Idiot of the week:
Lady: Do you have Mackintosh toffee?
Me: No, Sorry, i've never heard of it!
Lady: You've NEVER heard of it?? It IS Canadian!
Me: You're in the United Kingdom.
Lady: Oh.
So I experienced my first American Thanksgiving this year. We were crazy busy at work as it's a public holiday for Americans and alot of them spend it at Disney! The week before, the Rose and Crown Pub in the UK Pavilion put on an early Thanksgiving dinner for us. People brought in homemade food so we had lots of traditional British stuff like trifle and cottage pie, it was delicious and as usual I ate far too much! The evening before thanksgiving one of the other housing complexs held a free thanksgiving dinner for us which wasn't as nice but we don't make enough money to say no to free food! Lastly on Thanksgiving while we were at work our managers brought in a traditional thanksgiving dinner for us which included turkey, vegetables and potatoes etc.
The day after Thanksgiving the Americans have Black Friday which is basically when the sales start like our January sales. The malls open at around 4am and the outlets open at midnight. Never ones to miss out on sales us girls were queueing outside Forever 21 at 11.30pm waiting for the shops to open! The crowds were crazy, I've never seen anything like it and if you turned up in pajamas you got free gifts! (We didn't do that!) We shopped until around 3am although I didn't spend that much, I bought 4 tops in Forever 21 for $20 and had to queue to pay for at least an hour! After all that shopping added to the fact that the weather had dropped to below freezing we were rather hungry so the girls and I ended up in Ihop at 4am eating pancakes! It was possibly the stupidest thing I could have done as I had work at 10.30am so I ended up having around three hours sleep! Let me tell you I struggled through work the next day! Lol
Obviously with all that free food and 4am pancakes I feel disgusting! I've put on far too much weight since I got here and if I carry on i'm going to be huge by the time I get home! I'm realistic though, I'm living in the States and there's not a chance in hell i'm going to diet! So my only other option is to exercise! I've started going to the gym everyday and i'm determined to keep it up so you don't all think i've turned into an elephant when I get home!
While we're on the subject of food I have to tell you about the most amazing dessert I have ever had. Me and 4 of my friends went to Beaches and Cream on our day off. It's an American style diner at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort and they do the biggest dessert I have ever seen called the 'Kitchen Sink' (because it includes everything but the kitchen sink!) The dessert includes chocolate, mint choc chip and strawberry ice cream, oreos, coconut cake, strawberries, bananas, cherries, cream and that's the stuff I can remember! lol. When they bring the Kitchen Sink out the lights in the diner flash and they sing a song, it's hilarious! The five of us managed to get through the whole thing in what we thought was an impressive 20 minutes. However the waitress told us the fastest time was a young lad who finished it off in 9 minutes on his own!
After Thanksgiving it has become even more Christmassy in Epcot, there are more decorations and there is a Father Christmas or Santa Claus in every pavilion which tell guests their countries traditions at christmas. Our Father Christams wears the traditional green and is abit scary actually but I think it's cute! However it is really surreal trying to feel festive in the sunshine. I have my advent calendar to count down but it doesn't feel quite right and it certainly doesn't feel like 4 weeks until christmas when i'm wearing short sleeves and eating ice cream! I hope I will feel more festive when my family arrive in a few weeks! The weather is very unpredictable though, although I say it's warm, we have odd days where the temperature completely drops and it's freezing and days like today where it has been really miserable and hasn't stopped raining all day! Proper English weather!
It was Beth's birthday this weekend and unfortunately for her she was working until 10pm so we bought her a cake and balloon and left it outside her apartment when she returned home! As she was working on her birthday she decided to celebrate it over the next two days. On the sunday lots of us went to Golden Corral for a birthday breakfast, then that afternoon, Rachel, Beth and I checked into Disney's Coronado Springs Resort. When we got there we took a look around the resort which was so pretty, however we were so knackered by the evening we chilled out in the room watching the huge TV and eating pizza! It was nice just to spend a night out of the Commons! We ate breakfast in the resort the next morning and then we checked out and headed to Hollywood Studios. After a few hours there we took the boat across to Epcot, we had dinner at the Rose and Crown which was fun! They got us a table by the lagoon so we could see the fireworks while we had dinner, they also gave us free starters! We had a roast dinner which was nice and we saw the extra christmas fireworks which are amazing! Lastly the servers all came out and sang 'Happy Birthday' to Beth which embarassed her but was fun!
It's going to be a couple of sad weeks for us merchies. This week we're losing Rachel and Anth as their program has come to an end now. We had their last night at Bennigans and we did their last song, there were alot of tears. Beth and I are driving Rach to the airport on sunday which is going to be horrible saying goodbye, we have become really good friends. Next week we have three other cast members leaving, they are all self terming- It means alot of hours for those of us left over christmas! Eek!
Friday, 4 December 2009
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Christmas has begun at Disney!
Idiot of the week:
This wasn't actually while I was at work but while we were standing in line at Hollywood Studios to buy food.
Man: (Looking at the menu) What the hell is a chicken curry? (Enough said!!)
I went back into work after my days off last week and it had turned into christams overnight at Epcot! There is the biggest most beautiful tree I have ever seen in the park and there are decorations all aorund out shops. It really does look pretty and i'm loving the christams music, I feel very festive!
There have been lots of birthdays recently in Florida. It was Rachel's 20th birthday last week. The poor girl was working the whole day so we decided to arrange a little suprise! Kirstie and I bought lots of decorations and a cake in the morning and we borrowed Rachel's roomates key so we could let ourselves into the apartment. While she was at work we put up balloons and banners etc. When Rcahel came home from work Beth, Kirstie and I were hiding and we pulled party poppers as she came through the door. She was really shocked but very happy I think. She liked our present too! Because Rachel is the youngest out of us four we feel like she's our little sister and we have to look after her! After she's opened the rest of her presents and had spoken to her family etc. the four of us and some others went out for dinner to celebrate. We went to T-Rex in Downtown Disney which is a dinosaur themed restaurant. It was pretty cool, we were seated in the cave which changed colour throughout the night. Rachel wasn't looking forward to being away from home for her birthday but I think she enjoyed herself in the end!
Three days after Rachel's birthday it was Kirstie's 23rd birthday. Kirstie was also working for it and unfortunately we all were so we couldn't suprise her like we did to Rachel. We did get her a cake and present though. We all went to TGI Fridays in the evening to celebrate and it was delicious! When we got back to Kirstie's apartment we lit the candles on the cake to sing happy birthday, however Rachel had bought re-lightable candles so when Kirstie tried to blow them out they just kept re-lighting. It was hilarious because we all started panicking because -one- it was going to set the fire alarms off and -two- we're not allowed candles of any shape or form in the Commons and could have all been termed if security had turned up! We all ended up outside Kirstie's apartment all trying to blow them out!
I had a really lazy day on my day off, it's the first day since I arrived here that I actually slept in and didn't go anywhere so I felt I deserved it! I got up around half 11 and didn't get dressed until about 2! I spent the afternoon straightening my hair which was soooo nice because I can actually do it now the weather has cooled down! In the evening I had the best night. Beth's ex-boyfriend and his twin brother are visiting so she booked a table at the California Grill which is one of the very posh Disney restaurants at the Contemporary Resort. It was an amazing meal, it was nice to get all dressed up and we also got 50% off with our cast christmas discount! This resort is a Magic Kingdom resort so it overlooks the theme park, they have viewing towers which you can go out to and we were able to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the restaurant, it was fantastic. I had a great night. It made me decide to book a resort restaurant for when my family are here at christams so on our last night we are going to Citricos at the Grand Floridian.
On Monday Rachel and I decided to do some christams shopping. we headed to Epcot first of all so I could get a few bits and take some photos of the stores looking christmassy and then we headed to Downtown Disney to take full advantage of our 50% discount! I managed to buy all my christamas presents in one day which was great! It's so surreal that there are christams bits everywhere and christamas music playing and yet it's sunny outside and we're walking aorund in shorts!
In the evening to make ourselves feel even more festive we went to Hollywood Studios to see The Osbourne Lights. I didn't know what to expect from these but The Osbournes were a family that used to decorate their house with lights every christmas and make them dance to music, until the council put a stop to it and that's when Disney stepped in and bought them from them. All I can say is it is possibly the most amazing and breathtaking thing I have ever seen at Disney World. My explanation and photos just don't do it justice! Basically they decorate some of the streets at Hollywwod Studios with these lights and when I say decorate I mean cover every bit of building from the ground upwards! They have fake snow and then every so often they start the music and the lights dance to it. I can't explain how utterly incredible it is, I actually had goosebumps and tears in my eyes. if you ever come to Disney and only get to do one thing, see the Orbourne Lights.
As if we weren't feeling festive enough, last night we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. Like at Halloween they have a special parade and fireworks. Not only that, throughout the park they have places where you can go to get complimentary snacks like hot chocolate and cookies! At the beginning of the night we watched a show on the castle where the Fairy Godmother lit up the castle with glitter, it looked beautiful. Then we watched the fireworks and parade which were fantastic but I was really annoyed with myself because the battery on my camera ran out at the beginning of the parade so I missed loads of photos :-( Lastly we watched another show on the castle which had all the characters singing along, it was so fun. As we left the Magic Kingdom snow fell down on main street and it couldn't have felt more like Christmas!
This wasn't actually while I was at work but while we were standing in line at Hollywood Studios to buy food.
Man: (Looking at the menu) What the hell is a chicken curry? (Enough said!!)
I went back into work after my days off last week and it had turned into christams overnight at Epcot! There is the biggest most beautiful tree I have ever seen in the park and there are decorations all aorund out shops. It really does look pretty and i'm loving the christams music, I feel very festive!
There have been lots of birthdays recently in Florida. It was Rachel's 20th birthday last week. The poor girl was working the whole day so we decided to arrange a little suprise! Kirstie and I bought lots of decorations and a cake in the morning and we borrowed Rachel's roomates key so we could let ourselves into the apartment. While she was at work we put up balloons and banners etc. When Rcahel came home from work Beth, Kirstie and I were hiding and we pulled party poppers as she came through the door. She was really shocked but very happy I think. She liked our present too! Because Rachel is the youngest out of us four we feel like she's our little sister and we have to look after her! After she's opened the rest of her presents and had spoken to her family etc. the four of us and some others went out for dinner to celebrate. We went to T-Rex in Downtown Disney which is a dinosaur themed restaurant. It was pretty cool, we were seated in the cave which changed colour throughout the night. Rachel wasn't looking forward to being away from home for her birthday but I think she enjoyed herself in the end!
Three days after Rachel's birthday it was Kirstie's 23rd birthday. Kirstie was also working for it and unfortunately we all were so we couldn't suprise her like we did to Rachel. We did get her a cake and present though. We all went to TGI Fridays in the evening to celebrate and it was delicious! When we got back to Kirstie's apartment we lit the candles on the cake to sing happy birthday, however Rachel had bought re-lightable candles so when Kirstie tried to blow them out they just kept re-lighting. It was hilarious because we all started panicking because -one- it was going to set the fire alarms off and -two- we're not allowed candles of any shape or form in the Commons and could have all been termed if security had turned up! We all ended up outside Kirstie's apartment all trying to blow them out!
I had a really lazy day on my day off, it's the first day since I arrived here that I actually slept in and didn't go anywhere so I felt I deserved it! I got up around half 11 and didn't get dressed until about 2! I spent the afternoon straightening my hair which was soooo nice because I can actually do it now the weather has cooled down! In the evening I had the best night. Beth's ex-boyfriend and his twin brother are visiting so she booked a table at the California Grill which is one of the very posh Disney restaurants at the Contemporary Resort. It was an amazing meal, it was nice to get all dressed up and we also got 50% off with our cast christmas discount! This resort is a Magic Kingdom resort so it overlooks the theme park, they have viewing towers which you can go out to and we were able to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the restaurant, it was fantastic. I had a great night. It made me decide to book a resort restaurant for when my family are here at christams so on our last night we are going to Citricos at the Grand Floridian.
On Monday Rachel and I decided to do some christams shopping. we headed to Epcot first of all so I could get a few bits and take some photos of the stores looking christmassy and then we headed to Downtown Disney to take full advantage of our 50% discount! I managed to buy all my christamas presents in one day which was great! It's so surreal that there are christams bits everywhere and christamas music playing and yet it's sunny outside and we're walking aorund in shorts!
In the evening to make ourselves feel even more festive we went to Hollywood Studios to see The Osbourne Lights. I didn't know what to expect from these but The Osbournes were a family that used to decorate their house with lights every christmas and make them dance to music, until the council put a stop to it and that's when Disney stepped in and bought them from them. All I can say is it is possibly the most amazing and breathtaking thing I have ever seen at Disney World. My explanation and photos just don't do it justice! Basically they decorate some of the streets at Hollywwod Studios with these lights and when I say decorate I mean cover every bit of building from the ground upwards! They have fake snow and then every so often they start the music and the lights dance to it. I can't explain how utterly incredible it is, I actually had goosebumps and tears in my eyes. if you ever come to Disney and only get to do one thing, see the Orbourne Lights.
As if we weren't feeling festive enough, last night we went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom. Like at Halloween they have a special parade and fireworks. Not only that, throughout the park they have places where you can go to get complimentary snacks like hot chocolate and cookies! At the beginning of the night we watched a show on the castle where the Fairy Godmother lit up the castle with glitter, it looked beautiful. Then we watched the fireworks and parade which were fantastic but I was really annoyed with myself because the battery on my camera ran out at the beginning of the parade so I missed loads of photos :-( Lastly we watched another show on the castle which had all the characters singing along, it was so fun. As we left the Magic Kingdom snow fell down on main street and it couldn't have felt more like Christmas!
Tuesday, 3 November 2009
The fam comes to visit!
Idiot of the week: (From fellow cast members Beth and Charlotte)
Man: Do you have any German football shirts?
Beth: Er, no sorry, this is the UK, so we only sell shirts from the UK.
Charlotte: You could try the German Pavillion though, they sell football merchandise.
Man: I tried there but they didn't have my size so I thought Id try here. (It's the UK PAVILION for a reason you moron!!!!)
Possibly one of the best weeks i've had out here so far was my family arriving last week. I was so ready to see them and on the Saturday they arrived I told them a little porky and said I was working when really I had booked the day off! Jackie drove me to Sanford airport where we had abit of an issue because it's such a small airport that they don't have an arrivals gate! We had to just hang around in the waiting area which was outside! Fortunately they came out after about 15 minutes and the shock on my mum's face was classic! They were so suprised but it was so fantastic, I even had butterfies! I went back to the villa with them and then I took them to The Commons to show them where I live. I introduced them to Golden Corral buffet for dinner and they were very impressed!
On the Sunday I had work but I finished at 4.30 so the fam met me from work and we went straight to Hollywood Studios. It was very fun using my maingate pass for the first time which lets me get 3 other people into the park for free! We went on Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollarcoaster and the new Toy Story Ride. I made them watch Fantasmic in the evening and they loved it! It was the first time id been in a Disney theme park with my family for four years so it felt special! :-)
I had the next three days off so we spent them at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney. Mum had a ball spending money in World of Disney with my 40% xmas discount! She bought loads of xmas pressies. I also had a hospital appointment so the whole fam came along and mum met Doctor Selsky. We also had dinner at the Outback one night and dinner at Olive Garden with jacki and Randy.
On wednesday night I treated Luke to Halloween Horror Night at Universal Studios, I bought us our admission tickets and express tickets so we could skip the lines! It was probably the most frightening night of my life but totally fantastic too. Universal has a different theme each year and this year was 'ripped from the movies' so each house was based on a horror film. There were eight houses and a number of scare zones. The scare zones were what you had to walk through to get to somewhere else with monsters and zombies chasing you! These were themed too and the best one was the cannibals one- they actually had a broken down school bus, loads of fog and helicopter lights overhead. There were actors walking around bloodied and asking for help and of course weird cannible monsters! It was so well done and just so realistic! The houses were so scary, 'Wolfman' made me jump the most which is based on the new film coming out. 'Saw' was really well done, it had replicas of exact scenes from the first three films. The end scene was the worst, we walked into a room with a strobe light and standing against the wall were about 6 people dressed in the pig mask who all ran towards us! I tell you what I've never run so fast and that's the only time I saw Luke really freak out all night- he ran for his life as well!
The next two days I had work but I managed to get an ER both days. Beth came round for dinner on the thursday evening and stayed as we both had work the next day which was nice. Unfortunately mum wasn't feeling well at all and we were actually concerned she had swine flu symptoms. On the friday she felt better so I got the fam into Epcot before I went to work and I bought them a $25 gift card to spend at the food and wine festival. I met them after work and we went back to the villa to pack my case and we drove to The Commons so I could drop it off. We went for a last supper at Golden Corral which I found hard to enjoy because I knew I had to say goodbye at the end. Saying goodbye to my family this time was possibly the hardest thing I've had to do, I could see mum and dad were trying to hold back the tears and so was I but as soon as I walked away I burst into tears! I cried all night and found it tough to keep it together the next day at work, it was horrific lol.
Fortunately as it was Halloween that night two of the guys had a Halloween party at their apartment. I dressed up as a black cat and went along and it really cheered me up. We did silly stuff like apple bobbing and 'pin the broom on the witch!' It was really fun and just what I needed. I'm absoloutly fine now, it's funny how quickly you get back into the Disney bubble! Mum, Dad and Luke are coming in six weeks for xmas so it's not that long anyway!
Not much has happened since the fam left. We had a free lunch at work yesterday for getting through a whole year without any accidents! Beth and I went to the mall on monday because we desperately needed our hair cut, i haven't had it cut since I first got here and had to dye it! lol. I also bought some xmas pressies. Now Halloween is over xmas starts at Disney!
We were so lucky with the weather while my family was here, it was ridiculously hot and humid, I'm talking about the 90s in late October! Even that is unusual for Florida, it's usually cooled down by now. Since the fam has left it has started to cool down and it looks like the hot weather has well and truely gone now. just as well I asked my mum to bring my Uggs over! ;-)
We had an interesting day today, the managers arranged a trip to the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom for a backstage tour. We had to be on the bus at 6.00 this morning as we had to finish the tour before the park opened at 9.00am. It was really fun, we actually walked through the whole ride and at one point were inside the ride! They explained all the tricks and technical stuff and showed us all the hidden mickeys and secrets too! I had work from 10.15 until 6.45 so that wasn't fun! I've spent the evening cleaning the apartment as we have an inspection tomorrow so now i'm shattered!
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. As it's Bonfire Night we celebrate it in the UK Pavilion all day. I'm not sure what to expect but we're going to have decorations, a pretend bonfire, guys etc. and we will all be given a special UK Mickey pin to wear. It's going to be so much fun. Oh, and we also get another free lunch! Ha!
Man: Do you have any German football shirts?
Beth: Er, no sorry, this is the UK, so we only sell shirts from the UK.
Charlotte: You could try the German Pavillion though, they sell football merchandise.
Man: I tried there but they didn't have my size so I thought Id try here. (It's the UK PAVILION for a reason you moron!!!!)
Possibly one of the best weeks i've had out here so far was my family arriving last week. I was so ready to see them and on the Saturday they arrived I told them a little porky and said I was working when really I had booked the day off! Jackie drove me to Sanford airport where we had abit of an issue because it's such a small airport that they don't have an arrivals gate! We had to just hang around in the waiting area which was outside! Fortunately they came out after about 15 minutes and the shock on my mum's face was classic! They were so suprised but it was so fantastic, I even had butterfies! I went back to the villa with them and then I took them to The Commons to show them where I live. I introduced them to Golden Corral buffet for dinner and they were very impressed!
On the Sunday I had work but I finished at 4.30 so the fam met me from work and we went straight to Hollywood Studios. It was very fun using my maingate pass for the first time which lets me get 3 other people into the park for free! We went on Tower of Terror, Rockin' Rollarcoaster and the new Toy Story Ride. I made them watch Fantasmic in the evening and they loved it! It was the first time id been in a Disney theme park with my family for four years so it felt special! :-)
I had the next three days off so we spent them at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney. Mum had a ball spending money in World of Disney with my 40% xmas discount! She bought loads of xmas pressies. I also had a hospital appointment so the whole fam came along and mum met Doctor Selsky. We also had dinner at the Outback one night and dinner at Olive Garden with jacki and Randy.
On wednesday night I treated Luke to Halloween Horror Night at Universal Studios, I bought us our admission tickets and express tickets so we could skip the lines! It was probably the most frightening night of my life but totally fantastic too. Universal has a different theme each year and this year was 'ripped from the movies' so each house was based on a horror film. There were eight houses and a number of scare zones. The scare zones were what you had to walk through to get to somewhere else with monsters and zombies chasing you! These were themed too and the best one was the cannibals one- they actually had a broken down school bus, loads of fog and helicopter lights overhead. There were actors walking around bloodied and asking for help and of course weird cannible monsters! It was so well done and just so realistic! The houses were so scary, 'Wolfman' made me jump the most which is based on the new film coming out. 'Saw' was really well done, it had replicas of exact scenes from the first three films. The end scene was the worst, we walked into a room with a strobe light and standing against the wall were about 6 people dressed in the pig mask who all ran towards us! I tell you what I've never run so fast and that's the only time I saw Luke really freak out all night- he ran for his life as well!
The next two days I had work but I managed to get an ER both days. Beth came round for dinner on the thursday evening and stayed as we both had work the next day which was nice. Unfortunately mum wasn't feeling well at all and we were actually concerned she had swine flu symptoms. On the friday she felt better so I got the fam into Epcot before I went to work and I bought them a $25 gift card to spend at the food and wine festival. I met them after work and we went back to the villa to pack my case and we drove to The Commons so I could drop it off. We went for a last supper at Golden Corral which I found hard to enjoy because I knew I had to say goodbye at the end. Saying goodbye to my family this time was possibly the hardest thing I've had to do, I could see mum and dad were trying to hold back the tears and so was I but as soon as I walked away I burst into tears! I cried all night and found it tough to keep it together the next day at work, it was horrific lol.
Fortunately as it was Halloween that night two of the guys had a Halloween party at their apartment. I dressed up as a black cat and went along and it really cheered me up. We did silly stuff like apple bobbing and 'pin the broom on the witch!' It was really fun and just what I needed. I'm absoloutly fine now, it's funny how quickly you get back into the Disney bubble! Mum, Dad and Luke are coming in six weeks for xmas so it's not that long anyway!
Not much has happened since the fam left. We had a free lunch at work yesterday for getting through a whole year without any accidents! Beth and I went to the mall on monday because we desperately needed our hair cut, i haven't had it cut since I first got here and had to dye it! lol. I also bought some xmas pressies. Now Halloween is over xmas starts at Disney!
We were so lucky with the weather while my family was here, it was ridiculously hot and humid, I'm talking about the 90s in late October! Even that is unusual for Florida, it's usually cooled down by now. Since the fam has left it has started to cool down and it looks like the hot weather has well and truely gone now. just as well I asked my mum to bring my Uggs over! ;-)
We had an interesting day today, the managers arranged a trip to the Haunted Mansion at Magic Kingdom for a backstage tour. We had to be on the bus at 6.00 this morning as we had to finish the tour before the park opened at 9.00am. It was really fun, we actually walked through the whole ride and at one point were inside the ride! They explained all the tricks and technical stuff and showed us all the hidden mickeys and secrets too! I had work from 10.15 until 6.45 so that wasn't fun! I've spent the evening cleaning the apartment as we have an inspection tomorrow so now i'm shattered!
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. As it's Bonfire Night we celebrate it in the UK Pavilion all day. I'm not sure what to expect but we're going to have decorations, a pretend bonfire, guys etc. and we will all be given a special UK Mickey pin to wear. It's going to be so much fun. Oh, and we also get another free lunch! Ha!
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
My first visitors from home
Idiot of the week:
In the morning before the stores open we stand in the street and say 'Good Morning' to the guests while waving flags from the UK. People usually approach us and ask us questions etc. I witnessed this with fellow cast member Beth...
Beth: (Waving a Scottish flag) Welcome to the UK!
Man: Why are you waving the Swiss flag? Did you run out of your own?
Beth: Er, no this is the Scottish flag.
Man: Oh I thought it was Switzerland.
So I finally had friends to visit from home which came just in time because I was very homesick! Keeley and Sam and their friends Hannah and Tony were staying in Tampa Bay which is very far from where I am, about a 2/3 hour drive. I managed to get 4 days off in a row to spend with them (after working 9 days straight!) so Sam picked me up on the Thursday evening and I stayed with them for four days.
On the first day we rented a boat from Port Hudson Marina and sailed out to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean. It was just amazing, it was like our own little beach, like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. There was barely anyone else there and we had some lunch, went for a walk, collected some shells and sunbathed a little. It wasn't so humid there either with the breeze coming off the ocean. We sailed back around half 2 as the boat had to be back at 3 and on the way home we picked up some food so we could have a BBQ in the evening.
On the second day we went to International Mall near Tampa Airport. I did abit of shopping and even managed to get a couple of xmas pressies! We also had massive ice creams :-) We were naughty in the evening and popped out for a maccy ds!
On the third day we had a chill day by the pool. The boys and I wnet out in the morning to get some bits like food etc. and they were very excited when I introduced them to Walmart! In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant which was lush.
On the last day we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure which was sooooo much fun! We had to leave at 7 in the morning and we made it there for around half 9. I made them do the new rollarcoaster first and we were lucky that most of the rides had very short queues. We managed to get through pretty much everything and left when the park closed at 6, it was knackering! Sam dropped me home and it was really horrible saying goodbye to Keeley for a second time. I have to admit I felt very down last night when I got back to my empty apartment. I had such a fun filled and packed 4 days and felt like I was on holiday so it was abit of a downer getting back. I have a stack of Britsh chocolate and magazines to keep me going though thanks to Hannah and Keeley!
I can't be too down though as it is only just over a week until my family arrive. I am so excited about seeing my mum, I feel like I really really need a cuddle! Also she'll be bringing me more goodies so I'll feel very at home! :-) I'm also really chuffed for Jordan getting her Cruise ship job- Well done Flash :D
Not much else exciting has been happening here as up until I saw Keeley I was just working. I had a couple of nights out at Chillers and HOB and wore my new heels- whoop! I also did a walk for charity with other Disney Volunteers. It was at a park in Orlando and we had to be there at 7am but it was really good fun and I'm glad I took part! We even got Disney VoluntEAR t.shirts and flags!
One of the Japenese girls I live with came to the end of her program so she left a week or so ago which means we had a spare bed. One of the UK girls I work with called Sarah hated where she was living as she was living with 7 other girls which is a nightmare so I told her to request to move into my apartment. On the day I met Keeley, Sarah texted me to say that the move had been approved so she moved in while I was in Tampa. I'm really chuffed, it's so nice to be living with a fellow Brit and she cooks! Yippee! lol.
Beth has had her parents here for two weeks and they leave tomorrow. I went out for a buffet dinner with them tonight to Golden Corral which was really nice of them. I'm getting ready with the pizza and Cadburys for tomorrow night because I know Beth is going to feel the same down as me but probably worse! Back to reality! I can't believe I'm saying that about Florida lol.
In the morning before the stores open we stand in the street and say 'Good Morning' to the guests while waving flags from the UK. People usually approach us and ask us questions etc. I witnessed this with fellow cast member Beth...
Beth: (Waving a Scottish flag) Welcome to the UK!
Man: Why are you waving the Swiss flag? Did you run out of your own?
Beth: Er, no this is the Scottish flag.
Man: Oh I thought it was Switzerland.
So I finally had friends to visit from home which came just in time because I was very homesick! Keeley and Sam and their friends Hannah and Tony were staying in Tampa Bay which is very far from where I am, about a 2/3 hour drive. I managed to get 4 days off in a row to spend with them (after working 9 days straight!) so Sam picked me up on the Thursday evening and I stayed with them for four days.
On the first day we rented a boat from Port Hudson Marina and sailed out to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean. It was just amazing, it was like our own little beach, like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean. There was barely anyone else there and we had some lunch, went for a walk, collected some shells and sunbathed a little. It wasn't so humid there either with the breeze coming off the ocean. We sailed back around half 2 as the boat had to be back at 3 and on the way home we picked up some food so we could have a BBQ in the evening.
On the second day we went to International Mall near Tampa Airport. I did abit of shopping and even managed to get a couple of xmas pressies! We also had massive ice creams :-) We were naughty in the evening and popped out for a maccy ds!
On the third day we had a chill day by the pool. The boys and I wnet out in the morning to get some bits like food etc. and they were very excited when I introduced them to Walmart! In the evening we went to an Italian restaurant which was lush.
On the last day we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure which was sooooo much fun! We had to leave at 7 in the morning and we made it there for around half 9. I made them do the new rollarcoaster first and we were lucky that most of the rides had very short queues. We managed to get through pretty much everything and left when the park closed at 6, it was knackering! Sam dropped me home and it was really horrible saying goodbye to Keeley for a second time. I have to admit I felt very down last night when I got back to my empty apartment. I had such a fun filled and packed 4 days and felt like I was on holiday so it was abit of a downer getting back. I have a stack of Britsh chocolate and magazines to keep me going though thanks to Hannah and Keeley!
I can't be too down though as it is only just over a week until my family arrive. I am so excited about seeing my mum, I feel like I really really need a cuddle! Also she'll be bringing me more goodies so I'll feel very at home! :-) I'm also really chuffed for Jordan getting her Cruise ship job- Well done Flash :D
Not much else exciting has been happening here as up until I saw Keeley I was just working. I had a couple of nights out at Chillers and HOB and wore my new heels- whoop! I also did a walk for charity with other Disney Volunteers. It was at a park in Orlando and we had to be there at 7am but it was really good fun and I'm glad I took part! We even got Disney VoluntEAR t.shirts and flags!
One of the Japenese girls I live with came to the end of her program so she left a week or so ago which means we had a spare bed. One of the UK girls I work with called Sarah hated where she was living as she was living with 7 other girls which is a nightmare so I told her to request to move into my apartment. On the day I met Keeley, Sarah texted me to say that the move had been approved so she moved in while I was in Tampa. I'm really chuffed, it's so nice to be living with a fellow Brit and she cooks! Yippee! lol.
Beth has had her parents here for two weeks and they leave tomorrow. I went out for a buffet dinner with them tonight to Golden Corral which was really nice of them. I'm getting ready with the pizza and Cadburys for tomorrow night because I know Beth is going to feel the same down as me but probably worse! Back to reality! I can't believe I'm saying that about Florida lol.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Quarter of the way through and feeling homesick!
Idiot of the week:
American man: German?
Me: Sorry?
His wife: He wants to know if you are German.
Me: No, I'm English, you're in the United Kingdom.
Man: (Pointing to the shop which is next to and connected to mine, and full of people in the same costume) But that was Germany.
Me: No this is all the United Kingdom, Germany is after Italy.
Yes, that's right I have reached the three month mark! I can't believe it's got this far already! The girls and I celebrated by having dinner at a restaurant called Bahama Breeze which was delicious, then going to a bar called Ale House.
I've been feeling very homesick the past week or so. I'm not sure why, maybe because on the same day, Becky and Kenny got married and I got some bad news from home. I felt abit tearful at work that day. I also woke up the other day and thought I was at home in bed then realised I wasn't! It was very surreal! My family are due out in a month, I really can't wait to see them, I really need a hug from my mum :-(
Although I've said that I'm still really enjoying myself. I went to see Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios for the first time and just when I thought Disney couldn't amaze me anymore they go and do it again! I got all tingley and emotional like I usually do especially when Belle and the Beast came out lol.
The other week the girls and I went to Mickey's not so scary Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom (I know it's not even October but these things start early!) It was incredible! We all dressed up, I went as Princess Jasmine of course! We went round the park trick or treating and came back with so much candy it was ridiculous! We also went on some rides as it was so quiet and watched the parade and Hallo-wishes (the fireworks). It was all fantastic, I can't wait for the Christmas party!
The night after Beth and I went to see Cirque Du Soleil. We had dinner before hand at Planet Hollywood then went to the show in Downtown Disney. We had front row seats which was pretty scary as the acrobats are so close but I was really impressed with the show. All the acts are so talented, if you ever get a chance to see it you definitely should, I'm so glad I had the chance.
Unfortunately The request Kirstie and I put in to move in with Beth was declined which I was pretty gutted about. My roommate left last week and I've had a new one move in the other day. She seems very nice, she is from France and is called Clementine. Kirstie and I have put in a request to move into a one bed apartment together. It's not that I don't like the girls I live with but it would be so much more convenient to live with my friend and I would feel as if I could invite people over etc. We may have to wait a couple of months though so I'm staying put here for now.
On my day of this week the girls and I got up early and went to Golden Corral for a buffet breakfast! It was delicious but I have never eaten such ridiculous stuff for breakfast! Fry up, followed by pancakes and maple syrup then fruit salad then chocolate cake and cookies! And I wonder why i'm getting fat! We then took a trip to Property Control which is a store for cast members to buy goods which are damaged slightly or lost property which has never been claimed- we get 75% off! It's amazing, you may be getting pressies from there lol.
On my second day off Beth and I went to Animal Kingdom again. We did the usual rides- Everest, Safari and Dinosaur (which broke down in the dark and having a fear of dinosaurs I nearly cried!) But we also took our time wandering around the shops where I bought some presents and going to look at the animals. The tigers and the gorillas were definitely my favourites, I'll post up some photos on facebook to show you how close I was to a tiger!
The Food and Wine Festival is starting at Epcot tomorrow which I cannot wait for, it means we will get alot busier at work which is great because it has been very boring lately! I can't wait to try out the foods from around the world either! hehe.
I'm off to a throw in tonight as we had some newbies arrive yesterday, I'm looking forward to meeting them!
Congrats to Becky and Kenny getting married- the photos look amazing. I'm just sad I wasn't there to witness it. :-(
American man: German?
Me: Sorry?
His wife: He wants to know if you are German.
Me: No, I'm English, you're in the United Kingdom.
Man: (Pointing to the shop which is next to and connected to mine, and full of people in the same costume) But that was Germany.
Me: No this is all the United Kingdom, Germany is after Italy.
Yes, that's right I have reached the three month mark! I can't believe it's got this far already! The girls and I celebrated by having dinner at a restaurant called Bahama Breeze which was delicious, then going to a bar called Ale House.
I've been feeling very homesick the past week or so. I'm not sure why, maybe because on the same day, Becky and Kenny got married and I got some bad news from home. I felt abit tearful at work that day. I also woke up the other day and thought I was at home in bed then realised I wasn't! It was very surreal! My family are due out in a month, I really can't wait to see them, I really need a hug from my mum :-(
Although I've said that I'm still really enjoying myself. I went to see Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios for the first time and just when I thought Disney couldn't amaze me anymore they go and do it again! I got all tingley and emotional like I usually do especially when Belle and the Beast came out lol.
The other week the girls and I went to Mickey's not so scary Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom (I know it's not even October but these things start early!) It was incredible! We all dressed up, I went as Princess Jasmine of course! We went round the park trick or treating and came back with so much candy it was ridiculous! We also went on some rides as it was so quiet and watched the parade and Hallo-wishes (the fireworks). It was all fantastic, I can't wait for the Christmas party!
The night after Beth and I went to see Cirque Du Soleil. We had dinner before hand at Planet Hollywood then went to the show in Downtown Disney. We had front row seats which was pretty scary as the acrobats are so close but I was really impressed with the show. All the acts are so talented, if you ever get a chance to see it you definitely should, I'm so glad I had the chance.
Unfortunately The request Kirstie and I put in to move in with Beth was declined which I was pretty gutted about. My roommate left last week and I've had a new one move in the other day. She seems very nice, she is from France and is called Clementine. Kirstie and I have put in a request to move into a one bed apartment together. It's not that I don't like the girls I live with but it would be so much more convenient to live with my friend and I would feel as if I could invite people over etc. We may have to wait a couple of months though so I'm staying put here for now.
On my day of this week the girls and I got up early and went to Golden Corral for a buffet breakfast! It was delicious but I have never eaten such ridiculous stuff for breakfast! Fry up, followed by pancakes and maple syrup then fruit salad then chocolate cake and cookies! And I wonder why i'm getting fat! We then took a trip to Property Control which is a store for cast members to buy goods which are damaged slightly or lost property which has never been claimed- we get 75% off! It's amazing, you may be getting pressies from there lol.
On my second day off Beth and I went to Animal Kingdom again. We did the usual rides- Everest, Safari and Dinosaur (which broke down in the dark and having a fear of dinosaurs I nearly cried!) But we also took our time wandering around the shops where I bought some presents and going to look at the animals. The tigers and the gorillas were definitely my favourites, I'll post up some photos on facebook to show you how close I was to a tiger!
The Food and Wine Festival is starting at Epcot tomorrow which I cannot wait for, it means we will get alot busier at work which is great because it has been very boring lately! I can't wait to try out the foods from around the world either! hehe.
I'm off to a throw in tonight as we had some newbies arrive yesterday, I'm looking forward to meeting them!
Congrats to Becky and Kenny getting married- the photos look amazing. I'm just sad I wasn't there to witness it. :-(
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Third Time Lucky!
Idiot of the week from fellow cast member Kirsty:
American man: I'm Pennsylvania Dutch, that means I'm English right?
Kirsty: Er no, that means you're Dutch!
After going to Universal twice and the new rollarcoaster being closed and then having 'techinal problems' we finally got to ride it on our third attempt! It was a great day! Lol. It's called 'Hollywood Rip Ride Rock it' and basically you choose your own soundtrack to listen too as you ride it. We queued for an hour and a half but it was very worth it! I chose 'Pump it' by Black Eyed Peas but it could have been anything as I was screaming so much I couldn't hear it lol. Afterwards you can watch a video of you on the rollarcoaster which is so not attractive lol. If you come over you definitely have to ride it!
Lasses has become abit much each week. The head lasses feel that everyone should dress up but it's alot of money and effort each week so I may give it a miss for a few weeks. There are rumours that the two heads will step down soon so if there are new heads elected and they change things I will definitely go again. The last Lasses I went to was very eventful though but that's because alot of the new boys had their initiation. Lads is different to Lasses in the fact that they have had to have been here for about 6 weeks before they can be initiated. You know what boys are like, they have to take it that step further! When the boys have their initiation they are split into two teams and have to do a number of things. This includes swimming some lengths in the pool then rolling in the sand and having eggs and flour poured over them. Also eating dog food, eating raw onions and crickets- yes crickets! And obviously drinking vast amounts of alcohol. Not only this, to pass the initiation the boys have to make it to the bar afterwards and to work the next day no matter how hungover they are. well two of the boys turned up to Bennigans basically being held up by the others and one of them couldn't even look at anyone, he was laying on the sidewalk unconcious. The girls were so concerned they ended up taking him to hospital where he was kept on a drip overnight. It was a nightmare. I think the boys realised it had all gone abit far when one of the managers contacted Price Management and told them all about it. Lots of people- boys and girls were called in for individual meetings and had to write statements. Fortunately they were just given warnings as it could have ended up with someone being termed- some of the boys were underage and initiations are against the rules!
I went to Typhoon Lagoon last week which is one of Disney's water parks. We get in for free as it's not peak season now. I'm not a huge fan of water parks, it makes me cringe walking around in bare feet! We spent alot of time on the lazy river but I went on a few big rides and managed to bruise my bum which is always fun!
Beth and I also went to Magic Kingdom one night to watch Spectromagic and Wishes which is the parade and fireworks display. Beth had never seen it before so it was a first for her. It's the third time id seen it and it makes me cry every time, which made her laugh but at the end she had tears in her eyes too! It's my favourite firework display here although I haven't seen Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios yet!
We had our first girls night at Mary and Kirsty's apartment which was so much fun! We had pizza and jelly and Ice-cream or jello as they say out here! Very British! It was nice for all the merchie girls to get together and have a gossip and a bitch!
I went to House of Blues for the first time in a few weeks on sunday which was fun, they had a different DJ and he was playing alot of Rap and R&B which was cool. There were a few newbie boys there and I'm so disappointed. Three of them are good looking guys but they're sleeping around already and they've been here three days! The UK guys are all the same, it's disgusting! Fortunately most of them work in food and bev, the merchie boys are much more mature!
Beth and I went to Florida Mall for the first time on our day off on Monday and it was so much fun! We spent so much money. I actually went out to but some black heels but I didn't end up finding any but we did find this shop called 'Forever 21' which sells the most amazing clothes for so cheap! I could have bought so many dresses from there but I restricted myself to one! I also bought a top from Abercrombie and i'll definitely be going back to get a hoody from Hollister! They have an M&M store there too which is the most crazy thing you have ever seen! We gave Lasses a miss that night and went to Ponderosa for dinner which was delicious!
Tuesday was our day off as well but we had to be at work for 8.30 for a meeting which was ok. The managers also held a Cast Celebration cook out for us at midday which was wicked. There was so much food and traditional desserts from the UK, France and Canada. They also had a raffle and I won!! It wasn't anything lame either, it was two tickets to Cirque Du Soleil next week so i'll let you know what it's like. I am really chuffed, I never win anything!
After the cook out Beth and I thought we would be good and go to the gym. While we were in there Price Management turned the water off to fix a pipe, which wouldn't have been a problem but we found out it wouldn't be turned back on until about 11pm! We were due to go to Hooters for dinner for one of the girls birthdays so basically we both cried because we couldn't shower or wash our hair! We did go out but I felt disgusting all night! After Hooters we went to a bar called Ale House which was cool, it was free drinks for girls all night!
I have to tell you my least favourite thing about Florida- the bugs! I'm not that squeamish but the bugs out here are huge and scary! Cockroaches are the worst, the noise they make when they run across the floor makes me cringe and they are just huge!! They get everywhere as well and you just can't understand how! When I first got here I woke up to find one on my bedroom floor but fortunately my roommate got it out! The other day I got in from work at like 1 in the morning so I was exhausted, I was sitting on the toilet and was sure I caught something out of the corner of my eye but ignored it. The next minute I've pulled the toilet roll and this HUGE cockroach flew through the air and fortunately landed in the bin! You have never seem me move so fast ever! I check in and under everything now!
Work is very boring and very quiet at the moment. Both UK and US schools have gone back so the parks are very quiet. I even got an ER today which stands for early release. I was meant to work until 4.30 but I went home at 1 which was nice. It meant I got a chance to go to Walmart to get some food lol. The Food and Wine Festival starts in Epcot on 25th September so the park should pick up again then.
Lastly I have to say 'congratulations' to my cousin Julie and Will. Baby Freya came into the world on 1st September and I can't wait to see the photos! Things like this make me miss home very much!
American man: I'm Pennsylvania Dutch, that means I'm English right?
Kirsty: Er no, that means you're Dutch!
After going to Universal twice and the new rollarcoaster being closed and then having 'techinal problems' we finally got to ride it on our third attempt! It was a great day! Lol. It's called 'Hollywood Rip Ride Rock it' and basically you choose your own soundtrack to listen too as you ride it. We queued for an hour and a half but it was very worth it! I chose 'Pump it' by Black Eyed Peas but it could have been anything as I was screaming so much I couldn't hear it lol. Afterwards you can watch a video of you on the rollarcoaster which is so not attractive lol. If you come over you definitely have to ride it!
Lasses has become abit much each week. The head lasses feel that everyone should dress up but it's alot of money and effort each week so I may give it a miss for a few weeks. There are rumours that the two heads will step down soon so if there are new heads elected and they change things I will definitely go again. The last Lasses I went to was very eventful though but that's because alot of the new boys had their initiation. Lads is different to Lasses in the fact that they have had to have been here for about 6 weeks before they can be initiated. You know what boys are like, they have to take it that step further! When the boys have their initiation they are split into two teams and have to do a number of things. This includes swimming some lengths in the pool then rolling in the sand and having eggs and flour poured over them. Also eating dog food, eating raw onions and crickets- yes crickets! And obviously drinking vast amounts of alcohol. Not only this, to pass the initiation the boys have to make it to the bar afterwards and to work the next day no matter how hungover they are. well two of the boys turned up to Bennigans basically being held up by the others and one of them couldn't even look at anyone, he was laying on the sidewalk unconcious. The girls were so concerned they ended up taking him to hospital where he was kept on a drip overnight. It was a nightmare. I think the boys realised it had all gone abit far when one of the managers contacted Price Management and told them all about it. Lots of people- boys and girls were called in for individual meetings and had to write statements. Fortunately they were just given warnings as it could have ended up with someone being termed- some of the boys were underage and initiations are against the rules!
I went to Typhoon Lagoon last week which is one of Disney's water parks. We get in for free as it's not peak season now. I'm not a huge fan of water parks, it makes me cringe walking around in bare feet! We spent alot of time on the lazy river but I went on a few big rides and managed to bruise my bum which is always fun!
Beth and I also went to Magic Kingdom one night to watch Spectromagic and Wishes which is the parade and fireworks display. Beth had never seen it before so it was a first for her. It's the third time id seen it and it makes me cry every time, which made her laugh but at the end she had tears in her eyes too! It's my favourite firework display here although I haven't seen Fantasmic at Hollywood Studios yet!
We had our first girls night at Mary and Kirsty's apartment which was so much fun! We had pizza and jelly and Ice-cream or jello as they say out here! Very British! It was nice for all the merchie girls to get together and have a gossip and a bitch!
I went to House of Blues for the first time in a few weeks on sunday which was fun, they had a different DJ and he was playing alot of Rap and R&B which was cool. There were a few newbie boys there and I'm so disappointed. Three of them are good looking guys but they're sleeping around already and they've been here three days! The UK guys are all the same, it's disgusting! Fortunately most of them work in food and bev, the merchie boys are much more mature!
Beth and I went to Florida Mall for the first time on our day off on Monday and it was so much fun! We spent so much money. I actually went out to but some black heels but I didn't end up finding any but we did find this shop called 'Forever 21' which sells the most amazing clothes for so cheap! I could have bought so many dresses from there but I restricted myself to one! I also bought a top from Abercrombie and i'll definitely be going back to get a hoody from Hollister! They have an M&M store there too which is the most crazy thing you have ever seen! We gave Lasses a miss that night and went to Ponderosa for dinner which was delicious!
Tuesday was our day off as well but we had to be at work for 8.30 for a meeting which was ok. The managers also held a Cast Celebration cook out for us at midday which was wicked. There was so much food and traditional desserts from the UK, France and Canada. They also had a raffle and I won!! It wasn't anything lame either, it was two tickets to Cirque Du Soleil next week so i'll let you know what it's like. I am really chuffed, I never win anything!
After the cook out Beth and I thought we would be good and go to the gym. While we were in there Price Management turned the water off to fix a pipe, which wouldn't have been a problem but we found out it wouldn't be turned back on until about 11pm! We were due to go to Hooters for dinner for one of the girls birthdays so basically we both cried because we couldn't shower or wash our hair! We did go out but I felt disgusting all night! After Hooters we went to a bar called Ale House which was cool, it was free drinks for girls all night!
I have to tell you my least favourite thing about Florida- the bugs! I'm not that squeamish but the bugs out here are huge and scary! Cockroaches are the worst, the noise they make when they run across the floor makes me cringe and they are just huge!! They get everywhere as well and you just can't understand how! When I first got here I woke up to find one on my bedroom floor but fortunately my roommate got it out! The other day I got in from work at like 1 in the morning so I was exhausted, I was sitting on the toilet and was sure I caught something out of the corner of my eye but ignored it. The next minute I've pulled the toilet roll and this HUGE cockroach flew through the air and fortunately landed in the bin! You have never seem me move so fast ever! I check in and under everything now!
Work is very boring and very quiet at the moment. Both UK and US schools have gone back so the parks are very quiet. I even got an ER today which stands for early release. I was meant to work until 4.30 but I went home at 1 which was nice. It meant I got a chance to go to Walmart to get some food lol. The Food and Wine Festival starts in Epcot on 25th September so the park should pick up again then.
Lastly I have to say 'congratulations' to my cousin Julie and Will. Baby Freya came into the world on 1st September and I can't wait to see the photos! Things like this make me miss home very much!
Wednesday, 26 August 2009
Sad times
Before I get started Becky has given me a brilliant idea (thanks Beck) to include a stupid conversation from a guest at the start of every blog so idiot of the week (I know I don't write every week but it fits!) is below. This one has actually come from my friend Beth.
We have a UK quiz in one of our stores and the first question is 'Name the four countries that make up the UK'. Beth had this answer from an American: "Erm, England, Canada...?"
As I mentioned on my blog before we have had quite a few people leaving and it's been very sad. The other week Katie, Kate and Scott left, their last night at Bennies was a sad one and there were lots of tears shed. When someone leaves they have a leaving song, we stand in a circle with them in the middle and sing Greenday's 'Time of your life'. I can never think of that song in the same way again now! I'm really missing Scott, he would have been a really great potential friend here so it's abit strange without him especially in Merch.
Another Merchie is leaving this week too. Tino is a huge character here and is very popular with everyone. We went to Cowboys in Downtown Orlando the other night as it's his favourite place. I really didn't know what to expect as it's a line dancing bar with lots of rednecks! It is abit of a dive but it was really good fun! I even managed to do the 'Cha Cha Slide' and who knew cowboys could be that fit?! lol. It's Tino's last meal at TGI's tonight but i'm ill so i'm not going to be able to make it :-( It will be his last night at Bennies tomorrow though so I will go to that and be there for his last song. As before there will be lots of tears. This is the first time people leaving has really affected me, it's weird as i've only been here two months but you become very close to people especially in Merch as we're such a small group.
What else has been happening apart from the sad times? Disney put on a celebration for cast members in Epcot at the World Showplace which is behind the UK Pavillion. It was really great, they had free food for us which was delicious, there was a DJ and you could have your photo taken with Mickey, Goofy etc. (I forgot my camera!) They also had old merchandise on sale with 70% off! I got a hoody, a top and some orginal artwork posters- was really chuffed! They're the perks of working for Disney!
Beth and I went to Hollywood Studios last week. It rained most of the day but it was still fun! They have the new American Idol experience there which is fantastic and also the new Toy Story ride. We also went on Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rockin Rollarcoaster and watched the High School Musical Parade and Beauty and the Beast.
We couldn't watch the Indiana Jones show because it was closed and we later found out why. One of the new cast members was rehersing and fell and has died. Not only that another cast member was doing the Pirates of the Carribean show at Magic Kingdom and fell and hit his head, he was taken to hospital but later died as well. It's really terrible. The news out here has been critising the Disney Company for over working it's cast members as along with the Monorail accident this is the third death in two months which is unfortunate but really doesn't look good.
Another new place I have been is Jellyrolls at The Boardwalk. One of the new girls, Becky turned 21 so we went there to celebrate. It's a piano bar and it's amazing. Basically two guys are on the stage playing the piano and other instruments and singing. If you want them to sing a song you write it on a napkin with a $5 bill rolled up in it and pass it to them. The crazy thing is they can literally sing and play anything from Beyonce to Meatloaf to Ice T! They had Becky up on stage and sang Happy Birthday and also some Mary Poppins songs as that's her favourite Disney film. It was a wicked night.
Lasses was interesting on Monday night, the theme was cops and robbers and it was also take over. Basically that meant the head lads took over lasses and the head lasses took over the lads. They had a hard time controlling the girls but there was alot of throwing up as they made them drink so much! We went to Bennies after which was rather eventful. There were a couple of fights and arguments and one of the boys had to go to hospital for stitches. Just like a night in Croydon lol.
Beth and I have been to the cinema a couple of times in the past couple of weeks. It's great as we get Disney discount at Downtown Disney. We went to see 'The Time Travellers Wife' which had us both crying our eyes out at the end and yesterday we went to see 'District 9'. I haven't heard much about this film over here but Luke told me it has smashed all the box office records and there is a lot of hype around it. I didn't know what to expect and i'm still unsure about it but one thing I will say is definitely go and see it to judge for yourself! It's kind of documentary style like 'Cloverfield' although not as much camera bouncing! When it started I thought it was ridiculous and thought I was going to hate it but by the end Id changed my mind! A totally original concept and definitely worth a watch!
Lastly Rachel, Beth, Kirstie and I went to TGI's on the 23rd to celebrate two months here! Can you believe it's been two months already?! It's going crazy fast! I get homesick every so often but not to the point where I want to come home! I'm really looking forward to October as Keeley will be here at the beginning of the month and then my parents and Luke at the end of the month, I just hope I don't get too much of a downer once they both leave.
I have to go to bed now as I am working from 8.30am until 9.30pm tomorrow! We have a meeting with France and Canada from 8.30 until 10.30 (with role plays-ugh!) and then I have a two hour break and then I am working from 12.30 until close. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow, it's going to suck especially as then we have to say goodbye to Tino in the evening! This is the not so fun stuff at Disney!
We have a UK quiz in one of our stores and the first question is 'Name the four countries that make up the UK'. Beth had this answer from an American: "Erm, England, Canada...?"
As I mentioned on my blog before we have had quite a few people leaving and it's been very sad. The other week Katie, Kate and Scott left, their last night at Bennies was a sad one and there were lots of tears shed. When someone leaves they have a leaving song, we stand in a circle with them in the middle and sing Greenday's 'Time of your life'. I can never think of that song in the same way again now! I'm really missing Scott, he would have been a really great potential friend here so it's abit strange without him especially in Merch.
Another Merchie is leaving this week too. Tino is a huge character here and is very popular with everyone. We went to Cowboys in Downtown Orlando the other night as it's his favourite place. I really didn't know what to expect as it's a line dancing bar with lots of rednecks! It is abit of a dive but it was really good fun! I even managed to do the 'Cha Cha Slide' and who knew cowboys could be that fit?! lol. It's Tino's last meal at TGI's tonight but i'm ill so i'm not going to be able to make it :-( It will be his last night at Bennies tomorrow though so I will go to that and be there for his last song. As before there will be lots of tears. This is the first time people leaving has really affected me, it's weird as i've only been here two months but you become very close to people especially in Merch as we're such a small group.
What else has been happening apart from the sad times? Disney put on a celebration for cast members in Epcot at the World Showplace which is behind the UK Pavillion. It was really great, they had free food for us which was delicious, there was a DJ and you could have your photo taken with Mickey, Goofy etc. (I forgot my camera!) They also had old merchandise on sale with 70% off! I got a hoody, a top and some orginal artwork posters- was really chuffed! They're the perks of working for Disney!
Beth and I went to Hollywood Studios last week. It rained most of the day but it was still fun! They have the new American Idol experience there which is fantastic and also the new Toy Story ride. We also went on Tower of Terror and Aerosmith's Rockin Rollarcoaster and watched the High School Musical Parade and Beauty and the Beast.
We couldn't watch the Indiana Jones show because it was closed and we later found out why. One of the new cast members was rehersing and fell and has died. Not only that another cast member was doing the Pirates of the Carribean show at Magic Kingdom and fell and hit his head, he was taken to hospital but later died as well. It's really terrible. The news out here has been critising the Disney Company for over working it's cast members as along with the Monorail accident this is the third death in two months which is unfortunate but really doesn't look good.
Another new place I have been is Jellyrolls at The Boardwalk. One of the new girls, Becky turned 21 so we went there to celebrate. It's a piano bar and it's amazing. Basically two guys are on the stage playing the piano and other instruments and singing. If you want them to sing a song you write it on a napkin with a $5 bill rolled up in it and pass it to them. The crazy thing is they can literally sing and play anything from Beyonce to Meatloaf to Ice T! They had Becky up on stage and sang Happy Birthday and also some Mary Poppins songs as that's her favourite Disney film. It was a wicked night.
Lasses was interesting on Monday night, the theme was cops and robbers and it was also take over. Basically that meant the head lads took over lasses and the head lasses took over the lads. They had a hard time controlling the girls but there was alot of throwing up as they made them drink so much! We went to Bennies after which was rather eventful. There were a couple of fights and arguments and one of the boys had to go to hospital for stitches. Just like a night in Croydon lol.
Beth and I have been to the cinema a couple of times in the past couple of weeks. It's great as we get Disney discount at Downtown Disney. We went to see 'The Time Travellers Wife' which had us both crying our eyes out at the end and yesterday we went to see 'District 9'. I haven't heard much about this film over here but Luke told me it has smashed all the box office records and there is a lot of hype around it. I didn't know what to expect and i'm still unsure about it but one thing I will say is definitely go and see it to judge for yourself! It's kind of documentary style like 'Cloverfield' although not as much camera bouncing! When it started I thought it was ridiculous and thought I was going to hate it but by the end Id changed my mind! A totally original concept and definitely worth a watch!
Lastly Rachel, Beth, Kirstie and I went to TGI's on the 23rd to celebrate two months here! Can you believe it's been two months already?! It's going crazy fast! I get homesick every so often but not to the point where I want to come home! I'm really looking forward to October as Keeley will be here at the beginning of the month and then my parents and Luke at the end of the month, I just hope I don't get too much of a downer once they both leave.
I have to go to bed now as I am working from 8.30am until 9.30pm tomorrow! We have a meeting with France and Canada from 8.30 until 10.30 (with role plays-ugh!) and then I have a two hour break and then I am working from 12.30 until close. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow, it's going to suck especially as then we have to say goodbye to Tino in the evening! This is the not so fun stuff at Disney!
Monday, 10 August 2009
Unbelievable but true!
So i've been here for roughly seven weeks now and the stupid things that some Americans ask are utterly hilarious (if not embarasssing!) I feel I have to share some of them with you and trust me these are all true and not made up! Some of them really are that ignorant!!
We have this thing called Kidcot where the kids make a mask and go round the World Showcase in Epcot and have the mask stamped by each country. We can also write messages in their Disney passport. So this is what I was doing...
Kid: Please can you write my name in British.
Me: (Trying not to break into hysterical laughter) We write in English, the same as you.
Kid: (Whispering to his Mum in front of me) How do I say brown in their language?
While I was working in the Tea Shop with another cast member an American man asked "So where is the UK? Is it in Germany?"
This was while I was working in Queens Table...
Lady: (Talking to her friend in front of me) Why are they selling Irish rings in England?
Me: Because it's not England, it's the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is part of the UK.
Lady: (Looking a tad annoyed) yeah I knew that.
While on cart we sell the different flags for the UK.
Kid: (Talking to his Dad) What's this flag?
Dad: I think that's Norway.
Me: No that's Scotland.
Also on cart I had these bright sparks...
Lady: Is there Ireland?
Me: (Thinking she means Merchandise I direct her)
Lady: No I mean is there Ireland in the World Showcase?
Me: Yes you're in it, it's part of the UK. (How many times???!!!)
Me: (In the middle of closing cart I am in my full costume and holding the money in a safe bag)
Man: Excuse me, do you have a cigarette?
Me: (Looking in astonishment) No, I don't have a cigarette!
Man: Are you pin trading?
Me: Yes.
Man: What pins are you going to buy?
Me: (Laughing) None, I work here.
Man: Oh.
Me: Can't you tell by the costume??
Man: Sorry i'm from the UK. (apparently this is an excuse!)
Me: (Nearly crying by now!) Yeah so am I!!
In the Queens Table we have a photo of Princess Diana on the wall, I overheard this conversation between a Mother and Son (by the way when I say son he must have been at least 13!)
Son: (Pointing at photo) Who's that Mom?
Mom: That's Princess Diana.
Son: Who is she?
Mom: She was a British Princess who died in a car crash.
Son: Wow! I didn't know they had Queens and Kings in England! (Oh dear, what are they taught at school?!)
Anyway there's just a few and it's only been seven weeks so I dread to think what others I am going to get during the year!
Back to what i've been up too. I'm still really busy and working alot of hours. I felt quite run down at the beginning of last week, I think I had a bit of a cold and not enough sleep! Beth has the same days off as me which is great, we spend at least one of two at a theme park. We went to Animal Kingdom the other week which was awesome, watched the day parade which i've never seen before and went on the newish ride Everest- loved it!
We took another trip to Universal Studios the other week, we were hoping the new rollarcoaster was going to be open but they were still testing it. It should be open soon, I cannot wait to try it! You pick your own soundtrack to listen too as you go round! We did go on The Mummy, The Hulk and Duelling Dragons though so that gave us a buzz!
We spent the day at Epcot yesterday which was so much fun. It was nice not to spend a day queueing for rides and just wandering around the shops. Having said that we did Test Track and Soarin' and the new Nemo ride! We walked around the World Showcase twice looking at the countries. I was really pleased to have some crusty french bread in the French Pavillion because i've been missing that! Beth had a recommendation from a guest to try the cookies in Germany and they were lush! The Mexican, Japanese and Morrocan restaurants are definitely on my list to try- the food looks amazing!
We met up with Rachel, her sister and her friend who are visiting and they managed to get us a table in the Rose & Crown (the pub in the UK pavillion). We had a table right by the water, the food was delicious and we had a great spot to watch Illuminations and the fireworks. Not only that, we had free starters, they only charged us for two drinks, and one dessert and they took 50% off the bill so a three course meal came to about $16 each! I love being a Disney cast member!
I'm still going to House of Blues every sunday which is usually eventful and Lasses on a Monday. We have spent the last two lasses partying with the Canadians and the Italian lads which has been fun! Check out my photos on facebook for the different outfits we wear each week!
I also had my first night out in Downtown Orlando the other week which was wicked. We went to a bar/club called Chillers. It has three floors and the bar on the ground floor was serving cocktails all night for $1! The top floor is amazing as it's an open terrace and you are surrounded by high rise buildings! The way home was abit scary as someone pointed out to me that Orlando is the fourth most dangerous city in America and you could definitely tell! It's certainly nothing like Downtown Disney but it was a great night out all the same!
This week is going to be a very sad one for me and others because three Merchies are leaving- Kate, Katie and Scott. I'm most upset about Scott as we have become really good friends since I got here, he is definitely the first person I am upset about leaving. I'm not looking forward to goodbyes on friday! It's the leaving meal tonight so i'm off to get ready, i'll let you know how the week pans out!
We have this thing called Kidcot where the kids make a mask and go round the World Showcase in Epcot and have the mask stamped by each country. We can also write messages in their Disney passport. So this is what I was doing...
Kid: Please can you write my name in British.
Me: (Trying not to break into hysterical laughter) We write in English, the same as you.
Kid: (Whispering to his Mum in front of me) How do I say brown in their language?
While I was working in the Tea Shop with another cast member an American man asked "So where is the UK? Is it in Germany?"
This was while I was working in Queens Table...
Lady: (Talking to her friend in front of me) Why are they selling Irish rings in England?
Me: Because it's not England, it's the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is part of the UK.
Lady: (Looking a tad annoyed) yeah I knew that.
While on cart we sell the different flags for the UK.
Kid: (Talking to his Dad) What's this flag?
Dad: I think that's Norway.
Me: No that's Scotland.
Also on cart I had these bright sparks...
Lady: Is there Ireland?
Me: (Thinking she means Merchandise I direct her)
Lady: No I mean is there Ireland in the World Showcase?
Me: Yes you're in it, it's part of the UK. (How many times???!!!)
Me: (In the middle of closing cart I am in my full costume and holding the money in a safe bag)
Man: Excuse me, do you have a cigarette?
Me: (Looking in astonishment) No, I don't have a cigarette!
Man: Are you pin trading?
Me: Yes.
Man: What pins are you going to buy?
Me: (Laughing) None, I work here.
Man: Oh.
Me: Can't you tell by the costume??
Man: Sorry i'm from the UK. (apparently this is an excuse!)
Me: (Nearly crying by now!) Yeah so am I!!
In the Queens Table we have a photo of Princess Diana on the wall, I overheard this conversation between a Mother and Son (by the way when I say son he must have been at least 13!)
Son: (Pointing at photo) Who's that Mom?
Mom: That's Princess Diana.
Son: Who is she?
Mom: She was a British Princess who died in a car crash.
Son: Wow! I didn't know they had Queens and Kings in England! (Oh dear, what are they taught at school?!)
Anyway there's just a few and it's only been seven weeks so I dread to think what others I am going to get during the year!
Back to what i've been up too. I'm still really busy and working alot of hours. I felt quite run down at the beginning of last week, I think I had a bit of a cold and not enough sleep! Beth has the same days off as me which is great, we spend at least one of two at a theme park. We went to Animal Kingdom the other week which was awesome, watched the day parade which i've never seen before and went on the newish ride Everest- loved it!
We took another trip to Universal Studios the other week, we were hoping the new rollarcoaster was going to be open but they were still testing it. It should be open soon, I cannot wait to try it! You pick your own soundtrack to listen too as you go round! We did go on The Mummy, The Hulk and Duelling Dragons though so that gave us a buzz!
We spent the day at Epcot yesterday which was so much fun. It was nice not to spend a day queueing for rides and just wandering around the shops. Having said that we did Test Track and Soarin' and the new Nemo ride! We walked around the World Showcase twice looking at the countries. I was really pleased to have some crusty french bread in the French Pavillion because i've been missing that! Beth had a recommendation from a guest to try the cookies in Germany and they were lush! The Mexican, Japanese and Morrocan restaurants are definitely on my list to try- the food looks amazing!
We met up with Rachel, her sister and her friend who are visiting and they managed to get us a table in the Rose & Crown (the pub in the UK pavillion). We had a table right by the water, the food was delicious and we had a great spot to watch Illuminations and the fireworks. Not only that, we had free starters, they only charged us for two drinks, and one dessert and they took 50% off the bill so a three course meal came to about $16 each! I love being a Disney cast member!
I'm still going to House of Blues every sunday which is usually eventful and Lasses on a Monday. We have spent the last two lasses partying with the Canadians and the Italian lads which has been fun! Check out my photos on facebook for the different outfits we wear each week!
I also had my first night out in Downtown Orlando the other week which was wicked. We went to a bar/club called Chillers. It has three floors and the bar on the ground floor was serving cocktails all night for $1! The top floor is amazing as it's an open terrace and you are surrounded by high rise buildings! The way home was abit scary as someone pointed out to me that Orlando is the fourth most dangerous city in America and you could definitely tell! It's certainly nothing like Downtown Disney but it was a great night out all the same!
This week is going to be a very sad one for me and others because three Merchies are leaving- Kate, Katie and Scott. I'm most upset about Scott as we have become really good friends since I got here, he is definitely the first person I am upset about leaving. I'm not looking forward to goodbyes on friday! It's the leaving meal tonight so i'm off to get ready, i'll let you know how the week pans out!
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
One month in...
I can't believe I have been here a month already- it's crazy! It's gone so fast!
Well I spent my day off at Magic Kingdom with Darren and Kirsty which was wicked! We watched the Celebration parade which I loved and we went on lots of rides, although I was disappointed Space Mountain was shut! Darren and I also had frozen bananas which are the greatest thing ever! lol.
That evening I went to Hard Rock Cafe at City Walk at Universal for dinner. One of the Irish girls in our arrival group was turning 21 so we went out to celebrate! The food was lush but I think I was allergic to something in the dessert because half of my lip went numb and actually dropped! I was so scared! Fortunately it was fine the next morning!
I also had my first hospital appointment on Monday. Jacki, my Uncles ex-wife who we are still in contact with and who lives in Florida picked me up to take me to the appointment. It was abit scary, I had to fill out all this paperwork which half of it I didn't understand lol. Dr Selsky who is the Doctor I am seeing while I am here is actually a Doctor of childrens leukaemia so the part of the hospital I was in was decked out in everything Disney and each room was a different theme (mine was Mulan!) It was very cool. Dr Selsky is a friend of Jacki's which is why he as agreed to see me, that was very lucky! He was very very nice and made me feel very comfortable, I had some blood taken and everything was great so I was pleased.
Jacki took me for lunch after at a Greek restaurant which was lovely. It was nice to catch up because it's been years!
I have two days off next week which is great! I'm going to go to Animal Kingdom on one of them- I can't wait! I also have to do a big shop in Wal-mart tomorrow before work as I have no food!!
Anyway I need to get ready for work now so here's hoping the next 11 months go as fast so I don't get homesick!
Well I spent my day off at Magic Kingdom with Darren and Kirsty which was wicked! We watched the Celebration parade which I loved and we went on lots of rides, although I was disappointed Space Mountain was shut! Darren and I also had frozen bananas which are the greatest thing ever! lol.
That evening I went to Hard Rock Cafe at City Walk at Universal for dinner. One of the Irish girls in our arrival group was turning 21 so we went out to celebrate! The food was lush but I think I was allergic to something in the dessert because half of my lip went numb and actually dropped! I was so scared! Fortunately it was fine the next morning!
I also had my first hospital appointment on Monday. Jacki, my Uncles ex-wife who we are still in contact with and who lives in Florida picked me up to take me to the appointment. It was abit scary, I had to fill out all this paperwork which half of it I didn't understand lol. Dr Selsky who is the Doctor I am seeing while I am here is actually a Doctor of childrens leukaemia so the part of the hospital I was in was decked out in everything Disney and each room was a different theme (mine was Mulan!) It was very cool. Dr Selsky is a friend of Jacki's which is why he as agreed to see me, that was very lucky! He was very very nice and made me feel very comfortable, I had some blood taken and everything was great so I was pleased.
Jacki took me for lunch after at a Greek restaurant which was lovely. It was nice to catch up because it's been years!
I have two days off next week which is great! I'm going to go to Animal Kingdom on one of them- I can't wait! I also have to do a big shop in Wal-mart tomorrow before work as I have no food!!
Anyway I need to get ready for work now so here's hoping the next 11 months go as fast so I don't get homesick!
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Throw in, Throw out and other fun!
Wow, what a busy couple of weeks! I feel really settled now and i'm getting the hang of the job! We are very short staffed in UK Merch though so I am working really irregular shifts and have one day off a week but it's all good! We had a meeting the other day and the area manager informed us that they have a few people coming over from Tomorrow Land at Magic Kingdom to help out so hopefully I will then have more regular hours and days off.
I am nearly at the end of my first 9 day week and I have to say I am knackered! I am looking forward to saturday and having a day off. I'm not sure whether to go to a park or spend it by the pool though! Decisions, decisions!! Everyone here says that you have moments when you are down that make you remember why you are here and I've already had one last week! I was out on cart one evening last week when the firework display was on. We were still open but no one buys anything while the fireworks are on! It was a really wicked feeling, how many people can say they have a job where they can watch fireworks in a theme park while they're working?!
I went to my first Throw Out which was great fun! A couple of the girls were leaving and a throw out is where they invite you round and pass on any stuff they don't want to take with them back to the UK. You have to shout shotgun if you see something you want and whoever shouts first gets it! It was like being at an auction, it was great! I was quite quiet at first, being a newbie I felt abit rude shouting but I soon got into the swing of things! I came home with quite alot of goodies- a bedside lamp, a pin board and a princess poster among other things! All kinds of stuff is thrown out, everything from TVs and DVD players to cans of food!
I also had my Throw In with the other newbies. It was a very scary experience as we have been waiting to have it since we got here but it wasn't as bad as expected, I am glad it's over though! I can't explain here what happens as it is a closely guarded secret from any new cast members arriving here and if you let out what happens you are thrown in again which is not something I would like! If you are interested in what happened, send me a private message and i'll happily tell you! I will say that Beth and I went first out of the girls and I am very proud that we were game for everything!
I also went to Lasses on Monday, this time it was alot more fun as only one girl was leaving. The theme was GI Joes and Army Hoes so we all dressed up and looked wicked! I will get the photos up on facebook asap! We had to have an initiation here as well but it was nothing like throw in, we just had to introduce ourselves and have an initiation drink. As I don't drink they made me some weird mix of chocolate and sprite, it wasn't too bad lol. We were also taught the Lasses song which we can't share with the lads and it's very funny! After drinks at the apartment we joined the boys at the bar called Best of British, it's a dive but the name fits well and it was good fun! We also got to experience the leaving song at the end of the night too where everyone stands in a circle and sings 'Time of your life' to the person leaving, there were alot of tears! I met loads of new people and I loved the fact how it's all kind of a tradition that is passed down to each new cast member. I'm looking forward to next week, if you go six times in a row you are eligable for a Lasses shirt!
It is very very humid here at the moment and it hasn't rained or stormed for a few days now so it hasn't cooled down at all like it usually does. I was out on cart today for three hours and I was suffering! Thank god for air conditioning!
I have saturday off and also Monday, I am off to the hospital for the first time on Monday and I am looking forward to meeting Dr. Selsky. Fortunately my Uncles ex wife who we are still in contact with is friends with the Doctor and is taking me to my first appointment so it isn't so scary! I'm looking forward to my first experience at the Disney Hospital though!!
I am nearly at the end of my first 9 day week and I have to say I am knackered! I am looking forward to saturday and having a day off. I'm not sure whether to go to a park or spend it by the pool though! Decisions, decisions!! Everyone here says that you have moments when you are down that make you remember why you are here and I've already had one last week! I was out on cart one evening last week when the firework display was on. We were still open but no one buys anything while the fireworks are on! It was a really wicked feeling, how many people can say they have a job where they can watch fireworks in a theme park while they're working?!
I went to my first Throw Out which was great fun! A couple of the girls were leaving and a throw out is where they invite you round and pass on any stuff they don't want to take with them back to the UK. You have to shout shotgun if you see something you want and whoever shouts first gets it! It was like being at an auction, it was great! I was quite quiet at first, being a newbie I felt abit rude shouting but I soon got into the swing of things! I came home with quite alot of goodies- a bedside lamp, a pin board and a princess poster among other things! All kinds of stuff is thrown out, everything from TVs and DVD players to cans of food!
I also had my Throw In with the other newbies. It was a very scary experience as we have been waiting to have it since we got here but it wasn't as bad as expected, I am glad it's over though! I can't explain here what happens as it is a closely guarded secret from any new cast members arriving here and if you let out what happens you are thrown in again which is not something I would like! If you are interested in what happened, send me a private message and i'll happily tell you! I will say that Beth and I went first out of the girls and I am very proud that we were game for everything!
I also went to Lasses on Monday, this time it was alot more fun as only one girl was leaving. The theme was GI Joes and Army Hoes so we all dressed up and looked wicked! I will get the photos up on facebook asap! We had to have an initiation here as well but it was nothing like throw in, we just had to introduce ourselves and have an initiation drink. As I don't drink they made me some weird mix of chocolate and sprite, it wasn't too bad lol. We were also taught the Lasses song which we can't share with the lads and it's very funny! After drinks at the apartment we joined the boys at the bar called Best of British, it's a dive but the name fits well and it was good fun! We also got to experience the leaving song at the end of the night too where everyone stands in a circle and sings 'Time of your life' to the person leaving, there were alot of tears! I met loads of new people and I loved the fact how it's all kind of a tradition that is passed down to each new cast member. I'm looking forward to next week, if you go six times in a row you are eligable for a Lasses shirt!
It is very very humid here at the moment and it hasn't rained or stormed for a few days now so it hasn't cooled down at all like it usually does. I was out on cart today for three hours and I was suffering! Thank god for air conditioning!
I have saturday off and also Monday, I am off to the hospital for the first time on Monday and I am looking forward to meeting Dr. Selsky. Fortunately my Uncles ex wife who we are still in contact with is friends with the Doctor and is taking me to my first appointment so it isn't so scary! I'm looking forward to my first experience at the Disney Hospital though!!
Wednesday, 8 July 2009
Earning my Ears
I've finished my training at work now so i'm on my own! It hasn't been too bad and i'm getting used to the money and counting back the 'Disney way!' We have a few stores in the UK Pavillion- a toy store, The Beatles store, Sports store, Jewellary and perfume store, Wales/Scotland/Ireland store and a tea store. We also have a cart outside which sells UK merchandise and a pin cart. We rotate throughout the day to different locations which is good but everyone hates the cart as you're outside in the heat and completely on your own.
I was on the cart yesterday morning and all of a sudden without any warning a storm hit, things were flying off the cart and I got completely drenched! My manager and a couple of the other cast members came out to help shut it down and we all had to go to costuming to get new costumes! Definitely something i'll remember! It didn't stop raining yesterday and we've had a short but heavy shower today but I think we will have another storm this afternoon.
It was great to experience the 4th July celebrations here in the US, the Americans go mad for it. I went to the Magic Kingdom on the 3rd because they were having 4th July fireworks and they were incredible, they gave me goosebumps! They also lit up the castle with blue stars, it looked so pretty. I watched the Spectromagic parade as well which I have seen twice before but was still really amazing. I have taken lots of photos for you to see!
I was working 'extra magic hours' on the 4th which means the park stays open longer and the stores stay open until late but our manager let us watch the fireworks at Epcot. They were even more incredible than the Magic Kingdom! I was really pleased I had a chance to see them.
There's also been a real tragedy at Disney, I don't know if it has been on the news in the UK but it's been on everything here. On the evening of the 4th at about 2am after the Independence Day celebrations at Magic Kingdom two of the monorails which take you to the park somehow crashed into eachother. Fortunately none of the guests were injured but one of the drivers died, he was only 21 and on a College Program, it's very sad.
I had my first UK Lasses monday night, all the girls from the UK get together every monday and meet at someones apartment for drinks and then go on to a bar. The guys also meet up on the same night for UK Lads. It's always themed as well and this week was to dress as something beginning with the first letter of your first name so of course I went as Minnie Mouse! It was quite a sad affair as three of the girls are leaving this week so it was their last lasses so there were lots of tears, however i'm looking forward to next week as it will be back to normal.
Today is my only day off this week and I only have saturday off next week so I think I'm going to be pretty knackered! There are newbies from the UK arriving on the 14th so I'm looking forward to meeting them all and not being the newbies anymore!
I was on the cart yesterday morning and all of a sudden without any warning a storm hit, things were flying off the cart and I got completely drenched! My manager and a couple of the other cast members came out to help shut it down and we all had to go to costuming to get new costumes! Definitely something i'll remember! It didn't stop raining yesterday and we've had a short but heavy shower today but I think we will have another storm this afternoon.
It was great to experience the 4th July celebrations here in the US, the Americans go mad for it. I went to the Magic Kingdom on the 3rd because they were having 4th July fireworks and they were incredible, they gave me goosebumps! They also lit up the castle with blue stars, it looked so pretty. I watched the Spectromagic parade as well which I have seen twice before but was still really amazing. I have taken lots of photos for you to see!
I was working 'extra magic hours' on the 4th which means the park stays open longer and the stores stay open until late but our manager let us watch the fireworks at Epcot. They were even more incredible than the Magic Kingdom! I was really pleased I had a chance to see them.
There's also been a real tragedy at Disney, I don't know if it has been on the news in the UK but it's been on everything here. On the evening of the 4th at about 2am after the Independence Day celebrations at Magic Kingdom two of the monorails which take you to the park somehow crashed into eachother. Fortunately none of the guests were injured but one of the drivers died, he was only 21 and on a College Program, it's very sad.
I had my first UK Lasses monday night, all the girls from the UK get together every monday and meet at someones apartment for drinks and then go on to a bar. The guys also meet up on the same night for UK Lads. It's always themed as well and this week was to dress as something beginning with the first letter of your first name so of course I went as Minnie Mouse! It was quite a sad affair as three of the girls are leaving this week so it was their last lasses so there were lots of tears, however i'm looking forward to next week as it will be back to normal.
Today is my only day off this week and I only have saturday off next week so I think I'm going to be pretty knackered! There are newbies from the UK arriving on the 14th so I'm looking forward to meeting them all and not being the newbies anymore!
Thursday, 2 July 2009
My First Week
So much has happened in the last week that I think I shall give you day by day info!
Friday 26th June
This was our first day off since we arrived so went went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the day. Rachel's friend from home (he got here in February), Dan also came with us and advised us to purchase a yearly ticket for both parks for $160, this seemed like a good idea as once we've been three times we are already making use of it so we all bought one. As soon as we reached the front of the queue for Islands of Adventure the heavens opened and it began to pour so we bought some very attractive ponchos and headed over to Universal as most of their rides are inside. Fortunately the the rain didn't last long and we had a great day. We went on the new Simpsons ride which is excellent and lots of others including Terminator and The Mummy. We also had a look at the new rollarcoaster which is opening soon, it looks awesome, when you ride you choose your own music to listen to as you go round, can't wait to try it!
We went back to Islands of Adventure later in the afternoon to go on some of the bigger rides, we went on Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk and Jurrasic Park where we got absoloutly soaked! It was a wicked day.
Saturday 27th June
We had our 'Traditions' class which started at 6.15 in the morning! We had to go to Disney University which was so cool and it was actually a really fun day! We had a talk from two Disney cast members called Tony and Eric, they spoke to us about the Disney basics and showed us some videos. We also had a couple of games, one where we had to name as many Disney characters in a minute as we could think of. Of course us girls won, we managed 43! Yay! We also received our name tag and Disney ID. Our Disney ID is the coolest thing, this gets us into the Disney parks for free and also gets us alot of discounts in shops and restaurants!
Sunday 28th June
This was our first day of on the job training. Beth and I had to take the bus to Epcot where we were assigned trainers for the day, mine was James. We received out costumes which are hilarious! They consist of a white blouse and a white and yellow stripey skirt, at least ours is more attractive than the food and beverage cast members! We were shown the shops and stall they have in the UK pavillion and we were told soooo many things I can't remember! We were also given our login IDs for The Hub which is a website for all cast memebers to check their schedules etc. We went through the Disney basics again on the shop floor and we had to give examples etc. The Disney basics are below:
I project a positive image and energy.
I am courteous and respectful to all Guests, including children.
I stay in character and play the part.
I go above and beyond.
In the evening we went to Downtown Disney where some crazy American man started chatting to us. He told us that he had family in the UK although he couldn't remember where and asked what there was to do in the UK. I told him to visit London and he didn't realise that London was in England- eek. He also asked for our e-mail addresses but fortunately none of us had a pen!
We then headed over to House of Blues which is a club/bar in Disney. The music was great, apparently its one of the only places in Florida that plays house music as everywhere else plays R&B. There were even guys on the dancefloor breakdancing, it was like something out of a movie lol. Also the drinks were free before midnight!
Monday 29th June
This was another long day! We had to go back to Disney University for more training. First we had a couple of online tests on safety, guests with disabilities etc. Then we had training on pretend tills with pretend money! The money is soooo confusing, if someone gives us $20 and we owe them $2.65 change instead of just giving them the change we have to count the money up to make $20 and then count it back to them. This probably doesn't make any sense because it doesn't to me either, I can't count lol. That's the thing i'm dreading most!
Tuesday 30th June
We had our Epcot Discovery Day today which was really fun. Two cast members took us on a tour of Epcot and gave us lots of information, we even got to ride Spaceship earth! We also had a boat tour of the World Showcase which was cool. Something quite special and suprising happened too but I can't write it on here in case any future cast members read it, we took an oath under Mickey not to repeat it! Give me a private message if you want to know!Unfortunately halfway through the tour the heavens opened and with nowhere to shelter we all got soaked. Anyone who has been to Florida knows that when it rains here it really rains, the UK rain is nothing compared to this lol. This was the start of a storm that lasted the next two days! As we finished the tour at midday Beth and I planned to go to the bank to open an account but the weather was too awful, instead I hung out at Beth's apartment and watched trashy TV for the afternoon!
In the evening we went to Rachel's apartment and ordered Chinese which came in those cool little boxes you see on Friends! We just chilled out and watched a film.
Wednesday 1st July
Beth and I had a day off today so we got up bright and early and went to the gym which was quite fun actually and completely free! After the gym session we showered and changed and went to the outlet to buy some shoes for work. This proved alot harder than it sounds as they are very particular on what you can wear but we managed to get some nice Clarks ones! after a subway lunch we made our way to the bank which we were meant to do yesterday, unfortunately neither of us remembered our temporary social security numbers so we couldn't open an account! Instead we headed to Walmart where we did a massive shop of the essentials and struggled back to our apartments!
We waited for Rachel and Kirstie to return from their day at work and we got changed to go to Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney for dinner. We've made friends with a group of Irish girls and a guy who arrived on the same day as us and it was one of their birthdays so went our for dinner to celebrate. The dinner was great and I had my first chocolate brownie in the US! Hmmm.
That brings me to today! I've had another day off but no one else has so I'm all on my lonesome! Rachel didn't have to be at work until 3 so we went to the bank again this morning and I finally opened an account! This afternoon I attempted to wash some clothes but managed to ruin 3 tops- don't ask! We do need an old top for the throw-in next week though so they kind of come in handy! I don't know what's going to happen but i'm guessing we are going to have something thrown over us- eek. I'm not sure what is happening tonight, i'll speak to the girls when they get back from work but i'm working tomorrow until Monday now and then I have a couple of days off again. I'm looking forward to spending 4th July in the States even though i'm working it!
Friday 26th June
This was our first day off since we arrived so went went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the day. Rachel's friend from home (he got here in February), Dan also came with us and advised us to purchase a yearly ticket for both parks for $160, this seemed like a good idea as once we've been three times we are already making use of it so we all bought one. As soon as we reached the front of the queue for Islands of Adventure the heavens opened and it began to pour so we bought some very attractive ponchos and headed over to Universal as most of their rides are inside. Fortunately the the rain didn't last long and we had a great day. We went on the new Simpsons ride which is excellent and lots of others including Terminator and The Mummy. We also had a look at the new rollarcoaster which is opening soon, it looks awesome, when you ride you choose your own music to listen to as you go round, can't wait to try it!
We went back to Islands of Adventure later in the afternoon to go on some of the bigger rides, we went on Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk and Jurrasic Park where we got absoloutly soaked! It was a wicked day.
Saturday 27th June
We had our 'Traditions' class which started at 6.15 in the morning! We had to go to Disney University which was so cool and it was actually a really fun day! We had a talk from two Disney cast members called Tony and Eric, they spoke to us about the Disney basics and showed us some videos. We also had a couple of games, one where we had to name as many Disney characters in a minute as we could think of. Of course us girls won, we managed 43! Yay! We also received our name tag and Disney ID. Our Disney ID is the coolest thing, this gets us into the Disney parks for free and also gets us alot of discounts in shops and restaurants!
Sunday 28th June
This was our first day of on the job training. Beth and I had to take the bus to Epcot where we were assigned trainers for the day, mine was James. We received out costumes which are hilarious! They consist of a white blouse and a white and yellow stripey skirt, at least ours is more attractive than the food and beverage cast members! We were shown the shops and stall they have in the UK pavillion and we were told soooo many things I can't remember! We were also given our login IDs for The Hub which is a website for all cast memebers to check their schedules etc. We went through the Disney basics again on the shop floor and we had to give examples etc. The Disney basics are below:
I project a positive image and energy.
I am courteous and respectful to all Guests, including children.
I stay in character and play the part.
I go above and beyond.
In the evening we went to Downtown Disney where some crazy American man started chatting to us. He told us that he had family in the UK although he couldn't remember where and asked what there was to do in the UK. I told him to visit London and he didn't realise that London was in England- eek. He also asked for our e-mail addresses but fortunately none of us had a pen!
We then headed over to House of Blues which is a club/bar in Disney. The music was great, apparently its one of the only places in Florida that plays house music as everywhere else plays R&B. There were even guys on the dancefloor breakdancing, it was like something out of a movie lol. Also the drinks were free before midnight!
Monday 29th June
This was another long day! We had to go back to Disney University for more training. First we had a couple of online tests on safety, guests with disabilities etc. Then we had training on pretend tills with pretend money! The money is soooo confusing, if someone gives us $20 and we owe them $2.65 change instead of just giving them the change we have to count the money up to make $20 and then count it back to them. This probably doesn't make any sense because it doesn't to me either, I can't count lol. That's the thing i'm dreading most!
Tuesday 30th June
We had our Epcot Discovery Day today which was really fun. Two cast members took us on a tour of Epcot and gave us lots of information, we even got to ride Spaceship earth! We also had a boat tour of the World Showcase which was cool. Something quite special and suprising happened too but I can't write it on here in case any future cast members read it, we took an oath under Mickey not to repeat it! Give me a private message if you want to know!Unfortunately halfway through the tour the heavens opened and with nowhere to shelter we all got soaked. Anyone who has been to Florida knows that when it rains here it really rains, the UK rain is nothing compared to this lol. This was the start of a storm that lasted the next two days! As we finished the tour at midday Beth and I planned to go to the bank to open an account but the weather was too awful, instead I hung out at Beth's apartment and watched trashy TV for the afternoon!
In the evening we went to Rachel's apartment and ordered Chinese which came in those cool little boxes you see on Friends! We just chilled out and watched a film.
Wednesday 1st July
Beth and I had a day off today so we got up bright and early and went to the gym which was quite fun actually and completely free! After the gym session we showered and changed and went to the outlet to buy some shoes for work. This proved alot harder than it sounds as they are very particular on what you can wear but we managed to get some nice Clarks ones! after a subway lunch we made our way to the bank which we were meant to do yesterday, unfortunately neither of us remembered our temporary social security numbers so we couldn't open an account! Instead we headed to Walmart where we did a massive shop of the essentials and struggled back to our apartments!
We waited for Rachel and Kirstie to return from their day at work and we got changed to go to Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney for dinner. We've made friends with a group of Irish girls and a guy who arrived on the same day as us and it was one of their birthdays so went our for dinner to celebrate. The dinner was great and I had my first chocolate brownie in the US! Hmmm.
That brings me to today! I've had another day off but no one else has so I'm all on my lonesome! Rachel didn't have to be at work until 3 so we went to the bank again this morning and I finally opened an account! This afternoon I attempted to wash some clothes but managed to ruin 3 tops- don't ask! We do need an old top for the throw-in next week though so they kind of come in handy! I don't know what's going to happen but i'm guessing we are going to have something thrown over us- eek. I'm not sure what is happening tonight, i'll speak to the girls when they get back from work but i'm working tomorrow until Monday now and then I have a couple of days off again. I'm looking forward to spending 4th July in the States even though i'm working it!
Thursday, 25 June 2009
I've arrived!
Well I can officially say I am living in Orlando, Florida! We arrived wednesday around 5.00pm, the flight wasn't too bad and saying goodbye to my family wasn't as awful as I expected it to be. When we got to the airport unfortunately we had to wait for nearly an hour for our bags to come off the plane, they wouldn't open the ramps as the weather was so bad outside. Once we got our bags we had to go to the Mears Desk where they arranged for a car to take us to the welcome pavillion. For some reason that took another hour and we didn't end up getting to Disney until 9.00pm!
At the welcome pavillion we had a short presentation and were given some information and an itinerary of what we are doing this week. We were then shown to our apartments. I am in apartment 1633 with two Japenese girls and an Italian girl, they are all really nice. When I got to the apartment the girls weren't there as they were all at work which I was quite pleased about as I was sooo tired!
I then met with the girls I flew over with because we had to go to Walmart to buy some bedding before we could go to bed!! Fortunately Beth has a friend already here who has a car so he drove us there and advised us what to get. We were feeling like zombies by this time! When I got back my roommates were back so we all introduced ourselves and they seemed very excited I was from the UK! After making my bed I literally fell into it and ended up going to sleep about 1.45!
We had to meet at the Clubhouse at 8.50 the next day and we were all still completely jetlagged! We had fill out lots of paperwork and we also had a presentation about security etc. We had a break for lunch and us girls wandered over to the food court at the shopping outlet and had some food. We then had to be back to get on a coach to the pavillion where we had the welcome the night before to fill out more paperwork and have our photos taken for our ID cards. The photo is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen! lol The humidity is so not good for your hair or make up! lol
After that they discussed the 'Disney look' with us individually. She told me my highlights were not subtle enough and I had to dye my hair before saturday! I was absoloutly gutted! She gave me a list of salons and fortunately we had the afternoon off so I contacted the one she advised was professional but expensive, there was no way I was going for a cheapy one! They could fit me in at 3.30pm so I had a quick call home and then the girls and I got a cab to the salon. I was soooo scared because I decided to go back to brunette as it would be hassle if my roots keep coming through. Fortunately the hairdresser was great and was very experienced with dealing with Disney staff who need their hair dying last minute! So now I am brunette and I'm not sure about it but I don't really have a choice! I had to pre-warn Dad about the cost as when my credit card bill (for emergencies) comes through I think he may have a panic attack!
The girls and I were very tired still by the time we got back so we unpacked, had a shower and came to my apartment and ordered pizza. I was in bed by 11!
We have the morning off today so i'm off to the internet room in abit to print something off and at 12.30 we have another presentation! I'm hoping we'll find out about our bank details. I'm not sure what is happening tonight but I think we may have our throw-in which i'm not looking forward too! Tomorrow we have a day off so we are going to go to Universal Studios- yay! And saturday is our first day of 'work' or rather we go to what they call Traditions which is our training for when we start work.
At the welcome pavillion we had a short presentation and were given some information and an itinerary of what we are doing this week. We were then shown to our apartments. I am in apartment 1633 with two Japenese girls and an Italian girl, they are all really nice. When I got to the apartment the girls weren't there as they were all at work which I was quite pleased about as I was sooo tired!
I then met with the girls I flew over with because we had to go to Walmart to buy some bedding before we could go to bed!! Fortunately Beth has a friend already here who has a car so he drove us there and advised us what to get. We were feeling like zombies by this time! When I got back my roommates were back so we all introduced ourselves and they seemed very excited I was from the UK! After making my bed I literally fell into it and ended up going to sleep about 1.45!
We had to meet at the Clubhouse at 8.50 the next day and we were all still completely jetlagged! We had fill out lots of paperwork and we also had a presentation about security etc. We had a break for lunch and us girls wandered over to the food court at the shopping outlet and had some food. We then had to be back to get on a coach to the pavillion where we had the welcome the night before to fill out more paperwork and have our photos taken for our ID cards. The photo is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen! lol The humidity is so not good for your hair or make up! lol
After that they discussed the 'Disney look' with us individually. She told me my highlights were not subtle enough and I had to dye my hair before saturday! I was absoloutly gutted! She gave me a list of salons and fortunately we had the afternoon off so I contacted the one she advised was professional but expensive, there was no way I was going for a cheapy one! They could fit me in at 3.30pm so I had a quick call home and then the girls and I got a cab to the salon. I was soooo scared because I decided to go back to brunette as it would be hassle if my roots keep coming through. Fortunately the hairdresser was great and was very experienced with dealing with Disney staff who need their hair dying last minute! So now I am brunette and I'm not sure about it but I don't really have a choice! I had to pre-warn Dad about the cost as when my credit card bill (for emergencies) comes through I think he may have a panic attack!
The girls and I were very tired still by the time we got back so we unpacked, had a shower and came to my apartment and ordered pizza. I was in bed by 11!
We have the morning off today so i'm off to the internet room in abit to print something off and at 12.30 we have another presentation! I'm hoping we'll find out about our bank details. I'm not sure what is happening tonight but I think we may have our throw-in which i'm not looking forward too! Tomorrow we have a day off so we are going to go to Universal Studios- yay! And saturday is our first day of 'work' or rather we go to what they call Traditions which is our training for when we start work.
Monday, 22 June 2009
Goodbye England, Hello Florida!
This is it! My last sleep in England before I fly off to sunny Florida! I've spent the week buying last minute things, topping up my (fake) tan and saying some goodbyes. Today I had lunch with the girls and Rich and then came home to do that awful thing called packing! I think I have emptied most of my wardrobe, I just hope I haven't forgotten anything!
My flight is at 1.00pm and I am meeting the other girls at 10.00am at the check in. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to my parents and Luke at the airport but hopefully it will still feel like I am going on holiday and not away for a whole year!
The flight is 9 hours and we arrive in Orlando at 5.00pm, which gives us time to meet the welcome committee, settle in and have a trip to Walmart! I think i'll be knackered by 9 but somehow I don't think I'll be having an early night!
Anyway, I better go through my lists one more time and re-check my paperwork! The next time you hear from me I'll be on the other side! See you in 2010! :D
My flight is at 1.00pm and I am meeting the other girls at 10.00am at the check in. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to my parents and Luke at the airport but hopefully it will still feel like I am going on holiday and not away for a whole year!
The flight is 9 hours and we arrive in Orlando at 5.00pm, which gives us time to meet the welcome committee, settle in and have a trip to Walmart! I think i'll be knackered by 9 but somehow I don't think I'll be having an early night!
Anyway, I better go through my lists one more time and re-check my paperwork! The next time you hear from me I'll be on the other side! See you in 2010! :D
Tuesday, 16 June 2009
1 week to go!!
I can't believe it is a week today until I'll be on a plane on the way to Florida! Time has gone soooo fast but I can't wait for it all to begin!
I finished work friday which was great fun but very emotional too. We spent the morning at Downe House which was great and had some lunch there then we went back to the office where we didn't do much work! Lol. My manager gave a little speech about my time there and my love for everything Disney and they gave me my present which was a beautiful necklace in the shape of Cinderellas slipper. After work we had dinner at Pizza Express and saying goodbye to everyone was horrible especially Aimee's tears! :-(
The weekend flew by and I went to see Britney at the 02 on saturday which was awesome, I had the best night even though by sunday I felt drained! I have been shopping for the last two days (oh dear) and buying the last essentials (Ok, I know another bikini is not an essential!!) But I think I finally have everything! I did forget to change up my money today though so I'll have to do that on thursday.
I have quite a few goodbyes to do this week and lots of lunches and dinners so by the end of the week I shall be broke and emotional! And then it's the packing which is soooo going to suck!!
I finished work friday which was great fun but very emotional too. We spent the morning at Downe House which was great and had some lunch there then we went back to the office where we didn't do much work! Lol. My manager gave a little speech about my time there and my love for everything Disney and they gave me my present which was a beautiful necklace in the shape of Cinderellas slipper. After work we had dinner at Pizza Express and saying goodbye to everyone was horrible especially Aimee's tears! :-(
The weekend flew by and I went to see Britney at the 02 on saturday which was awesome, I had the best night even though by sunday I felt drained! I have been shopping for the last two days (oh dear) and buying the last essentials (Ok, I know another bikini is not an essential!!) But I think I finally have everything! I did forget to change up my money today though so I'll have to do that on thursday.
I have quite a few goodbyes to do this week and lots of lunches and dinners so by the end of the week I shall be broke and emotional! And then it's the packing which is soooo going to suck!!
Sunday, 7 June 2009
My Leaving Party
Last night was unforgettable. I had an amazing night at my leaving party. I had my hair, nails and make-up done (thanks to Jodie and Jordan!) I wore my Mickey dress which was fantastic and I felt like a real Disney Princess! :-) My mum had a cake made for me with Mickey and Minnie on it which went down very well with everyone!
Nearly everyone that I invited turned up (apart from the Zarpaks, the Wilks and Lyn and Berny- sniff sniff) but it was lovely to see all my friends and family together having a good time. I danced the night away and didn't shed one tear although Luke did a lovely speech which nearly made me lose it! I have to thank Luke for being AMAZING. The Disney megamix was wicked and he spent the whole night catching everyones messages on camera which I watched earlier. (The funniest going to Luke's mates- you lot had me in stitches!!)
I have to thank everyone for their very thoughtful pressies and cards, alot of people spent alot of money that they shouldn't have but it was very much appreciated. The gang made me an amazing photobook, the words were really touching (Vicky I know it was mostly you!) Keeley and Robynne the necklace is beautiful and thank you for all the other lovely things I received.
Some of us went back to mine for an after party. Dad made yummy bacon sarnies and Luke did a fantastic fireworks display that apparently you could hear all over Coney Hall- oops! Slowly everyone drifted home and it was just Richard, Jodie, Sam, Jordan, Luke and I left and we managed to talk until 4.00 in the morning!! I didn't get to bed until about 5 but it was all worth it! Haha.
I had an awesome time, definitely a night to remember. Thank you to everyone for making it such a good night especially my Mum, Dad and Luke- I love you all so much. See you on the 20th for leaving drinks! ;-)
Nearly everyone that I invited turned up (apart from the Zarpaks, the Wilks and Lyn and Berny- sniff sniff) but it was lovely to see all my friends and family together having a good time. I danced the night away and didn't shed one tear although Luke did a lovely speech which nearly made me lose it! I have to thank Luke for being AMAZING. The Disney megamix was wicked and he spent the whole night catching everyones messages on camera which I watched earlier. (The funniest going to Luke's mates- you lot had me in stitches!!)
I have to thank everyone for their very thoughtful pressies and cards, alot of people spent alot of money that they shouldn't have but it was very much appreciated. The gang made me an amazing photobook, the words were really touching (Vicky I know it was mostly you!) Keeley and Robynne the necklace is beautiful and thank you for all the other lovely things I received.
Some of us went back to mine for an after party. Dad made yummy bacon sarnies and Luke did a fantastic fireworks display that apparently you could hear all over Coney Hall- oops! Slowly everyone drifted home and it was just Richard, Jodie, Sam, Jordan, Luke and I left and we managed to talk until 4.00 in the morning!! I didn't get to bed until about 5 but it was all worth it! Haha.
I had an awesome time, definitely a night to remember. Thank you to everyone for making it such a good night especially my Mum, Dad and Luke- I love you all so much. See you on the 20th for leaving drinks! ;-)
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Getting my visa
So today I went to the American Embassy in Grovenor Square to have my visa approved. My appointment was at 8.00am and fortunately my mummy came with me so I wouldn't get lost! I was also quite scared as it's quite daunting! I was also excited because I was going to meet Beth and Kirstie for the first time- 2 of the girls I am flying out with.
I met Kirstie at Victoria at 7.20 and we made our way to the Embassy to meet Beth. We had to queue up outside and we weren't allowed to take in any electronic equipment so my mum had to take our phones! We also had to remove our watches- strange! We made our way in pretty quickly and we had to go through security which was exactly the same as the security in the airport. We then made our way to reception where they checked our applications and gave us each a number- mine was 1041 which gives you an idea of how many people were there!
We then just had to sit in a waiting room and wait to be called. I was so glad the girls were with me, it made it much less scary to chat to them and share it with! It was about half an hour before I was called, I had to go over to a little booth which was nothing how I imagined! I thought we would go to a room or something but we just stood behind a pane of glass with the other person on the other side! The man checked all my documents, stamped them and bundled them together. He then took my finger prints. He gave me back the bundle of paperwork and I had to take it to another booth where the man re-checked my fingerprints and called me Marsha! Nice.
Then the waiting game really began! We had to wait to be called again for our visa interview which we were all really scared about! We were waiting for about 2 hours but it was nice to have the girls to chat too and we found out lots about eachother! I was called first. The man confirmed that I was going to Florida then asked why I was going there, why I applied for the job and what subjects I took at school- I tell you, this was the part when I stared at him blankly!! I went to school about 5 years ago, I can't remember for the life of me! I muttered something about Media and he signed my form and said he was approving my visa. Yippee!!
The girls couldn't believe how quick I was, all that worry for a minute interview lol. I had to then pay for my passport to be returned to me because they take it to approve your visa. Beth and Kirstie had their interviews shortly after me and we managed to get out at about 10.30.
We met my mum outside and went for a drink to chat and then we ventured over to Primark in Oxford Street. At about midday we all went our seperate ways. It was great to meet Beth and Kirstie and they are lovely girls, I can't wait to fly out with them on the 23rd. Our visas should be with us next week- yippee!
I met Kirstie at Victoria at 7.20 and we made our way to the Embassy to meet Beth. We had to queue up outside and we weren't allowed to take in any electronic equipment so my mum had to take our phones! We also had to remove our watches- strange! We made our way in pretty quickly and we had to go through security which was exactly the same as the security in the airport. We then made our way to reception where they checked our applications and gave us each a number- mine was 1041 which gives you an idea of how many people were there!
We then just had to sit in a waiting room and wait to be called. I was so glad the girls were with me, it made it much less scary to chat to them and share it with! It was about half an hour before I was called, I had to go over to a little booth which was nothing how I imagined! I thought we would go to a room or something but we just stood behind a pane of glass with the other person on the other side! The man checked all my documents, stamped them and bundled them together. He then took my finger prints. He gave me back the bundle of paperwork and I had to take it to another booth where the man re-checked my fingerprints and called me Marsha! Nice.
Then the waiting game really began! We had to wait to be called again for our visa interview which we were all really scared about! We were waiting for about 2 hours but it was nice to have the girls to chat too and we found out lots about eachother! I was called first. The man confirmed that I was going to Florida then asked why I was going there, why I applied for the job and what subjects I took at school- I tell you, this was the part when I stared at him blankly!! I went to school about 5 years ago, I can't remember for the life of me! I muttered something about Media and he signed my form and said he was approving my visa. Yippee!!
The girls couldn't believe how quick I was, all that worry for a minute interview lol. I had to then pay for my passport to be returned to me because they take it to approve your visa. Beth and Kirstie had their interviews shortly after me and we managed to get out at about 10.30.
We met my mum outside and went for a drink to chat and then we ventured over to Primark in Oxford Street. At about midday we all went our seperate ways. It was great to meet Beth and Kirstie and they are lovely girls, I can't wait to fly out with them on the 23rd. Our visas should be with us next week- yippee!
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
The journey so far...
So i figured it was about time i started this blog seeing as it's five weeks today until i leave for the magical world of Disney!
Lets go back to the beginning (i can hear you all yawning!) Back in May 2008 I was looking at peoples profiles on facebook one day as you do when i came across a friend from school called Becky. She'd spent six months living, working and studying in Walt Disney World in Florida and her photos looked awesome! I e-mailed her asking about it and how she had applied etc. She told me to look at a website called Yummyjobs and i could apply through them. I decided to give it a go after all i am possibly the biggest Disney fan alive and it seemed like an amazing experience so i went ahead and e-mailed them my CV.
After a month i had heard nothing, not even a confirmation to say that they had received my CV so i sent them an e-mail querying it. A few days later i received an e-mail back from a girl called Kristen explaining that they hadn't received my CV and could i re-send it. She also sent me some information on the programs they had to offer. Looking through them the Cultural Representative Program appealed to me, this is what it said:
"Spend 1 year in America working at Disney’s Epcot World Showcase! Those with experience in Food & Beverage or Merchandise that hold a UK passport will have the opportunity to act as an ambassador for the UK in the British Pavilion at Epcot. The program will run for 1 year, with the next opportunities starting between February and September of 2009. Please email your CV in July or later."
I e-mailed my CV and covering letter on the 1st July but didn't get my hopes up about hearing back, i guessed they would have hundreds of CVs.
On 28th July, a whole month after i had sent my CV i received an e-mail from Michele at Yummy Jobs offering me a 10 minute telephone interview to 'get to know me a little better'. I was so excited! It was arranged for 5th August at 12.15. I was at work this day so i figured i could take the call on my lunch break without anyone knowing. Typically it was pouring with rain on this day and no offices were empty so i ended up round the lake at work in a little cubby hole freezing my ass off!! During the call Michele asked me general questions, whether i had any tattoos, piercings etc. and then she asked me questions about where i live. I had to big up Bromley and explain why people should visit here, all i can say is thank god for Darwin!
On 13th August i got back from holiday to find another e-mail from Michele explaining that they were impressed with my phone interview and wanted to invite me to the next stage- i think i actually screamed, i never thought they would even take a second glance at my CV!
Friday 24th October- 8.30am- Hammersmith- The big day.
I've never prepared myself so much for an interview even down to my nails and hair- curly to make me look younger and more Disneyfied lol. Along with around 30 other people we had to go to the Disney head offices in Hammersmith and they were just how i imagined! As you walk in there is a huge statue of Mickey Mouse and as we were taken up the stairs there we models and pictures of all kinds of Disney characters from Dopey to Eeyore! After we had filled in some forms we were taken into a theatre room for a presentation, as we walked in they played Disney music, i was in my element! They played us a montage of all things Disney from the films to the parks to their sports channels and more, then Roger spoke to us- what a character! He explained exactly what we would be doing out there, where we would be living and what to expect from the experience. We were then asked Disney trivia questions and if you got it right you got a prize- yep thats right! We were also allowed to ask questions and we also got a prize if we asked a question (trust me this is like no other interview process you will ever experience!) I asked a quetion and received some Mickey mints which i have treasured!
After the presentation we were given more forms to fill in and a time to come back for our interview- mine was something like 3.15. As it was only about 11 by this time i had hours to kill so i wandered around Hammersmith for what seemed like forever and its not a very exciting part of London! Finally it was my turn, we were interviewed in twos and the interviews only lasted about 15 minutes. We were asked random questions like who our fave Disney character is (Belle because she is feisty and independant) and how we would cope with the heat/living with other people etc. I felt confident after but there was really no way of knowing because Roger gave nothing away.
On 6th November i got the dreaded news:
"We would very much have liked to consider you for the Cultural Representative Program and you were brilliant but unfortunately we are unable to offer you a position at the moment but we will hold your details on file until February and if position becomes available we will contact you to find out if you are available."
I cried and cried and cried. I've never been so disappointed about something in my life, it was even worse than failing my driving test 4 times lol.
A week later it was Monday morning and i was still feeling miserable but thinking i had to get on with my life i checked the forums that fellow partcipants used. One girl who had also been put on the waiting list had, had a call on the friday to say that a place had become available- all was not lost! At around 11 my mobile started ringing and my heart lurched, i knew instantly it was Yummy jobs. I ran down the corridor to take the call and sure enough it was Michele offering me a place, i nearly passed out! I don't remember any of the conversation except the leave date-
23rd June :-)
Lets go back to the beginning (i can hear you all yawning!) Back in May 2008 I was looking at peoples profiles on facebook one day as you do when i came across a friend from school called Becky. She'd spent six months living, working and studying in Walt Disney World in Florida and her photos looked awesome! I e-mailed her asking about it and how she had applied etc. She told me to look at a website called Yummyjobs and i could apply through them. I decided to give it a go after all i am possibly the biggest Disney fan alive and it seemed like an amazing experience so i went ahead and e-mailed them my CV.
After a month i had heard nothing, not even a confirmation to say that they had received my CV so i sent them an e-mail querying it. A few days later i received an e-mail back from a girl called Kristen explaining that they hadn't received my CV and could i re-send it. She also sent me some information on the programs they had to offer. Looking through them the Cultural Representative Program appealed to me, this is what it said:
"Spend 1 year in America working at Disney’s Epcot World Showcase! Those with experience in Food & Beverage or Merchandise that hold a UK passport will have the opportunity to act as an ambassador for the UK in the British Pavilion at Epcot. The program will run for 1 year, with the next opportunities starting between February and September of 2009. Please email your CV in July or later."
I e-mailed my CV and covering letter on the 1st July but didn't get my hopes up about hearing back, i guessed they would have hundreds of CVs.
On 28th July, a whole month after i had sent my CV i received an e-mail from Michele at Yummy Jobs offering me a 10 minute telephone interview to 'get to know me a little better'. I was so excited! It was arranged for 5th August at 12.15. I was at work this day so i figured i could take the call on my lunch break without anyone knowing. Typically it was pouring with rain on this day and no offices were empty so i ended up round the lake at work in a little cubby hole freezing my ass off!! During the call Michele asked me general questions, whether i had any tattoos, piercings etc. and then she asked me questions about where i live. I had to big up Bromley and explain why people should visit here, all i can say is thank god for Darwin!
On 13th August i got back from holiday to find another e-mail from Michele explaining that they were impressed with my phone interview and wanted to invite me to the next stage- i think i actually screamed, i never thought they would even take a second glance at my CV!
Friday 24th October- 8.30am- Hammersmith- The big day.
I've never prepared myself so much for an interview even down to my nails and hair- curly to make me look younger and more Disneyfied lol. Along with around 30 other people we had to go to the Disney head offices in Hammersmith and they were just how i imagined! As you walk in there is a huge statue of Mickey Mouse and as we were taken up the stairs there we models and pictures of all kinds of Disney characters from Dopey to Eeyore! After we had filled in some forms we were taken into a theatre room for a presentation, as we walked in they played Disney music, i was in my element! They played us a montage of all things Disney from the films to the parks to their sports channels and more, then Roger spoke to us- what a character! He explained exactly what we would be doing out there, where we would be living and what to expect from the experience. We were then asked Disney trivia questions and if you got it right you got a prize- yep thats right! We were also allowed to ask questions and we also got a prize if we asked a question (trust me this is like no other interview process you will ever experience!) I asked a quetion and received some Mickey mints which i have treasured!
After the presentation we were given more forms to fill in and a time to come back for our interview- mine was something like 3.15. As it was only about 11 by this time i had hours to kill so i wandered around Hammersmith for what seemed like forever and its not a very exciting part of London! Finally it was my turn, we were interviewed in twos and the interviews only lasted about 15 minutes. We were asked random questions like who our fave Disney character is (Belle because she is feisty and independant) and how we would cope with the heat/living with other people etc. I felt confident after but there was really no way of knowing because Roger gave nothing away.
On 6th November i got the dreaded news:
"We would very much have liked to consider you for the Cultural Representative Program and you were brilliant but unfortunately we are unable to offer you a position at the moment but we will hold your details on file until February and if position becomes available we will contact you to find out if you are available."
I cried and cried and cried. I've never been so disappointed about something in my life, it was even worse than failing my driving test 4 times lol.
A week later it was Monday morning and i was still feeling miserable but thinking i had to get on with my life i checked the forums that fellow partcipants used. One girl who had also been put on the waiting list had, had a call on the friday to say that a place had become available- all was not lost! At around 11 my mobile started ringing and my heart lurched, i knew instantly it was Yummy jobs. I ran down the corridor to take the call and sure enough it was Michele offering me a place, i nearly passed out! I don't remember any of the conversation except the leave date-
23rd June :-)
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