the college progamme) at Walmart. Kolbi was driving and at one point she saw fireworks as Fourth of July is next monday, and she yelled out so loudly and suddenly that we all jumped and almost had heart attacks. It was so funny but I thought we were going to hit a person or something she screamed that loud. At walmart we bought lots of junk food for our party - icecream and burgers and hotdogs and chips and fizzy drinks etc. So bad but oh so good as well.
When we got home we had to carry it up three flights of stairs to Kolbi's apartment on the second/third floor. It was so hot and all the stuff was very heavy so we were all thirsty and tired once we reached her apartment. We ended up unpacking all the stuff and then playing Wii. We played this game where you have to dance like they do on the tv - it was called Dance Revolution or something. I wasn't very good at it but it was fun and it surely would keep you fit if you did that everyday. I was kindof good at the latin dancing song - lol!!
Our other friend Ann arrived a bit later and we played Uno which I never lost but I also never won. Lisa made us these really good soy ribs things from China - they were Delicious! Then Kolbi's roommate came home and taught us to play a game called Mexican Train Dominoes which I sucked at but was actually pretty fun once we got the hang of it. Then we had a dinner of hot dogs and home grilled burgers thanks to Holly and Kolbi - The burgers were really good!!! =)
After dinner and dessert or profiteroles, cake and icecream we played a game called Truth or Lies - I ended up as the 5th most truthful out off 8 lol!!! It was so funny at some of the questions you get and whether the game thinks you are telling the truth or not!
Rebecca also dropped by for the game as she had had to work that day and didnt finsh til 8ish but she got to spend a few hours with us. After the game Ann and Rebeeca left and Sarah, Lisa, Holly, Kolbi and I watched some movie on tv for a bit until after 11 pm and then Sarah had to catch a bus back to Chatham and I went to bed as I was so tired. Day was so much fun - we even shopped for watermelons on the side of the road and they were very tasty.
Thursday was Narelle's birthday so I went with her and looked around Old Key West resort and then we met up with two of her roommates Claudia and Claire and went to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort. THey have this mega Ice cream sundae called the Kitchen Sink and it has like 8 scoops of ice cream and then it has peanut butter (cause Americans love their peanut butter with ice cream but i think it is disgusting way too sweet for me), cream, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, toffee, caramel etc etc etc. Was so disgusting really it looked pretty good when we first got given it but hten it just looked like a horrible mush of ice cream afterwards and we only ate maybe a third of it!
Then Narelle and I went to Epcot and got photos with the Disney Gang at Epcot Character Spot then we met up again with Claire and saw Pooh and Tigger at UK. We had dinner at Japan and this time I had the Beef Udon which was good but the meals are always so big I couldn't finish it. We were going to go to Magic Kingdom but it started to rain so we just came back to Vista.
Friday I was back to work and nothing really spectacular happened. On Saturday I had my first outside bussing rotation which sucked. QSR only had to start doing bussing, trash and condiment bar last week so it is a very new situation for us and many people cannot handle the heat. Luckily when I have been outside it hasn't been all that hot, but you still sweat due to the humidity! It is really gross. Lol ot was so funny on Saturday night - me and Holly were really bored so we made up an Opera about Sunset. We would sing random songs about everything that was happening. Our renditions included: "We have a ticket!", "Together, We work Together", "Victor, where are the fries?" and "The Cheese Angus Song"! Lol it was so funny but it helped pass the time and all the guests were cracking up!!
Sunday and Monday I just worked. Sunday night I was closing dishes which I haven't done in ages but we got them done pretty quick and I managed to make it home not long after 12am but then I could not sleep and my roommate didnt come home until some time near 4am and then her alarm went off at 7am and then I had to get up at 8am for work. So was very tired today and would have gone to bed about 5 hours ago but it is my little Kelly's 14th birthday back home in NZ so I stayed up so I could skype her when she got home from school. She even missed her basketball practice so she could talk to me as I am more important =) xxx.
Well I better get to bed - oh my gosh before when I was skyping home these people showed up and this guy was like can I come in and see the apartment I used to live here last year. Was so strange but I let them poke their heads in and they only stayed like 5 minutes. I think they may have been drinking even though they are under 21!!! Weird times!
Write Soon
xoxo
E
Monday was a very long day I was supposed to work 11.15am -11.00pm but I got extended untill 1.00am as we had extra magic hours for the Disney Resort Guests. I was exhausted by the time I got home but I managed the shift fine. It is funny because when we first start working we can barely manage a 7 or 8 hour shift without having sore feet and being exhausted but now a 14 hour shift is not too bad. I guess your body just gets used to standing up for long periods of time without being able to sit down or rest. My long shift did mean that I got over 5 hours of overtime pay so that is defintely a bonus!!
Tuesday I was planning on extending again but we were pretty quiet at work so they weren't giving extensions out. I was also kind of glad I couldn't extend as I was very tired. It meant I just had a short 7 hour shift.
On Wednesday we had an awesome day. Since as Lisa (my friend from Sunset) is leaving this week to go back to China we decided to have a sort of goodbye party/day to hang out with her. In the am I went with Sarah, Kolbi and Lisa (all friends from work) to Property Control and Cast Connection. I really love that store - I bought a new handbag for $8 down from $46 and it only has a couple of scratches in the paintwork so still in very good condition. I also bought a headband with mickey heads on it. At cast connection I bought some cheap $1 pins to trade (I am getting quite a good collection of pins now and need to buy a pin book as I have way too many for my lanyard and still 6 months to go) and a coat. Now I know that it is summer, but I will need a coat eventually and it was only $27 down from $99 so huge bargain. It is very nice - double breasted buttons with fur on the hood and so cozy and warm. I love it and wore it at Kolbi's flat later that day in the air conditioning. Lol!!
After that we ended up going to this massive store called Sams - it is like Trents or Foodstuffs. It is just a massive warehouse where you can buy everything in bulk - you should see the size of things like pizza etc. It was crazy!! We just went there to buy meat as it was cheaper there than at Walmart. As we hadn't eaten anything yet we ended up eating lunch there as all supermarkets etc have food places attatched to them (I guess cause people get hungry when shopping??).
We then met up with Holly (another friend from Sunset - but she is a part timer at work and not in the college progamme) at Walmart. Kolbi was driving and at one point she saw fireworks as Fourth of July is next monday, and she yelled out so loudly and suddenly that we all jumped and almost had heart attacks. It was so funny but I thought we were going to hit a person or something she screamed that loud. At walmart we bought lots of junk food for our party - icecream and burgers and hotdogs and chips and fizzy drinks etc. So bad but oh so good as well.
When we got home we had to carry it up three flights of stairs to Kolbi's apartment on the second/third floor. It was so hot and all the stuff was very heavy so we were all thirsty and tired once we reached her apartment. We ended up unpacking all the stuff and then playing Wii. We played this game where you have to dance like they do on the tv - it was called Dance Revolution or something. I wasn't very good at it but it was fun and it surely would keep you fit if you did that everyday. I was kindof good at the latin dancing song - lol!!
Our other friend Ann arrived a bit later and we played Uno which I never lost but I also never won. Lisa made us these really good soy ribs things from China - they were Delicious! Then Kolbi's roommate came home and taught us to play a game called Mexican Train Dominoes which I sucked at but was actually pretty fun once we got the hang of it. Then we had a dinner of hot dogs and home grilled burgers thanks to Holly and Kolbi - The burgers were really good!!! =)
After dinner and dessert or profiteroles, cake and icecream we played a game called Truth or Lies - I ended up as the 5th most truthful out off 8 lol!!! It was so funny at some of the questions you get and whether the game thinks you are telling the truth or not!
Rebecca also dropped by for the game as she had had to work that day and didnt finsh til 8ish but she got to spend a few hours with us. After the game Ann and Rebeeca left and Sarah, Lisa, Holly, Kolbi and I watched some movie on tv for a bit until after 11 pm and then Sarah had to catch a bus back to Chatham and I went to bed as I was so tired. Day was so much fun - we even shopped for watermelons on the side of the road and they were very tasty.
Thursday was Narelle's birthday so I went with her and looked around Old Key West resort and then we met up with two of her roommates Claudia and Claire and went to Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort. THey have this mega Ice cream sundae called the Kitchen Sink and it has like 8 scoops of ice cream and then it has peanut butter (cause Americans love their peanut butter with ice cream but i think it is disgusting way too sweet for me), cream, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, toffee, caramel etc etc etc. Was so disgusting really it looked pretty good when we first got given it but hten it just looked like a horrible mush of ice cream afterwards and we only ate maybe a third of it!
Then Narelle and I went to Epcot and got photos with the Disney Gang at Epcot Character Spot then we met up again with Claire and saw Pooh and Tigger at UK. We had dinner at Japan and this time I had the Beef Udon which was good but the meals are always so big I couldn't finish it. We were going to go to Magic Kingdom but it started to rain so we just came back to Vista.
Friday I was back to work and nothing really spectacular happened. On Saturday I had my first outside bussing rotation which sucked. QSR only had to start doing bussing, trash and condiment bar last week so it is a very new situation for us and many people cannot handle the heat. Luckily when I have been outside it hasn't been all that hot, but you still sweat due to the humidity! It is really gross. Lol ot was so funny on Saturday night - me and Holly were really bored so we made up an Opera about Sunset. We would sing random songs about everything that was happening. Our renditions included: "We have a ticket!", "Together, We work Together", "Victor, where are the fries?" and "The Cheese Angus Song"! Lol it was so funny but it helped pass the time and all the guests were cracking up!!
Sunday and Monday I just worked. Sunday night I was closing dishes which I haven't done in ages but we got them done pretty quick and I managed to make it home not long after 12am but then I could not sleep and my roommate didnt come home until some time near 4am and then her alarm went off at 7am and then I had to get up at 8am for work. So was very tired today and would have gone to bed about 5 hours ago but it is my little Kelly's 14th birthday back home in NZ so I stayed up so I could skype her when she got home from school. She even missed her basketball practice so she could talk to me as I am more important =) xxx.
Well I better get to bed - oh my gosh before when I was skyping home these people showed up and this guy was like can I come in and see the apartment I used to live here last year. Was so strange but I let them poke their heads in and they only stayed like 5 minutes. I think they may have been drinking even though they are under 21!!! Weird times!
Write Soon
xoxo
E
Monday, June 20, 2011
Work, Play and Friends
On Thursday morning for my second day off last week I, along with Narelle and Loren went to Fantasia Gardens mini golf - it was pretty cool but not as good as I was expecting. I guess I thought it would be more like min golf places in New Zealand like Caddyshack etc whic are amazing but it wasn't that special. Anyway it was fun and I came second which means I didnt lose (which normally happens as I suck). After that we walked over to Boardwalk and had lunch at ESPN which was really good. I had a burger and it was massive it filled me up completely. I also got to colour in the kids activity pages. Was so much fun. lol! After that Narelle left to go to work and Loren and I decided to go to Porperty Control. We had to walk through Epcot, catch the monorail to Magic Kingdom and then the bus to Property control - MISSION! Anyway we made it and I had the best find ever this awesome Beast and Belle statue which had barely anything wrong with it only $12 when it is usually $50. I was so excited!! As I had really wanted to buy it anyway but thought it was too much money!!
When we got home I just relaxed for a while before we went out for a friends birthday. We went to Jelly Rolls for Rufus' birthday and I hope she had a good time!!! I didn't get home until 3am and I had to work that morning at 10.30am so was pretty tired for work.
The last three days at work have been quite boring. They have been very slow and so the time goes slow aswell. Also the new CPs and Part Timers that have been trained are mostly annoying and some are kind or weird and creepy. I miss all my friends from the Spring College Programme. We used to have so much fun and now there are only about a dozen fun people left!!! The managers also changed the way our area is organised which means that those of us in Sunset- QSR i.e Moi now have to do Trash, Bussing and Condiment Bar as of today. We never used to have to do these horrible jobs as we did Dishes, but now we have to do all of the bad jobs which fully isn't fair at all!!!! We hate it!!! I am so glad that I managed to escape doing anything bad today, but I still have four weeks until I change positions so.....
I really want to know where I will be working. I know it will be in Attractions and I am pretty sure I will still be at Hollywood Studios (which I am happy about- cause I really like it there) But I want to know exactly what ride or show I will be working on. Fingers Crossed it is something good!!!
I also got a new roommate today - her name is Marion and she is from France - she just arrived today. She seems really nice so hopefluuy we will have made a new friend; from Europe too!
I am excited though as tonight I am skyping my friends from NZ who I haven't talked too since January - Stupid Time Difference!
Well I will write soon
xoxo
E
When we got home I just relaxed for a while before we went out for a friends birthday. We went to Jelly Rolls for Rufus' birthday and I hope she had a good time!!! I didn't get home until 3am and I had to work that morning at 10.30am so was pretty tired for work.
The last three days at work have been quite boring. They have been very slow and so the time goes slow aswell. Also the new CPs and Part Timers that have been trained are mostly annoying and some are kind or weird and creepy. I miss all my friends from the Spring College Programme. We used to have so much fun and now there are only about a dozen fun people left!!! The managers also changed the way our area is organised which means that those of us in Sunset- QSR i.e Moi now have to do Trash, Bussing and Condiment Bar as of today. We never used to have to do these horrible jobs as we did Dishes, but now we have to do all of the bad jobs which fully isn't fair at all!!!! We hate it!!! I am so glad that I managed to escape doing anything bad today, but I still have four weeks until I change positions so.....
I really want to know where I will be working. I know it will be in Attractions and I am pretty sure I will still be at Hollywood Studios (which I am happy about- cause I really like it there) But I want to know exactly what ride or show I will be working on. Fingers Crossed it is something good!!!
I also got a new roommate today - her name is Marion and she is from France - she just arrived today. She seems really nice so hopefluuy we will have made a new friend; from Europe too!
I am excited though as tonight I am skyping my friends from NZ who I haven't talked too since January - Stupid Time Difference!
Well I will write soon
xoxo
E
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