'Tis the Season

Happy Holidays!

The Christmas festivities have already begun here at Walt Disney World!! As of November 1st, the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights was lit up at Hollywood Studios, decorations were up at Magic Kingdom, and there was plenty of holiday spirit to go around. Recently at Epcot, Christmas decorations and displays have begun appearing, including the huge Christmas tree near the world showcase. It's amazing how things happen overnight here at this magical place! Elsa also stopped by Magic Kingdom, leaving her traces of ice on Cinderella's Castle... I haven't seen it yet in person, but I've seen pictures of it lit up, all majestic and covered in frosted lights! Gotta love Elsa...

Cheers to new friends!

What I love about the DCP is that you can meet new people anywhere you go! One day I was headed to Hollywood Studios to meet up with a friend who ended up running late, so I took the bus by myself. On the bus, I started chatting with a few other girls who were going to the park as well. It turns out that one of the girls had plans with a friend, but they fell through earlier, so we decided to hang out at Hollywood Studios together! We were chatting about what we were studying at school and I found out that she wants to study speech-language pathology. It's always exciting when I meet someone else who is studying to become an SLP as well, since it is a smaller program of study compared to others! She is also from Kansas.. we talked about Kansas for a bit since my dad is from there, and I've grown up visiting my grandma, who lives in Kansas still.

We had a blast at Hollywood Studios.. 

I was planning on going on Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror, and Dallas had never been on either ride. It seemed to be the perfect night for trying new things, seeing as we decided on a whim to hang out together at the park. So we went on Tower of Terror and then Rockin' Roller Coaster.. each two times! So much fun!! They are my top two favorite rides, easily. We both had no idea why she didn't try out the rides sooner, but better late than never, right?:) I got her hooked! 

Hollywood Studios & the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights, complete with fake snow:)

Christmas Parade Taping

I bet you didn't know that Disney films their Christmas parade and show over a month early! I didn't know either until I heard from fellow cast members that they were going to the parade taping at Magic Kingdom. They had several different days that they filmed the concerts and parade. My friend Anna and I had plans to go to Magic Kingdom one morning, and she told me that Jason Derulo and Ariana Grande were going to be performing! WHAT! So we decided to go watch.

What day is it? "Christmas!!" Is it hot outside? "No!!"

As part of the audience, we had to get in the right mind set. It wasn't just any November day... it was Christmas day! And it definitely wasn't 90 degrees.. not on Christmas day! Just kidding. It was definitely 90 degrees and I definitely got a sunburn on the back of my neck. But it was worth several hours out in the sun! The host did a good job keeping the audience entertained during the down times of filming. There was a choir there that did the background singing for Jason and Ariana, and David Foster was the pianist. (He is a famous producer, composer, songwriter, and arranger who has won 16 Grammy Awards. He has worked with many notable artists, including Michael Buble, Josh Groban, and Whitney Houston!) I had never heard of him before, but I realized I've definitely heard his some of his work, after learning about who he has worked with.

There was some talent in the crowd that day!

The host and David Foster searched for people in the crowd who could sing during the down times. Not just sing.. but sing really well!! Several people got a shot at singing; the host had them come up to the front of the crowd and handed them the mic. Some were really good, others not so much.. For the ones that could sing really well, the band would start to join - beginning with David Foster on the piano, followed by the drummer, bassist, and guitarist. It was really neat to see the musicians collaborating with the singer, on a moment's notice.

One person in particular stood out and really impressed the crowd and David Foster as well (he was much harder to please). After several people had turns to sing, a young man was finally selected. He made his way through the crowd to the stage, and the host asked him what he would like to sing. He wanted to sing a song written for Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, by (you'll never guess)... DAVID FOSTER himself. Needless to say, David was already impressed. The the young man proceeded to ask David to play the song "from the bridge." He definitely knows his stuff! So David started playing the piano, and then the singer joined in. And boy, could he sing!! David was so impressed that he stopped playing the piano and asked the man to come up on stage to sing, rather than just singing from below in the audience. He had his moment to shine on stage, and the audience went wild!! Here is a video:

Grocery Shopping and Adventure Day! and then work... :(

Nothing like a little fun before having to go in for an evening of work. You're probably thinking wait... did she just say grocery shopping is fun? Yep I did. It's fun when you shop at Trader Joe's!!! Thanks to Enrico, I got a ride to the grocery store. Also I introduced him to a whole new world (Disney pun intended). He'd never been to Trader Joe's, and he also said that it was more fun than going to Disney! I had a good chuckle when he said that. 

Next, we to Disney's Animal Kingdom. A Disney adventure is not complete without singing some Disney songs! We listened to some Lion King and Hercules songs on the way there, and with impeccable timing our final song ended just as we pulled into our parking spot at DAK. Love when that happens! It was  a sunny 80 degree day, and we were greeted by the sight of the Christmas tree at the park entrance. We rode Dinosaur and Expedition Everest roller coaster twice (I always have to go on rides two times for some reason.. I'm gathering a pattern here). I also saw Finding Nemo The Musical, and can cross that off my Disney bucket list.

                THE CIRCLE OF LIFEEEE

News from back home <3 

Here is a photo of my beautiful Tri Delta family with their Disney gifts that I sent them for Initiation! My lovely grand littles Maddie and Amanda were initiated into Tri Delta last weekend. Such an exciting time for them! I cannot wait to meet them in January when I'm back in Oregon. This photo of them made my day!:) DL to you guys back at home!

Lauren (little), Amanda and Maddie (G littles), and Tori (little)

More pictures!

Frozone from The Incredibles

Merry Christmas from Walt Disney World!

Soarin' through the DCP {pun intended}

How cool would a behind-the-scenes tour of a Disney attraction be?

Well I can tell you that it is pretty amazing. I had the wonderful opportunity of seeing the Disney attraction Soarin' in a cast member exclusive behind-the-scenes tour. In our break room at work there will sometimes be postings on the bulletin board to enter a drawing for tours of attractions, and I was lucky enough to be drawn! 

And so the tour began at 8am one sunny morning..

We started on the outside of The Land building, which houses Soarin'. There are so many interesting details and facts about the building itself, such as the way the building is designed and they way it has changed over the years, that make it so unique. The people who designed the building even took into account the way that the shadows fall in the interior from the light streaming in from the skylight above. Falling a certain way as the sun sets, the shadows add to the atmosphere of the building.

On to the fun part!

Soarin' has a flying theme, of course! Beginning on the outside of the ride you get to see all of the little details and thought put into the design. I didn't even realize most of the details until they were pointed out in the tour! There is a check-in desk just like at airport gates, and a little gift shop that looks like a newsstand at the airport. The queue (which is 1/4 mile long) is lined with blue lights, indicating the path of travel just as they do on an airport runway. The original ride is in California, and they took the exact same blueprint and built a replica of it. The ride in California is designed to withstand earthquakes, and so here in Florida, should an earthquake ever occur, Soarin' is the place to be. 

Other fun facts...

We also learned how the film used in the ride was made - some of the scenes they only had one chance to capture it! The music was written by Jerry Goldsmith, who jumped at the chance to compose it. He is known for composing music for many aviation themed movies, and wanted the Soarin' soundtrack to only be used in reference to the ride, and not for anything else. We got to see all of the backstage hallways and corridors, as well as the entrance that they bring the VIPs through. Our tour guide told us about a few celebrities she has brought through the ride as well as some cool stories of other VIPs that have come through. A few mentioned were Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Neil Patrick Harris, and Michael Buble.

I had a blast on the tour and it was really cool to learn about everything that goes on behind the scenes, and all of the details that Disney puts into their attractions! Ask me for some more fun facts if you'd like to know more about Soarin' :)

Other recent adventures on Disney property..

Disney's Contemporary Resort

Polynesian

Sometimes, being stuck in the Disney bubble is a good thing. There is so much to do, and it is all at our fingertips. Another thing I can check off my list here is exploring a Disney resort hotel! (One down, many more to go...) Disney's Polynesian Village Resort is absolutely beautiful. Being there felt like I was in Hawaii. I definitely got confused a few times but then I would snap back to reality and realize I was in Florida still! I explored the hotel with a friend, and then we rented a small boat on the lake. We adventured out a little too far at one point and got caught by the security boat, but she said she didn't mind helping us out because it gave her something to do :) Around the lake you could see several Disney resorts including the Contemporary and the Grand Floridian, as well as Disney's Magic Kingdom. Afterwards we got Dole Whip and sat near the pool, eating it before it melted from the hot sun.

Imag Crew Unites

The "Imag" crew is what we call all of us friends that work at our location at Epcot. ("Imag" coming from Journey into Imagination ride that we work at). We got together again recently at the piano bar called Jellyrolls, which is at the Boardwalk. What is really cool is that you can walk there from Epcot; it only takes about 15 minutes. So I got off work one evening and walked over to meet up with the crew (all of whom had gotten off work a few hours before me) and we all got drinks and popcorn and enjoyed the music! (Not to mention the amazing dance moves and singing of Rico the opera singer:)

We also had one last gathering with Tara, who is leaving the program for a great job she just got in Dallas, Texas!! We will miss her so much! We went bowling at Splitsville, which is at Disney Springs. They have really good food and drinks, not to mention the great Disney cast member discounted bowling price! It's always a good time hanging out with the Imag crew outside of work. Ironically enough, we always end up talking about work. What's not to love about Figment and Captain EO? I'm hoping that I will be able to hang out with Tara in December when I do my department tour/campus visit at TCU in Fort Worth!

{Tara's in the middle}

 To everyone that actually reads this - thanks for reading! :)

Fall in Florida ☀️

The past few weeks has flown by since my last post! I've been hanging out with my coworkers a lot lately! We've gone bowling, a few of us went out to a piano bar at one of the resorts, we've gone to the Food and Wine Festival again (I had a sip of a really delicious grapefruit beer) and watched the Illuminations fireworks show at Epcot, painted miniature pumpkins, and tonight some of us got together and watched Halloween movies! Everyone brought candy, snacks and drinks. SO many snacks! It's weird because it's so warm here and the leaves don't change colors so it doesn't really seem like fall, but it has been fun to do some fall activities with my coworkers!

Bowling at Splitsville!

Sco ducks!!!!

Last weekend on one of my days off, a friend and I went for a hike and swim at a local state park called Wekiwa Springs! The hiking trail was interesting because most of the trail was sand. The trail went around to a few different lakes and there were a bunch of different trails, some of which went to campgrounds. Also the main attraction there was a natural springs swimming area! It was so pretty and it was the perfect day for a swim. It was so nice to be out of the Disney bubble for a day and explore Florida a bit!

Wekiwa Springs

Let's hike!

The water was so pretty

Peace out, thanks for the great day

STOKED

I sure miss having my car! It's the little things like getting a ride home from work that make my days better. One night one my coworker Enrico gave me a ride home after a long day at work. I had just found out that he is studying opera and getting his master's degree at LSU, so I wanted him to show me some of the songs he listens to and sings! Picture this: two Disney employees stoked to be off work, windows rolled down, driving on the freeway, with French opera blaring out the speakers and Enrico singing at the top of his lungs. It was quite the memorable car ride home. He is such an amazing singer! I told him that one day when he is famous I'm going to come see one of his shows and hold up a sign that says "I worked with him at Disney!!!" :) (Thanks for letting me post this clip, Rico)

Back in August I found out about a mentoring program through American Speech-Language-Hearing Association called the STEP Mentoring program. I applied, and got paired with a speech-language pathologist mentor! The program started in the beginning of October and continues through the spring. It has been helpful to connect with an SLP and get advice and help applying to schools and figuring out what path I want to take with my career! In the program you set goals and your mentor helps to make sure you are on track in achieving those goals. I'm really glad I found out about the program. I also let my friend Nathan know about it, and he is currently a senior at UO in the program that I graduated from. He got a mentor as well! My mentor is from Michigan and went to school there, and she currently lives in Texas and does home visits and works with families, and also supervises SLPA's. I've been able to ask her about working as an SLPA - which is something I want to do when I get back home after my college program here - and she has provided me with a lot of info!

One thing I like to do to make the bus rides go faster is read on my kindle. I've finished 4 books since I've been here. The two I liked best are Wild:From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed and Ghost Boy by Martin Pistorius. Wild is about a woman's thousand plus mile hike on the Pacific Crest Trail, and it was made into a major motion picture film starring Reese Witherspoon. I saw the movie last spring and then found out it was a book. I definitely recommend it! Ghost Boy is about a boy who became sick at age 12 and was diagnosed with a degenerative disease which left him wheelchair-bound and unable to communicate. It details his struggles in different care homes, his journey back to consciousness, and his amazing progress with augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Told by Martin himself, this amazing real life story is so inspirational!!

Other misc. pics/video:

A few cool pictures that a friend took of Epcot from a plane



Bird's eye view

Some live music at a bar in Orlando!

Grad Schools and Disney Magic

I've been busy at work with grad school researching! This past week I've been calling different schools to get more information about their communication sciences & disorders/speech-language pathology programs. So far I am for sure applying to:
-Portland State University
-Texas Christian University
-Washington State University, and
-University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Several more I am considering are Baylor, University of Texas at Dallas, Arizona State, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University. I will definitely apply to at least one school in Arizona. There are so many choices for grad schools that it has been hard to narrow it down to just 6 or 7, but that's my goal for this weekend. I've already begun a few online applications and also emailing professors about letters of recommendation (I already have 2 professors and 1 SLP writing me letters), and beginning to get transcripts sent in. This upcoming week I'll start brainstorming/writing my essays.

It's really neat working here because I've met people from so many different states and colleges! I've been able to ask coworkers about their colleges and states because many of them are from areas where I'm applying to schools/schools that I am actually applying to! One went to UNC at Chapel Hill, one went to ASU, I briefly talked to someone from Eastern Washington University which was a school I was considering previously, and I have a few coworkers that go to school in Texas so I was asking them about the cities/colleges there. So convenient while I'm doing grad research - everyone's hometown or college/university is right on their name tags!

We recently got our wifi fixed, but before that I was going into the Learning Center here at our apartment clubhouse to use the computers/internet. When you use a computer, you scan your company ID and then get assigned to one of the 22 computers. I go so often that the girls working at the front desk know which computer is my favorite to use, and they always leave it open for me in case I come in:) My favorite computer has a lot of desk space around it, is next to an outlet so I can plug things in to charge, and has a great view of the pool outside. The learning center also has 2 printers, and you're allowed to print as much as you want as long as its education related. It is super convenient because its the building right next to my apartment!

Recently, along with the Food and Wine Festival, the set of the ABC show "The Chew" filmed a few episodes here at Epcot! I would see their trailers on my work to and from work, and I even saw a few of the tv hosts on the set one day when I picked up an extra shift working at the Food & Wine Festival. They filmed it right at the World Showcase, with the huge globe in the center of Epcot in the background. The episodes aired on tv this past week, and our breakroom tv was turned to that channel so we could watch it during our break. One of my coworkers actually won tickets to be in the audience when they filmed it! It was cool to see it on tv and think - hey, I actually work there!

Epcot before park opening

I recently got to do a Magic Moment at work and it was so much fun! I had a family come through the line at Character Spot, and the mom was telling me about what a stressful day of traveling they had that day - they had problems with their flight, and had to take two separate planes to get to Disney World! They just arrived at Epcot and it was already 8pm:/ Not a fun way to start their vacation! I wanted to do something special for them so I called my coordinator and was able to arrange to give them a Fast Pass to any attraction at Epcot! I surprised them at the exit of Character Spot with the fast passes and they were so excited. It was so rewarding to see their reaction and make their night! There's nothing like a little Disney magic!!

More pictures below of fun times at the parks during my days off:)

Tarzan is still adjusting socially

BEST RIDE

My friend Priscilla and I! She also works in Epcot

Fun morning going on a few rides before work!

Something fun came in the mail last week - the 2015 Disney Family Holiday celebration coupons!!!!!!!!! Yay for Disney perks! Coupons for dining discounts, free treat coupons, doubling cast discount coupons, a spa coupon, and information about other seasonal park admission and hotel discounts. Also our cast discount of 20% off gets bumped up to 40% off starting October 19th through the rest of the time my internship lasts! I've been waiting for the discounts to kick in so I can get the better deal on any merchandise... (:

COME VISIT ME IN FLORIDA I HAVE THE DISCOUNT HOOK UPS:):) For real. Offer expires December 20, 2015.* Limited time only.** Yours truly will host you in an unforgettable discounted personalized Disney World Tour. Please call for more details or email at rachelmb324@gmail.com.***

*or it expires January 4, 2016 if you don't need the Walt Disney Resort discount.
**Offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
***Facebook messaging accepted as well.

Fun times at work and play!

It's been a busy few weeks since my last post!

A few weeks ago I went to a really interesting networking event. There were 7 Disney employees there, from all different areas within the company here. It is amazing how many opportunities there are here! John Stephenson is a recruiter for the Disney College Program and the Professional Internships program here and it was really interesting to learn about his career path within Disney and how he became the head of recruiting. The DCP was established first here at Disney World, and he actually was the person to launch the DCP at Disneyland in California! Another interesting employee is an associate industrial engineer here and he works in planning and industrial engineering - his job description was so unique. In his area they figure out things like how to get more people on a certain attraction and how to make things more efficient. I'd never heard of that area of engineering before!
 This networking event was part of a series of networking events that are available for everyone here doing an internship. I plan on going to a resume writing workshop and another networking event with tips and do's/dont's of networking. They're all free events so I figured I'd take advantage of them while I'm here!

Two of my roommates and I went to Blizzard Beach water park the other week on a day off! It was their first time at a water park. The waterslides and wave pool were a blast! Afterwards, we got ice cream on our way out. We saw someone else with the dessert and we had to have it - it was a small plastic sandpail FILLED with ice cream/hot fudge/toppings and topped with a mountain of whipped cream and Mickey sprinkles. IT WAS THE BEST and we couldn't even finish it.
Afterwards we went to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot. There are different kiosks set up all around the World Showcase with food and wine from different countries. The portions are smaller so you can go to a bunch of different places and sample lots of different foods and drinks! It was so delicious. I had this really good cheese bread from Brazil and it was gluten free! Also I tried a raspberry wine from South Korea, and the pork and mangu dish from the Dominican Republic that my roommates had mentioned before that they wanted to try. The festival lasts until mid November so I definitely want to again.

I was so excited that I spelled 'ice cream' wrong...

France at the World Showcase

sombreros in Mexico

 Last week I went mini golfing with 14 of my coworkers who are also doing the DCP. It was fun to get to know them and hangout outside of work! Afterwards we went to Friday's for drinks and appetizers. They're a fun group to hang with!

I've been seeing more characters around my work area lately. I saw Mulan one day on my way into work. When I was working outside another day, I saw Ariel and Jasmine skip by to do meet-and-greets with guests in another area of the park. Just the other day I saw Cinderella and the Prince. They were the cutest!! After meeting a line of people, they walked off, the Prince escorting Cinderella by the hand, and she was holding up her skirt slightly with her other hand (typical princess move). It's always fun to see the characters at work!

Also last week I met a few people from Oregon! This lady came into one of the attractions I was working at, and I was chatting with her when her husband showed up wearing an Oregon Ducks hat! I got excited and we began chatting about Oregon and how I just graduated from there. They were from Gresham and they had a few nieces that graduated from U of O recently. It's awesome to run into fellow Oregonians:)

Had a fun day off at Hollywood Studios last weekend with my friends Brittany and Joe (not pictured below.. he was not the happiest camper at first because we made him go on the roller coaster :)

Rockin' Roller Coaster

Just at work last night we had a private event in half of Epcot. A company (Gartner..not sure what they do, I'll have to look it up) rented out all of Future World (West is the area that I work in, and there is also Future World East) for their employees. Funny to think that you can rent out part of Disney World - but definitely not at a low price. They had a DJ in one area, and a live band set up in our area. There was also tons of catered food, desserts, and several bars set up around Future World West and East. We had to close our areas early though, which made for some unhappy guests.. It wasn't fun to break the bad news to them:/ It was cool to see the event get set up and take place though! Apparently there were over 3,000 guests at the event! They also had their own fireworks show at the end of the night.

Next post will include a grad school update! Been busy every day spending a few hours researching grad schools and beginning to apply here in the next week!

I'd love to hear from friends and family from home - please send me an email or text or give me a call :)
rachelmb324@gmail.com

Sunrises and Surprises

More Training and Adventures! I'm a few days behind in posting..
 Training for Friday was mainly at the Captain EO show at the Magic Eye Theater. Managing the show is not too hard... there are just a lot of things to remember to do at once; a lot of multitasking. I enjoy it so far though! But by the end of the program I'll have seen/heard the show so many times I'll be sick of it! Today in training we got onto the topic of VIPs/celebrities that come to visit... one celebrity that we get occasionally at Journey to Imagination/Captain EO is Hayley Williams, the lead singer in a rock band called Paramore. Apparently she absolutely loves Figment (the purple dragon character in the ride Journey to Imagination) and Captain EO! I thought that was pretty cool. Also John Stamos and Adam Sandler had visited the park in the last few years as well - not sure when but my trainer also mentioned that they had been on our ride/went to see Captain EO.

                                         [a short video I took after getting off work one day]

Saturday at work, my trainer and I happened to be outside at a cool time. We were walking to another building and in the distance I saw a huge group of people speed walking towards The Land building (right next to our show/ride). I watched them for a few seconds thinking to myself.. is that a speed walking club or something? They were all really close and walking really fast as if they were on a mission. And on a mission they were - my trainer told me that they had just opened the park. They used to take all the ropes off of a certain area at the same time and then people would run - literally run - to The Land building to get in line for the Soarin' ride. Then after awhile they had to change the way they did things because it was too dangerous - now they open off two sections and then 2 cast members lead the whole group there - but they walk instead of run! (It's safer that way). It's definitely a riot to see that mob speed walking towards The Land..

Sunrise @ Epcot, I snapped on the way to work

After work today, my coworker and I changed out of our uniforms and went to the park to ride a few rides:) We plan on doing that later this week too.

Another fun thing Saturday at work - we had some extra time at the end of training, so my trainer and I got to go on Soarin'! Such a fun ride. We even got to talk to one of the managers and he took us to the front of the line so we didn't have to wait at all!!:) Gettin' the VIP treatment... perks of working at Disney:)

Saturday after work I took a much needed nap! When I woke up around 7pm, I was scrolling through photos on Instagram and I came across a post by one of my favorite bands called The Maine. It said, "Tonight we play a show at Orlando House of Blues and it is FREE! Just show up and you will get in. Doors @ 6pm." Wait, WHAT?!?!? I had to re-read the post a few times because I could not believe what I saw... a free show...in Orlando?!? What are the odds. I sprung out of bed and got ready.. grabbed some food, and looked at the bus schedule. All my roommates were gone and I figured no one would be free at this late of notice (plus hardly anyone knows who The Maine is)...so I just went by myself! I hopped on the next bus to Disney Springs (formerly known as Downtown Disney), which was unfortunately 15 minutes late... I was thinking I'd get to the House of Blues around 8 and maybe get there halfway through the show if I was lucky. Once I got off the bus I hurried to the House of Blues, and made it there just as The Maine was starting to play! Best. Day. Ever. They were amazing, as usual. I've seen them a few times in concert and they put on a great show every time!

The Maine!!

Some pictures below of hanging out at Magic Kingdom with my roommate!

Ha

Saying hi to our roomie Yennifer while she was working:) She's gonna be mad that I posted a pic of her in her uniform :D

Misc. goofing off pictures...

I was craving ice cream...

Me attempting to rap while my roomies took videos/pics of me :p Just call me Queen Rachel

Day Off and Training Days

Tuesday I had the day off! A few friends and I went to the Cast Connections store. It is a store for Disney employees and their friends/family and it has discounted merchandise and gifts and even furniture that is no longer needed from the Disney World parks and hotels. There is also a section in the back of the store for employees only that has slightly damaged merchandise that is sold for 75% off. You can find some really good deals here - sometimes there is only a small scratch or stain on something that is barely noticeable. I got a coffee mug, lanyard, and a case for my kindle for only $15!

 We also went to Costuming to get our work shoes. Costuming is a huge department - there is one at every park (all 4) and they have all the different uniforms for every job. There are so many uniforms!!! Rows and rows... they also wash all the uniforms. You can buy shoes at one of the Costuming locations as well, which makes it convenient. Costuming has everything from shirts, undershirts, belts, and pants, to coats and raincoats. When you work you have to use the Disney raincoats/coats. Apparently you should get yours early or else they could run out of sizes and you'd get stuck with a huge one..

Later we went to Animal Kingdom! It was the last park of the four that I hadn't been to yet. (There is Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Animal Kingdom). This park was so cool - its jungle/safari/Africa themed. We went on the Everest Expedition roller coaster twice, it was SO FUN. We also met Pocahontas and the governor (the villain from that movie), and saw a Lion King show - it was so neat!! I wasn't expecting much from the show but it was amazing - they had gymnasts, trapeze artists, singers, dancers and a fire dancer!

Tree of Life

Expedition to Everest for the 1st time:)

selfie with the governor

Lion king show - the blue blur near the middle of the photo is a dancer/circus act thingy.. not sure the official term

 

Amazing dancers! Makes me miss it...

Safari Tour

Pocahontas!

Wednesday and Thursday were my 1st and 2nd training days! In addition to working at the ride, I'll be working at a spot where guests can meet characters, and also at the Captain EO show. Training was really interesting - it's really cool to see all of the behind the scenes stuff done at the ride, the security system, and all the details that go into safety checks. We get to ride the ride every morning and night (depending on your shift), and also sometimes throughout the day to make sure everything is running smoothly. I wish I worked at a roller coaster... then I'd get to ride one every day at work - how cool would that be?!? I'm enjoying where I work so far though.. there are a lot of different positions and we switch every hour so it doesn't get boring. I'm excited to get to know my coworkers and get into the swing of things.

Sign on the fridge at work :D

Also this song is stuck in my head...

Officially Moving in to Epcot.

Not really, but I'll be spending most of my time there... Monday was my first day of training on site! Waking up early hasn't been too bad.. but then again I haven't done it 5 days in a row yet. It's nice to see the sunrise in the mornings on the way to work though. The Florida skies are beautiful!

Training was brief but fun. We learned a lot of facts about Epcot and also got a tour (which included one of the rides - Spaceship Earth, my fave!) and a fun surprise on the tour. I can't tell you the surprise - it's an Epcot cast member secret. We swore an oath near the fountain in Epcot. I also found out where I will be working and my first week's training schedule. I'll be working at a ride in Future World West called Journey Into Imagination and I'll also be working at the Magic Eye Theater. The ride is a kids ride featuring a little purple dragon called Figment - which I had never heard of before. I have a few friends that are working in Epcot, but I don't know anyone working at my ride yet, so it will be fun to meet new people! Also on the tour we took a cruise around the World Showcase and learned about the dining/attractions at each country.

Work day selfie:)

From the ride Spaceship Earth with my fellow Epcot friend

Fun fact: Epcot has 11,000 parking spots. It's the second largest parking lot in the world!

Training ended at noon, and I ended up going to the Magic Kingdom with one of my roommates and one of my friends that will be working at Epcot also! We walked a total of about 5 miles at the Magic Kingdom... guess I won't need to be doing a lot of extra exercise here - I'll just need to go to a park for the day:) We went on a lot of rides including Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Space Mountain, and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster. Something really awesome happened when we went on the Mine Train roller coaster - right as we began the ride, the Disney fireworks show started!!! The roller coaster twists and turns and goes inside a "mine" and back outside, and every time we were outside, the fireworks were going off right above us. It's hard to describe, but it was the coolest thing ever - we had the most perfect timing.

Space Mountain ;)

the Castle!!!