UN-Magical Disney Moment: Our Internet Service

Ok, I know it's past Friday, but our internet has decided to not work for the past several days, so blogging wasn't an option. Currently our internet is STILL not working, we are borrowing from the boys across the hall, who were kind enough to give us their password. Now, on to my list.

The morning of my parents arrival, I was lucky enough to be able to go on a backstage tour of The Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom. Besides the fact that we (roommate Allie, neighbors Brian and Matty, one of Matty's friends, and I all went together) had to get up at 5 to make it on time, every single thing about this tour was beyond cool. We got to walk through the entire ride with all the lights on while our tour guide, a fabulous woman named Ginger, told us all kinds of secrets and tricks. If you've never been on The Haunted Mansion ride, there is an "endless hallway" and a dining room scene you watch from above. We got to walk down the endless hallway (not ALL the way down...that would be a long walk!) and go down into the dining room. We also got to go into the control room and see all the computers and things that keep the ride running smoothly. I wish I could tell all the secrets we learned, but I have a feeling that would be frowned upon, so...I'm sorry!

Now, my parents visit. We have visited Disney World as a family once in 2004, accompanied by our closest family friends, the Tassins. While we had a good time, we definitely did not "do Disney" the right way. Thanks to my visits with other people in the past several years, and of course the fact that I work here now, I've learned much more about how to plan trips here. So, needless to say, I had my parents trip regimented down to the hour, pretty much. The afternoon of their arrival happened to coincide with the last launch of Discovery, so my mom and brother detoured to see it. I tried to get there, but the traffic was so bad I only made it about halfway. However, I did see it up in the sky for a couple seconds, so it was worth it!

Eric and Mom got stuck in traffic on their way to Lake Buena Vista, but they made in JUST in time for us to race to Fantasmic. Because Fantasmic is only shown on certain nights, usually just two nights a week during the off season, I was so happy they got to see it, since it wasn't part of the original plan. The next day we started off at DAK where they got to ride Expedition: Everest and see Finding Nemo: The Musical, both new experiences for them. Since I'm a tad biased against DAK, we headed to Epcot for lunch and spent the rest of the day there.

Then it was time for the highlight of the trip! My brother and father, both SCUBA certified, had a special backstage tour of the aquarium at The Seas, and they got to dive in the tank with all the animals (including tiger sharks), and be seen by all the guests visiting the aquarium! At this time, Mom and I were at the Grand Floridian Spa. Now I'm not really a spa person, I've never had a massage because I don't like people touching me, and I'm so ticklish it's hard for me to even sit still through a manicure or pedicure, but I "suffered" through it. I had a facial while Mom had a massage, then we both had paraffin treatments on our hands and feet together. If you're a spa person, I'd definitely recommend the Grand Floridian! After we met back up, we had dinner at Tutto Italia (in Italy at Epcot), one of the best restaurants I've ever eaten at in Disney World, and ended the night with IllumiNations.

I'm rambling too much, so let me try to shorten this. Next day was MGM in the morning and Magic Kingdom for the rest of the day. Dad had to skip out on part of the day because SOMEHOW he hurt his foot (in my opinion it was some type of strain to the ligament in the bottom of his foot, I only know about that because I did that to myself in high school and it was terrible), and he of course refused to get any help. We did drag him to first aid to get an ace bandage, but that was the extent of it. I'm so glad I didn't inherit his stubborn attitude...(if you didn't catch the sarcasm there, I'm worried for you). That night we watched The Magic, the Memories, and You castle show, and of course...WISHES! I don't know if it resonated with them like it does with me, but they enjoyed it. After that we had a late dinner at The Wave at the Contemporary. The food was good, but our waitress was amazing. They didn't have sweet tea, so when Eric and Dad tried something else but didn't like it, she went into the back and made them sweet tea herself. Plus she started out as a CP and was very friendly the entire night, even though it was getting late.

Last day was MGM again where we FINALLY rode Toy Story Mania, then lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe, a cool themed restaurant where everyone is your cousin and they yell at you if you put your elbows on the table or don't eat all your vegetables. Then they left, and I spent the afternoon at the Polynesian Beach. Side note on this: We stayed at the Polynesian on the Club/Concierge level, something I've never done before at Disney. While it's more expensive, it was very nice. Every Concierge level at Disney has a private lounge for those guests, with a variety of food services all day long. The Poly lounge is great because it's floor to ceiling windows overlooking the water and Cinderella Castle. We had such a short visit it was hard to take advantage of the services since we were always in the park, but for a longer visit when more time was going to be spent at the resort, it's definitely something I'd recommend looking into.

To Be Continued...

My Life is Disney

Once again, it's been too long. I don't have much time, so this isn't going to be a real update, but I at least wanted everyone to know I haven't forgotten! As usual, my life is ridiculously busy, full of work and, now, classes. Going to school at Disney University is probably the second best place to go to school in the world! (With Texas A&M of course taking the cake.) My classes are so exciting and I've learned so much Disney trivia, but I'll talk more about it later. Look for a real update before Friday (and by real update, I mean a novella), including, but not limited to:

1. Backstage tour of Haunted Mansion--THE coolest thing I've done so far at Disney

2. My family's (parents and baby brother) long weekend in Disney--SCUBA diving, spa visits, and my father the cripple

3. The Kitchen Sink--finally accomplished something from my bucket list!

4. Other random activities such as getting stuck on Tower of Terror, our wonderful neighbors (three guys who live across the hall, we call ourselves "Friends" after the sitcom), a scavenger hunt in Epcot's World Showcase with my friend Sasha, and anything else I happen to think of before then.

One thing I can mention now, something exciting! As I've mentioned previously, I adore everyone I work with and they really are what is making my work experience here, and this isn't limited to just my peers. My coordinators and managers are also the best I could have asked for. One even gave me the day off (unsolicited by me) after discovering my dad would be alone all afternoon because things changed and he unexpectedly arrived much earlier than planned for their vacation. Anyway, one of my managers has set me up to have a meeting next week with a man who works at MGM. I'm not sure what this meeting will entail, he just surprised me and told me a couple days ago, but I know I have to wear business casual, so it's going to be a professional thing. The most exciting part of this: I saw the email my manager wrote to this man (he showed me, I wasn't being nosy!), and he said I was "promising." Someone thinks I'm promising! Hearing that from someone who has barely known me in a professional capacity for two months is so flattering to me. I am beginning to explore several different job and internship options, since I only have two months here and I always have a plan, and this meeting can only help me.

Ok, that's all I have for now. I'll be back soon with much more! Until next time (which will be soon, I PROMISE!),

Have a magical day!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

I've been hearing from several people that I really need to update this thing. And let me just say, I agree! I haven't been ignoring it by choice, I really do have good excuses! First, I was sad because of missing Cher's final concert in Vegas (yes, this was a major life event for me); next, I was deathly ill for a while, and I'm still slightly hoarse and coughing, AND I work pretty much all the time, usually until well after midnight. I've also been busy preparing for my family's visit. My mom, dad, and brother are arriving tomorrow, and anyone who knows me can imagine their trip is going to be quite regimented. I may or may not have written out a schedule for each day they're here.

But, I digress. Here are just a few things I've been up to lately:

1. Earning my ears- this means I finally completed training at my job. I know I don't talk about the actual work part much, but trust me, it takes up quite a bit of my time...usually 6 days a week. It's just the least interesting and most unpleasant part of my life, so there isn't much to talk about. However, I will say I LOVE 95% of the people I work with. The full time/part timers are so nice and helpful when I don't know something, and I'm starting to be really good friends with some of the other CPs.

2. Typhoon Lagoon- I finally visited one of the water parks! Roommate Corri and I spent the morning at Typhoon Lagoon a few days ago, and it was so fun. She had never been on a water slide before, so that was an experience for her. I did the body slides (which I HATE), in preparation for Summit Plummet, the second tallest/fastest body slide in the world, located at Blizzard Beach. And Typhoon has a super cool wave pool...I could have stayed in for hours.

3. Roommate Pictures- My roommates and I have long vilified the tour groups who walk around wearing matching shirts, but after we were described as "castlemates" by a few princesses, we had to get Castlemates 2011 shirts and take cute pictures. A couple examples below:

Yes, that's definitely Tinkerbell in our hands!

4. White Glove Award- Our apartment complex has routine inspections, and our first one was today. You can either fail, pass, or receive the White Glove Award, which basically means you have a spotless apartment. Today we got the White Glove! I hope nobody who has seen the general state of my room fainted after reading that...

5. Buzz Lightyear- The Buzz Lightyear ride is more of a technology challenged predecessor to Toy Story Mania, but still a favorite of mine. As everyone knows, I love a competition, even if it's only with myself, and about a week ago I FINALLY completely maxed out the ride, as in got the highest score it's possible to get! I took a picture of my screen because 1. I was so excited, and 2. I was alone and I wanted everyone to believe I really did it!

6. Tower of Terror- There really isn't a lot to say about this, except roommate Alex and I happened to get on Tower of Terror ALL ALONE. I really just wrote this part so I would have an excuse to put the picture up, I think it's one of the coolest/funniest pictures ever.

7. Sorcerer Mickey- Sorcerer Mickey is my favorite Mickey, and luckily I got to meet him the other day when Corri was being "friends" with him. If you don't understand what I mean by this, let me try to explain. Because there is of course only ONE Mickey, ONE Minnie, ONE Cinderella, etc., character performers are never referred to as "being" those characters. They are called friends of characters because they, in a way, assist these characters in making it to all the parks pretty much all day, every day. And remember, roommate Corri is a character performer. Hopefully everyone gets it now...if not, well...sorry. And sadly, because I know roommate Corri very well and therefore know her "friend" Sorcerer Mickey, this does not count as part of the "getting over my fear of characters" challenge. I'm going to do it the right way!

I was telling Mickey all about my morning...

8. Guest Service Fanatic- Sometimes, if a manager sees someone doing a really great job, or if a guest comments specifically about a cast member being extra friendly/helpful/whatever, that cast member will get rewarded in the form of a Guest Service Fanatic card. I finally got one the other day! They have a drawing for rewards for people who receive these every month, but really I'm just excited it will be on my record in case I try to extend and move to my preferred position, Concierge, because obviously guest service is a huge part of the job there.

9. Bill Nye- Does everyone else remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? Well, I for sure remember watching his show all the time when I was little, and today, Bill Nye was HERE and I got to go see him! He was doing presentations in Epcot for Engineering Week. And here is what I learned today at his presentation. Bill Nye has had some work done, people. That's really all I could focus on the whole time, his extremely smooth face. Now obviously I'm not against plastic surgery, hello Cher is my favorite person in the world. But, just saying, he is definitely not all natural.

10. WISHES- I haven't seen this nearly as much as I'd like, but it's hard because I work nights. I have been to see it EVERY night I have off though! And it never gets old. In fact, I think it moves me more and more each time I see it. I just love everything about Walt and the magic of Disney SO. MUCH.

Ok, hopefully that will satisfy everyone for now. I probably left a few things out, but my day to day life isn't that cool. I don't want my entries to eventually be relegated to "Today, I went to Epcot. It was fun. Today, I went to work. It was exhausting." Nobody wants to read that. And I really don't think people are all that interested in reading about my life as it is. Excluding my family, that is. BUT, I promise to not put it off for so long next time. I should have quite a bit to write about after my parents visit, we have a jam-packed schedule! Until next time...

Have a magical day!

Is This Real Life?

Even though we generally only get two days off a week, I've had quite a busy week so far. However, I did take the time to re-read all my previous posts, and in the interest of honoring my English-Creative Writing degree, I've decided to go this entire entry without describing anything as "amazing" or "awesome" or use the phrase "But really." Nothing like expanding my vocabulary!

Let's see...on Monday I didn't work until 5:30, so Allie, Alex, and another new CPer Corey (a guy, not to be confused with Corri my roommate) went to lunch at Downtown Disney, where we wandered around shopping and killing time all afternoon.

Tuesday I didn't have to work until 7:00 PM, so I met Alex and Corri at Animal Kingdom. They already had fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris, so I went through the single rider line on Expedition: Everest a couple times while I waited. When we caught up to each other, the line was short so we all three went through the standby line checking for Hidden Mickeys (more on this in a moment). Then Alex and I went through with fastpasses, bringing my total Everest rides up to four for the day! Dinosaur (still terrifying!) and the breathtaking Finding Nemo: The Musical completed our afternoon, then it was off to Magic Kingdom. A note about Finding Nemo: The Musical: It is unbelievable. Definitely something that shouldn't be missed at Disney. If you hate Animal Kingdom, get over it. Go to the first showing in the morning then leave, but don't even think about skipping it. The end. Now, back to Magic Kingdom. I didn't have time for much here. We rode Dumbo, because we're super cool, and discovered you can see the Fantasyland expansion while you're up in the air! So we'll probably be riding about once a week just to check on the progress of our beloved castles (both Prince Eric and Beast will be relocating to the Magic Kingdom come 2012!). Rain was predicted, but it was only around 5:30 that the sky started getting dark. All of the sudden, it POURED. Of course, this would be the time I was parked in the third from last spot in the LAST row of the TTC (Transportation and Ticket Center) parking lot. I was soaked by the time I got to my car. I had to take off my shoes and socks and put my socks on my heater vents with the heat on high in the hopes they would dry out by the time I got to work. They didn't. I've never seen a storm come so quickly like that...and the lighting, oh my gosh. Of course I looked up lighting storms in Florida, and we're actually one of the highest lightning-density areas in the world, and have more lightning deaths than any other state, AND have unusually powerful lightning. Very reassuring as I was running to work with the sky lit up all around me.

Wednesday I had off while the three roommates all worked, so I went to explore Epcot alone. Corri was working at the Epcot Character spot, being "friends" with Minnie, so I went to meet her! Finally a character that didn't scare me. I took a picture but it hasn't been uploaded yet, so I'll put it up next time. I spent a lot of time searching for Hidden Mickeys, also. For those of you not in the know, Hidden Mickeys are pretty self explanatory. Imagineers have placed camouflaged Mickeys all over the entire resort. Usually it's just a classic Mickey, formed by the three circles, but it can be a full body or side profile as well. I have the Hidden Mickey guidebook, and I want to find as many as I can, preferably all. To me, Hidden Mickey spotting is the perfect combination of a puzzle (which I love), and a competition (which I love even more...as long as I win). Also I just enjoy learning everything I can about everything, and Hidden Mickeys are no exception. After my fastpass for Soarin', I raced to Magic Kingdom just in time for...WISHES! It gets me every time, really.

Today, Corri was off also so we hung out. First we went to MGM (I refuse to keep explaining that it's actually called DHS. From here on out, this blog calls it MGM because I like it that way). It was packed, so we left pretty quickly to do some resort exploring. First stop was Grand Floridian and the wedding pavilion! I've always been very against a Disney wedding but I can't help being tempted when I visit that place, it's so beautiful. Next was Animal Kingdom Lodge. I'd never been here before and I have to say it might be a new favorite. This lodge actually has man-made savannas with giraffes, zebras, ostriches, kudus, and other cool creatures roaming around. After this was Port Orleans-Riverside, another resort I've never given much thought to until now. It was also beautiful, and so relaxing. The buildings really do look like plantation houses you would see in and around the New Orleans area, and the landscaping was so nice. Finally, we headed over to Magic Kingdom. Tonight we had the "pleasure" of seeing Disney's Main Street Electrical parade, and it was, in a word, disappointing. The floats were pretty, but ANY float at Disney is pretty. The music was horrible, which is almost unheard of for Disney, and some of the characters used in the floats were ridiculously obscure. Pete's Dragon, anyone? All I have to say is PLEASE bring back Spectromagic! There's just no comparison between the two.

While I'm on a negative note, let me talk about something I see at Disney that always irks me. Adults being inconsiderate of kids. The scene we witnessed tonight: Corri and I were waiting for the parade, and the sidewalk was obviously kind of crowded. We were very near a man and woman standing together. A mom walks up with two small boys and tells them to go stand in front of us, but to ask and make sure it was ok. I nodded and told her they were fine, but the man (probably mid 40s-50s) turned around and snapped (and I quote), "There ain't no room for them up here." Um, okay. If it had been a huge crowd of older kids, fine. But it was two boys, probably 7 or younger, and they were about three feet tall. Definitely not blocking his view. We're adults, we know that isn't REALLY Tinkerbell lighting up the floats with an ACTUAL magic wand. But to little kids, it's happening and it's as real as anything. Do we have to be on the front row in situations like that? No...be considerate, seriously.

Rant over! To go in the opposite direction of that bad experience, next on the list was "The Magic, the Memories, and You" show on the castle, then...WISHES!! Then we met Allie and drove to Red Lobster where we met Alex, for our (hopefully) weekly roommate dinner.

Non-park related things I've been doing lately: CPers are allowed to take classes at Disney University, but I wasn't planning on it since I already graduated and I should probably just work overtime instead. But I just couldn't resist, so I'm now signed up to take "Exploring Guest Service at the WDW Resort," and "Exploring Disney Leadership." I know, I'm a nerd. I've also been planning/helping to schedule a couple vacations! One for my mom, dad, and brother, who are visiting at the end of February. I'm excited, because they've never done Disney the "right" way, and I can't wait to show them all the magic it really has to offer. Now pictures!

A Hidden Mickey in the aquarium at The Seas at Epcot.

We found a Hidden Mickey that isn't even in the Hidden Mickey book! That's quite an accomplishment...this is in the carpeting at the Grand Floridian, right in front of Citricos restaurant.

Disney's Wedding Pavilion. No, I didn't take this myself, obviously. It's just so pretty, I had to put a picture of it up here.

In the interest of not ending EVERY post with a picture of the castle, this is facing away from the castle down Main Street, USA. Taken by my new favorite Disney photographer, Tom Bricker. I love all his pictures and will probably be using more in the future.

Have a magical day, everyone!

Kiss Goodnight

Well, it's been a few days and people have started to complain, but honestly most of the time my life here isn't THAT fascinating. Mostly I just do normal things during the day, then go to work at night. I'd love to go to the parks every day before work, but honestly it's a lot of trouble, and I find myself exhausted pretty much 24/7, no matter how much sleep I try to get. However, I don't sit at home ALL the time, so here's a recap of the past couple days.

The 19th I didn't have to work until 7 PM, so Allie, Alex, and I spent the day at MGM (ok technically it's DHS, for Disney's Hollywood Studios...the name changed in 2008, go back to my first blog and I wrote about this. But I still call it MGM because I'm stubborn and I like it that way). The park was pretty much dead, and we walked straight on to almost every single ride, with the exception of Toy Story Mania. However, we were able to fastpass it, which can be almost impossible during peak season. From the name, you'd think it was just another kid ride, but it's amazing. Especially if you like competition! It's basically a 3D "shooting game," but it is considered 4D because they have special effects such as wind when you shoot a balloon, etc. Also, the standby line includes a huge animatronic Mr. Potato Head, who is actually the first animatronic character able to remove and replace his own parts. I also decided to be very brave and try meeting a character. Bad idea. Much like cats always gravitate to the cat-haters, apparently characters can sense fear in people. Buzz cornered me (as evidenced by the picture below), and messed with me for probably close to 3 minutes (quite a while when there's a line of kids waiting for pictures too).

The next day (aka yesterday), Corri, Allie, and I were all off, and Alex only had to work until 3 in the afternoon, so we decided to make an evening of it. Alex made us reservations for 5:40 at Mama Melrose's, an excellent Italian restaurant located at MGM (*cough, DHS). We all dressed cute (yay!), and killed some time before dinner by taking pictures. See below...

DHS is all about the movies...this is a recreation of the famed "Singin' In the Rain," if you couldn't tell...

Allie, Corri, me, and Alex! No, that's not a real walkup/townhouse. It's part of the San Fransisco "set" towards the back of the park.

Our dinner was pretty awesome; we all had a ton of leftovers that we carried around for the rest of the night. We wanted to make the 8:00 Fantasmic show, so we raced to Great Movie Ride and thankfully got on with no wait. Next we (by that I mean Alex and I) had to get dessert for the show, so we stopped and got my new favorite park food, chocolate dipped marshmallows rolled in chocolate sprinkles (plus they come on a Mickey straw, you can't beat that!). After that Allie and Corri got in line for Fantasmic (they're only doing the show two nights a week since it's low season, so it can get pretty packed) while Alex and I literally ran for Tower of Terror. We were in the pre-ride room with the most OBNOXIOUS BTG (Brazilian Tour Group...they can be scary sights, I'll talk more about them later) ever. They screamed every time a light went on or off, and they were yapping so loud we couldn't even hear the pre-ride video. We made it off just in time to find Allie and Corri (who were already seated and saved spots for us), then Fantasmic started. Now, as anyone who has previously read my blog knows, Wishes is my very favorite thing ever (besides Cher of course), and it exemplifies Walt's vision in every way, but Fantasmic captures every aspect of Disney showmanship. It includes pyrotechnics, live performers, fire, video (projected onto huge sprays of water), and of course, an amazing soundtrack. While it includes quite a few princesses and almost every villain, it really is Mickey's show, which is fine by me (check out the subtitle of my blog, that should clue you in as to how I feel). After the show, Corri and I decided to drive around and check out the Boardwalk (the actual Boardwalk and the Boardwalk resort), and the Yacht and Beach clubs. I've never really spent time here, and I have to say I almost regret it. It was really nice and relaxing, and we had fun just walking and watching the people. We also were thrilled to find a dance club! All four of the roommates have repeated over and over how much we hate that all the clubs on Pleasure Island are closed (they're refurbishing the entire area). This is such a theme with us four that we even named our wireless network/apartment PleasureIsland...and it's also how I got my last blog title, in case anyone was wondering. On the next night we all have off (which could be a while, lining up our time off is something like trying to line up a slot machine), we fully plan on going out and dancing.

Today began as a lazy day for me, Allie and Alex both had to work and Corri had a phone interview at 3. Afterwards it was pouring, so I almost decided to stay home, but we decided to suck it up and head to MK. This was a good decision, because the rain had stopped by the time we arrived, but the park was still cleared out of most guests because of the previous downpour. We just wandered for a bit, stopping to get "pixie dusted" in the little girls store Castle Couture, riding Snow White's Scary Adventures and Peter Pans Flight, then visiting Allie at Cosmic Rays. They have amazing new billboards around the Fantasyland Expansion describing different coming attractions, so we also went and looked at all those. This is me beside one of them, with my very favorite princess (I basically AM Belle, I swear! Look, she's even reading!)

Eventually Alex met us, and we watched the new show (that takes place 20 minutes before Wishes). It's called "The Magic, the Memories, and You," and it. is. AMAZING. The castle becomes a sort of projector for a video, and photos taken during that day by the Disney photographers are also projected onto the castle! When I first heard this concept I thought it sounded a little dumb, but as usual, Disney pulled it off in high style. Even the details projected onto the castle itself are amazing. I have no idea how they did it (obviously they used projectors, but it's still an amazing feat). And it ends with the entire castle projecting a video of Walt saying "To all who come to this happy place, welcome!" Remember that from my last blog? A perfect ending, in my mind. Afterwards, we saw Wishes yet again! Then we waited around for about half an hour for the "Kiss Goodnight." This was just a little 3 minute bit in which they play Roy Disney's speech from the Magic Kingdom dedication while lighting up the castle with a bunch of sparkles (everyone knows how I feel about sparkly things), then Mickey wishes everyone a good night. Such an unnecessary but Disneyesque over-the-top touch.

There was basically no one in the park after the Kiss Goodnight, so I took this picture. No people in the background! That's definitely a first. This also seems like a great way to end this post.

So, until next time, have a magical day!

(P.S. I'm so living there someday.)

Greetings From Pleasure Island

It's been a few days, but we've all been crazy busy and I think we're all about ready to settle into some sort of routine. I'm going to go backwards, because Wednesday was definitely the most blog-worthy day I've had so far. The past couple days have mainly just been training, doing computer classes, etc. Boring but necessary things like that. Last night, all four of us roommates were home, but instead of doing something fun in Orlando we just sat, had dinner, then read/watched movies. We felt so old.

Friday night we did do a little, though. Alex couldn't make it, she had to get up super early on Saturday for work/training, but Corri, Allie, me, and another girl, Megan, went to Downtown Disney and had dinner at Paradisio 37 then shopped for a little bit. Cast Members get 40% merchandise until February so we're all trying to take advantage of it now! Even though Downtown Disney was pretty crowded, we were seated with no wait whatsoever (Disney magic, I tell you), and we even had a window table so we could see the Wishes fireworks! We couldn't hear the music, but I was able to narrate what part of the script it was at depending on what fireworks were going off. Maybe I've seen it too many times...who, me, obsessed? Never.

Anyway, back to Wednesday. Corri and I had to be ready to catch a bus at 6:45 AM to our Traditions class. Once we got there, we were separated into several different class-sized groups. Anyone who works for Walt Disney World has to go through Traditions class, regardless of their role. We watched a bunch of videos, many of which had clips of my favorite guy, Walt Disney himself, and we played games, such as naming as many Disney animated characters as possible (my team won, I was pretty excited). Then we started talking about the "4 Keys" of Disney World: safety, courtesy, show and efficiency. However, instead of just learning about them in a classroom setting, our facilitators surprised us and we were off to tour the Magic Kingdom itself! Touring MK as a cast member is different than seeing it as a guest. Remember, we were backstage. So we hopped a bus from Disney University to...(something I've been wanting to see for years)...

THE UTILIDORS!! If you aren't a Disneyphile, let me explain. When Disney World was first being built, Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake were both created. The land excavated to build these man-made water areas was used to "build up" the area that was to be the Magic Kingdom. So technically, MK is on the second floor. What's on the first floor, you ask? The utilidors. It's what makes the magic happen. It's a massive series of tunnels, offices, and other rooms (including Costuming and the Mouseketeeria), under nearly every square foot of the Magic Kingdom. It's why you'll never see anyone in a Tomorrowland costume walking down Main Street, and it's how characters just seem to magically appear in their specific autograph areas. It's how trash disappears and it's where ambulances wait for a call, if need be. On the way there, we actually drove by major construction areas and were allowed to see inside the much-anticipated Fantasyland Expansion area. Our facilitator was amazing and told us a lot about the expansion, but I don't think we're really supposed to talk about it, so I'm not sharing the secrets! He also just told us a ton of Disney trivia; a lot of things I didn't even know, and I would consider myself a Disney trivia expert. So, once we were there we got to come out from backstage and wander around the parks a bit, looking for examples of Disney's 4 Keys. Then we headed back to Disney University where we did a few more activities and watched more videos about Walt and the creation of WDW.

While that might not sound too exciting, Traditions was really amazing. I'm going to do an entry sometime about why I love Disney so much, so I'm trying to keep the adoration for Walt at a minimum right now so I won't sound repetitive later, but honestly, going backstage at MK and watching Walt made me want to cry. People have warned me that working here and seeing everything happening backstage will take away the magic, but I think the opposite is true. Knowing how much work goes into creating magic for the people visiting, and seeing how much the employees here care about keeping Walt's dream alive, makes it even more amazing. I apologize because I feel like I'm rambling here, but it's hard to put exactly how I feel into words. So, in the words of Walt himself, "To all who come to this happy place, welcome! Disneyland is your land." Those sentiments are still an integral part of the Disney experience, and that's the most magical thing of all.

Have a magical day!

Disney Day 1! And Day 2.

This is probably going to be pretty long, so bear with me. I know it's only been a couple days but we've already done SO much.

On the 9th, I left South Carolina bright and early and kept myself amused by calling people for most of the 7 hour drive down, it really wasn't so bad except for the momentary freak-out when I thought I forgot my makeup (but I didn't!). I met Corri and Allie at our hotel for the night, All-Star Sports, then we headed to downtown Disney to meet up with some other girls from the program. Dinner at Planet Hollywood (a very important picture from this is coming in a bit!), then we hopped a bus to the Grand Floridian to see...WISHES from across the lake! Then off to the Polynesian where we goofed off on the beach for a little bit, then we left and literally fell into bed like it was 3 AM, even though it was only around 10:30.

They still had a few Christmas decorations up at Downtown Disney. Toy Story tree!

If anyone was wondering how long I could go without mentioning Cher...wonder no more! Look at the handprints I found outside of Planet Hollywood!

On the 10th (yesterday) we got up at 6, and arrived at Check In at 7, where we met Alex. Check In is supposed to start at 9, but they usually start it at 8...so around 8 we headed back to a building where we did paperwork, filled out more paperwork, oh, and did I mention paperwork? We also got our housing IDs and roommate assignments. This took about 45 minutes. Next we took a bus over to the Casting Center where we did still MORE paperwork! We got our job assignments, did background checks, fingerprints, got our schedules for the week, etc. Finally by about 11:30 we were back at our cars, had lunch, then unpacked all our things and started organizing before going to our very long, boring housing meeting. A grocery store run, dinner at Fridays right next to Downtown Disney (our very first discount because we told them we were cast members...we felt so special!), then we were done for the night.

Today was a free day for all of us, so of course we went over to Universal to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! Thank goodness we're all Harry Potter nerds. It was amazing. The Forbidden Journey, the new ride that's had so much buzz, was like no ride I've ever been on before. Hogsmeade was so cute, and the window displays were so detailed (they're taking a leaf out of Disney's book!). My favorites were Ollivanders (the wand shop) and Honeydukes (the candy shop). I tried a Cauldron Cake, which is basically a cauldron shaped chocolate brownie dipped in chocolate and filled with chocolate mousse. Obviously right up my alley! Now we're all back home updating blogs and uploading pictures to facebook. Corri and I have Traditions (our first training/Disney class) tomorrow at 6:45 AM, then in the afternoon we're going to check out the parks. Alex and Allie have Traditions in the afternoon, but hopefully we can all meet in the evening for yet another WISHES viewing! Now pictures:

Hermione's wand! She's my favorite character of course.

Allie, Corri, me, and Alex with the conductor in front of the Hogwarts Express.

Real butterbeer!

Alex, Allie, me, and Corri in front of part of Hogwarts Castle.

More in a few days. Have a magical day!