The March Update????

WARNING: I AM STILL THE WORST EVER AT FORMATTING PHOTOS ON THIS WEBSITE and i didn't even try at some parts. I would apologize but I'm not sorry


March has been a blast! Keeping track of time over the past few months has been weird and difficult. Each day is passing relatively quickly, but weeks feel like they take a while to pass, and everything I've done here feels like it happened only a week or two ago. That being said, since I haven't written anything down in over a month, my timeline is probably extremely skewed. So let's do this.


Over their spring break, my friends Carrin and Danielle came down to Florida with their friends Abby, Lindsey, and Sarah, and on one of their days here, they came to Orlando and we went to three of the four parks. Our day started close to 9 AM and ended close to midnight (maybe?), and I'm actually still pretty sure that day didn't happen because it was absolutely perfect. It probably couldn't have gone more smoothly.


We went to Animal Kingdom first thing* and rode Expedition Everest: Legend of the Forbidden Mountain (steel roller coaster that is pretty terrifying if you don't know what you're in for, which they weren't), met Pocahontas (it was fantastic) saw the Festival of the Lion King (even more fantastic), and rode the Kilimanjaro Safari (a twenty minute ride where you get to see hundreds of animals. It was also fantastic).

After that, we moved to Hollywood Studios, where we rode the two most important rides, Tower of Terror, and Rockin' Roller Coaster, and we ate at a restaurant called the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theatre, where you sat at tables designed as cars and had the experience of eating dinner at a drive-in movie theatre. It was amazing overall, but I had a milkshake and it was the best milkshake I've ever had in my life and need to go back just to experience it again.

I chose to take them to Magic Kingdom last because you can't take a trip to Disney and not watch the fireworks. I hardly remember what we actually did in Magic Kingdom, but we obviously watched Wishes (the fireworks show), I definitely made them go on Space Mountain, we saw the Laugh Floor, we participated in the Incredibles Dance Party (which was actually the best ever), and, most importantly, we met Rapunzel and Cinderella (which made Abby cry).

It was a wonderful day––for most of them, it was their very first time at Disney, and I'm so glad that they had a good experience and that we got to do some of the best and most popular things Disney has. Even if the crane was in the background of all the castle pictures.

Aside from their visit, a freaking lot has happened and I can hardly even keep track of any of it. Since being down here, I've watched 31 movies in total** and I've been to the movies twice––both times to see the Duff. The first time was with Alexa in the movie theatre at City Walk at Universal, which is probably the biggest movie theatre I've ever been in––it was two stories tall and had ESCALATORS––and we got ICEEs bigger than our faces (because Alexa and I are ICEE Queens). It was truly amazing.

There was one day where I went to the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT with Claire and Connor, which was a day filled mostly with Starbucks and brushing my hair and wandering around in the sun feeling like I was going to melt. But it was a really nice day! A really fun day! I brought my good camera and Connor requested to use it for the day, so he spent a good chunk of the day––unprompted––following us around being a Photography Dad. It was kinda embarrassing but mostly hilarious to watch Claire be embarrassed the whole time. We skipped out of EPCOT for a bit to watch the Festival of Fantasy Parade in Magic Kingdom, too, which was cute and fun. We also made friends with a photopass guy on Main Street––his name was Valentino and he was hilarious. 

Last week, Mary, Claire, and I went to Khol's and ended up buying matching sweatshirts that say "COOL KIDS CLUB." The euphoria I feel when thinking about these sweatshirts is unreal. We all wore them one night when they came over to my apartment and I made macaroni and cheese for us all as we watched and sang along to High School Musical 2. I was thinking about it, and it feels like working here has been my High School Musical 2, but like not in a cheesy or sappy way. And also not with all the backstabbing and lies and betrayal. But definitely with all the singing and dancing.

This week, Claire and I went to UNIVERSAL!!! We went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which was wonderful and I can't wait to go back and see more of it. But I've been writing a lot here because I am irresponsible and didn't post anything for a month, so I'm going to not say much about it and just post these pictures instead.

Aside from all of this, Alexa and I went to Typhoon Lagoon one day (one of the Disney water parks), I travelled to Sarasota to hang out with my friend Mary (different Mary than the Mary I know from DCP) at the beach and aquarium, we had a Tramily Game night where we played games and everyone was stupid and almost fell asleep, had a night of facials with Claire and Mary, had a work outing with everyone at this restaurant called Ale House which basically resulted in all of the CPs getting free nachos and chocolate cake, and... also other stuff has happened, like me watching a bunch more Friends, but really who can know what all has happened.

Also! Apparently our apartment has been put under a curse. This is so exciting, you'll love it. Of the six of us who live here, all but one of us has cracked at least one of our electronics. Kristen's had the worst luck at a TV screen, computer screen, and phone screen. Emily and Maddie have both cracked their computer screens, Alexa her phone screen, and I've cracked my iPad screen! What a time to live in 18203.

Okay that's about it. See you in a month.





*I was too excited for them to have an Animal Kingdom tram experience because I'm a mega nerd
**Since I'm sure anyone who is reading this is wondering, I've watched 43 movies since the start of the year, 29 of which I've never seen before

The February Update

As predicted, I've done a terrible job of writing anything while being down here! I'm awesome! It hasn't been a full month yet, though, so I think I get extra bonus points for being proactive at least (right?)


It's just after six right now and I'm sitting outside as I'm writing this––it's 79 degrees and this is what it looks like from the concrete of the balcony at my apartment right now:

I've had the day off, which I've spent mentally preparing myself for every single thing I'm going to write in this blog. Just kidding. But actually. No, really, really, I'm joking.

Since the last time I've written anything, a whole bunch has happened. Like, you know, starting work. I mentioned that my job is in parking at Animal Kingdom, and when I first found out, I was pretty scared and disappointed––I knew the outfit I'd have to wear was ridiculous; I figured I'd be standing out in a hot parking lot all day, all by myself, and have zero interaction with any other humans; and I was pretty sure I was positive that being in the sun so much would cause my skin to shrivel up in a way that would represent a deflated red balloon––but good news for my past self and my present self! I actually love where I work! My costume is, in fact, slightly... over the top, but it has grown on me quite a bit––literally, the skort that I got from the costuming building seems like it's bigger every time I put it on*––but other than that, I get to work with other people and I actually talk to quite a few guests, and I haven't even forgotten to put sunscreen on one day yet! So even though I'm developing a faint sunglasses tan, and my face is growing freckle-ier by the day, I'm still pale as I've ever been! How lovely. It's honestly so great.

My coworkers are wonderful, and the other people I work with who are in the college program (Claire, Mary, Connor, Destiny, Patrick, and Tim) are so much fun to work with and hang out with.**

I definitely still have unpleasant interactions with people who aren't the nicest, but compared to what I deal with at my job at home, generally speaking, the guests I speak to every day might as well be offering to take me out to dinner at my favorite restaurant (which is Olive Garden, by the way) and also pay for my college tuition. Okay, maybe not that far, but seriously. It's a lot of fun to get to chat with people who don't want to yell at you because of an endless list of things that aren't your fault.

One of the best things about my job is that I get to drive and talk on the trams. Not at the same time, because that would be dangerous and end terribly. But when people catch a ride from the parking lot to the entrance of the park, that's me driving or talking on the back of that tram!!! It's crazy. It isn't the most fun thing to do for nine and a half hours in a row, but in moderation it's fantastic. Honestly, telling stolen jokes to people who don't want to hear them is a dream I never knew I had until after my first week in the DAK parking lot. I only wish I had more stolen jokes to tell. Maybe one day.

I haven't been working sixty hours a week, but forty a week has been more than enough to keep me busy. I should have started keeping track of how many times I go to the parks, but I didn't, so here's just a great list of guesses:

Magic Kingdom: 3
Hollywood Studios: 4
Epcot: 2
Animal Kingdom: 2

The list doesn't seem very impressive yet, but it sure feels like a lot.

In those visits, here is a list of some of my accomplishments!!:

• Saw the first ten minutes of Fantastmic before it cancelled because of the rain
• Rode Splash Mountain for the first time at 11:30 at night. Not as splashy as one would think, however still just as traumatizing 
• Met Snow White!!!!!!!!!

• Watched Wishes (and didn't cry)
• Watched Illuminations (and didn't cry)
• Convinced Claire and Connor that I thought guacamole was actually called quackamole***
• Rode the teacups twice (CLASSIC!)
  
• Went on It's a Small World (never again, hopefully)
  
• Met Buzz and Woody!!!!!!!!!!
  
• Bought a comfy crewneck sweatshirt that I refused to take off for a solid week

Outside of the parks, I feel like I've been doing a lot, but in reality, I've spent most of my time watching movies with Claire, driving to and from Target, talking about my undying love for High School Musical, and watching Friends as I make macaroni and cheese. I'm so good at cleaning and so good at grocery shopping. Mom, you'd be so proud––or embarrassed by how many cans of spaghetti O's are currently on my shelf in the pantry. Either way, I think I'm doing a pretty good job of living away from home. I haven't even locked myself out once!**** 

Overall, the program so far has been awesome and I'm already sad to think about leaving. Everyone here is really great and fun to be around, my job is far from terrible, and the weather (while it went through an unpleasant patch) has been incredible. Today I realized that I can see fireworks any day that I want to, which is even more bizarre than being able to go to Disney for free every day. What a life. What a world. 

Though there are hundreds of more things to talk about, I suppose that's enough rambling for now. So this is what it's like to live and work at Disney! Awesome!
Talk to you in a month!
Just kidding, only not really. Only seriously just kidding..........


*Which, to be fair, has only been three times so far
**I'm not sure any of them will ever read this, but I am okay with saying nice things about them because I'm pretty sure they all know I really like them.
***This is actually my biggest accomplishment ever and I am so pleased with it and will not shut up about it ever probably
****Alexa had to teach me how to unlock the deadbolt on our door, though, because I couldn't do that because I am weak. Additionally, this probably means I'm going to forget my keys the next time I leave my apartment.

First Week Friends

Recently, I started watching Friends––because it's on Netflix and stuff, yadda yadda, you know the drill. This is a massive problem, partially because I just moved and should be using my free time to make friends and socialize, but mostly because I'm not even sure I like the show yet I still can't stop hitting "Next Episode." Yesterday alone, I watched probably seventeen episodes (and somehow lived to tell the tale), so I think that can confirm that this show is starting to take over my life. As if the theme song playing on loop in my head for the past five days wasn't confirmation enough.

Recently, I realized that, in Orlando, it takes about twenty minutes to get anywhere and everywhere. Wanna take a trip to Target? Twenty four minutes. Gotta stop at Walgreens? Yeah, there's one two streets over in either direction, but it's going to take you nineteen minutes with traffic. You want to go to Sephora and buy and overpriced tube of mascara? Well, that's great––it's going to take you twenty minutes to drive there, but since you accidentally plugged the address of the Sephora in the flipping Mall at Millennia, parking ALONE will take you an additional twenty minutes.* Tonight, it took me about twenty minutes to make and consume dinner. This morning, it took me probably twenty minutes to put my contacts in because waking up at six in the morning is the perfect way to guarantee I will not be able to open my eyes one bit. See? Everything takes about twenty minutes.

And so does watching an episode of Friends.

See where I'm going with this? Me neither.

I guess no matter what I'm doing at any point in time, it's going to take me twenty minutes––so why do something when I could be watching Friends instead? Right?

I've had a decent amount of downtime––or at least I've made a decent amount of downtime for myself––but I've also spent a decent number of hours in company training classes the past few days. From that has resulted something very exciting––I got my name tag and my first ever set of ears!! Look at this picture of me looking beautiful in them. Talk about a Disney princess.

I haven't been in the parks yet other than a quick jaunt through Disney's Magic Kingdom as a part of one of our training courses––from which I obtained this lovely photo of the castle, featuring a crane as well as the backs of some heads.

All of my classes so far have been at Disney University,** however, TOMORROW will be my first day of training not at DU (is that what the kids call it?). I'll be going to Animal Kingdom for the first time ever––it will probably be a wild adventure to say the least, especially since I have to be up at six in the morning again.
   
In the past few days, my lovely roommates and I also attended the housing welcome event that Disney threw for everyone who has arrived recently, and though we were only there for a bit, we got free Shirley Temples (MY FAVORITE) and free pizza, AND we got to meet our very first characters!

It's really does seem strange that I've not even been here a week. Even though I don't know them well yet, I love all of my roommates already––if not only because I know two of them have a love for the Olive Garden that runs just as deep as my own. Less than three forever.

The adventure continues in, like, seven hours!!! Which means it's time to watch an irresponsible amount of Friends! Ha ha ha ha.........




*This... may have happened to me today... um....
**Disney University has really cool Disney artwork on the walls, and some really COOL decor, like these guys who just hang out in the ceiling tiles

The First Few Days

Disney is a really magical place. I’ve been here not even three full days––haven’t even stepped foot in one of the parks yet––and I’ve already learned so much, experienced so much I never thought I would. For instance, I’ve learned that even Slow Internet is a luxury, because having The Slowest Internet Ever means watching Youtube videos at 144p and still having to wait for them to buffer the entire time. I’ve learned that it’s extremely easy to use up a gigabyte of data just trying to navigate in a city you’ve hardly ever been to before (sorry, Mom), and that I’ve learned that, in a place where everyone is working at Disney World, it’s probably not very hard to find a group of nineteen/twenty-year-olds who will sit around and sing Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers together (what a fantastic way to spend a Wednesday evening).

A lot has happened in the past few days. I’ve checked in and moved in and everything that comes with all of that. I’ve learned I’ll be working at Animal Kingdom in the Parking Lot––and though I have no idea what that means yet, I do know that I’ll probably be wearing a yellow skort and a BRIGHT ORANGE AND YELLOW TRAFFIC VEST for the duration of the program. HASHTAG FASHION. My roommates and I have moved into our apartment (we got our first pick––it’s a six person/three bedroom in Chatham Square, and it’s in a beautiful location super close to almost everything we need in the complex). Here are some pictures from before we moved everything in:

We are still in search for a good fruit bowl––because we currently have an overflowing fruit plate that I desperately tried to put together so we didn’t have bags of oranges sitting around in the meantime–– 

but other than that, I feel as though we’re mostly settled in––or at least as much as you can be for only having lived somewhere for three days. Overall, living in a place that isn’t my house for the very first time is weird––I keep forgetting I don’t have to take all of my shower supplies with me into the shower, and that I’m not living out of a suitcase, because this is lasting for longer than a few days. How weird is that? To anyone who has ever seen my room at home, it would be very difficult to believe, but I’ve done pretty alright so far at keeping my side of my room clean, and my closet organized, and my laundry folded. Remember what I said about Disney being a really magical place? Yeah. I wonder how long until the magic wears off. 

So far, I’ve only had one real training session, but I have to be at the bus stop at 6:55 tomorrow morning to start the next one! Oh boy! It’s Traditions, which I honestly don’t know much about, but which everyone raves about and insists is the best thing ever. So we’ll see how that goes! After that, I’ll have my pass so that I can go into the parks––so that will be when the REAL FUN BEGINS. And also all of the pictures, because as of right now, it’s just been me and my roommates hanging out. And it’s kinda weird to be like, “hey, let me take a picture of you as you do those dishes!”

SPEAKING of roommates. I guess I should talk a little about them. Is that weird? Hello, roommates, if you’re reading this, I hope you don’t think it’s weird that I’m talking about you! If it is, let me know, and I won’t ever mention your name here again! I’m in a room with Ashley, and we live with Maddie, Emily, Alexa, and Kristen. The six of us have only been in the same room at once, like, one time for approximately three minutes, but they’re all super great and I’m so excited to hang out with them over the next few months. Last night, Kristen, Alexa, Maddie, and I ate dinner at the Art of Animation Resort and it was a blast––so cool, especially considering I’ve never been to a Disney resort before! Today, Maddie, Alexa, and I hung out the whole time and went to Michaels and freaked out over craft stuff the whole time and it was so much fun. Maddie and I have talked about going to the parks on Friday since we’re the only ones who will have our pass to get in, and who also don’t have any training going on that day––and we’ve also established that she is going to experience the madness and magic of LUSH for the first time while she is here in Orlando. There’s already a long list (not written down, of course) of things that we have all said we want to do while down here (eating at restaurants, taking trips, etc.), but going to Lush is by far the one I’m most excited for.

I can’t believe I’ve only lived here since Monday. It’s going to be a long four and a half months, and I’m really excited about it.